JP2001075913A - Peripheral equipment - Google Patents

Abstract

PROBLEM TO BE SOLVED: To quickly respond to a command without mistakes between peripheral equipment that the response time to the command varies according to an operation mode and a host device by providing a response time controlling means that decides and controls the end decision time of command processing. SOLUTION: The host device interface controlling part 40 of master peripheral equipment 31 receives a command, an operation mode deciding means 43 decides its own operation mode from contents recorded in a command recording means 42 and performs activation. Next, a new command is recorded in the means 42. A response time controlling means 44 executes diagnosis processing. Subsequently, each slave operation mode is decided from the contents recorded in the means 42. When all slaves 32 to 3n are in an active state, a diagnosis completion signal is checked after a prescribed time passes from the diagnosis command reception and diagnosis results are set in a register.

Description

DETAILED DESCRIPTION OF THE INVENTION

[0001]

BACKGROUND OF THE INVENTION 1. Field of the Invention The present invention relates to a peripheral device connected to a host device such as a computer, and more particularly, to a response time to a command issued from the host device to the peripheral device.
The present invention relates to a peripheral device that varies for each peripheral device and each operation mode.

[0002]

2. Description of the Related Art FIG. 5 shows a conventional example of a connection configuration between a host device and a peripheral device having a connection interface such as an ATA interface. In this case, the peripheral device has a higher-level device interface control unit 4, a device control unit, and devices, and n peripheral devices are connected to the higher-level device 1 via a bus line 6. In the bus line 6, at least a command or the like from the host device 1 is sent, and a plurality of data lines from which the status and the like are returned from the peripheral device, a diagnosis completion line (PDIAG) indicating completion of diagnosis of each peripheral device, and each peripheral device A reset line for instructing the device to reset is included.

[0003] Commands such as diagnosis, power saving, reset, and the like from the higher-level device to the peripheral device, and responses from the peripheral device to the higher-level device, such as completion of diagnosis, are transmitted via the bus line 6.

In this case, one peripheral device 21 is set as a master, and the higher-level device interface control section 4 of the master peripheral device 21 talks with the higher-level device on behalf of the other peripheral devices 22 to 2n.

The other peripheral devices 22 to 2n are set as slaves, and responses such as completion of diagnosis and various statuses are reported to the higher-level device 1 via the higher-level device interface controller 4 of the master. The slave also has a higher-level device interface control unit, but in the case of the slave setting, the function of talking with the higher-level device is suppressed.

FIG. 6 shows an example of response sequence conditions for a diagnostic command.

When the host device issues a peripheral device diagnostic command, each peripheral device sets the diagnostic completion signal PDIAG to false within T1, and starts internal diagnostics, to indicate that the past diagnostic completion is invalid. After completing the internal diagnosis, the slave sets the diagnosis result in the register, and sets PDIAG to T
True within 2 After completion of the internal diagnosis, the master sets the diagnosis result in the register, and after receiving the diagnosis command, sets the PDIAG of each peripheral device to T1 or more for which the PDIAG should be false.
After a lapse of Ts within two, a check of PDIAG on the bus line 6 is started.

The number of PDIAG signal lines on the bus line is one, and the logical product is obtained on the bus.

The master higher-level device interface controller completes the diagnosis of all peripheral devices, that is, the PD on the bus line.
Confirm that the IAG signal is true, and report the completion of diagnosis to the host device.

After receiving the diagnostic command, the higher-level device interface control unit of the master sets the PDI up to T3 after Ts.
Check AG, and if true is detected during this time, diagnosis is completed,
If true is not detected during this time, a diagnostic error is determined and a response is returned to the host device.

[0011]

A peripheral device connected to a higher-level device, particularly a peripheral device that is expected to operate intermittently, has a power save mode (inactive state), and receives a command from the higher-level device. It may have a function of shifting to an inactive state. When the peripheral device in the inactive state receives a new command from the host device, the peripheral device shifts to the active state and executes the command, so that the response time varies. For this reason, when commands issued simultaneously to a plurality of devices, such as a diagnostic command and a reset, are executed and the master higher-level device interface control unit returns a response to the higher-level device on behalf of all the peripheral devices, the It is necessary to perform control in consideration of a change in response time due to a difference in operation mode.

FIG. 7 shows a diagnostic command response sequence after receiving a power save command as an example in which the response time fluctuates depending on the operation mode in the conventional configuration, resulting in erroneous recognition. The slave is inactive at the time of receiving a new diagnostic command, and PDIAG is true, that is, a state in which the completion of diagnosis is held. The slave starts activation from this point, but usually, the time required for activation of the peripheral device is, for example,
Since T2 exceeds T2 in 10 ms, P
DIAG cannot be false, ie, complete diagnosis cannot be overridden. Therefore, the master higher-level device interface control unit erroneously recognizes the PDIAG of the slave as true, that is, completes the diagnosis, and responds to the higher-level device that the diagnosis has not been completed for the newly received diagnostic command. Therefore, the host device erroneously regards the diagnosis as completed.

As a countermeasure against such a problem, there is a method in which the PDIAG check timing is always delayed more than the maximum time required for activation even when the peripheral device is in an active state. However, in this case, the response is always delayed. Another problem arises.

