Multiple audio bus interfaces in a unified audio system

Abstract

Systems and methods for unifying multiple audio bus interfaces in an audio system are disclosed herein. In one aspect, an integrated circuit (IC) includes a master slave audio device comprising a first control circuit and a slave slave audio device comprising a second control circuit. The master slave audio device and the slave slave audio device are communicatively coupled via a slave state link, and the first control circuit and the second control circuit are each configured to receive a mode instruction from a master audio device indicating operation in one of a split mode and a unified mode. The second control circuit is configured to send a slave state to the master audio device via a second control channel when operating in the split mode, and to send the slave state to the master slave audio device via the slave state link when operating in the unified mode.

Description

Multiple audio bus interfaces in a unified audio system

[0001] Priority application

[0002] This application claims priority to U.S. Patent Application Serial No. 18 / 178,010, filed March 3, 2023, entitled “UNIFYING MULTIPLE AUDIO BUSINTERFACES IN AN AUDIO SYSTEM,” the entire contents of which are incorporated herein by reference. Background Technology Background Technical Field

[0003] I. Technical Field

[0004] The technology disclosed herein relates generally to audio systems, more specifically to SOUNDWIRE audio systems, and even more specifically to audio bus interfaces using the SOUNDWIRE protocol.

[0005] II. Background Technology

[0006] Mobile communication devices are becoming increasingly prevalent in today's society. This proliferation is partly due to the numerous features now enabled on these devices. The increased processing power means that mobile communication devices have evolved from mere communication tools into sophisticated mobile entertainment centers, enabling enhanced user experiences. These mobile communication devices typically include at least one microphone and multiple speakers, which usually have analog interfaces that require dedicated two-wire connections between each pair of devices. Because mobile communication devices can support multiple audio devices, it may be desirable to allow the microprocessor or other control devices within the mobile communication device to simultaneously transmit audio data to multiple audio devices via a common communication bus.

[0007] In this respect, MIPI ® The alliance initially developed the Serial Low Power Inter-Chip Media Bus (SLIMbus). SM MIPI uses either SLIMBUS or other similar technologies to process audio signals within mobile communication devices. The first version was released in October 2005, and v1.01 was released on December 3, 2008. In response to industry feedback, MIPI also developed SoundWire. SMSOUNDWIRE is a communication protocol used by a processor in a mobile communication device (“master device”) to control the distribution of digital audio streams between one or more audio devices (“slave devices”) via one or more SOUNDWIREs from a data port. Version 1 was released on January 21, 2015. Version 1.2 was released in April 2019, and the standard is still evolving and requires further innovation. MIPI members are currently discussing version 1.4.

[0008] A common implementation of a SOUNDWIRE audio device may employ two separate SOUNDWIRE links, where a first SOUNDWIRE master and slave pair handle data transmission, and a second SOUNDWIRE master and slave pair handle data reception. However, some computing platforms may require only a single SOUNDWIRE link, making the use of multiple SOUNDWIRE pairs impractical. This issue can be addressed by increasing the number of ports provided by each SOUNDWIRE device, but this approach increases the physical size, power consumption, and integration complexity of such devices, which may be undesirable. Summary of the Invention

[0009] The aspects disclosed in the detailed description include systems and methods for unifying multiple audio bus interfaces in an audio system. In this regard, the audio system provides multiple slave audio devices, one of which is designated as the "master slave audio device," while the others are designated as "subordinate slave audio devices." The master and subordinate slave audio devices can be selectively configured to operate in a unified mode or a separate mode. In unified mode, the master and subordinate slave audio devices are configured to communicate with a single master audio device using a single audio bus interface. The master slave audio device performs functionality for aggregating status information from the subordinate slave audio devices (e.g., slave status and / or interrupt status, as a non-limiting example) and conveys such status information to the master audio device on behalf of the subordinate slave audio devices. Each subordinate slave audio device sends status information to the master slave audio device instead of the master audio device, and port offsets and / or physical layer offsets may also be used to make the ports, port configuration registers, physical layer (PHY) elements, and / or physical layer configuration registers of the subordinate slave audio devices appear to be connected to the corresponding elements of the master slave audio device. In decoupled mode, the audio bus interfaces of the primary and secondary audio devices operate independently in a manner similar to conventional operation, allowing each audio bus interface to connect to a different primary audio device. In this way, exemplary aspects of this disclosure provide a way to unify or decouple secondary audio devices (such as SOUNDWIRE devices), enabling support for different computing platform requirements without incurring additional physical space or power consumption.

[0010] In another aspect, an integrated circuit (IC) is provided. The IC includes a master audio device, the master audio device including first control circuitry and a first audio bus interface, the first audio bus interface including a first control channel and a first plurality of data channels. The IC also includes a slave audio device, the slave audio device including second control circuitry and a second audio bus interface, the second audio bus interface including a second control channel and a second plurality of data channels. The master audio device and the slave audio device are communicatively coupled via a slave status link, and the first control circuitry and the second control circuitry are each configured to receive a mode instruction from the master audio device indicating operation in either a split mode or a unified mode. The second control circuitry is configured to, when operating in the split mode, send a slave status of the slave audio device to the master audio device via the second control channel. The second control circuitry is also configured to, when operating in the unified mode, send the slave status of the slave audio device to the master audio device via the slave status link.

[0011] On the other hand, a method for unifying multiple audio bus interfaces is provided. The method includes receiving a first mode instruction from a master audio device by control circuitry of a slave audio device, indicating operation in a unified mode. The method also includes, when operating in the unified mode, the control circuitry sending a first slave status of the slave audio device to the master audio device via a slave status link communicatively coupling the slave audio device and the master audio device.

[0012] On the other hand, a method for unifying multiple audio bus interfaces is provided. The method includes receiving, from a master audio device, a mode command indicating operation in a unified mode by control circuitry of a master slave audio device. The method further includes, when operating in the unified mode, receiving, by the control circuitry, a slave status of a slave audio device via a slave status link communicatively coupled to the master slave audio device. The method also includes sending, by the control circuitry, the slave status of the slave audio device and the slave status of the master slave audio device to the master audio device via a control channel of the master slave audio device. Attached Figure Description

[0013] Figures 1A and 1B are block diagrams of exemplary topologies of audio systems in different configurations using one (1) or two (2) audio buses (such as SOUNDWIRE audio buses);

[0014] Figures 2A and 2B are block diagrams of the master audio device and slave audio device in one of the configurations from Figures 1A and 1B, respectively.

[0015] Figure 3 is a block diagram illustrating an audio system according to some aspects, which includes a master slave audio device and a slave audio device configured to operate in a unified mode, wherein both of them communicate with a single master audio device using a single audio bus interface.

[0016] Figure 4 is a block diagram illustrating an audio system according to some aspects of Figures 2A and 2B, wherein the master and slave audio devices configured to operate in a separate mode communicate with a separate master audio device using separate audio bus interfaces.

