BUFFER MANAGEMENT

• US 20100002658A1
• Filed: 07/05/2006
• Published: 01/07/2010
• Est. Priority Date: 07/05/2006
• Status: Active Grant

• Current Assignee: NXP USA, Inc. (NXP Semiconductors NV)
• Original Assignee: Freescale Semiconductor, Inc. (NXP Semiconductors NV)
• Inventors: Litovtchenko, Vladimir, Moeller, Dirk
• Granted Patent: US 9,641,463 B2
• Time in Patent Office: Days
• US Class Current: 370/337
• CPC Class Codes: G06F 11/0739 in a data processing system embedded in automotive or aircraft systems
• CPC Class Codes: H04L 2012/40241 Flexray
• CPC Class Codes: H04L 2012/40273 the transportation system being a vehicle
• CPC Class Codes: H04L 49/90 Buffering arrangements
• CPC Class Codes: H04L 67/12 specially adapted for proprietary or special-purpose networking environments, e.g. medical networks, sensor networks, networks in vehicles or remote metering networks

Abstract

A receive buffer of the type that receives information at regular time slots and is required to indicate any status changes to a micro control unit (MCU), the receive buffer including: a slot status field for storing slot status information at each timeslot for the receive buffer; a receive interrupt flag for sending a signal to the MCU for indicating a change of the slot status field on receipt of the information at each timeslot; characterised in that the receive buffer also includes: an empty slot recognition bit for determining if an empty slot is received and generating an indicator thereof, wherein the indicator is passed to the MCU instead of the useless empty slot status field.

Claims

1. A receive buffer of the type that receives information at regular time slots and is required to indicate any status changes to a control unit (MCU), the receive buffer including:

a slot status field for storing slot status information at each timeslot for the receive buffer;

a receive interrupt field for sending a flag to the MCU for indicating a change in status at the slot status field on receipt of the information at each timeslot;

an empty slot recognition field for determining if an empty slot is received and generating an indicator thereof, wherein the indicator is passed to the MCU instead of the flag and wherein the said slot status information is preserved after the reception of the empty slot.

2. The receive buffer of claim 1, wherein the buffer also includes a further flag which is generated by a further buffer field and which generates the flag if an empty slot is received thereby ensuring that the flag is received with both data and an empty slot.

3. The receive buffer of claim 1, wherein the indicator is used to advise the MCU not to process any empty slots, thereby saving processing resources.

4. The receive buffer of claim 1, wherein the time slots are part of a Time Division Multiple access (TDMA) system process.

5. The receive buffer according to claim 1 for use in a FlexRay control system.

6. A communications controller for a system which samples one or more channels at regular time slots, the communications controller including one or more receive buffers of claim 1.

7. A control system in a vehicle for sending and receiving information between one or more nodes and one or more Micro control units (MCU), wherein the system includes a communications controller of claim 5.

8. The control system of claim 7 in the form of a FlexRay control system.

17. The receive buffer of claim 2, wherein the indicator is used to advise the MCU not to process any empty slots, thereby saving processing resources.

18. A communications controller for a system which samples one or more channels at regular time slots, the communications controller including one or more receive buffers of claim 2.

19. A control system in a vehicle for sending and receiving information between one or more nodes and one or more Micro control units (MCU), wherein the system includes a communications controller of claim 2.

20. A control system in a vehicle for sending and receiving information between one or more nodes and one or more Micro control units (MCU), wherein the system includes a communications controller of claim 3.

9. A method of operating a receive buffer of the type that receives information at regular time slots and is required to indicate any status changes to a Micro control unit (MCU), the method comprising:

storing a slot status field at each timeslot for the receive buffer;

sending a flag to the MCU for indicating a change in status at the slot status field on receipt of the information at each timeslot;

determining if an empty slot is received and generating an indicator thereof;

passing the indicator to the MCU instead of the flag, and,

preserving the slot status information after the reception of the empty slot.

10. The method of claim 9, further comprising generating a further flag at a further buffer field and for generating the flag if an empty slot is received thereby ensuring that the flag is received with both data and an empty slot.

11. The method of claim 9, further comprising using the indicator to advise the MCU not to process any empty slots.

12. The method of any of claim 9, wherein the step of storing a slot status field at each timeslot for the receive buffer comprises using a Time Division Multiple access (TDMA) system process.

13. The method of claim 9, being carried out in a FlexRay control system.

14. The method of claim 10, further comprising using the indicator to advise the MCU not to process any empty slots.

15. The method of any of claim 10, wherein the step of storing a slot status field at each timeslot for the receive buffer comprises using a Time Division Multiple access (TDMA) system process.

16. The method of any of claim 11, wherein the step of storing a slot status field at each timeslot for the receive buffer comprises using a Time Division Multiple access (TDMA) system process.