METHODS AND SYSTEMS FOR MEASURING DATA PULSES

• US 20110176589A1
• Filed: 01/18/2010
• Published: 07/21/2011
• Est. Priority Date: 01/18/2010
• Status: Active Grant

• Current Assignee: Infineon Technologies AG
• Original Assignee: Infineon Technologies AG
• Inventors: Kolof, Andreas, König, Dietmar
• Granted Patent: US 8,290,094 B2
• Time in Patent Office: Days
• US Class Current: 375/224
• CPC Class Codes: H04L 7/042 Detectors therefor, e.g. correlators, state machines digital correlators in general G06F17/15
• CPC Class Codes: H04L 7/044 using a single bit, e.g. start stop bit

Abstract

Some embodiments disclosed herein relate to a method. In the method, a duration of a first synchronization pulse is measured. A fixed, predetermined number of ticks are equally spaced at a first time interval over the first sync pulse, regardless of the duration of the first synchronization pulse. A duration of a first data pulse is then measured by periodically incrementing a tick count value at the first time interval during the entire duration of the first data pulse. The tick count value at an end of the first data pulse is then correlated to a first digital value encoded on the first data pulse.

Claims

1. A method, comprising:

measuring a duration of a first synchronization pulse, where a fixed, predetermined number of ticks are equally spaced at a first time interval over the first synchronization pulse regardless of the duration of the first synchronization pulse;

measuring a duration of a first data pulse by periodically incrementing a tick count value at the first time interval during the entire duration of the first data pulse; and

correlating the tick count value at an end of the first data pulse to a first digital value encoded on the first data pulse.

2. The method of claim 1, further comprising:

measuring a duration of a second synchronization pulse, where the fixed, predetermined number of ticks are equally spaced at a second time interval over the second synchronization pulse;

where the duration of the second synchronization pulse differs from the duration of the first synchronization pulse and where the second time interval differs from the first time interval.

3. The method of claim 2, further comprising:

measuring a duration of a second data pulse by periodically incrementing the tick count value at the second time interval during the entire duration of the second data pulse; and

correlating the tick count value at an end of the second data pulse to a second multi-bit digital value encoded on the second data pulse.

4. The method of claim 1, where a tick is associated with a receiver tick window that is approximately centered about an expected transmitter tick time.

5. The method of claim 1, where the first digital value is a multi-bit value.

6. A receiver, comprising:

a synchronization pulse measurement element adapted to determine a duration of a synchronization pulse, wherein the synchronization pulse has a fixed, predetermined number of ticks that are equally spread over the synchronization pulse according to a tick frequency;

a data pulse measurement element adapted to increment a tick counter at the tick frequency throughout a data pulse to determine a number of ticks in the data pulse; and

a decoder adapted to correlate a tick counter value at an end of the data pulse to a multi-bit data value encoded on the data pulse.

7. The receiver of claim 6, wherein the receiver is adapted to receive separate synchronization pulses having different durations;

and where each of the synchronization pulses has the fixed, predetermined number of ticks spread over its duration.

8. The receiver of claim 6, wherein a tick is associated with a receiver tick window that is approximately centered about an expected transmitter tick time.

9. The receiver of claim 6, wherein the tick counter is set to a non-zero value at a start of the data pulse.

10. The receiver of claim 6, where the data pulse measurement element comprises a frequency generator to provide the tick frequency.

11. A receiver, comprising:

a base clock generator adapted to provide a base clock signal at a base clock interval;

a synchronization pulse measurement element adapted to determine how many base clock intervals correspond to a first duration of a first synchronization pulse in a first data transmission unit, wherein a fixed, predetermined number of ticks are equally spread over the first synchronization pulse according to a first tick frequency;

a tick frequency generator adapted to generate the first tick frequency during a first data pulse in the first data transmission unit;

a tick counter adapted to increment a tick counter value at the first tick frequency throughout the entire first data pulse, thereby determining a number of ticks in the first data pulse.

12. The receiver of claim 11, where the tick frequency generator comprises:

an accumulator adapted to increment an accumulator value by the fixed, predetermined number of ticks at each base clock interval throughout the first data pulse; and

a bitwise comparator adapted to compare the accumulator value to a number of clock intervals in the first synchronization pulse, and thereby provide a tick clock signal at the first tick frequency.

13. The receiver of claim 11:

where the synchronization pulse measurement element is further adapted to determine how many base clock cycles correspond to a second duration of a second synchronization pulse in a second data transmission unit;

where the second duration differs from the first duration and where the fixed, predetermined number of ticks are equally spread over the second synchronization pulse according to a second tick frequency that differs from the first tick frequency.

14. The receiver of claim 13:

where the tick frequency generator is further adapted to generate the second tick frequency during a second data pulse in the second data transmission unit; and

where the tick counter is further adapted to increment the tick counter value at the second tick frequency throughout the entire second data pulse, thereby determining a number of ticks in the second data pulse.

15. The receiver of claim 14, further comprising:

a decoder adapted to correlate the number of ticks in the first and second data pulses to first and second multi-bit data values encoded in the first and data pulses, respectively.