US 5,862,375 AGranted

System for effecting communications between a computing device and a plurality of peripheral devices

AssigneeAdvanced Micro Devices, Inc.

InventorDouglas D. Gephardt

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Abstract

A system for effecting communications between a computing device and a plurality of peripheral devices which comprises a bus controller for controlling the communications, a plurality of feedback generator circuits for providing operational status information, each of the plurality of peripheral devices having an associated one of the plurality of feedback generator circuits. The system further comprises a bus for conveying signals between the bus controller and the plurality of peripheral devices. In the preferred embodiment, each of the plurality of peripheral devices has a respective address and each of the plurality of feedback generator circuits contains the operational status information for its respective peripheral device. The bus controller interrogates the plurality of peripheral devices, each of which causes its respective feedback generator circuit to respond to such interrogation by communicating its respective operational status information to the bus controller when a respective of the peripheral devices indicates that such information is to be passed.

Claims20

Dependent claims

A system for managing communications between a computing device and a plurality of peripheral devices, the system comprising:

a bus controller means for interrogating said plurality of peripheral devices and controlling said communications, said bus controller means being operatively connected with said computing device;
a plurality of feedback generator means for providing operational status information, each respective peripheral device of said plurality of peripheral devices having an associated feedback generator means of said plurality of feedback generator means;
and
a bus means operatively connected with said bus controller means and with said plurality of peripheral devices for conveying signals between said bus controller means and said plurality of peripheral devices, including a data bus, an address bus, a control bus and a feedback bus, each said respective peripheral devices being configured for responding to said interrogating by communicating said operational status information to said bus controller means from said associated feedback generator means via said feedback bus, said operational status information including appropriate parametric information to enable said bus controller means to effect passing communication information on said data bus between said computing device and a particular said peripheral device and wherein said interrogating comprises transmission of an inquiry address by said bus controller means to said plurality of peripheral devices via said address bus, and transmission of cycle type information by said bus controller means to said plurality of peripheral devices on said control bus, each said respective peripheral device having a respective address, said particular peripheral device having said inquiry address as its said respective address, said particular peripheral device effecting said responding to said interrogating via said feedback bus in response to said inquiry address to indicate said particular peripheral device is active and ready, wherein said interrogating does not include providing information on said communication bus.

1 more element

A computer system, comprising:

a bus structure including an address bus, a control bus, a data bus and a feedback bus;
a plurality of peripheral devices coupled to the address bus, the control bus, the data bus and the feedback bus, each of the peripheral devices having a unique address;
a bus controller coupled to the address bus, the control bus, the data bus, and the feedback bus, wherein the bus controller provides a first address on the address bus and cycle type information on the control bus, and a selected one of the peripheral devices having the unique address associated with the first address provides parametric information about the selected one of the peripheral devices on the feedback bus in response to the first address being provided on the address bus to indicate the selected one of the peripheral devices is ready and active, said selected one of the peripheral devices providing the parametric information without receiving information on the data bus in response to the first address and the cycle type information.

Dependencies are inferred from the claim text.

Facts

Application: 08/622,574Filed 25 Mar 1996 · continuation
Priority: 31 Aug 1990
Granted: 19 Jan 1999
Term ends: Not estimatedThe source records don’t support an estimate.

Classification5 codes

G06F 13/4221
On a parallel bus: being an input/output bus, e.g. ISA bus, EISA bus, PCI bus, SCSI bus
G06F 12/0684
Configuration or reconfiguration: with feedback, e.g. presence or absence of unit detected by addressing, overflow detection
G06F 13/22
For access to input/output bus: using successive scanning, e.g. polling
G06F 13/4226
Being an input/output bus, e.g. ISA bus, EISA bus, PCI bus, SCSI bus: with asynchronous protocol