Integrated circuit having ADC, DSP and computing units

• US 10,133,684 B2
• Filed: 09/08/2016
• Issued: 11/20/2018
• Est. Priority Date: 09/11/2015
• Status: Active Grant

• Current Assignee: Robert Bosch GmbH
• Original Assignee: Robert Bosch GmbH
• Inventors: Aue, Axel, Gruenewald, Martin
• Primary Examiner(s): Misiura, Brian T
• Application Number:
  US15/259,810
• Publication Number:
  US 20170075826A1
• Time in Patent Office: 803 Days
• CPC Class Codes: G06F 13/102 where the programme performs an interfacing function, e.g. device driver G06F13/105 takes precedence; scheduling within device drivers G06F9/52; contention policies within device drivers G06F9/4881
• CPC Class Codes: G06F 13/124 where hardware is a sequential transfer control unit, e.g. microprocessor, peripheral processor or state-machine
• CPC Class Codes: H04L 67/12 specially adapted for proprietary or special-purpose networking environments, e.g. medical networks, sensor networks, networks in vehicles or remote metering networks

Abstract

An integrated circuit, preferably for controlling vehicle functions, having an analog-digital converter for converting an analog signal into digital measurement values, a DSP unit, connected downstream from the analog-digital converter, for pre-processing the digital measurement values, a central computing unit, connected to the DSP unit so as to transmit data, for further processing of the digital measurement values, the DSP unit being set up to control the analog-digital converter during operation.

Claims

1. An integrated circuit, comprising:

an analog-digital converter for receiving a plurality of analog signals from a plurality of sensors and converting the plurality of analog signals into corresponding digital measurement values;

a digital signal processing (DSP) unit, connected to the analog-digital converter downstream from the analog-digital converter, for directly receiving the digital measurement values from the analog-digital converter without participation of a central computing unit, and pre-processing the digital measurement values;

the central computing unit, connected to the DSP unit downstream from the DSP unit, for receiving and further processing at least some of the pre-processed digital measurement values; and

an output unit to transmit data to outside the integrated circuit;

wherein the DSP unit is configured to control the analog-digital converter during operation; and

wherein the DSP unit is configured to transmit to the output unit at least some of the pre-processed digital measurement values at least one of;

(i) via an internal bus of the integrated circuit, directly and without participation of the central computing unit, and (ii) via a direct memory access (DMA) without participation of the central computing unit.

2. The integrated circuit as recited in claim 1, wherein the analog-digital converter has a plurality of ADC paths and the DSP unit having a plurality of DSP paths, a DSP path of the plurality of DSP paths being respectively assigned to each ADC path of the plurality of ADC paths.

3. The integrated circuit as recited in claim 2, wherein no two ADC paths of the plurality of ADC paths having assigned to them the same DSP path of the plurality of DSP paths.

4. The integrated circuit as recited in claim 3, wherein each DSP path of the plurality of DSP paths being respectively configurable independently of other DSP paths of the plurality of DSP paths.

5. The integrated circuit as recited in claim 1, wherein the integrated circuit is set up such that during operation a communication takes place between the analog-digital converter and the DSP unit without participation of the central computing unit.

6. The integrated circuit as recited in claim 1, wherein the DSP unit is a digital signal processor or a state machine.

7. The integrated circuit as recited in claim 1, wherein the central computing unit is a microprocessor.

8. The integrated circuit as recited claim 1, wherein the integrated circuit is a microcontroller.

9. The integrated circuit as recited in claim 1, wherein the DSP unit is configured to transmit to the output unit at least some of the pre-processed digital measurement values via the internal bus of the integrated circuit directly and without participation of the central computing unit.

10. The integrated circuit as recited in claim 1, wherein the DSP unit is configured to transmit to the output unit at least some of the pre-processed digital measurement values via the direct memory access (DMA) without participation of the central computing unit.

11. The integrated circuit as recited in claim 1, wherein the output unit is a timer module, the timer module switching an output of the timer module between HIGH and LOW when counter values are reached.

12. The integrated circuit as recited in claim 11, wherein the counter values are computed by the DSP and are transmitted from the DSP to the timer module directly, without a detour to the central computing unit.

13. The integrated circuit as recited in claim 1, wherein the output unit is one of a digital-analog converter, a port module, or a timer module.

14. A method of using an integrated circuit, comprising:

providing an integrated circuit, the integrated circuit including an analog-digital converter for receiving a plurality of analog signals from a plurality of sensors and converting the plurality of analog signals into corresponding digital measurement values, a digital signal processing (DSP) unit, connected to the analog-digital converter downstream from the analog-digital converter, for directly receiving the digital measurement values from the analog-digital converter without participation of a central computing unit, and pre-processing the digital measurement values, and the central computing unit, connected to the DSP unit downstream from the DSP unit for receiving and further processing at least some of the pre-processed digital measurement values, and an output unit to transmit data to outside the integrated circuit, wherein the DSP unit is configured to control the analog-digital converter during operation, and

wherein the DSP unit is configured to transmit to the output unit at least some of the pre-processed digital measurement values at least one of;

(i) via an internal bus of the integrated circuit, directly and without participation of the central computing unit, and (ii) via a direct memory access (DMA) without participation of the central computing unit; and

controlling vehicle functions using the integrated circuit.

15. The method as recited in claim 14, wherein at least one of the following vehicle functions are controlled using the integrated circuit:

engine functions, transmission functions, clutch functions, brake functions, drive functions, or safety functions.