JP2008009804A - Information processor and information processing method, information processing system, program and recording medium - Google Patents

Abstract

<P>PROBLEM TO BE SOLVED: To perform communication without making a hardware configuration complicated by using an SMBus (System Management Bus) protocol. <P>SOLUTION: A master device uses a WriteByte or SendByte protocol to supply a transmission notice of a data storage instruction to a slave device in a step S1. The slave device receives the transmission notice of the data storage instruction in a step S2, interprets a command, an argument, or the like in a step S3 and performs data storage preparation on the basis of the command, the argument, or the like in a step S4. The master device 71 uses a BlockWrite protocol to supply data and a data storage instruction to the slave device in a step S5. The slave device 81 receives the data and the data storage instruction in a step S6, interprets a command and an argument of a protocol in a step S7 and performs data storage processing in a step S8. This invention is applicable to a master device and a slave device. <P>COPYRIGHT: (C)2008,JPO&INPIT

Description

  The present invention relates to an information processing device, an information processing method, an information processing system, a program, and a recording medium, and more particularly, an information processing device suitable for use when communicating information using an SMBus (System Management Bus) protocol. And an information processing method, an information processing system, a program, and a recording medium.

  SMBus (System Management Bus) is a subset of I2C (Inter Integrated Circuit) and was originally used as an interface to communicate with the battery. After that, the battery management standard SBS (for notebook personal computers) It is also applied to the physical interface of ACPI (Advanced Configuration And Power Interface), a power management mechanism widely used in Smart Battery System) and desktop personal computers.

  Physically, it is a two-wire serial bus consisting of a clock signal and a data signal, and each device connected to the bus has a unique address that can be used for peer-to-peer communication. . Although the transfer speed is as low as 100 kbps, it can be used as a general-purpose network between devices in the same way as Ethernet (registered trademark), for example. The above-described SBS and ACPI are application protocols that use this network to define the exchanges that are actually required for management and control (see Non-Patent Document 1).

“System Management Bus (SMBus) Specification, version 2.”, [Search June 23, 2006], Internet, <URL: http://www.smbus.org/specs/>

  As an example of conventional usage of the SMBus protocol, the BlockRead protocol is shown in FIG.

  When starting communication with the slave device, the master device first transmits to the slave device in the order of the start condition, the slave address, and the R / W indicator. Next, the slave device corresponding to the slave address transmits ACK to the master device. When the master device confirms the ACK, the master device transmits a command. The slave device that has received the command transmits ACK, decodes the command, and immediately performs subsequent data transmission.

  As described with reference to FIG. 1, the slave device that has received the command needs to transmit ACK, decode the command, and immediately perform subsequent data transmission. Therefore, the slave device needs to have a mechanism for decoding the command before the completion of the SMBus communication.

  That is, as shown in FIG. 2, in the conventional slave device 11, an interrupt line 23 is prepared to execute a command decoding process during SMBus communication by the SMBus I / F 21, and the SMBus I / F 21 performs SMBus. It was necessary to interrupt the CPU 22 during communication. Alternatively, as shown in FIG. 3, in the conventional slave device 31, during the SMBus communication by the SMBus I / F 41, a command decoder 43 is provided separately from the CPU 42 in order to decode the command independently of the communication processing. It was necessary to prepare.

  Thus, in order to process the BlockRead protocol described with reference to FIG. 1, it is necessary to provide a special mechanism such as the interrupt line 23 shown in FIG. 2 or the command decoder 43 shown in FIG. A slave device not equipped with these mechanisms could not complete communication normally.

  The SMBus protocol defines a plurality of protocols such as a WriteByte protocol and a ReadByte protocol, but these are not used in combination. Also, since the command has only 8 bits, only 256 kinds of commands can be prepared at the maximum, and it cannot be increased.

  The present invention has been made in view of such a situation, so that a command can be exchanged between a master device and a slave device using an SMBus protocol without using a special hardware mechanism. To do.

  An information processing apparatus according to a first aspect of the present invention is an information processing apparatus that communicates with another apparatus using an SMBus protocol, and communication means that communicates with the other apparatus using an SMBus protocol; Control means for controlling the exchange of information using the first protocol of the SMBus protocol with the other device and the exchange of information using the second protocol executed by the communication means, The information exchanged using the first protocol includes information for notifying the exchange of information using the second protocol.

  The first protocol may be a protocol including a command for instructing supply or writing of information to the other device.

  The first protocol may be determined based on an amount of information necessary for notifying the exchange of information using the second protocol.

  An information processing method according to a first aspect of the present invention is an information processing method of an information processing apparatus that communicates with another apparatus using the SMBus protocol, and is an information processing method of the first aspect of the SMBus protocol with the other apparatus. And a step of controlling transmission / reception of information using the second protocol for predicting transmission / reception of information using the second protocol, and controlling transmission / reception of information using the second protocol with the other device.

  The program according to the first aspect of the present invention or the program recorded on the recording medium is information for notifying the exchange of information with another apparatus using the first protocol of the SMBus protocols. The computer executes a process including the step of controlling the exchange of information using the second protocol with the other device.

  In the first aspect of the present invention, information for notifying the exchange of information according to the second protocol is exchanged with another apparatus using the first protocol of the SMBus protocol, and the other apparatus, Information exchange using the second protocol is controlled.

