Bidirectional programmable I/O driver array

Claim 1

A daisy-chained configuration of at least two programmable bidirectional input/output drivers, said daisy-chained configuration comprising: first and second bidirectional input/output (I/O) drivers, each driver including: an array of bidirectional current buffers, each current buffer having a direction control signal input terminal and first and second I/O terminals, said array further including a direction control signal register for receiving and storing direction control signals for controlling a direction of propagation of data between said first and second I/O terminals, said direction control inputs being connected to data output terminals of the direction control signal register; a tristate control signal input for receiving an externally generated tristate control signal; program control circuit means having a data input terminal connected to receive a binary coded programming signal and a data output terminal, said circuit means for generating a plurality of direction control signals in response to the binary coded programming signal, said programming signal includes a header data portion including a preamble code and program length data, said programming signal further including direction control data, the program control circuit means including a length count register means for receiving the header data portion, the length count register means including means for generating a preamble detect signal in response to reception of the header data portion; wherein the direction control inputs of the bidirectional current buffers are connected to the direction control register for receiving the direction control signals, and the current buffers are individually responsive to individual ones of the direction control signals to transmit data signals in a selected direction; said program control circuit means further including logic circuit means responsive to said preamble detect signal for permitting said direction control signal to be loaded into said direction control signal register only after receipt of said preamble, said logic circuit means connected to the length counter register and the data input terminal for controlling the loading of direction control data in the direction control register and transmitting of the direction control signals from the direction control register to the direction control signal inputs of the array of bidirectional current buffers; wherein the array of bidirectional current buffers further includes a tristate control signal input port connected to the tristate input through the program control circuit means for receiving the tristate control signal; and wherein the array of bidirectional current buffers is operable in a tristate mode in response to the tristate control signal; and wherein said first and second drivers are connected together in a programming signal daisy chain so that said data input terminal of the second driver is connected to the data output terminal of the first driver, said header data portion of said programming signal is propagated to said first and second drivers, and said drivers are controlled by information in said header data portion so that said first driver receives and acts on direction control data specific to the driver array of said first driver from said programming signal to program the driver array of the first driver, and said second driver receives and acts on direction control data specific to the driver array of the second driver from said programming signal to program the driver array of the second driver.