Serial/parallel ATA controller and converter
First Claim
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1. An interface circuit, comprising:
- a host controller and a parallel advanced technology attachment (ATA) bus each located on a host side of the interface circuit;
a storage device controller and a serial ATA bus each located on a device side of the interface circuit; and
a bridge circuit selectively configurable to operate as a host bridge or a device bridge based on a mode select signal, wherein the bridge circuit is configured to i) when configured to operate as a host bridge, convert serial ATA information received via the serial ATA bus to parallel ATA information to be provided to the parallel ATA bus, and ii) when configured to operate as a device bridge, convert parallel information received via the parallel ATA bus to serial ATA information to be provided to the serial ATA bus, whereinthe host side of the interface circuit corresponds to a host side of the bridge circuit,the device side of the interface circuit corresponds to a device side of the bridge circuit opposite the host side of the bridge circuit, andthe bridge circuit is located between the host controller and the storage device controller.
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Abstract
An interface comprises a storage device controller that controls data flow from a Serial ATA bus to a storage device. A configurable bridge circuit is configured in one of a plurality of operating modes including a device bridge mode, and converts Parallel ATA information received on a Parallel ATA bus to Serial ATA information output to the Serial ATA bus when in the device bridge mode.
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Citations
14 Claims
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1. An interface circuit, comprising:
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a host controller and a parallel advanced technology attachment (ATA) bus each located on a host side of the interface circuit; a storage device controller and a serial ATA bus each located on a device side of the interface circuit; and a bridge circuit selectively configurable to operate as a host bridge or a device bridge based on a mode select signal, wherein the bridge circuit is configured to i) when configured to operate as a host bridge, convert serial ATA information received via the serial ATA bus to parallel ATA information to be provided to the parallel ATA bus, and ii) when configured to operate as a device bridge, convert parallel information received via the parallel ATA bus to serial ATA information to be provided to the serial ATA bus, wherein the host side of the interface circuit corresponds to a host side of the bridge circuit, the device side of the interface circuit corresponds to a device side of the bridge circuit opposite the host side of the bridge circuit, and the bridge circuit is located between the host controller and the storage device controller. - View Dependent Claims (2, 3, 4, 5, 6, 7)
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8. A method, comprising:
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using a host controller, communicating via a parallel advanced technology attachment (ATA) bus, each of the host controller and the parallel ATA bus located on a host side of a circuit; using a storage device controller, communicating via a serial ATA bus, each of the storage device controller and the serial ATA bus located on a device side of the circuit; and selectively configuring a bridge circuit to operate as a host bridge or a device bridge in response to a mode select signal; when the bridge circuit is configured to operate as a host bridge, converting serial ATA information received via the serial ATA bus to parallel ATA information to be provided to the parallel ATA bus; and when the bridge circuit is configured to operate as a device bridge, converting parallel information received via the parallel ATA bus to serial ATA information to be provided to the serial ATA bus, wherein the host side of the circuit corresponds to a host side of the bridge circuit, the device side of the circuit corresponds to a device side of the bridge circuit opposite the host side of the bridge circuit, and the bridge circuit is located between the host controller and the storage device controller. - View Dependent Claims (9, 10, 11, 12, 13, 14)
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Specification