Signal lock and unlock state detection method

Abstract

The present invention discloses a signal lock and unlock state detection method. In order to solve the technical problem that the lock and unlock detection thresholds are ambiguous and lead to poor detection reliability in the signal processing process, the signal lock and unlock state detection method of the present invention includes: receiving a monitoring enable signal and an original monitoring signal, and generating a monitoring signal representing the characteristics of the original monitoring signal according to the original monitoring signal, and according to the monitoring enable signal, indicating that the state machine enters the unlock state; when the lock timeout count value is less than the lock timeout threshold, the unlock state is maintained; when the count value in the lock time window is less than the lock time window threshold, and the lock count value is greater than or equal to the lock count threshold, the state machine is indicated to transfer from the unlock state to the lock state; when the count value in the unlock time window is less than the unlock time window threshold, and the unlock count value is greater than or equal to the unlock count threshold, the state machine is indicated to transfer from the lock state to the unlock state. The present invention improves the reliability of state detection.

Description

Technical Field

[0001] The present invention relates to the field of integrated circuits, and in particular to a signal locking and unlocking state detection method. Background Art

[0002] In the practice of digital analog signal processing, the identification and determination of the lock and unlock states of specific physical quantities or signals are frequently involved. However, in actual operation, setting the lock and unlock thresholds of these physical quantities or signals often faces ambiguity, resulting in poor reliability of detection results. A rigorous method is urgently needed to achieve quantitative definition, that is, to clearly define under what circumstances the physical quantity or signal is considered to be locked or unlocked.

[0003] Furthermore, achieving a smooth and mutually exclusive transition from the locked to unlocked state and being able to terminate the monitoring state in a timely manner is essential to ensure that the reported "locked" state can accurately reflect an accurate assessment of the physical quantity or signal quality.

[0004] The existing challenge is that the transition from lock to unlock not only fails to fully demonstrate a clear mutually exclusive relationship in the logical architecture, but also in the absence of a system solution to accurately calibrate or calibrate the lock and unlock thresholds, it is difficult to accurately evaluate the actual performance of the signal processing process based on a simple judgment of lock or unlock.

[0005] Therefore, this field urgently needs to develop a set of strategies that can not only achieve mutual exclusivity of state transitions but also accurately define thresholds, so as to enhance the controllability and reliability of the signal processing process.

[0006] In view of this, the present invention proposes a set of detailed lock and unlock threshold measurement and calibration strategies, aiming to fundamentally solve the problem of fuzzy threshold definition.

[0007] In addition, the present invention also designs a highly optimized state machine, which not only ensures the logical mutual exclusivity between the locked and unlocked states, but also realizes the efficient execution of state conversion and the ability to automatically jump out of the monitoring state.

[0008] Furthermore, the present invention fundamentally enhances the logical clarity and response speed of the state machine switching between locked and unlocked states, so that each status report can accurately convey the real-time quality status of the physical quantity or signal, thereby greatly improving the reliability and accuracy of state detection in the digital analog signal processing process. Summary of the invention

[0009] In order to alleviate or partially alleviate the above technical problems, the solution of the present invention is as follows:

[0010] A signal lock and unlock state detection method comprises the following steps: receiving a monitoring enable signal and an original monitoring signal, and generating a monitoring signal representing the characteristics of the original monitoring signal according to the original monitoring signal, and indicating a state machine to enter an unlock state according to the monitoring enable signal; when the lock timeout count value is less than the lock timeout threshold, the unlock state is maintained; when the count value in the lock time window is less than the lock time window threshold, and the lock count value is greater than or equal to the lock count threshold, the state machine is indicated to transfer from the unlock state to the lock state; when the count value in the unlock time window is less than the unlock time window threshold, and the unlock count value is greater than or equal to the unlock count threshold, the state machine is indicated to transfer from the lock state to the unlock state; in addition, after switching to the lock state or reaching the maximum count value, the count value in the lock time window will be re-counted; after switching to the unlock state or reaching the maximum count value, the count value in the unlock time window will be re-counted.

[0011] Furthermore, the monitoring signal is a signal quality indicator representing the time-varying state of the original monitoring signal.

[0012] Further, when it is detected that the lock timeout count value is greater than or equal to the lock timeout threshold, the state machine is instructed to transfer from the unlocked state to the timeout state.

