Integrated circuit, diagnostic system and diagnostic method

• US 10,192,078 B2
• Filed: 03/29/2016
• Issued: 01/29/2019
• Est. Priority Date: 04/10/2015
• Status: Active Grant

• Current Assignee: Socionext Inc.
• Original Assignee: Socionext Inc.
• Inventors: Ren, Jialin
• Primary Examiner(s): Holloway, III, Edwin
• Application Number:
  US15/084,212
• Publication Number:
  US 20160300083A1
• Time in Patent Office: 1,036 Days
• Field of Search: 340 101
• CPC Class Codes: G01R 31/2822 of microwave or radiofrequency circuits of attenuation, gain, e.g. using network analyzers G01R27/28
• CPC Class Codes: G01R 31/31721 Power aspects, e.g. power supplies for test circuits, power saving during test for scan test G01R31/318575
• CPC Class Codes: G06K 7/0095 Testing the sensing arrangement, e.g. testing if a magnetic card reader, bar code reader, RFID interrogator or smart card reader functions properly testing of electrical circuits G01R31/28

Abstract

An integrated circuit is one that performs radio communication with an external apparatus and includes a processing circuit, a diagnostic circuit configured to perform a diagnosis of the processing circuit according to a plurality of diagnostic items and a charging circuit configured to store charge for causing the diagnostic circuit to operate, during a period of performing radio communication, in which the diagnostic circuit is configured to perform the diagnosis on a first subset of the plurality of diagnostic items by using the charge stored in the charging circuit during a first period of not performing radio communication.

Claims

1. An integrated circuit that performs radio communication with an external apparatus by transmission or reception of a carrier, the integrated circuit comprising:

a processing circuit;

a diagnostic circuit configured to perform a diagnosis of the processing circuit according to a plurality of diagnostic items;

a detector configured to detect a radio signal level; and

a charging circuit configured to store charge for causing the diagnostic circuit to operate, during a period that the detector detects that the radio signal level is a first logic level,

wherein the diagnostic circuit is configured to perform the diagnosis on a first subset of the plurality of diagnostic items by using the charge stored in the charging circuit during a first period that the detector detects that the radio signal level is a second logic level which differs from the first logic level.

2. The integrated circuit according to claim 1, wherein the integrated circuit is incorporated in a radio tag.

3. The integrated circuit according to claim 1, wherein setting information indicating the diagnostic items is stored in the diagnostic circuit.

4. The integrated circuit according to claim 3, wherein the diagnostic items of the setting information are selected according to a value of a counter incorporated in the diagnostic circuit.

5. The integrated circuit according to claim 1, wherein the diagnostic circuit is configured to perform the diagnosis on the first subset of the plurality of diagnostic items during the first period that the detector detects that the radio signal level is the second logic level which differs from the first logic level and then perform the diagnosis on a second subset or all the remaining diagnostic items of the plurality of diagnostic items during a second period that the detector detects that the radio signal level is the second logic level which differs from the first logic level after the first period.

6. The integrated circuit according to claim 1, wherein the charging circuit comprises:

a first charging circuit configured to charge a first capacitor to generate a first voltage; and

a second charging circuit configured to charge a second capacitor to generate a second voltage which is higher than the first voltage.

7. The integrated circuit according to claim 6, wherein the first voltage is an operating voltage of the processing circuit.

8. The integrated circuit according to claim 6, wherein the second charging circuit charges the first capacitor based on the second voltage when the first voltage is smaller than a first value and charges the second capacitor based on the first voltage when the first voltage is larger than the first value.

9. The integrated circuit according to claim 1, wherein the diagnostic circuit comprises a memory configured to store a result of the diagnosis.

10. The integrated circuit according to claim 9, further comprising a communication circuit configured to transmit the result of the diagnosis to the external apparatus during a period of performing transmission of the carrier subsequent to the first period.

11. The integrated circuit according to claim 1, wherein the diagnostic circuit is configured to perform the diagnosis on a plurality of diagnostic items corresponding to a plurality of voltage states for a single period that the detector detects that the radio signal level is the second logic level which differs from the first logic level.

12. The integrated circuit according to claim 11, wherein the diagnostic circuit is configured to consecutively perform the diagnosis on the plurality of diagnostic items corresponding to the plurality of voltage states.

13. A diagnostic system comprising:

an external apparatus; and

an integrated circuit configured to perform radio communication with the external apparatus by transmission or reception of a carrier, the integrated circuit comprising;

a processing circuit;

a diagnostic circuit configured to perform a diagnosis of the processing circuit according to a plurality of diagnostic items;

a detector configured to detect a radio signal level; and

a charging circuit configured to store charge for causing the diagnostic circuit to operate, during a period that the detector detects that the radio signal level is a first logic level,

wherein the diagnostic circuit is configured to perform the diagnosis on a first subset of the plurality of diagnostic items by using the charge stored in the charging circuit during a first period that the detector detects that the radio signal level is a second logic level which differs from the first logic level.

14. The diagnostic system according to claim 13, wherein the diagnostic circuit is configured to perform the diagnosis on the first subset of the plurality of diagnostic items during the first period that the detector detects that the radio signal level is the second logic level which differs from the first logic level and then perform the diagnosis on a second subset or all the remaining diagnostic items of the plurality of diagnostic items during a second period that the detector detects that the radio signal level is the second logic level which differs from the first logic level after the first period.

15. The diagnostic system according to claim 13, wherein the charging circuit comprises:

a first charging circuit configured to charge a first capacitor to generate a first voltage; and

a second charging circuit configured to charge a second capacitor to generate a second voltage which is higher than the first voltage.

16. The diagnostic system according to claim 13,

wherein the diagnostic circuit comprises a memory configured to store a result of the diagnosis, and

the integrated circuit further includes a communication circuit configured to transmit the result of the diagnosis to the external apparatus during a period of performing transmission of the carrier subsequent to the first period.

17. A diagnostic method comprising:

detecting a radio signal level in a detector;

storing charge in a charging circuit for a period when the detector detects that the radio signal level is a first logic level

performing a diagnosis of a processing circuit according to a subset of a plurality of diagnostic items by using the charge stored in the charging circuit during a first period of detecting a radio signal level is a second logic level which differs from the first logic level.

18. The diagnostic method according to claim 17, wherein a result of the diagnosis is stored in a memory.

19. The diagnostic method according to claim 18, wherein the result of the diagnosis is transmitted to the external apparatus during a period of performing transmission of the carrier subsequent to the first period.