  An information processing system according to a second aspect of the present invention is an information processing system including a first information processing apparatus and a second information processing apparatus that perform communication using an SMBus protocol, wherein the first information processing apparatus An apparatus includes: a first communication unit that communicates with the second information processing apparatus using an SMBus protocol; and an SMBus protocol between the second information processing apparatus and the second information processing apparatus that is executed by the first communication unit. Information exchange using the first protocol and a first control means for controlling the exchange of information using the second protocol, and the information exchanged using the first protocol is: A second communication unit including information for notifying the exchange of information using the second protocol, wherein the second information processing apparatus communicates with the first information processing apparatus using the SMBus protocol; And the second communication hand The first information processing apparatus and the information processing using the first protocol of the SMBus protocol and the information transmission and reception using the second protocol executed by the first information processing apparatus, and the first information processing apparatus. And a second control means for executing a preparation process for exchanging information using the second protocol based on the information exchanged using the protocol.

  An information processing method according to a second aspect of the present invention is an information processing method for an information processing system including a first information processing apparatus and a second information processing apparatus that perform communication using an SMBus protocol. The first information processing apparatus and the second information processing apparatus control the transmission / reception of information that uses the first protocol of the SMBus protocols to predict the transmission / reception of information according to the second protocol, and The information processing apparatus executes preparation processing for exchanging information using the second protocol based on the information exchanged using the first protocol, and the first information processing apparatus and the first information processing apparatus The second information processing apparatus controls the exchange of information using the second protocol.

  In the second aspect of the present invention, the first information processing apparatus and the second information processing apparatus use the first protocol of the SMBus protocols to notify the exchange of information using the second protocol. Information is sent and received, and the second information processing apparatus executes preparation processing for sending and receiving information using the second protocol based on the information sent and received using the first protocol, Information using the second protocol is exchanged between one information processing apparatus and the second information processing apparatus.

  The network is a mechanism in which at least two devices are connected and information can be transmitted from one device to another device. The devices that communicate via the network may be independent devices, or may be internal blocks that constitute one device.

  The communication is not only wireless communication and wired communication, but also communication in which wireless communication and wired communication are mixed, that is, wireless communication is performed in a certain section and wired communication is performed in another section. May be. Further, communication from one device to another device may be performed by wired communication, and communication from another device to one device may be performed by wireless communication.

  The information processing apparatus may be an independent apparatus or a block that performs communication processing such as a recording / reproducing apparatus.

  As described above, according to the first aspect of the present invention, it is possible to transmit a command to another device. In particular, using the first protocol of the SMBus protocols, the information of the second protocol can be transmitted. Since the information for notifying the exchange is transmitted and then the information is exchanged by the second protocol, the hardware configuration of the slave device can be simplified.

  In addition, according to the second aspect of the present invention, a command can be exchanged between two devices. In particular, since the slave device is prepared to exchange information according to the second protocol, Hardware configuration can be simplified.

  Embodiments of the present invention will be described below. Correspondences between constituent elements of the present invention and the embodiments described in the specification or the drawings are exemplified as follows. This description is intended to confirm that the embodiments supporting the present invention are described in the specification or the drawings. Therefore, even if there is an embodiment which is described in the specification or the drawings but is not described here as an embodiment corresponding to the constituent elements of the present invention, that is not the case. It does not mean that the form does not correspond to the constituent requirements. Conversely, even if an embodiment is described here as corresponding to a configuration requirement, that means that the embodiment does not correspond to a configuration requirement other than the configuration requirement. It's not something to do.

  An information processing apparatus according to the first aspect of the present invention is an information processing apparatus (for example, master device 71) that communicates with another apparatus (for example, slave device 81) using the SMBus protocol. And communication means (for example, SMBus I / F 101) for performing communication using the SMBus protocol, and exchange of information using the first protocol among the SMBus protocols executed by the communication means, with the other device, And control means (for example, master CPU 102) for controlling the exchange of information using the second protocol, and the information exchanged using the first protocol is information using the second protocol. Contains information to notify the exchange of

  The first protocol may be a protocol (for example, WriteByte, SendByte, WriteWord, BlockWrite) including a command for instructing supply or writing of information to the other device.

  An information processing method according to the first aspect of the present invention is an information processing method of an information processing apparatus (for example, master device 71) that communicates with another apparatus (for example, slave device 81) using the SMBus protocol, Controls the exchange of information for notifying the exchange of information by the second protocol using the first protocol of the SMBus protocol with the other devices (for example, step S1 in FIG. 10, step in FIG. 11) S31 or the process of step S61 in FIG. 12), and controls the exchange of information with the other device using the second protocol (for example, step S5 in FIG. 10, step S35 in FIG. 11, or , Step S65 of FIG. 12) step.

  A program according to the first aspect of the present invention is a program for causing a computer to execute processing for controlling communication with another apparatus (for example, the slave device 81) using the SMBus protocol. And the control of information transmission / reception in advance using the first protocol of the SMBus protocol (for example, step S1 in FIG. 10, step S31 in FIG. 11, or The process of step S61 in FIG. 12) controls the exchange of information with the other device using the second protocol (for example, step S5 in FIG. 10, step S35 in FIG. 11, or FIG. 12). Step S65) Causes the computer to execute processing including the step.