[0017] Figures 5A and 5B illustrate exemplary operations performed by the subordinate audio devices of Figures 3 and 4 in unified and separate modes according to some aspects;

[0018] Figures 6A and 6B illustrate exemplary operations performed by the main audio devices of Figures 3 and 4 in unified mode, according to some aspects; and

[0019] Figures 7A to 7C are block diagrams of exemplary processor-based systems that may include the audio systems of Figures 3 and 4. Detailed Implementation

[0020] Several exemplary aspects of this disclosure will now be described with reference to the accompanying drawings. The word “exemplary” is used herein to mean “serving as an example, instance, or illustration.” Any aspect described herein as “exemplary” is not necessarily to be construed as preferred or advantageous over other aspects.

[0021] The aspects disclosed in the detailed description include systems and methods for unifying multiple audio bus interfaces in an audio system. In this regard, the audio system provides multiple slave audio devices, one of which is designated as the "master slave audio device," while the others are designated as "subordinate slave audio devices." The master and subordinate slave audio devices can be selectively configured to operate in a unified mode or a separate mode. In unified mode, the master and subordinate slave audio devices are configured to communicate with a single master audio device using a single audio bus interface. The master slave audio device performs functionality for aggregating status information from the subordinate slave audio devices (e.g., slave status and / or interrupt status, as a non-limiting example) and conveys such status information to the master audio device on behalf of the subordinate slave audio devices. Each subordinate slave audio device sends status information to the master slave audio device instead of the master audio device, and port offsets and / or physical layer offsets may also be used to make the ports, port configuration registers, physical layer (PHY) elements, and / or physical layer configuration registers of the subordinate slave audio devices appear to be connected to the corresponding elements of the master slave audio device. In decoupled mode, the audio bus interfaces of the primary and secondary audio devices operate independently in a manner similar to conventional operation, allowing each audio bus interface to connect to a different primary audio device. In this way, exemplary aspects of this disclosure provide a way to unify or decouple secondary audio devices (such as SOUNDWIRE devices), enabling support for different computing platform requirements without incurring additional physical space or power consumption.

[0022] This disclosure is well-suited for use with next-generation SOUNDWIRE audio systems, such as those described in the draft specifications of SOUNDWIRE-I3S v0.4r08 (January 23, 2020) or v0.4r09, copies of which are available to MIPI members. Such audio systems rely on a differential audio bus having at least two conductors (DP (data positive), DN (data negative)) for each channel. Up to eight (8) channels (i.e., up to sixteen conductors) can exist in such a bus. Before addressing specific aspects of this disclosure in more detail below with reference to Figure 3, an overview of different audio system configurations is presented in Figures 1A and 1B, and block diagrams of the master and slave audio devices are presented in Figures 2A and 2B, respectively.

[0023] In this regard, Figure 1A illustrates a first audio system 100, which includes a master audio device 102 coupled to an audio bus 104 via a bus interface 106, and a slave audio device 108 coupled to the audio bus 104 via a bus interface 110. In some aspects, the audio bus 104 may be a differential audio bus and may extend along a wide linear signal path in the physical medium. The audio bus 104 may have various topologies and be coupled to additional slave audio devices (not shown) at different distances from the master audio device 102.

[0024] Figure 1B illustrates a second audio system 112 that can be used, for example, in a mobile computing platform, where more than one audio bus and corresponding bus interfaces are used. As shown in Figure 1B, a first master audio device 114 and a first slave audio device 116 are coupled to a first audio bus 118 via corresponding bus interfaces 120 and 122, while a second master audio device 124 and a second slave audio device 126 are coupled to a second audio bus 128 via corresponding bus interfaces 130 and 132. The configuration illustrated in Figure 1B can be used in specific implementations where the first audio bus 118 and the second audio bus 128 each carry data in different directions. For example, the first audio bus 118 can be used to carry data transmitted by a microphone, while the second audio bus 128 can be used to carry data received by a speaker.

[0025] Figure 2A illustrates exemplary main audio devices, such as main audio devices 102, 114, and 124 of Figures 1A and 1B, in more detail, providing a block diagram of main audio device 200. Main audio device 200 may be an application processor (AP) as shown in Figure 1A, or it may be a codec (not shown), a mobile device modem (MDM) (not shown), a digital signal processor (DSP) (not shown), etc. Main audio device 200 may also include a bus interface 202, which may be a physical layer (PHY) element (labeled "PHY" in Figure 2A) 204 or may work with such a PHY element configured to couple to an audio bus 206, which functionally corresponds to audio buses 104, 118, and 128 of Figures 1A and 1B. Because bus interface 202 can interact with the audio bus, it may be referred to as an audio bus interface. The main audio device 200 may include an internal bus 208 that couples the main control circuitry (labeled “CC” in FIG2A) 210 to the PHY element 204 and memory 212 and / or register 214.

[0026] Figure 2B provides a block diagram of an exemplary slave audio device 216, which corresponds to slave audio devices 108, 116, and 126 of Figures 1A and 1B. Slave audio device 216 may be a microphone, speaker, codec, DSP, etc. Slave audio device 216 may include a bus interface 218, which may be a PHY element (labeled "PHY" in Figure 2B) 220 or may work with such a PHY element configured to couple to an audio bus 222, which functionally corresponds to audio buses 104, 118, and 128 of Figures 1A and 1B. Slave audio device 216 may include an internal bus 224 that couples a control circuit (labeled "CC" in Figure 2B) 226 to the PHY 220 and register 228. In addition, the audio device 216 may include a digital-to-analog converter (DAC) or analog-to-digital converter (ADC) (labeled “ADC / DAC” in FIG2B) 230, which may be coupled to an input or output element 232.

[0027] As discussed above, some conventional implementations of SOUNDWIRE audio devices may employ two separate SOUNDWIRE links as illustrated in Figure 1B. However, some computing platforms may require only a single SOUNDWIRE link, making the use of multiple pairs of SOUNDWIRE devices impractical. Therefore, some exemplary aspects disclosed herein provide mechanisms for unifying multiple audio bus interfaces (such as SOUNDWIRE) in an audio system. In such aspects, the audio system provides a single audio bus (e.g., a SOUNDWIRE bus) for connectably coupling a master audio device to multiple slave audio devices. One of the slave audio devices is designated as the "master slave audio device," while the remaining slave audio devices are designated as "subordinate slave audio devices." The master and subordinate slave audio devices may be selectively configured to operate in a unified mode or a separate mode. In unified mode, the master and subordinate slave audio devices are connected to a single master audio device via a single audio bus and are configured to communicate with the master audio device via a single audio bus interface. The primary audio device performs the functionality of aggregating status information from subordinate audio devices and conveying this status information to the primary audio device on behalf of the subordinate audio devices. In decoupled mode, the audio bus interfaces of the primary and subordinate audio devices operate independently in a manner similar to normal operation, allowing each audio bus interface to connect to a different primary audio device.

