Host/client system having a scalable serial bus interface

Abstract

According to one exemplary embodiment, a system is provided. The system includes a system bridge, a host module including a central processing unit (CPU) coupled to the system bridge, a scalable serial bus coupled to the system bridge, a client controller coupled to the system bridge via the scalable serial bus, and first and second clients coupled to the client controller. The client controller is configured to interpret a communication received from the CPU and to provide the communication to the first client or to the second client based on a content of the communication. The scalable serial bus is configured such that each of the first and second clients have access to the scalable serial bus during respective time slots. The scalable serial bus is configured to scale at least one of a data transfer rate of the scalable serial bus, a number of channels on the scalable serial bus, or a bus width of the scalable serial bus.

Description

[0001]This application is related to U.S. Non-Provisional application Ser. No. 11 / 638,338, filed Dec. 12, 2006, which is incorporated by reference herein in its entirety.1. TECHNICAL FIELD[0002]The present invention is generally in the field of electronic circuits. More particularly, the present invention is in the field of bus interface design.2. BACKGROUND[0003]Modern embedded systems, such as mobile phones and other portable electronic devices, typically include a host CPU which communicates with various clients, such as volatile random access memory devices and nonvolatile random access memory devices, through conventional multi-drop bus interfaces. Such clients typically require many address and control lines, thus requiring wide buses between the host CPU and the clients, and may each require different interface and control circuitry.[0004]As such embedded systems are continuously miniaturized to meet consumer demand, however, the available space on the circuit boards used the...

AI Technical Summary

Benefits of technology

[0007]In one embodiment, a number of clients having integrated interfaces can be serially coupled to the integrated interface of the at least one client through the sealable serial bus, where the at least one client and each of the number of clients are capable of communicating with each other. The scalable serial bus enables scaling of the data transfer rate of the scalable serial bus, the number of channels on the scalable serial bus, and the bus width. Thus, the system bridge and the integrated interface enable high bandwidth communication between the CPU and the at least one client through the scalable serial bus, thereby allowing control of bus width between the host module and the at least one client. Other features and advantages of the present invention will become more readily apparent to those of ordinary skill in the art after reviewing the following detailed description and accompanying drawings.

Problems solved by technology

As such embedded systems are continuously miniaturized to meet consumer demand, however, the available space on the circuit boards used therein as well as the cost to provide pins for the address, control and data lines on the device packages is becoming critically limited.

As a result of such space limitations, it has become difficult to enhance the performance of the clients without further widening the already wide buses between the host CPU and the clients.

Moreover, an increase in bus width would require an increase in the pin counts of the host CPU and clients, thereby increasing costs.

In addition, enhancing the performance of the clients by increasing data transfer rates between the host and the clients has also become difficult since the operation frequencies of conventional multi-drop bus interfaces are rapidly approaching their physical limits.

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