Patent · US Expired

Method and apparatus for accessing peripheral storages with asychronized individual requests to a host processor

US5235683A · kind A · utility

17Cited by
12References
8Claims
0Family size

Assignee

Inventor

Key dates

Filing dateJul 7, 1989
Grant dateAug 10, 1993
Priority date
Expiry dateJul 7, 2009

Classification

  • Technology area (CPC G)Physics
  • CPC primaryG11B5/86
  • WIPO fieldAudio-visual technology
  • WIPO sectorElectrical engineering

Abstract

Apparatus for duplicating data, especially in the form of multiple magnetic disks and tapes, includes a host processor (1) which functions as a data source and a plurality of peripheral storage devices (21 . . . 2n) which function as data receivers, connected to one another via a data bus and a control bus. In order to be able to transmit the data information in parallel, the storage devices are synchronized by means of a signal sequence comprising individual request signals (for example dREQ) from all of the storage devices, and acknowledgement signals (for example ACK) from the host processor, executed on a byte-by-byte basis, such that the slowest of the active storage devices determines the execution speed. The host processor can activate or de-activate all or only individual storage devices at any time in any arbitrary sub-combination.

Source: USPTO / EPO open patent data. Objective bibliographic and citation counts.