Patent Document

FIELD OF THE INVENTION 
       [0001]    The invention relates generally to communications over a bus and, more particularly to a fast and compact majority voter circuit for bus inversion in a bussed system. 
       BACKGROUND 
       [0002]    Most processing systems (e.g., computer or processor system) use high-speed, high bandwidth communication buses to transfer data, address and command information between components of the system. The components may include processors, memory subsystems and input/output devices. 
         [0003]    A data bus, for example, is used to transmit data between two or more components and possibly to external devices. Data is typically transmitted as bytes or words (formed of multiple bytes) as opposed to individual bits. As such, the typical bus includes respective bus lines for each bit in the byte/word to be transferred, Each bus line has two possible states, one representing a first binary or logical value (e.g., “0”) and the other state representing a second binary/logical value (e.g., “1”). 
         [0004]    Electronic switching noise occurs when a bus line switches from a first state to a second state (i.e., noise occurs when the bit on the bus transitions from a 1 to a 0 or a 0 to a 1). The amount of switching noise increases in an approximately linear fashion from an essentially non-zero noise condition (when no bits switch states) to a worst case switching noise condition (when all of the bits in a multi-bit word switch states at the same time). It is desirable to reduce the amount of switching noise on a bus that results from the transitioning of logical states of the data bits transmitted on the bus. 
         [0005]      FIG. 1  is a block diagram illustrating a typical bussed system  10 . The system includes a bus master  20  (e.g., a processor, microprocessor, application specific integrated circuit (ASIC)) and a bus slave  30  (e.g., memory circuit). The bus master  20  controls and communicates with the slave  30  over a control bus  40 , address bus  50 , data bus  60  and with clock signal lines  70 . The system  10  may experience noise on any of the buses  40 ,  50 ,  60 ,  70 . 
         [0006]    Moreover, in some systems, driving a particular binary or logical value on a bit line will consume more power than when the other binary/logical value is driven on the bit line. For example, in some systems, driving a logical 0 on the bus line consumes more power than driving a 1 on the same bus line. Similarly, there are some systems in which driving a logical 1 on the bus line consumes more power than driving a 0 on the same bus line. It is desirable to reduce the energy consumed in a bussed system. 
         [0007]    Bus inversion has been used to reduce noise and power consumption in a bussed system. Bus inversion compares existing bits on the bus (i.e., bits already transmitted, often referred to as “previous bits”) to bits to-be-transmitted (often referred to as the “preview bits” or “future bits”) to determine how many bit transitions from the previous bits will occur when the preview bits are transmitted, Bus inversion will invert all of the preview bits before transmitting them, if it is determined that inverting the bits would improve system performance (e.g., lower power consumption, produce less switching noise). Typically, an additional bit is used to indicate to a receiving device if the bits in the data word have been inverted or not. This bit is often referred to as the “inversion bit”. The receiving device inspects the inversion bit and determines if the bits have been inverted. If the received bits were inverted, the receiving device must invert the received bits before using or storing them. 
         [0008]    In computing whether the bits on the bus should be inverted (or not), conventional techniques use digital logic. The digital logic includes several gates and possibly several adder circuits to make the inversion decision. Since the decision process involves multiple gates, unwanted gate delays are introduced into the process. This is undesirable. Accordingly, there is a need and desire to minimize gate delays to reduce latency, layout area and power consumption during the bus inversion decision process. 
       SUMMARY 
       [0009]    The present invention provides bus inversion circuitry that minimizes gate delays and reduces latency, layout area and power consumption during the bus inversion decision process. 
         [0010]    The above and other features and advantages are achieved in various embodiments of the invention by providing bussed system with a fast and compact majority voter in the circuitry responsible for the bus inversion decision. The majority voter is implemented in analog circuitry having two branches. One branch sums the advantage of transmitting the bits without inversion, the other sums the advantage of transmitting the bits with inversion. The majority voter computes the bus inversion decision in slightly more than one gate delay by simultaneously comparing current drive in each branch. 
     
    
     
       BRIEF DESCRIPTION OF THE DRAWINGS 
         [0011]    The foregoing and other advantages and features of the invention will become more apparent from the detailed description of exemplary embodiments provided below with reference to the accompanying drawings, in which: 
           [0012]      FIG. 1  is a block diagram illustrating a typical bussed system; 
           [0013]      FIG. 2  is a block diagram illustrating a bussed system constructed in accordance with an exemplary embodiment of the invention; 
           [0014]      FIG. 3  is a block diagram illustrating a bus inversion circuit constructed in accordance with an exemplary embodiment of the invention; 
           [0015]      FIG. 4  is a schematic diagram illustrating an exemplary majority voter used in the bus inversion circuit illustrated in  FIG. 3 ; 
           [0016]      FIG. 5  is a block diagram illustrating a bus inversion circuit constructed in accordance with another exemplary embodiment of the invention; 
           [0017]      FIG. 6  is a schematic diagram illustrating an exemplary majority voter constructed in accordance with another embodiment of the invention; and 
           [0018]      FIG. 7  is a block diagram of a processor system utilizing bus inversion in accordance with any of the embodiments of the invention. 
