Importance

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Abstract

A data bus address extender is presented. The data bus extender may be deployed in cooperation with a master device to extend the number of addressable physical devices on a data bus without modifying the number of address bits used to identify the various slave devices on the bus. The data bus extender of the present invention can be used in existing data bus systems with minimal impact as it does not require a change at the slave devices. A data bus address extender in accordance with the present invention may comprise an address stripper and a range select decoder wherein at least one of the address bits at the slave side of the bus is enabled by the range select decoder. The present invention also provides a method for extending the number of addressable communication devices on a data bus. In its broadest terms, the method can be described by the following steps: receiving an address at a master device; subdividing the addressable slave devices into a plurality of ranges; identifying an appropriate range in response to a first portion of the address; identifying a particular device within the identified range responsive to a second portion of the address; selecting an uniquely identified addressable slave device by enabling the address lines; and performing the data transfer.

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First Claim