Method for performing power consumption mode change operation on electronic device, electronic device and communication system

Abstract

A method for an electronic device to perform a power consumption mode change operation, an electronic device, and a communication system are provided. In one embodiment, the method includes the following steps. In the process of the power consumption mode change operation, the electronic device detects whether the power consumption mode change of the electronic device fails or not after transmitting the power consumption mode change request frame. An electronic device transmits a first burst end signal to notify another electronic device that a power consumption mode change in the electronic device fails, wherein the first burst end signal indicates a burst end and includes a first error indication signal to indicate a power consumption mode change failure in the electronic device. Accordingly, in response to the first burst end signal, another electronic device may abandon a power consumption mode configuration to avoid an undesired asynchronous state.

Description

Technical Field

[0001] The present invention relates to a circuit, a controller, and a method for frame transmission of an electronic device, and particularly to a method for frame transmission for an electronic device to perform a power consumption mode change operation, an electronic device, and a communication system. Background Art

[0002] The Mobile Industry Processor Interface (MIPI) Alliance has developed interconnection protocol technologies, for example, the MIPI M-PHY specification related to the physical layer and the MIPI UniPro specification related to the Unified Protocol (UniPro), for interconnection from one chip within or affected by a mobile device to another chip to achieve higher transmission speeds and low-power operation. On the other hand, the Joint Electron Device Engineering Council (JEDEC) has introduced a high-performance non-volatile memory standard, known as Universal Flash Storage (UFS), using the MIPI M-PHY specification and the MIPI UniPro specification. The UFS standard enables gigabit-level high-speed transmission and low-power operation, and provides the required functions and scalability for advanced mobile systems (such as computing devices such as smartphones, tablets, multimedia devices, and wearable devices) to promote rapid adoption in the industry.

[0003] A system implemented according to the UFS standard or the UniPro specification includes a local host (such as a computing device or a chip) and a remote device (such as a storage device or another chip). A two-way link including an inbound link and an outbound link is established between the host and the device, and one or more channels (lanes) can be configured in either transmission direction of this link. According to the UniPro specification (such as UniPro version 2.0), any device can change the power consumption mode of the link by assigning a new power consumption configuration. The power consumption configuration includes the UniPro power consumption mode, M-PHY specific attributes (such as GEAR) and lane count information. The power consumption configuration can have separate settings for the forward, reverse, or both directions. Summary of the Invention

[0004] In this disclosure, techniques are provided for facilitating error recovery for power consumption mode changes in a communication system. These techniques are suitable for implementation in various embodiments as methods for an electronic device to perform power consumption mode change operations, an electronic device, and a communication system. An electronic device that encounters a failure in a power consumption mode change can notify the other electronic device of the power consumption mode change failure by using an end-of-burst signal. Accordingly, in response to the end-of-burst signal, the other electronic device can discard the power consumption mode configuration obtained during the power consumption mode change operation to avoid an undesired out-of-sync state.

[0005] Multiple embodiments of a method for an electronic device to perform a power consumption mode change operation are provided. The method includes the following steps. By the electronic device, during the power consumption mode change operation, after transmitting a power consumption mode change request frame, detect whether a power consumption mode change failure occurs in the electronic device. By the electronic device, in response to the power consumption mode change failure in the electronic device, transmit a first end-of-burst signal to another electronic device in a first burst to notify the other electronic device of the power consumption mode change failure in the electronic device, where the first end-of-burst signal indicates burst termination and includes a first error indication signal to indicate the power consumption mode change failure in the electronic device.

[0006] Multiple embodiments of an electronic device are provided, the electronic device being configured to communicate with another electronic device. The electronic device includes a controller, the controller including a physical layer circuit for signal transmission and a link controller coupled to the physical layer circuit for data transmission. The controller is capable of performing multiple operations, the multiple operations including: during a power consumption mode change operation, after transmitting a power consumption mode change request frame, detect whether a power consumption mode change failure occurs in the electronic device; and in response to the power consumption mode change failure in the electronic device, transmit a first end-of-burst signal to the other electronic device in a first burst to notify the other electronic device of the power consumption mode change failure in the electronic device, where the first end-of-burst signal indicates burst termination and includes a first error indication signal to indicate the power consumption mode change failure in the electronic device.

[0007] Provided are multiple embodiments of a method for an electronic device to perform a power consumption mode change operation. The method includes the following steps. By the electronic device, during the power consumption mode change operation, a first burst end signal in a first burst from another electronic device is received, and it is detected that the first burst end signal indicates burst termination and includes a first error indication signal to notify the electronic device that a power consumption mode change in the other electronic device has failed. By the electronic device, in response to the detected first burst end signal, the power consumption mode change failure in the other electronic device is accepted to discard the power consumption mode configuration obtained during the power consumption mode change operation and end the first burst.

[0008] Provided are multiple embodiments of an electronic device configured to communicate with another electronic device. The electronic device includes a controller, and the controller includes a physical layer circuit for signal transmission and a link controller coupled to the physical layer circuit for data transmission. The controller is capable of performing multiple operations, and the multiple operations include: during a power consumption mode change operation, receiving a first burst end signal in a first burst from the other electronic device, and detecting that the first burst end signal indicates burst termination and includes a first error indication signal to notify the electronic device that a power consumption mode change in the other electronic device has failed; and in response to the detected first burst end signal, accepting the power consumption mode change failure in the other electronic device to discard the power consumption mode configuration obtained during the power consumption mode change operation and end the first burst.

[0009] Provided are multiple embodiments of a communication system. The communication system includes a first electronic device and a second electronic device. The first electronic device is configured to transmit a first burst end signal in a first burst during a power consumption mode change operation when a power consumption mode change fails in the first electronic device, where the first burst end signal indicates burst termination and includes a first error indication signal to indicate the power consumption mode change failure in the first electronic device. The second electronic device is configured to receive the first burst end signal in the first burst from the first electronic device during the power consumption mode change operation and detect that the first burst end signal indicates burst termination and includes the first error indication signal to indicate the power consumption mode change failure in the first electronic device, where in response to the detected first burst end signal, the second electronic device accepts the power consumption mode change failure in the first electronic device to discard the power consumption mode configuration obtained during the power consumption mode change operation and end the first burst.

[0010] In some embodiments of the above method, electronic device or communication system, the first error indication signal of the first burst end signal includes a data pattern to indicate a failure of the power consumption mode change.

[0011] In some embodiments of the above method, electronic device or communication system, the first error indication signal of the first burst end signal includes a burst tail to indicate a failure of the power consumption mode change and to indicate the termination of the first burst.

[0012] In some embodiments of the above method, electronic device or communication system, the first error indication signal of the first burst end signal includes a data pattern and a burst tail to indicate a failure of the power consumption mode change and to indicate the termination of the first burst. BRIEF DESCRIPTION OF THE DRAWINGS

[0013] Figure 1 (Prior art) A diagram showing an example of prior error recovery for a power consumption mode change process with errors.

[0014] Figure 2A A diagram showing an example of operation conflicts that may occur after a power consumption mode change process with errors.

[0015] Figure 2B A diagram showing another example of operation conflicts that may occur after a power consumption mode change process with errors.

[0016] Figure 3 A diagram showing an embodiment of a communication system capable of communicating according to an interconnect protocol.

[0017] Figure 4 A diagram showing an embodiment of an operation flow of a power consumption mode change process with errors.

[0018] Figure 5A For showing according to Figure 4 A flowchart showing an embodiment of a method for a device to perform a power consumption mode change operation for a first device.

[0019] Figure 5B For showing according to Figure 4 A flowchart showing another embodiment of a method for a device to perform a power consumption mode change operation for a second device.

[0020] Figure 6 A diagram showing another embodiment of an operation flow of a power consumption mode change process with errors.

[0021] Figure 7 A diagram showing an embodiment of an operation flow of error recovery for a power consumption mode change to avoid an out-of-sync state.

[0022] Figure 8A A diagram showing another embodiment of the operation flow for error recovery of power consumption mode change to avoid out-of-sync states.

[0023] Figure 8B A diagram showing another embodiment of the operation flow for error recovery of power consumption mode change to avoid out-of-sync states.

[0024] Figure 9 A diagram showing an embodiment of the operation flow for error recovery of power consumption mode change for a requester.

[0025] Figure 10 A diagram showing an embodiment of the operation flow for error recovery of power consumption mode change for a responder.

[0026] Figure 11A A circuit architecture diagram of a storage system showing an embodiment of an interconnect protocol according to the present disclosure.

[0027] Figure 11B A block diagram showing the circuit architecture applicable to a controller in Figure 11A for an interconnect protocol according to an embodiment of the present disclosure.

[0028] Figure 11C A block diagram showing the circuit architecture applicable to a controller in Figure 11A for an interconnect protocol according to an embodiment of the present disclosure.

[0029] Figure 12 A schematic diagram showing an embodiment of the hierarchical architecture of a storage system according to an interconnect protocol in Figure 11A the present disclosure.

[0030] Figure 13 A timing diagram showing an embodiment of the operation of the burst state of a transmitter module of an electronic device.