  An information processing system according to a second aspect of the present invention includes a first information processing apparatus (for example, a master device 71) and a second information processing apparatus (for example, a slave device 81) that perform communication using the SMBus protocol. The first information processing apparatus includes a first communication unit (for example, SMBus I / F 101) that communicates with the second information processing apparatus using an SMBus protocol, and the first information processing apparatus. A first control unit configured to control transmission / reception of information using the first protocol of the SMBus protocol and transmission / reception of information using the second protocol with the second information processing apparatus executed by the communication unit; Control information (for example, the master CPU 102), and the information exchanged using the first protocol includes information for notifying the exchange of information using the second protocol, The second information processing apparatus is executed by the second communication means (for example, SMBus I / F 111) that communicates with the first information processing apparatus using the SMBus protocol, and the second communication means. Controls the exchange of information using the first protocol of the SMBus protocol and the exchange of information using the second protocol with one information processing apparatus, and is exchanged using the first protocol. And second control means (for example, slave CPU 112) for executing preparation processing for exchanging information using the second protocol based on the information.

  An information processing method according to the second aspect of the present invention includes a first information processing apparatus (for example, master device 71) and a second information processing apparatus (for example, slave device 81) that perform communication using the SMBus protocol. An information processing method for an information processing system including: the first information processing device and the second information processing device using a first protocol of SMBus protocols, The second information is controlled by controlling transmission / reception of information for giving notice of the transmission / reception (for example, step S1 and step S2 in FIG. 10, step S31 and step S32 in FIG. 11, or step S61 and step S62 in FIG. 12). The processing device executes preparation processing for exchanging information using the second protocol based on the information exchanged using the first protocol (for example, For example, step S4 in FIG. 10, step S34 in FIG. 11, or step S64 in FIG. 12), the first information processing apparatus and the second information processing apparatus use the second protocol. (Steps S5 and S6 in FIG. 10, steps S35 and S36 in FIG. 11, or processes in steps S65 and S66 in FIG. 12).

  Hereinafter, embodiments of the present invention will be described with reference to the drawings.

  A configuration example of a system that performs serial communication using the SMBus communication path is shown in FIG.

  Master devices 71-1 to 71-n can be connected to the SMBus 61, and slave devices 81-1 to 81-m can be connected to the SMBus 61.

  In the following description, when the master devices 71-1 to 71-n do not need to be individually distinguished, they are simply referred to as the master device 71, and the slave devices 81-1 to 81-m need not be individually distinguished. In this case, the slave device 81 is simply referred to.

  The simplest configuration example (minimum configuration example) of the master device 71 and the slave device 71 is shown in FIG.

  The master device 71 includes an SMBus I / F 101 that is an interface with the SMBus 61 and a master CPU 102 that controls the operation of the master device 71.

  The slave device 81 includes an SMBus I / F 111 that is an interface with the SMBus 61 and a slave CPU 112 that controls the operation of the slave device 81.

  FIG. 5 shows a specific configuration example of the master device 71 and the slave device 81.

  The master device 71 and the storage system (slave device) 81 are connected to the storage I / F 151 that mainly exchanges data and the SMBus 61 described above. For the storage I / F 151, for example, a high-speed bus such as PCI (Peripheral Components Interconnect) Express is preferably used.

  The storage system 81 includes an SMBus I / F 111, a controller (slave CPU) 112, a register 161, a DMA controller 162, a buffer memory 163, an internal bus 164, a storage memory controller 165, and storage memories 166-1 to 166-p. Composed.

  The controller (slave CPU) 112 controls the operation of the storage system 81. For example, the controller (slave CPU) 112 controls the storage memory controller 165 to execute writing or reading of data to or from the storage memories 166-1 to 166-p. In addition, processing such as setting of the DMA controller 162 is executed based on a command supplied from the master device 71.

  A controller (slave CPU) 112, a register 161, a DMA controller 162, and a buffer memory 163 are connected to the internal bus 164.

  The register 161 can include a plurality of registers, and holds a command supplied from the master device 71 via the storage I / F 151 from the master device 71 and information and arguments necessary for other processing.

  The DMA controller 162 controls data exchange between the buffer memory 163 of the storage system 81 and the master memory 141 of the master device 71.

  The buffer memory 163 temporarily buffers the data supplied from the master device 71 via the storage I / F 151 or from any of the storage memories 166-1 to 166-p under the control of the storage memory controller 165. Data that is read and supplied to the master device 71 via the storage I / F 151 and the storage I / F bus 68 is temporarily buffered.

  The storage memory controller 165 controls writing and reading of data to and from the storage memories 166-1 to 166-p based on the control of the controller (slave CPU) 112.

  Data is written to and read from the storage memories 166-1 to 166-p by the storage memory controller 165.

  In the following description, the storage memories 166-1 to 166-p are simply referred to as the storage memory 166 when it is not necessary to distinguish them individually.

  The master CPU 102 controls the operation of the master device 71. For example, the data stored in the master memory 141 is stored in the storage system 81 based on a user operation input input by an operation input unit (not shown). A command related to data exchange with the storage system 81 such as a command for writing to the memory 166 and a command for reading data stored in the storage memory 166 of the storage system 81 and storing it in the master memory 141, or In addition to this, for example, a command for controlling the storage memory 166 such as an instruction to erase data stored in the storage memory 166 is generated and supplied to the storage system 81 via the SMBus 61.

  The master memory 141 stores predetermined data based on the control of the master CPU 102.

  Further, the drive 143 is connected to the internal bus 142 as necessary. For example, when a removable medium 171 such as a magnetic disk, an optical disk, a magneto-optical disk, or a semiconductor memory is mounted, the drive 143 drives them and acquires programs and data recorded therein. The acquired program and data are transferred to the master memory 141 and recorded or installed in the master CPU 102.

  The master device 71 supplies a command to the slave device 81 by combining a plurality of protocols.

  As a first example of the combination, FIG. 6 shows a case where the WriteByte protocol and the BlockRead protocol are combined.

