WO2007108596A1

WO2007108596A1 - Apparatus and method for transmitting data

Info

Publication number: WO2007108596A1
Application number: PCT/KR2007/001177
Authority: WO
Inventors: Kyung Beom Kim; Young Hwan Kim; Tae Gyun Kim; Min Sick Park; Jae Han Lee; Gwang Sig Jang; Sang Hyun Han
Original assignee: Pointchips Co., Ltd.
Priority date: 2006-03-17
Filing date: 2007-03-09
Publication date: 2007-09-27
Also published as: KR20070094397A

Abstract

The present invention relates to an apparatus and method for transmitting data. The apparatus of the present invention a Universal Serial Bus (USB) communication interface unit for performing USB communication with the PC; a code extraction unit for extracting an interface IDentification (ID) code, included in the input data; a first converter for performing conversion such that data is transmitted and received via the first interface; a second converter for performing conversion such that data is transmitted and received via the second interface; and a control unit for performing control such that data is transmitted and received via an interface corresponding to the extracted ID code. Thus, the present invention enables a user to transmit data to the device using his or her PC based on a USB communication method, and to selectively use a desired interface method in the device, so that the time required for data communication can be reduced.

Description

[DESCRIPTION]

[invention Title]

APPARATUS AND METHOD FOR TRANSMITTING DATA

[Technical Field] The present invention relates to an apparatus and method for transmitting data that enable the transmission and reception of data between a Personal Computer (PC) and a device.

[Background Art] Recently, as new types of PC environments, such as a multimedia PC and a home network, and PC-based communication environments become important, the number of peripheral devices that are controlled by a PC has rapidly increased. Accordingly, methods of connecting a PC in a one-to- one connection relationship with peripheral devices can be considered to have currently reached capacity given to the proliferation of peripheral devices, and thus PC-, telephone-, and monitor-related businesses have played a leading role in providing new conceptual methods of connecting PCs with peripheral devices.

Accordingly, a medium- and low-speed data transmission Universal Serial Bus (USB) is used as a protocol for the communication of PCs with various devices .

That is, the USB is used for various medium- and low- speed devices, such as modems, printers, joysticks, mice, keyboards and scanners, which have a data transmission speed less than 12 [Mbps] .

Besides USB communication, JTAG communication is used for communicating with various such devices. Here, the term VTAG' refers to a port for testing the internal hardware of individual chips having complicated circuits, which was originally proposed by a group called the Joint Test Access Group.

In order to easily test whether such elements and circuits operate normally, a dedicated emulator for debugging hardware has been introduced, and an emulator based on the JTAG method has recently been widely used.

This JTAG method is used for performing debugging using standardized logic and test pins that are used only for testing and are provided in Large Scale Integrated

(LSI) circuits, such as Complex Programmable Logic Devices (CPLDs) . The interface based on the JTAG method is basically controlled by five pins, that is, TDI, TMS, TCK,

TRST and TDO pins, and the test pins are connected in a one-to-one connection relationship with a Flexible Printed

Circuit Board (FPCB) connected with the elements or circuits of a terminal, and is used for all tests, such as a hardware test and a connection state test, under the control of the control unit (for example, an MSM) of the terminal .

An existing device, which is connected with a PC and is configured to communicate with the PC, is provided with USB and JTAG communication methods, thus communicating with the PC via a USB interface or a JTAG interface.

However, in order to use the device using such USB and JTAG methods, separate spaces for the USB interface and the JTAG interface must be assigned to the device, and required software is downloaded after the power for normally operating the device is turned on. Furthermore, in the case where it is desired to update the software, downloading must be performed using the JTAG method.

Accordingly, data must be transmitted using different methods according to the situation, so that there is a problem in that usage is inconvenient and separate devices must be provided.

[Disclosure] [Technical Problem] Accordingly, the present invention has been made keeping in mind the above problems occurring in the prior art, and an object of the present invention is to provide an apparatus and method for transmitting data, which adopt USB communication between a PC and a device and are capable of selectively using an interface for transmitting data in the device, thus enabling two types of interface methods to be used in a single device, with the result that data can be transmitted.

[Technical Solution] In order to accomplish the above object, the present invention provides an apparatus for transmitting data between a PC and a device, the device being connected with the PC via a OSB communication method and being configured to transmit and receive data via a first interface and a second interface, the apparatus including a USB communication interface unit for performing USB communication with the PC; a code extraction unit for extracting an interface IDentification (ID) code, included in the input data; a first converter for performing conversion such that data is transmitted and received via the first interface; a second converter for performing conversion such that data is transmitted and received via the second interface; and a control unit for performing control such that data is transmitted and received via an interface corresponding to the extracted ID code.

Furthermore, in accordance with the present invention, the first interface is a microprocessor interface.

