drivers/i2c: add ioexpander-based lower-half implementation for I2C bit-bang

Documentation/components/drivers/special/i2c.rst

@@ -23,6 +23,138 @@ I2C Device Drivers
    ``arch/z80/src/z8/z8_i2c.c``, etc.
 
 
+=======================
+I2C Bit-Bang Driver
+=======================
+
+The I2C bit-bang driver provides a software implementation of the I2C
+protocol using GPIO pins. This is useful when hardware I2C peripherals
+are not available or when additional I2C buses are needed.
+
+Overview
+--------
+
+-  ``include/nuttx/i2c/i2c_bitbang.h``
+   Generic upper-half I2C bit-bang driver interface.
+
+-  ``drivers/i2c/i2c_bitbang.c``
+   Generic upper-half implementation that handles the I2C protocol timing.
+
+-  Platform-specific lower-half drivers control the GPIO pins (SDA and SCL).
+
+IO Expander-Based I2C Bit-Bang
+-------------------------------
+
+A generic lower-half implementation is provided for systems using IO expanders
+to control GPIO pins. This eliminates the need for platform-specific code when
+implementing I2C bit-bang via IO expander pins.
+
+Configuration
+~~~~~~~~~~~~~
+
+-  ``CONFIG_I2C_BITBANG`` - Enable I2C bit-bang driver framework
+-  ``CONFIG_I2C_BITBANG_IOEXPANDER`` - Enable IO expander-based lower-half
+   (depends on ``CONFIG_IOEXPANDER``)
+
+Header Files
+~~~~~~~~~~~~
+
+-  ``include/nuttx/i2c/i2c_bitbang_ioexpander.h``
+   IO expander-based lower-half driver interface.
+
+API
+~~~
+
+.. c:function:: FAR struct i2c_master_s *i2c_bitbang_ioexpander_initialize(FAR struct ioexpander_dev_s *ioe, int scl_pin, int sda_pin, int busnum);
+
+   Initialize an I2C bit-bang driver using IO expander pins.
+
+   :param ioe: Pointer to the IO expander device
+   :param scl_pin: IO expander pin number for SCL (clock line)
+   :param sda_pin: IO expander pin number for SDA (data line)
+   :param busnum: I2C bus number to register (use negative value to skip registration)
+
+   :return: Pointer to ``struct i2c_master_s`` on success, NULL on failure
+
+   The pins will be configured as open-drain outputs, which is required
+   for proper I2C operation. If busnum >= 0, the I2C bus is automatically
+   registered and accessible via standard I2C APIs.
+
+Usage Example
+~~~~~~~~~~~~~
+
+.. code-block:: c
+
+   #include <nuttx/ioexpander/ioexpander.h>
+   #include <nuttx/i2c/i2c_bitbang_ioexpander.h>
+   #include <nuttx/i2c/i2c_master.h>
+
+   /* Assume we have an IO expander device */
+   FAR struct ioexpander_dev_s *ioe = /* ... get IO expander ... */;
+   FAR struct i2c_master_s *i2c;
+
+   /* Initialize I2C bit-bang using IO expander pins 10 (SCL) and 11 (SDA) */
+   /* Register as I2C bus 0 */
+   i2c = i2c_bitbang_ioexpander_initialize(ioe, 10, 11, 0);
+   if (i2c == NULL)
+     {
+       /* Initialization failed */
+       return -1;
+     }
+
+   /* Now use the I2C master device normally */
+   /* For example, with I2C character driver or directly */
+
+   /* If registered (busnum >= 0), can also access via /dev/i2c0 */
+
+Use Cases
+~~~~~~~~~
+
+-  **GPIO Expansion**: When using I2C or SPI IO expanders for GPIO expansion,
+   and need to implement additional I2C buses using those expanded pins.
+
+-  **Multi-Master Scenarios**: Software bit-bang can be useful in multi-master
+   configurations where hardware I2C has limitations.
+
+-  **Pin Flexibility**: Implement I2C on any GPIO pins, not limited to
+   hardware I2C peripheral pins.
+
+-  **Testing and Debugging**: Use IO expander pins for I2C communication
+   during prototyping and debugging.
+
+-  **Hardware I2C Unavailable**: When hardware I2C peripherals are exhausted
+   or not available on specific pins.
+
+Features
+~~~~~~~~
+
+-  Uses standard IO expander API (``IOEXP_WRITEPIN``, ``IOEXP_READPIN``)
+-  Automatic open-drain configuration
+-  Supports clock stretching (via pin reading)
+-  Platform-independent implementation
+-  Works with any IO expander that implements the standard interface
+-  Automatic I2C bus registration
+
+Limitations
+~~~~~~~~~~~
+
+-  Software timing (slower than hardware I2C)
+-  Timing accuracy depends on system load and IO expander response time
+-  Limited to standard I2C speeds (fast-mode and high-speed may not be reliable)
+
+Implementation Details
+~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~
+
+The IO expander-based implementation provides these callbacks:
+
+-  ``initialize``: Configures SCL and SDA pins as open-drain outputs
+-  ``set_scl/set_sda``: Controls pin output values
+-  ``get_scl/get_sda``: Reads current pin states (for clock stretching detection)
+
+The driver automatically manages the IO expander pin states and handles
+the bit-bang protocol timing according to I2C specifications.
+
+
 ========================
 I2C Slave Device Drivers
 ========================

drivers/i2c/CMakeLists.txt

@@ -29,6 +29,11 @@ if(CONFIG_I2C)
 
   if(CONFIG_I2C_BITBANG)
     list(APPEND SRCS i2c_bitbang.c)
+
+    if(CONFIG_I2C_BITBANG_IOEXPANDER)
+      list(APPEND SRCS i2c_bitbang_ioexpander.c)
+    endif()
+
   endif()
 
   if(CONFIG_I2C_SLAVE_DRIVER)

drivers/i2c/Kconfig

@@ -112,6 +112,13 @@ config I2C_BITBANG_CLOCK_STRETCHING
 		the pin into open-collector mode (master sets SCL high and waits until
 		slave stops holding it low).
 
+config I2C_BITBANG_IOEXPANDER
+	bool "Support the ioexpander lower half of i2c bitbang"
+	default n
+	depends on IOEXPANDER
+	---help---
+		Using ioexpander to control gpio to implement i2c bitbang function.
+
 endif # I2C_BITBANG
 
 config I2C_DRIVER

drivers/i2c/Make.defs

@@ -32,6 +32,11 @@ endif
 
 ifeq ($(CONFIG_I2C_BITBANG),y)
 CSRCS += i2c_bitbang.c
+
+ifeq ($(CONFIG_I2C_BITBANG_IOEXPANDER),y)
+CSRCS += i2c_bitbang_ioexpander.c
+endif
+
 endif
 
 ifeq ($(CONFIG_I2C_SLAVE_DRIVER),y)