WO2019244410A1

WO2019244410A1 - Communication system, master device, slave device, and communication method

Info

Publication number: WO2019244410A1
Application number: PCT/JP2019/007540
Authority: WO
Inventors: 彰人関谷
Original assignee: ソニーセミコンダクタソリューションズ株式会社
Priority date: 2018-06-18
Filing date: 2019-02-27
Publication date: 2019-12-26
Also published as: JP7284751B2; JPWO2019244410A1

Abstract

In this communication system in which a master device reads data from slave devices, an increase of communication traffic volume is suppressed. The communication system is provided with a master device and a plurality of slave devices. Upon reception of a specific address that is commonly assigned, the plurality of slave devices sequentially transmit read data. Upon transmission of the specific address to the plurality of slave devices, the master device receives the read data sequentially from the plurality of slave devices.

Description

Communication system, master device, slave device, and communication method

技術 The present technology relates to a communication system, a master device, a slave device, and a communication method. More specifically, the present invention relates to a communication system in which a master device and a slave device communicate, a master device, a slave device, and a communication method.

(2) Conventionally, the I2C (Inter-Integrated Circuit) communication standard has been widely used when devices communicate on the same board. For example, a gaming machine has been proposed in which an IC (Integrated Circuit) as a master device and an I / O (Input / Output) expander as a slave device communicate using the I2C communication standard (for example, Patent Document 1). reference.). In the I2C communication standard, when a master device reads data from a slave device, a procedure is performed in which the master device first transmits a slave address, and then the slave device transmits data to the master device.

JP 2011-194044 A

According to the above-described conventional technique, a master device (such as an IC) can read data from a slave device (such as an I / O expander) using a relatively high-speed I2C communication standard. However, in the I2C communication standard, a master device must transmit a slave address every time a slave device is accessed. Therefore, as the number of slave devices to be read increases, the number of slave addresses to be transmitted at the time of reading increases, and there is a problem that the communication amount increases.

The present technology has been created in view of such a situation, and has an object to suppress an increase in communication amount in a communication system in which a master device reads data from a slave device.

The present technology has been made in order to solve the above-described problem, and a first aspect of the present technology is that when a specific address commonly allocated is received, each of the plurality of devices sequentially transmits read data. A communication system including a slave device, a master device that receives the read data in order from the plurality of slave devices when the specific address is transmitted to the plurality of slave devices, and a communication method thereof. This brings about an effect that read data is sequentially transmitted from a plurality of slave devices in response to reception of a specific address.

In the first aspect, a different order may be assigned to each of the plurality of slave devices, and each of the plurality of slave devices may transmit the read data in the assigned order. . This brings about an effect that the read data is transmitted in the assigned order.

Also, in the first aspect, each of the plurality of slave devices may transmit the read data of a predetermined number of bits. This brings about an effect that data is transmitted by a predetermined number of bits.

Also, in the first aspect, each of the plurality of slave devices may transmit the 1-bit read data. This brings about an effect that data is transmitted one bit at a time.

In the first aspect, the master device sets the number of bits of the read data to each of the plurality of slave devices, and each of the plurality of slave devices sets the number of bits of the read data of the set number of bits. Data may be transmitted. This brings about an effect that the read data of the set number of bits is transmitted.

In the first aspect, the master device transmits a predetermined clock signal, and each of the plurality of slave devices generates a count value in synchronization with the clock signal, and transmits the read data. The read data may be transmitted when the count values match in order. This brings about an effect that the read data is transmitted at the number of clocks corresponding to the data transmission order.

Further, in the first aspect, the master device transmits a predetermined clock signal, and each of the plurality of slave devices generates a count value in synchronization with the clock signal. The read data may be transmitted when the value obtained by performing the predetermined operation matches the order in which the read data is transmitted. This brings about an effect that the number of counters for counting the count value is reduced.

In addition, in the first aspect, the master device and the slave device may perform communication using an I2C (Inter-Integrated Circuit) communication standard. This brings about an effect that the communication efficiency of the communication system using the I2C communication standard is improved.