[0013] Furthermore, a locking limit range is determined according to a locking signal threshold; when it is detected that the monitoring signal is within the locking limit range, the locking count value is incremented by one.

[0014] Furthermore, the unlocking limit range is determined according to the unlocking signal threshold; when it is detected that the monitoring signal is outside the unlocking limit range, the unlocking count value is incremented by one.

[0015] Furthermore, if the state machine enters the locked state, a lock indication signal indicating the locked state and a historical lock indication signal indicating the locked state are output.

[0016] Further, if the state machine enters the unlocked state, an unlocked indication signal indicating the unlocked state and a historical unlocked indication signal indicating the unlocked state are output.

[0017] Further, when the state machine switches from the unlocked state to the locked state, the historical unlocked indication signal indicating the unlocked state is not changed.

[0018] Further, when the state machine switches from the locked state to the unlocked state, the historical lock indication signal indicating the locked state is not changed.

[0019] Further, when the monitoring enable signal indicates that it is not enabled, the state machine maintains the start state; when the monitoring enable signal indicates that it is enabled, the state machine enters the unlocked state.

[0020] The technical solution of the present invention has one or more of the following beneficial technical effects:

[0021] (1) By measuring or calibrating the lock and unlock thresholds and the logically exclusive lock and unlock state machine scheme, the state detection and judgment of different physical quantities or signals in digital-to-analog signal processing are effectively improved.

[0022] (2) The corresponding lock or unlock state threshold is accurately obtained through test calibration, which is independent of instruments. The lock measurement speed is fast and the accuracy is high.

[0023] In addition, other beneficial effects of the present invention will be mentioned in the specific embodiments. BRIEF DESCRIPTION OF THE DRAWINGS

[0024] Figure 1 It is a curve diagram of the change of the clock period of the phase-locked loop output signal;

[0025] Figure 2 It is the signal-to-noise ratio variation curve of the communication link;

[0026] Figure 3 It is a schematic diagram of a signal locking and unlocking state detection device of the present invention;

[0027] Figure 4 Schematic diagram of the state machine of the present invention. DETAILED DESCRIPTION

[0028] In order to make the purpose, technical solution and advantages of the present invention clearer, the technical solution of the present invention will be clearly and completely described below in conjunction with the drawings of the present invention. Obviously, the described embodiments are part of the embodiments of the present invention, not all of the embodiments. Based on the embodiments of the present invention, all other embodiments obtained by ordinary technicians in this field without creative work are within the scope of protection of the present invention.

[0029] In order to clearly describe the technical solutions of the embodiments of the present invention, in the embodiments of the present invention, words such as "first" and "second" are used to distinguish the same or similar items with substantially the same functions and effects. Those skilled in the art can understand that words such as "first" and "second" do not limit the quantity and execution order.

[0030] The present invention can be applied to various types of signals. Figure 1 and Figure 2 The phase-locked loop output signal and the communication link signal-to-noise ratio convergence curve are given by way of example. The present invention is not limited to this and is not intended to be limited thereto.

[0031] Figure 1 It is a curve diagram of the change of the clock period of the phase-locked loop output signal. Figure 1The horizontal axis represents time, and the vertical axis represents frequency error, which can be measured, for example, by using the commonly used Parts Per Million (PPM) error as a unit. In this embodiment of the present invention, at least four different thresholds are specified: a lock signal threshold, an unlock signal threshold, a lock time window threshold, and a lock timeout threshold, as well as at least two different parameters: a lock state parameter and an unlock state parameter.

[0032] In addition, the lock state parameter and the lock signal threshold are used to determine the lock limit range, and the unlock state parameter and the unlock signal threshold are used to determine the unlock limit range. The lock limit range and the unlock limit range are used to compare with the monitoring signal to determine the current state. The lock state parameter and the unlock state parameter are equivalent to the expected value in nature. For example, the lock state parameter and the unlock state parameter can be equal or the same.

[0033] For example, in the phase-locked loop output signal example, the lock limit range is smaller than the unlock limit range.

[0034] Figure 2 It is the signal-to-noise ratio variation curve of the communication link. Figure 2 The horizontal axis represents time, and the vertical axis represents the signal-to-noise ratio, which can be measured in decibels. In this embodiment of the present invention, at least four different thresholds are specified: a lock signal threshold, an unlock signal threshold, a lock time window threshold, and a lock timeout threshold, as well as at least two different parameters: a lock state parameter and an unlock state parameter.

