Device with improved serial communication

• US 20050135465A1
• Filed: 12/20/2004
• Published: 06/23/2005
• Est. Priority Date: 12/19/2003
• Status: Active Grant

• Current Assignee: Gentex Corporation
• Original Assignee: Gentex Corporation
• Inventors: Andrus, Jeremy C., Turnbull, Robert R., Friend, Timothy R., Bechtel, Jon H.
• Granted Patent: US 7,405,650 B2
• Time in Patent Office: Days
• US Class Current: 375/220
• CPC Class Codes: A61M 16/208 Non-controlled one-way valves, e.g. exhalation, check, pop-off non-rebreathing valves
• CPC Class Codes: H04L 1/0043 Realisations of complexity reduction techniques, e.g. use of look-up tables
• CPC Class Codes: H04L 1/0057 Block codes H04L1/0061, H04L1/0064 take precedence
• CPC Class Codes: H04L 25/4904 using self-synchronising codes, e.g. split-phase codes
• CPC Class Codes: H04L 25/493 by transition coding, i.e. the time-position or direction of a transition being encoded before transmission

Abstract

The present invention relates to various improvements to digital communications and various applications of the improved digital communications.

Claims

1. An apparatus, comprising:

at least one micro-controller;

at least one digital serial communication link comprising a signal having encoding that is transition specific; and

at least one image sensor in communication with said micro-controller via said digital serial communication link.

2. An apparatus as in claim 1 wherein said transition indicates both the occurrence of a data clock and the value of the transmitted bit.

3. An apparatus as in claim 1 wherein the first value of a transmitted bit is associated with a state transition on a first signaling line.

4. An apparatus as in claim 1 wherein the second value of a transmitted bit is associated with a state transition on a second signaling line.

5. An apparatus as in claim 1 comprising multiplexed time interleaved data streams.

6. An apparatus as in claim 5 wherein multiplexing is achieved by using the exclusive-or of two or more signals to be multiplexed as the multiplexed signal value.

7. An apparatus as in claim 5 wherein multiplexing is achieved by using the exclusive nor of two or more signals to be multiplexed as the multiplexed signal value.

8. An apparatus as in claim 1, said signal comprising only one signal state change per transmitted bit.

9. An apparatus as in claim 1 wherein said digital serial communication link is bidirectional.

10. An apparatus as in claim 1 wherein said digital serial communication link comprises at least one pair of electrical conductors.

11. An apparatus as in claim 1 wherein said digital serial communication link comprises at least one radio frequency channel.

12. An apparatus as in claim 1 wherein said digital serial communication link comprises at least one optical fiber.

13. An apparatus as in claim 1 configured as a vehicle equipment control.

14. An apparatus as in claim 13 wherein said vehicle equipment control is selected from the group comprising:

an automatic exterior light control, a rear vision system, a moisture sensor, a windshield wiper control, a defogger control, a lane departure warning, an information display, an adaptive cruise control, a voice responsive control, a backup aid and a parking assist.

15. An apparatus as in claim 1 wherein transmissions from said micro-controller to said image sensor comprises a lower or equal baud rate compared to transmissions from said image sensor to said micro-controller.

25. An apparatus as in claim 11 wherein said digital serial communication link is bidirectional.

26. An apparatus as in claim 11 wherein said digital serial communication link comprises at least one pair of electrical conductors.

27. An apparatus as in claim 11 wherein said digital serial communication link comprises at least one radio frequency channel.

28. An apparatus as in claim 11 wherein said digital serial communication link comprises at least one optical fiber.

16. An apparatus, comprising:

at least one interface unit;

at least one digital serial communication link comprising an electronic signal comprising only one signal state change per transmitted bit, said signal comprising encoding that is transition specific; and

at least one remote unit in communication with said interface unit via said digital serial communications link.

17. An apparatus as in claim 16 wherein said transition indicates both the occurrence of a data clock and the value of the transmitted bit.

18. An apparatus as in claim 16 wherein the first value of a transmitted bit is associated with a state transition on a first signaling line.