  In the figure, it is assumed that the start condition is described as S, the stop condition as P, the response (Acknowledge) as A, the command as Command, and the data as Byte.

  When SMBus is activated, the slave device 81 waits for a command input from the master device 71 according to a predetermined protocol. In FIG. 6, the packet between the first start condition and the stop condition constitutes the WriteByte protocol. That is, the WriteByte protocol includes a start condition from the master device 71, a slave address 7 bits + write indicator [W], an ACK [A] from the slave 81 corresponding to the slave address, a 1 byte command from the master device 71, and a slave 81. ACK [A] from the master device 71, 1 byte of write data from the master device 71, ACK [A] from the slave 81, and stop condition [P] from the master device 71.

  The master device 71 that starts communication sets the slave address of the slave device 81 that is to be a communication target to the slave address of the WriteByte protocol, and starts communication. When the master device 71 transmits a command and data, the SMBus communication is temporarily terminated by a stop condition. That is, the SMBus 61 is opened. Here, as a command, a command for notifying that predetermined data is requested by the next BlockRead protocol (in other words, instructing preparation for that) can be supplied to the slave device 81. Data can be used as command arguments. Thus, for example, in this example, 2 bytes can be used to identify a request to the slave device.

  When the WriteByte protocol ends, the slave device 81 decodes the received command and data, for example, prepares transmission data requested by the master device 71, or receives data supplied from the master device 71. Preparation (here, since it is notified by the WriteByte protocol that data reading is requested next by the BlockRead protocol, the transmission data requested by the master device 71 is prepared), It waits for a communication request based on a predetermined protocol supplied from the master device 71.

  Next, the master device 71 can read out the designated data from the slave device 81 by the BlockRead protocol that starts with the start condition and ends with the stop condition.

  BlockRead protocol includes start condition [S] from master device 71, slave address 7bit + write indicator [W], ACK [A] from slave 81 corresponding to slave address, command 1 byte from master device 71, slave ACK [A] from 81, start condition from master device 71, slave address 7 bits (retransmission) + read indicator [R], ACK [A] from slave 81, data count from slave 81, 1 byte, master ACK [A] from the device 71, 1 byte of read data from the slave 81, ACK [A] from the master device 71... 1 byte of final read data from the slave 81, NACK [N] from the master device 71, It consists of a stop condition [P] from the master device 71.

  Here, the case where the BlockRead protocol for instructing data reading is supplied to the slave device 81 for the second time has been described. For example, when data is transmitted from the master device 71 to the slave device 71 (for example, when data is supplied and stored in a storage unit included in the slave device 71), for example, the BlockWrite protocol is used instead of the BlockRead protocol. Needless to say, a protocol for commanding the writing of data is used.

  In this way, the master device 71 uses the WriteByte protocol to request or write predetermined data by the next protocol (for example, BlockRead protocol) (in other words, prepare for that). Command) is supplied to the slave device 81, and the SMBus communication is once terminated. In the meantime, the slave device 81 decodes the received command and data, prepares the transmission data requested by the master device 71, or prepares to write the data, and performs the next protocol (for example, , BlockRead protocol) is used to exchange predetermined data in accordance with the protocol with the slave device 81. This eliminates the need for decoding commands and data during SMBus communication, unlike the conventional case described with reference to FIG. 2 or FIG. Therefore, it is not necessary to interrupt and notify that command decoding is required during SMBus communication, and it is not necessary to prepare a separate decoder for the command, and the hardware of the slave device 81 can be simplified. .

  As a specific operation example, when the master device 71 and the slave device 81 have the configuration described with reference to FIG. 5, the master device 71 requests predetermined data from the slave device 81 (read processing is executed). Will be described.

  When the master device 71 and the slave device 81 have the configuration described with reference to FIG. 5, when the SMBus is activated, the slave device 81 waits for a command input from the master device 71 according to a predetermined protocol. The master CPU 102 of the master device 71 uses the WriteByte protocol to notify the register 161 of the slave device 81 of a command for notifying that predetermined data is requested by the next BlockRead protocol (in other words, instructing preparation for that). Supply. The controller (slave CPU) 112 recognizes the command and data stored in the register 161, sets the DMA controller 162, and reads the transmission data requested by the master device 71 from the storage memory 166 by the storage memory controller 165. Then, preparations such as writing to the buffer memory 163 are performed, and then a communication request based on the BlockRead protocol supplied from the master device 71 is awaited.

  Then, since the master CPU 102 of the master device 71 instructs the slave device 81 to read data in the command of the BlockRead protocol, the DMA controller 162 of the slave device 81 is stored in the buffer memory 163 in advance. Data is supplied to the master memory 141 of the master device 71 via the storage I / F 61.

  Next, as a second example of the combination, FIG. 7 shows a case where the SendByte protocol and the BlockRead protocol are combined.

  If one byte of information is sufficient to identify a request to be transmitted to the slave device 81, the SendByte protocol can be used in place of the WriteByte protocol described with reference to FIG.

  When SMBus is activated, the slave device 81 waits for a command input from the master device 71 according to a predetermined protocol. In FIG. 7, the packet between the first start condition and the stop condition constitutes the SendByte protocol. That is, the SendByte protocol includes a start condition, slave address 7 bits + write indicator [W], ACK [A], write data 1 byte, ACK [A], and stop condition [P]. Therefore, for example, in this example, 1-byte information can be used to identify a request to the slave device.