According to a second aspect of the present technology, when a specific address commonly assigned to a plurality of slave devices is transmitted to the plurality of slave devices, a master device that sequentially receives read data from the plurality of slave devices It is. This brings about an effect that read data from a plurality of slave devices is sequentially received in response to transmission of a specific address.

According to a third aspect of the present technology, when a specific address common to another slave device is received, the count value is counted in synchronization with a predetermined clock signal, and the count values match in a predetermined order. This is a slave device that transmits read data when performing read. This brings about an effect that read data is transmitted in a predetermined order in response to reception of a specific address.

According to the present technology, in a communication system in which a master device reads data from a slave device, an excellent effect that an increase in communication traffic can be suppressed can be achieved. Note that the effects described here are not necessarily limited, and may be any of the effects described in the present disclosure.

FIG. 1 is a block diagram illustrating a configuration example of an electronic device according to a first embodiment of the present technology. FIG. 2 is a block diagram illustrating a configuration example of a master according to the first embodiment of the present technology. FIG. 3 is a diagram illustrating an example of an auxiliary number table according to the first embodiment of the present technology. FIG. 2 is a block diagram illustrating a configuration example of a slave according to the first embodiment of the present technology. FIG. 5 is a diagram illustrating an example of a data sequence transmitted and received when reading data of 2 bits or more for each slave according to the first embodiment of the present technology. 6 is a timing chart illustrating an example of a signal line level according to the first embodiment of the present technology. FIG. 6 is a diagram illustrating an example of a data sequence transmitted and received when reading 1-bit data for each slave according to the first embodiment of the present technology. 5 is a flowchart illustrating an example of an operation of a master according to the first embodiment of the present technology. 5 is a flowchart illustrating an example of an operation of a slave according to the first embodiment of the present technology. FIG. 14 is a block diagram illustrating a configuration example of a slave according to the second embodiment of the present technology. FIG. 13 is a diagram illustrating an example of a data sequence transmitted and received when 2-bit data is read for each slave according to the second embodiment of the present technology. 15 is a flowchart illustrating an example of an operation of a master according to the second embodiment of the present technology. 15 is a flowchart illustrating an example of an operation of a slave according to the second embodiment of the present technology. 15 is a flowchart illustrating an example of an operation of a slave according to a modified example of the second embodiment of the present technology. FIG. 15 is a block diagram illustrating a configuration example of a slave according to a third embodiment of the present technology. FIG. 1 is a diagram illustrating an example of a schematic configuration of an IoT system to which the technology according to the present disclosure can be applied.

Hereinafter, a mode for implementing the present technology (hereinafter, referred to as an embodiment) will be described. The description will be made in the following order.
1. First Embodiment (Example in which a plurality of slave devices sequentially transmit data)
2. 2. Second embodiment (example in which a plurality of slave devices sequentially transmit data of a plurality of bits)
3. Third embodiment (an example in which a master device sets the number of transmission bits and a plurality of slave devices sequentially transmit data)
4. Application examples

<1. First Embodiment>
Configuration example of electronic device]
FIG. 1 is a block diagram illustrating a configuration example of an electronic device 100 according to the first embodiment of the present technology. The electronic device 100 includes a master device 110 and a plurality of slave devices 120. Hereinafter, the master device 110 is simply referred to as “master”, and the slave device 120 is referred to as “slave”. The number of slaves is N (N is an integer), and the n-th (n is an integer from 1 to N) slave is hereinafter referred to as “slave #n”.

Each slave is assigned a unique slave address. In addition, in addition to the unique slave address, a global address which is a specific address not defined in the I2C communication standard is commonly assigned to each of the slaves. This global address is a global address used to designate the N slaves as a read destination collectively.

The master is a device that controls the slave, and the slave is a device that operates according to the control of the master. The master and the plurality of slaves are commonly connected to an SCL (Serial @ Clock) line for transmitting a clock signal and an SDA (Serial @ Data) line for transmitting data. The master and each slave communicate with each other via these signal lines using the I2C communication standard.

マスタ Also, the master can transmit a global address and receive read data sequentially from a plurality of slaves. The details of this communication procedure will be described later.

ＩＣICs and processors are assumed as masters. Various sensors and drivers are assumed as slaves.

