General purpose bus with programmable timing
US6490638B1 · kind B1 · utility
Assignee
Inventors
Key dates
| Filing date | Aug 23, 1999 |
| Grant date | Dec 3, 2002 |
| Priority date | — |
| Expiry date | Aug 23, 2019 |
Classification
- Technology area (CPC G)Physics
- CPC primaryG06F13/4217
- WIPO fieldComputer technology
- WIPO sectorElectrical engineering
Abstract
A system provides a general purpose bus with programmable timing capability. As part of a microcontroller, this general purpose bus provides a mechanism for communication between general purpose peripherals connected to the bus and enables external devices to be connected with proper timing to the microcontroller. The general purpose bus controller includes programmable interface timing control logic which allows the bus cycle length for commands from a processor or other bus master to be programmed. Accordingly, memory and I/O read and write commands are customized to suit the timing requirements of peripheral devices connected externally to the microcontroller. A significant variety of peripheral devices may thus be coupled to the microcontroller without requiring additional glue logic. The general purpose bus controller further includes an echo mode which permits accesses to internal peripheral devices to be interpreted by a logic analyzer or other debugging equipment.
Source: USPTO / EPO open patent data. Objective bibliographic and citation counts.