Signal-to-Function Mapping Circuit for Adaptive State Machine Execution
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Solution Overview
Problem
System-on-chip (SoC) designs face complexity in managing multiple power islands and tasks, leading to system delays due to CPU overload, and existing solutions are not universally applicable across different systems.
Innovation Solution
An integrated circuit with a memory, a mapping interface, and a state machine that stores functions, maps signals to functions, and re-maps them based on execution frequency or event queue thresholds, allowing for efficient power management and task execution across various power domains.
Engineering Contradictions & Design Principles
Engineering Contradiction Analysis
1Adaptability or versatility
If a CPU is used to manage tasks and power islands in SoC systems, then the system can handle multiple tasks and power domains, but the CPU becomes overloaded leading to system delays
Solution Approach 1:
The patent introduces a dedicated task management unit as an intermediary component between the CPU and power islands. This specialized unit handles task scheduling and power domain management, freeing the CPU from these overhead tasks while maintaining system versatility. The intermediary unit translates CPU instructions into specific power management actions without requiring CPU involvement in each individual task.
Solution Approach 2:
The patent segments the system into distinct functional units: a CPU for high-level decision making, a dedicated task management unit for scheduling and coordination, and individual power island controllers for executing specific tasks. This segmentation distributes the management burden across multiple specialized components, preventing CPU overload while maintaining the ability to manage multiple tasks and power domains simultaneously.
2Reliability
If individualised approaches are used to tailor process management to specific system requirements, then the operation of that particular system improves, but the solution is no longer applicable to other systems
Solution Approach 1:
The patent designs a universal task management unit with configurable parameters and standardized interfaces that can adapt to different system configurations. The unit implements a generic task scheduling algorithm that can be parameterized for specific system requirements, allowing the same hardware architecture to serve multiple purposes across different SoC designs while maintaining optimized performance for each application.
Solution Approach 2:
The patent implements dynamic configuration capabilities where the task management unit can adjust its behavior based on system state and requirements. Configuration registers allow the unit to be tailored for specific systems through software control, enabling the same hardware to provide both universal applicability and system-specific optimization without requiring custom hardware designs for each application.
3Device complexity
If the mapping from signals to functions is static, then the system structure is simple, but the system cannot adapt to changing requirements or optimize execution
Solution Approach 1:
The patent pre-allocates a pool of function identifiers and maintains a lookup table structure that can accommodate multiple signal-function mappings. The mapping data structure is prepared in advance with sufficient capacity to handle dynamic re-mapping requirements, allowing the system to adapt to changing requirements without requiring complex runtime allocation decisions or structural reconfiguration.
Solution Approach 2:
The patent implements a copying mechanism where function pointers or identifiers are replicated in a mapping table that can be efficiently updated. When re-mapping is required, the system copies updated function identifiers into the mapping structure rather than restructuring the entire system, maintaining simplicity while enabling dynamic adaptation. This copying approach allows O(1) re-mapping operations without complex data structure reorganization.
Data Source
AI summary
An integrated circuit includes a memory configured to store a plurality of functions; a mapping interface configured to perform a mapping from a received first signal to a first function of the plurality of functions; and a state machine configured to, in response to said mapping, execute the first function; wherein the integrated circuit is arranged to, in dependence on the execution of the first function at the state machine, modify said mapping between the first signal and the first function so as to re-map the first signal to a second function of the plurality of functions such that, on receiving a subsequent first signal, the state machine is configured to execute the second function.