Semiconductor device and communication system

Abstract

A semiconductor device (1) is provided with: a reception unit (11) configured to receive communication data (RX) through serial communication from the outside; and a control unit (15). A group of semiconductor devices can be set in the semiconductor device. The communication data includes first data (B / PA) indicating whether or not the communication data is a broadcast, and second data (DA) indicating the group of semiconductor devices. The control unit determines that the communication data is a broadcast for the semiconductor device thereof when the group set in the semiconductor device thereof coincides with the group indicated by the second data.

Description

Semiconductor device and communication system

[0001] The present disclosure relates to a semiconductor device and a communication system.

[0002] Semiconductor devices having a serial communication function are used in a variety of applications.

[0003] An example of circuit technology relating to serial communication is disclosed in Japanese Patent Application Laid-Open No. 2003-222299.

[0004] Japanese Patent Application Laid-Open No. 2017-224946

[0005] [Summary] There is room for improvement in the technology for broadcasting using serial communication. Broadcasting is the process of writing and reading data to multiple receiving devices connected to a serial communication network by transmitting data once.

[0006] An object of the present disclosure is to provide a semiconductor device that enables effective broadcasting using serial communication.

[0007] For example, a semiconductor device according to one aspect of the present disclosure is a semiconductor device including a receiving unit configured to receive communication data via serial communication from an external device, and a control unit, wherein a group of semiconductor devices can be set in the semiconductor device, the communication data includes first data indicating whether it is a broadcast or not, and second data indicating the group of the semiconductor device, and the control unit is configured to determine that the data is a broadcast for its own semiconductor device when the group set in its own semiconductor device matches the group indicated by the second data.

[0008] FIG. 1 is a diagram illustrating a configuration of a communication system according to an exemplary embodiment of the present disclosure. FIG. 2 is a block diagram of a semiconductor device according to an exemplary embodiment of the present disclosure. FIG. 3 is a register map relating to a grouping function in a register of the semiconductor device. FIG. 4 is a diagram illustrating an example of a correspondence relationship between values ​​of group setting data and groups to be set. FIG. 5 is a diagram illustrating an example of grouping of semiconductor devices. FIG. 6 is a diagram illustrating a data structure of received data RX when writing to a semiconductor device as a target device. FIG. 7 is a diagram illustrating an example of a correspondence relationship between device address values ​​and group designations for broadcasting. FIG. 8 is a flow diagram illustrating an example of steps for broadcasting. FIG. 9 is a diagram illustrating a data structure of received data RX when accessing a device using a bridge function. FIG. 10 is a timing chart illustrating communication control when writing to a device. FIG. 11 is a timing chart illustrating communication control when reading from a device.

[0009] DETAILED DESCRIPTION Exemplary embodiments of the present disclosure will now be described with reference to the drawings.

[0010] 1 is a diagram illustrating a configuration of a communication system 70 according to an exemplary embodiment of the present disclosure. The communication system 70 includes an MCU (Micro Controller Unit) 20, a CAN (Controller Area Network) transceiver 30, a CAN transceiver 40, a semiconductor device 1, N devices 10 (N is an integer equal to or greater than 1), a plurality of semiconductor devices 50, and a plurality of semiconductor devices 60. The communication system 70 is, as an example, for use in a vehicle.

[0011] The CAN transceiver 40, the semiconductor device 1, the device 10, and the semiconductor device 50 are mounted on a first board PB1. The CAN transceiver 40, the semiconductor device 1, the device 10, and the semiconductor device 60 are mounted on a second board PB2.

[0012] Communication between the MCU 20 and the CAN transceiver 30 is performed using UART (Universal Asynchronous Receiver / Transmitter). UART is a protocol for exchanging serial data between two devices. With UART, bidirectional communication is performed between the sending and receiving sides using two lines.

[0013] Communication between the CAN transceivers 30 and 40 is performed via a CAN bus 35. CAN is a serial communication protocol standardized by international standards such as ISO11898.

[0014] The CAN transceiver 30 has a TXD (transmit data input) terminal 30A and an RXD (receive data output) terminal 30B. The CAN transceiver 30 outputs data input to the TXD terminal 30A to the CAN bus 35, and outputs data input from the CAN bus 35 from the RXD terminal 30B.