[0035] Similarly, the lock state parameter and the lock signal threshold are used to determine the lock boundary range, and the unlock state parameter and the unlock signal threshold are used to determine the unlock boundary range. The lock boundary range and the unlock boundary range are used to compare with the monitoring signal to determine the current state. The lock state parameter and the unlock state parameter are equivalent to the expected value in nature. For example, the lock state parameter and the unlock state parameter can be equal or the same.

[0036] Illustratively, in an example of a signal-to-noise ratio of the communication link, the lock boundary range is smaller than the loss-of-lock boundary range.

[0037] Figure 3 The schematic diagram of the signal lock and unlock state detection device of the present invention is shown. The lock and unlock state detection device includes a monitoring signal generation module and a monitoring indication signal generation module. The monitoring signal generation module receives the monitoring enable signal and the original monitoring signal, and generates a monitoring signal. The original monitoring signal is a so-called physical quantity or signal.

[0038] For the original monitoring signal, the monitoring signal generation module can detect the preset indicators as needed. For example, for the signal quality of the communication link, the monitoring signal generation module can detect the signal-to-noise ratio of the communication link in real time, and the obtained signal-to-noise ratio of the communication link can be used as the monitoring signal. For another example, for the phase-locked loop output signal, the monitoring signal generation module can detect the frequency error of the phase-locked loop output signal in real time and use the frequency error as the monitoring signal.

[0039] In the present invention, the monitoring signal is a signal representing the characteristics of the original monitoring signal. Such signal characteristics may be various signal quality indicators that vary with time, such as bit error, skew, and the like.

[0040] The monitoring indication signal generating module receives the monitoring signal, the locking signal threshold, the locking count threshold, the locking time window threshold, the unlocking signal threshold, the unlocking count threshold, the unlocking time window threshold and the locking timeout threshold, wherein the locking timeout threshold is a value greater than the locking time window threshold.

[0041] The monitoring indication signal generation module generates a lock indication signal, a historical lock indication signal, a lock loss indication signal, a historical lock loss indication signal and a timeout indication signal. The historical lock indication signal indicates whether the monitoring indication signal generation module has issued a lock indication signal indicating a lock before the last reset; the historical lock loss indication signal indicates whether the monitoring indication signal generation module has issued a lock loss indication signal indicating a lock before the last reset.

[0042] Figure 4 Schematic diagram of the state machine of the present invention. By way of example, the state machine can be run in a monitoring indication signal generating module. The operation of the state machine depends on various thresholds and signals received by the aforementioned monitoring indication signal generating module.

[0043] For example, in the start state, if the monitoring enable signal is equal to 0, the start state is maintained. Otherwise, if the monitoring enable signal is equal to 1, the unlock state is entered.

[0044] In the unlocked state, if the lock timeout count value is detected to be less than the lock timeout threshold, the unlocked state is maintained. If the lock timeout count value is detected to be greater than or equal to the lock timeout threshold, the timeout state is entered.

[0045] If the monitoring signal exceeds the unlocking limit range, the lock timeout count value starts counting. When the monitoring signal exceeds the unlocking limit range for too long, the lock timeout count value is not less than the lock timeout threshold, so the state machine enters the timeout state and outputs the timeout indication signal.

[0046] In addition, in the unlocked state, if it is detected that the count value in the lock time window is less than the lock time window threshold, and the lock count value is greater than or equal to the lock count threshold, the lock state is entered.

[0047] The count value in the lock time window is the basis for judging the time window. If the count value in the lock time window is less than the lock time window threshold, it means that the current time window length has not been exceeded. The lock count value refers to the count value of the monitoring signal that continues to fall within the lock limit range, and when the lock count value is not less than the lock count threshold, the next step will be to enter the lock state.

[0048] In the present invention, when it is detected that the monitoring signal is within the locking limit range, the locking count value is automatically increased by one.

[0049] In the present invention, after the state machine switches to the locked state or reaches the maximum count value, the count value within the locked time window will be re-counted.

[0050] Table 1: Loss of lock state transition truth table

[0051]

[0052] In the locked state, if it is detected that the count value in the unlocked time window is less than the unlocked time window threshold, and the unlocked count value is greater than or equal to the unlocked count threshold, the locked state enters the unlocked state.

