Multiformat digital audio interface

• US 9,479,275 B2
• Filed: 03/04/2013
• Issued: 10/25/2016
• Est. Priority Date: 06/01/2012
• Status: Active Grant

• Current Assignee: Malikie Innovations Limited (Key Patent Innovations Limited)
• Original Assignee: Blackberry Limited
• Inventors: Poulsen, Jens Kristian
• Primary Examiner(s): LAM, YEE F
• Application Number:
  US13/784,457
• Publication Number:
  US 20130322461A1
• Time in Patent Office: 1,331 Days
• US Class Current: 1/1
• CPC Class Codes: H04J 3/02 Details electronic switching or gating H03K17/00
• CPC Class Codes: H04L 12/40117 Interconnection of audio or video/imaging devices home automation networks H04L12/2803; bitstream network arrangements specially adapted for distribution of digital video signals H04N7/24
• CPC Class Codes: H04L 12/40169 Flexible bus arrangements arrangements for maintenance or administration involving management of faults; events, alarms H04L41/06; automatic restoration of network faults H04L41/0654
• CPC Class Codes: H04L 12/4035 in which slots of a TDMA packet structure are assigned based on a contention resolution carried out at a master unit TDM/TDMA multiplex systems per se H04J3/1694; hybrid switching systems H04L12/64

Abstract

Embodiments of various methods, devices and systems are described herein that use a unified bus communication protocol. One such device comprises an interface for sending and receiving signals, and a mux and sync engine coupled to the interface and configured to determine time slots for sent and received signals according to a unified bitstream frame format. The unified bitstream frame format comprises a plurality of frame channels for transmitting data in a bitstream mode of communication such that data from the frame channels are time-multiplexed across the frame channels one bit at a time, wherein one of the frame channels is allocated as a control channel comprising individual control bits from control data, and at least one of the frame channels is allocated as a virtual frame channel comprising individual data bits taken from digital word data.

Claims

1. A method for communicating between devices coupled to a bus, wherein the method comprises:

using a unified frame format for data transmitted in a bitstream mode of communication, the unified frame format comprising two or more frame channels, each of the frame channels given an assigned time slot in the unified frame format; and

sending bits between at least two of the devices coupled to the bus by sending one bit from a first of the frame channels at the time slot assigned to the first of the frame channels, then sending one bit from a next of the frame channels at the time slot assigned to the next of the frame channels, and so on until one bit from each of the frame channels has been sent, and then resuming sending from the first of the frame channels,

wherein one of the frame channels is used as a control channel carrying individual control bits from control data and one or more of the other frame channels are used as virtual frame channels carrying individual data bits taken from digital word data,

wherein the number of frame channels define a width for the unified frame format with each of the frame channels being one bit wide and each of the frame channels has a number of bits defining a length for the unified frame format.

2. The method of claim 1, wherein the digital word data corresponds to different digital word data channels, and the method further comprises interlacing the individual data bits taken from the different digital word data channels into a common one of the virtual frame channels.

3. The method of claim 1, wherein the digital word data corresponds to different digital word data channels, and for each of the different digital word data channels, the individual data bits taken from that digital word data channel are carried by a unique one of the virtual frame channels.

4. The method of claim 1, wherein the method further comprises assigning data from a common bitstream data channel to more than one of the frame channels.

5. The method of claim 1, wherein the method further comprises combining data from a group of bitstream data channels into a common one of the frame channels to reduce bandwidth used by the group of bitstream data channels.

6. The method of claim 1, wherein one or more of the frame channels are used as bitstream channels carrying individual data bits that are used or generated by one of the devices.

7. The method of claim 6, wherein the method further comprises using unique frame channels for a plurality of bitstream data channels comprising individual data bits taken from separate bitstream data channels.

8. The method of claim 6, wherein the method further comprises repeatedly using a plurality of bitstream data channels with different sets of unique frame channels defined by a repeat parameter and the plurality of bitstream data channels comprise individual bits taken from separate bitstream data channels.

9. The method of claim 8, wherein the sets of unique frame channels are separated by a number of frame channels defined by a skip parameter.

