Abstract:
A multiple bus architecture includes multiple processors, and one or more shared peripherals such as memory. The architecture includes plural bus masters, each connected to its own bus. There are also plural bus slaves, each connected to its own bus. A bus arbitration module selectively interconnects the buses, so that when the plural bus masters each access a different bus slave, no blocking occurs, and when the plural bus masers each access a same bus slave, bandwidth starvation is avoided. The architecture is supported by a bus arbitration method including hierarchical application of an interrupt-based method, an assigned slot rotation method and a round-robin method, which avoids both bandwidth starvation and lockout during extended periods of bus contention.

Description:
CROSS REFERENCE TO RELATED APPLICATIONS 
     This application claims domestic priority under 35 U.S.C. §119(e) to U.S. Provisional Patent Application Serial No. 60/163,816, filed Nov. 5, 1999, now abandoned, and incorporated herein in its entirety by reference. 
    
    
     BACKGROUND 
     1. Field of the Invention 
     The present invention relates generally to small multiple processor systems, such as mobile phones having a control processor and a signal processor. The invention relates more specifically to systems in which one or more of the processors executes a software program or sequence of steps, which can be altered, modified or upgraded from time to time. 
     2. Related Art 
     Communications equipment, such as mobile phones performs a variety of signal and data processing functions. In older systems, a digital signal processor (DSP) processed digitized audio signals and a microprocessor control unit (MCU) controlled general system operations including communication set-up and tear-down for an individual equipment unit (e.g., phone). The DSP and the MCU of the simplest conventional systems communicate with each other through single-port and multi-port shared memory, control signals, etc. However, additional features and control options are possible when the DSP and MCU are permitted to communicate with each other, for example through a shared memory. Although systems wherein the DSP and the MCU do not communicate with each other are possible, the evolution of cellular communications to include support for digital data communications as well as audio communications has led to a greater need for the DSP and MCU to communicate with each other. 
     Communication standards also have been evolving and continue to evolve. Standards are often designed to be extensible, or new features cleverly designed to be backward compatible with an existing standard, so that the new features can be deployed to the field without the need to replace every piece of equipment already in the field. In order to accommodate such evolution, there is great pressure to move away from read-only memory (ROM) resident software or firmware to execute on the DSP or MCU. Modifying ROM resident software or firmware is difficult because generally ROM cannot be written to, except once at the time of manufacture. 
     Ultimately, the above-described pressures have resulted in the development of integrated circuits including a DSP, MCU, ROM and RAM. The monetary and size costs of adding RAM to integrated circuit systems have forced the DSP and MCU to share RAM whenever possible. In order to facilitate communication between the DSP and the MCU, and in order to avoid wasting any memory space, which, as noted, is at a premium, they share RAM. System software is loaded into RAM in order to maximize flexibility and the ability to reconfigure systems to stay in conformance with evolving communication standards. However, when memory is shared, for example using the architecture illustrated in FIG. 1, the memory access bandwidth becomes a serious problem. 
     SUMMARY OF THE INVENTION 
     It is a general object of the present invention to provide an improved bus architecture, especially, although not exclusively, for a communication processor. In meeting the need for an improved bus architecture, the inventors have further discovered a need for a new bus arbitration method. 
     According to one aspect of the invention, an integrated circuit comprises a first data processing subsystem including a first processor connected to a first bus as a bus master; a second data processing subsystem including a second processor connected to a second bus as a bus master; a first slave subsystem including a memory unit, usable by either of the first and second processors, connected to a third bus; a second slave subsystem usable by either of the first and second processors, including a fourth bus; and the first, second, third and fourth buses selectively connected to each other through a bus arbitration module arranged to connect the first and second bus masters to the first and second slave subsystems without blocking. 
     Several variants on this aspect of the invention are possible. For example, the first slave subsystem may include a shared memory connected to the third bus and shared by the first processor through the third bus. There may also be a local memory connected to the first processor, which communicates directly with the local memory. The circuit may also include a direct memory access (DMA) controller and a DMA bus connected to the third bus and the fourth bus, whereby data can be moved between the first slave subsystem and the second slave subsystem without intervention by the first processor or the second processor. There may further be a memory access interface (MAI) connecting one of the third and fourth buses to the local memory. The fourth bus may include a connection to an external device, which may be a memory device. 
