Patent Document ID: 4484266
Application ID: 06329848
Patent Flag: 1

Claim One:
1. An improved Externally Specified Index (ESI) peripheral simulation system including a tactical computer and a simulation computer, said ESI peripheral simulation system being configured to emulate real peripheral devices of said tactical computer during the testing of a tactical program, the tactical program being the real time operational program for the tactical computer wherein the improvement comprises: An Externally Specified Index (ESI) peripheral simulator operatively connected to input and output ports of said tactical computer and to input and output ports of said simulation computer for converting predetermined interface signals of said simulation computer to be compatible with predetermined interface signals of said tactical computer, for controlling and transferring information in the form of actual data and external function (EXF) codes (command words) in a bidirectional manner from said simulation computer to said tactical computer (S/T) or from said tactical computer to said simulation computer (T/S), and for interleaving the actual data and the command words while simulating the real peripheral devices and testing the tactical program of said tactical computer; wherein said ESI peripheral simulator comprises; a transfer/decision/control device for interface control between said tactical computer and said simulation computer; a transfer count register operatively connected to said transfer/decision/control device for counting the number of data words of actual data to be transferred from said simulation computer to said tactical computer, and for sending a control signal to said transfer/decision/control device when the count reaches zero, said transfer/decision/control device sensing the control signal and operating to terminate the actual data transfer in response thereto; an ESI holding register operatively connected to said transfer/decision/control device for temporary storage of an index to be used by said tactical computer during the transfer of actual data to said simulation computer, the index being used to calculate the memory location within the tactical computer where the actual data is to be stored; a S/T data holding register operatively connected to said transfer/decision/control device for the temporary storage of actual data transferred from said simulation computer to said tactical computer; a S/T EXF holding register operatively connected to said transfer/decision/control device for the temporary storage of external function (EXF) codes (command words) transferred from said simulation computer to said tactical computer; a T/S data holding register operatively connected to said transfer/decision/control device for the temporary storage of actual data transferred from said tactical computer to said simulation computer; a T/S EXF holding register operatively connected to said transfer/decision/control device for first level temporary storage of external function (EXF) codes (command words) to be transferred from said tactical computer to said simulation computer; and a T/S EXF transfer register operatively connected to said T/S EXF holding register for second level temporary storage of external function (EXF) codes (command words) to be transferred from said tactical computer to said simulation computer, said T/S EXF holding register and said T/S EXF transfer register coacting such that a subsequent external function (EXF) code is held in said T/S EXF holding register until a previous external function (EXF) code has been transferred out of said T/S EXF transfer register, and such that the subsequent external function (EXF) code held in said T/S EXF holding register is immediately transferred into said T/S EXF Transfer register.