Although all devices such as a master are arranged in one apparatus, the present invention is not limited to this configuration. For example, a master may be arranged inside the electronic device 100, and a slave (such as a sensor) may be arranged outside the electronic device 100. Note that a system including a master and a plurality of slaves is an example of a communication system described in the claims.

[Master configuration example]
FIG. 2 is a block diagram illustrating a configuration example of a master (master device 110) according to the first embodiment of the present technology. The master includes an auxiliary number table 111 and a communication processing unit 112.

The communication processing unit 112 performs communication with a slave (slave device 120) using the I2C communication standard.

Here, when the master communicates with the slave in the I2C communication standard, the master first transmits a start condition, a unique slave address of an access destination, and a read or write request in order. Then, the slave returns ACK (ACKnowledge), and the slave transmits read data at the time of reading, and the master transmits write data at the time of writing.

The communication processing unit 112 performs communication according to the above-described procedure of the I2C communication standard when transmitting write data to a slave and when receiving read data of 2 bits or more from a slave.

On the other hand, when receiving 1-bit read data from each of the plurality of slaves, the communication processing unit 112 transmits a global address and a read request to those slaves. Then, the read data is sequentially received from each of the plurality of slaves.

The auxiliary number table 111 is a table for holding auxiliary numbers for each slave. Here, the auxiliary number is information indicating the order in which the slave transmits the read data when the global address is received.

The communication processing unit 112 refers to the auxiliary number table 111 when transmitting the global address, receives the read data transmitted in each order (auxiliary number) as slave data corresponding to the auxiliary number, and processes the read data.

FIG. 3 is a diagram illustrating an example of the auxiliary number table 111 according to the first embodiment of the present technology. The auxiliary number table 111 holds auxiliary numbers in association with each of the slave addresses. For example, an auxiliary number “1” is associated with the slave address 1 of the slave # 1. An auxiliary number “2” is associated with the slave address 2 of the slave # 2. The auxiliary number “n” indicates that the transmission order is the nth. Different auxiliary numbers (that is, order) are set for the N slave addresses.

[Slave configuration example]
FIG. 4 is a block diagram illustrating a configuration example of a slave (slave device 120) according to the first embodiment of the present technology. This slave includes an I2C communication processing unit 121, a global address recognition unit 122, a state machine 123, a counter 124, an address holding unit 125, and an auxiliary number holding unit 126.

The address holding unit 125 holds a slave address individually assigned to a slave and a global address commonly assigned to all slaves. The auxiliary number holding unit 126 holds an auxiliary number associated with a slave.

The I2C communication processing unit 121 performs communication with the master using the I2C communication standard. The I2C communication processing unit 121 reads the slave address from the address holding unit 125, and determines whether the address received from the master is a slave address. If it is a slave address (that is, the slave address is recognized), the I2C communication processing unit 121 performs communication according to the procedure of the I2C communication standard.

The global address recognition unit 122 reads a global address from the address holding unit 125 and determines whether the address received from the master is a global address. The global address recognition unit 122 supplies a recognition result indicating whether the address is a global address (that is, the global address has been recognized) to the state machine 123.

The state machine 123 transmits read data when a global address is recognized. When the global address is recognized, the state machine 123 sets the count value CNT of the counter 124 to an initial value (for example, “1”) when returning an ACK. Then, the state machine 123 reads the auxiliary number from the auxiliary number holding unit 126, and determines whether or not the value corresponding to the count value CNT matches the auxiliary number. When the count value CNT matches the auxiliary number, the state machine 123 transmits 1-bit read data to the master via the SDA line. On the other hand, if they do not match the auxiliary number, the state machine 123 causes the counter 124 to count up the count value CNT in synchronization with the clock signal from the SCL line.

The counter 124 counts the number of times the read data has been transmitted and generates a count value CNT. The read data is transmitted by the state machine 123 when the number of transmissions reaches the order of the slaves.

FIG. 5 is a diagram illustrating an array of data transmitted and received when reading data of 2 bits or more for each slave (slave device 120) according to the first embodiment of the present technology. In the figure, a is a diagram illustrating an example of a data sequence transmitted and received when the slave # 1 is a read destination. B in the figure is a diagram showing an example of a data sequence transmitted and received when the slave # 2 is a read destination.