  When the SendByte protocol ends, the slave device 81 decodes the received command and data in the same manner as described with reference to FIG. 6, for example, prepares transmission data requested by the master device 71. Or preparing to receive the data supplied from the master device 71 (in this case, it is notified that the data read is requested by the SendByte protocol and then by the BlockRead protocol. Next, it waits for a communication request based on a predetermined protocol supplied from the master device 71.

  Next, similarly to the case described with reference to FIG. 6, the master device 71 can read the designated data from the slave device 81 by the BlockRead protocol that starts with the start condition and ends with the stop condition.

  As described above, the master device 71 uses the SendByte protocol to notify that predetermined data is requested or written by the next predetermined protocol (here, the BlockRead protocol) (in other words, for that reason) Command) is supplied to the slave device 81, and SMBus communication is once terminated. In the meantime, the slave device 81 decodes the received command and data, prepares the transmission data requested by the master device 71, or prepares to write the data, and executes the command of the next protocol. Thus, predetermined data is exchanged with the slave device 81 according to the protocol. Thus, unlike the conventional case described with reference to FIG. 2 or FIG. 3, it is not necessary to decode commands and data during SMBus communication. Therefore, it is necessary to decode commands during SMBus communication. The hardware of the slave device 81 can be simplified without the need for interrupting notification and the need to separately prepare a command decoder.

  Next, as a third example of the combination, FIG. 8 shows a case where the WriteWord protocol and the BlockRead protocol are combined.

  If 3-byte information is required to identify a request to be transmitted to the slave device 81, the WriteWord protocol can be used instead of the WriteByte protocol described with reference to FIG.

  When SMBus is activated, the slave device 81 waits for a command input from the master device 71 according to a predetermined protocol. In FIG. 8, the packet between the first start condition and the stop condition constitutes the WriteWord protocol. That is, the WriteWord protocol has a start condition, slave address 7 bits + write indicator [W], ACK [A], command 1 byte, ACK [A], write data Low 1 byte, ACK [A], write data High 1 byte, ACK [A ], Stop condition [P]. Thus, for example, in this example, 3 bytes can be used to identify a request to the slave device.

  When the WriteWord protocol is completed, the slave device 81 decodes the received command and data in the same manner as described with reference to FIG. 6, and prepares transmission data requested by the master device 71, for example. Or preparing to receive the data supplied from the master device 71 (in this case, the master device 71 requests that the data read is requested by the WriteWord protocol and then by the BlockRead protocol. Next, it waits for a communication request based on a predetermined protocol supplied from the master device 71.

  Next, similarly to the case described with reference to FIG. 6, the master device 71 can read the designated data from the slave device 81 by the BlockRead protocol that starts with the start condition and ends with the stop condition.

  In this way, the master device 71 uses the WriteWord protocol to request that predetermined data be written or to write predetermined data using the next predetermined protocol (here, the BlockRead protocol) (in other words, for that reason) Command) is supplied to the slave device 81, and SMBus communication is once terminated. In this case, as in the case described above, the slave device 81 decodes the received command and data and prepares the transmission data requested by the master device 71, or Since the preparation for writing is performed, the master device 71 and the slave device 81 can exchange predetermined data according to the protocol. Also, when the WriteWord protocol is used to notify the transmission of the next predetermined protocol, the slave device 81 can be notified in advance of more information than when the WriteByte protocol or the SendByte protocol is used. Therefore, the freedom degree of communication becomes high. In the same manner as described above, this makes it unnecessary to decode commands and data during SMBus communication, unlike the conventional case described with reference to FIG. 2 or FIG. 3, and during SMBus communication. Therefore, it is not necessary to interrupt and notify that command decoding is necessary, and it is not necessary to prepare a separate decoder for the command, and the hardware of the slave device 81 can be simplified.

  Next, as a fourth example of the combination, FIG. 9 shows a case where the BlockWrite protocol and the BlockRead protocol are combined.

  If information of 3 bytes or more is necessary to identify a request to be transmitted to the slave device 81 or if it is desired to make the command argument variable, the WriteWord protocol is used instead of the WriteByte protocol described with reference to FIG. Can be used.

  When SMBus is activated, the slave device 81 waits for a command input from the master device 71 according to a predetermined protocol. In FIG. 9, the packet between the first start condition and the stop condition constitutes the BlockWrite protocol. That is, the BlockWrite protocol has a start condition, slave address 7 bits + write indicator [W], ACK [A], command 1 byte, ACK [A], N write data 1 byte, and ACK [A] for this, And it consists of stop condition [P]. Therefore, in this example, a desired number of bytes of data can be used to identify a request to the slave device.

  When the BlockWrite protocol is completed, the slave device 81 decodes the received command and data in the same manner as described with reference to FIG. 6, for example, prepares transmission data requested by the master device 71. Or preparing to receive data supplied from the master device 71 (in this case, it is notified by the BlockWrite protocol that data read is requested next by the BlockRead protocol. Next, it waits for a communication request based on a predetermined protocol supplied from the master device 71.

  Next, similarly to the case described with reference to FIG. 6, the master device 71 can read the designated data from the slave device 81 by the BlockRead protocol that starts with the start condition and ends with the stop condition.

  In this way, the master device 71 uses the BlockWrite protocol to notify that predetermined data is requested or written by the next predetermined protocol (here, the BlockRead protocol) (in other words, for that reason) Command is supplied to the slave device 81, and the SMBus communication is temporarily terminated. During that time, the slave device 81 decodes the received command and data, and transmits the transmission data requested by the master device 71. Since the data is prepared or data can be prepared for writing, the master device 71 and the slave device 81 can exchange predetermined data according to the protocol. Thus, unlike the conventional case described with reference to FIG. 2 or FIG. 3, it is not necessary to decode commands and data during SMBus communication, so that it is necessary to decode commands during SMBus communication. The hardware of the slave device 81 can be simplified without the need for interrupting notification and the need to separately prepare a command decoder.