10. The method of claim 6, wherein the individual control bits are consecutively selected from bits of a synchronization word, and then from bits of an X command word and then from bits of a Y command word.

11. The method of claim 1, wherein the control data comprises at least one of a read operation, a write operation, a ping operation and a function operation.

12. The method of claim 1, wherein the method further comprises grouping data channels from a port of one of the devices into several subgroups to lower latency, and using unique frame channels for the subgroups.

13. The method of claim 1, wherein the method further comprises multiplexing data from several data channels into a common frame channel to control bandwidth of data transmitted on the bus.

14. The method of claim 1, wherein the method further comprises allowing multi-master operation by allowing control words to be written by more than one master device and using arbitration for bus collisions to determine which master device controls the bus.

15. An electronic device that communicates according to a unified bus communication protocol, wherein the device comprises:

an interface for sending and receiving signals; and

a mux and sync engine coupled to the interface, the mux and sync engine being configured to determine time slots for sent and received signals according to a unified frame format comprising two or more frame channels for transmitting data in a bitstream mode of communication, each of the frame channels given an assigned time slot in the unified frame format, such that bits are sent by sending one bit from a first of the frame channels at the time slot assigned to the first of the frame channels, then sending one bit from a next of the frame channels at the time slot assigned to the next of the frame channels, and so on until one bit from each of the frame channels has been sent, and then resuming sending from the first of the frame channels,

wherein one of the frame channels is used as a control channel carrying individual control bits from control data, and one or more of the other frame channels are used as virtual frame channels carrying individual data bits taken from digital word data,

wherein the number of frame channels define a width for the unified frame format with each of the frame channels being one bit wide and each of the frame channels has a number of bits defining a length for the unified frame format.

16. The device of claim 15, wherein a plurality of bitstream data channels are repeatedly used with different sets of unique frame channels according to a repeat parameter and the plurality of bitstream data channels comprising individual bits are taken from separate bitstream data channels.

17. The device of claim 16, wherein the sets of unique frame channels are separated by a number of frame channels defined by a skip parameter.

18. The device of claim 15, wherein one or more bits are included in the control channel to synchronize data that extends across multiple frames or to support odd sample rates.

19. The device of claim 15, wherein two status bits are added in the control data to control validity of transmitted data for asynchronous data flow in word mode, wherein the first status bit indicates if the transmitted data that follows the status bits is valid, and the second status bit indicates whether a receiving device can accept the transmitted data.

20. The device of claim 15, wherein two status bits are added in front of transmitted data to control validity of the transmitted data for asynchronous data flow in the bitstream mode of communication, wherein the first status bit indicates if the transmitted data that follows the status bits is valid, and the second status bit indicates whether a receiving device can accept the transmitted data.

21. The device of claim 15, wherein data channels from a port of the devices are grouped into several subgroups to lower latency, and unique frame channels are used for the subgroups.

22. The device of claim 15, wherein data from several data channels are multiplexed into a common one of the frame channels to control bandwidth of transmitted data.

23. The device of claim 15, wherein bandwidth of the control channel is controlled by using at least two of the frame channels for a common data channel.

24. A non-transitory computer readable medium comprising a plurality of instructions executable on a microprocessor of a device for communicating with another device, wherein executing the instructions causes the microprocessor to:

use a unified frame format for data transmitted in a bitstream mode of communication, the unified frame format comprising two or more frame channels, each of the frame channels given an assigned time slot in the unified frame format; and

send bits between at least two of the devices coupled to the bus by sending one bit from a first of the frame channels at the time slot assigned to the first of the frame channels, then sending one bit from a next of the frame channels at the time slot assigned to the next of the frame channels, and so on until one bit from each of the frame channels has been sent, and then resuming sending from the first of the frame channels,

wherein one of the frame channels is used as a control channel carrying individual control bits from control data and one or more of the other frame channels are used as virtual frame channels carrying individual data bits taken from digital word data,

wherein one of the frame channels is used as a control channel carrying individual control bits from control data and one or more of the other frame channels are used as virtual frame channels carrying individual data bits taken from digital word data,

wherein the number of frame channels define a width for the unified frame format with each of the frame channels being one bit wide and each of the frame channels has a number of bits defining a length for the unified frame format.