Multi-master extended I2C protocol
AssigneeLSI Logic Corporation
InventorMatthew Trembley
Life of this patent
Estimating the term…
Abstract
An extended protocol provides a serial bus with the capability of effective communications for a multimaster bus. A bus device may enter a master mode and transmit information identifying a designated recipient device on the bus. Either the master mode device or the designated recipient device may send information that identifies the master mode bus device. The master mode device may read from the designated recipient device or may write to the designated recipient device. The designated recipient device may provide an acknowledgement, data, a command, or status information may be sent back. The status information may include version information regarding the hardware, software, and/or firmware of the designated recipient device.
Claims21
A method for communicating across a serial data bus including two or more master mode devices coupled to the serial data bus, comprising the steps of:
- sending a designated recipient device address from one of the two or more master mode devices onto the bus to a designated recipient device, each of the two or more master mode devices including a timer for controlling a wait cycle for each of the two or more master mode devices, the designated receipt device being a slave mode device;
- and
- sending an acknowledge from the designated recipient device;
- sending identification information for the one of the two or more master mode devices,
- wherein the two or more master mode devices are capable of communicating with each other via the serial data bus and the timer within each of the two or more master mode devices places one of the two or more master mode devices into a wait cycle if the slave mode device fails to send an acknowledge and the bus is unavailable, upon termination of the wait cycle the one of the two or more master mode devices placed into a wait cycle resends its designated recipient device address to the designated recipient device.
A bus system through which a plurality of devices are connected, comprising:
- a serial data bus;
- and
- a plurality of devices connected to the serial data bus, each of the plurality of devices having a slave mode and at least two of the plurality of devices having a master mode, the at least two of the plurality of devices having a master mode including a timer for controlling a wait cycle for each of the at least two plurality of devices including a master mode in which one of the plurality of devices is in a master mode and initiates communications with another one of the plurality of devices being a designated recipient device, the designated recipient device providing version information to the one of the plurality of devices in master mode via the serial data bus,
- wherein the at least two of the plurality of devices having a master mode are capable of communicating with each other via the serial data bus,
- and the timer within each of the two or more master mode devices places one of the two or more master mode devices into a wait cycle if the one of the plurality of devices in slave mode fails to acknowledge the initiated communications and the bus is unavailable.
A method for communicating across a serial data bus through which two or more master mode devices are coupled to the serial data bus, comprising the steps of:
- a) sending identifying information from one of the two or more master mode devices onto the bus to a designated recipient device, each of the two or more master mode devices including a timer for controlling a wait cycle for each of the two or more master mode devices and the designated recipient device including a slave mode;
- and
- b) sending version information from the designated recipient device onto the bus to the one of the two or more master mode devices,
- wherein the two or more master mode devices are capable of communicating with each other via the serial data bus
- and the timer within each of the two or more master mode devices places one of the two or more master mode devices into a wait cycle if the designated recipient device while in slave mode fails to acknowledge the identifying information sent from one of the two or more master mode devices and the bus is unavailable.
Dependencies are inferred from the claim text.