Virtual machine interface for hardware reconfigurable and software programmable processors

• US 8,020,176 B2
• Filed: 08/20/2007
• Issued: 09/13/2011
• Est. Priority Date: 04/06/2000
• Status: Expired due to Fees

• Current Assignee: Infineon Technologies AG
• Original Assignee: Infineon Technologies AG
• Inventors: Joag, Raju R., Medlock, Joel D., Hesky, Kenneth M., Chen, Song, Woodthorpe, Christopher C.
• Primary Examiner(s): Nguyen; Van H
• Application Number:
  US11/841,848
• Publication Number:
  US 20080086548A1
• Time in Patent Office: 1,485 Days
• Field of Search: 719/310, 719/316, 719/328, 709/220, 709/232, 709/221, 370/441, 370/465, 370/479, 370/498, 713/100, 718/1, 710/8
• US Class Current: 719/328
• CPC Class Codes: H04L 69/18 Multiprotocol handlers, e.g. single devices capable of handling multiple protocols
• CPC Class Codes: H04L 69/32 Architecture of open systems interconnection [OSI] 7-layer type protocol stacks, e.g. the interfaces between the data link level and the physical level
• CPC Class Codes: H04W 88/00 Devices specially adapted for wireless communication networks, e.g. terminals, base stations or access point devices

Abstract

A virtual machine interface for a separate reconfigurable wireless network communication apparatus comprising a plurality of software objects, wherein each software object is associated with a hardware kernel assigned to the reconfigurable wireless network communication apparatus, each software object configured such that a change in the software object results in a change in the hardware kernel associated with the software object. The virtual machine interface has information as to types and numbers of software objects and values associated with the software objects necessary to implement a selected wireless communication protocol.

Claims

1. A virtual machine interface, stored in a non-transitory computer readable medium, for a separate reconfigurable wireless network communication apparatus comprising:

a plurality of software objects, wherein each software object is associated with a hardware kernel assigned to the reconfigurable wireless network communication apparatus, each software object configured such that a change in the software object results in a change in the hardware kernel associated with the software object,

wherein the virtual machine interface has information as to types and numbers of software objects and values associated with the software objects necessary to implement a selected wireless communication protocol,

wherein at least one of the plurality of software objects is selected from a group of software objects consisting of a basestation engine object, a searcher object, a code generation unit (CGU) object, a finger object, an uplink object, and a downlink object, and

wherein at least one of the hardware kernels is selected from a group of hardware kernels consisting of a searcher kernel, a CGU kernel, a finger kernel, an uplink kernel, and a downlink kernel.

2. The virtual machine interface of claim 1 wherein the reconfigurable wireless network communication apparatus comprises base station hardware.

3. The virtual machine interface of claim 1 wherein the reconfigurable wireless network communication apparatus comprises mobile station hardware.

4. The virtual machine interface of claim 1 further comprising a hierarchical command structure configured to control mobile and sector allocation of resources of the reconfigurable wireless network communication apparatus.

5. The virtual machine interface of claim 1 wherein the reconfigurable wireless network communication apparatus comprises a resource allocator configured to receive and process instructions from the virtual machine interface and allocate and reconfigure hardware resources of the reconfigurable wireless network communication apparatus based on the instructions.

6. The virtual machine interface of claim 1 wherein the software objects are located at different levels of a hierarchy.

7. The virtual machine interface of claim 6 wherein at least one of said plurality of software objects is a code division multiple access (CDMA) base-station modem engine (CBME) object configured to regulate underlying CBME hardware, the CBME being the highest level software object in the hierarchy;

and wherein the other software objects are associated with the CBME.

8. The virtual machine interface of claim 7 wherein the CBME comprises a plurality of kernels to facilitate wireless communication.

9. The virtual machine interface of claim 1 wherein a kernel in said plurality of kernels is configured to operate under a CDMA protocol.

10. The virtual machine interface of claim 1 wherein each software object is assigned to a different hardware kernel.

11. The virtual machine interface of claim 1 wherein at least two software objects are assigned to the same hardware kernel.

12. The virtual machine interface of claim 1 wherein at least one hardware kernel is assigned to the same software object.

13. The virtual machine interface of claim 1 wherein the reconfigurable wireless network communication apparatus comprises a plurality of kernels and an interconnect structure for interconnecting said kernels.

14. A reconfigurable wireless network communication system comprising:

a processor;

a virtual machine interface (VMI) comprising a plurality of software objects, wherein each software object is associated with a hardware kernel assigned to the reconfigurable wireless network communication system, each software object configured such that a change in the software object results in a change in the hardware kernel associated with the software object, wherein the virtual machine interface has information as to types and numbers of software objects and values associated with the software objects necessary to implement a selected wireless communication protocol;

an application program interface comprising a plurality of software routines, each software routine in said plurality of software routines representing a different communication protocol, wherein said plurality of software routines comprise software calls to said plurality of software objects; and

an application program comprising software calls to said plurality of software routines,

wherein at least one of the plurality of software objects is selected from a group of software objects consisting of a basestation engine object, a searcher object, a code generation unit (CGU) object, a finger object, an uplink object, and a downlink object, and

wherein at least one of the hardware kernels is selected from a group of hardware kernels consisting of a searcher kernel, a CGU kernel, a finger kernel, an uplink kernel, and a downlink kernel.

15. The reconfigurable wireless network communication system of claim 14 wherein the reconfigurable wireless network communication system comprises base station hardware.

16. The reconfigurable wireless network communication system of claim 14 wherein the reconfigurable wireless network communication system comprises mobile station hardware.

17. The reconfigurable wireless network communication system of claim 14 wherein the reconfigurable wireless network communication system comprises a resource allocator configured to receive and process instructions from the virtual machine interface and allocate and reconfigure hardware resources of the reconfigurable wireless network communication apparatus system based on the instructions.