[0031] Reference numerals

[0032] 10 First device

[0033] 11 Controller

[0034] 20 Second device

[0035] 21 Controller

[0036] 100, 200 Link controller

[0037] 110, 210 Physical adapter (PA) layer

[0038] 110A, 210A Physical adapter (PA) layer

[0039] 120 and 220 Data Link (DL) layer

[0040] 145 and 245 Device Management Entity (DME)

[0041] 150 and 250 Physical layer circuits

[0042] 1000 Storage system

[0043] 1010 Host

[0044] 1011 Host interface

[0045] 1012 Host controller

[0046] 1013 Hardware protocol engine

[0047] 1014 Processing unit

[0048] 1016 Application processor

[0049] 1020 Storage device

[0050] 1021 Device interface

[0051] 1022 Device controller

[0052] 1023 Hardware protocol engine

[0053] 1024 Processing unit

[0054] 1026 Storage module

[0055] 1110 and 1210 Physical layer

[0056] 1111 and 1211 Transmitter

[0057] 1112 and 1212 Receiver

[0058] 1130 and 1230 Unified Protocol (UniPro) layer

[0059] 1131 and 1231 Physical adapter layer

[0060] 1132 and 1232 Data link layer

[0061] 1133 and 1233 Network layer

[0062] 1134 and 1234 Transport layer

[0063] 1135 and 1235 Device Management Entity

[0064] A101, A105, A107, A110 Operations

[0065] A210 - A240 Operations

[0066] A310, A410 Operations

[0067] A320, A420 Operations

[0068] A330, A430 Operations

[0069] A401 Operations

[0070] A405 Operations

[0071] A510 - A580 Operations

[0072] A600 - A630 Operations

[0073] A710 - A790 Operations

[0074] A715, A725 Operations

[0075] A800 - A830 Operations

[0076] CLK Clock Line

[0077] DIF - N Logic Line Status

[0078] DIF - P Logic Line Status

[0079] Din Data Line

[0080] DL_DATA.req Primitive

[0081] DME Device Management Entity

[0082] DME_RESET.req Primitive

[0083] Dout Data Line

[0084] EoB End of Burst

[0085] PACP_PWR_cnf Primitive

[0086] PACP_PWR_req Primitive

[0087] PC1, PC2 Protocol Controllers

[0088] PWR_ERR Primitive

[0089] RST Reset Line

[0090] S110 - S120 Operations

[0091] S210 - S220 Operations

[0092] SL1 and SL2 data channels

[0093] Time points T0 to T4

[0094] Waitcnf Wait confirmation

[0095] WaitEoB Wait for end of burst

[0096] Local DME Local device management entity

[0097] Local L4, L3, L2 Local transport layer, network layer, data link layer

[0098] Local PA Local physical adapter layer

[0099] Peer DME Peer device management entity

[0100] Peer L4, L3, L2 Peer transport layer, network layer, data link layer

[0101] Peer PA Peer physical adapter layer Detailed implementation manners

[0102] To fully understand the purpose, features, and effects of this disclosure, the following specific embodiments are hereby provided and, in conjunction with the accompanying drawings, a detailed description of this disclosure is given as follows.

[0103] Regarding link configuration, the inventor observed that the current power consumption mode change process of two electronic devices in a communication system, such as a power consumption mode change process based on an interconnection protocol such as the UniPro specification (e.g., UniPro version 2.0, etc.), may encounter an out-of-sync state when one electronic device encounters a failure in the power consumption mode change.

[0104] Regarding the power consumption mode change process from the UniPro specification, under normal circumstances, in short, it is necessary to configure the local PHY layer with the requested parameters. The local PA layer needs to terminate the burst on the outbound link. The peer PA layer needs to terminate the burst on other links when detecting the end of burst on its inbound link. Therefore, new configurations are initiated in both directions of the link. It should be noted that the timing of burst termination is when the new configuration for updating the power consumption mode change is made.

[0105] However, the inventor observed that if the power consumption mode change process is successfully completed on one side of the communication system while it is not successful on the other side, an out-of-sync state may occur between the two sides.

[0106] In this regard, first, please refer to Figure 1, which shows an example of the existing error recovery of the power consumption mode change process where a failure occurs on the local side. In Figure 1 , the local device and the remote device execute the power consumption mode change process according to, for example, the UniPro version 2.0 specification, where there are transmission problems in the transmission path of the remote device. In Figure 1 , the local device is represented by its UniPro stack, which includes a transport layer, a network layer, a data link layer (represented by "local L4, L3, L2"), a physical adapter layer (represented by "local PA"), and a device management entity (DME) (represented by "local DME"). Similarly, the remote device is represented by its UniPro stack, represented by "peer PA", "peer L4, L3, L2", and "peer DME". In addition, the frame transmission from the peer side to the local side represented by the arrow with an asterisk encounters an error, such as a transmission error or a device error.

[0107] Figure 1Displays the failure of power consumption mode change when the reset (RESET) mode is set to HS_MODE. For example, according to the UniPro 2.0 version, the following operations are taken from the perspective of the local side. Start a burst transmission. In the burst, transmit a Physical Adapter Control Protocol (PACP) frame (PACP_PWR_req frame). A request timer (called PACP_REQUEST_TIMER) is set to a timer expiration value (called PA_PACPReqTimeout). Thereafter, the local PA layer waits for an acknowledgment (e.g., indicated by "WaitCnf" in the figure). On the other hand, after receiving the PACP_PWR_req frame, the peer side checks the power consumption mode request according to its inbound link capabilities (indicated by "Check Capability"), where the power consumption mode request can be, for example, a power consumption mode configuration based on the PACP_PWR_req frame. If the power consumption mode request is accepted, the peer PA layer configures the peer physical layer according to the parameters of the power consumption mode request (represented by "Configuration Module"). After that, the peer PA layer transmits a PACP_PWR_cnf frame to the local side and then waits for the local side to transmit an end-of-burst symbol (e.g., indicated by "WaitEoB"). If a valid PACP_PWR_cnf frame is not received before the expiration of PACP_REQUEST_TIMER, the local PA layer will transmit an anti-deviation pattern and re-transmit the PACP_PWR_req frame. PACP_REQUEST_TIMER is set to PA_PACPReqTimeout. If a valid PACP_PWR_cnf frame is not received before the expiration of PACP_REQUEST_TIMER, the local PA layer will discard the power consumption mode request and pass a primitive represented by PWR_ERR (e.g., a primitive with a result code represented by PA_LM_PWR_MODE_CHANGED.ind(PWR_FATAL_ERROR) as described in the UniPro version 2.0) to the DME. The local PA layer will terminate the burst. If a PACP_PWR_cnf frame with a successful result code (e.g., PWR_OK) is successfully received, the local PA layer will terminate the burst and set PACP_REQUEST_TIMER to the timer expiration value (or period) for waiting for the end-of-burst symbol (e.g., PA_PACPReqEoBTimeout). If the peer PA layer does not terminate the burst during this period, the local PA layer will discard the power consumption mode request and pass PA_LM_PWR_MODE_CHANGED.ind(PWR_FATAL_ERROR) to the DME.

[0108] Please refer to Figure 2A, which shows an example of the power consumption mode change process where a failure occurs on the local side and the reset (RESET) mode is set to the HS_MODE, and subsequent operations. As shown in Figure 2, in addition to the operations described in the UniPro specification, the inventors observed that in practical applications, although the local side is already in an idle state and sends a PA_LM_PWR_MODE_CHANGED.ind (PWR_FATAL_ERROR) to the application layer through its DME, the peer side terminates the burst and may consider the power consumption mode change process on the peer side as successful, causing the two sides to enter different operating states (or an out-of-sync state). As Figure 2A shown, after sending an error event to the application layer, the local side is requested to be reset by its DME with the primitive DME_RESET.req, while the peer side has entered another power consumption mode and is requested by its DME to start transmitting DL data frames. When the local side attempts error recovery and the peer side attempts to transmit PACP frames or TCx data frames (where TCx represents traffic class 1 (TC1) or traffic class 0 (TC0)), this situation may lead to an operation collision, as Figure 2A shown by the dashed ellipse in

[0109] Please refer to Figure 2B , which shows another example of the power consumption mode change process where a failure occurs on the local side and the reset (RESET) mode is set to the LS_MODE, and subsequent operations. Figure 2B The situation of Figure 2A is similar to that of Figure 2B shown. As shown in Figure 2B , after sending an error event to the application layer, the local side is requested to be reset by its DME with the primitive DME_RESET.req and even starts transmitting a request frame (PACP_PWR_req), while at the same time the peer side has entered another power consumption mode and is requested by its DME to start transmitting DL data frames. When the local side attempts error recovery and the peer side attempts to transmit PACP frames or TCx data frames, this situation may lead to an operation collision, as Figure 2B shown by the dashed ellipse in

[0110] In view of the above problems, the inventors have observed that two electronic devices in a communication system may enter an out-of-sync state. For example, when one electronic device encounters a failure in changing the power consumption mode for a certain power consumption mode configuration during the power consumption mode change process, but the other electronic device initiates such a power consumption mode configuration, it may cause an out-of-sync state between the electronic devices. In this regard, in the present disclosure, techniques for error recovery in power consumption mode change are provided to avoid the out-of-sync state of the communication system. These techniques are suitable for implementation as methods for power consumption mode change operations by devices, electronic devices, and communication systems in various embodiments. The electronic device that encounters a failure in changing the power consumption mode can use the end-of-burst signal to notify the other electronic device of the failure in changing the power consumption mode, so as to discard the power consumption mode configuration obtained during the power consumption mode change process, in order to avoid an undesired out-of-sync state.