19. An apparatus as in claim 16 wherein the second value of a transmitted bit is associated with a state transition on a second signaling line.

20. An apparatus as in claim 16 comprising multiplexed time interleaved data streams.

21. An apparatus as in claim 20 wherein multiplexing is achieved by using the exclusive-or of two or more signals to be multiplexed as the multiplexed signal value.

22. An apparatus as in claim 20 wherein multiplexing is achieved by using the exclusive nor of two or more signals to be multiplexed as the multiplexed signal value.

23. An apparatus as in claim 16 wherein said interface unit comprises at least one device selected from the group comprising;

a micro-controller and an image sensor.

24. An apparatus as in claim 16 wherein said remote unit comprises at least one device selected from the group comprising;

a micro-controller and an image sensor.

29. An apparatus as in claim 16 configured to transmit and, or, receive numerical data.

30. An apparatus as in claim 16 configured to transmit and, or, receive text data.

31. An apparatus as in claim 16 configured to transmit and, or, receive visual data.

32. An apparatus as in claim 16 configured to transmit and, or receive audio data.

33. An apparatus as in claim 16 configured as a vehicle equipment control.

34. An apparatus as in claim 33 wherein said vehicle equipment control is selected from the group comprising:

an automatic exterior light control, a rear vision system, a moisture sensor, a windshield wiper control, a defogger control, a lane departure warning, an information display, an adaptive cruise control, a voice actuated control, a backup aid and a parking assist.

35. An apparatus as in claim 16 wherein transmissions from said interface unit to said remote unit comprises a lower or equal baud rate compared to transmissions from said remote unit to said interface unit.

36. An apparatus, comprising:

at least one interface device comprising a micro-controller;

at least one remote device comprising an image sensor; and

at least one digital serial communication link configured to send commands to said image sensor and to receive image data from said image sensor, wherein a system clock used as a frequency reference for said commands is propagated through said remote device and functions to at least in part synchronize image data sent to said interface device.

37. An apparatus as in claim 36 wherein a selectable active clock edge is chosen to at least in part establish a satisfactory phase relationship to synchronize received data.

38. An apparatus as in claim 36 wherein at least one selectable delay element is used to at least in part select the phase alignment of the received data with a local clock to establish synchronization of received data.

39. An apparatus as in claim 36 wherein at least one variable delay element is used to at least in part adjust the phase alignment of the received data with a local clock to establish synchronization of received data.

40. An apparatus as in claim 36 wherein at least one delay element is used to multiply the clock frequency.

41. An apparatus as in claim 36 wherein as least one delay element is used in process to decode the incoming data stream.

42. An apparatus as in claim 36 wherein as least one delay element is used in process to separate clock and data.

43. An apparatus as in claim 36 wherein a delay of at least one delay element used in decoding is adjusted based on a phase comparison with the reference clock signal.

44. An apparatus as in claim 36 wherein a delay of at least one delay element used in a multiplying function is adjusted based on a phase comparison with the reference clock signal.

45. An apparatus as in claim 36 wherein at least one tapped delay element is used for frequency multiplication.

46. An apparatus as in claim 36 wherein said frequency reference is varied to reduce a peak amplitude of radiated interference.

47. An apparatus as in claim 36 wherein said frequency reference is dithered to reduce a peak amplitude of radiated interference.

48. An apparatus as in claim 36 a data stream clock is recovered by observing the timing of transitions in a data stream and synchronizing a variable frequency oscillator with said transitions using a phased locked loop technique.

49. An apparatus as in claim 36 wherein multiple samples of the phase relationship between the system clock and input data may be taken and analyzed to determine a phase relationship.

50. An apparatus as in claim 47 wherein said dithering is momentarily stopped while taking samples of the phase relationship between the system clock and input data to determine a phase relationship.

51. An apparatus as in claim 47 further comprising a means to monitor a spread spectrum frequency setting at the time at which measurement is made and account for this frequency relative to the frequencies over a total adjustment range when making a phase relationship adjustment.

