Efficient software download to configurable communication device

• US 8,078,703 B2
• Filed: 10/20/2010
• Issued: 12/13/2011
• Est. Priority Date: 08/09/2000
• Status: Expired due to Fees

• Current Assignee: Intel Corporation
• Original Assignee: Infineon Technologies AG
• Inventors: Ralston, John D., Subramanian, Ravi, Chen, Song, Williams, Ted E.
• Primary Examiner(s): Mesfin, Yemane
• Application Number:
  US12/908,613
• Publication Number:
  US 20110035475A1
• Time in Patent Office: 419 Days
• Field of Search: 709220-222, 455/418, 455/420, 375/324, 375/340
• US Class Current: 709/220
• CPC Class Codes: H04B 1/0003 Software-defined radio [SDR] systems, i.e. systems wherein components typically implemented in hardware, e.g. filters or modulators/demodulators, are implented using software, e.g. by involving an AD or DA conversion stage such that at least part of the signal processing is performed in the digital domain digital baseband systems H04L25/00; digital modulation/demodulation H04L27/00; CDMA H04B1/707; TDMA H04B7/2643; image transmission H04N5/00
• CPC Class Codes: H04B 1/40 Circuits
• CPC Class Codes: H04M 1/72406 by software upgrading or downloading
• CPC Class Codes: H04M 3/42178 by downloading data to substation equipment

Abstract

An efficient software download to a configurable communication device is disclosed herein. The method of efficiently downloading software begins with a step of receiving a request to configure a communication device to run a communication application. The communication device being configured has a plurality of function blocks with a fixed portion of hardware and a flexible portion of hardware, wherein the same plurality of function blocks is capable of operating a plurality of communication applications. In a next step, the capability of the fixed portion and the flexible portion of hardware of the communication device is evaluated for a capability of implementing the communication application. Next, configuration information only for the flexible portion of hardware of the communication device is transmitted to the communication device to enable it to operate the communication application. An identification of the communication application is also transmitted to the communication device for purposes of tracking its implementation.

Claims

1. A method of configuring a wireless communication device of a cellular communication network, the wireless communication device comprising an RF subsystem, the method comprising:

digitizing an output signal of the RF subsystem;

routing the digitized signal to a reconfigurable baseband processor;

directing an output of the reconfigurable baseband processor to a parameter estimation processor, said parameter estimation processor performing inner receiver functions on the output which can be called via software routines from an instruction set processor; and

directing an output of the parameter estimation processor to a digital signal processor or a microprocessor.

2. The method recited in claim 1 wherein the digitizing step is performed by a free-miming analog-to-digital converter.

3. The method recited in claim 1 wherein the routing step includes placing the digitized signal on a bus.

4. The method recited in claim 1 wherein the reconfigurable baseband processor is implemented with a combination of fixed function logic and programmable logic.

5. The method recited in claim 1 wherein the performing step is implemented using multi-rate digital signal processing techniques, software-programmable filter coefficients, rate-conversion, channelization, and loop filter parameters.

6. The method recited in claim 1 wherein the output signal of the reconfigurable baseband processor is a complex IQ signal.

7. The method recited in claim 1 wherein the digital signal processor and the microprocessor are software programmable.

8. The method recited in claim 1 further comprising performing channel selection, sample-rate conversion, digital down-conversion, and digital filtering on the signal by the reconfigurable baseband processor.