[0015] On the first board PB1, the CAN transceiver 40 and the semiconductor devices 1 and 50 are connected by a bus BS1. The bus BS1 is used for UART communication. The CAN transceiver 40 has an RXD terminal 40A and a TXD terminal 40B. The CAN transceiver 40 outputs data input to the TXD terminal 40B to the CAN bus 35, and outputs data input from the CAN bus 35 from the RXD terminal 40A.

[0016] The semiconductor device 1 is an IC (integrated circuit) in which circuits with predetermined functions are integrated, and is configured as, for example, an LED (light emitting diode) driver IC. The semiconductor device 1 has an RX (received data input) terminal 1A and a TX (transmitted data output) terminal 1B. The multiple semiconductor devices 50 are ICs in which circuits with the same or different functions as the semiconductor device 1 are integrated. Like the semiconductor device 1, the semiconductor device 50 has an RX terminal 50A and a TX terminal 50B.

[0017] The RX terminals 1A and 50A are commonly connected to the RXD terminal 40A. The TX terminals 1B and 50B are commonly connected to the TXD terminal 40B. Communication of receive data RX and transmit data TX is possible via bus BS1. The receive data RX and transmit data TX are serial data conforming to UART. The receive data RX output from the RXD terminal 40A is input to the RX terminals 1A and 50A. The transmit data TX output from the TX terminals 1B and 50B is input to the TXD terminal 40B.

[0018] The N devices 10 are ICs in which circuits with predetermined functions are integrated, and are configured as, for example, matrix switch ICs.

[0019] The semiconductor device 1 has an RXD terminal 1C and a TXD terminal 1D. The RX terminals 10A of the N devices 10 are commonly connected to the RXD terminal 1C. The TX terminals 10B of the N devices 10 are commonly connected to the TXD terminal 1D. That is, the RXD terminals 1C and TXD terminals 1D are connected to the RX terminals 10A and TX terminals 10B by a bus (local bus) BS2. Communication of receive data BRX and transmit data BTX is possible via the bus BS2. The receive data BRX and transmit data BTX are serial data.

[0020] The bus BS2 is provided for a bridge function, which will be described later. The bridge function makes it possible to deal with cases where the protocols of the semiconductor device 1 and the device 10 are different.

[0021] The CAN transceiver 40, semiconductor device 1, device 10, and semiconductor device 60 on the second board PB2 have the same configuration as those on the first board PB1, and therefore will not be described in detail.

[0022] 2. Broadcasting The following describes broadcasting in the communication system 70 according to this embodiment. Broadcasting is performed between the CAN transceiver 40 and the semiconductor devices 1, 5, and 60 by UART communication.

[0023] 2 is a block diagram of a semiconductor device 1 according to an embodiment of the present disclosure. The semiconductor device 1 includes, as functional blocks, a first receiving unit 11, a first transmitting unit 12, a second receiving unit 13, a second transmitting unit 14, and a control unit 15. Note that FIG. 2 illustrates only functional blocks related to the communication function in the communication system 70, and other functional blocks may also be included. For example, if the semiconductor device 1 is an LED driver, it includes a block function related to driving an LED.

[0024] The first receiver 11 receives reception data RX via the RX terminal 1A. The first transmitter 12 outputs reception data BRX via the RXD terminal 1C. The second receiver 13 receives transmission data BTX via the TXD terminal 1D. The second transmitter 14 outputs transmission data TX via the TX terminal 1B.

[0025] The control unit 15 controls the first receiving unit 11, the first transmitting unit 12, the second receiving unit 13, and the second transmitting unit 14. The control unit 15 includes a register 151.

[0026] The semiconductor devices 50 and 60 have the same configuration as that shown in FIG. 2 except for the first transmitting unit 12 and the second receiving unit 13 .

[0027] If the register maps of the registers (such as register 151) of the semiconductor devices 1, 5, and 60 are different, it is difficult to broadcast data to and from all of the semiconductor devices 1, 5, and 60 with a single data transmission from the CAN transceiver 40. The register map is the correspondence between addresses and stored data in a register. In the example of FIG. 1 , semiconductor devices with the same register map are considered to be of the same type, and multiple semiconductor devices 1, 50, and 60 are provided, each of which is of a different type.