[0111] Figure 3 FIG. 4 shows an embodiment of a communication system capable of communicating according to an interconnect protocol. As appropriate, the interconnect protocol can be based on an adapted UniPro specification, an adapted UFS system, or other relevant communication protocols or specifications, etc. The communication system, for example, includes a first device 10 and a second device 20. The first device 10 and the second device 20 can be a local host and a remote device respectively, or vice versa. In Figure 3 this case, the first device 10 includes a link controller 100 and a physical layer circuit 150, which can be implemented as a controller 11. Similarly, the second device 20 includes a link controller 200 and a physical layer circuit 250, which can be implemented as a controller 21. The link controller 100 of the first device 10, for example, implements a protocol layer (or "link layer", with respect to a physical layer such as M-PHY), such as an adapted UniPro including a physical adapter (PA) layer 110; and similarly, the link controller 200 of the second device 20 also implements the protocol layer (or "link layer"), such as an adapted UniPro including a physical adapter (PA) layer 210. The first device 10 can communicate with the second device 20 through a link. According to the interconnect protocol, the link includes at least one data channel SL1 and at least one data channel SL2, which are bidirectional. For example, the interconnect protocol is applicable to various device types (e.g., for the first device or the second device), such as application processors, coprocessors, modems, storage subsystems including non-volatile memory modules, displays, camera sensors, three-dimensional (3D) graphics and multimedia accelerators, chips, etc. It is also applicable to different types of data traffic, such as control messages, bulk data transfers, and packetized streams. As appropriate, other relevant specifications of the MIPI Alliance or other relevant specifications can also be used for the implementation of the physical layer or the application layer.

[0112] For example, the first device 10 and the second device 20 communicate through bursts that are enabled (or referred to as started) in their respective data channels (or simply channels). In terms of signal transmission, a burst represents a data sequence that includes a start-of-burst (SOB), the data to be transmitted, and a tail-of-burst (TOB). For example, the SOB can be a specific bit pattern or signal level pattern that indicates the start of the burst and after which the data can be transmitted. A burst from the first device 10 to the second device 20 can be initiated (or started) by transmitting the SOB from the transmitter module (e.g., Figure 12 the transmitter 1111 in Figure 12 to the receiver module (e.g., Figure 12 the receiver 1212 in Figure 12 of the physical layer circuit 250 over a data channel (e.g., SL1). When the receiver module of the physical layer circuit 250 receives and detects the SOB, both the first device 10 and the second device 20 can enter the burst state. In terms of the operating state of the transmitter or receiver module, the burst state is a state in which data transmission and reception can be effectively carried out. According to the interconnection protocol, the first device 10 is capable of transmitting data to the second device 20 in the burst, where the data can be a Physical Adapter Control Protocol (PACP) frame or a Data Link (DL) layer frame, etc. The first device 10 can further terminate (or end) the burst by transmitting the TOB. The TOB is another specific bit pattern or signal level pattern that indicates the tail of the burst, causing both the first device 10 and the second device 20 to exit the burst state and enter a power-saving state. In a similar manner as above, a burst from the second device 20 to the first device 10 can be initiated (or started) by transmitting the SOB from the transmitter module (e.g.,

[0113] In the present disclosure, various embodiments for facilitating error recovery operations for a power consumption mode change process in an interconnect protocol are provided below to avoid an out-of-sync state when an error event occurs on one side of a communication system. Accordingly, the efficiency of the power consumption mode change process when an error event occurs can be improved.

[0114] Figure 4 An embodiment showing an operation flow for facilitating error recovery operations for a power consumption mode change process when an error event occurs is provided. In Figure 4 this, the plurality of operations are performed during a power consumption mode change process, particularly when an error event such as a power consumption mode change failure occurs. For ease of explanation, it is assumed that the first device 10 has such an error event. Of course, the operation flow or related embodiments can be applied to other devices as appropriate.

[0115] In operation A101, the first device 10 transmits a power consumption mode change request frame for a set of power consumption mode configurations. For example, a timer having an expiration time can be set for the power consumption mode change request frame. In response, the second device 20 can receive the power consumption mode change request frame and perform related operations, and then transmit an acknowledgment frame to the first device 10. However, due to communication problems in the transmission path of the second device 20 or the reception path of the first device 10, or other communication problems, the first device 10 cannot receive the acknowledgment frame.

[0116] In operation A105, the first device 10 transmits the power consumption mode change request frame for the power consumption mode configuration again. For example, since the timer expires after the expiration time, the first device 10 transmits the frame again. For example, this time, the second device 20 receives the power consumption mode change request frame, performs the associated operations, and then transmits the acknowledgment frame to the first device 10 again. However, the first device 10 still cannot receive the acknowledgment frame.

[0117] In operation A107, the first device 10 detects that a power consumption mode change failure has occurred, for example, because a timer associated with the power consumption mode change request frame expires and the number of retries for transmitting the power consumption mode change request frame reaches a threshold (such as 1 or 2, etc.). The first device 10 can be configured to detect whether a power consumption mode change failure has occurred by determining whether a timer associated with the power consumption mode change request frame has expired and whether the number of retries for transmitting the power consumption mode change request frame has reached a threshold (such as 1 or 2, etc.). In response to the power consumption mode change failure, operation A110 is performed. In operation A110, the first device 10 transmits a first burst end signal in a first burst to notify the peer side of the power consumption mode change failure in the first device 10 and indicate the termination of the first burst, where the first burst end signal includes a first error indication signal to indicate the power consumption mode change failure.

[0118] In operation A210, the second device 20 receives the first burst end signal. For example, the second device 20 detects that the first burst end signal indicates burst termination and includes the first error indication signal to indicate a failure in the power consumption mode change in the first device 10.

[0119] In operation A220, in response to the detected first burst end signal, the second device 20 accepts the failure of the power consumption mode change in the first device 10, to discard the power consumption mode configuration obtained during the power consumption mode change process and end the first burst.

[0120] Figure 5A Show an embodiment of a method for a device to perform a power consumption mode change operation for a first device according to Figure 4 The method of Figure 5A includes operations S110 and S120, which are associated with Figure 4 operations A107 and A110 of

[0121] In operation S110, by a first device (e.g., Figure 3 or Figure 4 the first device 10 in

[0122] ), during the power consumption mode change operation, after transmitting a power consumption mode change request frame, it is detected that the first device has a failure in the power consumption mode change. Figure 3 or Figure 4 ), to notify the second device of the failure in the power consumption mode change in the first device, where the first burst end signal indicates burst termination and includes a first error indication signal to indicate the failure in the power consumption mode change in the first device.

[0123] Figure 5B Show an embodiment of a method for a device to perform a power consumption mode change operation for a second device according to Figure 4 The method of Figure 5B includes operations S210 and S220, and operations S210 and S220 are associated with Figure 4 operations A210 and A220 of

[0124] In operation S210, by a second device (e.g., Figure 3 or Figure 4 the second device 20 in Figure 3 orFigure 4 the first burst end signal in the first burst of the first device 10), and detects that the first burst end signal indicates burst termination and includes a first error indication signal to notify the second device of a power consumption mode change failure occurring in the first device.

[0125] In operation S220, by the second device, in response to the detected first burst end signal, accepts the power consumption mode change failure in the first device to discard the power consumption mode configuration obtained during the power consumption mode change operation and end the first burst.

[0126] According to Figure 4 and its related embodiments (such as Figure 5A or Figure 5B ), the operation flow promotes the power consumption mode change process when an error event occurs on the first device and can avoid an undesired out-of-sync state, as described above.

[0127] According to Figure 4 and its related embodiments (such as Figure 5A or Figure 5B ), the operation flow may further include one or more operations to promote the power consumption mode change process when an error event occurs on the first device.

[0128] In some embodiments, by the first device, transmits the first burst end signal to the second device in the first burst to notify the second device of a power consumption mode change failure in the first device, so that the second device can accept the power consumption mode change failure in the first device to discard the power consumption mode configuration obtained during the power consumption mode change operation and end the first burst.

[0129] In some embodiments, the first error indication signal of the first burst end signal includes a data pattern to indicate a power consumption mode change failure in the first device.

[0130] In some embodiments, the first burst end signal includes a specific data pattern that has at least two control symbols to notify the second device of a power consumption mode change failure in the first device, where the control symbols can be MARKER2 symbols (denoted by MK2) defined in the M-PHY specification (such as version 5.0). In contrast, as described in the UniPro specification (such as version 2.0), when ending a burst, the PA layer needs to perform multiple operations, which includes transmitting a MARKER2 symbol (i.e., the End-of-Burst marker of M-PHY). The UniPro specification does not mention notifying the remote side of a power consumption mode change failure on the host side.

[0131] In some embodiments, the first error indication signal of the first burst end signal includes a burst tail to indicate a failure in the power consumption mode change in the first device and to indicate the termination of the first burst.

[0132] In some embodiments, the first error indication signal of the first burst end signal includes a data pattern and a burst tail to indicate a failure in the power consumption mode change in the first device and to indicate the termination of the first burst.

