Parallel Bus Architecture for HDMI Signal Segmentation
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Solution Overview
Problem
Existing bus architectures for transmitting high-quality audio-visual signals, such as HDMI, face challenges in maintaining signal quality due to the complexity of internal structural links and processes, which hinder the physical separation of functional blocks while maintaining compliant data transfers.
Innovation Solution
A parallel bus architecture that divides high-definition video and multi-channel audio signals into subsets, allowing for reduced interconnections and separate manufacturing processes for signal formatter and serializer circuits, thereby simplifying manufacturing and increasing reliability.
Engineering Contradictions & Design Principles
Engineering Contradiction Analysis
1Reliability
If conventional bus architectures are used to transmit high-definition video and audio signals, then signal quality can be maintained, but the number of interconnections and device complexity increase
Solution Approach 1:
The patent segments the high-definition video and audio signals into multiple lower-resolution channels. Each channel is transmitted separately through the bus architecture, reducing the number of interconnections required while maintaining overall signal quality through parallel transmission and reconstruction at the receiving end.
2Reliability
If functional blocks are physically separated for manufacturing, then manufacturing flexibility and reliability improve, but maintaining compliant data transfers becomes more difficult
Solution Approach 1:
The patent divides the transmitter into separate functional blocks (signal formatter, serializer, etc.) that can be manufactured independently. Each block processes specific portions of the segmented signal, ensuring that physical separation does not compromise data transfer compliance through careful design of interfaces and protocols between blocks.
Solution Approach 2:
The patent introduces intermediary components and protocols that facilitate compliant data transfers between physically separated functional blocks. These intermediaries ensure proper signal formatting, timing, and synchronization across block boundaries, maintaining HDMI compliance despite physical separation.
3Ease of manufacture
If the number of interconnections is reduced, then manufacturing cost and complexity decrease, but signal transmission capability may be compromised
Solution Approach 1:
The patent segments high-definition signals into multiple lower-resolution channels that can be transmitted through fewer interconnections. The segmentation allows the same information to be conveyed through a reduced number of physical connections while maintaining signal quality through parallel channel transmission and proper reconstruction.
Data Source
AI summary
In some embodiments, a device includes a bus, a parallel source, and a parallel sink. The parallel source is to provide parallel groups of signals including video signals to the bus, wherein the bus has a number of lanes that is fewer than a number of signals used to represent a pixel such that pixels are represented in more than one of the parallel groups. The parallel sink is to receive the parallel groups of signals from the bus, wherein the parallel sink includes a signal extractor to separate at least a portion of the groups of signals into multiple channels, and encoder and serializer circuits to encode and serialize the separated signals. Other embodiments are described and claimed.