       
    
    
     DETAILED DESCRIPTION 
       [0019]    In the following detailed description, reference is made to the accompanying drawings, which are a part of the specification, and in which is shown by way of illustration various embodiments whereby the invention may be practiced. These embodiments are described in sufficient detail to enable those skilled in the art to make and use the invention. It is to be understood that other embodiments may be utilized, and that structural, logical, and electrical changes, as well as changes in the materials used, may be made without departing from the spirit and scope of the present invention. 
         [0020]    Now referring to the figures, where like reference numbers designate like elements,  FIG. 2  is a block diagram illustrating a bussed system  210  constructed in accordance with an exemplary embodiment of the invention. The system  210  includes a bus master  220  and a bus slave  230 . The bus master  220  may be a processor, microprocessor, or application specific integrated circuit (ASIC) designed to control other components. The bus slave  230  may be a memory circuit such as e.g., a random access memory (RAM), static RAM (SRAM), dynamic RAM (DRAM), synchronous DRAM (SDRAM), flash memory, other memory device or any device for receiving digital data. The bus slave may be any device that communicates over a bus with another electrical component. It should be appreciated that the invention is not limited to any specific type of bus master  220  or slave  230 . 
         [0021]    In the illustrated embodiment, the conventional address bus  50  ( FIG. 1 ) is divided into two address buses  152 ,  154 , with each bus  152 ,  154  having an associated inversion bit line  153 ,  155 . In the illustrated embodiment, each address bus  152 ,  154  contains enough address bus lines to accommodate one half of an address required by the system  210 . In the illustrated example, each address bus  152 ,  154  contains eight lines corresponding to eight bits of an address. 
         [0022]    It should be appreciated that the invention is not to be limited to 8-bit address buses  152 ,  154 . For example, the invention could use one 16-bit address bus with one inversion bit; the invention could use four 4-bit address buses with 4 associated inversion bits. All that is required is that the address buses  152 ,  154  have associated inversion bits and that the components connected to the buses  152 ,  154  perform inversion processing using the circuitry described below with respect to  FIGS. 3-6 . 
         [0023]    In the illustrated embodiment, the conventional data bus  60  ( FIG. 1 ) is replaced by four smaller data buses  162 ,  164 ,  166 ,  168 , with each bus  162 ,  164 ,  166 ,  168  having an associated inversion bit line  163 ,  165 ,  167 ,  169 . In  FIG. 2 , the four data buses  162 ,  164 ,  166 ,  168  each comprise one fourth of the required data bus. Thus, each data bus  162 ,  164 ,  166 ,  168  contains enough data bit lines to accommodate one fourth of the data lines required by the system  210 . In the illustrated example, each data bus  162 ,  164 ,  166 ,  168  contains four lines corresponding to four bits of data. That is, bus  162  contains lines for carrying data bits DQ[12:15], bus  164  contains lines for carrying data bits DQ[8:11], bus  164  contains lines for carrying data bits DQ[4:7] and bus  168  contains lines for carrying data bits DQ[0:3]. 
         [0024]    It should be appreciated that the invention is not to be limited to 4 bit data buses  162 ,  164 ,  166 ,  168 . For example, the invention could use one 16-bit data bus with one inversion bit; the invention could use two 8-bit data buses with two associated inversion bits. All that is required is that the data buses  162 ,  164 ,  166 ,  168  have associated inversion bits and that the components connected to the buses  162 ,  164 ,  166 ,  168  perform inversion processing using the circuitry described below with respect to  FIGS. 3-6 . 
         [0025]    To accommodate the buses in the system, the bus master  220  contains address drivers  221 ,  222  to drive the address buses  152 ,  154  and inversion bit lines  153 ,  155  and data drivers/receivers  223 ,  224 ,  225 ,  226  for driving and/or receiving data over the data buses  162 ,  164 ,  166 ,  168  and inversion bit lines  163 ,  165 ,  167 ,  169 . The bus slave  230  contains address receivers  231 ,  232  for receiving address and inversion bits over the address buses  152 ,  154  and inversion bit lines  153 ,  155  and data drivers/receivers  233 ,  234 ,  235 ,  236  for driving and/or receiving data over the data buses  162 ,  164 ,  166 ,  168  and inversion bit lines  163 ,  165 ,  167 ,  169 . The bus master  220  also controls and communicates with the slave  230  over a control bus  40  and clock signal lines  70 . 