[0028] Figure 3 is provided to illustrate an audio system comprising a master audio device and slave audio devices configured to operate in a unified mode. In Figure 3, the audio system 300 includes a master audio device 302 communicatively coupled to an integrated circuit (IC) 304, which includes a master audio device 306 and a slave audio device 308. The master audio device 306 includes control circuitry 310 for controlling the functionality of the master audio device 306, while the slave audio device 308 includes control circuitry 312 for controlling the functionality of the slave audio device 308. As can be seen in Figure 3, the master audio device 306 and the slave audio device 308 are communicatively coupled to each other via a slave state link 314 and an interrupt state link 316, each of which includes a communication line or bus. It should be understood that although only a single slave audio device 308 is illustrated in Figure 3, some aspects may specify that IC 304 includes a plurality of slave audio devices 308, each of which is configured to provide functionality similar to that attributed herein to slave audio device 308.

[0029] IC 304 is communicatively coupled to the master audio device 302 via multiple communication channels (labeled "LANE" in FIG3) 318(0)-318(X), 320(0)-320(X) and corresponding multiple PHY elements (labeled "PHY" in FIG3) 322(0)-322(H), 324(0)-324(H). The master audio device 306 and the slave audio device 308 are also communicatively coupled to the same clock line (labeled "CLK" in FIG3) 326, through which the master audio device 306 and the slave audio device 308 receive clock signals (not shown) from the master audio device 302. The communication channels 318(0)-318(X), 320(0)-320(X) and clock line 326 may be collectively referred to as the "audio bus" and may include, for example, a SOUNDWIRE audio bus.

[0030] In the example of Figure 3, communication channel 318(0) operates as the control channel (labeled "CTRL LANE" in Figure 3) 328 of the primary audio device 306, while communication channel 318(X) operates as data channel 330(0)-330(D) of the primary audio device 306. The primary audio device 306 also includes multiple ports (labeled "PRT" in Figure 3) 332(0)-332(P), one or more of which can be configurably connected to the control channel 328 and / or the data channels 330(0)-330(D) to transmit and / or receive data. The audio device 306 also provides PHY control registers (labeled “PHYCTRL” in Figure 3) 334(0)-334(R) that can be configured to modify the configuration of PHY elements 322(0)-322(H), and also includes port configuration registers (labeled “PORT CONFIG” in Figure 3) 336(0)-336(C) that can be configured to modify the configuration of ports 332(0)-332(P).

[0031] Similarly, communication channel 318(0) operates as a control channel (labeled "CTRL LANE" in FIG. 3) 338 of the slave audio device 308, while communication channel 318(X) operates as a data channel 340(0) among the multiple data channels 340(0)-340(D) ​​of the slave audio device 308. The slave audio device 308 also includes multiple ports (labeled "PRT" in FIG. 3) 342(0)-342(P), one or more of which can be configurably connected to control channel 338 and / or data channels 340(0)-340(D) ​​to transmit and / or receive data. The subordinate audio device 308 further provides a PHY control register (labeled “PHYCTRL” in FIG3) 344(0)-344(R) that can be configured to modify the configuration of PHY elements 324(0)-324(H), and also includes a port configuration register (labeled “PORT CONFIG” in FIG3) 346(0)-346(C) that can be configured to modify the configuration of ports 342(0)-342(P).

[0032] In an exemplary operation, the control circuit 310 of the primary audio device 306 and the control circuit 312 of the secondary audio device 308 can receive a mode instruction 348 from the primary audio device 302 indicating operation in a unified mode or a separate mode. It should be noted that, as shown in FIG3, the secondary audio device 308 can be configured to monitor or sample the communication channel 318(0) that operates as the control channel 328 of the primary audio device 306, and thus can detect and respond to instructions from the primary audio device 302 directed to the secondary audio device 308. In the example of FIG3, the mode instruction 348 indicates that the primary audio device 306 and the secondary audio device 308 will operate in a unified mode, and therefore the control circuits 310 and 312 set the operating modes of the primary audio device 306 and the secondary audio device 308 to unified mode, respectively.

[0033] When the slave audio device 308 operates in unified mode, both the primary slave audio device 306 and the slave audio device 308 receive the same clock signal from clock line 326, and both sample communication channel 318(0) as corresponding control channels 328 and 338, and sample communication channel 318(X) as corresponding data channels 330(0) and 340(0). When operating in unified mode, both the primary slave audio device 306 and the slave audio device 308 are also configured with the same unique ID (not shown).

[0034] The control circuitry 312 of the slave audio device 308 is configured to send the slave status (labeled "SLV STAT" in FIG. 3) 350 of the slave audio device 308 to the master audio device 306 via the slave status link 314 (i.e., instead of sending the slave status 350 to the master audio device 302 itself). As a non-limiting example, the slave status 350 may indicate, for example, an attached status, a deattached status, or an alarm status of the slave audio device 308. Upon receiving the slave status 350 of the slave audio device 308, the control circuitry 310 of the master audio device 306 aggregates the slave status 350 with the slave status (labeled "SLV STAT" in FIG. 3) 352 of the master audio device 306 and sends both slave statuses (i.e., at the appropriate position within the bus frame (not shown)) to the master audio device 302 via the control channel 328 of the master audio device 306.

[0035] In some aspects, it can also be specified that, in unified mode, the control circuit 312 of the slave audio device 308 can also send the interrupt status (labeled "INT STAT" in Figure 3) 354 of the slave audio device 308 to the master audio device 306 via the interrupt status link 316. When the control circuit 310 of the master audio device 306 receives the interrupt status 354 via the interrupt status link 316, the control circuit 310 sends the interrupt status 354 of the slave audio device 308 and the interrupt status (labeled "INT STAT" in Figure 3) 356 of the master audio device 306 to the master audio device 302 via the control channel 328.

[0036] Referring again to Figure 3, according to some aspects, the slave audio device 308 is associated with a physical layer offset (labeled "PHY OFFSET" in Figure 3) 358, which can be used to enable the PHY elements 324(0)-324(H) and physical layer control registers 344(0)-344(R) of the slave audio device 308 to be connected to the PHY elements 322(0)-322(H) and PHY control registers 334(0)-334(R) of the master audio device 306, respectively, when operating in unified mode. Therefore, for example, if the audio device 306 mainly includes two (2) PHY elements 322 (0) and 322 (1) referenced using index values ​​zero (0) and one (1) (i.e., PHY0 and PHY1), the control circuit 312 can configure the physical layer offset 358 to the value two (2), and can add the physical layer offset 358 to the index values ​​of PHY elements 324 (0) and 324 (1) when referencing PHY elements 324 (0) and 324 (1) (i.e., referencing them as PHY2 and PHY3) so that they appear to be succeeded by PHY elements 322 (0) and 322 (1). In a similar manner, in some respects, the slave audio device 308 is associated with port offset 360, which can be used to enable that, when operating in unified mode, ports 342(0)-342(P) and port configuration registers 346(0)-346(C) of the slave audio device 308 to be connected to ports 332(0)-332(P) and port configuration registers 336(0)-336(C) of the master audio device 306, respectively, in the view of the master audio device 302.

