Serial communication method

• US 10,162,402 B2
• Filed: 05/18/2015
• Issued: 12/25/2018
• Est. Priority Date: 05/19/2014
• Status: Active Grant

• Current Assignee: Samsung Electronics Co. Ltd.
• Original Assignee: Samsung Electronics Co. Ltd.
• Inventors: Seo, Sung-Ho, Jang, Soon-Bok, Kim, Sung-Ha, Lee, Sang-Hoon
• Primary Examiner(s): Huynh, Kim
• Assistant Examiner(s): Stewart, Kevin M
• Application Number:
  US14/714,570
• Publication Number:
  US 20150331474A1
• Time in Patent Office: 1,317 Days
• Field of Search: None
• CPC Class Codes: G06F 1/3206 Monitoring of events, devices or parameters that trigger a change in power modality
• CPC Class Codes: G06F 1/3278 Power saving in modem or I/O interface
• CPC Class Codes: Y02D 10/00 Energy efficient computing, e.g. low power processors, power management or thermal management

Abstract

A serial communication method for a layered communication architecture includes a first layer, a second layer that is higher than the first layer, and a third layer that is higher than the second layer. The serial communication method includes transferring a first signal to the second layer based on a signal received through a communication line, the transferring performed by the first layer. The serial communication method further includes informing the third layer of reception of the first signal, the informing performed by the second layer; responding to the second layer based on whether there is a task to be performed, the responding performed by the third layer; transferring a second signal to the first layer based on a response from the third layer the transferring performed by the second layer; and entering a power saving state according to the second signal, the entering performed by the first layer.

Claims

1. A serial communication method for a layered communication architecture of a first device including a first layer, a second layer that is higher than the first layer, and a third layer that is higher than the second layer, the serial communication method comprising:

transferring a first signal including a first symbol to the second layer based on a signal received at the first layer through a communication line from a second device, said transferring the first signal performed by the first layer;

informing the third layer of reception of the first signal using a related signal based on but different from the first signal, said informing performed by the second layer without sending the first symbol to the third layer;

responding to the second layer with a response based on whether there is a task to be performed, said responding performed by the third layer without sending the first symbol to the second layer;

when there is no task to be performed, transferring a signal corresponding to the first symbol through the communication line, said transferring the signal performed by the first layer;

transferring a second signal to the first layer based on the response from the third layer, said transferring the second signal performed by the second layer; and

entering a first power saving state according to the second signal, said entering the first power saving state performed by the first layer,

wherein the serial communication method is used in a universal flash storage (UFS) interface, the first layer is a mobile industry processor interface (MIPI) M-PHY layer, and the second layer is an MIPI UniPro layer,

wherein the first symbol and the signal corresponding to the first symbol are used at the first device and the second device to control power.

2. The serial communication method of claim 1, further comprising:

transferring the first symbol to the first layer before the transferring the signal corresponding to the first symbol, said transferring the first symbol performed by the second layer.

3. The serial communication method of claim 1, further comprising:

when there is no task to be performed, entering a second power saving state after responding to the second layer, said entering the second power saving state performed by the third layer; and

entering a third power saving state after transferring the second signal to the first layer, said entering the third power saving state performed by the second layer.

4. The serial communication method of claim 3, further comprising:

detecting whether the communication line transitions from a first logic level to a second logic level in the first power saving state, said detecting performed by the first layer;

when a transition is detected, escaping from the first power saving state and transferring a third signal to the second layer and the third layer, said transferring the third signal performed by the first layer; and

entering communicable states in response to the third signal, said entering the communicable states performed by the second and third layers respectively.

5. The serial communication method of claim 1,

wherein the first layer includes a physical layer, the second layer includes a data link layer, and the third layer includes an application layer.

6. The serial communication method of claim 1, further comprising:

determining whether the task is to be performed by determining whether there is data to be transmitted, said determining performed by the third layer.