[0133] In some embodiments, the first burst end signal includes a burst tail and does not have a control symbol (e.g., MARKER2) to notify the second device of a failure in the power consumption mode change in the first device and to indicate the termination of the first burst. For example, the burst tail used to indicate a failure in the power consumption mode change and burst termination can be implemented as a data sequence or signal different from the burst tail (TAIL - OF - BURST (TOB)) defined in the M - PHY specification (e.g., version 5.0).

[0134] In accordance with Figure 5B some embodiments, the method further includes the following steps. By the second device, in response to the detected first burst end signal, after the first burst from the first device to the second device is terminated, report a failure in the power consumption mode change in the first device to the protocol layer (e.g., PA layer, DL layer, or DME) of the second device.

[0135] In accordance with Figure 5B some embodiments, the method further includes the following steps. By the second device, in response to the first burst end signal, enable the physical layer circuit of the second device to maintain the current power consumption mode configuration. Compared with the current power consumption mode configuration, the power consumption mode configuration obtained and temporarily stored in a buffer during the power consumption mode change operation is not enabled and is discarded, as shown in Figure 5B operation S220. The buffer can be, for example, a shadow register (or INLINE - CR register), as described in the M - PHY specification version 5.0. Additionally, the current power consumption mode configuration actually stored in the inline register (e.g., the status register (or INLINE - SET register) described in the M - PHY specification version 5.0) of the physical layer circuit of the second device is retained and re - enabled.

[0136] In accordance with Figure 5BIn some embodiments, the method further includes the following steps. By means of the second device, after the physical layer circuit of the second device maintains the current power consumption mode configuration and the first burst termination, a second burst end signal is transmitted. This second burst end signal indicates burst termination and includes a second error indication signal to notify the first device that a power consumption mode change failure has occurred in the second device.

[0137] Figure 6 Show according to Figure 4 Another embodiment of the operation flow of Figure 5A Or Figure 5B Some embodiments of the method of

[0138] The following provides various embodiments for facilitating the power consumption mode change process and is suitable for electronic devices capable of communicating with another electronic device according to an interconnect protocol. The interconnect protocol can be derived from the UFS standard or the UniPro specification. For example, an existing UFS system includes a UFS host and a UFS device. The UFS host and the UFS device communicate with each other through their respective UFS interconnect (UIC) layers (including UniPro and M-PHY). Therefore, the interconnect protocol can be implemented by using an adjusted UFS system that implements an adjusted version of UniPro and an adjusted version of M-PHY and is derived from the architecture of the existing UFS system to provide a new high-speed mode or use an advanced signaling scheme.

[0139] In the following embodiments, the UniPro specification such as UniPro version 2.0 is taken as an example. For the sake of illustration, the first device 10 may also be referred to as a requester, and the second device 20 may be referred to as a responder. Of course, the implementation of the present disclosure is not limited thereto.

[0140] Figure 4 、 Figure 5A 、 Figure 5B 、 Figure 6 Or the method for promoting error recovery shown in the related embodiments can be regarded as an operation method in various operation flows for error recovery of the power consumption mode change process that a local host or a remote device may encounter in an actual scenario. Regarding this point, in the following examples (for example,Figure 7 , Figure 8A or Figure 8B ) shows a scenario of error recovery related to the power consumption mode change process.

[0141] Before discussing Figure 7 , Figure 8A or Figure 8B , some assumptions are proposed as follows. In Figure 7 or a similar drawing such as FIG. 8, a local host such as the first device 10 can be represented by its UniPro stack, which includes a physical adapter (PA) layer 110A, a data link (DL) layer 120, and a device management entity (DME) 145, which can be implemented as a module in the first device 10. Similarly, a remote device (e.g., the second device 20) can be represented by its UniPro stack, which includes a PA layer 210A, a DL layer 220, and a DME 245, which can be implemented as a module in the second device 20. Figure 7 , Figure 8A or Figure 8B , etc., the PA layer 110A or 210A in Figure 3 can be regarded as an embodiment of the PA layer 110 or 210 in

[0142] Figure 7 shows an embodiment of an operation flow for error recovery of the power consumption mode change process to avoid an out-of-sync state. As Figure 7 shown, the power consumption mode change process fails on the local side. For example, on the requester side (local device or the first device 10), due to communication problems in the transmission path of the second device 20 or the reception path of the first device 10, or other communication problems (such as Figure 1 etc. described), an expected acknowledgment frame is not received from the responder (remote device or the second device 20). According to Figure 5AOperation S110, after the requester transmits a power consumption mode change request frame, the requester detects a failure in the power consumption mode change in the requester. In the process of power consumption mode change, according to the error recovery requirements of the first device 10, a power consumption mode change request frame containing parameters of the same power consumption mode configuration (such as device identifier (Device ID), adapt, flags, mode, lane, gear) can be transmitted one or two times. In one case, the associated request timer for the request frame expires, and no associated acknowledgment frame is received from the second device 20. For example, the power consumption mode change request frame (e.g., PACP_PWR_req) includes parameters of the power consumption mode configuration, such as parameters of DevID (device identifier), adapt, flags, TxMode, TxLane, TxGear, RxMode, RxLane, RxGear, where the UserDataValid flag in the flags is set to "1", as described in the UniPro specification (version 2.0) and so on.

[0143] According to Figure 5A Operation S120, in response to the failure of the power consumption mode change in the first device 10, the first device 10 transmits a first burst end signal to the second device (e.g., Figure 3 or Figure 4 the second device 20 in) in the first burst to notify the second device 20 of the failure of the power consumption mode change in the first device 10.

[0144] The first burst end signal indicates burst termination and includes a first error indication signal to indicate the failure of the power consumption mode change in the first device. For example, the first burst end signal includes a "burst end delimiter" signal, a "trailing" signal, and a "burst tail" signal. For example, the burst end delimiter signal can include one or more symbols (e.g., data patterns) to indicate burst termination; for example, the first burst (e.g., the outbound burst) is about to end. The trailing signal can include one or more symbols (e.g., data patterns such as the FILLER symbol), and the duration interval it lasts is required for both the requester side and the responder side for the decoding purpose of the responder side. The burst tail signal indicates the tail of the burst, which has one or more specific signal levels within the associated time period. In Figure 7Among them, the burst end flag signal, trailing signal, and burst tail signal of the first burst end signal are respectively transmitted to the second device 20, as shown in operations A310, A320, and A330. In some examples, the burst end flag signal or the burst tail signal, or both the burst end flag signal and the burst tail signal, may be configured as a first error indication signal to indicate a failure in changing the power consumption mode in the first device.

[0145] In some embodiments, the first error indication signal of the first burst end signal includes a data pattern for indicating a failure in changing the power consumption mode in the first device. For example, the first burst end signal includes a specific data pattern having at least two control symbols of the M-PHY specification (e.g., two MARKER2 symbols, indicated by <MK2, MK2>) to notify the responder side of a failure in changing the power consumption mode in the first device 10.

[0146] In some embodiments, the first error indication signal of the first burst end signal includes a burst tail to indicate a failure in changing the power consumption mode in the first device and to indicate the end of the first burst.

[0147] In some embodiments, the first error indication signal of the first burst end signal includes a data pattern and a burst tail to indicate a failure in changing the power consumption mode in the first device and to indicate the end of the first burst.

[0148] In some embodiments, according to the M-PHY specification, the first burst end signal includes a burst tail and does not have a MARKER2 control symbol to notify the second device of a failure in changing the power consumption mode in the first device and the termination of the first burst.

[0149] According to Figure 5BOperation S210, during the power consumption mode change operation, the second device 20 receives a first burst end signal in a first burst from the first device 10 and detects that the first burst end signal indicates burst termination and includes a first error indication signal to notify the second device 20 that a power consumption mode change failure has occurred in the first device 10. For example, during the power consumption mode change process, before receiving the first burst end signal, the second device 20 may receive a power consumption mode change request frame including the same power consumption mode configuration parameters (such as Device ID, Adapt, Flags, Mode, Lane, Gear) one or two times, which meet the requirements of the error recovery of the first device 10. Therefore, the second device 20 can accept the power consumption mode change request frame and regard the power consumption mode configuration associated with the power consumption mode change request frame as the power consumption mode configuration to be updated and used by the inline register of the physical layer circuit (for example, which enables the actual operation of the power consumption mode change).

[0150] According to Figure 5B Operation S220, in response to the detected first burst end signal, the second device 20 accepts the power consumption mode change failure in the first device 10, so that the second device 20 discards the power consumption mode configuration obtained during the power consumption mode change operation and ends the first burst. Therefore, on the responder side, the second device 20 can be notified not to update the physical layer circuit using the power consumption mode configuration obtained during the power consumption mode change operation, thereby avoiding an out-of-sync state between the first device 10 and the second device 20 (for example, Figure 2A or Figure 2B the situation in

[0151] As Figure 7 shown, the second device 20 can also further terminate its outbound burst (for example, called the second burst) by transmitting a second burst end signal, which indicates burst termination and includes a second error indication signal to notify the first device of the power consumption mode change failure that has occurred in the second device. For example, the second burst end signal can include a "burst end delimiter" signal, a "trailer" signal, and a "burst tail" signal and is implemented similar to the first burst end signal described in the above example. In Figure 7 as shown in operations A410, A420, and A430, the burst end delimiter signal, trailer signal, and burst tail signal of the second burst end signal are respectively transmitted to the first device 10. For the sake of brevity, the implementation of the second burst end signal will not be repeated.

