Microcontroller programmable system on a chip
First Claim
1. A configurable analog processing circuit, comprising:
- a plurality of analog circuit blocks, each configured to provide at least one analog function;
a programmable interconnect coupled to the analog circuit blocks, the programmable interconnect configurable to interconnect combinations of at least two of the plurality of analog circuit blocks to one another to perform at least another analog function; and
at least one digital block of a plurality of digital blocks that each provides at least one digital function, and wherein the programmable interconnect is further coupled to the plurality of digital blocks and configurable to interconnect combinations of the plurality of digital blocks to one another,wherein the circuit is formed in an integrated circuit and wherein the programmable interconnect comprises a plurality of switches coupled between the analog circuit blocks and ports that provide signal connections for the integrated circuit,wherein the plurality of switches are configured in one or more multiplexer (MUX) circuits, the MUX circuits comprising MUX inputs and MUX outputs coupled to the analog circuit blocks.
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Accused Products
Abstract
Embodiments of the present invention are directed to a microcontroller device having a microprocessor, programmable memory components, and programmable analog and digital blocks. The programmable analog and digital blocks are configurable based on programming information stored in the memory components. Programmable interconnect logic, also programmable from the memory components, is used to couple the programmable analog and digital blocks as needed. The advanced microcontroller design also includes programmable input/output blocks for coupling selected signals to external pins. The memory components also include user programs that the embedded microprocessor executes. These programs may include instructions for programming the digital and analog blocks “on-the-fly,” e.g., dynamically. In one implementation, there are a plurality of programmable digital blocks and a plurality of programmable analog blocks.
1253 Citations
10 Claims
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1. A configurable analog processing circuit, comprising:
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a plurality of analog circuit blocks, each configured to provide at least one analog function; a programmable interconnect coupled to the analog circuit blocks, the programmable interconnect configurable to interconnect combinations of at least two of the plurality of analog circuit blocks to one another to perform at least another analog function; and at least one digital block of a plurality of digital blocks that each provides at least one digital function, and wherein the programmable interconnect is further coupled to the plurality of digital blocks and configurable to interconnect combinations of the plurality of digital blocks to one another, wherein the circuit is formed in an integrated circuit and wherein the programmable interconnect comprises a plurality of switches coupled between the analog circuit blocks and ports that provide signal connections for the integrated circuit, wherein the plurality of switches are configured in one or more multiplexer (MUX) circuits, the MUX circuits comprising MUX inputs and MUX outputs coupled to the analog circuit blocks. - View Dependent Claims (2, 3, 4)
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5. A method, comprising:
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forming a plurality of analog circuit blocks in an integrated circuit; forming a plurality of digital circuit blocks on the integrated circuit, the plurality of digital blocks to perform at least one digital function; and forming a programmable interconnect to at least enable combinations of at least two of the plurality of analog circuit blocks to be interconnected to perform combined analog functions of the analog circuit blocks using a plurality of switches coupled between the analog circuit blocks and ports that provide signal connections for the integrated circuit, the programmable interconnect coupled to the plurality of digital blocks to interconnect combinations of the plurality of digital blocks to one another, wherein the plurality of switches are configured in one or more multiplexer (MUX) circuits, the MUX circuits comprising MUX inputs and MUX outputs coupled to at least one of the analog circuit blocks. - View Dependent Claims (6, 7, 8, 9, 10)
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Specification