Serial interface
AssigneeTexas Instruments Incorporated
InventorsDimitar T. Trifonov, Marco A. Gardner, Joe G. Di Bartolomeo
Life of this patent
Estimating the term…
Abstract
A method is provided. A communication is received by an input pin of an IC over a single-wire bus, where the communication includes a command byte. If the command byte is an initialization command byte, a self-addressing operation is performed to identify a bus address for the IC. Alternatively, if the command byte is a data movement command byte, a data movement operation is performed. When data movement operation is performed, the bus interface of the IC is set from the transparent mode to the operational mode if an operation address from the command byte matches the bus address so that a register identified in the command byte can be accessed and data movement with the register can be performed.
Claims27
An integrated circuit (IC) comprising:
- an input pin that is adapted to be coupled to a single-wire bus;
- an output pin that is adapted to be coupled to the bus;
- a bus interface that is coupled between the input pin and the output pin, wherein the bus interface has a transparent mode and an operational mode;
- and
- interface circuitry that is coupled to bus interface, wherein the interface circuitry is adapted to receive communications from the bus in both the transparent mode and the operational mode, and wherein the interface circuitry, upon receiving an initialization command byte, performs a self-addressing operation to identify a bus address for the IC, and wherein the interface circuitry, upon receiving a data movement command byte, sets the bus interface to operational mode, if an operation address associated with the data movement command matches the bus address, and performs a data movement.
A method comprising:
- receiving a communication by an input pin of an IC over a single-wire bus, wherein the communication includes a command byte;
- if the command byte is an initialization command byte, performing a self-addressing operation to identify a bus address for the IC;
- and
- if the command byte is a data movement command byte, performing a data movement operation, wherein the data movement operation includes the steps of:
- if an operation address from the command byte matches the bus address, setting the bus interface of the IC from the transparent mode to the operational mode;
- accessing a register identified in the command byte;
- and
- performing data movement with the register.
A system comprising:
- a single-wire bus;
- a master controller that is coupled to the bus, wherein the controller is adapted to transmit communications over the bus and to receive data from the bus, and wherein each communication includes a command byte;
- a plurality of slave ICs that are coupled in series with one another along the bus, wherein each slave IC includes:
- an input pin that is coupled to the bus;
- an output pin that is coupled to the bus;
- a bus interface that is coupled between the input pin and the output pin, wherein the bus interface has a transparent mode and an operational mode;
- and
- interface circuitry that is coupled to bus interface, wherein the interface circuitry is adapted to receive communications from the bus in both the transparent mode and the operational mode, and wherein the interface circuitry, upon receiving an initialization command byte, performs a self-addressing operation to identify a bus address for the IC, and wherein the interface circuitry, upon receiving a data movement command byte, sets the bus interface to operational mode, if an operation address associated with the data movement command matches the bus address, and performs a data movement.
An apparatus comprising:
- means for receiving a communication by an input pin of an IC over a single-wire bus,
- wherein the communication includes a command byte;
- mean for performing a self-addressing operation to identify a bus address for the IC if the command byte is an initialization command byte;
- and
- means for performing a data movement operation if the command byte is a data movement command byte, wherein the data movement operation includes:
- means for setting the bus interface of the IC from the transparent mode to the operational mode if an operation address from the command byte matches the bus address;
- means for accessing a register identified in the command byte;
- and
- means for performing data movement with the register.
A method comprising:
- receiving a communication by an input pin for each of a plurality of ICs over a single-wire bus, wherein the communication includes a data movement command as its command byte;
- accessing a register in each of the plurality of ICs identified in the command byte;
- and
- performing data movement with the register for each of the plurality of ICs in an order.
Dependencies are inferred from the claim text.