[0152] In some embodiments, when the responder side detects a first error indication signal indicating a failure in power consumption mode change, it can respond to the first burst end signal of the requester side by accepting the failure in power consumption mode change in the requester side.

[0153] Figure 8A Another embodiment showing the operation flow of error recovery for power consumption mode change to avoid an out-of-sync state. In this embodiment, it is assumed the same as Figure 7 the assumption of the embodiment. Additionally, in Figure 8A the embodiment of, the burst end symbol signal is configured as the first error indication signal to indicate a failure in power consumption mode change in the first device 10. Thus, as Figure 8A shown, after the second device 20 receives the burst end symbol signal from the first device 10, as indicated by the arrow associated with operation A310, the PA layer 210A of the second device 20 accepts the failure in power consumption mode change in the first device 10 to discard the power consumption mode configuration obtained during the power consumption mode change process. Specifically, the PA layer 210A of the second device 20 enables the module (e.g., the associated physical layer circuit) to maintain the current power consumption mode configuration, as indicated by operation A401. Then, optionally, in operation A405, the PA layer 210A waits for a time interval (indicated by "interval") to avoid a race condition (e.g., as described in UniPro version 2.0), especially for a new power consumption mode configuration update. Thereafter, the second device 20 can further terminate its outbound burst (e.g., referred to as the second burst) by transmitting a second burst end signal, as shown in operations A410, A420, and A430.

[0154] Figure 8B Another embodiment showing the operation flow of error recovery for power consumption mode change to avoid an out-of-sync state. In this embodiment, it is assumed the same as Figure 8A the assumption of the embodiment. Figure 8A and Figure 8B The main difference between the embodiment of and Figure 8B the embodiment of is that in the embodiment of, the burst tail signal is configured to be used as the first error indication signal to indicate a failure in power consumption mode change in the first device 10 and trigger the second device 20 to perform operations in response to the first error indication signal. Thus, as Figure 8BAs shown, after the second device 20 receives the burst tail signal from the first device 10, as indicated by the arrow associated with operation A330, the PA layer 210A of the second device 20 accepts the failure of the power consumption mode change in the first device 10 to discard the power consumption mode configuration obtained during the power consumption mode change process. Specifically, the PA layer 210A performs operations A401 and A405. Thereafter, the second device 20 performs operations A410, A420, and A430 to terminate its outbound burst (e.g., the second burst).

[0155] In some embodiments, the burst tail signal can be implemented by a signal level with a specific time interval, which can also be regarded as a data pattern. For this reason, Table 1 shows examples of burst closure conditions (TAIL-OF-BURST). There can be newly defined patterns of new burst tails to serve as error indication signals (e.g., the first or second error indication signal) to indicate the failure of the power consumption mode change in a device (e.g., the first or second device).

[0156] Table 1

[0157]

[0158] In Table 1, the high-speed (HS) unit interval (UI), indicated by UI HS is defined as UI HS = 1 / DR HS where DR HS is the high-speed data rate, as described in the M-PHY specification (such as M-PHY version 5.0, etc.). DIF-N is the logical line state corresponding to the negative differential line voltage, and DIF-P is the logical line state corresponding to the positive differential line voltage. This logical line state or other related states can be driven by M-TX or M-RX (e.g., the transmitter or receiver described in the M-PHY specification, respectively). For example, the voltage level and signal transition timing specifications of M-TX and the detection requirements of M-RX are described in the M-PHY specification (e.g., M-PHY version 5.0, etc.). For example, the transmitter transmits the burst tail signal based on the example in Table 1, which has a signal level pattern (e.g., DIF-N) with a specific time interval (e.g., 20UI HS etc.) to indicate the burst tail (ToB) for the power consumption mode change. In another example, the burst tail signal can be transmitted based on another example in Table 1, which has a signal level pattern with a first specific time interval (e.g., 10UIHS the first signal level (e.g., DIF-P) of (such as, etc.) and with a continuous second specific time interval (e.g., 10UI HS etc.) of the second signal level (e.g., DIF-N), to additionally indicate the burst tail (ToB) for a power consumption mode change failure. The burst tail signal can also be defined by other signal level patterns, as long as the transmitter and its associated receiver are consistent in the signal level pattern for adopting the burst tail signal. Additionally, transmit the burst termination conditions as shown in Table 1 to exit to the power saving state (e.g., the power saving (SAVE) state as described in the M-PHY specification, such as the pause (STALL) state). Of course, the specific implementation of this embodiment is not limited to these examples. In some embodiments, as appropriate, the burst tail (ToB) signal for additionally indicating a power consumption mode change failure can be implemented with other signal level patterns or voltage levels.

[0159] Figure 9 Show an embodiment of the operation flow for error recovery of a power consumption mode change for a requester (e.g., the first device 10 or the second device 20). Figure 9 Can be implemented as a finite state machine operable in an electronic device (such as the first device 10 or the second device 20; or both of them).

[0160] In operation A510, the requester performs an operation for preparing a power consumption mode change.

[0161] In operation A520, the requester transmits a power consumption mode change request frame (e.g., PACP_PWR_req as described in the UniPro specification).

[0162] In operation A530, the requester waits for a power consumption mode change confirmation frame (e.g., PACP_PWR_cnf as described in the UniPro specification). When the power consumption mode change confirmation frame is received, operation A540 is executed. When the request timer associated with the power consumption mode change request frame expires, operation A600 is executed.

[0163] In operation A540, the requester determines whether the power consumption mode change confirmation frame indicates that the power consumption mode configuration requested by the power change mode request frame is accepted and successfully executed on the peer side (indicated by "whether the state is okay"). If so, operation A550 is executed. If not, operation A570 is executed.

[0164] In operation A550, the requester resets the timer to run a timer for the end-of-burst (EoB). In operation A560, the requester ends the transmission burst (TX burst or outbound burst) after receiving the end-of-burst (EoB).

[0165] In operation A570, the requester reports an event according to the indication code of the power consumption mode change confirmation frame. For example, the indication code may indicate the busy state of the peer side, such as Figure 9 "BUSY" shown as follows, to represent the indication code "PWR_BUSY", which indicates that the request (e.g., the request transmitted in operation A520) is discarded due to multiple concurrent requests. For example, the indication code may indicate the capability error state of the peer side, such as Figure 9 "ERR_CAP" shown in, to represent the indication code "PWR_ERROR_CAP", which indicates that the request is rejected because the requested configuration exceeds the allowed capabilities of the link. After operation A570, operation A580 ends the transmission burst (TX burst or outbound burst).

[0166] As described above for operation A530, operation A600 is executed when the request timer expires. In operation A600, the requester determines whether the number of retries has reached a threshold (e.g., 1, 2, etc.). If not, operation A520 is executed again to retry. If so, operation A610 is executed.

[0167] In operation A610, the requester restores its DL layer. In operation A620, the error event is reported back to the previous protocol layer. In operation A630, a burst end signal with an error indication is transmitted (e.g., Figure 4 or Figure 6 operation A110 in; Figure 5A operation S110 in; operations A310 - A330; operations A320 - A330).

[0168] Figure 10 Shows an embodiment of the operation flow for error recovery of the power consumption mode change for the responder (e.g., the second device 20 or the first device 10). Figure 10 Can be implemented as a finite state machine operable in an electronic device (such as the first device 10 or the second device 20; or both of them).

[0169] Initially, the responder is in the idle state.

[0170] In operation A710, the responder checks whether it has received a power consumption mode change request frame (e.g., PACP_PWR_req). If it is for concurrency resolution, operation A715 is executed to transmit a power consumption mode change confirmation frame (e.g., PACP_PWR_cnf) with an indication code of the busy state (BUSY). If a power consumption mode change request frame is received, operation A720 is executed.

[0171] In operation A720, the responder determines whether to accept the capabilities requested by the power consumption mode change request frame (indicated by "OK"). If so, operation A730 is executed. If not, operation A725 is executed to transmit a power consumption mode change confirmation frame (e.g., PACP_PWR_cnf) with an indication code (ERR_CAP) of a capability error status.

[0172] In operation A730, the responder configures the physical layer (PHY) module.

[0173] In operation A740, the responder transmits a power consumption mode change confirmation frame (e.g., PACP_PWR_cnf) with an indication code of the request being accepted (OK).

[0174] In operation A750, the responder determines whether a burst end signal is received. If so, operation A760 is executed. If a power consumption mode change request frame (e.g., PACP_PWR_req) is received, operation A710 is executed.

[0175] In operation A760, the responder determines whether an error indication signal is included in the burst end signal. If so, operation A800 is executed. If not, operation A770 is executed.

[0176] In operation A770, the responder ends the transmission burst (TX burst or outbound burst). In operation A780, the responder resumes its DL layer and reports the success of the power consumption mode change. In operation A790, the responder updates the new configuration.

[0177] In operation A800, the responder determines whether the enhanced mode is enabled. If so, operation A810 is executed. If not, operation A770 is executed. In operation A810, the responder maintains the current power consumption mode configuration. In operation A820, the responder ends the transmission burst (TX burst or outbound burst). In operation A830, the responder resumes its DL layer and reports the failure of the power consumption mode change.

[0178] In addition, Figure 7 The operation flow shown in FIG. 8 can be derived and executed according to the UniPro specification (e.g., UniPro version 2.0, etc.) and modified to achieve enhanced frame error recovery for the power consumption mode change process, such as during the sleep exit process. Of course, according to the UniPro specification or its adjusted version, this operation flow can also be applied to other processes, such as the link startup process.