         [0026]    It should be noted that the control bus  40  could also be subject to bus inversion according to the invention if so desired. A typical control bus  40  includes signals such as R/W# (read if 1, write if 0), CE# (chip enabled if 0), REF# (DRAM refresh if 0) and DM (data write mask if 1). The number of transitions between states of the bits of the control bus  70  could be reduced using bus inversion. Likewise, if transmitting one logical value (e.g., logical 1) is more beneficial than transmitting the other logical value (e.g., logical 0), then bus inversion in accordance with the invention could also be used. 
         [0027]      FIG. 3  is a block diagram illustrating a bus inversion circuit  300  constructed in accordance with an exemplary embodiment of the invention. The illustrated circuit includes an advantage function circuit  302 , majority voter circuit  304  and inversion logic  306 . 
         [0028]    The advantage function circuit  302  receives n bits to be transmitted bn (i.e., preview bits). The advantage function circuit  302  calculates the advantage of inversion and non-inversion for each bit and a corresponding inversion bit, and outputs the advantages of non-inversion A(bn) and inversion A( bn ) for each bit, and the advantages of non-inversion A(inv) and inversion A( inv ) for the inversion bit. The advantages A(bn), A( bn ), A(inv),A( inv ) may be computed in numerous ways. The following description lists two examples of how the advantages A(bn), A( bn ), A(inv),A( inv ) may be computed. It should be appreciated that the advantages A(bn), A( bn ), A(inv),A( inv ) may be computed in other manners deemed appropriate for the desired application. 
         [0029]    For example, if transmitting a logic 0 on the bus consumes more power than transmitting a logic 1, the main objective of the bus inversion process is to ensure that as many logic 1&#39;s as possible are transmitted. Therefore, if a particular bit bn is a logical 1, the advantage function A(bn) will output a 1 to indicate an advantage for the bit bn to be transmitted without inversion. If the bit bn is a logical 0, the advantage function A(bn) will output a 0 to indicate a disadvantage of transmitting the bit bn without inversion. As such, for the advantage of transmitting logical 1&#39;s over logical 0&#39;s, the advantage function A(bn) is defined as A(0)=0, A(1)=1. It should be appreciated that if it were desirable to transmit logic 0&#39;s over logic 1&#39;s then the advantage function A(bn) would be defined as A(0)=1, A(1)=0. 
         [0030]    If on the other hand, the main objective of the bus inversion process is to minimize the number of transitions (i.e., reduce switching noise), then the advantage function A(bn) is an exclusive NOR (“XNOR”) between the preview bits and the last bits transmitted on the bus. That is, A(bn)=(bn XNOR dn), where dn is the bits previously transmitted on the bus. In the illustrated embodiment, A(bn) outputs a 1 to indicate an advantage of not inverting a bit bn (i.e., bn is the same logical value as dn) and a 0 to indicate the disadvantage of not inverting the bit bn (i.e., bn is not the same logical value as dn, which would cause a transition on the bus). An advantage function A(inv) for the inversion bit can also be computed. For the inversion bit, A(inv)=(inv XNOR dinv), where dinv is the previous value of the inversion bit. 
         [0031]    Regardless of the function performed, the advantage function circuit  302  computes an advantage function A(bn) of the bits bn without inversion and an advantage function A( bn ) of the bits with inversion (shown as bn). The advantage function A( bn ) is computed using the values of inverted preview bits bn. Alternatively, A( bn ) may be computed by merely inverting the outputs of A(bn). The results of each advantage function A(bn), A( bn ) are respectively summed in the majority voter circuit  304  (described below), which performs the comparison M(bn)=(ΣA(bn)+A(inv)&lt;ΣA( bn )+A( inv )). The result of the comparison is used to determine if the bits bn should be inverted before being transmitted on the bus. 
         [0032]    The majority voter circuit  304  receives the advantages of non-inversion A(bn) and inversion A( bn ) for each bit, and the advantages of non-inversion A(inv) and inversion A( inv ) for the inversion bit and outputs a first majority voter output maj 1  and a second majority voter output maj 0 . As is described below in more detail with respect to  FIG. 4 , the first output maj 1  indicates whether the summed advantages of non-inversion ΣA(bn)+A(inv) is greater than or equal to the summed advantages of inversion ΣA( bn )+A( inv ). As such, if the summed advantages of non-inversion ΣA(bn)+A(inv) is greater than or equal to the summed advantages of inversion ΣA( bn )+A( inv ), the first output maj 1  is a logical 1; otherwise, the first output is a logical 0. The second output maj 0  indicates whether the summed advantages of inversion ΣA( bn )+A( inv ) is greater than the summed advantages of non-inversion ΣA(bn)+A(inv). As such, if the summed advantages of inversion ΣA( bn )+A( inv ) is greater than the summed advantages of non-inversion ΣA(bn)+A(inv), the second output maj 0  is a logical 1; otherwise, the second output is a logical 0. In general the equality between the two branches does not matter. If both inversion and non-inversion confer the same advantages, it is irrelevant which one is chosen. In the illustrated embodiment, there are an odd number of inputs (8 data bits and an inversion bit) so equality between the branches would never be achieved. However, for an even number of inputs, a transistor with half the drive of other summer transistors would be required in one of the summer circuits ( 319  or  339 ) to break a tie between the branches. 
