ECC-Protected Bus Inversion for Reliable Low-Power Data Transmission
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Solution Overview
Problem
Data bus inversion techniques face challenges in minimizing power consumption and ensuring electrical reliability, particularly when more than half of the data bus lines need to change state between message words, leading to errors in transmission over noisy channels.
Innovation Solution
The proposed solution involves generating a transmit signal that includes data bits, an indicator for original or inverted message representation, and check information, using error correction codes (ECC) to protect inversion signaling bits and enable parallel ECC calculation, thereby minimizing data bus activity and error protection.
Engineering Contradictions & Design Principles
Engineering Contradiction Analysis
1Use of energy by moving object
If data bus inversion is used to minimize state changes, then power consumption is reduced, but error protection becomes more complex
Solution Approach 1:
The patent combines data bus inversion signaling with ECC check information into a single integrated transmission mechanism. The indicator bit that signals inversion status is merged with the existing ECC check bits, allowing both power management functionality and error protection to be achieved through a unified structure rather than separate mechanisms.
Solution Approach 2:
The transmission structure is designed to serve multiple functions simultaneously: it provides data transmission, power management through inversion signaling, and error correction protection. The same check information structure is used both to detect transmission errors and to verify the inversion indicator, making the system multi-functional without requiring additional dedicated components.
2Reliability
If inversion signaling bits are protected with ECC, then transmission reliability is improved, but additional signaling pins are required
Solution Approach 1:
The inversion indicator and ECC check information are merged into a single integrated field in the transmitted data structure. Instead of requiring separate signaling pins for inversion status and separate ECC bits for error checking, the patent combines these functions into a unified structure that uses the existing data bus infrastructure without additional physical signaling channels.
3Measurement precision
If check information is calculated over inverted data, then error detection accuracy is improved, but processing time increases
Solution Approach 1:
The patent performs ECC check information calculation in parallel with the data inversion process rather than sequentially. By preparing the check information simultaneously with the inversion operation, the system achieves accurate error detection without the additional time penalty that would result from sequential processing.
Solution Approach 2:
The system calculates check information that covers both the data portion and the inversion indicator portion in a single operation. This partial action approach, where the check calculation is integrated into the existing data processing pipeline rather than being a separate exhaustive process, maintains high error detection accuracy while minimizing additional processing time.
Data Source
AI summary
A method for extracting an original message from a received signal including data bits representing the original message or an inverted version thereof, an indicator indicating whether the data bits represent the original message or the inverted version thereof, and a check information which depends on the data bits and the indicator, the method including determining a check information based on the received data bits and the received indicator, comparing the determined check information with the received check information and extracting the original message based on the result of the comparison.