Method and system for sharing a single universal asynchronous receiver transmitter (UART) among multiple resources in a data processing system
US6101544A · kind A · utility
Assignee
Inventors
Key dates
| Filing date | Mar 24, 1998 |
| Grant date | Aug 8, 2000 |
| Priority date | — |
| Expiry date | Mar 24, 2018 |
Classification
- Technology area (CPC Y)Emerging Cross-Sectional Technologies
- CPC primaryY02D10/00
- WIPO fieldComputer technology
- WIPO sectorElectrical engineering
Abstract
A data processing system and method for sharing a component of the data processing system between multiple resources are disclosed. According to the method, at least one query is transmitted from a first resource to a second resource. In response to receipt of the query by the second resource, a reply is transmitted from the second resource to the first resource. The reply indicates that the second resource has an active communication session through a particular communication port controlled by the shared component. In response to receipt of the reply by the first resource, a transfer command is transmitted from the first resource to the second resource. In response to receipt of the transfer command by the second resource, control of the component is transferred from the second resource to the first resource while maintaining the active communication session. In one embodiment, the first and second resources are software resources, and the shared component is a universal asynchronous receiver transmitter (UART) that drives a serial communication port.
Source: USPTO / EPO open patent data. Objective bibliographic and citation counts.