Interface for communication between internal and external devices

• US 8,719,474 B2
• Filed: 12/19/2009
• Issued: 05/06/2014
• Est. Priority Date: 02/13/2009
• Status: Active Grant

• Current Assignee: Faro Technologies Incorporated
• Original Assignee: Faro Technologies Incorporated
• Inventors: Ossig, Martin, Becker, Reinhard, Ditte, Andreas
• Primary Examiner(s): PHAN, RAYMOND NGAN
• Application Number:
  US13/000,215
• Publication Number:
  US 20110113170A1
• Time in Patent Office: 1,599 Days
• Field of Search: 710104-110, 710300-317, 710 62- 64, 710 8- 19, 710 58- 61
• US Class Current: 710/104
• CPC Class Codes: G06F 13/4282 on a serial bus, e.g. I2C bus, SPI bus on daisy chain buses G06F13/4247
• CPC Class Codes: G06F 9/4411 Configuring for operating with peripheral devices; Loading of device drivers

Abstract

An interface, for communication between an internal device and an external device, includes two bus lines of a bus for bidirectional data transfer and at least a first control line, by means of which a control signal can be transferred from the external device to the internal device.

Claims

1. A laser scanner, comprising:

an interface for communication between an internal device and an external device, wherein the interface comprises a bus having two bus lines (CANH, CANL) for bidirectional data transfer and at least a first control line (SYNC_IN) by which a control signal is transferred from the external device to the internal device, and wherein the laser scanner is provided as the internal device, the interface being assigned to the internal device.

2. The laser scanner of claim 1, wherein the two bus lines (CANH, CANL) are part of a CAN bus.

3. The laser scanner of claim 1, wherein the bus further comprises a second control line (SYNC_OUT) by which a control signal is transferred from the internal device to the external device.

4. The laser scanner of claim 1, wherein the first and second control lines (SYNC_IN, SYNC_OUT) provide for unidirectional data transfer.

5. The laser scanner of claim 1, wherein the internal device picks up the control signal transferred by the first control line (SYNC_IN) into its data stream and stores it with the data stream.

6. The laser scanner of claim 3, wherein the control signal on one of the first and second control lines (SYNC_IN, SYNC_OUT) is assigned an identification sequence on the two bus lines (CANH, CANL), wherein the identification sequence contains information as to what event the control signal represents, and wherein the identification sequence is temporally offset with respect to the control signal.

7. The laser scanner of claim 6, wherein the internal device picks up the identification sequence transferred by the two bus lines (CANH, CANL) into its data stream and stores it with the data stream.

8. The laser scanner of claim 6, wherein an operation mode that defines a temporal assignment between the control signals and the identification sequences is transferred by the two bus lines (CANH, CANL).

9. The laser scanner of claim 6, wherein the interface further comprises a power supply line (VCC) and/or a ground (GND).

10. The laser scanner of claim 6, wherein the external device with which the interface communicates is assigned to a carriage on which the laser scanner is mounted.