# US 2008/0189448 A1 · Method for implementing a control channel in a system of circumvention and recovery > Agents: this data is available as JSON from the patentgrep API and MCP server — see https://patentgrep.com/llms.txt - Number: US 2008/0189448 A1 - Document ID: US20080189448A1 - Status: Published application - Kind: A1 - Application number: 11/672,056 - Filed: 2007-02-07 - Published: 2008-08-07 - Earliest claimed: 2007-02-07 - Assignees: Honeywell International Inc. - Inventors: Keith A. Souders; Jamal Haque; James E. Lafferty; Edward R. Prado - Web page: https://patentgrep.com/patent/US20080189448A1 ## CPC - G06F 11/00: Error detection; Error correction; Monitoring (error detection, correction or monitoring in information storage based on relative movement between record carrier and transducer G11B20/18; monitoring, i.e. supervising the progress of recording or reproducing G11B27/36; in static stores G11C29/00) - G06F: ELECTRIC DIGITAL DATA PROCESSING (computer systems based on specific computational models G06N) ## Abstract A multi-function system comprising a plurality of peripherals having different levels of susceptibility to environmental events, at least one event detector configured to detect environmental events, a controller coupled to receive an event detected signal from the at least one event detector, a communication interface communicatively coupling the controller and each peripheral that includes an internal central processing unit, and a dedicated control interface communicatively coupling the controller and the plurality of peripherals. The controller is configured to control circumvention procedures of each peripheral via the dedicated control interface based on the detected event and the level of susceptibility of the peripheral. ## Claims ### Claim 1 A multi-function system comprising: a plurality of peripherals having different levels of susceptibility to environmental events; at least one event detector configured to detect environmental events; a controller coupled to receive an event detected signal from the at least one event detector; a communication interface communicatively coupling the controller and each peripheral that includes an internal central processing unit; and a dedicated control interface communicatively coupling the controller and the plurality of peripherals, the controller further configured to control circumvention procedures of each peripheral via the dedicated control interface based on the detected event and the level of susceptibility of the peripheral. ### Claim 2 (depends on 1) The system of claim 1, wherein the communication interface comprises a single dedicated clock in the controller. ### Claim 3 (depends on 1) The system of claim 1, wherein the communication interface comprises a dedicated transmit clock in the controller and a dedicated receive clock in the controller. ### Claim 4 (depends on 1) The system of claim 1, wherein the communication interface comprises a shared-full-duplex-serial interface, the shared-full-duplex-serial interface comprising a single bi-directional data line. ### Claim 5 (depends on 4) The system of claim 4, wherein the shared-full-duplex-serial interface is configured for one of a polled request-and-grant format implemented in a single-ended technology, a polled request-and-grant format implemented in a differential technology, a time-multiplexed format implemented in a single-ended technology, a time-multiplexed format implemented in a differential technology, a statistical-multiplexed format implemented in a single-ended technology, a statistical-multiplexed format implemented in a differential technology, and combinations thereof. ### Claim 6 (depends on 1) The system of claim 1, wherein the communication interface comprises a shared-half-duplex-serial interface, the shared-half-duplex-serial interface comprising: a single bi-directional data line for transmit; and a single bi-directional data line for receive. ### Claim 7 (depends on 6) The system of claim 6, wherein the shared-half-duplex-serial interface is configured for one of a polled request-and-grant format implemented in a single-ended technology, a polled request-and-grant format implemented in a differential technology, a time-multiplexed format implemented in a single-ended technology, a time-multiplexed format implemented in a differential technology, a statistical-multiplexed format implemented in a single-ended technology, a statistical-multiplexed format implemented in a differential technology, and combinations thereof. ### Claim 8 (depends on 1) The system of claim 1, wherein the communication interface comprises a dedicated-full-duplex-serial interface, the dedicated-full-duplex-serial interface comprising a single bi-directional data line communicatively coupled between a central processing unit in the controller and the internal central processing unit in each peripheral having an internal central processing unit. ### Claim 9 (depends on 8) The system of claim 8, wherein the dedicated-full-duplex-serial interface is configured for one of a polled request-and-grant format implemented in a single-ended technology, a polled request-and-grant format implemented in a differential technology, a time-multiplexed format implemented in a single-ended technology, a time-multiplexed format implemented in a differential technology, a statistical-multiplexed format implemented in a single-ended technology, a statistical-multiplexed format implemented in a differential technology, and combinations