[0037] In some respects, the data channels 330(0)-330(D) of the primary audio device 306 can be configurably associated with different ports among ports 332(0)-332(P), and similarly, the data channels 340(0)-340(D) ​​of the secondary audio device 308 can be configurably associated with different ports among ports 342(0)-342(P). In such respects, the control circuitry 310 of the primary audio device 306 can receive register configuration instructions 362 from the primary audio device 302 via the control channel 328 of the primary audio device 306. The control circuitry 310 sets the port configuration registers 336(0)-336(C) based on the corresponding register configuration instructions 362 received from the primary audio device 302 on the control channel 328. Then, control circuitry 310 can associate one or more ports from ports 332(0) to 332(P) with data channels from multiple data channels 330(0) to 330(D) of the primary audio device 306 based on multiple port configuration registers 336(0)-336(C). Similarly, control circuitry 312 of the slave audio device 308 can receive register configuration instructions 364 from the primary audio device 302 via control channel 328 of the primary audio device 306. Then, control circuitry 312 can associate one or more ports from ports 342(0) to 342(P) with data channels from multiple data channels 340(0) to 340(D) ​​of the slave audio device 308 based on multiple port configuration registers 346(0)-346(C).

[0038] Figure 4 is a block diagram illustrating the audio system 300 of Figure 3, wherein a primary audio device 306 and a secondary audio device 308 are configured to operate in a split mode. In split mode, the primary audio device 306 is configured to communicate with a first master audio device 400, while the secondary audio device 308 is configured to communicate with a second master audio device 402. The secondary audio device 308 receives a separate clock signal (not shown) from clock line 404. Communication channel 320(0) operates as a control channel 338 of the secondary audio device 308, while communication channel 320(X) operates as a data channel 340(0) among the multiple data channels 340(0)-340(D) ​​of the secondary audio device 308.

[0039] When in decoupled mode, both the slave status link 314 and the interrupt status link 316 are inactive, so the primary slave audio device 306 and the secondary slave audio device 308 directly communicate their slave and interrupt statuses to their respective primary audio devices 400 and 402. Therefore, the control circuitry 312 of the secondary slave audio device 308 can send the slave status (labeled "SLV STAT" in FIG. 4) 406 of the secondary slave audio device 308 to the primary audio device 402 via the control channel 338 of the secondary slave audio device 308, and can also send the interrupt status (labeled "INTSTAT" in FIG. 4) 408 of the secondary slave audio device 308 to the primary audio device 302 via the control channel 338. When operating in decoupled mode, the control circuitry 312 of the secondary slave audio device 308 can also configure each of the port offset 360 and the physical layer offset 358 to a value of zero (0).

[0040] To illustrate exemplary operations performed by the subordinate audio device 308 of Figures 3 and 4 in unified and separate modes according to some aspects, Figures 5A and 5B provide flowcharts illustrating exemplary operation 500. For clarity, elements of Figures 3 and 4 are referenced in the description of Figures 5A and 5B. It should be understood that some operations in operation 500 shown in Figures 5A and 5B may be performed in a different order than illustrated herein, and / or may be omitted in some aspects.

[0041] Operation 500 in FIG. 5A begins as follows: the control circuit (e.g., control circuit 312 of FIG. 3 and 4) of the slave audio device (e.g., slave audio device 308 of FIG. 3 and 4) receives a first mode instruction (e.g., mode instruction 348 of FIG. 3) (box 502) from the master audio device (e.g., master audio device 302 of FIG. 3 and 4) indicating operation in unified mode. Then, control circuit 312 sets the operating mode of slave audio device 308 (box 504). If control circuit 312 sets the operating mode to discrete mode at box 504, operation 500 continues at box 506 of FIG. 5B. If control circuit 312 sets the operating mode to unified mode at box 504, operation 500 continues at box 508 of FIG. 5A.

[0042] When the slave audio device 308 operates in unified mode, the control circuit 312 sends a first slave state (e.g., slave state 350 in FIG3) of the slave audio device 308 to the primary slave audio device 306 (block 508) via a slave state link (e.g., slave state link 314 in FIG3 and 4) that communicatively couples the slave audio device 308 to the primary slave audio device 306 (e.g., primary slave audio device 306 in FIG3 and 4). In some aspects, the control circuit 312 may send a first interrupt state (e.g., interrupt state 354 in FIG3) of the slave audio device 308 to the primary slave audio device 306 (block 510) via an interrupt state link (such as interrupt state link 316 in FIG3 and 4).

[0043] Some aspects may be specified such that, when operating in unified mode, control circuitry 312 may configure port offsets (e.g., port offset 360) primarily from the counts of the port configuration registers of audio device 306 (e.g., port configuration registers 336(0)-336(C) of Figures 3 and 4) (box 512). Control circuitry 312 may also configure physical layer offsets (e.g., physical layer offset 358 of Figures 3 and 4) primarily from the counts of the PHY control registers of audio device 306 (e.g., PHY control registers 334(0)-334(R) of Figures 3 and 4) (box 514). In this way, when operating in unified mode, the PHY control registers 344(0)-344(R) and port configuration registers 346(0)-346(C) of the slave audio device 308 are, from the perspective of the master audio device 302, connected to the PHY control registers 334(0)-334(R) and port configuration registers 336(0)-336(C) of the master audio device 306, respectively. In some respects, operation 500 may continue at block 516 of FIG5B.

[0044] Turning now to Figure 5B, operation 500 can continue as follows, depending on some aspects: Control circuit 312 sets multiple port configuration registers 346(0)-346(C) based on the corresponding register configuration instruction (e.g., register configuration instruction 364 of Figure 3) received from master audio device 302 on the control channel of master slave audio device 306 (e.g., control channel 328 of Figures 3 and 4) (box 516). Then, control circuit 312 can associate multiple ports (e.g., ports 342(0)-342(P) of Figures 3 and 4) with data channels in multiple data channels (e.g., multiple data channels 340(0)-340(D) ​​of Figures 3 and 4) of slave audio device 308 based on the multiple port configuration registers 346(0)-346(C) (box 518).