  Further, when the block write protocol is used to notify the transmission of the next predetermined protocol, more information can be notified to the slave device 81 in advance than when the write byte protocol or the send byte protocol is used. Therefore, the freedom degree of communication becomes high.

  As described above, the first protocol among the plurality of protocols used may be a protocol including a command for instructing supply or writing of information to the slave device 81.

  In the four combinations described with reference to FIGS. 6 to 9, an arbitrary SMBus protocol may be used as a second protocol in response to a request transmitted to the slave device 81 instead of the BlockRead protocol. it can.

  Next, a first processing example executed by the master device 71 and the slave device 81 will be described with reference to the flowchart of FIG. In this case, data is supplied from the master device 71 to the slave device 81 and is required to be stored (written) in the slave device 81, and is first supplied from the master device 71 to the slave device 81. The processing when 1 or 2 bytes are required for the data storage command transmission notification will be described.

  In step S1, the master CPU 102 of the master device 71 uses the WriteByte protocol or the SendByte protocol to send a data storage command transmission notification, that is, information for notifying that a command is next transmitted using the BlockWrite protocol. The data is supplied to the slave device 81 via the SMBus I / F 101 and the SMBus 61.

  In step S <b> 2, the slave CPU 112 of the slave device 81 receives the transmission notification of the data storage command of the WriteByte protocol or the SendByte protocol via the SMBus I / F 111.

  In step S3, the slave CPU 112 of the slave device 81 interprets the WriteByte protocol or SendByte protocol command and its argument.

  In step S4, the slave CPU 112 of the slave device 81 prepares for data storage based on the command and its argument. For example, when the master device 71 and the slave device 81 have the configuration described with reference to FIG. 5, the slave CPU (controller) 112 of the slave device 81 sets the DMA controller 162 or stores it in the buffer memory 163. Processing for securing a buffering area for newly written data is executed. Further, since the SMBus 61 is released, the slave device 81 enters a request waiting state from the master device 71, and then waits for a communication request by the BlockWrite protocol supplied from the master device 71.

  In step S5, the master CPU 102 of the master device 71 supplies data and a data storage command to the slave device 81 via the SMBus I / F 101 and the SMBus 61 using the BlockWrite protocol.

  In step S <b> 6, the slave CPU 112 of the slave device 81 receives BlockWrite protocol data and a data storage command via the SMBus I / F 111.

  In step S7, the slave CPU 112 of the slave device 81 interprets a BlockWrite protocol command and its argument.

  In step S8, the slave CPU 112 of the slave device 81 executes data storage processing based on the command, its argument, and the processing is terminated. For example, when the master device 71 and the slave device 81 have the configuration described with reference to FIG. 5, the DMA controller 162 of the slave device 81 instructs the storage from the master memory 141 via the storage I / F 151. Read (written) data is read and written to the buffer memory 163. The slave CPU (controller) 112 controls the storage memory controller 165 to supply data from the buffer memory 163 to the storage memory 166 for storage.

  By such processing, the master device 71 notifies the slave device of a command to write predetermined data by the next BlockWrite protocol by the WriteByte protocol or SendByte protocol (in other words, instructing preparation for that). 81 to temporarily terminate the SMBus communication. In the meantime, the slave device 81 decodes the received command and data and prepares to write data. Thereafter, the master device 71 can supply and store data to the slave device 81 by the BlockWrite protocol. Thus, unlike the conventional case described with reference to FIG. 2 or FIG. 3, it is not necessary to decode commands and data during SMBus communication. Therefore, it is not necessary to interrupt and notify that command decoding is required during SMBus communication, and it is not necessary to prepare a separate decoder for the command, and the hardware of the slave device 81 can be simplified. .

  Next, a second processing example executed by the master device 71 and the slave device 81 will be described with reference to the flowchart of FIG. Here, data is supplied from the master device 71 to the slave device 81, stored in the slave device 81, and the transmission notification of the data storage instruction first supplied from the master device 71 to the slave device 81 requires 3 bytes or more. A process in the case of

  In step S31, the master CPU 102 of the master device 71 uses the WriteWord protocol or the BlockWrite protocol to send a data storage instruction transmission notification, that is, information for notifying that a command is next transmitted using the BlockWrite protocol. The data is supplied to the slave device 81 via the SMBus I / F 101 and the SMBus 61.

  In step S32, the slave CPU 112 of the slave device 81 receives the transmission notification of the data storage command of the WriteWord protocol or the BlockWrite protocol via the SMBus I / F 111.

  In step S33, the slave CPU 112 of the slave device 81 interprets a command of WriteWord protocol or BlockWrite protocol and its argument.

  In step S34, the slave CPU 112 of the slave device 81 executes data storage preparation based on the command and its argument. For example, when the master device 71 and the slave device 81 have the configuration described with reference to FIG. 5, the slave CPU (controller) 112 of the slave device 81 sets the DMA controller 162 or stores it in the buffer memory 163. A process of securing a buffering area for newly written data is executed, and then a communication request based on the BlockWrite protocol supplied from the master device 71 is awaited.

  In step S35, the master CPU 102 of the master device 71 supplies data and a data storage command to the slave device 81 via the SMBus I / F 101 and the SMBus 61 using the BlockWrite protocol.

