INTERFACE

• US 20110113170A1
• Filed: 12/19/2009
• Published: 05/12/2011
• Est. Priority Date: 02/13/2009
• Status: Active Grant

• Current Assignee: Faro Technologies Incorporated
• Original Assignee: Faro Technologies Incorporated
• Inventors: Becker, Reinhard, Ditte, Andreas, Ossig, Martin
• Granted Patent: US 8,719,474 B2
• Time in Patent Office: Days
• US Class Current: 710/107
• CPC Class Codes: G06F 13/4282 on a serial bus, e.g. I2C bus, SPI bus on daisy chain buses G06F13/4247
• CPC Class Codes: G06F 9/4411 Configuring for operating with peripheral devices; Loading of device drivers

Abstract

An interface, for communication between an internal device and an external device, includes two bus lines of a bus for bidirectional data transfer and at least a first control line, by means of which a control signal can be transferred from the external device to the internal device.

Claims

1. An interface for communication between an internal device and an external device, comprising:

two bus lines of a bus for bidirectional data transfer on the two bus lines; and

at least a first control line on which a first control signal can be transferred from the external device to the internal device.

2. The interface of claim 1, wherein the two bus lines are part of a CAN bus.

3. The interface of claim 1, wherein a second control line is provided on, which a second control signal can be transferred from the internal device to the external device.

4. The interface of claim 3, wherein the control lines allow for unidirectional transfer from the internal device to the external device.

5. The interface of claim 1, wherein the internal device picks up the first control signal transferred by the first control line into its data stream and stores the first control signal with the data stream of the first control line.

6. The interface of claim 3, wherein one of the first or second control signals on one of the first or second control lines is assigned an identification sequence on the two bus lines, wherein the identification sequence contains information as to what event the first or second control signal represents.

7. The interface of claim 6, wherein the identification sequence is temporally offset with respect to the first or second control signal.

8. The interface of claim 6, wherein the internal device picks up the identification sequence transferred by the bus lines into its data stream and stores the identification sequence with the data stream.

9. The interface of claim 6, wherein an operation mode that defines a temporal assignment between the first and second control signals and the identification sequences is transferred by the bus lines.

10. The interface of claim 1, further comprising a power supply line.

11. The interface according to claim 1, further comprising a ground.

12. The interface of claim 1, wherein the internal device comprises a portable 3D-measuring instrument in the form of a laser scanner, wherein the interface is assigned to the internal device.

13. The interface of claim 12, wherein the external device with which the interface communicates is assigned to a carriage on which the portable 3D-measuring instrument is mounted.