The present invention has been made in order to avoid such a conventional problem. A peripheral device whose response time to a command fluctuates depending on an operation mode such as power saving and a higher-level device can be quickly and without error. The purpose is to be able to respond to commands.

[0015]

The host device interface control unit includes a command recording unit that records the contents of a command issued from a host device to a peripheral device, and a command recording unit that records a command when a new command is received. Operating mode determining means for determining the operation mode of the device control unit and the device from the contents of the response, and determining and controlling the end determination time of the command processing of the device control unit and the device based on the determined operation mode; response time And control means.

[0016]

FIG. 1 shows an embodiment in which the present invention is applied to the conventional example of FIG. In the present embodiment, the command recording means 42 for recording the contents of commands issued from the higher-level device 1 to each peripheral device in the higher-level device interface controller 40, and the command recording means for recording new commands when the command is received. It has means 43 for judging the operation mode of each peripheral device from the contents set, and response time control means 44 for controlling the command end judgment time according to the operation mode.

FIG. 2 is a conceptual flowchart of the command processing of the host device interface control unit of the embodiment of FIG.

Master higher-level device interface controller 40
Then, when a command is received (S1), the operation mode determining means 43 determines the current own operation mode from the contents recorded in the command recording means 42 (S2), and activates when it is inactive. . Next, a new command is recorded in the command recording means 42 (S3), and at the same time, it is determined whether the received command is a diagnostic command (S4). If it is not a diagnostic command, normal command processing is performed and the processing ends.

If the received command is a diagnostic command, it is determined whether or not it is a master setting (S5).

The response time control means 44 executes a diagnosis process when the master is set as a master. After the diagnosis is completed, the response time control means 44 determines the operation mode of each slave from the contents of each slave command recorded in the command recording means 42. (S6) When all slaves are in the active state, after Ts elapses from the reception of the diagnostic command (S6)
9) Check PDIAG (S10).

FIG. 3 shows a response sequence of the present invention when there is an inactive slave.

If there is an inactive slave, the response time control means 44 checks the PDIAG (S7), and if false, that is, if the completion of diagnosis is invalid, waits until the PDIAG becomes true (S10). If PDIAG is true, the current PDI
Since AG indicates the completion of the previous diagnosis, after activation, it is confirmed that PDIAG becomes false (S8), and thereafter, it is confirmed that PDIAG becomes true again upon completion of diagnosis (S10).
The diagnostic result is set in the register, and the process ends.

If the time Ta required for the activation of the slave is known in advance, the response time control means 44 determines Ts +
After the elapse of Ta, that is, the elapse of the time required for the activation of the slave, the PDIAG check may be started.

In the case of the slave setting, PDIAG is set to false (S11) after the master setting judgment (S5) in FIG.
Perform diagnostic processing.

After completion of the diagnosis processing, the response time control means 44
The operation mode of the master is determined from the contents recorded in the command recording means 42 (S12). If the master is in the active state, PDIAG is immediately set to true (S14).

FIG. 4 shows the response sequence of the present invention when the master is inactive.

Response time control means when the master is inactive
44, PDIAG is set to true after the elapse of Td in consideration of the time required for activation of the master from the completion of diagnosis (S13).
14).

Although the above is the case of the diagnostic command, the reset may be similarly performed after the determination of the master setting (S5).

In this embodiment, a case has been described in which the peripheral devices perform command processing at the same time, such as a diagnostic command and a reset. , Record of received commands,
This can be handled by determining the operation mode of the peripheral device from the content of the recorded command and controlling the command end determination time according to the operation mode. Also, even when the operation mode is changed to an inactive state or the like by a timer owned by the peripheral device itself without a command from a higher-level device, for example,
This can be coped with by recording the content of the command corresponding to the new operation mode in the command recording means.

[0030]

As described above, according to the present invention,
Even for a peripheral device having an operation mode with response time fluctuation such as power save, it is possible to quickly and surely recognize a diagnosis result and to make a correct status response to a higher-level device.

[Brief description of the drawings]

FIG. 1 shows an embodiment of the present invention.

FIG. 2 is a conceptual flowchart of command processing.

FIG. 3 shows the response sequence of the present invention when the slave is inactive.

FIG. 4 shows a response sequence of the present invention when the master is inactive.

FIG. 5 is a conventional example of a connection configuration between a host device and a peripheral device.

FIG. 6 shows an example of a response sequence condition for a diagnostic command.

FIG. 7 shows an example of a diagnostic command response sequence after receiving a power save command.

[Description of Signs] 1 Upper device 2 Command receiving means 4, 40 Upper device interface controller 5, 45 Response register 6 Bus line 21 to 2n, 31 to 3n Peripheral device 42 Command recording device 43 Operation mode determination device 44 Response time control means

Claims (1)

[Claims] 1. A peripheral device having a higher-level device interface control unit, a device control unit, and a device, wherein a command response time fluctuates according to an operation mode. Command recording means for recording the content of a command issued to the device, an operation mode determining means for determining an operation mode of a device control unit and a device from the content recorded in the command recording means when a new command is received, A peripheral device, comprising: a response time control unit that determines and controls a device control unit and an end determination time of command processing of a device according to the determined operation mode.