Event-Driven Microcontroller Pattern Detector Clock Control
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Solution Overview
Problem
Existing event-driven programming systems, particularly in microcontrollers, consume excessive resources and energy due to continuous monitoring for events, especially for infrequently used peripherals like faxes, scanners, and printers, as they cannot halt processing while waiting for events, leading to inefficient resource utilization.
Innovation Solution
An event-driven low-power microcontroller design featuring a pattern detector with bit slices to monitor multiple external inputs for complex event combinations, a state machine and operation code interpreter, and a clock that halts and resumes execution based on detected events, reducing unnecessary processing and power consumption.
Engineering Contradictions & Design Principles
Engineering Contradiction Analysis
1Reliability
If the CPU continuously executes the main control loop to monitor events, then event detection reliability is improved, but energy consumption and resource utilization deteriorate
Solution Approach 1:
The patent extracts the event monitoring function from the CPU by introducing a dedicated pattern detector circuit that operates independently. This pattern detector continuously monitors external inputs for specific event patterns while the CPU can enter low-power states, thereby maintaining reliable event detection while significantly reducing CPU energy consumption.
Solution Approach 2:
The pattern detector serves as an intermediary component between external event sources and the CPU. It filters and detects specific event patterns, then triggers CPU execution only when relevant events occur, eliminating the need for continuous CPU polling and reducing overall system energy consumption while maintaining detection reliability.
2Speed
If the CPU constantly runs the main control loop to stay ready for events, then response time to events is improved, but resource efficiency deteriorates
Solution Approach 1:
The pattern detector performs preliminary event detection and filtering before CPU involvement. It pre-processes incoming signals and only triggers the CPU when a matching event pattern is detected, allowing the system to maintain fast response times for relevant events while avoiding unnecessary CPU cycles for irrelevant inputs, thus improving resource efficiency.
3Adaptability or versatility
If the microcontroller monitors multiple external inputs for complex event combinations, then event detection capability is improved, but system complexity deteriorates
Solution Approach 1:
The pattern detector is divided into multiple bit slices, each responsible for monitoring specific external inputs and detecting particular event patterns. This segmentation allows the system to handle complex event combinations by distributing detection logic across multiple simple, modular units, thereby improving event detection capability while keeping individual component complexity low and enabling easy configuration.
Data Source
AI summary
Various exemplary embodiments relate to an event-driven processing unit (EPU) and a related method. A microprocessor may halt processing instructions when it executes a halting command. Thereafter, an EPU clock may stop its processing cycle and therefore halt microprocessor execution until it receives a start signal by a pattern detector. The pattern detector may use a plurality of bit slices to monitor a plurality of external inputs for the occurrence of events specified by the user. Some embodiments may also allow the user to check functioning by skipping upcoming instructions if a monitored event did not occur. By halting the EPU clock and the execution flow of the microprocessor, the event-driven microprocessor minimizes waste associated with executing a main control loop while waiting for a monitored event to occur. This may save processing capacity, memory, and power associated with continually running the main control loop.