     According to another aspect of the invention, an integrated circuit comprises: a data communications device, comprising a communications system having a first internal bus, a supervision and control system having a second internal bus; a first slave device system having a third internal bus; a second slave device system having a fourth internal bus; a direct memory access (DMA) system having a fifth internal bus; and the first, the second, the third, the fourth and the fifth internal buses interconnected through a bus arbitration module (BAM). According to this aspect of the invention, the integrated circuit may further comprise system memory accessed by both the data communications system and the supervision and control system through the BAM and the third internal bus. 
     The device may be configured so the DMA system communicates data directly between the system memory and the second slave devices system. The second slave devices system may include system support elements, communication support elements and input/output (I/O) elements. The system support elements may include an interrupt controller, the communication support elements and the I/O elements may include a generic serial port. The communication system may include a digital signal processor (DSP), while the supervision and control system may include a microprocessor control unit (MCU). The DSP and MCU may each communicate with an internal device over the first and second internal buses and also with the system memory through the BAM and the third internal bus. The fourth bus may include a connection to an external device, which may be a memory device. 
     In an aspect of the invention related to telecommunications systems, an integrated circuit device used in a telephone handset, the device may comprise in one integrated circuit a DSP, an MCU, a shared system memory, a DSP bus to which the DSP is connected, an MCU bus to which the MCU is connected, a peripheral unit and a peripheral bus to which the peripheral unit is connected, a memory bus to which the shared system memory is connected, and a BAM which selectively connects the DSP bus and the MCU bus to the memory bus and the peripheral bus, wherein when the DSP and the MCU request access to different buses, access occurs without blocking. In a variation, the device may further comprise a DMA controller and a DMA bus controlled by the DMA controller wherein the BAM further selectively connects the DMA bus between the memory bus and the peripheral bus. The peripheral unit system may also include one or more support elements, including system support elements, communication support elements and I/O support elements. In these variations, the DSP and MCU may each communicate with a local device over the DSP and MCU local bus, respectively, and also communicate with the system memory through the BAM and the memory bus. There may also be an external bus including a connection to an external device, such as a memory device. 
     According to further aspects of the invention, there are methods of prioritizing and granting bus access requests. A method of prioritizing and granting bus access requests may comprise granting the bus access request of a requestor asserting a high priority interrupt if no requester is asserting the high priority interrupt, granting the bus access request of a requestor owning the current request slot. According to the method, access may be granted to a processor operating on a real-time signal when the processor has been in a wait state for a time-out period. The time-out period may be programmable. The indication that the processor has been in the wait state longer than the time-out period may be assertion of a high priority interrupt. When the request is granted to the owner of the current request slot, the table of request slot owners may be updated. When the request is granted to the highest entry on the round robin list, both the round robin list and the table of request slot owners may be updated. 
     According to a further aspect of the invention, there may be a programmable device, comprising plural master buses; plural bus masters, each connected to a corresponding one of the plural master buses; plural slave buses; plural resources used by a first one and a second one of the plural bus masters, each of the plural resources connected to a corresponding one of the plural slave buses; and a BAM interconnecting the plural master buses and the plural slave buses, the bus arbitration module guaranteeing allocation to each of the plural bus masters at least a predetermined number of units of bandwidth for access to the plural resources and that reallocates from a first bus master to which an unneeded unit of bandwidth has been allocated to a second bus master which needs a unit of bandwidth. In such a device, the resource may further comprise a memory used by at least the first one and the second one of the plural bus masters. The BAM may further comprise a DMA bus selectively interconnecting two of the plural slave buses. The plural resources may include one or more support elements, including system support elements and as an interrupt controller, communication support elements such as GSM communication support elements and I/O support elements such as a generic serial port. The first bus master may further comprise a DSP. The second bus master may further comprise an MCU. The device may further include an external slave bus including a connection to an external device, which may be a memory device. 
    
    
     BRIEF DESCRIPTION OF THE DRAWINGS 
     In the drawings in which like reference designations indicate like elements: 
     FIG. 1 is a schematic block diagram of conventional bus architecture including a shared memory; 
     FIG. 2 is a simplified schematic block diagram of an exemplary bus architecture embodying aspects of the present invention; 
     FIG. 3 is a more detailed block diagram of the bus architecture of FIG. 2; and 
     FIG. 4 is a flowchart of an exemplary arbitration method embodying aspects of the invention. 
