Data bus system

• US 5,550,804 A
• Filed: 12/07/1994
• Issued: 08/27/1996
• Est. Priority Date: 12/09/1993
• Status: Expired due to Term

• Current Assignee: Conti Temic Microelectronic GmbH (Continental AG)
• Original Assignee: Temic Telefunken Microelectronic GmbH (Continental AG), Mercedes-Benz AG (Mercedes-Benz Group AG)
• Inventors: Haussler, Bernd, Meyer, Benno, Munk, German
• Primary Examiner(s): Olms, Douglas W.
• Assistant Examiner(s): TON, DANG T
• Application Number:
  US08/351,486
• Time in Patent Office: 629 Days
• Field of Search: 370/16, 370/13, 370/85 A, 370/85.1, 370/85.11, 371/8.1, 371/8.2, 371/11.1, 371/1.2, 326/90, 326/14, 326/19, 326/22, 326/26, 326/30, 363/134, 363/17, 363/37, 315/105, 178/19, 178/18, 381/121, 330/271, 330/274, 395/200, 395/181, 395/182.01, 395/183.01, 395/185.09, 340/827, 340/310.06, 340/941, 340/825.5, 375/200, 375/257, 375/219
• US Class Current: 370/359
• CPC Class Codes: H04L 12/40006 Architecture of a communication node current supply arrangements H04L12/10; intermediate storage or scheduling H04L49/90
• CPC Class Codes: H04L 25/0272 Arrangements for coupling to multiple lines, e.g. for differential transmission
• CPC Class Codes: H04L 25/029 Provision of high-impedance states
• CPC Class Codes: H04L 25/0292 Arrangements specific to the receiver end

Abstract

A data bus system including a serial data bus operated with complementary logic signals, several system users, communicating with each other via the bus lines of the data bus, and several output stages complete with a transmitter and a receiver, where each system user is assigned an output stage for coupling to the data bus. The output stage of each system user features a terminating network, with the determining network of at least on output stage being low impedance, active, switching, and internally switchable, with the terminating network of at least one more output stage being passive and low impedance, and with the terminating networks of all other output stages being passive and high impedance.

Claims

1. Data bus system comprised of:

a) a serial data bus (DB) operated with complementary logic signals,

b) several system users (TN₁ . . . Tn_n), communicating with each other via the bus lines (BL₁, BL₂) of the data bus (DB),

c) several output stages (ES₁ . . . Es_n) each having a transmitter (ST) and a receiver (ET), with each system user (TN₁ . . . Tn_n) being assigned an output stage (ES1 . . . Esn) for coupling to the data bus (DB), and

wherein,

d) the output stage (ES₁ . . . Es_n) of each system user (TN₁ . . . Tn_n) includes a respective terminating network (ANW₁ . . . ANW₂) coupled to the bus lines (BL1, BL2),

e) the terminating network (ANW1) of at least one output stage (ES₁) is low impedance, active, and internally switchable from one impedance value present on the bus lines to another impedance value present on the bus lines,

f) the terminating network (ANW₃ . . . ANW_n) of at least one more output stage (ES₂) is passive and of low impedance,

g) the terminating networks (ANW₃ . . . ANW_n) of all other output stages (ES₃) . . . ES_n) are passive and of high impedance.

2. Data bus system in accordance with claim 1 wherein the active terminating network (ANW₁) has two trigger inputs (StE₁, StE₂) which are connected to the associated system user (TN1) via two trigger lines (StL₁, StL₂), and bus lines (BL1, BL2) which are activated or deactivated by trigger signals on the trigger lines (StL₁, StL₂).

3. Data bus system in accordance with claim 2 wherein the active terminating network (ANW₁) has two switching elements (T₁, T₂) whose outputs are respectively connected to one bus line each (BL₁, BL₂) and whose inputs are the respective trigger inputs.

4. Data bus system in accordance with claim 3 wherein the two switching elements (T₁, T₂) are complementary bipolar transistors.

5. Data bus system in accordance with claim 1 wherein the low impedance terminating networks each include a plurality of resistors, and voltage levels on the data bus (DB) are set by selecting the resistors (R₁ . . . R₁₀) of the low impedance terminating networks (ANW₁, ANW₂).

6. Data bus system in accordance with claim 1 wherein the output stages (ES₁ . . . ES_n) of system users (TN₁ . . . TN_n) are implemented such that faults on bus lines (BL₁, BL₂) of the data bus (DB) are detected.

7. Data bus system in accordance with claim 6 wherein one input (IN₁) of the receiver (ET) of each output stage (ES₁ . . . ES_n) is connected to a supply voltage (U_s) via a resistor (R₁₃), and the other input (IN₂) is connected to reference potential (GND) via a further resistor (R₁₄).

8. Data bus system in accordance with claims 6 or 7 wherein the receiver of each output stage has two inputs connected respectively to the data lines, and the two inputs (IN₁, IN₂) of the receiver (ET) of each output stage (ES₁ . . . Es_n) are connected to each other via two resistors (R₁₆, R₁₈), and the common connection of these two resistors (R₁₆, R₁₈) is connected to an internal reference voltage.

9. Data bus system in accordance with claim 8 wherein the internal reference voltage (1/2 U_s) is half the supply voltage (U_s).