[0179] Multiple embodiments for facilitating error recovery of power consumption mode changes in a communication system are provided below.

[0180] Please refer to Figure 11A, which shows a circuit architecture diagram according to an embodiment of the present disclosure. As Figure 11A shown, the storage system 1000 includes a host 1010 and a storage device 1020. The host 1010 and the storage device 1020 communicate with each other through an interconnect protocol, enabling the host 1010 to perform data access to the storage device 1020. The interconnect protocol can perform the method based on Figure 4 , Figure 5A , Figure 5B , Figure 6 or any one or more of the above embodiments. According to Figure 11A 's circuit architecture, the above technology is applicable to the first device 10 of one or more of the above embodiments, which can communicate with the second device 20 of one or more of the above embodiments according to the interconnect protocol, where the host 1010 and the storage device 1020 can be respectively used to implement the first device 10 and the second device 20, or vice versa. In Figure 11A 's circuit architecture, the controller in the host 1010 or the storage device 1020 for implementing the interconnect protocol can be implemented in various configurations. As Figure 11A shown, the controller (e.g., host controller 1012) in the host 1010 for implementing the interconnect protocol or the controller (e.g., device controller 1022) in the storage device 1020 for implementing the interconnect protocol can be implemented as a circuit architecture including a hardware protocol engine and a processing unit, where the processing unit of the controller is optional. In another example, as Figure 11B shown, the controller in the host 1010 for implementing the interconnect protocol is called, for example, protocol controller PC1, which can be configured to include a host interface 1011 and a hardware protocol engine 1013 and be implemented as a single chip, where the processing unit 1014 can be regarded as an external circuit of the protocol controller PC1. In addition, similarly, the controller (or called the protocol controller of the storage device 1020) in the storage device 1020 for implementing the interconnect protocol can be configured to include a device interface 1021 and a hardware protocol engine 1023 and be implemented as a single chip, where the processing unit 1024 can be regarded as an external circuit of the protocol controller. For another example, as Figure 11C shown, the controller in the host 1010 for implementing the interconnect protocol, for example, protocol controller PC2, can be configured to include a host interface 1011, a hardware protocol engine 1013, and a processing unit 1014, and be implemented as a single chip. In addition, similarly, the controller (or called the protocol controller of the storage device 1020) in the storage device 1020 for implementing the interconnect protocol can be configured to include a device interface 1021, a hardware protocol engine 1023, and a processing unit 1024, and be implemented as a single chip. Therefore, according to Figure 11AIn the circuit architecture, the controller for implementing the interconnection protocol in the host 1010 or the storage device 1020 can be regarded as covering or representing based on Figure 11A , Figure 11B or Figure 11C . The description of other examples related to Figure 11A also applies to the embodiments based on Figure 11A , Figure 11B or Figure 11C .

[0181] Figure 11A The circuit architecture shown has sufficient flexibility and can be effectively configured to meet the requirements of different products, so as to adapt to the diversified designs of manufacturers for better product development. For example, the host 1010 is a computing device, such as a smart phone, a tablet computer, a multimedia device or other electronic devices. The storage device 1020 is, for example, a storage device inside or outside the computing device, and is a storage device such as a non-volatile memory-based storage device. The storage device 1020 can be written with data under the control of the host 1010 or provide the written data to the host 1010. The storage device 1020 can be implemented as an internal storage device, a memory card, a solid state drive (SSD), etc.; however, the implementation of the present disclosure is not limited to the above examples.

[0182] The host 1010 includes a host interface 1011, a host controller 1012 and an application processor 1016.

[0183] The host interface 1011 implements the physical layer of the interconnection protocol to link to the storage device 1020. For example, the host interface 1011 implements an adjusted version of the physical (M-PHY) layer as exemplified above.

[0184] The host controller 1012 is coupled between the host interface 1011 and the application processor 1016. When the application processor 1016 needs to access data from the storage device 1020, it transmits corresponding access operation instructions or writes data to the host controller 1012 and communicates with the storage device 1020 through the interconnection protocol, thereby completing the data access to the storage device 1020.

[0185] The host controller 1012 includes, for example, a hardware protocol engine 1013 and a processing unit 1014, where the processing unit 1014 is optional.

[0186] The hardware protocol engine 1013 implements the link layer of the interconnection protocol. The link layer can be implemented according to an adjusted version of UniPro as exemplified above. The hardware protocol engine 1013 communicates with the host interface 1011 and the processing unit 1014 and performs data conversion according to the specifications of the link layer. In addition, the hardware protocol engine 1013 (or the host controller 1012) can be regarded as Figure 3An embodiment of the link controller 100 of the first device 10 shown.

[0187] The processing unit 1014 is coupled to the hardware protocol engine 1013 and communicates with the application processor 1016. The processing unit 1014 can execute one or more firmware. For example, access operation commands or write data output by an operating system, driver, or application program executed by the application processor 1016 are converted by the firmware executed by the processing unit 1014 into commands or data in a format compatible with the link layer of the interconnect protocol, and then output to the hardware protocol engine 1013 for processing according to the specifications of the link layer. Alternatively, the read data returned by the storage device 1020 in response to the read command of the host 1010 is transmitted to the hardware protocol engine 1013 according to the specifications of the link layer of the interconnect protocol, and is converted by the corresponding firmware executed by the processing unit 1014 into data in a format compatible with the operating system, driver, or application program executed by the application processor 1016 and can be read. The firmware can be stored in, for example, the internal memory of the processing unit 1014 or the internal memory of the host controller 1012, where the internal memory can include volatile memory and non-volatile memory. The processing unit 1014 is optional, that is, the tasks of the above firmware can be implemented in the hardware protocol engine 1013 in a hardware manner.

[0188] The storage device 1020 includes a device interface 1021, a device controller 1022, and a storage module 1026.

[0189] The device interface 1021 implements the physical layer of the interconnect protocol to link to the host 1010. For example, the device interface 1021 is used to implement a modified version of the above-exemplified physical (M-PHY) layer.

[0190] The device controller 1022 is coupled between the device interface 1021 and the storage module 1026. In terms of the interconnection protocol, the device controller 1022 has functions corresponding to or similar to those of the host controller 1012 described above. When the host 1010 issues and transmits an access operation command or writes data to the storage device 1020 through the interconnection protocol, the device controller 1022 converts the received data into a corresponding access operation command or writes data through the interconnection protocol, so as to facilitate the storage module 1026 to perform data access. Alternatively, the device controller 1022 transmits the read data returned by the storage device 1020 in response to the read command of the host 1010 back to the host 1010 according to the link layer of the interconnection protocol. The storage module 1026 includes memory chips such as one or more non-volatile memories, and is, for example, a flash memory chip. In one example, the storage device 1020 may further include a flash memory controller. The flash memory controller is coupled between the device controller 1022 and the storage module 1026, and may be configured to control the write, read, or erase operations of the storage module 1026, and is capable of exchanging data with the storage module 1026 through an address bus or a data bus. In another example, the flash memory controller may be further provided in the device controller 1022.

[0191] The device controller 1022 includes, for example, a hardware protocol engine 1023 and a processing unit 1024, where the processing unit 1024 is optional.

[0192] The hardware protocol engine 1023 implements the link layer of the interconnection protocol. The link layer can be implemented according to an adapted version of the aforementioned exemplary UniPro. The hardware protocol engine 1023 communicates with the device interface 1021 and the processing unit 1024, and performs data conversion according to the specifications of the link layer. In addition, the hardware protocol engine 1023 (or the device controller 1022) can be regarded as Figure 3 an embodiment of the link controller 200 of the second device 20 shown.

[0193] The processing unit 1024 is coupled to the hardware protocol engine 1023 and communicates with the host 1010 through the device interface 1021. The processing unit 1024 can execute one or more firmware. For example, the processing unit 1024 executes one or more firmware to communicate with the aforementioned flash memory controller, so as to exchange data between the interconnection protocol and the flash memory controller, such as access operation commands, write data, or read data. The firmware can be stored in, for example, the internal memory of the processing unit 1024, the internal memory of the device controller 1022, or a predetermined storage area of the storage module 1026, where the internal memory can include volatile memory and non-volatile memory.

[0194] AsFigure 11A As shown, the host interface 1011 can be coupled to the device interface 1021, for example, through data lines Din and Dout for transmitting / receiving data, a reset line RST for transmitting a hardware reset signal, and a clock line CLK for transmitting a clock signal. The data lines Din and Dout can be implemented as multiple pairs, and one pair of data lines Din or one pair of data lines Dout can be referred to as a channel, for example, for transmitting differential signals. The host interface 1011 can communicate with the device interface 1021 by using at least one interface protocol; however, the implementation of this disclosure is not limited to the above examples. Under a modified version of the UFS standard, multiple channels can also be configured between the host 1010 and the storage device 1020 to improve transmission efficiency, where one or more channels can be supported in either direction from the host 1010 to the storage device 1020 or from the storage device 1020 to the host 1010, and the multiple channels can be selectively set to be enabled or disabled.