thereof. ### Claim 10 (depends on 1) The system of claim 1, wherein the communication interface comprises a dedicated-half-duplex-serial interface, the dedicated-half-duplex-serial interface comprising a single bi-directional data line for receive communicatively coupled between a central processing unit in the controller and the internal central processing unit in each peripheral having an internal central processing unit; and a single bi-directional data line for transmit communicatively coupled between the central processing unit in the controller and the internal central processing unit in each peripheral having the internal central processing unit. ### Claim 11 (depends on 10) The system of claim 10, wherein the dedicated-half-duplex-serial interface is configured for one of a polled request-and-grant format implemented in a single-ended technology, a polled request-and-grant format implemented in a differential technology, a time-multiplexed format implemented in a single-ended technology, a time-multiplexed format implemented in a differential technology, a statistical-multiplexed format implemented in a single-ended technology, a statistical-multiplexed format implemented in a differential technology, and combinations thereof. ### Claim 12 (depends on 1) The system of claim 1, wherein the communication interface comprises a shared-full-duplex-parallel interface, the shared-full-duplex-parallel interface comprising dedicated bi-directional data lines. ### Claim 13 (depends on 12) The system of claim 12, wherein the shared-full-duplex-parallel interface is configured for one of a polled request-and-grant format implemented in a single-ended technology, a polled request-and-grant format implemented in a differential technology, a time-multiplexed format implemented in a single-ended technology, a time-multiplexed format implemented in a differential technology, a statistical-multiplexed format implemented in a single-ended technology, a statistical-multiplexed format implemented in a differential technology, and combinations thereof. ### Claim 14 (depends on 12) The system of claim 12, wherein the shared-full-duplex-parallel interface transceives a number of parallel signals that equals 2n parallel signals, wherein n is an integer. ### Claim 15 (depends on 1) The system of claim 1, wherein at least one peripheral comprises a plurality of devices, wherein the control interface is configured to place the peripherals in safe mode, and wherein safe mode comprises one of powering down all the peripherals, powering down a subset of the peripherals, putting all the peripherals into standby mode, putting a subset of the peripherals into standby mode, powering down all the devices in at least one peripheral, powering down a subset of the devices in at least one peripheral, putting all the devices in at least one peripheral into standby mode, putting a subset of the devices in at least one peripheral into standby mode, and combinations thereof, wherein a device is selected to be in a subset of devices, based on the detected event and the level of susceptibility of the device. ### Claim 16 A method of operating a multi-function system having a plurality of peripherals having various levels of susceptibility to events, the method comprising: detecting an event; placing each peripheral susceptible to the event into safe mode via a dedicated control interface based at least in part on the susceptibility of the peripheral to the event; detecting the end of the event; and implementing restoring procedures on each peripheral susceptible to the event via at least one of the dedicated control interface and a dedicated communication interface to restore each peripheral to normal operations after the detection of the end of the event. ### Claim 17 (depends on 16) The method of claim 16, further comprising communicating with at least one peripheral during the event via the dedicated communication interface, wherein the at least one peripheral includes an internal central processing unit. ### Claim 18 (depends on 16) The method of claim 16, further comprising: using an environmentally hardened processor to implement the circumvention procedures. ### Claim 19 A controller for a multi-function system, the controller comprising: at least one event signal port configured to receive a event signal from at least one event detector; a dedicated control read channel port configured to receive signals from a plurality of peripherals via a dedicated control interface; a dedicated control write channel port configured to send control signals to the plurality of peripherals via the dedicated control interface; at least one dedicated clock for transmit and receive; and a first processor in communication with the at least one event signal port via a dedicated communication interface, the dedicated control interface, the dedicated control read channel port and the dedicated control write channel port, the first processor configured to process event signals and to generate control signals to the peripherals based on received event signals, wherein the control signals implement a circumvention process in each peripheral based on the peripherals susceptibility of the event detected and implements a recovery process when the event is over. ### Claim 20 (depends on 19) The controller of claim 19, further comprising: a second processor, the second processor environmentally hardened and configured to replace the first processor if it is determined the first processor is susceptible to an event detected.