Flexible converter interface for use in analog-to-digital and digital-to-analog systems
First Claim
1. An integrated circuit for use in a measurement device, the integrated circuit comprising:
- a programmable analog-to-digital converter (ADC) interface operable to be programmed with a plurality of parameters, wherein the plurality of parameters include an ADC type parameter and an ADC data type parameter;
wherein the programmable ADC interface is operable to function as a programmable parallel ADC interface or a programmable serial ADC interface depending upon the programmed ADC type parameter;
wherein the programmed ADC data type parameter indicates whether the programmable ADC interface will receive ADC data in straight binary or two'"'"'s complement form.
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Accused Products
Abstract
A flexible converter interface for interfacing with ADCs or DACs. The flexible converter interface may be comprised in a data acquisition device and may be a programmable ADC interface or a programmable DAC interface. The flexible converter interface may be programmed with a converter type parameter, a converter resolution parameter, and a converter data type parameter, among others, to interface with various types of ADCs or DACs and to allow for future expandability. The flexible converter interface may function as either a programmable parallel converter interface or a programmable serial converter interface depending upon the programmed converter type parameter. Additionally, functions associated with I/O pins corresponding to the flexible converter interface may vary depending upon the programmed converter resolution parameter and the programmed converter type parameter. Furthermore, the flexible converter interface may perform a data conversion operation on ADC or DAC data depending upon the programmed converter data type parameter.
50 Citations
55 Claims
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1. An integrated circuit for use in a measurement device, the integrated circuit comprising:
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a programmable analog-to-digital converter (ADC) interface operable to be programmed with a plurality of parameters, wherein the plurality of parameters include an ADC type parameter and an ADC data type parameter; wherein the programmable ADC interface is operable to function as a programmable parallel ADC interface or a programmable serial ADC interface depending upon the programmed ADC type parameter; wherein the programmed ADC data type parameter indicates whether the programmable ADC interface will receive ADC data in straight binary or two'"'"'s complement form. - View Dependent Claims (2, 3, 4, 5, 6)
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7. An integrated circuit for use in a measurement device, the integrated circuit comprising:
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a programmable digital-to-analog converter (DAC) interface operable to be programmed with a plurality of parameters, wherein one of the plurality of parameters is a DAC type parameter; wherein the programmable DAC interface is operable to function as a programmable parallel DAC interface or a programmable serial DAC interface depending upon the programmed DAC type parameter; wherein the programmable DAC interface is operable to function as a programmable parallel DAC interface when the programmed DAC type parameter indicates a parallel mode of operation, and the programmable DAC interface is operable to function as a programmable serial DAC interface when the programmed DAC type parameter indicates a serial mode of operation; and an analog output buffer coupled to the programmable DAC interface, wherein the analog output buffer is operable to store DAC data to be transmitted via one or more I/O pins, wherein the programmable DAC interface is further operable to be programmed with a DAC resolution parameter, wherein the configuration of the analog output buffer is dependent upon the programmed DAC resolution parameter.
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8. An integrated circuit for use in a measurement device, the integrated circuit comprising:
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a programmable digital-to-analog converter (DAC) interface operable to be programmed with a plurality of parameters, wherein one of the plurality of parameters is a DAC type parameter; wherein the programmable DAC interface is operable to function as a programmable parallel DAC interface or a programmable serial DAC interface depending upon the programmed DAC type parameter; wherein the programmable DAC interface is operable to function as a programmable parallel DAC interface when the programmed DAC type parameter indicates a parallel mode of operation, and the programmable DAC interface is operable to function as a programmable serial DAC interface when the programmed DAC type parameter indicates a serial mode of operation; wherein the programmable DAC interface further comprises one or more input/output (I/O) pins, wherein the one or more I/O pins are operable to transmit DAC data; wherein the programmable DAC interface is further operable to be programmed with a DAC resolution parameter, wherein functions associated with a portion of the I/O pins vary depending upon the programmed DAC resolution parameter and the programmed DAC type parameter; wherein if, based on the programmed DAC resolution parameter and the programmed DAC type parameter, a portion of the I/O pins are required for communication and the portion is less than a maximum value, the portion of the I/O pins are configured as DAC data output pins and a remaining portion of the I/O pins are configured to perform other functions.