[0045] If control circuit 312 sets the operating mode of slave audio device 308 to discrete mode at block 504 of FIG. 5A, then when operating in discrete mode, control circuit 312 sends a second slave state (e.g., slave state 406 of FIG. 4) of slave audio device 308 to master audio device 302 via control channel 338 of slave audio device 308 (block 506). Control circuit 312 can also send a second interrupt state (e.g., interrupt state 408 of FIG. 4) of slave audio device 308 to master audio device 302 via control channel 338 (block 520). In some aspects, when operating in discrete mode, control circuit 312 can configure each of port offset 360 and physical layer offset 358 to a value of zero (0) (block 522).

[0046] Figures 6A and 6B provide flowcharts illustrating exemplary operations 600 performed by the primary audio device 306 of Figures 3 and 4 in unified mode, according to some aspects. For clarity, elements of Figures 3 and 4 are referenced in the description of Figures 6A and 6B. It should be understood that some operations in operation 600 shown in Figures 6A and 6B may be performed in a different order than illustrated herein, and / or may be omitted in some aspects. In Figure 6A, operation 600 begins with the control circuitry of the primary audio device 306 (such as control circuitry 310 of Figures 3 and 4) receiving a mode instruction (e.g., mode instruction 348 of Figure 3) (block 602) from the master audio device (e.g., master audio device 302 of Figures 3 and 4) indicating operation in unified mode. In response, control circuitry 310 sets the operating mode of the primary audio device 306 (i.e., sets it to unified mode) (block 604).

[0047] When operating in unified mode, the control circuitry 310 of the primary audio device 306 performs a series of operations (block 606). The control circuitry 310 receives the slave status (e.g., slave status 350 in Figure 3) of the slave audio device 308 via a slave status link (e.g., slave status link 314 in Figures 3 and 4) communicatively coupled to the primary audio device 306 (e.g., slave status 350 in Figure 3) (block 608). The control circuitry 310 then transmits the slave status 350 of the slave audio device 308 and the slave status (e.g., slave status 352 in Figure 3) of the primary audio device 306 to the primary audio device 302 via a control channel (e.g., control channel 328 in Figures 3 and 4) (block 610). In some aspects, operation 600 may continue at block 612 of Figure 6B.

[0048] Referring now to FIG. 6B, the operation performed by the primary audio device 306 in unified mode continues (box 606). In some aspects, control circuitry 310 may receive the interrupt status of the subordinate audio device 308 (e.g., interrupt status 354 of FIG. 3) via an interrupt status link (e.g., interrupt status link 316 of FIG. 3 and 4) (box 612). Control circuitry 310 then transmits the interrupt status 354 of the subordinate audio device 308 and the interrupt status of the primary audio device 306 (e.g., interrupt status 356 of FIG. 3) via control channel 328 (box 614). In some aspects, control circuitry 310 may set multiple port configuration registers (e.g., port configuration registers 336(0)-336(C) of FIG. 3 and 4) based on the corresponding register configuration instruction (e.g., register configuration instruction 362 of FIG. 3) received from the primary audio device 302 on control channel 328 (box 616). Then, the control circuit 310 can associate each of the multiple ports (e.g., ports 332(0)-332(P) of Figures 3 and 4) with the data channels of the multiple data channels (e.g., data channels 330(0)-330(D) of Figures 3 and 4) mainly from the audio device 306 (box 618) based on the multiple port configuration registers 336(0)-336(C).

[0049] Therefore, an exemplary aspect of this disclosure provides a way to unify or separate audio devices, such as SOUNDWIRE devices, which enables support for different computing platform requirements without incurring additional physical areas or power consumption.

[0050] Systems and methods for unifying multiple audio bus interfaces in an audio system, as disclosed herein, can be provided in or integrated into any processor-based device. Examples, not by limitation, include: set-top boxes, entertainment units, navigation devices, communication devices, fixed location data units, mobile location data units, Global Positioning System (GPS) devices, mobile phones, cellular phones, smartphones, Session Initiation Protocol (SIP) phones, tablet devices, tablet phones, servers, computers, portable computers, mobile computing devices, wearable computing devices (e.g., smartwatches, health or fitness trackers, glasses, etc.), desktop computers, personal digital assistants (PDAs), monitors, computer monitors, televisions, tuners, radios, satellite radios, music players, digital music players, portable music players, digital video players, video players, digital video disc (DVD) players, portable digital video players, automobiles, vehicle components, avionics systems, drones, and multirotor aircraft.

[0051] The exemplary aspects of this disclosure are well-suited for use with the SOUNDWIRE bus, although other differential audio buses may also benefit from the concepts disclosed herein. As used herein, references to SOUNDWIRE refer to SOUNDWIRE-I3S version v0.4r27 and its final versions. There are various locations in computing devices where the SOUNDWIRE bus can be incorporated. In this regard, Figures 7A through 7C illustrate various placements of some exemplary aspects. In most cases, the overall architecture is the same.

[0052] Figure 7A provides a system-level block diagram of an exemplary mobile terminal 700, such as a smartphone, mobile computing device, tablet, etc. The mobile terminal 700 includes an application processor 704 (sometimes referred to as a host), which communicates with a mass storage element 706 via a Universal Flash Memory (UFS) bus 708. The application processor 704 may further be connected to a display 710 via a Display Serial Interface (DSI) bus 712 and to a camera 714 via a Camera Serial Interface (CSI) bus 716. Various audio components, such as a microphone 718, a speaker 720, and an audio codec 722, are coupled to the application processor 704 via a Serial Low Power Inter-Chip Multimedia Bus (SLIMbus) 724. Additionally, the audio components may communicate with each other and with the audio codec 722 via a Soundwire bus 726. A modem 728 may also be coupled to the SLIMbus 724. The modem 728 may be further connected to the application processor 704 via a Peripheral Component Interconnect (PCI) or High-Speed ​​PCI (PCIe) bus 730 and / or a System Power Management Interface (SPMI) bus 732. It should be noted that in some specific implementations, the SLIMbus 724 may be replaced by a SOUNDWIRE bus.

[0053] The SPMI bus 732 of Figure 7A can also be coupled to a wireless local area network (WLAN) integrated circuit (WLAN IC) 734, a power management integrated circuit (PMIC) 736, a companion integrated circuit (sometimes referred to as a bridge chip) 738, and a radio frequency integrated circuit (RFIC) 740. It should be understood that separate PCI buses 742 and 744 can also couple the application processor 704 to the companion integrated circuit 738 and the WLAN IC 734. The application processor 704 can further be connected to the sensor 746 via the sensor bus 748. The modem 728 and the RFIC 740 can communicate using bus 750.

[0054] As shown in Figure 7A, RFIC 740 can be coupled to one or more RFFE components, such as antenna tuner 752, switch 754, and power amplifier 756, via RFFE bus 758. Additionally, RFIC 740 can be coupled to envelope tracking power supply (ETPS) 760 via bus 762, and ETPS 760 can communicate with power amplifier 756. These RFFE components (including RFIC 740) together can be considered as RFFE system 764.