[0195] An example is used to illustrate by taking a modified version of the UFS standard as the interconnection protocol. The UFS standard includes a UFS command set (UCS) layer, a UFS transport (UTP) layer, and a UFS interconnection (UIC) layer. The UIC layer includes a link layer and a physical layer. In the interconnection protocol, the link layer of the UIC layer can be implemented according to a modified version of the UniPro specification, and the physical layer of the UIC layer can be implemented according to a modified version of the M-PHY specification.

[0196] Please refer to Figure 12 , which shows a schematic diagram of an embodiment of the hierarchical architecture of the storage system in Figure 11A According to the UFS standard. Since the UFS standard is based on the MIPI UniPro layer and the MIPI M-PHY layer, the host interface 1011 and the hardware protocol engine 1013 of the host 1010 shown in Figure 11A are respectively used to implement the adjusted physical layer 1110 and the adjusted UniPro layer 1130 in Figure 12 . In addition, Figure 11A the device interface 1021 and the hardware protocol engine 1023 of the storage device 1020 in Figure 12 are respectively used to implement the adjusted physical layer 1210 and the adjusted UniPro layer 1230 in

[0197] As shown in Figure 12As shown, the adjusted UniPro layer 1130 (or 1230) may include an adjusted PHY adapter (PA) layer 1131 (or 1231), a data link (DL) layer 1132 (or 1232), a network layer 1133 (or 1233), and a transport layer 1134 (or 1234). Each layer in the adjusted UniPro layer 1230 of the storage device 1020 may also operate and be implemented similarly.

[0198] The adjusted PHY adapter layer (1131 or 1231) couples the adjusted physical layer (1110 or 1210) to the data link layer (1132 or 1232). The adjusted PHY adapter layer (1131 or 1231) is capable of performing bandwidth control and power consumption management between the adjusted physical layer (1110 or 1210) and the data link layer (1132 or 1232). In implementation, the adjusted physical layer 1110 of the host 1010 includes a transmitter (TX) 1111 and a receiver (RX) 1112, and the adjusted physical layer 1210 of the storage device 1020 includes a transmitter (TX) 1211 and a receiver (RX) 1212, thereby establishing data channels SL1 and SL2 to perform full-duplex communication. The adjusted UniPro specification may support multiple data channels for a link in each transmission direction (e.g., forward or reverse).

[0199] The data link layer (1132 or 1232) is capable of performing flow control for data transmission between the host 1010 and the storage device 1020. According to one or more of the above embodiments, the data link layer is capable of performing error detection and retransmitting frames in case of errors.

[0200] The network layer (1133 or 1233) is used for the routing function of selecting a transmission path for packets received from the transport layer (1134 or 1234).

[0201] The transport layer (1134 or 1234) may use commands received from the UFS application layer to configure data segments applicable to the protocol and transmit the data segments to the network layer (1133 or 1233), or may extract commands from packets received from the network layer (1133 or 1233) and transmit the commands to the UFS application layer.

[0202] In addition, the adjusted UniPro layer (1130 or 1230) can further implement a device management entity (DME) (1135 or 1235), which can communicate with each layer in the adjusted physical layer (1110 or 1210) and the adjusted UniPro layer (1130 or 1230), such as the adjusted PHY adapter layer (1131 or 1231), data link layer (1132 or 1232), network layer (1133 or 1233), and transport layer (1134 or 1234), so as to communicate with the UFS application layer, thereby implementing the overall functions of the adjusted unified protocol (UniPro), such as control or configuration functions, including power-on, power-off, reset, and power consumption mode change.

[0203] As appropriate, Figure 11A 、 Figure 11B 、 Figure 11C or Figure 12 the circuit architecture in Figure 3 can be applied to the controller in Figure 4 、 Figure 5A 、 Figure 5B 、 Figure 6 、 Figure 7 、 Figure 8A 、 Figure 8B 、 Figure 9 or Figure 10 to perform the operations of one or more embodiments or one or more related embodiments or examples according to

[0204] In some embodiments, the interconnect protocol is based on UniPro and M-PHY, and the high-speed burst state (e.g., represented by HS-BURST as described in the M-PHY specification) can be used to implement Figure 4 、 Figure 5A 、 Figure 5B 、 Figure 6 、 Figure 7 、 Figure 8A 、 Figure 8B 、 Figure 9 or Figure 10 one or more embodiments, or one or more related embodiments or examples. After the transmitter module of the physical layer circuit of the first device and the receiver module of the physical layer circuit of the second device have entered the HS-BURST state, effective data transmission from or to the associated upper layer (e.g., the "link layer" such as the UniPro layer) can be performed.

[0205] As with Figure 3As mentioned in related embodiments, when a burst is initiated between a first device and a second device, the associated transmitter module of the first device and the associated receiver module of the second device enter the burst state. For example, the burst state includes several sub-states, such as the PREPARE state, the SYNC state, the PAYLOAD state, and the Tail of Burst (TOB) state. Figure 13 A timing diagram of an embodiment showing the operation of the burst state of the transmitter module of an electronic device (e.g., the first device 10 or the second device 20). In this embodiment, the transmitter module is configured to provide line termination during the burst state, which can be indicated Figure 13 by a change in the signal level during the PREPARE state and (exiting to) the power-saving state. Similarly, the operation of the burst state of the receiving module of the electronic device can be obtained based on Figure 13 the operation, which will not be repeated here for the sake of brevity. Examples of the sub-states of the burst state are provided below.

[0206] In the PREPARE state, the transmitter module of the physical layer of the electronic device (e.g., the first device 10 (or the second device 20)) asserts a signal on the line for the channel, such that the receiver module of the remote electronic device (e.g., the second device 20 (or the first device 10)) recognizes the PREPARE state and acts accordingly. For example, the transmitter module drives the line of the channel (e.g., a pair of data lines Din (or a pair of data lines Dout)) with a specific data pattern or signal level pattern (e.g., a positive differential voltage, such as DIF-P described in the M-PHY specification) during a specific time interval (e.g., during the PREPARE period between time points T0 and T1 as shown in Figure 13 ). When the receiver module of the remote electronic device on the channel detects the specific signal level pattern (e.g., DIF-P), the receiver module will wake up or enable the associated logic circuit or module (e.g., a phase lock loop (PLL), termination, etc.).

[0207] In the SYNC state, the transmitter module continuously transmits a specific data pattern or signal level pattern during a specific time interval (e.g., during the SYNC period between time points Tl and T2 as shown in Figure 13 ). The remote receiver module can use this pattern to lock its timing logic module (e.g., PLL, etc.).

[0208] In the PAYLOAD state, the transmitter module transmits data during the PAYLOAD as shown in Figure 13 . The data can be symbols belonging to data transmission units such as PACP frames, DL frames, etc. The remote receiver module can pass the received symbols to the upper layer, such as the PA layer, DL layer, etc. When terminating a burst, the transmitter module can transmit an end-of-burst signal (indicated by "EoB") and a trailing signal (indicated by "trailing"), as shown in Figure 13 . Figure 13 The end-of-burst signal and the trailing signal shown in can be regarded as Figure 7 , Figure 8A or Figure 8B or an example of operations A310 - A320 (or A410 - A420) in related embodiments. In addition, the end-of-burst signal or the trailing signal is optional.

[0209] In the tail-of-burst (TOB) state, the transmitter module drives the lines on the channel with a specific data pattern or signal level pattern (e.g., an example related to Table 1 or other patterns), such as during the tail-of-burst (TOB) between time points T3 and T4, as shown in Figure 13 , to indicate the end of the current burst state. In Figure 13 , a tail-of-burst signal based on an example of the above Table 1 is shown to additionally indicate a failure in power consumption mode change and can be regarded as Figure 7 , Figure 8A or Figure 8B or an example of operation A330 (or A430) in related embodiments. In this case, the remote electronic device can be configured to detect the TOB in order to notify the local electronic device of a failure in power consumption mode change. The receiver module can exit the burst state and return to the power-saving state (e.g., the SAVE state described in the M-PHY specification). The remote electronic device can be configured to perform operations based on one or more of Figure 4 , Figure 5B , Figure 6 , Figure 7 , Figure 8A , Figure 8B or Figure 10 of one or more embodiments or one or more related embodiments or examples.

[0210] In addition, in the present disclosure, regarding the "asserting" (or its alternative forms, such as "asserted" or "assertion") of a signal, it means that the signal is set to its active state, which can be an active signal level at a high level or a low level. Regarding the "de-asserting" (or its alternative forms, such as "de-asserted" or "de-assertion") of a signal, it means that the signal is set to its inactive state, which can be set to an inactive signal level at a low level or a high level. If the signal is active-low (enabled when at a low level), then making the signal "asserted" means setting the signal to a low level, and making the signal "de-asserted" means setting the signal to a high level. If the signal is active-high (enabled when at a high level), then making the signal "asserted" means setting the signal to a high level, and making the signal "de-asserted" means setting the signal to a low level.

[0211] In addition, in the above-described embodiments related to the host and the storage device, the hardware protocol engine in the host controller or the device controller can be designed based on a hardware description language (HDL) such as Verilog or any other design method of digital circuits commonly known to those of ordinary skill in the art to which the present disclosure pertains, and can be implemented by one or more circuits based on, for example, a field programmable gate array (FPGA), an application specific integrated circuit (ASIC), or a complex programmable logic device (CPLD), or implemented by a dedicated circuit or module. The main controller or the device controller (or the processing unit or the hardware protocol engine therein) can also be based on a microcontroller, a processor, or a digital signal processor (DSP).