The master first transmits the start condition S during the period from the timing T0 to T1, and transmits the 7-bit slave address 1 during the period from the timing T1 to T2. Next, the master transmits the read request R during a period from timing T2 to timing T3.

On the other hand, the slave # 1 returns ACK during the period from timing T3 to T4, and transmits read data 1 of a plurality of bits (for example, 8 bits) to the master during the period from timing T4 to T5.

The master returns NAK (Negative @Acknowledgement) during the period from timing T5 to timing T6, and transmits the stop condition P after timing T6.

(4) Also when reading from the slave # 2, the master similarly transmits the start condition S, the slave address 2, and the read request R. The slave transmits ACK and read data 2, and the master transmits NAK and stop condition P.

In the procedure of the 規格 I2C communication standard, the master needs to transmit a slave address and a start condition S for each slave as illustrated in FIG. For this reason, the communication amount increases as the number of slaves increases. Even if only one bit is read for each slave, the I2C communication standard requires that each slave transmit a slave address or the like.

FIG. 6 is a timing chart illustrating an example of transition of the level of the signal line according to the first embodiment of the present technology.

(4) During the period from timing T0 to T1, the master sets the SCL line to high level and sets the SDA line to low level. This state is called a start condition. After the start condition S, the master sequentially transmits data such as A [1] to A [5] in synchronization with a clock signal. A [m] (m is an integer) is the m-th bit in the address.

(4) After the timing T6, the master sets the SCL line to low level and sets the SDA line to low level. This state is called a stop condition.

FIG. 7 is a diagram illustrating an example of a data sequence transmitted and received when reading 1-bit data for each slave (slave device 120) according to the first embodiment of the present technology.

First, the master transmits the start condition S during the period from timing T0 to T1, and transmits the 7-bit global address during the period from timing T1 to T2. Next, the master transmits the read request R during a period from timing T2 to timing T3.

On the other hand, any of the slaves returns ACK during the period from timing T3 to T4. For example, ACK is returned by the slave # 1 whose auxiliary number (order) is “1”.

において During the period from timing T4 to T5, the N slaves sequentially transmit 1-bit read data. For example, the slave # 1 having the auxiliary number “1” first transmits the read data D [1]. Next, the slave # 2 having the auxiliary number “2” transmits the read data D [2]. Hereinafter, similarly, data is transmitted in the order of auxiliary numbers, and finally, read data D [N] is transmitted by the slave #N. As described above, since the plurality of slaves sequentially transmit the read data, collision of the read data of each slave can be prevented.

Then, the master returns NAK during the period from timing T5 to T6, and transmits the stop condition P after timing T6.

{Note that the slave #n is transmitting data n-th time, but the transmission order is not limited to this example. For example, slave # 2 can transmit data first, and slave #N can transmit data second.

Comparing the procedure of FIG. 5 with the procedure of FIG. 7 according to the I2C communication standard, it is necessary for the master to transmit a slave address for each slave in the I2C communication standard. Increase. For example, if the slave address is 7 bits and the number of slaves is N, the master needs to transmit an address group of 7 × N bits. Therefore, as the data size of the read data decreases, the communication efficiency decreases. Here, the communication efficiency indicates a ratio of read data to all data to be transmitted and received.

In contrast, in the procedure illustrated in FIG. 7, since the master only needs to transmit the global address regardless of the number of slaves, it is possible to suppress an increase in the traffic. For example, even if the global address is 7 bits and the number of slaves is N, the data transmitted for the address needs only 7 bits. Therefore, the communication efficiency can be improved as compared with the procedure of FIG.

The procedure illustrated in FIG. 7 is executed, for example, when the master collects the status flags from a plurality of slaves (sensors and the like).

[Example of master operation]
FIG. 8 is a flowchart illustrating an example of an operation of the master (master device 110) according to the first embodiment of the present technology. This operation is started, for example, when an application for reading one bit for each slave is executed. The master first transmits a global address after a start condition (step S901).