    
    
     DETAILED DESCRIPTION 
     The present invention will be better understood upon reading the following detailed description of some exemplary embodiments thereof. 
     An overview of the architecture of one exemplary embodiment of aspects of the present invention is now given in connection with FIG.  2 . 
     When in the following discussion, a bus is mentioned, a set of signal paths connecting the functional units of the circuit, system or device under discussion is meant. A bus may include an addressing component and a data carrying component, each sometimes individually referred to as a bus. Most commonly, buses are configured to have two or more parallel signal paths carrying multi-bit wide data and address information, although serial buses are also known. 
     FIG. 2 depicts a device  200 , for example implemented as an integrated circuit. The device includes a digital signal processor (DSP) subsystem  201  and a micro-controller unit (MCU) subsystem  202 . Within DSP subsystem  201  is a local bus (not shown) to which a processor is connected. A bus  203  provides an external (to the DSP subsystem  201 ) connection to the DSP subsystem  201  for other elements of the device  200 ; bus  203  may also be the local bus within DSP subsystem  201 . Similarly, MCU subsystem  202  includes a local bus, the MCU bus  204 , which provides an external (to the MCU subsystem  202 ) connection of the MCU subsystem  202  to other elements of the device  200 . Each of the subsystems  201  and  202  discussed thus far includes a processor, thus providing the device  200  with plural processors. In order to improve the performance of each processor, it has been given its own subsystem ( 201 ,  202 ), together with its own local bus ( 203 ,  204 , respectively). These will be discussed in greater detail, below. As noted above, the DSP subsystem  201  and MCU subsystem  202  include a DSP (discussed below) and an MCU (discussed below), respectively. Each of the DSP and MCU is a bus master, meaning each can request access through its respective local bus to other elements of the device  200 . Each can also include plural internal buses, if design requirements are better met by such a structure. 
     Device  200  further includes three other buses  205 ,  206  and  207  to which various additional elements are connected. The other elements of the device  200  are bus slaves, which respond to requests for access from the bus masters. Memory, for example static random access memory (SRAM) which may be used as a shared system memory, is connected to bus  205 . Various peripheral devices by which device  200  can perform its necessary functions are contained in a peripheral subsystem  209  connected to a peripheral bus  206 . Finally, external devices  210 , such as flash ROM, for example, are connected to an external bus  207 . The partitioning of functions among the various devices and buses mentioned above preferrably is optimized by the designer for any particular purpose. In the embodiment presently described, various optimization choices have been made to render device  200  suitable for use as the heart of wireless mobile communications devices, such as a Global System for Mobile communications (GSM) telephone, a telephone supporting another communication protocol such as Code Division Multiple Access (CDMA), or devices supporting the Wireless Application Protocol (WAP). 
     The buses  203 ,  204 ,  205 ,  206  and  207  described above are interconnected through a bus arbitration module (BAM)  211  including a Direct Memory Access (DMA) subsystem (not shown). The configuration and operation of the BAM  211  is described in greater detail, below. That configuration and operation determines which buses can communicate with each other and at what times. The design and operation of the BAM  211  is optimized to guarantee a configurable minimum access bandwidth by the DSP subsystem  201  and the MCU subsystem  202  to any of the other system elements required, and to prevent one subsystem  201 ,  202  from locking out the other subsystem  201 ,  202 . 
     In the illustrative embodiment of device  200 , all bus masters, including DSP subsystem  201  and MCU subsystem  202 , employ a common, unified address space. A number of important advantages can be obtained by use of a unified address space. For example, DSP subsystem  201  and MCU subsystem  202  can exchange data or code in SRAM  208  merely by passing a pointer to the data or code to be exchanged, by writing the pointer to a globally known location. According to another advantage of a unified address space, the logic required for address decoding in the BAM  211  is greatly simplified because the same decoding is required regardless of which bus master or bus slave is involved in a particular transaction. According to yet another advantage of the unified address space, a very symmetrical system is achieved. Since both the DSP and MCU use the same address space, code can be more easily ported from one device to the other. Therefore, the designer can better partition code between the DSP and MCU, avoiding critical path problems and processor overloading. 
