Patent ID: 8555251

Claim:
A signal-processing apparatus for performing signal-processing comprising: at least one processor programmed to: perform a plurality of unit signal-processing steps using a plurality of signal-processing modules; store and manage the plurality of signal-processing modules and circuit configuration information represented by a virtual connection state of inputs and outputs of the plurality of signal-processing modules; determine a signal-processing order of the plurality of signal-processing modules forming the circuit configuration information by performing path routing; execute the plurality of unit signal-processing steps by sequentially enabling the plurality of signal-processing modules in the determined signal-processing order; and determine whether a circuit-configuration change request from a user is received during the execution of the plurality of unit signal-processing steps and, in response to determining that the circuit-configuration change request from the user is received: change the circuit configuration information; and re-execute the path routing to determine a signal-processing order of the plurality of signal-processing modules forming the changed circuit configuration information during a period from an end of signal-processing in a processing data unit to a beginning of a subsequent processing data unit, wherein the path routing comprises analyzing a plurality of signal-processing orders for the plurality of signal-processing modules and selecting based, at least in part, on a processing metric, one of the plurality of signal-processing orders, wherein signal-processing from the beginning of the subsequent processing data unit is performed with the changed circuit configuration information.