[0028] Therefore, in this embodiment, a grouping function is provided for grouping semiconductor devices that are targets of broadcasting. FIG. 3 is a register map relating to the grouping function in register 151 of semiconductor device 1. Specifically, register 151 can store 8 bits of data per address, and in FIG. 3, group setting data BCGRP is stored at a predetermined address. The group setting data BCGRP is 5-bit data, and is data for setting the group of the semiconductor device 1 at the time of broadcasting. In FIG. 3, the group setting data BCGRP is stored in the lower 5 bits of the 8 bits. Note that semiconductor devices 50 and 60 also have a register map similar to that of FIG. 3, but the predetermined address is not necessarily the same as that of semiconductor device 1.

[0029] The group setting data BCGRP can take a value between 0 and 31. As shown in Fig. 4, for example, when BCGRP = 1, group 1 is set, and when BCGRP = 2, group 2 is set. That is, when BCGRP = n, group n is set (n is any value between 1 and 31). Note that when BCGRP = 0, no group is set.

[0030] For example, if BCGRP=1 for both the semiconductor devices 1 mounted on the boards PB1 and PB2, the semiconductor devices 1 are set to group 1 as shown in Fig. 5. In this way, semiconductor devices 1 of the same type mounted on different boards PB1 and PB2 can be set to the same group.

[0031] Furthermore, if BCGRP=2 for all of the plurality of semiconductor devices 50, the plurality of semiconductor devices 50 are set to group 2 as shown in Fig. 5. Similarly, if BCGRP=3 for all of the plurality of semiconductor devices 60, the plurality of semiconductor devices 60 are set to group 3 as shown in Fig. 5.

[0032] Furthermore, since the groups are set by the group setting data BCGRP stored in the register, the group setting can be made variable by rewriting the group setting data BCGRP via UART communication. Note that the group setting is not limited to being variable, and may also be fixed. In this case, the group setting may be made by, for example, a resistor externally attached to the semiconductor device.

[0033] FIG. 6 is a diagram showing the data structure of the received data RX when writing is performed with the semiconductor devices 1, 50, and 60 as the target devices.

[0034] In UART, communication is carried out in data units called frames. As shown in Fig. 6, a frame FR is made up of bit data from a start bit S to a stop bit P. The start bit S is at a low level, and the stop bit P is at a high level. A predetermined number of bits of bit data are placed between the start bit S and the stop bit P. In the example of Fig. 6, 8 bits of bit data are placed. In other words, a frame FR is made up of 10 bits of bit data.

[0035] As shown in FIG. 6, the received data RX includes, from the beginning, a synchronization frame SYNC, a read / write frame RWD, a data number frame ND, a register address frame AD, a data frame DT, and a CRC (Cyclic Redundancy Check) frame CR.

[0036] The synchronization frame SYNC is bit data for setting the baud rate in the semiconductor device.

[0037] The Read / Write etc. frame RWD includes a device address DA, a bridge bit BR, a broadcast / parity bit B / PA, and a Read / Write bit RW.

[0038] The device address DA is bit data indicating the address of the target device (semiconductor device) (5-bit data in the example of FIG. 6). The bridge bit BR is bit data indicating the on / off of the bridge function of the semiconductor device 1. The broadcast / parity bit B / PA is bit data indicating the on / off of the broadcast of the semiconductor device 1 or the parity of the data address DA. The read / write bit RW is bit data indicating read or write.

[0039] Bridge bit BR = 0 indicates that the bridge function is off, i.e., normal mode. In this case, broadcast / parity bit B / PA indicates whether broadcast is on or off. When broadcast / parity bit B / PA = 0, broadcast is off, and when broadcast / parity bit B / PA = 1, broadcast is on.

[0040] A bridge bit BR = 1 indicates that the bridge function is on. In this case, the broadcast / parity bit B / PA becomes the parity of the device address DA. This makes it possible to detect errors in the device address DA. In the configuration shown in FIG. 1, if the protocols differ for each group of devices 10 connected to each of the multiple semiconductor devices 1, turning on the broadcast of the semiconductor device 1 will result in the same receive data RX being sent as receive data BRX to devices 10 with different protocols, making the protocols incompatible with some of the devices 10. Therefore, when the bridge function is on, broadcasting is not performed.

[0041] The data number frame ND is bit data indicating the frame number of the data frame DT. The register address frame AD is bit data indicating an address in a register (151, etc.). The data frame DT is bit data for writing to a register. Note that the data frame DT is not included in the received data RX when reading. The CRC frame CR is bit data indicating an error detection code added to the data frame DT.

