Communication memory for receiving control information sequentially and in parallel form for temporary storage and broadcasting on parallel bus

• US 7,076,572 B1
• Filed: 11/30/1999
• Issued: 07/11/2006
• Est. Priority Date: 11/30/1998
• Status: Expired due to Fees

• Current Assignee: Aimal Siraj
• Original Assignee: Aimal Siraj
• Inventors: Siraj, Aimal
• Primary Examiner(s): PEYTON, TAMMARA R
• Application Number:
  US09/601,192
• Time in Patent Office: 2,415 Days
• Field of Search: 710/8, 710/10, 710/11, 710/104, 710/105, 709/230, 370/469, 370/465
• US Class Current: 710/11
• CPC Class Codes: H04L 49/90 Buffering arrangements
• CPC Class Codes: H04L 69/18 Multiprotocol handlers, e.g. single devices capable of handling multiple protocols
• CPC Class Codes: H04L 69/32 Architecture of open systems interconnection [OSI] 7-layer type protocol stacks, e.g. the interfaces between the data link level and the physical level
• CPC Class Codes: H04L 9/40 Network security protocols

Abstract

A design of a flexible communication device capable of reducing time and labor required for changing a communication protocol and positively eliminating an erroneous operation, and interface devices for the communication device. A communication device (1) receives from a control device (2) control information corresponding to address spaces of the control device (2) for loading into a memory (7) sequentially. A command acquisition unit (8) sequentially reads control information stored in the memory (7), and sends them to individual detection units (9-1 to 9-m) via a back-end bus (12). Each detection unit detects whether or not the control information match each communication protocol module corresponding to each detection unit and sends matching control information, if any, to an own communication protocol module for communication protocol processing. A communication protocol management unit (11) manages and processes, via a bus (13), data moving through connection media between communication network interfaces (6-l to 6-n) and respectively corresponding communication terminals (3-1 to 3-n).

Claims

1. A communication system comprising a control device, a plurality of communication terminals, and a communication device which connects the control device with the plurality of communication terminals and has a plurality of communication protocol modules for controlling communications of the plurality of communication terminals based on control information from the control device, the communication device including:

a memory which temporarily stores the control information sent sequentially from the control device;

control information acquisition means which sequentially acquires the control information temporarily stored in the memory and broadcasts it to the one or more communication protocol modules;

a plurality of detection means each being provided in correspondence with each of the plurality of communication protocol modules at a front stage on an input side of each of the communication protocol modules for detecting whether the control information broadcasted by the control information acquisition means needs to be processed by the plurality of communication protocol modules;

the plurality of communication protocol modules implement processing of the control information if a corresponding one of the plurality of detection means detect that the control information is meant to be processed by a communication protocol module;

the memory having a control space for temporarily storing control information from the control device to the protocol modules and a status space for temporarily storing status information from the protocol modules to the control device;

the control device writes the control information into the control space of the memory and reads the status information from the status space of the memory;

the control information written to the control space includes a command number and command data; and

the control device temporarily stores at least a pair of the command number and the command data in the memory sequentially.

2. A The communication system according to claim 1 characterized in that:

the control space is comprised of a command space which consists of pairs of the command number and the command data both made up of a fixed unit of information and a data space for temporarily storing the command data if the command data exceeds the fixed unit of information and a data space for temporarily storing the command data if the command data exceeds the fixed unit of information, and

the control device, if the command data exceeds the fixed unit of information, writes information corresponding to an address within the data space where the command data is temporarily stored, instead of the command data that pairs with the command number, and also writes to a head of the command data stored in the data space information corresponding to a data length in the fixed unit of information, in which a content of the command data is temporarily stored.

3. A The communication system according to claim 2 characterized in that:

the information which corresponds to the address written in the fixed units of information and the information which corresponds to the data length, both are a virtual address or a virtual data length formed by shifting values by a fixed amount, and

the control device processes the virtual address or the virtual data length as an address or a data length that was reverse shifted by a fixed amount.

4. A communication system comprising a control device, a plurality of communication terminals and a communication device which connects the control device with the plurality of communication terminals and has a plurality of communication protocol modules for controlling communications of the plurality of communication terminals based on control information from the control device;

the communication device including,

a memory which receives the control information sent from the control device and stores the received control information sequentially and in parallel form;

control information acquisition means for sequentially acquiring from the memory the temporarily stored control information and broadcasting the control information to the plurality of communication protocol modules on a parallel bus;

a plurality of detection means each corresponding to an associated one of the plurality of communication protocol modules at a front stage on an input side of each of the communication protocol modules for detecting whether the control information broadcasted by the control information acquisition means needs to be processed by at least one of the communication protocol modules; and

at least one of the communication protocol modules implements processing of the control information if a corresponding one of the detection means detect that the control information is meant to be processed by the corresponding communication protocol module.

5. A The communication system according to claim 4 characterized in that the control information acquisition means and the direction means corresponding to the communication protocol modules are connected through a parallel bus.

6. A The communication system according to claim 4 characterized in that each of the communication protocol modules are constructed and arranged for processing categories of the control information.

7. A The communication system according to claim 4 characterized in that:

the memory has a control space for temporarily storing control information from the control device to the protocol modules and a status space for the temporarily storing status information from the protocol modules to the control device, and

the control device writes the control information into the control space of the memory and reads the status information from the status space of the memory.

8. The communication system according to claim 5 characterized in that each of the communication protocol modules is constructed and arranged for processing categories of the control information.

9. The communication system according to claim 5 characterized in that:

the memory has a control space for temporarily storing control information from the control device to the protocol modules and a status space for temporarily storing status information from the protocol modules to the control device, and

the control device writes the control information into the control space of the memory and reads the status information from the status space of the memory.

10. The communication system according to claim 6 characterized in that:

the memory has a control space for temporarily storing control information from the control device to the protocol modules and a status space for temporarily storing status information from the protocol modules to the control device, and

the control device writes the control information into the control space of the memory and reads the status information from the status space of the memory.

11. The communication system according to claim 4 characterized in that:

the control information written to the control space includes a command number and command data; and

the control device temporarily stores at least a pair of the command number and the command data in the memory sequentially.

12. The communication system according to claim 11 characterized in that:

the control space is comprised of a command space which consists of pairs of the command number and the command data both made up of a fixed unit of information and a data space for temporarily storing the command data if the command data exceeds the fixed unit of information and a data space for temporarily storing the command data if the command data exceeds the fixed unit of information, and

the control device, if the command data exceeds the fixed unit of information, writes information corresponding to an address within the data space where the command data is temporarily stored, instead of the command data that pairs with the command number, and also writes to a head of the command data stored in the data space information corresponding to a data length in the fixed unit of information, in which a content of the command data is temporarily stored.

13. The communication system according to claim 12 characterized in that:

the information which corresponds to the address written in the fixed units of information and the information which corresponds to the data length, both are a virtual address or a virtual data length formed by shifting values by a fixed amount, and

the control device processes the virtual address or the virtual data length as an address or a data length that was reverse shifted by a fixed amount.