Patent ID: 8250272

Claim:
An interrupt control apparatus comprising: a receiver that receives communication information sent from an external device via a communication line; a memory that stores interrupt cause information that indicates an interrupt cause generated based on the communication information received by the receiver; an interrupt controller that writes in the memory interrupt cause information when the receiver receives the communication information, and a timer that measures a predefined time period by an instruction from the interrupt controller, wherein the interrupt controller is configured such that: if the receiver receives first communication information, then in response to the receiver receiving the first communication information: the interrupt controller writes first interrupt cause information in the memory, and if the timer is not measuring the predefined time period when the receiver receives the first communication information, then the interrupt controller: supplies a first interrupt request to a processor, and controls the timer to start measuring the predefined time period, wherein the processor performs interrupt processing in response to the processor receiving an interrupt request, and if the receiver receives second communication information while the timer is measuring the predefined time period, then in response to the receiver receiving the second communication information while the timer is measuring the predefined time period: the interrupt controller waits without supplying the interrupt request to the processor—until the timer finishes measuring the predefined time period, and after the timer finishes measuring the predefined time period, the interrupt controller then supplies the interrupt request to the processor.