Expansion module with external bus for personal digital assistant and design method therefor

• US 6,658,508 B1
• Filed: 01/31/2000
• Issued: 12/02/2003
• Est. Priority Date: 01/31/2000
• Status: Expired due to Term

• Current Assignee: Future Link Systems, LLC (Vector Capital Corporation)
• Original Assignee: Koninklijke Philips Electronics N.V. (Koninklijke Philips N.V.)
• Inventors: Noonan, R. Christopher, Sexton, Bonnie C., Reiss, Loren B., Shiel, D. Adam
• Primary Examiner(s): Ray, Gopal C.
• Assistant Examiner(s): King, Justin
• Application Number:
  US09/495,044
• Time in Patent Office: 1,401 Days
• Field of Search: 710/100, 710/300, 710/107, 710/302, 710/306, 710/307, 710/68, 710/72, 710/304, 710/303, 707/201, 707/303, 708/518, 708/145, 365/189.04, 716/1, 455/90
• US Class Current: 710/100
• CPC Class Codes: G06F 1/1632 External expansion units, e.g. docking stations

Abstract

An expansion module for a Handspring Visor includes a multi-master AMBA Advanced System Bus (ASB). The Springboard bus of the visor is coupled to the ASB bus via Springboard-to-ASB-bus bridge. This bridge includes a protocol translator and a second Arm7 to ASB interface. The protocol translator translates bi-directionally between the Springboard bus protocol and the Arm7TDMI protocol. The translator includes an interface to the Springboard bus and a state machine. The state machine coordinates data transfers between the buses. The state machine also monitors signals indicating when each of the buses begins to treat a data transfer as complete so that the data transfer can be validated or flagged as an error condition. A programmable counter adjusts maximum counts to compensate for different clock frequencies in measuring a write-wait state duration to ensure valid writes from the Visor to the ASB bus.

Claims

1. An expansion module for a personal digital assistant having a host expansion bus which a host processor of said personal digital assistant serves as the master, said expansion module comprising:

an external bus provided for the expansion module and being external to the personal digital assistant;

a functional module on said external bus;

a bridge between said host expansion bus and said external bus, said bridge permitting said host processor to access said functional module via said expansion bus and said external bus, said external bus for communicating with the functional module, peripherals and/or networks to increase capabilities of the personal digital assistant in a portable state; and

a wait counter which provides delay between the bridge and the external bus to ensure valid data transfer between the host processor and the expansion module.

2. An expansion module as recited in claim 1 wherein said host bus conforms to a Springboard specification as defined on Jan. 1, 2000.

3. An expansion module as recited in claim 1 wherein said bridge comprises:

a translator for translating between a host-bus protocol associated with said host bus and a target-processor protocol associated with a target processor; and

a first interface for translating between said target-processor protocol and an external-bus protocol associated with said external bus.

4. An expansion module as recited in claim 3 further comprising said target processor coupled to said external bus via a second interface, said external bus being a multi-master bus.

5. An expansion module as recited in claim 3 wherein said translator includes a host-bus interface to said host bus and a state machine, said state machine monitoring signals indicating when each of said buses begins to treat a data transfer as complete.

6. An expansion module as recited in claim 3 wherein said target processor is an ARM 7.

7. An expansion module as recited in claim 6 wherein said external bus is an AMBA Advanced System Bus.

8. An expansion module as recited in claim 6 wherein said external bus is an AMBA High Performance Bus.

9. An expansion module as recited in claim 1, wherein to wait counter is programmable.

10. A method of designing an expansion module for a personal digital assistant having a host processor and a host bus, said host processor serving as a master for said host bus, said host bus serving as an expansion bus for said personal digital assistant, said host bus having an associated host-bus protocol, the method comprising the steps of:

selecting an external bus for the expansion module and being external to the personal digital assistant,

selecting a target-processor protocol associated with a target processor,

designing a translator between said host-bus protocol and said target processor protocol including providing a wait counter which provides delay between the host bus and an external interface to ensure valid data transfer therebetween;

coupling

said translator to said host bus

said translator to an external interface, said external interface, said external interface being designed for coupling said target processor to said external bus, and said external interface to said external bus.

11. A method as recited in claim 10 wherein said designing step includes designing a host interfaces to said host bus and designing a state machine for monitoring signals indicating when each of said buses begins to treat a data transfer as complete.

12. A method as recited in claim 11 wherein said designing step includes designing said state machine so that it issues an error indication when it determines that said host bus begins to treat a data transfer as complete before said external bus does.

13. A method as recited in claim 10, wherein providing the wait counter includes providing a programmable wait counter.