7. A serial communication method used in a universal flash storage (UFS) interface between a host and a device, the serial communication method comprising:

receiving at a mobile industry processor interface (MIPI) M-PHY layer of the device a signal corresponding to a first symbol through a communication line and transferring the first symbol to an MIPI UniPro layer of the device;

informing an application layer of the device of reception of the first symbol using a related signal based on but different from the first symbol, said informing performed by the MIPI UniPro layer without sending the first symbol to the application layer;

responding to the MIPI UniPro layer with a response based on whether there is a task to be performed, said responding performed by the application layer without sending the first symbol to the MIPI UniPro layer;

when there is no task to be performed, transferring the signal corresponding to the first symbol to the host through the communication line, said transferring the signal performed by the MIPI M-PHY layer;

requesting the MIPI M-PHY layer to enter a first power saving state based on the response from the application layer, said requesting performed by the MIPI UniPro layer; and

entering the first power saving state in response to the request for entry to the first power saving state, said entering performed by the MIPI M-PHY layer,

wherein the first symbol and the signal corresponding to the first symbol are used at the host and the device to control power.

8. The serial communication method of claim 7, further comprising:

transferring the first symbol to the MIPI M-PHY layer before transferring the signal corresponding to the first symbol to the host, said transferring the first symbol to the MIPI M-PHY layer performed by the MIPI UniPro layer.

9. The serial communication method of claim 7, further comprising:

when there is no task to be performed, entering a second power saving state after responding to the MIPI UniPro layer, said entering the second power saving state performed by the application layer; and

entering a third power saving state after requesting the MIPI M-PHY layer to enter the first power saving state, said entering the third power saving state performed by the MIPI UniPro layer.

10. The serial communication method of claim 9, further comprising:

detecting whether the communication line transitions from a DIF-N level to a DIF-P level, said detecting performed by the MIPI M-PHY layer;

when a transition is detected, escaping from the first power saving state and transferring a wake-up signal to the MIPI UniPro layer and the application layer, said transferring the wake-up signal performed by the MIPI M-PHY layer; and

respectively entering communicable states in response to the wakeup signal, said entering the communicable states performed by the MIPI UniPro layer and the application layer.

11. The serial communication method of claim 10,

wherein the device comprises a power management unit configured to control power of the UFS interface, and the wakeup signal is transferred to the MIPI UniPro layer and the application layer through the power management unit.

12. The serial communication method of claim 7,

wherein the first symbol includes two consecutive MK2 data units.

13. The serial communication method of claim 7,

wherein the first power saving state includes a deep-stall state and a deep-sleep state, and

the deep-stall state and the deep-sleep state respectively transition from a high speed (HS)-burst state and a pulse width modulation (PWM)-burst state, or the deep-stall state and the deep-sleep state respectively transition to the HS-burst state and the PWM-burst state.

14. The serial communication method of claim 7,

wherein the device comprises a phase locked loop (PLL) used by the MIPI M-PHY layer and one or more ports connected to the communication line, and

the serial communication method further comprises turning the PLL off and/or masking at least one of the ports in the first power saving state.

15. A serial communication method between first and second devices, comprising:

entering a communication mode to serially transmit and receive data between the first and second devices, wherein the second device comprises a first layer, a second layer that is higher than the first layer, and a third layer that is higher than the second layer;

receiving a first symbol at the first layer of the second device from the first device;

transferring the first symbol from the first layer to the second layer;

informing, by the second layer, the third layer of reception of the first symbol using a related signal based on but different from the first symbol and without sending the first symbol to the third layer;

responding to the second layer by the third layer with a response based on whether there is a task to be performed and without sending the first symbol to the second layer;

determining if data is available for transmission at the second device, responsive to receipt of the first symbol;

transmitting the first symbol from the second device to the first device upon determination that data is not available for transmission at the second device;

entering a power saving state at the second device responsive to the received first symbol, after said transmitting the first symbol to the first device;

determining at the second device whether a communication line between the first and second devices transitions from a first logic level to a second logic level; and

escaping from the power saving state at the second device upon determination of the transition,

wherein the serial communication method is used in a universal flash storage (UFS) interface, the first layer is a mobile industry processor interface (MIPI) M-PHY layer, and the second layer is an MIPI UniPro layer,

wherein the first symbol is used at the first and second devices to control power.

16. The serial communication method of claim 15, further comprising:

transmitting data from the second device to the first device upon determination that data is available for transmission at the second device.

17. The serial communication method of claim 15,

wherein the first device is a host device, and the second device is a storage device.

18. The serial communication method of claim 15,

wherein the communication line is a differential communication line, and wherein the first logic level is a DIF-N logic level and the second logic level is a DIF-P logic level.

19. The serial communication method of claim 15,

wherein the first and second devices respectively include first and second universal flash storage (UFS) interfaces connected to the communication line.