[0212] As shown in the above embodiments of the present disclosure, techniques for promoting error recovery for power consumption mode changes in a communication system are provided. These techniques are suitable for implementation in various embodiments as methods, electronic devices, and communication systems for an electronic device to perform power consumption mode change operations. An electronic device that encounters a failure in power consumption mode change can notify another electronic device of the power consumption mode change failure by using an end-of-burst signal. Therefore, in response to the end-of-burst signal, another electronic device can discard the power consumption mode configuration obtained during the power consumption mode change operation to avoid an undesired out-of-sync state. Thus, both sides of the communication system can perform error recovery operations to avoid conflicts and perform error recovery more efficiently.

[0213] The present disclosure is described by the above-described multiple embodiments. Those of ordinary skill in the art to which the present disclosure pertains should understand that these embodiments are only for describing the content of the present disclosure and should not be construed as limiting the scope of the present disclosure. It should be noted that all equivalent changes, substitutions, and replacements made to the embodiments will be included within the scope of the present disclosure. Therefore, the protection scope of the present disclosure should conform to the broadest interpretation of the appended patent application scope.

Claims

1. A method for an electronic device to perform a power consumption mode change operation, the method comprises: by means of the electronic device, during the power consumption mode change operation, after transmitting a power consumption mode change request frame, detecting whether a power consumption mode change failure occurs in the electronic device; and by means of the electronic device, in response to the power consumption mode change failure in the electronic device, transmitting a first burst end signal to another electronic device in a first burst to notify the other electronic device of the power consumption mode change failure in the electronic device, wherein the first burst end signal indicates burst termination and includes a first error indication signal to indicate the power consumption mode change failure in the electronic device.

2. The method according to claim 1, wherein transmitting the first burst end signal to the other electronic device in the first burst to notify the other electronic device of the power consumption mode change failure in the electronic device enables the other electronic device to accept the power consumption mode change failure in the electronic device, discard the power consumption mode configuration obtained during the power consumption mode change operation, and end the first burst.

3. The method according to claim 1, wherein the first error indication signal of the first burst end signal includes a data pattern to indicate the power consumption mode change failure in the electronic device.

4. The method according to claim 1, wherein the first error indication signal of the first burst end signal includes a burst tail to indicate the power consumption mode change failure in the electronic device and indicate the termination of the first burst.

5. The method according to claim 1, wherein the first error indication signal of the first burst end signal includes a data pattern and a burst tail to indicate the power consumption mode change failure in the electronic device and indicate the termination of the first burst.

6. An electronic device configured to communicate with another electronic device, the electronic device comprises: a controller, comprising: a physical layer circuit for signal transmission; and a link controller for data transmission, coupled to the physical layer circuit, wherein the controller is capable of performing a plurality of operations, the plurality of operations comprising: during a power consumption mode change operation, after transmitting a power consumption mode change request frame, detecting whether a power consumption mode change failure occurs in the electronic device; and in response to the power consumption mode change failure in the electronic device, transmitting a first burst end signal to the other electronic device in a first burst to notify the other electronic device of the power consumption mode change failure in the electronic device, wherein the first burst end signal indicates burst termination and includes a first error indication signal to indicate the power consumption mode change failure in the electronic device.

7. The electronic device according to claim 6, wherein the first burst end signal is transmitted in the first burst to the other electronic device to notify the other electronic device of the failure of the power consumption mode change in the electronic device, so that the other electronic device can accept the failure of the power consumption mode change in the electronic device, discard the power consumption mode configuration obtained during the power consumption mode change operation, and end the first burst.

8. The electronic device according to claim 6, wherein the first error indication signal of the first burst end signal includes a data pattern to indicate the failure of the power consumption mode change in the electronic device.

9. The electronic device according to claim 6, wherein the first error indication signal of the first burst end signal includes a burst tail to indicate the failure of the power consumption mode change in the electronic device and indicate the termination of the first burst.

10. The electronic device according to claim 6, wherein the first error indication signal of the first burst end signal includes a data pattern and a burst tail to indicate the failure of the power consumption mode change in the electronic device and indicate the termination of the first burst.

11. A method for an electronic device to perform a power consumption mode change operation, the method comprises: by the electronic device, during the power consumption mode change operation, receiving a first burst end signal in a first burst from another electronic device, and detecting that the first burst end signal indicates burst termination and includes a first error indication signal to notify the electronic device of the failure of the power consumption mode change in the other electronic device; and by the electronic device, in response to the detected first burst end signal, accepting the failure of the power consumption mode change in the other electronic device, discarding the power consumption mode configuration obtained during the power consumption mode change operation, and ending the first burst.

12. The method according to claim 11, wherein the method further comprises: by the electronic device, in response to the detected first burst end signal, after the first burst from the other electronic device to the electronic device is terminated, reporting the failure of the power consumption mode change in the other electronic device to the protocol layer of the electronic device.

13. The method according to claim 11, wherein the method further comprises: by the electronic device, in response to the first burst end signal, enabling the physical layer circuit of the electronic device to maintain the current power consumption mode configuration.

14. The method according to claim 13, wherein the method further comprises: by the electronic device, after enabling the physical layer circuit of the electronic device to maintain the current power consumption mode configuration and the first burst is terminated, transmitting a second burst end signal, the second burst end signal indicating burst termination and including a second error indication signal to notify the other electronic device of the failure of the power consumption mode change in the electronic device.

15. The method according to claim 11, wherein the first error indication signal of the first burst end signal comprises a data pattern to notify the electronic device that a failure of the power consumption mode change has occurred in the other electronic device.

16. The method according to claim 11, wherein the first error indication signal of the first burst end signal comprises a burst tail to notify the electronic device of a failure of the power consumption mode change in the other electronic device and to indicate the termination of the first burst.

17. The method according to claim 11, wherein the first error indication signal of the first burst end signal comprises a data pattern and a burst tail to notify the electronic device of a failure of the power consumption mode change in the other electronic device and to indicate the termination of the first burst.

18. An electronic device configured to communicate with another electronic device, the electronic device comprises: a controller, comprising: a physical layer circuit for signal transmission; and a link controller for data transmission, coupled to the physical layer circuit, wherein the controller is capable of performing a plurality of operations, the plurality of operations comprising: during a power consumption mode change operation, receiving a first burst end signal in a first burst from the other electronic device, and detecting that the first burst end signal indicates burst termination and comprises a first error indication signal to notify the electronic device that a failure of the power consumption mode change has occurred in the other electronic device; and in response to the detected first burst end signal, accepting the failure of the power consumption mode change in the other electronic device to discard the power consumption mode configuration obtained during the power consumption mode change operation and end the first burst.

19. The electronic device according to claim 18, wherein the plurality of operations further comprises: in response to the first burst end signal, reporting a failure of the power consumption mode change in the electronic device to a protocol layer of the electronic device after the termination of the first burst from the other electronic device to the electronic device.

20. The electronic device according to claim 18, wherein the plurality of operations further comprises: in response to the first burst end signal, enabling the physical layer circuit of the electronic device to maintain the current power consumption mode configuration.

21. The electronic device according to claim 20, wherein the plurality of operations further comprises: after enabling the physical layer circuit of the electronic device to maintain the current power consumption mode configuration and after the termination of the first burst, transmitting a second burst end signal, the second burst end signal indicating burst termination and comprising a second error indication signal to notify the other electronic device that a failure of the power consumption mode change has occurred in the electronic device.

22. The electronic device according to claim 18, wherein the first error indication signal of the first burst end signal comprises a data pattern to notify the electronic device that a failure of the power consumption mode change has occurred in the other electronic device.

23. The electronic device according to claim 18, wherein the first error indication signal of the first burst end signal includes a burst tail to notify the electronic device of a failure in the power consumption mode change in the other electronic device and indicate the termination of the first burst.

24. The electronic device according to claim 18, wherein the first error indication signal of the first burst end signal includes a data pattern and a burst tail to notify the electronic device of a failure in the power consumption mode change in the other electronic device and indicate the termination of the first burst.

25. A communication system, which comprises: a first electronic device configured to transmit a first burst end signal in a first burst when a power consumption mode change fails in the first electronic device during a power consumption mode change operation, wherein the first burst end signal indicates burst termination and includes a first error indication signal to indicate the failure of the power consumption mode change in the first electronic device; and a second electronic device configured to receive the first burst end signal in the first burst from the first electronic device during the power consumption mode change operation and detect that the first burst end signal indicates burst termination and includes the first error indication signal to indicate the failure of the power consumption mode change in the first electronic device, wherein in response to the detected first burst end signal, the second electronic device accepts the failure of the power consumption mode change in the first electronic device to discard the power consumption mode configuration obtained during the power consumption mode change operation and end the first burst.

26. The communication system according to claim 25, wherein the first error indication signal of the first burst end signal includes a data pattern to indicate the failure of the power consumption mode change in the first electronic device.

27. The communication system according to claim 25, wherein the first error indication signal of the first burst end signal includes a burst tail to indicate the failure of the power consumption mode change in the first electronic device and indicate the termination of the first burst.

28. The communication system according to claim 25, wherein the first error indication signal of the first burst end signal includes a data pattern and a burst tail to indicate the failure of the power consumption mode change in the first electronic device and indicate the termination of the first burst.

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