  In step S <b> 36, the slave CPU 112 of the slave device 81 receives BlockWrite protocol data and a data storage command via the SMBus I / F 111.

  In step S37, the slave CPU 112 of the slave device 81 interprets the BlockWrite protocol command and its argument.

  In step S38, the slave CPU 112 of the slave device 81 executes a data storage process based on the command, its argument, and the process is terminated. For example, when the master device 71 and the slave device 81 have the configuration described with reference to FIG. 5, the DMA controller 162 of the slave device 81 instructs the storage from the master memory 141 via the storage I / F 151. Read (written) data is read and written to the buffer memory 163. The slave CPU (controller) 112 controls the storage memory controller 165 to supply data from the buffer memory 163 to the storage memory 166 for storage.

  By such processing, the master device 71 notifies the slave device 81 of a command for writing predetermined data by the next BlockWrite protocol (in other words, instructing preparation for that) by the WriteWord protocol or the BlockWrite protocol. To terminate the SMBus communication. In the meantime, the slave device 81 decodes the received command and data and prepares to write data. Thereafter, the master device 71 can supply and store data to the slave device 81 by the BlockWrite protocol. Thus, unlike the conventional case described with reference to FIG. 2 or FIG. 3, it is not necessary to decode commands and data during SMBus communication. Therefore, it is not necessary to interrupt and notify that command decoding is required during SMBus communication, and it is not necessary to prepare a separate decoder for the command, and the hardware of the slave device 81 can be simplified. .

  In addition, when the WriteWord protocol or BlockWrite protocol is used to notify the transmission of the next predetermined protocol, the slave device 81 is preceded by more information than when the WriteByte protocol or the SendByte protocol is used. Since it can notify, the freedom degree of communication becomes high.

  10 and FIG. 11, the case where BlockWrite is used as the second supplied protocol has been described. However, based on the amount of data to be written, for example, the WriteWord protocol, the WriteByte protocol, etc. Of course, different protocols may be used.

  Next, a third processing example executed by the master device 71 and the slave device 81 will be described with reference to the flowchart of FIG. Here, it is a case where the process in which the data stored in the slave device 81 is read from the master device 71 is executed, and the transmission notification of the data read command first supplied from the master device 71 to the slave device 81 is used. Processing when 3 bytes or more are necessary will be described.

  In step S61, the master CPU 102 of the master device 71 supplies a data read command transmission notification to the slave device 81 via the SMBus I / F 101 and the SMBus 61 using the WriteWord protocol or the BlockWrite protocol.

  In step S62, the slave CPU 112 of the slave device 81 receives the transmission notification of the data read command of the WriteWord protocol or the BlockWrite protocol via the SMBus I / F 111.

  In step S63, the slave CPU 112 of the slave device 81 interprets a command of WriteWord protocol or BlockWrite protocol, its argument, and the like.

  In step S64, the slave CPU 112 of the slave device 81 executes data read preparation based on the command and its argument. For example, when the master device 71 and the slave device 81 have the configuration described with reference to FIG. 5, the slave CPU (controller) 112 of the slave device 81 sets the DMA controller 162 or reads from the master device 71. The data to be written is written in the buffer memory 163 by the processing of the storage memory controller 165, and then a communication request based on the BlockRead protocol supplied from the master device 71 is awaited.

  In step S65, the master CPU 102 of the master device 71 supplies a data read command to the slave device 81 via the SMBus I / F 101 and the SMBus 61 using the BlockRead protocol.

  In step S66, the slave CPU 112 of the slave device 81 receives a data read command of the BlockRead protocol via the SMBus I / F 111.

  In step S67, the slave CPU 112 of the slave device 81 interprets a BlockRead protocol command and its argument.

  In step S68, the slave CPU 112 of the slave device 81 executes a data read process based on the command and its argument, and the process ends. For example, when the master device 71 and the slave device 81 have the configuration described with reference to FIG. 5, the DMA controller 162 of the slave device 81 buffers the data commanded to be read via the storage I / F 151. The data is supplied from the memory 163 to the master memory 141.

  By such processing, the master device 71 notifies the slave device 81 of a command to notify that predetermined data is read by the next BlockRead protocol (in other words, instructing preparation for that) by the WriteWord protocol or the BlockWrite protocol. To terminate the SMBus communication. In the meantime, the slave device 81 decodes the received command and data and prepares to read the data. Thereafter, the master device 71 can read predetermined data from the slave device 81 by the BlockRead protocol. Thus, unlike the conventional case described with reference to FIG. 2 or FIG. 3, it is not necessary to decode commands and data during SMBus communication. Therefore, it is not necessary to interrupt and notify that command decoding is required during SMBus communication, and it is not necessary to prepare a separate decoder for the command, and the hardware of the slave device 81 can be simplified. .

  In FIG. 12, the case where BlockRead is used as the second protocol to be supplied has been described. However, based on the amount of data to be written, different protocols such as the ReadWord protocol or the ReadByte protocol are used. Needless to say, it may be used.

  Needless to say, it is also possible to execute a data read process by combining the WriteByte protocol or SendByte protocol described with reference to FIG. 10 and the BlockRead protocol described with reference to FIG. .

  In this way, by using the two SMBus protocols in succession and giving the advance notice of the next protocol in the first protocol, the device receiving the command can interrupt during SMBus communication, No need to decode. This eliminates the need for a separate command decoder. That is, commands can be exchanged between the master device and the slave device using the SMBus protocol while simplifying the hardware of the slave device.