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9. An integrated circuit for use in a measurement device, the integrated circuit comprising:
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a programmable digital-to-analog converter (DAC) interface operable to be programmed with a plurality of parameters, wherein one of the plurality of parameters is a DAC type parameter; wherein the programmable DAC interface is operable to function as a programmable parallel DAC interface or a programmable serial DAC interface depending upon the programmed DAC type parameter; wherein the programmable DAC interface is operable to function as a programmable parallel DAC interface when the programmed DAC type parameter indicates a parallel mode of operation, and the programmable DAC interface is operable to function as a programmable serial DAC interface when the programmed DAC type parameter indicates a serial mode of operation; wherein the programmable DAC interface is further operable to be programmed with a DAC data type parameter, wherein the programmed DAC data type parameter indicates whether the programmable DAC interface is configured to transmit DAC data in straight binary or two'"'"'s complement form via one or more I/O pins. - View Dependent Claims (10)
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11. An integrated circuit for use in a measurement device, the integrated circuit comprising:
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A programmable analog-to-digital converter (ADC) interface operable to be programmed with a plurality of parameters, wherein one of the plurality of parameters is an ADC type parameter; and a programmable digital-to-analog converter (DAC) interface operable to be programmed with a plurality of parameters, wherein one of the plurality of parameters is a DAC type parameter; wherein the programmable ADC interface is operable to function as a programmable parallel ADC interface or a programmable serial ADC interface depending upon the programmed ADC type parameter; wherein the programmable DAC interface is operable to function as a programmable parallel DAC interface or a programmable serial DAC interface depending upon the programmed DAC type parameter.
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12. A data acquisition device, comprising:
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a programmable analog-to-digital converter (ADC) interface comprising one or more input/output (I/O) pins, wherein the one or more I/O pins are operable to receive ADC data; wherein the programmable ADC interface is operable to be programmed with an ADC resolution parameter and an ADC type parameter; wherein functions associated with a portion of the I/O pins vary depending upon the programmed ADC resolution parameter and the programmed ADC type parameter; and an analog input buffer coupled to the programmable ADC interface, wherein the analog input buffer is operable to store ADC data, wherein a configuration of the analog input buffer is dependent upon the programmed ADC resolution parameter. - View Dependent Claims (13, 14, 15)
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16. A data acquisition device comprising:
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a programmable digital-to-analog converter (DAC) interface comprising one or more I/O pins, wherein the one or more I/O pins are operable to transmit DAC data; wherein the programmable DAC interface is operable to be programmed with a DAC resolution parameter and a DAC type parameter; wherein functions associated with a portion of the I/O pins vary depending upon the programmed DAC resolution parameter and the programmed DAC type parameter; and an analog output buffer coupled to the programmable DAC interface, wherein the analog output buffer is operable to store DAC data, wherein a configuration of the analog output buffer is dependent upon the programmed DAC resolution parameter. - View Dependent Claims (17, 18, 19)
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20. A data acquisition device, comprising:
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a programmable analog-to-digital converter (ADC) interface operable to be programmed with an ADC data type parameter and operable to receive a data type signal, wherein a programmed ADC data type parameter indicates whether the programmable ADC interface will receive ADC data in straight binary or two'"'"'s complement form, wherein the data type signal indicates whether the data acquisition device received a unipolar analog signal or a bipolar analog signal; wherein the programmable ADC interface is operable to perform a data conversion operation on the received ADC data depending upon the programmed ADC data type parameter and the received data type signal. - View Dependent Claims (21, 22, 23, 24, 25, 26, 27, 28, 29, 30, 31, 32)
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33. A data acquisition device, comprising:
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one or more analog-to-digital converters (ADCs) operable to convert received analog data into digital ADC data; one or more digital-to-analog converters (DACs) operable to convert received digital DAC data into analog data; an integrated circuit coupled to the one or more ADCs and the one or more DACs, the integrated circuit comprising; a programmable ADC interface operable to receive the digital ADC data from the one or more ADCs, wherein the programmable ADC interface is also operable to be programmed with a plurality of parameters, wherein one of the plurality of parameters is an ADC type parameter, wherein the programmable ADC interface is operable to function as a programmable parallel ADC interface or a programmable serial ADC interface depending upon a programmed ADC type parameter, and a programmable DAC interface operable to transmit the digital DAC data to the one or more DACs, wherein the programmable DAC interface is also operable to be programmed with a plurality of parameters, wherein one of the plurality of parameters is a DAC type parameter, wherein the programmable DAC interface is operable to function as a programmable parallel DAC interface or a programmable serial DAC interface depending upon a programmed DAC type parameter. - View Dependent Claims (34, 35, 36, 37, 38, 39, 40, 41, 42, 43, 44, 45, 46)