[0053] In the present invention, when it is detected that the monitoring signal is outside the unlocking limit range, the unlocking count value is automatically increased by one.

[0054] The count value in the unlocked time window is also the basis for judging the time window. If the count value in the unlocked time window is less than the unlocked time window threshold, it means that the current time window length has not been exceeded. The unlocked count value refers to the count value when the monitoring signal continues to fall outside the unlocked range, and when the unlocked count value is not less than the unlocked count threshold, the next step will be to enter the unlocked state.

[0055] In the present invention, after the state machine switches to the unlocked state or reaches the maximum count value, the count value within the unlocked time window will be re-counted.

[0056] For example, the lock time window threshold and the unlock time window threshold may be equal.

[0057] Table 2: Lock state transition truth table

[0058]

[0059] In Table 1 and Table 2, "1" represents logical true, and "0" represents logical false.

[0060] In order to better illustrate the present invention, numerous specific details are provided in the above specific embodiments. It should be understood by those skilled in the art that the present invention can also be implemented without certain specific details. In some examples, methods, means, components and circuits well known to those skilled in the art are not described in detail in order to highlight the subject matter of the present invention.

[0061] The above is only a specific embodiment of the present invention, but the protection scope of the present invention is not limited thereto. Any person skilled in the art can easily think of changes or substitutions within the technical scope disclosed by the present invention, which should be included in the protection scope of the present invention. Therefore, the protection scope of the present invention should be based on the protection scope of the claims.

Claims

1. A signal lock and unlock state detection method, characterized in that: The steps include: receiving a monitoring enable signal and an original monitoring signal, generating a monitoring signal representing a characteristic of the original monitoring signal according to the original monitoring signal, and instructing the state machine to enter an unlocked state according to the monitoring enable signal; When the lock timeout count value is less than the lock timeout threshold, the unlocked state is maintained; When the count value in the lock time window is less than the lock time window threshold, and the lock count value is greater than or equal to the lock count threshold, the indication state machine is transferred from the unlocked state to the locked state; When the count value in the unlocked time window is less than the unlocked time window threshold, and the unlocked count value is greater than or equal to the unlocked count threshold, the state machine is indicated to transfer from the locked state to the unlocked state; also, After switching to the locked state or reaching the maximum count value, the count value within the locked time window will be recounted; After switching to the unlocked state or reaching the maximum count value, the count value in the unlocked time window will be counted again.

2. The signal lock and unlock state detection method according to claim 1, characterized in that: The monitoring signal is a signal quality indicator representing the time-varying state of the original monitoring signal.

3. The signal lock and unlock state detection method according to claim 1 or 2, characterized in that: When it is detected that the lock timeout count value is greater than or equal to the lock timeout threshold, the state machine is instructed to transfer from the unlocked state to the timeout state.

4. The signal lock and unlock state detection method according to claim 3, characterized in that: Determine the locking range according to the locking signal threshold; When it is detected that the monitoring signal is within the lock limit range, the lock count value is incremented by one.

5. The signal lock and unlock state detection method according to claim 4, characterized in that: Determine the lock-out range according to the lock-out signal threshold; When it is detected that the monitoring signal is outside the unlocking limit range, the unlocking count value is incremented by one.

6. The signal lock and unlock state detection method according to claim 5, characterized in that: If the state machine enters the locked state, a lock indication signal indicating the locked state and a historical lock indication signal indicating the locked state are output.

7. The signal lock and unlock state detection method according to claim 6, characterized in that: If the state machine enters the unlocked state, it outputs an unlocked indication signal indicating the unlocked state and a historical unlocked indication signal indicating the unlocked state.

8. The signal lock and unlock state detection method according to claim 7, characterized in that: When the state machine switches from the unlocked state to the locked state, the historical unlocked indication signal indicating the unlocked state does not change.

9. The signal lock and unlock state detection method according to claim 8, characterized in that: When the state machine switches from the locked state to the unlocked state, the historical lock indication signal indicating the locked state is not changed.

10. The signal lock and unlock state detection method according to claim 9, characterized in that: When the monitoring enable signal indicates that it is not enabled, the state machine maintains the start state; When the monitoring enable signal indicates enable, the state machine enters the unlocked state.

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