Interface apparatus for connecting a device and a host system, and method of controlling the interface apparatus
AssigneeKabushiki Kaisha Toshiba
InventorsShinji Kunishige, Yuuko Maki, Shuichi Ishii
Life of this patent
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Abstract
According to one embodiment, a serial ATA interface apparatus having an S-ATA bridge. The S-ATA bridge is to be connected to a host system by a serial ATA bus. The S-ATA bridge has a shadow register and a buffer memory. The shadow register stores commands. The buffer memory can access a HDC. The S-ATA bridge finishes processing the commands before it outputs a response signal to the host system.
Claims10
A serial ATA interface apparatus for connecting a host system and a device, comprising:
- a register which stores commands transmitted from the host system via a serial ATA bus;
- a transmission unit which transmits an interruption signal to a controller provided in the device through a parallel ATA bus, said interruption signal being stored in the register and indicating that the transmission unit has received a command;
- a memory which stores the commands transferred from the register and which can be accessed by the controller;
- and
- an output unit which checks the commands stored in the register and which outputs a response signal to the host system through the serial ATA bus when the commands are found to be correct.
A disk drive to be connected to a host system by a serial ATA interface and configured to record data on, or reproduce data from, a disk-shaped medium in response to commands supplied from the host system, said disk drive comprising;
- a disk controller which executes the command supplied from ht host system, thereby to control data transfer between the disk-shaped medium and the host system;
- and
- a serial ATA bridge which is connected to the host system by the serial ATA bus and connected to the disk controller by a parallel ATA bus and which comprises;
- a register which stores commands sent from the host system through the serial ATA bus;
- a transmission unit which transmits an interruption signal to the disk controller through the parallel ATA bus, said interruption signal indicating that the transmission unit has received a command;
- a memory which stores the commands transferred from the register and which can be accessed by the disk controller;
- and
- an output unit which checks the commands stored in the register and which outputs a response signal to the host system through the serial ATA bus when the commands are found to be correct.
A method of controlling a serial ATA interface for connecting a host system and a device, the method comprising:
- storing commands sent from the host system through a serial ATA bus, into a register;
- transmitting an interruption signal to a controller through the parallel ATA bus, said interruption signal indicating that the register has received the commands;
- storing the commands transferred from the register, into a memory which can be accessed by the controller;
- checking the commands stored in the register;
- and
- outputting a response signal to the host system through the serial ATA bus when the commands are found to be correct.
Dependencies are inferred from the claim text.