METHOD AND APPARATUS FOR USING SERIAL PORT IN TIME DIVISION MULTIPLEXING MANNER

• US 20150333897A1
• Filed: 05/11/2015
• Published: 11/19/2015
• Est. Priority Date: 05/15/2014
• Status: Active Grant

• Current Assignee: Huawei Technologies Co., Ltd. (Huawei Investment & Holding Co., Ltd.)
• Original Assignee: Huawei Technologies Co., Ltd. (Huawei Investment & Holding Co., Ltd.)
• Inventors: TAN, Lijuan
• Granted Patent: US 9,742,548 B2
• Time in Patent Office: Days
• US Class Current: 1/1
• CPC Class Codes: G06F 13/26 with priority control
• 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: H04L 49/30 Peripheral units, e.g. input or output ports
• CPC Class Codes: H04L 5/22 using time-division multiplexing

Abstract

A method and an apparatus for using a serial port device in a time division multiplexing manner are provided. The apparatus includes a first serial port, a second serial port, a switching circuit, and a signal interface, where the switching circuit selects to receive data sent; the first serial port sends first data to a first serial port device; the second serial port receives second data sent by a second serial port device, and when it is determined that the second data indicates that the second serial port device needs to receive third data sent by the second serial port, instructs the switching circuit to select to receive the third data sent; and the second serial port sends the third data to the second serial port device. Therefore, the first serial port and the second serial port can use corresponding serial port devices in a time division multiplexing manner.

Claims

1. An apparatus for using a serial port device in a time division multiplexing manner, wherein the apparatus comprises:

a first serial port, a second serial port, a switching circuit, and a signal interface, wherein;

the switching circuit is configured to select to receive data sent by one serial port from the first serial port and the second serial port, and output the data to the signal interface;

the signal interface is coupled to a first serial port device and a second serial port device outside the apparatus;

the first serial port is coupled to the signal interface by using the switching circuit and configured to, when the switching circuit selects to receive first data sent by the first serial port, send the first data to the first serial port device corresponding to the first serial port by using the switching circuit and the signal interface;

the first serial port is further configured to receive fourth data sent by the first serial port device by using the signal interface;

the second serial port is configured to receive, by using the signal interface, second data sent by the second serial port device corresponding to the second serial port, and determine whether the second data indicates that the second serial port device needs to receive third data sent by the second serial port; and

if the second data received by the second serial port indicates that the second serial port device needs to receive the third data sent by the second serial port, instruct the switching circuit to select to receive the third data sent by the second serial port; and

the second serial port is coupled to the signal interface by using the switching circuit and further configured to, when the switching circuit selects to receive the third data sent by the second serial port, send the third data to the second serial port device by using the switching circuit and the signal interface.

2. The apparatus according to claim 1, wherein the apparatus further comprises a message notification module, and the second serial port is specifically configured to:

when the second data received by the second serial port indicates that the second serial port device needs to receive the third data sent by the second serial port, send, to the message notification module, an indication that the second serial port device needs to receive the third data sent by the second serial port; and

after receiving the indication, sent by the second serial port, that the second serial port device needs to receive the third data sent by the second serial port, the message notification module is configured to determine, according to a priority of the first serial port and a priority of the second serial port, whether to immediately instruct the switching circuit to select to receive the third data sent by the second serial port; and

the message notification module is specifically configured to, when the priority of the second serial port is higher than the priority of the first serial port, immediately instruct the switching circuit to select to receive the third data sent by the second serial port;

or

when the priority of the second serial port is lower than the priority of the first serial port, wait to receive an indication, sent by the first serial port, that the first serial port completes sending the first data to the first serial port device, and after receiving the indication, sent by the first serial port, that the first serial port completes sending the first data to the first serial port device, instruct the switching circuit to select to receive the third data sent by the second serial port.

3. The apparatus according to claim 2, wherein:

the second serial port is further configured to send, to the message notification module, an indication that the second serial port completes sending the third data to the second serial port device; and

the message notification module is further configured to, after receiving the indication, sent by the second serial port, that the second serial port completes sending the third data to the second serial port device, instruct the switching circuit to select to receive the first data sent by the first serial port, so as to restore the first serial port to send the first data to the first serial port device.