[0042] When BR=0 and B / PA=1, i.e., the bridge function is off and broadcast is on, the device address DA is used as data indicating the group. For example, as shown in FIG. 7, DA=1 indicates group 1, DA=2 indicates group 2, i.e., DA=n indicates group n. Therefore, by using the device address DA as data indicating the group, an increase in communication volume can be avoided. Note that when BR=0 and B / PA=0, i.e., the bridge function is off and broadcast is off (normal access), the device address DA indicates the original device address.

[0043] When broadcasting is performed after group setting for the semiconductor devices 1, 50, and 60 as described above, the CAN transceiver 40 transmits receive data RX to the semiconductor devices 1, 50, and 60. In this case, BR=0 and B / PA=1 are set in the receive data RX, i.e., the bridge function is off and broadcast is on. The control unit (control unit 15, etc.) in the semiconductor device 1, 50, or 60 then determines whether the group indicated by the device address DA matches the group set for the semiconductor device itself. If they match, the semiconductor device itself is considered to be the target of the broadcast, and determines whether the data is to be written or read based on the Read / Write bit RW included in the received receive data RX. If the data is to be written, the data is written to a register based on the data frame DT included in the receive data RX. If the data is to be read, the data is read from the register.

[0044] For example, as shown in the flow chart of FIG. 8, after the semiconductor devices 1, 50, and 60 are set to groups 1, 2, and 3, respectively, by the group setting data BCGRP, if reception data RX with BR=0, B / PA=1, and DA=1 is transmitted, it becomes a broadcast to the semiconductor device 1; if reception data RX with BR=0, B / PA=1, and DA=2 is transmitted, it becomes a broadcast to the semiconductor device 50; and if reception data RX with BR=0, B / PA=1, and DA=3 is transmitted, it becomes a broadcast to the semiconductor device 60.

[0045] According to this embodiment, even if the register maps in the registers of the semiconductor devices 1, 50, and 60 are different, the semiconductor devices can be grouped and broadcast can be performed.

[0046] 7, if the device address DA=0, the broadcast is sent to all of the semiconductor devices 1, 50, and 60. This is effective when the register maps of the semiconductor devices 1, 50, and 60 are the same.

[0047] 1, the semiconductor device 1 and the N devices 10 support different protocols. When the CAN transceiver 40 writes or reads data to or from the device 10, the receive data RX output from the RXD terminal 40A to the RX terminal 1A includes data corresponding to the protocol of the device 10. At this time, the semiconductor device 1 turns on the bridge function and through-outputs the data included in the receive data RX and corresponding to the protocol of the device 10 as receive data BRX from the RXD terminal 1C. Through-output means outputting bit data as is. The device address of the device 10 is specified in the receive data BRX.

[0048] In the case of Read, the device 10, which is the target device (the device specified by the device address), outputs transmission data BTX from the TX terminal 10B to the TXD terminal 1D. Because the bridge function of the semiconductor device 1 is on, the transmission data BTX is output as transmission data TX through the TX terminal 1B.

[0049] As described above, according to the embodiment of the present disclosure, even if the protocols of the semiconductor device 1 and the device 10 are different, the CAN transceiver 40 can write and read to the device 10 .

[0050] 9 is a diagram showing the data structure of received data RX when performing write or read with the device 10 as the target device. The synchronization frame SYN and read / write frame RWD in the received data RX shown in FIG. 9 are as described above.

[0051] In the received data RX shown in Fig. 9, the data number frame ND indicates the number of frames for the end condition of the through output, unlike the case shown in Fig. 6. Control using the data number frame ND will be described later.

[0052] In the receive data RX shown in Figure 9, the device data DDT follows the data number frame ND. The device data DDT is data that complies with the protocol of the device 10 and is the target to be output through as receive data BRX. The device data DDT includes a device address BDA. The device address BDA indicates the address of the device 10, which is the target device. The device address BDA is located in the device data DDT at a position that corresponds to the protocol of the device 10.

[0053] Here, the through output control by the semiconductor device 1, that is, the control when the bridge function is on, will be described.

[0054] 10 is a timing chart showing communication control when performing a write to the device 10. From the top to bottom of Fig. 10, receive data RX, receive data output selection signal (RX output select), transmit data output selection signal (TX output select), receive data BRX, transmit data BTX, and transmit data TX are shown (similar to Fig. 11). The receive data RX has the configuration shown in Fig. 9.