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47. A method for configuring a data acquisition device, the method comprising:
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programming a programmable analog-to-digital converter (ADC) interface with an ADC type parameter, the programmable ADC interface functioning as a programmable parallel ADC interface or as a programmable serial ADC interface depending upon the programmed ADC type parameter; the programmable ADC interface functioning as a programmable parallel ADC interface if the programmed ADC type parameter indicates a parallel mode of operation; the programmable ADC interface functioning as a programmable serial ADC interface if the programmed ADC type parameter indicates a serial mode of operation; and programming the programmable ADC interface with an ADC data type parameter, wherein the programmed ADC data type parameter indicates whether the programmable ADC interface will receive ADC data in straight binary or two'"'"'s complement form. - View Dependent Claims (48, 49, 50, 51)
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52. A method for configuring a data acquisition device, the data acquisition device comprising a programmable digital-to-analog converter (DAC) interface and an analog output buffer, the method comprising:
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programming the programmable DAC interface with a DAC type parameter, the programmable DAC interface functioning as a programmable parallel DAC interface or a programmable serial DAC interface depending upon a programmed DAC type parameter; the programmable DAC interface functioning as a programmable parallel DAC interface if the programmed DAC type parameter indicates a parallel mode of operation; and the programmable DAC interface functioning as a programmable serial DAC interface if the programmed DAC type parameter indicates a serial mode of operation; programming the programmable DAC interface with a DAC resolution parameter; changing a depth and a width of the analog output buffer coupled to the programmable DAC interface based on the programmed DAC resolution parameter.
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53. A method for configuring a data acquisition device, the data acquisition device comprising a programmable digital-to-analog converter (DAC) interface including one or more input/output (I/O) pins, the method comprising:
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programming the programmable DAC interface with a DAC type parameter, the programmable DAC interface functioning as a programmable parallel DAC interface or a programmable serial DAC interface depending upon a programmed DAC type parameter; the programmable DAC interface functioning as a programmable parallel DAC interface if the programmed DAC type parameter indicates a parallel mode of operation; and the programmable DAC interface functioning as a programmable serial DAC interface if the programmed DAC type parameter indicates a serial mode of operation; programming the programmable DAC interface with a DAC resolution parameter; wherein if, based on a programmed DAC resolution parameter and the programmed DAC type parameter, a portion of the I/O pins are required for communication and the portion is less than a maximum value, configuring the portion of the I/O pins as DAC data output pins and configuring a remaining portion of the I/O pins to perform other functions.
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54. A method for configuring a data acquisition device, the method comprising:
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programming a programmable digital-to-analog converter (DAC) interface with a DAC type parameter, the programmable DAC interface functioning as a programmable parallel DAC interface or a programmable serial DAC interface depending upon a programmed DAC type parameter; the programmable DAC interface functioning as a programmable parallel DAC interface if the programmed DAC type parameter indicates a parallel mode of operation; and the programmable DAC interface functioning as a programmable serial DAC interface if the programmed DAC type parameter indicates a serial mode of operation; programming the programmable DAC interface with a DAC data type parameter, wherein a programmed DAC data type parameter indicates whether one or more DACs coupled to the programmable DAC interface are configured to receive DAC data in straight binary or two'"'"'s complement form; the programmable DAC interface performing a data conversion operation on the DAC data to be transmitted depending upon the programmed DAC data type parameter.
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55. An integrated circuit for use in a measurement device, the integrated circuit comprising:
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a programmable analog-to-digital converter (ADC) interface operable to be programmed with a plurality of parameters, wherein the plurality of parameters include an ADC type parameter and an ADC resolution parameter; wherein the programmable ADC interface is operable to function as a programmable parallel ADC interface or a programmable serial ADC interface depending upon the programmed ADC type parameter; and an analog input buffer coupled to the programmable ADC interface, wherein the analog input buffer is operable to store ADC data received via one or more I/O pins, wherein a configuration of the analog input buffer is dependent upon the programmed ADC resolution parameter.
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Specification