The master transmits a read request and, upon receiving an ACK, sets a variable n to an initial value “1” (step S902). Then, the master receives 1-bit read data from the slave with the auxiliary number n (step S903). The master determines whether or not read data has been received from all slaves (step S904).

If the read data has not been received from any of the slaves (step S904: No), the master increments n in synchronization with the clock signal (step S905), and repeatedly executes step S903 and subsequent steps. On the other hand, when read data has been received from all slaves (step S904: Yes), the master transmits a NAK and a stop condition, and ends the read processing.

[Example of slave operation]
FIG. 9 is a flowchart illustrating an example of an operation of the slave (slave device 120) according to the first embodiment of the present technology. This operation is started when an application for communication is started.

The slave determines whether the global address has been recognized (step S951). If the slave does not recognize the global address (Step S951: No), the slave performs processing according to the I2C communication standard, and repeats Step S951 and the subsequent steps.

On the other hand, if the slave recognizes the global address (step S951: Yes), the slave resets the count value CNT of the counter 124 to “1” at the timing of returning the ACK (step S952). The slave determines whether or not the count value CNT matches the auxiliary number (step S953). If the count value CNT does not match the auxiliary number (step S953: No), the slave increments the count value CNT in synchronization with the clock signal (step S955), and repeats the steps from step S953.

On the other hand, when the count value CNT matches the auxiliary number (step S953: Yes), the slave transmits 1-bit read data (step S954), and ends the communication.

As described above, according to the first embodiment of the present technology, since the master transmits the global address and sequentially receives the read data from each of the slaves, compared with the case where the slave address is transmitted for each slave. An increase in the amount of communication can be suppressed.

<2. Second Embodiment>
In the above-described first embodiment, the master sequentially receives 1-bit read data from each of the slaves. However, when receiving read data of 2 bits or more, the master must transmit a slave address for each slave. And the amount of communication increases. The communication system according to the second embodiment differs from the first embodiment in that when a master transmits a global address, it sequentially receives read data of 2 bits or more from each of the slaves.

FIG. 10 is a block diagram illustrating a configuration example of a slave (slave device 120) according to the second embodiment of the present technology. The slave according to the second embodiment is different from the first embodiment in further including a transmission bit number holding unit 127 and a counter 128.

The counter 128 counts the number of bits transmitted by the slave. The counter 124 is used to count the number of times of transmission of the read data as in the first embodiment. The transmission bit number holding unit 127 holds the number of bits of the read data to be transmitted by each of the slaves as the number of transmission bits.

FIG. 11 is a diagram illustrating an example of a data sequence transmitted and received when 2-bit data is read for each slave (slave device 120) according to the second embodiment of the present technology.

手順 The procedure up to timing T4 in the second embodiment is the same as in the first embodiment. During the period from timing T4 to T5, the N slaves sequentially transmit 2-bit read data. For example, slave # 1 first transmits read data composed of D [1] and D [2]. Next, slave # 2 transmits read data including D [3] and D [4]. Hereinafter, similarly, data is transmitted two bits at a time in order.

In the second embodiment, the number of transmission bits for each slave when a global address is received is set to 2 bits, but the number of transmission bits is not limited to 2 bits. When the global address is received, each slave can transmit read data of a fixed number of bits of 3 bits or more.

FIG. 12 is a flowchart illustrating an example of an operation of the master (master device 110) according to the second embodiment of the present technology. The operation of the master according to the second embodiment is different from that of the first embodiment in that step S911 is executed instead of step S903.

The master sets the variable n to an initial value “1” (step S902), and receives 2-bit read data from the slave having the auxiliary number n (step S911).

FIG. 13 is a flowchart illustrating an example of an operation of a slave (slave device 120) according to the second embodiment of the present technology. The operation of the slave of the second embodiment is different from that of the first embodiment in that step S961 is executed instead of step S952, and steps S962 to S965 are further executed.

When the global address is recognized (step S951: Yes), the slave resets the count value CNT of the counter 124 and the count value k of the counter 128 to “1” at the timing of returning the ACK (step S961). The slave determines whether or not the count value CNT matches the auxiliary number (step S953). When the count value CNT matches the auxiliary number (step S953: Yes), the slave transmits one bit of the read data (step S954). When the count value CNT does not match the auxiliary number (step S953: No), or after step S954, the slave increments the count value k (step S962).