[0055] The received data RX is received by the first receiving unit 11 (FIG. 2). Upon receiving the start bit S1 (low level) at the beginning of the received data RX, the control unit 15 recognizes the start of reception of the received data RX. Thereafter, the control unit 15 recognizes that the bridge function is on based on the bridge bit BR included in the received data RX, and also recognizes that a write is being performed based on the read / write bit RW.

[0056] Thereafter, when the data number frame ND is received, the control unit 15 changes the received data output selection signal in the register 151 from low to high at the stop bit P1 of the data number frame ND (timing t1). This starts the through output of the received data RX, and the first receiving unit 11 and the first transmitting unit 12 output the received data RX as is as received data BRX. In other words, the device data DDT (FIG. 9) is through output.

[0057] When the received data output selection signal goes high, the control unit 15 starts counting the number of frames of the received data RX (i.e., the number of frames of the device data DDT). When the counted number of frames reaches the number of frames indicated by the received data number frame ND, the control unit 15 switches the received data output selection signal to low, stopping the through output (timing t2). Thereafter, the received data BRX is fixed at high.

[0058] 11 is a timing chart showing communication control when performing a read from the device 10. In this case, the received data RX has the structure shown in FIG.

[0059] After receiving the start bit S1 (low level) at the beginning of the received data RX, the control unit 15 recognizes that the bridge function is on based on the bridge bit BR included in the received data RX, and also recognizes that it is a read based on the read / write bit RW.

[0060] Thereafter, when the data number frame ND is received, the control unit 15 changes both the receive data output selection signal and the transmit data output selection signal in the register 151 from low to high at the stop bit P1 of the data number frame ND (timing t1). This initiates through-output of the receive data RX and the transmit data BTX. The first receiver 11 and the first transmitter 12 output the receive data RX as is as receive data BRX, i.e., through-output of the device data DDT (FIG. 9). After completing output of the receive data BRX, the second receiver 13 and the second transmitter 14 through-output the transmit data BTX sent from the device 10 as transmit data TX.

[0061] When the reception data output selection signal and the transmission data output selection signal go high, the control unit 15 starts counting the total number of frames of the reception data RX and the reception data BTX. When the counted number of frames reaches the number of frames indicated by the received data number frame ND, the control unit 15 switches both the reception data output selection signal and the transmission data output selection signal to low level, stopping the through output (timing t2). After this, the reception data BRX is fixed to high level, and the transmission data TX is fixed to Hi-z (high impedance).

[0062] <4. Others> In addition to the above-described embodiments, the various technical features disclosed in this specification can be modified in various ways without departing from the spirit of the technical creation. In other words, the above-described embodiments should be considered to be illustrative and not restrictive in all respects, and the technical scope of the present disclosure should not be limited to the above-described embodiments, but should be understood to include all modifications that fall within the meaning and scope equivalent to the claims.

[0063] <5. Supplementary Note> As described above, a semiconductor device (1) according to one aspect of the present disclosure is a semiconductor device including: a receiving unit (11) configured to receive communication data (RX) via serial communication from an external device; and a control unit (15), wherein a group of semiconductor devices can be set in the semiconductor device, and the communication data includes first data (B / PA) indicating whether or not the communication data is a broadcast, and second data (DA) indicating the group of the semiconductor device, and the control unit is configured to determine that the communication data is a broadcast for its own semiconductor device when the group set in its own semiconductor device matches the group indicated by the second data (first configuration).

[0064] According to this configuration, semiconductor devices of the same type can be grouped together for broadcasting, thereby solving the problem of enabling effective broadcasting using serial communication.

[0065] In addition, in the above first configuration, the second data (DA) may be configured to indicate the device address of the target semiconductor device when the first data (B / PA) indicates that the access is a normal access and not a broadcast (second configuration).

[0066] Furthermore, in the above-mentioned first or second configuration, when the first data (B / PA) indicates the broadcast, the second data (DA) may be configured to be able to set that the communication data is a broadcast to all semiconductor devices receiving the communication data (third configuration).