52. An apparatus as in claim 36 wherein a phase relationship between received data and said system clock are measured for rising edge transitions of said received data to determine a phase correction.

53. An apparatus as in claim 36 wherein a phase relationship between received data and said system clock are measured for falling edge transitions of said received data to determine a phase correction.

54. An apparatus as in claim 52 wherein a phase relationship between received data and said system clock are measured for falling edge transitions of said received data wherein the measured results of the phase relationship between the incoming data and the system clock taken for rising and falling edge transitions of the received data are averaged to determine a phase correction.

55. An apparatus as in claim 36 further comprising a plurality of interface units and remote units.

56. An apparatus as in claim 55 further comprising a phase synchronization means for each interface and remote unit combination.

57. An apparatus as in claim 36 wherein said digital serial communication link comprises at least one pair of electrical conductors.

58. An apparatus as in claim 36 wherein said digital serial communication link comprises at least one radio frequency channel.

59. An apparatus as in claim 36 configured to transmit and, or, receive numerical data.

60. An apparatus as in claim 36 configured to transmit and, or, receive text data.

61. An apparatus as in claim 36 configured to transmit and, or, receive visual data.

62. An apparatus as in claim 36 configured to transmit and, or receive audio data.

63. An apparatus as in claim 36 configured as a vehicle equipment control.

64. An apparatus as in claim 63 wherein said vehicle equipment control is selected from the group comprising:

an automatic exterior light control, a rear vision system, a moisture sensor, a windshield wiper control, a defogger control, a lane departure warning, an information display, an adaptive cruise control, a voice actuated control, a backup aid and a parking assist.

65. An apparatus as in claim 36 wherein transmissions from said micro-controller to said image sensor comprises a lower or equal baud rate compared to transmissions from said image sensor to said micro-controller.

85. An apparatus as in claim 47 further comprising a plurality of interface units and remote units.

86. An apparatus as in claim 85 further comprising a phase synchronization means for each interface and remote unit combination.

66. An apparatus, comprising:

at least one interface device;

at least one remote device; and

at least one digital serial communication link configured to send commands to said remote device and to receive data from said remote device, wherein a system clock used as a frequency reference for said commands is propagated through said remote device and functions to at least in part synchronize data sent to said interface device.

67. An apparatus as in claim 66 wherein a selectable active clock edge is chosen to at least in part establish a satisfactory phase relationship to synchronize received data.

68. An apparatus as in claim 66 wherein at least one selectable delay element is used to at least in part select the phase alignment of the received data with a local clock to establish synchronization of received data.

69. An apparatus as in claim 66 wherein at least one variable delay element is used to at least in part adjust the phase alignment of the received data with a local clock to establish synchronization of received data.

70. An apparatus as in claim 66 wherein at least one delay element is used to multiply the clock frequency.

71. An apparatus as in claim 66 wherein as least one delay element is used in process to decode the incoming data stream.

72. An apparatus as in claim 66 wherein as least one delay element is used in process to separate clock and data.

73. An apparatus as in claim 66 wherein a delay of at least one delay element used in decoding is adjusted based on a phase comparison with the reference clock signal.

74. An apparatus as in claim 66 wherein a delay of at least one delay element used in a multiplying function is adjusted based on a phase comparison with the reference clock signal.

75. An apparatus as in claim 66 wherein at least one tapped delay element is used for frequency multiplication.

76. An apparatus as in claim 66 wherein said frequency reference is varied to reduce a peak amplitude of radiated interference.

77. An apparatus as in claim 66 wherein said frequency reference is dithered to reduce a peak amplitude of radiated interference.

78. An apparatus as in claim 66 a data stream clock is recovered by observing the timing of transitions in a data stream and synchronizing a variable frequency oscillator with said transitions using a phased locked loop technique.

79. An apparatus as in claim 66 wherein multiple samples of the phase relationship between the system clock and input data may be taken and analyzed to determine a phase relationship.

80. An apparatus as in claim 66 wherein said dithering is momentarily stopped while taking samples of the phase relationship between the system clock and input data to determine a phase relationship.