Then, the slave judges whether or not the count value k matches the number of transmission bits (step S963). If the count value k does not match the number of transmission bits (step S963: No), the slave repeatedly executes step S954 and subsequent steps. On the other hand, when the count k matches the number of transmission bits (step S963: Yes), the slave increments the count CNT (step S955) and resets the count k (step S964). The slave determines whether the transmission of the read data has been completed by executing the step S954 a fixed number of times (step S965).

If the transmission has not been completed (step S965: No), the slave repeatedly executes step S953 and subsequent steps. On the other hand, if the transmission has been completed (step S965: Yes), the slave ends the communication.

As described above, according to the second embodiment of the present technology, since each of the slaves that have received the global address transmits the read data of 2 bits or more, the communication efficiency is reduced as compared with the first embodiment. Can be improved.

[Modification]
In the above-described second embodiment, the counter 128 is further provided in the slave for counting the number of transmitted bits. However, the addition of the counter 128 increases the circuit scale. The slave according to the modification of the second embodiment is different from the second embodiment in that the counter 128 is deleted and an operation is performed on the count value k of the counter 128.

FIG. 14 is a flowchart illustrating an example of an operation of a slave (slave device 120) according to a modification of the second embodiment of the present technology. The operation of the slave in the modification of the second embodiment is different from that of the first embodiment in that steps S971 to S973 are executed instead of steps S954 and S955.

After the step S952, the slave performs, for example, an operation of dividing the count value CNT by the number of transmission bits K and processing a fraction (eg, rounding) (step S971).

The slave determines whether or not the calculation result matches the auxiliary number (step S972). If it does not match the auxiliary number (step S972: No), the slave repeats the steps from step S955.

On the other hand, if the operation result matches the auxiliary number (step S972: Yes), the slave transmits K-bit read data (step S973) and ends the communication.

As described above, according to the modification of the second embodiment of the present technology, the slave counts the number of transmitted bits in order to compare the value obtained by dividing the count value k by the number of transmitted bits with the auxiliary number. The counter 128 can be reduced.

<3. Third Embodiment>
In the above-described second embodiment, the number of transmission bits is a fixed value. However, when read data having a larger number of bits than the fixed value is read for each slave, communication efficiency may be reduced. The communication system according to the third embodiment differs from the second embodiment in that the number of transmission bits is variable and the value is set by a master.

FIG. 15 is a block diagram illustrating a configuration example of a slave (slave device 120) according to the third embodiment of the present technology. The slave according to the third embodiment is different from the slave according to the second embodiment in that an I2C communication processing unit 129 is provided instead of the I2C communication processing unit 121.

The I2C communication processing unit 129 receives the set value of the transmission bit number from the master, and updates the value stored in the transmission bit number storage unit 127 with the set value.

The master of the third embodiment individually sets the number of transmission bits for each slave by transmitting a slave address, for example. The master can also set the number of transmission bits to all slaves simultaneously by transmitting a common address similar to the global address.

As described above, according to the third embodiment of the present technology, since the master sets the number of transmission bits for each of the slaves, it is possible to suppress a decrease in communication efficiency when reading read data having a large number of bits. it can.

<4. Application>
The technology according to the present disclosure is applicable to a technology called IoT (Internet of things), which is a so-called “Internet of Things”. The IoT is a mechanism in which an IoT device 9100, which is a “thing,” is connected to another IoT device 9003, the Internet, a cloud 9005, and the like, and controls each other by exchanging information. IoT can be used in various industries such as agriculture, home, automobile, manufacturing, distribution, and energy.

FIG. 16 is a diagram illustrating an example of a schematic configuration of an IoT system 9000 to which the technology according to the present disclosure can be applied. The IoT device 9001 includes various sensors such as a temperature sensor, a humidity sensor, an illuminance sensor, an acceleration sensor, a distance sensor, an image sensor, a gas sensor, and a human sensor. Further, the IoT device 9001 may include a terminal such as a smartphone, a mobile phone, a wearable terminal, and a game device. The IoT device 9001 is supplied with power from an AC power supply, a DC power supply, a battery, a non-contact power supply, a so-called energy harvest, or the like. The IoT device 9001 can communicate by wire, wireless, close proximity wireless communication, or the like. As a communication method, 3G / LTE, WiFi, IEEE 802.15.4, Bluetooth, Zigbee (registered trademark), Z-Wave, or the like is preferably used. The IoT device 9001 may perform communication by switching a plurality of these communication units.