[0067] Furthermore, a semiconductor device of any of the first to third configurations above that can be connected to an external transmitting device (40) via a first bus (BS1) and to an external device (10) via a second bus (BS2) includes: a first receiving unit (11) configured to be able to receive the communication data from the transmitting device via the first bus; and a first transmitting unit (12) configured to be able to connect to the device via the second bus, and when bridge selection data (BR) included in the communication data indicates that a through output that outputs bit data as is between the first bus and the second bus is on, the first receiving unit and the first transmitting unit may be configured to through-output data (DDT) corresponding to the protocol of the device included in the communication data to the second bus (fourth configuration).

[0068] Furthermore, in the above fourth configuration, when the bridge selection data (BR) indicates that the through output is off, the first data (B / PA) may indicate whether or not the through output is broadcast, and when the bridge selection data indicates that the through output is on, the first data may represent a parity bit (fifth configuration).

[0069] Furthermore, in any of the first to fifth configurations, the first data (B / PA) and the second data (DA) may be included in the same frame (RWD) of the communication data together with bit data (RW) indicating Read or Write (sixth configuration).

[0070] In addition, any one of the first to sixth configurations may further include a register (151), and the group may be set by setting data (BCGRP) stored in the register (seventh configuration).

[0071] Furthermore, a communication system (70) according to one aspect of the present disclosure includes a transmitting device (40) configured to transmit the communication data, and any one of the first to seventh semiconductor devices (1, 50, 60) described above, and is configured such that semiconductor devices with the same register map are considered to be of the same type, and multiple semiconductor devices are provided for each of the different types of semiconductor devices (1, 50, 60) (eighth configuration).

[0072] In the eighth configuration, the semiconductor devices (1) of the same type may be arranged separately on a plurality of substrates (PB1, PB2) (ninth configuration).

[0073] The present disclosure can be used, for example, in an in-vehicle communication system.

[0074] 1 Semiconductor device 1A RX terminal 1B TX terminal 1C RXD terminal 1D TXD terminal 10 Device 10A RX terminal 10B TX terminal 11 First receiving unit 12 First transmitting unit 13 Second receiving unit 14 Second transmitting unit 15 Control unit 30 CAN transceiver 30A TXD terminal 30B RXD terminal 35 CAN bus 40 CAN transceiver 40A RXD terminal 40B TXD terminal 50 Semiconductor device 60 Semiconductor device 70 Communication system 151 Register BS1, BS2 Bus PB1 First board PB2 Second board

Claims

1. A semiconductor device comprising a receiving unit configured to receive communication data from an external source via serial communication, and a control unit, The aforementioned semiconductor device allows for the configuration of groups of semiconductor devices. The aforementioned communication data is The first data indicates whether it is a broadcast or not, The second data represents a group of semiconductor devices, Includes, A semiconductor device in which the control unit determines that a broadcast is to its own semiconductor device if the group set on its own semiconductor device matches the group indicated by the second data.

2. The semiconductor device according to claim 1, wherein the second data indicates the device address of the target semiconductor device when the first data indicates a normal access that is not a broadcast.

3. The semiconductor device according to claim 1, wherein if the first data indicates the broadcast, the second data can be used to set that the communication data is a broadcast to all semiconductor devices that receive it.

4. A semiconductor device according to claim 1, which is connectable to an external transmitting device via a first bus and connectable to an external device via a second bus, A first receiving unit configured to receive the communication data from the transmitting device via the first bus, A first transmitting unit configured to be connectable to the device via the second bus, Equipped with, A semiconductor device wherein the first receiving unit and the first transmitting unit are configured to output data corresponding to the protocol of the device included in the communication data to the second bus via a pass-through output when the bridge selection data included in the communication data indicates that a pass-through output is turned on, which outputs bit data as is between the first bus and the second bus.

5. If the bridge selection data indicates that the through output is off, the first data indicates whether or not it is a broadcast. The semiconductor device according to claim 4, wherein when the bridge selection data indicates that the through output is ON, the first data represents a parity bit.

6. The semiconductor device according to claim 1, wherein the first data and the second data are included in the same frame in the communication data together with bit data indicating Read or Write.

7. With additional registers, The semiconductor device according to claim 1, wherein the group can be configured by setting data stored in the register.

8. A transmitting device configured to transmit the aforementioned communication data, A semiconductor device according to any one of claims 1 to 7, comprising: A communication system in which multiple semiconductor devices are provided for each different type of semiconductor device, with each semiconductor device having the same register map being considered the same type of semiconductor device.

9. The communication system according to claim 8, wherein the semiconductor devices of the same type are arranged separately on a plurality of substrates.