     The illustrative embodiment is now described in greater detail, in connection with FIG.  3 . First, the DSP subsystem  201  is described. 
     At the heart of the DSP subsystem  201  is an Analog Devices 218X DSP core  301 . Other types of DSP core  301  could be used, including those implemented as part of an MCU or other devices implementing DSP capabilities in hardware or software. Also included in the DSP subsystem  201  are a memory management system  302  including a download controller, cache and scratch memory controller and cache memory, and DSP-specific peripherals including a Viterbi co-processor  303  and a generic ciphering engine  304 . The functionality of such DSP specific peripherals could be implemented in the DSP or external hardware and/or software. 
     Notably absent from the DSP subsystem  201  is an internal read only memory (ROM). Instead, DSP code is dynamically downloaded or cached into the DSP cache memory  305 . By employing a cache memory  305 , the downloading of DSP code occurs transparently to the user. By using conventional caching techniques, not all of the DSP code required for a particular function, for example a speech encoder, need be downloaded at any particular point in time. Rather, only those fragments needed immediately for use by the DSP need be downloaded, resulting in less memory being required within the DSP subsystem  201 . Although the foregoing discussion demonstrates that the DSP subsystem  201  does not require an internal ROM, one could be included if desired, without departing from the spirit of the invention. 
     DSP code can be loaded into the cache from either internal system memory  208  or from an external memory, for example flash ROM connected as an external device  210  to bus  207 . Taking advantage of such flexibility minimizes conflicts between the DSP subsystem  201  and the MCU subsystem  202  with respect to memory access. Critical code should be placed where the minimum overhead and latency will be imposed during actual system operation. 
     For maximum flexibility with respect to software partitioning, all bus systems  204 ,  205 ,  206  and  207  are accessible by the DSP subsystem  201  through DSP bus  203  and BAM  211 . 
     The DSP subsystem  201  also has some internal static RAM  305 , which can be used for code having critical timing requirements and for data. The internal static RAM  305  of the DSP  301  is also accessible to the MCU subsystem  202  via a memory access interface (MAI) module  306  connected to the peripheral bus  206 . 
     The MCU subsystem  202  includes an ARM7TDMI MCU core  307  (from ARM Ltd. of the United Kingdom) or other suitable MCU access. The MCU subsystem  202  further includes clock generation circuits  308  and a small ROM  309  containing bootstrap code for loading externally stored software. 
     The memory  208  of the illustrative embodiment is an internal static RAM (SRAM) for storing data and code. It is accessible to both the DSP subsystem  201  and the MCU subsystem  202  through their respective buses  203  and  204 , when connected to the memory bus  205  through the BAM  211 . Time critical MCU subsystem code can be placed in this memory, to separate it from the time critical code for the DSP subsystem. Less time critical DSP code can be also stored in static RAM  208 . 
     The peripheral subsystem  209  includes a generic interrupt controller  310 , a generic timer  311 , a generic serial port  312 , a general purpose input/output (GPIO) port  313  and a GSM I/O system  314 . The generic interrupt controller  310  collects all of the interrupts received by the system, groups them together in software configurable groups and assigns them a priority level. Thus, a fully programmable interrupt priority scheme is implemented. In the illustrative embodiment, three independent interrupt controllers (not shown) also exist, one for each of the DSP subsystem  201 , the MCU subsystem  202  and internally to the BAM  211 . The generic timer module  311  is a fully software configurable timer module, used to maintain system timing. The timer module can generate interrupts and set or clear external connections to the device  200 . The generic serial port  312  is a fully software programmable sequencer with specific hardware for implementing serial port standards. The generic serial port  312  can be programmed to serve most known serial standards. Thus, each user of device  200  can create unique hardware specific serial interfaces without modifying any of the internal structures of device  200 . The GPIO  313  functionality allows various external connections to device  200  to be used for any particular unique hardware or software specific interface requirements. 
     The external bus  207  provides a high-speed connection to the device  200  suitable for connecting elements such as flash ROM, requiring a parallel interface. 