Furthermore, in accordance with the present invention, the second interface is a JTAG interface. Furthermore, in accordance with the present invention, the second converter is a JTAG host.

In addition, the present invention provides a method of transmitting data between a PC and a device, the device being connected with the PC via a USB communication method and being configured to transmit and receive data via a first interface and a second interface, the method including a first step of extracting an interface ID code included in data received from the PC; a second step of performing switching to an interface mode corresponding to the extracted ID code; and a third step of transmitting data via the first interface when a resultant interface is the first interface and transmitting data via the second interface when a selected interface is the second interface. Furthermore, in accordance with the present invention, the first interface is a microprocessor interface. Furthermore, in accordance with the present invention, the second interface is a JTAG interface.

[Description of Drawings] FIG. 1 is a block diagram illustrating the concept of an apparatus for transmitting data according to the present invention;

FIG. 2 is a block diagram that includes the detailed construction of the device of FIG. 1; FIG. 3 is a detailed block diagram of the apparatus for transmitting data, shown in FIG. 1;

FIG. 4 is a block diagram of a device that includes the apparatus for transmitting data, according to an embodiment of the present invention; and FIG. 5 is a flowchart illustrating a method of transmitting data according to an embodiment of the present invention.

[Best Mode]

Preferred embodiments of the present invention are described in detail with reference to the accompanying drawings below.

FIG. 1 is a block diagram illustrating the concept of an apparatus for transmitting data according to the present invention . Referring to FIG. 1, the data transmission apparatus 20 is located between a PC 10 that performs USB communication and a device 30 having a microprocessor interface and a JTAG interface. The data transmission apparatus 20 performs USB communication with the PC 10. The device 30 provides interfacing using two interfaces, and thus data is transmitted and received between the PC 10 and the device 30. The data transmission apparatus 20, which is located between the PC 10 and the device 30, receives data from the PC 10 through USB communication. When transmitting the data to the device 30, the data transmission apparatus 20 selects either one of the two interfaces and, thus, can transmit the received data to the device 30. For this purpose, the code insertion unit 11 of the PC 10 inserts an ID code into data, which is used to transmit a command for selecting one of the interfaces of the device 30. The data transmission apparatus 20 decodes the ID code, which is inserted into the data used to transmit the command and is received from the PC 10, and determines on which interface the data is to be transmitted, and transmits the data via the corresponding interface.

The construction of the device 30 for transmitting and receiving data using the two interfaces is described with reference to FIG. 2.

FIG. 2 is a block diagram that includes the detailed construction of the device of FIG. 1.

Referring to FIG. 2, the device 30 includes a CPU 31 configured to have a JTAG controller 311 for providing the JTAG interface and to transmit and receive data by controlling individual elements, Static Random Access Memory (SRAM) 32, that is, a storage means for data to be transmitted and received via the microprocessor interface for microprocessor interfacing, and a Read-Only Memory (ROM) 33, that is, a storage means for data to be transmitted and received via the JTAG interface under the control of the JTAG controller 311. When data is received via the microprocessor interface, the CPU 31 transmits the data to the SRAM 32 via the microprocessor interface. Thereafter, the data from the PC 10 is directly stored in the SRAM 32 via the established microprocessor interface.

Furthermore, when data is received via the JTAG interface, the CPU 31 activates the JTAG controller 311 and transmits the data to the ROM 33 via the JTAG interface. In the same manner, the data from the PC 10 is directly stored in the ROM 33 via the JTAG interface.

Accordingly, when the present invention is applied to a device 30 that requires that data be transmitted via the JTAG interface, the JTAG interface, along with the microprocessor interface, can be selectively used as needed, and data can be transmitted and received via the microprocessor interface at normal times. The above-described device 30 of FIG. 2 is described in greater detail with reference to the detailed block diagram of the data transmission apparatus 20 of FIG. 3, which is described below.

FIG. 3 is a detailed block diagram of the apparatus for transmitting data, shown in FIG. 1.

Referring to FIG. 3, the data transmission apparatus 20 includes a USB interface unit 21 for performing USB communication with the PC 10, a code extraction unit 23 for extracting an ID code included in input data, a control unit 22 for performing control to select an interfacing method and transmit and receive data via a corresponding interface in response to the command of the extracted code, a first converter 24 for performing conversion such that data is transmitted and received via the microprocessor interface data, and a second converter 25 for performing conversion such that data is transmitted and received via the JTAG interface.

In FIG. 3, the USB interface unit 21 is connected with the PC 10 through a USB communication cable, and is capable of transmitting and receiving data from the PC 10 and outputting received data to the control unit 22. The control unit 22 transmits the received data to the code extraction unit 23. When a command signal for selecting an interface method is extracted by the code extraction unit 23, the control unit 22 receives the extracted command signal and controls the first and second converters 24 and 25.

