Slave Device Identification on Single Wire Bus
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Solution Overview
Problem
Conventional single wire communications systems are limited in the number of uniquely identifiable slave devices due to the use of hard-coded unique slave identifiers (USIDs), leading to increased manufacturing and inventory costs as multiple device parts are required for each unique identifier, and the need for multiple communication buses to accommodate more devices.
Innovation Solution
The system uniquely identifies slave devices based on which pin is coupled to the single wire communications bus, allowing the same slave device part to be used for multiple devices by changing the associated register address or USID, reducing the number of required parts and product lines.
Engineering Contradictions & Design Principles
Engineering Contradiction Analysis
1Reliability
If hard-coded unique slave identifiers (USIDs) are used to identify slave devices, then each slave device can be uniquely addressed on the communications bus, but the number of slave device parts must be increased to provide different USIDs, increasing manufacturing and inventory costs
Solution Approach 1:
The slave device is designed with multiple pins that can be selectively connected to the communications bus through external resistors. The same slave device hardware can serve multiple unique identification purposes by changing the external resistor configuration at different pins, allowing one physical device to replace multiple differently-identified devices.
Solution Approach 2:
The unique identification of the slave device is achieved by changing electrical parameters (resistor connections) rather than changing the physical device itself. By connecting different pins to the communications bus through external resistors, the device presents different electrical characteristics that allow the master controller to identify and address the device uniquely without requiring different hardware parts.
2Quantity of substance
If multiple single wire communications busses are provided to accommodate more slave devices, then more devices can be connected, but the device complexity and routing requirements increase
Solution Approach 1:
The slave device incorporates multiple pins that can be selectively activated to provide unique identification on a single communications bus. This allows the same device hardware to participate in multiple addressable positions on the bus, effectively enabling more devices to be addressed without multiplying the physical bus infrastructure.
Solution Approach 2:
Instead of adding more communication buses (spatial dimension), the invention adds identification capability through multiple pins and external resistor configurations (electrical configuration dimension). This transforms the problem from needing more physical buses to using electrical parameter variations to achieve unique device identification and addressing.
3Reliability
If multiple slave device parts with different USIDs are manufactured and inventoried, then unique identification is achieved, but manufacturing and inventory costs increase
Solution Approach 1:
A single slave device part design can serve multiple unique identification roles by utilizing different pin configurations with external resistors. This universality eliminates the need to manufacture, store, and manage multiple different slave device parts, thereby reducing manufacturing complexity and inventory costs while maintaining unique device identification capability.
Data Source
AI summary
A system includes a single wire communications bus, a first slave device, and a second slave device. The first slave device and the second slave device each include a plurality of pins. The first slave device and the second slave device are uniquely identified on the single wire communications bus based on which one of the plurality of pins is coupled to the single wire communications bus.