Embedded Pattern Generator for Precise Communication Module Testing
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Solution Overview
Problem
Current software-based diagnostic and debugging methods for communication circuitry, particularly in microcontroller applications, face challenges in generating high precision waveforms to test functional safety specifications, leading to increased complexity and limitations due to hardware constraints.
Innovation Solution
An embedded pattern generator (EPG) circuitry is introduced, comprising clock divider and signal generator circuitry, capable of producing complex test stimuli, including independent clock signals, skewed clock signals, and serial data streams, to test and debug communication modules, thereby reducing software complexity and meeting functional safety specifications.
Engineering Contradictions & Design Principles
Engineering Contradiction Analysis
1Adaptability or versatility
If software-based signal generation is used for diagnostic testing, then flexibility in test sequence generation is improved, but hardware precision requirements increase and system complexity worsens
Solution Approach 1:
The patent replaces software-based waveform generation with a hardware-based embedded pattern generator that produces test signals directly through dedicated circuitry. This substitution eliminates the need for complex software control while providing precise, deterministic signal generation with fixed timing relationships, thereby reducing overall system complexity while maintaining test flexibility.
Solution Approach 2:
The embedded pattern generator acts as an intermediary component between the microcontroller and the communication circuitry under test. It provides a dedicated hardware interface that generates precise test patterns and captures responses, simplifying the diagnostic process by isolating the complexity into a separate module rather than requiring the main processor to handle both control and precise signal generation.
2Reliability
If software diagnostics are implemented for communication circuitry, then diagnostic capability is improved, but execution time and processing overhead worsen
Solution Approach 1:
The embedded pattern generator pre-configures test signal parameters and timing relationships in hardware before execution. Clock divisions, data patterns, and signal timing are established through fixed circuit relationships rather than runtime software computation, enabling immediate signal generation without processing delays and reducing test execution time while maintaining comprehensive diagnostic capability.
3Measurement precision
If hardware components are used for waveform generation, then precision and reliability are improved, but device complexity and cost worsen
Solution Approach 1:
The embedded pattern generator is designed as a multi-functional hardware module that can generate multiple types of test signals (clock divisions, skewed clocks, serial data streams) and interface with various communication protocols through a unified architecture. This universal design provides precise waveform generation capabilities across different test scenarios without requiring separate dedicated hardware for each function, thereby controlling overall device complexity.
Data Source
AI summary
An example apparatus includes multiplexer circuitry configured to couple a communication module to at least one of a data bus input or a test signal; and embedded pattern generator (EPG) circuitry coupled to the multiplexer circuitry, the EPG circuitry including: clock divider circuitry including a plurality of clock outputs, the clock divider circuitry configured to be coupled to an output of a clock, the plurality of clock outputs configured to be of a frequency equal to a division of a frequency of the output of the clock; a multiplexer including a multiplexer output, the multiplexer configured to couple one of the plurality of clock outputs to the multiplexer output; and signal generator circuitry including an input clock, an EPG input, and a plurality of data outputs, the input clock coupled to the multiplexer output, the signal generator circuitry configured to generate a data stream.