Bus Controller Simultaneous Data Forwarding Pseudo-Response
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Solution Overview
Problem
I2C communication is inefficient when a master device needs to write the same data to multiple slave devices, as the process is serial and time-consuming, and setting the same I2C address for multiple devices leads to response collisions on the bus, disrupting data exchange.
Innovation Solution
A bus controller with bidirectional buffers, a switch controller, and a pseudo-response generator that enables simultaneous data transmission from the master to multiple slaves while preventing responses from slaves to the master, using pseudo-response signals to avoid collisions and ensure data integrity.
Engineering Contradictions & Design Principles
Engineering Contradiction Analysis
1Reliability
If the master device serially accesses multiple slave devices to write data, then each slave device receives data correctly, but the data writing process is time-consuming and inefficient
Solution Approach 1:
The patent segments the bidirectional buffer into a first buffer for master-to-slave data transmission and a second buffer for slave-to-master data transmission. This segmentation allows independent control of data flow directions, enabling simultaneous data writing to multiple slave devices while maintaining proper acknowledgment handling, thus improving writing speed without sacrificing correctness.
Solution Approach 2:
The patent dynamically switches the second buffer between enabled and disabled states based on the operation mode. During simultaneous data writing to multiple slaves, the second buffer is disabled to prevent acknowledgment collisions. During normal operations, it is enabled to maintain standard I2C communication. This dynamic switching resolves the contradiction by adapting the system behavior to different operational requirements.
2Productivity
If multiple slave devices are assigned the same I2C address for simultaneous access, then data transmission efficiency improves, but response collisions occur on the bus disrupting data exchange
Solution Approach 1:
The patent extracts the acknowledgment function from the slave devices during simultaneous writing operations by disabling the second buffer. This prevents slave devices from transmitting acknowledgments that would cause collisions on the shared bus. The acknowledgment mechanism is effectively removed from the data path during multi-slave writing, allowing efficient simultaneous data transmission without compromising data exchange integrity.
Solution Approach 2:
The first buffer acts as an intermediary that directs data from the master device to multiple slave devices simultaneously. By controlling the data flow through this intermediary buffer, the system can efficiently distribute data to multiple slaves with the same address while the second buffer's disabling prevents response collisions, thus maintaining data exchange integrity.
3Ease of operation
If the second buffer is enabled during simultaneous data transmission to multiple slaves, then slave responses can be received, but response collisions occur on the bus
Solution Approach 1:
The patent applies preliminary anti-action by disabling the second buffer before simultaneous data transmission to multiple slave devices begins. This preventive measure stops the slave devices from generating response signals that would collide on the bus. By anticipating and preventing the harmful effect of response collisions, the system can efficiently transmit data to multiple slaves without disrupting data exchange.
4Reliability
If the master device makes sequential access to multiple slave devices, then response collisions are avoided, but the time required for data writing increases proportionally with the number of slave devices
Solution Approach 1:
The patent segments the buffer control to allow simultaneous activation of data transmission paths to multiple slave devices. The first buffer is configured to forward data to multiple slaves at the same time, eliminating the sequential access delay. This segmentation of the data path enables parallel operations, reducing data writing time from proportional to the number of slaves to a constant time operation.
Solution Approach 2:
The patent dynamically controls the second buffer to be disabled during simultaneous writing operations, preventing response collisions that would otherwise occur. This dynamic state change allows the system to achieve high-speed simultaneous data transmission to multiple slaves while maintaining data transmission reliability, resolving the time-loss issue without sacrificing reliability.
Data Source
AI summary
The first buffers forward data from the first device to the respective corresponding second devices through the respective buses while the second buffers forward data from the respective corresponding second devices to the first device through the respective buses. In response to a simultaneous data transmission request to simultaneously transmit data from the first device to the second devices, the switch controller switches the first buffer into a data-forwarding enable state, and switches the second buffer into a data-forwarding disable state, for simultaneous data transmission from the first device to the plurality of the second devices. The pseudo-response generator generates pseudo-response signals acting as a plurality of response signals that the second devices transmit to the first device as a result of the simultaneous data transmission, and transmits the plurality of the pseudo-response signals to the first device. This configuration achieves simultaneous access to multiple devices.