[0055] Figure 7B illustrates an alternative placement of the SOUNDWIRE NEXT bus according to some exemplary aspects. While most components are the same as those in mobile terminal 700B, the mobile terminal 700B illustrated in Figure 7B has a SOUNDWIRE bus 726B that couples audio codec 722 to microphone 718 and speaker 720. Application processor 704 may be coupled to SOUNDWIRE NEXT bus 770, which may be coupled to an optional bridge 772. If bridge 772 is present, bus 774 may be a SOUNDWIRE bus. If bridge 772 is not present, SOUNDWIRE NEXT bus 770 may be directly coupled to microphone 718B, speaker 720B, and / or audio codec 722B.

[0056] Similarly, Figure 7C illustrates another alternative placement of the SOUNDWIRE NEXT bus according to some exemplary aspects. In the mobile terminal 700C, the audio codec 722 may be coupled to the SOUNDWIRE bus 726C and the SOUNDWIRE NEXT bus 780. The SOUNDWIRE NEXT bus 780 may be coupled to the microphone 718C and the speaker 720C.

[0057] Those skilled in the art will further understand that the various exemplary logic blocks, modules, circuits, and algorithms described in connection with the aspects disclosed herein can be implemented as electronic hardware, stored in memory or another computer-readable medium and executed by a processor or other processing device, or a combination of both. As an example, the master and slave audio devices described herein can be employed in any circuit, hardware component, integrated circuit (IC), or IC chip. The memory disclosed herein can be of any type and size and can be configured to store any type of information desired. To clearly illustrate this interchangeability, the functionality of the various exemplary components, blocks, modules, circuits, and steps has been generally described above. How such functionality is implemented depends on the specific application, design choices, and / or design constraints imposed on the overall system. Those skilled in the art can implement the described functionality in different ways for each specific application, but such specific implementation decisions should not be construed as departing from the scope of this disclosure.

[0058] The various exemplary logic blocks, modules, and circuits described in conjunction with the aspects disclosed herein may be implemented or executed using a processor, digital signal processor (DSP), application-specific integrated circuit (ASIC), field-programmable gate array (FPGA) or other programmable logic device, discrete gate or transistor logic component, discrete hardware component, or any combination thereof, designed to perform the functions described herein. The processor may be a microprocessor, but in alternative embodiments, the processor may be any conventional processor, controller, microcontroller, or state machine. The processor may also be implemented as a combination of computing devices (e.g., a combination of a DSP and a microprocessor, multiple microprocessors, one or more microprocessors cooperating with a DSP core, or any other such configuration).

[0059] The aspects disclosed herein may be embodied in hardware and instructions stored in the hardware, and may reside in, for example, random access memory (RAM), flash memory, read-only memory (ROM), electrically programmable ROM (EPROM), electrically erasable programmable ROM (EEPROM), registers, hard disks, removable disks, CD-ROMs, or any other form of computer-readable medium known in the art. An exemplary storage medium is coupled to a processor, enabling the processor to read information from and write information to the storage medium. Alternatively, the storage medium may be integral with the processor. The processor and storage medium may reside in an ASIC. The ASIC may reside in a remote station. Alternatively, the processor and storage medium may reside as discrete components in a remote station, base station, or server.

[0060] It should also be noted that the operational steps described in any of the exemplary aspects of this document are described for the purpose of providing examples and discussion. The described operations may be performed in many different orders other than the order illustrated. Furthermore, the operations described in a single operational step may actually be performed in multiple different steps. Additionally, one or more operational steps discussed in the exemplary aspects may be combined. It will be understood that, as will be apparent to those skilled in the art, many different modifications may be made to the operational steps illustrated in the flowcharts. Those skilled in the art will also understand that any of a variety of different technologies and processes may be used to represent information and signals. For example, data, instructions, commands, information, signals, bits, symbols, and chips that may be mentioned throughout the above description may be represented by voltage, current, electromagnetic waves, magnetic fields or magnetic particles, light fields or optical particles, or any combination thereof.

[0061] The prior description of this disclosure is provided to enable any person skilled in the art to make or use this disclosure. Various modifications to this disclosure will be apparent to those skilled in the art, and the general principles defined herein can be applied to other variations. Therefore, this disclosure is not intended to be limited to the examples and designs described herein, but is to be accorded the widest scope consistent with the principles and novel features disclosed herein.

[0062] Specific implementation examples are described in the following numbered clauses:

[0063] 1. An integrated circuit (IC), said integrated circuit (IC) comprising:

[0064] Primarily from audio devices, the primarily from audio devices include:

[0065] First control circuit; and

[0066] A first audio bus interface, the first audio bus interface including a first control channel and a first plurality of data channels;

[0067] Subordinate audio devices, the subordinate audio devices including:

[0068] Second control circuit; and

[0069] The second audio bus interface includes a second control channel and multiple data channels.

[0070] The primary audio device and the subordinate audio device are communicatively coupled via a slave state link;

[0071] The first control circuit and the second control circuit are each configured to receive a mode command from the main audio device indicating operation in one of the separate mode and the unified mode; and

[0072] The second control circuit is configured as follows:

[0073] When operating in the separated mode, the slave status of the slave audio device is sent to the master audio device via the second control channel; and

[0074] When operating in the unified mode, the slave status of the slave audio device is sent to the master slave audio device via the slave status link.

[0075] 2. The IC according to Clause 1, wherein the first control circuit is configured to operate in the unified mode as follows:

[0076] Receive the slave status of the slave audio device via the slave status link; and

[0077] The slave status of the subordinate audio device and the slave status of the primary audio device are sent to the primary audio device via the first control channel.

[0078] 3. The IC according to any one of clauses 1 to 2, wherein:

[0079] The primary audio device and the secondary audio device are further coupled communicatively via an interrupted link; and

[0080] The second control circuit is configured as follows:

[0081] When operating in the separated mode, the interrupt status of the slave audio device is sent to the master audio device via the second control channel; and

[0082] When operating in the unified mode, the interruption status of the slave audio device is sent to the primary slave audio device via the interruption status link.

[0083] 4. The IC according to Clause 3, wherein the first control circuit is further configured to operate in the unified mode as follows:

[0084] Receive the interrupt status of the slave audio device via the interrupt status link; and

[0085] The interrupt status of the slave audio device and the interrupt status of the master audio device are sent to the master audio device via the first control channel.

[0086] 5. The IC according to any one of clauses 1 to 4, wherein:

[0087] The subordinate audio device is associated with port offset and physical layer offset; and

[0088] The second control circuit is configured as follows:

[0089] When operating in the separated mode, each of the port offset and the physical layer offset is configured to a value of zero (0); and

[0090] When operating in the unified mode:

[0091] Configure the port offset to the count of the port configuration register of the primary slave audio device; and

[0092] Configure the physical layer offset to count the physical layer control register of the primary slave audio device.

