Circuit and method of detecting and resolving stuck I2C buses

An integrated circuit, for detecting and resolving a fault on a bus providing communications between first and second devices, the bus comprising a data line and a clock line, the protection circuit comprising:

• terminals for connection to the data line and the clock line of the bus;
• and
• logic for:
• (a) monitoring the data line and the clock line of the bus and detecting an occurrence of a condition corresponding to a fault caused by the second device;
• and
• (b) upon detecting occurrence of the condition, automatically disconnecting the second device from the data line and the clock line of the bus.

An integrated circuit for interfacing a slave device to a bus comprising a data line and a clock line, the clock line carrying clock signals from a master device to the slave device to enable the slave device to apply data to the data line for communication to the master device, the circuit comprising:

• a bi-directional buffer, for providing amplification of signals passing in opposite directions over the data line and the clock line of the bus;
• and
• a protection circuit comprising:
• (1) terminals for connection to the data line and the clock line of the bus;
• and
• (2) logic for:
• (a) monitoring the data line and the clock line of the bus and detecting an occurrence of a condition corresponding to a fault caused by the slave device;
• and
• (b) upon detecting occurrence of the condition, automatically disconnecting the slave device from the data line and the clock line of the bus.