Universal approach for simulating, emulating, and testing a variety of serial bus types
First Claim
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1. An instrument for interacting with a serial bus, comprising:
- an interface for coupling a signal between the serial bus and the instrument; and
a plurality of processors for processing the signal in different communication layers of a generic bus model, the communication layers being in a hierarchy and each communication layer defining communications on the serial bus in terms of at least one lower communication layer in the hierarchy, each processor being associated with a communication layer,wherein the plurality of processors is arranged with processors of the plurality of processors connected in a sequence according to the hierarchy, each processor being adapted to receive data at a data input, perform processing steps on the data associated with a communication layer of the generic bus model, and output data at a data output, whereby the signal is processed in processors of the plurality of processors according to the sequence, andwherein at least one of the plurality of processors has at least one adjustable parameter for defining at least one characteristic of the communication layer associated with the at least one processor, the at least one adjustable parameter for configuring the instrument for interacting with different types of serial busses.
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Abstract
An electronic apparatus for testing equipment for serial busses employs a generic bus model that breaks down a serial bus into separate layers that are managed by separate processors. The processors have parameters that can be programmed for communicating via one type of serial bus, or can be reprogrammed for communicating via another type of serial bus.
23 Citations
44 Claims
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1. An instrument for interacting with a serial bus, comprising:
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an interface for coupling a signal between the serial bus and the instrument; and a plurality of processors for processing the signal in different communication layers of a generic bus model, the communication layers being in a hierarchy and each communication layer defining communications on the serial bus in terms of at least one lower communication layer in the hierarchy, each processor being associated with a communication layer, wherein the plurality of processors is arranged with processors of the plurality of processors connected in a sequence according to the hierarchy, each processor being adapted to receive data at a data input, perform processing steps on the data associated with a communication layer of the generic bus model, and output data at a data output, whereby the signal is processed in processors of the plurality of processors according to the sequence, and wherein at least one of the plurality of processors has at least one adjustable parameter for defining at least one characteristic of the communication layer associated with the at least one processor, the at least one adjustable parameter for configuring the instrument for interacting with different types of serial busses. - View Dependent Claims (2, 3, 4, 5, 6, 7, 8, 9, 10, 11, 12, 13, 14, 15)
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16. An electronic apparatus for exercising serial busses of different types, comprising:
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an analog driver having a data input for receiving data indicative of an outgoing serial bus signal and an output for providing the outgoing serial bus signal in response to the data; an analog receiver having an input for receiving an incoming serial bus signal and an output for providing data indicative of the incoming serial bus signal; a plurality of processors coupled to the analog driver and the analog receiver, each for processing a communication layer of serial bus communication in at least one of an incoming and outgoing direction, the plurality of processors collectively receiving as an input data from the output of the analog receiver andlor providing as an output data at the input of the analog driver, the communication layers being in a hierarchy and each communication layer defining communications on the serial bus in terms of at least one lower communication layer in the hierarchy, and each processor being related to a communication layer; wherein the plurality of processors is arranged with processors of the plurality of processors connected in a sequence according to the hierarchy, each processor being adapted to receive data at a data input, perform processing steps on the data related to a communication layer of a generic bus model, and output data at a data output, whereby a signal is processed in processors of the plurality of processors according to the sequence, wherein each of the plurality of processors has at least one adjustable parameter for defining at least one characteristic of the communication layer related to the at least one processor, the at least one adjustable parameter for configuring the electronic apparatus for interacting with different types of serial busses. - View Dependent Claims (17, 18, 19, 20, 21, 22, 23, 24, 25, 26, 27, 28, 29, 30, 31, 32, 33)
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34. A method of testing equipment for any of a variety of different types of serial busses, comprising:
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specifying values related to characteristics of a serial bus with which the equipment is to be operated; programming a plurality of processors with the specified values, each processor assigning at least one value to at least one adjustable parameter of the processor; and exercising the equipment based at least in part on data processed in the plurality of processors, the processing being based at least in part on the parameters programmed, wherein each of the plurality of processors is for processing a different communication layer of a serial bus protocol, the communication layers being in a hierarchy and each communication layer defining communications on the serial bus in terms of at least one lower communication layer in the hierarchy, the plurality of processors is arranged with processors of the plurality of processors connected in a sequence according to the hierarchy, whereby a signal is processed by processors of the plurality of processors according to the sequence, and different parameters of the plurality of parameters are used for defining at least one characteristic of the communication layer related to the at least one processor to specify protocols for different serial bus types. - View Dependent Claims (35, 36, 37, 38, 39, 40, 41, 42)
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43. A method for emulating different types of serial busses, comprising:
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representing a serial bus communication as comprising a plurality of communication layers of a generic bus model, the communication layers being in a hierarchy and each communication layer defining communications on the serial bus in terms of at least one other communication layer in the hierarchy; processing, for a first type of serial bus, serial bus data for each of the plurality of communication layers with a respective independent processor of a plurality of processors, the plurality of processors being arranged with processors of the plurality of processors connected in a sequence according to the hierarchy whereby a signal is processed by processors of the plurality of processors according to the sequence; adjusting a plurality of parameters for defining at least one characteristic of the communication layer of the independent processors for interacting with a second type of serial bus; and processing, for the second type of serial bus, serial bus data for each of the plurality of communication layers with the respective independent processor. - View Dependent Claims (44)
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Specification