81. An apparatus as in claim 77 further comprising a means to monitor a spread spectrum frequency setting at the time at which measurement is made and account for this frequency relative to the frequencies over a total adjustment range when making a phase relationship adjustment.

82. An apparatus as in claim 66 wherein a phase relationship between received data and said system clock are measured for rising edge transitions of said received data to determine a phase correction.

83. An apparatus as in claim 66 wherein a phase relationship between received data and said system clock are measured for falling edge transitions of said received data to determine a phase correction.

84. An apparatus as in claim 82 wherein a phase relationship between received data and said system clock are measured for falling edge transitions of said received data wherein the measured results of the phase relationship between the incoming data and the system clock taken for rising and falling edge transitions of the received data are averaged to determine a phase correction.

87. An apparatus as in claim 66 wherein said digital serial communication link comprises at least one pair of electrical conductors.

88. An apparatus as in claim 66 wherein said digital serial communication link comprises at least one radio frequency channel.

89. An apparatus as in claim 66 configured to transmit and, or, receive numerical data.

90. An apparatus as in claim 66 configured to transmit and, or, receive text data.

91. An apparatus as in claim 66 configured to transmit and, or, receive visual data.

92. An apparatus as in claim 66 configured to transmit and, or receive audio data.

93. An apparatus as in claim 66 configured as a vehicle equipment control.

94. An apparatus as in claim 93 wherein said vehicle equipment control is selected from the group comprising:

an automatic exterior light control, a rear vision system, a moisture sensor, a windshield wiper control, a defogger control, a lane departure warning, an information display, an adaptive cruise control, a voice actuated control, a backup aid and a parking assist.

95. An apparatus as in claim 66 wherein transmissions from said interface unit to said remote unit comprises a lower or equal baud rate compared to transmissions from said remote unit to said interface unit.

96. An apparatus, comprising:

at least one interface unit;

at least one digital serial communication link comprising a first electronic signal comprising only one signal state change per transmitted bit, said first electronic signal comprising encoding that is transition specific;

at least one remote unit in communication with said interface unit via said digital serial communications link; and

a second electronic signal different from said first electronic signal, wherein one of said first electronic signal and said second electronic signal is employed to send data from said interface unit to said remote unit and the other one of said first electronic signal and said second electronic signal is employed to send data from said remote unit to said interface unit.

97. An apparatus as in claim 96 wherein said interface unit comprises a micro-controller.

98. An apparatus as in claim 96 wherein said remote unit comprises an image sensor.

99. An apparatus as in claim 97 wherein said remote unit comprises a micro-controller.

100. An apparatus as in claim 96 wherein transmissions from said interface unit to said remote unit comprises a lower or equal baud rate compared to transmissions from said remote unit to said interface unit.

101. An apparatus as in claim 96 wherein said second electronic signal comprises a protocol selected from the group comprising:

RS-232, IEEE 1394-1995, IEEE-1395, MOST, CAN and AMI-C.

102. An apparatus, comprising:

at least one interface device;

at least one remote device; and

at least one digital serial communication link configured to send commands to said remote device and to receive data from said remote device, wherein a system clock used as a frequency reference for said commands is propagated through said remote device and functions to at least in part synchronize data sent to said interface device and wherein a first electronic signal is employed to send data from said interface device to said remote device and a second electronic signal different from said first electronic signal is employed to send data from said remote device to said interface device.

103. An apparatus as in claim 102 wherein said interface unit comprises a micro-controller.

104. An apparatus as in claim 102 wherein said remote unit comprises an image sensor.

105. An apparatus as in claim 103 wherein said remote unit comprises a micro-controller.

106. An apparatus as in claim 102 wherein transmissions from said interface unit to said remote unit comprises a lower or equal baud rate compared to transmissions from said remote unit to said interface unit.

107. An apparatus as in claim 102 wherein said second electronic signal comprises a protocol selected from the group comprising:

RS-232, IEEE 1394-1995, IEEE-1395, MOST, CAN and AMI-C.