In this case, if, as a result of the extraction of the ID code, it is determined that a command signal for the microprocessor interface has been extracted, the first converter 24 extracts only data to be stored in the SRAM 32 from the data received from the PC 10 and transmits the extracted data to the CPU 31 in order to transmit data to the SRAM 32 via the microprocessor interface. In this case, the CPU 31 stores the transmitted data in the SRAM 32 and, thereafter, the data is continuously transmitted via the same microprocessor interface. Accordingly, high-speed data transmission can be achieved.

Meanwhile, if, as a result of the extraction of the ID code, it is determined that a command signal for the JTAG interface is extracted, the second converter 25 functions as a JTAG host in order to transmit data to the ROM 33 via the JTAG interface, and makes a request for communication to the JTAG controller 311 of the CPU 31. If a communication response is received from the JTAG controller 311 in response to the request, the data is continuously transmitted via the JTAG interface.

FIG. 4 is a block diagram of a device that includes the apparatus for transmitting data, according to an embodiment of the present invention.

Referring to FIG. 4, the data transmission apparatus 20 is located between the PC 10 and the device 30. For this purpose, it is preferred that the data transmission apparatus 20 be provided in the device 30 in the form of a chip. Accordingly, a description of the case where the data transmission apparatus is provided in the device in the form of a chip is given with reference to FIG. 4 below.

That is, the data transmission apparatus 20 of the present invention is provided ahead of the CPU 31 in the device 30. Here, the internal blocks of the data transmission apparatus 20 are the same as described with reference to FIG. 3. The data transmission apparatus 20 is connected to the PC 10 so as to perform only USB communication, and is connected to the CPU 31 of the device 30 so that two types of interface methods can be selectively used. In this case, a description of the detailed construction of the device 30 is the same as described with reference to FIG. 2.

As described above, the apparatus for transmitting data according to an embodiment of the present invention has been described. The method of transmitting data is now described with reference to FIG. 5. FIG. 5 is a flowchart illustrating the method of transmitting data according to an embodiment of the present invention.

Referring to FIG. 5, the control unit 22 receives data, including a code used to identify an interface method, from the PC 10 at step SlO. When the data is received, an interface ID code is extracted from the received data at step S20. When the extraction of the ID code is completed, whether the extracted ID code is a microprocessor interface code is determined at step S30. If, as a result of the determination, it is determined that the extracted ID code is a microprocessor interface code, switching to the microprocessor interface mode is performed at step S40. Here, the term ^microprocessor interface mode' means operating the first converter 24 and transmitting data to the SRAM via the microprocessor interface.

Meanwhile, if, as a result of the determination, it is determined that the extracted ID code is not a microprocessor interface code, switching to the JTAG interface mode is performed at S50. Here, the term ^ΛJTAG interface mode' means operating the second converter 25 and transmitting data to the ROM via the microprocessor interface.

By doing so, when an interface is determined, data is transmitted via the corresponding interface at step S60.

[industrial Applicability] Accordingly, the present invention enables a user to transmit data to the device using his or her PC based on a USB communication method, and to selectively use a desired interface method in the device, so that the time required for data communication can be reduced, usage is convenient, and the cost can be reduced.

Claims

[CLAIMS]

[Claim l]

An apparatus for transmitting data between a Personal Computer (PC) and a device, the device being connected with the PC via a Universal Serial Bus (USB) communication method and being configured to transmit and receive data via a first interface and a second interface, the apparatus comprising: a USB communication interface unit for performing USB communication with the PC; a code extraction unit for extracting an interface IDentification (ID) code, included in the input data; a first converter for performing conversion such that data is transmitted and received via the first interface; a second converter for performing conversion such that data is transmitted and received via the second interface; and a control unit for performing control such that data is transmitted and received via an interface corresponding to the extracted ID code.

[Claim 2]

The apparatus according to claim 1, wherein the first interface is a microprocessor interface.

[Claim 3] The apparatus according to claim 1 or 2 , wherein the second interface is a Joint Test Access Group (JTAG) interface.

[Claim 4] The apparatus according to claim 3, wherein the second converter is a JTAG host.

[Claim 5]

A method of transmitting data between a PC and a device, the device being connected with the PC via a USB communication method and being configured to transmit and receive data via a first interface and a second interface, the method comprising: a first step of extracting an interface ID code included in data received from the PC; a second step of performing switching to an interface mode corresponding to the extracted ID code; and a third step of transmitting data via the first interface when a resultant interface is the first interface and transmitting data via the second interface when a selected interface is the second interface.

[Claim 6]

The method according to claim 5, wherein the first interface is a microprocessor interface. [Claim 7]

The method according to claim 5 or 6, wherein the second interface is a JTAG interface.