[0093] 6. The IC according to any one of clauses 1 to 5, wherein:

[0094] The main audio device also includes a first plurality of ports and a first plurality of port configuration registers;

[0095] The subordinate audio device also includes a second plurality of ports and a second plurality of port configuration registers;

[0096] The first control circuit is configured to, when operating in the unified mode, associate each of the first plurality of ports with a data channel of the first plurality of data channels based on the first plurality of port configuration registers; and

[0097] The second control circuit is configured to associate each of the second plurality of ports with a data channel in the second plurality of data channels based on the second plurality of port configuration register when operating in the unified mode.

[0098] 7. The IC as described in Clause 6, wherein:

[0099] The first control circuit is configured to, when operating in the unified mode, set the first plurality of port configuration registers based on a first corresponding register configuration instruction received from the main audio device on the first control channel; and

[0100] The second control circuit is configured to, when operating in the unified mode, set the second plurality of port configuration registers based on a second corresponding register configuration instruction received from the main audio device on the first control channel.

[0101] 8. The IC according to any one of Clauses 1 to 7, wherein the master audio device, the master slave audio device and the slave slave audio device each comprise a SOUNDWIRE-I3S audio device.

[0102] 9. The IC as described in Clause 8, wherein:

[0103] The main audio device includes a microphone device; and

[0104] The subordinate audio device includes a speaker device.

[0105] 10. The IC according to any one of Clauses 1 to 9, wherein the IC is integrated into a device selected from the group consisting of: set-top boxes; entertainment units; navigation devices; communication devices; fixed location data units; mobile location data units; global positioning system (GPS) devices; mobile phones; cellular phones; smartphones; session initiation protocol (SIP) phones; tablet computers; tablet phones; servers; computers; portable computers; mobile computing devices; wearable computing devices; desktop computers; personal digital assistants (PDAs); monitors; computer monitors; televisions; tuners; radios; satellite radios; music players; digital music players; portable music players; digital video players; video players; digital video disc (DVD) players; portable digital video players; automobiles; vehicle components; avionics systems; unmanned aerial vehicles; and multi-rotor aircraft.

[0106] 11. A method for unifying multiple audio bus interfaces, the method comprising:

[0107] The control circuit of the subordinate audio device receives a first mode command from the master audio device, indicating operation under a unified mode; and

[0108] When operating in the unified mode, the control circuit sends the first slave state of the slave audio device to the primary slave audio device via a slave state link that communicatively couples the slave audio device and the primary slave audio device.

[0109] 12. The method according to Clause 11, wherein:

[0110] The subordinate audio device and the primary audio device are further coupled communicatively via an interrupted link; and

[0111] The method further includes, when operating in the unified mode, the control circuit sending a first interrupt state of the slave audio device to the master audio device via the interrupt state link.

[0112] 13. The method according to any one of clauses 11 to 12, wherein:

[0113] The subordinate audio device is associated with port offset and physical layer offset; and

[0114] The method also includes the following when operating in the unified mode:

[0115] The control circuitry configures the port offset to be counted in the port configuration register of the primary slave audio device; and

[0116] The control circuitry configures the physical layer offset to be counted in the physical layer control register of the primary audio device.

[0117] 14. The method according to any one of clauses 11 to 13, wherein:

[0118] The slave audio device also includes multiple ports and multiple port configuration registers; and

[0119] The method further includes, when operating in the unified mode, the control circuitry associating each of the plurality of ports with a data channel among the plurality of data channels of the slave audio device based on the plurality of port configuration registers.

[0120] 15. The method according to Clause 14, further comprising, when operating in the unified mode, having the control circuitry set the plurality of port configuration registers based on corresponding register configuration instructions received from the master audio device on the control channel of the master slave audio device.

[0121] 16. The method according to any one of clauses 11 to 15, wherein the method further comprises:

[0122] The control circuit receives a second mode command from the main audio device indicating operation in the split mode; and

[0123] When operating in the separated mode, the control circuit sends the second slave state of the slave audio device to the master audio device via the control channel of the slave audio device.

[0124] 17. The method according to Clause 16, wherein:

[0125] The subordinate audio device and the primary audio device are further coupled communicatively via an interrupted link; and

[0126] The method further includes, when operating in the separated mode, the control circuit sending a second interrupt state of the slave audio device to the master audio device via the control channel.

[0127] 18. The method according to any one of Clauses 16 to 17, wherein:

[0128] The subordinate audio device is associated with port offset and physical layer offset; and

[0129] The method further includes, when operating in the separated mode, the control circuitry configuring each of the port offset and the physical layer offset to a value of zero (0).

[0130] 19. A method for unifying multiple audio bus interfaces, the method comprising:

[0131] The main audio device's control circuitry receives mode commands from the main audio device instructing operation under a unified mode; and

[0132] When operating in the unified mode

[0133] The control circuit receives the slave status of the slave audio device via a slave status link communicatively coupled to the primary slave audio device; and

[0134] The control circuit sends the slave status of the slave audio device and the slave status of the main slave audio device to the master audio device via the control channel of the master slave audio device.

[0135] 20. The method according to Clause 19, wherein:

[0136] The subordinate audio device and the primary audio device are further coupled communicatively via an interrupted link; and

[0137] The method also includes the following when operating in the unified mode:

[0138] The control circuit receives the interrupt status of the slave audio device via the interrupt status link; and

[0139] The control circuit sends the interrupt status of the slave audio device and the interrupt status of the master audio device to the master audio device via the control channel.

[0140] 21. The method according to any one of clauses 19 to 20, wherein:

[0141] The main audio device also includes multiple ports and multiple port configuration registers; and

[0142] The method further includes, when operating in the unified mode, the control circuitry associating each of the plurality of ports with a data channel among the plurality of data channels of the primary audio device based on the plurality of port configuration registers.

[0143] 22. The method according to Clause 21, further comprising, when operating in the unified mode, having the control circuitry set the plurality of port configuration registers based on corresponding register configuration instructions received from the main audio device on the control channel.

Claims

1. An integrated circuit IC, the integrated circuit IC comprising: A primary audio device includes: a first control circuit; and a first audio bus interface, the first audio bus interface including a first control channel and a first plurality of data channels; a secondary audio device includes: a second control circuit; and a second audio bus interface, the second audio bus interface including a second control channel and a second plurality of data channels; the primary audio device and the secondary audio device are communicatively coupled via a slave status link, wherein the slave status link is a communication line or bus for communicating slave status, and the slave status is an indication of an attached state, a deattached state, or an alarm state of the secondary audio device; the first control circuit and the second control circuit are each configured to receive a mode instruction from the primary audio device indicating operation in one of a detached mode and a unified mode; and the second control circuit is configured to: when operating in the detached mode, send the slave status of the secondary audio device to the primary audio device via the second control channel; and when operating in the unified mode, send the slave status of the secondary audio device to the primary audio device via the slave status link.