The IoT device 9001 may form a one-to-one, star, tree, or mesh network. The IoT device 9001 may connect to an external cloud 9005 directly or through a gateway 9002. An address is assigned to the IoT device 9001 by IPv4, IPv6, 6LoWPAN, or the like. Data collected from the IoT device 9001 is transmitted to another IoT device 9003, a server 9004, a cloud 9005, and the like. The timing and frequency of transmitting data from the IoT device 9001 are appropriately adjusted, and the data may be compressed and transmitted. Such data may be used as it is, or the data may be analyzed by the computer 9008 by various means such as statistical analysis, machine learning, data mining, cluster analysis, discriminant analysis, combination analysis, and time series analysis. By using such data, various services such as control, warning, monitoring, visualization, automation, and optimization can be provided.

技術 The technology according to the present disclosure is also applicable to devices and services related to houses. IoT devices 9001 at home include washing machines, dryers, dryers, microwaves, dishwashers, refrigerators, ovens, rice cookers, cookware, gas appliances, fire alarms, thermostats, air conditioners, televisions, recorders, audio, Includes lighting equipment, water heaters, water heaters, vacuum cleaners, fans, air purifiers, security cameras, locks, door and shutter opening and closing devices, sprinklers, toilets, thermometers, scales, blood pressure monitors, and the like. Further, the IoT device 9001 may include a solar cell, a fuel cell, a storage battery, a gas meter, a power meter, and a distribution board.

As a communication method of the IoT device 9001 at home, a low power consumption type communication method is preferable. Further, the IoT device 9001 may perform communication indoors by WiFi and outdoor by 3G / LTE. An external server 9006 for controlling IoT devices may be installed on the cloud 9005 to control the IoT devices 9001. The IoT device 9001 transmits data such as the status of home appliances, temperature, humidity, power consumption, and the presence or absence of people and animals inside and outside the house. Data transmitted from the home device is accumulated in the external server 9006 via the cloud 9005. New services are provided based on such data. Such an IoT device 9001 can be controlled by voice by using voice recognition technology.

By sending information directly from various home devices to the television, the status of various home devices can be visualized. Furthermore, various sensors determine the presence or absence of a resident and send data to an air conditioner, lighting, or the like, so that the power can be turned on / off. Further, an advertisement can be displayed on a display provided for various home appliances through the Internet.

The example of the IoT system 9000 to which the technology according to the present disclosure can be applied has been described above. The technology according to the present disclosure can be suitably applied to the IoT device 9001 among the configurations described above. By applying the technology according to the present disclosure to the IoT device 9001, the communication amount between the master and the slave in the IoT device 9001 can be reduced, and the performance can be improved.

The above-described embodiment is an example for embodying the present technology, and the matters in the embodiment and the matters specifying the invention in the claims have a corresponding relationship. Similarly, the matters specifying the invention in the claims and the matters in the embodiments of the present technology to which the same names are assigned have a corresponding relationship. However, the present technology is not limited to the embodiments, and can be embodied by applying various modifications to the embodiments without departing from the gist thereof.

Further, the processing procedure described in the above embodiment may be considered as a method having a series of these procedures, and a program for causing a computer to execute the series of procedures or a recording medium for storing the program. May be caught. As the recording medium, for example, a CD (Compact Disc), an MD (MiniDisc), a DVD (Digital Versatile Disc), a memory card, a Blu-ray Disc (Blu-ray (registered trademark) Disc), or the like can be used.

効果 Note that the effects described in this specification are merely examples, are not limited, and may have other effects.

