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US 6,807,601 B2Granted
Data processing device having a plurality of state-machine parts
AssigneeRicoh Company, Ltd.
InventorKazuhito Akiyama
Life of this patent
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AssigneeRicoh Company, Ltd.
InventorKazuhito Akiyama
Estimating the term…
In a data processing device connectable to a bus, a plurality of function parts can be operated at the same time so that data transfer between buses or within the device can be efficiently performed. Each of the function parts provides a different function with respect to a signal input through the bus. A plurality of state-machine parts are connected to the respective function units. Each of the state-machine parts is operable independently.
A multi-function device adapted to be connected to a first bus, said multi-function device comprising:
A bridge circuit for interconnecting a first bus to a plurality of others buses, comprising:
The bridge circuit according to 3, wherein the bridge circuit connects a PCI bus and an ISA bus.
Dependencies are inferred from the claim text.
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From the US filing history. Foreign family members aren’t listed.
Being an input/output bus, e.g. ISA bus, EISA bus, PCI bus, SCSI bus: with synchronous protocol
Computing and data processing
Term ended 24 May 2019 (estimated)
1. Field of the Invention
The present invention generally relates to a data processing device and, more particularly, to a data processing device which has a plurality of function parts.
2. Description of the Related Art
FIG. 1 is a time chart for explaining a data transferring operation performed by a conventional multi-function device;
FIG. 2 is a block diagram of a multi-function device according to a first embodiment of the present invention;
FIG. 3 is a block diagram of a multi-function device according to a second embodiment of the present invention; and
A description will now be given, with reference to FIG. 2, of a first embodiment of the present invention. FIG. 2 is a block diagram of a multi-function device according to the first embodiment of the present invention.
The multi-function device 1 shown in FIG. 2 is provided as a PC card. The multi-function device 1 comprises a plurality of function parts F-1, F-2, . . . , F-n and a plurality of state-machine parts S-1, S-2, . . . , S-n. The state-machine part S-n is provided for exclusively managing the function part F-n. That is, the state-machine part S-1 manages the operation of the function part F-1, and the state-machine part S-2 manages the operation of the function part F-2, and so on. Each of the function part provides a different function. For example, the function part F-1 provides a modem function, the function part F-2 provides a local area network (LAN) function and the function part F-n provides a small computer system interface (SCSI) function. Each of the state-machine parts S-1, S-2, . . . , S-n can be operated independently. Additionally, each of the state-machine parts S-1, S-2, . . . , S-n is provided with an interface part (not shown in the figure).
The multi-function device 1 is connected to a PCI bus 10 provided in a personal computer to which the multi-function device is attached. A line connecting the multi-function device 1 to the PCI bus 10 may comprise 32 single-bit lines which corresponds to a capacity for transmitting only one instruction at a time.