2. The IC of claim 1, wherein the first control circuitry is configured to, when operating in the unified mode,: receive the slave status of the subordinate audio device via the slave status link; and send the slave status of the subordinate audio device and the slave status of the primary audio device to the primary audio device via the first control channel.

3. The IC according to claim 1, wherein: The primary audio device and the secondary audio device are further coupled communicatively via an interrupted state link; and the second control circuit is configured to send the interrupted state of the secondary audio device to the primary audio device via the second control channel when operating in the decoupled mode. And when operating in the unified mode, the interrupt status of the subordinate audio device is sent to the primary audio device via the interrupt status link.

4. The IC of claim 3, wherein the first control circuit is further configured to, when operating in the unified mode,: receive the interrupt status of the slave audio device via the interrupt status link; and send the interrupt status of the slave audio device and the interrupt status of the master audio device to the master audio device via the first control channel.

5. The IC according to claim 1, wherein: The slave audio device is associated with a port offset and a physical layer offset; and the second control circuit is configured to set each of the port offset and the physical layer offset to a value of zero when operating in the split mode. And when operating in the unified mode: the port offset is configured as a count of the port configuration register of the primary slave audio device; and the physical layer offset is configured as a count of the physical layer control register of the primary slave audio device.

6. The IC according to claim 1, wherein: The primary audio device further includes a first plurality of ports and a first plurality of port configuration registers; the secondary audio device further includes a second plurality of ports and a second plurality of port configuration registers; the first control circuitry is configured to associate each of the first plurality of ports with a data channel of the first plurality of data channels based on the first plurality of port configuration registers when operating in the unified mode. Furthermore, the second control circuit is configured to associate each of the second plurality of ports with a data channel in the second plurality of data channels based on the second plurality of port configuration register when operating in the unified mode.

7. The IC according to claim 6, wherein: The first control circuit is configured to, when operating in the unified mode, set the first plurality of port configuration registers based on a first corresponding register configuration instruction received from the main audio device on the first control channel; and the second control circuit is configured to, when operating in the unified mode, set the second plurality of port configuration registers based on a second corresponding register configuration instruction received from the main audio device on the first control channel.

8. The IC of claim 1, wherein the master audio device, the master slave audio device, and the slave slave audio device each comprise a SOUNDWIRE-I3S audio device.

9. The IC according to claim 8, wherein: The primary audio device includes a microphone device; and the secondary audio device includes a speaker device.

10. The IC of claim 1, wherein the IC is integrated into a device selected from the group consisting of: set-top boxes; entertainment units; navigation devices; communication devices; fixed location data units; mobile location data units; Global Positioning System (GPS) devices; mobile phones; cellular phones; smartphones; Session Initiation Protocol (SIP) phones; tablet computers; tablet phones; servers; computers; portable computers; mobile computing devices; wearable computing devices; desktop computers; personal digital assistants (PDAs); monitors; computer monitors; televisions; tuners; radios; satellite radios; music players; digital music players; portable music players; digital video players; video players; digital video disc (DVD) players; portable digital video players; automobiles; vehicle components; avionics systems; unmanned aerial vehicles (UAVs); and multi-rotor aircraft.

11. A method for unifying multiple audio bus interfaces, the method comprising: The control circuit of the subordinate audio device receives a first-mode instruction from the master audio device, indicating operation under a unified mode. And when operating in the unified mode, the control circuit sends a first slave status of the slave audio device to the primary slave audio device via a slave status link that communicatively couples the slave audio device and the primary slave audio device, wherein the slave status link is a communication line or bus for communicating the first slave status, and the first slave status indicates that the slave audio device is in an attached state, a deattached state, or an alarm state.

12. The method according to claim 11, wherein: The subordinate audio device and the primary audio device are further communicatively coupled via an interrupt state link; and the method further includes, when operating in the unified mode, the control circuitry sending a first interrupt state of the subordinate audio device to the primary audio device via the interrupt state link.

13. The method according to claim 11, wherein: The slave audio device is associated with a port offset and a physical layer offset; and the method further includes, when operating in the unified mode: configuring the port offset by the control circuitry to a count in the port configuration register of the primary slave audio device; and configuring the physical layer offset by the control circuitry to a count in the physical layer control register of the primary slave audio device.

14. The method of claim 11, wherein: The slave audio device further includes multiple ports and multiple port configuration registers; and the method further includes, when operating in the unified mode, the control circuitry associating each of the multiple ports with a data channel among multiple data channels of the slave audio device based on the multiple port configuration registers.

15. The method of claim 14, further comprising, when operating in the unified mode, the control circuitry setting the plurality of port configuration registers based on corresponding register configuration instructions received from the master audio device on the control channel of the master slave audio device.

16. The method according to claim 11, further comprising: The control circuit receives a second mode command from the main audio device indicating operation in the separation mode; And when operating in the separated mode, the control circuit sends the second slave state of the slave audio device to the master audio device via the control channel of the slave audio device.

17. The method of claim 16, wherein: The subordinate audio device and the primary audio device are further coupled communicatively via an interrupted state link; and the method further includes, when operating in the decoupled mode, the control circuitry sending a second interrupted state of the subordinate audio device to the primary audio device via the control channel.

18. The method of claim 16, wherein: The slave audio device is associated with a port offset and a physical layer offset; and the method further includes, when operating in the decoupled mode, the control circuitry configuring each of the port offset and the physical layer offset to a value of zero.

19. A method for unifying multiple audio bus interfaces, the method comprising: The control circuitry of the primary audio device receives a first-mode instruction from the main audio device, indicating operation under a unified mode. And when operating in the unified mode, the control circuit receives the slave status of the slave audio device via a slave status link that communicatively couples the slave audio device and the primary slave audio device; The control circuit transmits the slave status of the subordinate audio device and the slave status of the main audio device to the master audio device via the control channel of the master audio device, wherein the slave status link is a communication line or bus for communicating the slave status, and the slave status indicates the subordinate audio device as attached, unattached, or alarm status.

20. The method of claim 19, wherein: The subordinate audio device and the primary audio device are further communicatively coupled via an interrupt status link; and the method further includes, when operating in the unified mode: receiving the interrupt status of the subordinate audio device via the interrupt status link by the control circuit; and sending the interrupt status of the subordinate audio device and the interrupt status of the primary audio device to the primary audio device via the control channel by the control circuit.

21. The method according to claim 19, wherein: The primary audio device further includes multiple ports and multiple port configuration registers; and the method further includes, when operating in the unified mode, the control circuitry associating each of the multiple ports with a data channel among multiple data channels of the primary audio device based on the multiple port configuration registers.

22. The method of claim 21, further comprising, when operating in the unified mode, having the control circuit configure the plurality of port configuration registers based on corresponding register configuration instructions received from the main audio device on the control channel.

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