Method and apparatus for exchanging information between buses in a portable computer and docking station through a bridge employing a serial link

摘要

A docking system can give a portable computer access over a first bus in the portable computer to a second bus in a docking station. The first bus and the second bus are each adapted to separately connect to respective ones of a plurality of bus-compatible devices. The docking system has a serial link cooperating with a first and a second interface to act as a single bridge. The first interface is coupled between the first bus and the link. The second interface is coupled between the second bus and the link. The first interface and the second interface are operable to (a) send bus-related information through the link in a format different from that of the first bus and the second bus, and (b) allow the portable computer, communicating through the first bus, to individually address one or more of the bus-compatible devices on the second bus using on the first bus substantially the same type of addressing as is used to access devices on the first bus.