Clock-free activation circuit
First Claim
1. A circuit, comprising:
- a capacitor;
a substantially constant current source for charging the capacitor;
a subcircuit for generating a signal causing the capacitor to discharge upon detecting a first type of transition in the incoming data stream, the capacitor charging upon being at least partially discharged; and
a comparator for comparing a voltage on a node coupled to the capacitor to a reference voltage, the comparator outputting a first signal if the voltage on the node is higher than the reference voltage and outputting a second signal if the voltage on the node is lower than the reference voltage, the first signal being associated with a first logic value, the second signal being associated with a second logic value.
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Accused Products
Abstract
A circuit for recovering data from an incoming data stream according to one embodiment includes a capacitor and a substantially constant current source for charging the capacitor. A subcircuit generates a signal causing the capacitor to discharge upon detecting a first type of transition in the incoming data stream, the capacitor re-charging upon being at least partially discharged. A comparator compares a voltage on a node coupled to the capacitor to a reference voltage, the comparator outputting a first signal if the voltage on the node is higher than the reference voltage and outputting a second signal if the voltage on the node is lower than the reference voltage, the first signal being associated with a first logic value, the second signal being associated with a second logic value.
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Citations
23 Claims
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1. A circuit, comprising:
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a capacitor;
a substantially constant current source for charging the capacitor;
a subcircuit for generating a signal causing the capacitor to discharge upon detecting a first type of transition in the incoming data stream, the capacitor charging upon being at least partially discharged; and
a comparator for comparing a voltage on a node coupled to the capacitor to a reference voltage, the comparator outputting a first signal if the voltage on the node is higher than the reference voltage and outputting a second signal if the voltage on the node is lower than the reference voltage, the first signal being associated with a first logic value, the second signal being associated with a second logic value. - View Dependent Claims (2, 3, 4, 5, 6, 7, 8, 9)
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10. A circuit for recovering data from an incoming data stream, comprising:
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a time-to-voltage converter for generating first and second signals based on transitions in an incoming data stream, the first signal being associated with a first logic value, the second signal being associated with a second logic value; and
logic for identifying transitions in the incoming data stream, the transitions being used to identify individual logic values from the first and second signals. - View Dependent Claims (11, 12)
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13. A method for recovering data from an incoming data stream, comprising:
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charging a capacitor;
sequentially performing the following sequence;
discharging the capacitor upon detecting a first type of transition in the incoming data stream;
charging the capacitor after the capacitor is at least partially discharged;
comparing a voltage on a node coupled to the capacitor to a reference voltage;
outputting a first signal if the voltage on the node is higher than the reference voltage, the first signal being associated with a first logic value; and
outputting a second signal if the voltage on the node is lower than the reference voltage, the second signal being associated with a second logic value. - View Dependent Claims (14, 15, 16, 17, 18, 19, 20, 21)
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22. A method for recovering data in an incoming data stream, comprising:
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using a time-to-voltage converter to generate first and second signals based on transitions in an incoming data stream;
outputting the first signal if the voltage of the time-to-voltage converter is higher than a reference voltage, the first signal being associated with a first logic value;
outputting a second signal if the voltage of the time-to-voltage converter is lower than the reference voltage, the second signal being associated with a second logic value; and
using transitions in the incoming data stream to identify individual logic values from the first and second signals. - View Dependent Claims (23)
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Specification