  By having such a configuration, for example, when the master device 71 and the slave device 81 have the configuration described with reference to FIG. 5, the storage I / F 151 is provided between the master device 71 and the slave device 81. Information and commands can be exchanged using the SMBus 61 in addition to data exchanged via the network. Accordingly, for example, the remaining battery level of the slave device 81, metadata such as the name and recording time of data recorded in the storage memory 166, or the data amount of the data recorded in the storage memory 166 or the storage memory 166 Interfaces such as PCI Express that require complicated processing to start, such as information that does not require immediate responsiveness, such as the remaining amount of data (no problem even if it is sent and received via a low-speed interface) and information with a small amount of data The master device 71 can be notified easily without using.

  The series of processes described above can also be executed by software. The software is a computer in which the program constituting the software is incorporated in dedicated hardware, or various functions can be executed by installing various programs, for example, a general-purpose personal computer For example, it is installed from a recording medium.

  As shown in FIG. 5, the recording medium is distributed to provide a program to a user separately from a computer, and includes a magnetic disk (including a flexible disk) on which the program is recorded, an optical disk (CD-ROM ( It includes a removable medium 171 including a compact disk-read only memory (DVD) (including a digital versatile disk (DVD)), a magneto-optical disk (including an MD (mini-disk) (trademark)), or a semiconductor memory.

  Further, in the present specification, the step of describing the program recorded on the recording medium is not limited to the processing performed in chronological order according to the described order, but may be performed in parallel or It also includes processes that are executed individually.

  In the present specification, the term “system” represents the entire apparatus constituted by a plurality of apparatuses.

  The embodiment of the present invention is not limited to the above-described embodiment, and various modifications can be made without departing from the gist of the present invention.

It is a figure which shows BlockRead protocol. It is a block diagram which shows the structural example of the conventional slave device. It is a figure for demonstrating the structural example of the system which performs serial communication using a SMBus communication path. FIG. 4 is a block diagram illustrating a simplest configuration example of a master device and a slave device in FIG. 3. FIG. 4 is a block diagram illustrating a specific configuration example of a master device and a slave device in FIG. 3. It is a figure for demonstrating the case where the WriteByte protocol and the BlockRead protocol are combined. It is a figure for demonstrating the case where the SendByte protocol and the BlockRead protocol are combined. It is a figure for demonstrating the case where the WriteWord protocol and the BlockRead protocol are combined. It is a figure for demonstrating the case where the BlockWrite protocol and the BlockRead protocol are combined. It is a flowchart for demonstrating the process of a master device and a slave device. It is a flowchart for demonstrating the process of a master device and a slave device. It is a flowchart for demonstrating the process of a master device and a slave device.

Explanation of symbols

  71 Master device, 81 Slave device, 101 SMBus I / F, 102 Master CPU, 111 SMBus I / F, 112 Slave CPU, 141 Master memory, 162 DMA controller, 163 Buffer memory, 166 Storage memory

Claims (8)

In an information processing device that communicates with other devices using the SMBus protocol,
A communication means for communicating with the other device using the SMBus protocol;
Control means for controlling the exchange of information using the first protocol of the SMBus protocol and the exchange of information using the second protocol executed by the communication means, with the other device. ,
The information exchanged using the first protocol includes information for notifying the exchange of information using the second protocol. The information processing apparatus according to claim 1, wherein the first protocol is a protocol including a command for instructing supply or writing of information to the other apparatus. The information processing apparatus according to claim 1, wherein the first protocol is determined based on an amount of information necessary for notifying transmission / reception of information using the second protocol. In an information processing method of an information processing device that communicates with other devices using the SMBus protocol,
Controlling the exchange of information with the other device using the first protocol of the SMBus protocols, for notifying the exchange of information according to the second protocol,
An information processing method including a step of controlling exchange of information with the other device using the second protocol. A program for causing a computer to execute processing for controlling communication with other devices using the SMBus protocol,
Controlling the exchange of information with the other device using the first protocol of the SMBus protocols, for notifying the exchange of information according to the second protocol,
A program that causes a computer to execute processing including a step of controlling exchange of information with the other apparatus using the second protocol.   A recording medium on which the program according to claim 5 is recorded. In an information processing system including a first information processing apparatus and a second information processing apparatus that perform communication using the SMBus protocol,
The first information processing apparatus includes:
First communication means for communicating with the second information processing apparatus using the SMBus protocol;
Controls the exchange of information using the first protocol of the SMBus protocol and the exchange of information using the second protocol executed by the first communication means with the second information processing apparatus. And a first control means for
The information exchanged using the first protocol includes information for notifying the exchange of information using the second protocol,
The second information processing apparatus
Second communication means for communicating with the first information processing apparatus using the SMBus protocol;
Controlling the exchange of information using the first protocol of the SMBus protocol with the first information processing apparatus and the exchange of information using the second protocol executed by the second communication means And an information processing system comprising: a second control unit configured to execute a preparation process for exchanging information using the second protocol based on the information exchanged using the first protocol. In an information processing method of an information processing system including a first information processing apparatus and a second information processing apparatus that perform communication using the SMBus protocol,
The first information processing apparatus and the second information processing apparatus control the transmission / reception of information foretelling the transmission / reception of information according to the second protocol using the first protocol of the SMBus protocols;
The second information processing apparatus executes preparation processing for exchanging information using the second protocol based on the information exchanged using the first protocol,
An information processing method including a step in which the first information processing apparatus and the second information processing apparatus control exchange of information using the second protocol.

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