     As described above, all of the buses  203 ,  204 ,  205 ,  206  and  207  are interconnected through the bus arbitration module (BAM)  211 . The bus arbitration module includes three arbitration units  314 ,  315  and  316  and a direct memory access (DMA) subsystem including a DMA bus  317  and DMA controller  318  described below. As will be described below, in part by having a separate arbitration unit for each slave bus, the BAM  211  is constructed and arranged to avoid blocking when multiple bus masters each request access to resources connected to the different slave buses. 
     The three bus arbitration units  314 ,  315  and  316  each correspond to one of the three principal system buses, the memory bus  205 , the peripheral bus  206  and the external bus  207 , respectively. The three arbitration units  314 ,  315  and  316  are structurally identical (the arbitration methods can be different), but are each dedicated to their own bus  205 ,  206  and  207 . 
     One arbitration unit  314  selectively connects the memory bus  205  to one of the DSP bus  203 , the MCU bus  204 , the DMA bus (discussed below) or the DSP cache. 
     A second arbitration unit  315  selectively connects the peripheral bus  206  to one of the DSP bus  203 , the MCU bus  204  and the DMA bus (discussed below). 
     A third arbitration unit  316  selectively connects the external bus  207  to one of the DSP bus  203 , the MCU bus  204 , the DMA (discussed below) and the DSP cache. 
     It should be evident that the structure illustrated in FIG. 3 is non-blocking, as now discussed. Bus masters, e.g., DSP core  301  and MCU  307 , are each connected to their own bus. Local communication by a bus master on its own bus in completely independent of local communication by another bus master on its own bus. Resources, i.e., bus slaves, are distributed among plural slave buses, e.g., buses  205 ,  206 ,  207 . If one bus master requests access to a resource on one slave bus and another bus master requests access to another resource on another slave bus, no blocking occurs because independent arbitration units handle the separate requests. Thus, the designer can optimize the design by separating shared resources according to which bus master is the primary user of the resource. Other non-blocking structures are possible, using, for example a multi-port, non-blocking parallel switch structure can be used. 
     The separation of shared resources can be done as follows. If the DSP core  301  uses a first resource more than the MCU  307 , but the MCU  307  uses a second resource more than the DSP core  301 , then the first and second resources should be attached to different slave buses. 
     Each arbitration unit  314 ,  315 ,  316  grants access to its bus  205 ,  206 ,  207  according to the method described below. An active bus select signal from a requestor to the arbitration unit  314 ,  315 ,  316  indicates a request for access and arbitration. The arbitration unit  314 ,  315 ,  316  either returns a wait signal for delaying access or grants the access. When the bus select signal of a requester granted access becomes inactive, it indicates to the arbitration unit that the next arbitration cycle can start. 
     To maximize the performance of the device  200 , the DSP cache access can be performed in a block mode, reading (for example) up to 12 words at a time. In the illustrative embodiment, words are 16 bits long, however other lengths can be used as required by particular bus designs as known in the art. Thus full advantage can be taken of the bandwidth provided by, for example, flash ROM, connected as an external device  210  to the external bus  207 . The method of arbitration is discussed in greater detail, below. 
     The DMA subsystem of the bus arbitration module includes a DMA bus  317  and a multi-channel DMA controller  318 . In the illustrative embodiment a  16  channel DMA controller  318  is used. The DMA controller  318  is a bus master, like the DSP core  301  and MCU  307 . The DMA bus  317  interconnects the three arbitration units  314 ,  315 ,  316 , so that a DMA can be performed between devices connected to any of the three buses, the memory bus  205 , the peripheral bus  206  and the external bus  207 . Data or code can be transferred from any address location on one of the three buses  205 ,  206  and  207  to any address location on another of the three buses  205 ,  206  and  207 . The DMA controller  318  includes one word of transfer memory which is the memory used to perform the transfer mentioned above and described in detail below. The DMA controller  318  also includes other memory used for purposes known in the art. Other memory sizes could be used, if desired for a particular purpose. The DMA controller  318  reads in one word from a source location during a first memory cycle then writes the word out to a destination location during a second, subsequent memory cycle. 
