Apparatus and method for a peripheral inter-module event communication system
AssigneeTexas Instruments Incorporated
InventorZhenyu Yu
Life of this patent
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Abstract
An inter-module communication system provides for the exchange of status/event signals between interface modules monitoring the activity of external apparatus. The communication system includes a dedicated inter-modular control unit that collects status/event signals from the modules and an inter-modular control bus for distributing the status/event signals to the other modules. The status/event signals are applied to a multiplexer. The multiplexer can be programmed to transmit specified status/event signals. The specified status/event signals provide inter-modular coordination among the plurality of the modules without involvement of the device peripheral bus.
Claims22
A processing system comprising:
- a central processing unit;
- a device peripheral bus;
- a plurality of peripheral modules coupled to the peripheral device bus, each peripheral module including a control register, each peripheral module generating selected status/event signals, the selected status event signals determined by control signals from the control register;
- an inter-module bus coupled to each of the modules;
- and
- an inter-module controller unit coupled to the peripheral modules, the inter-module control unit receiving at status/event signals from each module coupled thereto, the inter-module controller applying the selected status/event signals to the inter-module bus, the inter-module bus applying status/event signals from other modules to each module, each module entering preselected status/event signals therein, the preselected status/event signals determined by control signals from the control register.
In a data processing unit having a central processing unit, a device peripheral bus, and a plurality of modules coupled to the device peripheral bus;
- each module programmed to generate selected status/event signals, each module programmed to enter therein preselected status/event signals, each module having a control register applying control signals determining the selected status/event signals and preselected status event signals, an inter-module communication system comprising:
- an inter-module bus for applying the preselected status/event signals to modules not generating the status/event signals;
- and
- an inter-module control unit receiving the selected status/event signals from the modules, the inter-module control unit applying the selected status/event signals to the inter-module bus, wherein the same status/event signals generated by equivalent modules are transmitted by the inter-module bus on the same conducting path.
A method for exchanging status/event signals among a plurality of modules, the method comprising:
- in each module, programming the module to generate at least one selected status/event signal;
- applying each status/event signal to a inter-module control unit;
- collecting the same status/event signals from equivalent modules;
- distributing the status/event signals to the modules not generating the same status/event signals;
- programming each module to enter therein only a preselected status/event signal.
Dependencies are inferred from the claim text.