Note that the present technology may have the following configurations.
(1) a plurality of slave devices each of which sequentially transmits read data when receiving a specific address commonly allocated;
A communication system comprising: a master device that receives the read data sequentially from the plurality of slave devices when the specific address is transmitted to the plurality of slave devices.
(2) The communication system according to (1), wherein a different order is assigned to each of the plurality of slave devices, and each of the plurality of slave devices transmits the read data in the assigned order.
(3) The communication system according to (1) or (2), wherein each of the plurality of slave devices transmits the read data of a predetermined number of bits.
(4) The communication system according to (3), wherein each of the plurality of slave devices transmits the one-bit read data.
(5) The master device sets the number of bits of the read data to each of the plurality of slave devices,
The communication system according to any one of (1) to (4), wherein each of the plurality of slave devices transmits the read data having the set number of bits.
(6) The master device transmits a predetermined clock signal,
Each of the plurality of slave devices generates a count value in synchronization with the clock signal, and transmits the read data when the count values match in the order in which the read data is transmitted. The communication system according to any one of 5).
(7) The master device transmits a predetermined clock signal,
Each of the plurality of slave devices generates a count value in synchronization with the clock signal, and performs a read operation when a value obtained by performing a predetermined operation on the count value matches an order in which the read data is transmitted. The communication system according to any one of (1) to (5), which transmits data.
(8) The communication system according to any one of (1) to (7), wherein the master device and the slave device communicate using an I2C (Inter-Integrated Circuit) communication standard.
(9) A master device that receives read data in order from the plurality of slave devices when a specific address commonly assigned to the plurality of slave devices is transmitted to the plurality of slave devices.
(10) When a specific address common to another slave device is received, a count value is counted in synchronization with a predetermined clock signal, and read data is transmitted when the count values match in a predetermined order. Slave device.
(11) a transmission procedure in which each of the plurality of slave devices sequentially transmits read data when a plurality of slave devices receive a specific address commonly assigned;
A communication method comprising: when the master device transmits the specific address to the plurality of slave devices, receiving the read data sequentially from the plurality of slave devices.

Reference Signs List 100 electronic device 110 master device 111 auxiliary number table 112

communication processing unit

121, 129 I2C communication processing unit 120 slave device 122 global address recognition unit 123

state machine

124, 128 counter 125 address storage unit 126 auxiliary number storage unit 127 transmission bit number storage Department 9001 IoT device

Claims

A plurality of slave devices each of which sequentially transmits read data when receiving a commonly assigned specific address,
A communication system comprising: a master device that receives the read data sequentially from the plurality of slave devices when the specific address is transmitted to the plurality of slave devices.
The communication system according to claim 1, wherein a different order is assigned to each of the plurality of slave devices, and each of the plurality of slave devices transmits the read data in the assigned order.
The communication system according to claim 1, wherein each of the plurality of slave devices transmits the read data of a predetermined number of bits.
The communication system according to claim 3, wherein each of the plurality of slave devices transmits the read data of one bit.
The master device sets the number of bits of the read data to each of the plurality of slave devices,
The communication system according to claim 1, wherein each of the plurality of slave devices transmits the read data of the set number of bits.
The master device transmits a predetermined clock signal,
2. The communication according to claim 1, wherein each of the plurality of slave devices generates a count value in synchronization with the clock signal, and transmits the read data when the count values match in the order in which the read data is transmitted. system.
The master device transmits a predetermined clock signal,
Each of the plurality of slave devices generates a count value in synchronization with the clock signal, and performs a read operation when a value obtained by performing a predetermined operation on the count value matches an order in which the read data is transmitted. The communication system according to claim 1, wherein the communication system transmits data.
The communication system according to claim 1, wherein the master device and the slave device communicate using an I2C (Inter-Integrated Circuit) communication standard.
A master device that receives read data in order from the plurality of slave devices when a specific address commonly assigned to the plurality of slave devices is transmitted to the plurality of slave devices.
A slave device that counts a count value in synchronization with a predetermined clock signal when a specific address common to another slave device is received, and transmits read data when the count value matches a predetermined order.
A transmission procedure in which each of the plurality of slave devices sequentially transmits read data when a plurality of slave devices receive a commonly assigned specific address,
A communication method comprising: when the master device transmits the specific address to the plurality of slave devices, receiving the read data sequentially from the plurality of slave devices.