     The DMA controller  318  governs the operation of the DMA bus  317 . The DMA controller  318  handles data transfers for both interrupt-driven I/O devices and for memory devices. The DMA controller  318  includes separate full duplex channels with identical functionality. Each channel is controlled and configured by either the MCU subsystem  202  or the DSP subsystem  201  through the peripheral bus  206 . After the DMA controller  318  transfers a programmable number of address locations, it gives an interrupt to the interrupt controller  310 . 
     The DMA controller  318  can perform the following tasks, giving additional functionality to the system. A RAM buffer can be created between an I/O device and, for example, the MCU subsystem  202 . Thus, the number of interrupts required to handle I/O data can be reduced. In such an instance, the DMA controller transfers a block of a predetermined or programmable number of words of data between a memory module, such as SRAM  208  and the I/O peripheral within the peripheral subsystem  209 . The DMA controller can move a block of data, such as a table or program, from a flash ROM, among the external devices  210 , to the internal DSP subsystem data memory, program memory or cache. Finally, the DMA controller can effect the copying of any large memory blocks from one location to another in the system, as may be required. 
     Next, the arbitration method of the illustrative embodiment is discussed in connection with FIG.  4 . In the illustrative device  200 , the DSP subsystem  201 , the MCU subsystem  202  and the DMA controller  318  are bus masters. 
     According to one simple arbitration method, each device has a unique priority level assigned. In such a system, the highest priority device requesting access to a bus is always given access. However, such a scheme can result in bandwidth starvation of lower priority devices, if the higher priority devices constantly demand access. Another common arbitration method is the round-robin arbitration method in which each device is given a priority, which depends, upon the placement of the device on a rotating list. The requesting device at the highest position on the list receives the access requested. Typically, the top device on the priority list is then moved to the bottom of the list. Neither of these conventional methods satisfies all the requirements of the device described herein. 
     Since the bandwidth requirements of the peripheral subsystem  209  are not very high, arbitration for the peripheral bus  206  is performed by the round-robin method. It can be assumed that there are no back-to-back requests by one bus master for the peripheral bus. 
     With respect to the external bus  207  and the memory bus  205 , the expected bandwidth requirements of the DSP bus  203 , the MCU bus  204  and DMA bus  317  must be taken into account. A round robin-table is combined with a fixed table having 15 programmable slots. Depending upon the relative bandwidth requirements of the DSP subsystem  201 , MCU subsystem  202  and DMA controller  318 , the 15 slots are distributed suitably among the three bus masters. 
     The resulting composite arbitration method is performed as follows. The arbitration units (FIG. 3,  314 ,  315 ,  316 ) wait for bus requests to arrive,  401 . Then the arbitration unit checks for high priority interrupts,  405 . For example, if the DSP subsystem  201  has been placed into a wait state, it cannot handle the serial ports, which it is required to process. Therefore, if such a wait state of the DSP subsystem  201  occurs, a high priority interrupt is issued. When such a high priority interrupt occurs and is detected,  402  access is granted to the bus master responsible for the high priority interrupt having been issued,  403 . After the access is complete, the arbitration unit resumes waiting for bus requests,  401 . Next, a determination is made by reference to the fixed table of programmable slots as to whether one of the requesters is the current owner of the access slot,  404 . If so, at  405 , access is granted to the current slot owner and the slot table is updated so the slot owner is now the next bus master listed therein,  406 . If the current slot owner is not one of the requesters,  404 , then the request is granted in accordance with the current state of the round robin table,  407 . The round-robin table is then updated,  408 , as is the slot owner table,  406 . 
     Substantial portions of the arbitration method described are performed asynchronously, for example by asynchronous logic. By using asynchronous processes, the arbitration method processes bus requests immediately, without losing bus cycles. Only the updates  406 ,  408  are performed on a clock cycle basis. The updates,  406 ,  408  occur on the clock cycle in which a bus access is granted. 
     It is possible to have multiple devices capable of generating high priority interrupts in such an arbitration method, but an ancillary prioritization must be made between them in the case where two or more high priority interrupts are simultaneously detected. 
     The present invention has now been described in connection with a number of specific embodiments thereof. However, numerous modifications, which are contemplated as falling within the scope of the present invention, should now be apparent to those skilled in the art. Therefore, it is intended that the scope of the present invention be limited only by the scope of the claims appended hereto.