System for obtaining status data unrelated to user data path from a modem and providing control data to the modem without interrupting user data flow

• US 5,784,633 A
• Filed: 03/12/1996
• Issued: 07/21/1998
• Est. Priority Date: 03/12/1996
• Status: Expired due to Term

• Current Assignee: International Business Machines Corporation
• Original Assignee: International Business Machines Corporation
• Inventors: Petty, John Stewart
• Primary Examiner(s): Shin, Christopher B.
• Assistant Examiner(s): Perveen, Rehana
• Application Number:
  US08/614,461
• Time in Patent Office: 861 Days
• Field of Search: 395/200.3, 395/200.43, 395/200.68, 395/880, 395/500, 395/885, 345/222, 375/220
• US Class Current: 710/60
• CPC Class Codes: G06F 13/126 and has means for transferring I/O instructions and statuses between control unit and main processor

Abstract

A system and method for providing for simultaneous transmission of user data (the I/O data between a source DTE and a destination DTE) and control and/or status data (the data that the DTE conveys for DCE control and the data the DTE retrieves from the DCE for status purposes, respectively) comprises multiple data paths for the user, control and status data. The user data path utilizes an I/O space while the status and the control data utilize a memory space. Further, an interrupt generator is implemented to indicate to the DCE that a new control command has been received by the DCE. The implementation of this system and method foregoes the requirement of disrupting user data flow or modifying user data flow if there is a need for retrieving DCE status data or for sending to the DCE new control information.

Claims

1. A first system for transmitting user data via a network to a second system and for receiving user data via said network from said second system, said first system comprising:

a data terminal equipment (DTE);

a data circuit-terminating equipment (DCE) connected to said DTE;

said DTE having a DTE processor, a DCE interface for conveying and receiving data to and from said DCE;

said DCE having a DCE processor, a DTE interface for receiving data from and conveying data to said DTE, a first memory space, a second memory space for storing status information and DCE configuration information, a communications circuitry adapted to convey data to said network from said first memory space and adapted to receive data from said network to said first memory space;

a user data path providing a serial communications port for conveying and receiving user data between said DTE and said DCE, said user data path including the DCE Interface, the DTE interface, the first memory space, the DCE processor and said communications circuitry; and

a status information path providing status data to said DTE from said second memory space in said DCE, the status data including information unrelated to the user data path;

said status information path including said second memory space, said DTE interface, said DCE interface, whereby said status data is obtained by the DTE without interrupting user data flow on said user data path.

2. The first system of claim 1 further comprising:

a control information path providing the DCE with control data from said DTE, said control information path including the DCE interface, the DTE interface and the second memory space, said DCE processor obtaining said control data from said second memory, whereby said control data is provided without interrupting user data flow on said user data path.

3. The first system of claim 1 further comprising:

a control information path providing the DCE with control data from said DTE, said control information path including the DCE interface, the DTE interface and a third memory space said DCE processor obtaining said control data from said third memory space, whereby said control data is provided without interrupting user data flow on said user data path.

4. The first system of claim 1 wherein said DCE is a PCMCIA card and the DTE contains a PCMCIA slot, the first memory space is PCMCIA I/O memory space, the second memory space is PCMCIA attribute memory space.

5. The first system of claim 2 wherein said DCE is a PCMCIA card and the DTE contains a PCMCIA slot, the first memory space is PCMCIA I/O memory space, the second memory space is PCMCIA attribute memory space.

6. The first system of claim 1 wherein said DCE is a PCMCIA card and the DTE contains a PCMCIA slot, the first memory space is PCMCIA I/O memory space, the second memory space is the PCMCIA common memory space.

7. The first system of claim 3 wherein said DCE is a PCMCIA card and the DTE contains a PCMCIA slot, the first memory space is PCMCIA I/O memory space, the second memory space is PCMCIA attribute memory space and third memory space is the PCMCIA common memory space.

8. The first system of claim 1 wherein said DTE includes a display and said status information obtained by the DTE via said status information path is presented on said display.

9. The first system of claim 1 wherein the status information includes remaining DCE battery power.

10. The first system of claim 9 wherein the status information includes received signal strength indicator.

11. The first system of claim 1 wherein the communication circuitry is coupled to an antenna adapted for providing signals to and receiving signals from a wireless network.

12. The first system of claim 3 wherein the communication circuitry is coupled to an antenna said antenna adapted for use with a wireless network.

13. The first system of claim 7 wherein the communication circuitry is coupled to an antenna adapted for providing signals to and receiving signals from a wireless network.

14. The first system of claim 2 wherein the DCE includes a interrupt generator, which generates an interrupt for the DCE processor when the DTE processor writes to said second memory address space via said control path.

15. A method in a data processing system for enhancing the efficiency of operation of a DCE coupled between a communication channel and a DTE system, said DCE having a data transfer mode and a command mode with a common memory, an attribute memory, and an I/O Memory, said method comprising the steps of:

coupling a first user data stream between a first DTE and a first DCE while said first DCE is operating in said data transfer mode where said first user data stream passes through the I/O memory of said DCE;

storing status information in the attribute memory of said first DCE; and

obtaining status information from the attribute memory of said DCE by the DTE reading attribute memory of the DCE while said DCE continues to operate in said data transfer mode; and

wherein said common memory space stores control command information, said attribute memory space stores the status information including information unrelated to the coupling of the first DTE and the first DCE, and said I/O memory space stores the user data.

16. The method of claim 15 where said first DCE updates the status information stored in the attribute memory.

17. The method of claim 15 wherein said status information includes battery power remaining.

18. The method of claim 15 further comprising the step of:

displaying the obtained status information.

19. The method of claim 15 further comprising

providing a command stream from said first DTE to said first DCE while said DCE continues to operate in data transfer mode, where each command of said command stream is written to the common memory of said first DCE by said first DTE;

retrieving and executing each command from said common memory by the first DCE.

20. The method of claim 18 further comprising the steps of:

providing an update status command to the first DCE and in response the first DCE updates status information in the attribute memory of the DCE.

21. An adapter card comprising:

a bus connector

a bus interface logic coupled to said bus connector;

a first memory having an I/O memory space and non I/O memory space;

a communications circuitry adapted for transmitting and receiving signals from a communications network;

a main processor coupled to the first memory, the bus interface, and the communications circuitry;

a user data path from said bus connector to said communications circuitry for a user data stream, the user data path including the bus interface logic, I/O memory space, and the main processor; and

a status data path from said first memory to said bus connector via the bus interface logic, said main processor obtaining status information from said communications circuitry and writing said status information to said non-I/O memory space.

22. The adapter of claim 21 wherein said bus connector is a PCMCIA connector.

23. The adapter of claim 22 wherein an antenna is coupled to the communications circuitry, said antenna adapter for transmitting and receiving signals from a wireless communications network.

24. The adapter of claim 21 further comprising:

a control data path from said bus connector to said first memory via the bus interface logic, said main processor obtaining control information from said non-I/O memory space.

25. The adapter of claim 22 further comprising:

a control data path from said bus connector to said first memory via the bus interface logic, said main processor obtaining control information from said non-I/O memory space.