4. The apparatus according to claim 1, wherein the signal interface comprises a signal transmitting interface and a signal receiving interface, wherein:

the first serial port and the second serial port are specifically coupled to the signal transmitting interface of the signal interface by using the switching circuit, the first serial port sends the first data to the signal transmitting interface by using the switching circuit, the second serial port sends the third data to the signal transmitting interface by using the switching circuit, and the signal transmitting interface sends the received first data to the first serial port device or sends the received third data to the second serial port device; and

the signal receiving interface of the signal interface receives the fourth data sent by the first serial port device or the second data sent by the second serial port device, and sends the fourth data to the first serial port or the second data to the second serial port.

5. The apparatus according to claim 1, wherein the apparatus further comprises a third serial port, the switching circuit is specifically configured to select to receive data sent by one serial port from the first serial port, the second serial port, and the third serial port, and output the data to the signal interface, and the third serial port is configured to:

receive, by using the signal interface, fifth data sent by a third serial port device that is outside the apparatus and corresponding to the third serial port, and determine whether the fifth data received by the third serial port indicates that the third serial port device needs to receive sixth data sent by the third serial port;

if the fifth data received by the third serial port indicates that the third serial port device needs to receive the sixth data sent by the third serial port, instruct the switching circuit to select to receive the sixth data sent by the third serial port; and

when the switching circuit selects to receive the sixth data sent by the third serial port, send the sixth data to the third serial port device by using the switching circuit and the signal interface.

6. The apparatus according to claim 1, wherein the apparatus is a chip.

7. The apparatus according to claim 1, wherein the second data is a specific character used to indicate whether the second serial port device needs to receive the third data sent by the second serial port.

8. A method for using a serial port device in a time division multiplexing manner, wherein the method is applied to an apparatus for using a serial port device in a time division multiplexing manner, the apparatus comprises a first serial port, a second serial port, a switching circuit, and a signal interface, the switching circuit is configured to select to receive data sent by one serial port from the first serial port and the second serial port and output the data to the signal interface, and the method comprises:

sending, by the first serial port by using the switching circuit and the signal interface, first data to a first serial port device that is outside the apparatus and corresponding to the first serial port;

receiving, by the second serial port by using the signal interface, second data sent by a second serial port device that is outside the apparatus and corresponding to the second serial port, and determining whether the second data indicates that the second serial port device needs to receive third data sent by the second serial port;

if the second data received by the second serial port indicates that the second serial port device needs to receive the third data sent by the second serial port, instructing, by the second serial port, the switching circuit to select to receive the third data sent by the second serial port; and

sending, by the second serial port by using the switching circuit and the signal interface, the third data to the second serial port device.

9. The method according to claim 8, wherein the signal interface comprises a signal transmitting interface and a signal receiving interface, and the sending, by the first serial port by using the switching circuit and the signal interface, first data to a first serial port device that is outside the apparatus and corresponding to the first serial port comprises:

sending, by the first serial port by using the switching circuit, the first data to the signal transmitting interface, so that the signal transmitting interface sends the received first data to the first serial port device;

the receiving, by the second serial port by using the signal interface, second data sent by a second serial port device that is outside the apparatus and corresponding to the second serial port comprises;

receiving, by the second serial port by using the signal receiving interface, the second data sent by the second serial port device; and

the sending, by the second serial port by using the switching circuit and the signal interface, the third data to the second serial port device comprises;

sending, by the second serial port by using the switching circuit, the third data to the signal transmitting interface, so that the signal transmitting interface sends the received third data to the second serial port device.

10. The method according to claim 9, wherein the method further comprises:

receiving, by the first serial port by using the signal receiving interface of the signal interface, fourth data sent by the first serial port device.

11. The method according to claim 8, wherein the second data is a specific character used to indicate whether the second serial port device needs to receive the third data sent by the second serial port.