         [0033]    The illustrated majority voter circuit  304  uses two outputs maj 1 , maj 0 . It should be appreciated that a single output could be used if so desired. All that is required is that the single output have one value indicating the summed advantages of non-inversion τA(bn)+A(inv) is greater than or equal to the summed advantages of inversion ΣA(bn)+A(inv) and a second value indicating that the summed advantages of inversion ΣA(bn)+A(inv) is greater than the summed advantages of non-inversion ΣA(bn)+A(inv). 
         [0034]    The inversion logic  306  inputs the preview bits bn and the majority voter outputs maj 1 , maj 0  and outputs bits Q on the bus and an inversion bit INV on an inversion bit line. The output bits Q are either the preview bits bn without inversion (e.g., if maj 1  is a logical 1) or inverted preview bits  bn  (e.g., if maj 0  is a logical 1). If the preview bits bn are transmitted without inversion, the inversion bit INV has a value indicating that the bits bn have not been inverted. 
         [0035]      FIG. 4  is a schematic diagram illustrating an exemplary majority voter circuit  304  used in the bus inversion circuit  300  illustrated in  FIG. 3 . The majority voter circuit  304  includes seven p-channel transistors  310 ,  312 ,  316 ,  324 ,  330 ,  332 ,  336 , three n-channel transistors  318 ,  326 ,  338 , two inverters  314 ,  334  and two summer circuits  319 ,  339 . 
         [0036]    The first p-channel transistor  310  has its gate connected to a clock signal CLK and is connected between a supply voltage Vcc and a first node A. The third p-channel transistor  316  is connected between the supply voltage Vcc and a second node B and has its gate connected to the clock signal CLK. The second p-channel transistor  312  is connected across the first p-channel transistor  310  and has its gate connected to a third node C. The fourth p-channel transistor  324  is connected between the first and third nodes A, C and also has its gate connected to the clock signal CLK. 
         [0037]    The fifth p-channel transistor  330  is connected across the sixth p-channel transistor  332  and has its gate connected to the first node A. The sixth p-channel transistor  332  has its gate connected to the clock signal CLK and is connected between the supply voltage Vcc and the third node C. The seventh p-channel transistor  336  is connected between the supply voltage Vcc and a fourth node D. 
         [0038]    The input of the first inverter  314  is connected to the first node A. The output of the first inverter  314  is the first majority voter output signal maj 1 . The input of the second inverter  334  is connected to the third node C. The output of the second inverter  334  is the second majority voter output signal maj 0 . The first n-channel transistor  318  is connected between the first and second nodes A, B and has its gate connected to the third node C. The second n-channel transistor  326  is connected between a ground potential and a connection between the first and second summer circuits  319 ,  339 . The third n-channel transistor  338  is connected between the third and fourth nodes C, D and has its gate connected to the first node A. Collectively, the seven p-channel transistors  310 ,  312 ,  316 ,  324 ,  330 ,  332 ,  336 , first and third n-channel transistors  318 ,  338  and inverters  314 ,  334  comprise a comparison circuit  305 . As is described below in more detail, the comparison circuit  305  outputs the first and second majority voter output signals maj 1 , maj 0  based upon the comparison M(bn)=(ΣA(bn)+A(inv)&lt;ΣA( bn )+A( inv )). 
         [0039]    The first summer circuit  319  is connected between the second node B and the second n-channel transistor  326 . The second summer circuit  339  is connected between the fourth node D and the second n-channel transistor  326 . The illustrated first summer circuit  319  includes eight n-channel transistors  320  having their gates respectively connected to one bit of the advantage functions without inversion A(bn)&lt;0:7&gt;. The illustrated first summer circuit  319  includes a ninth n-channel transistor  322  having its gate connected to the advantage function for the inversion bit indicating non-inversion A(inv). Similarly, the second summer circuit  339  includes eight n-channel transistors  340  having their gates respectively connected to one bit of the advantage functions with inversion A( bn )&lt;0:7&gt;. The illustrated second summer circuit  339  includes a ninth n-channel transistor  342  having its gate connected to the advantage function for the inversion bit indicating inversion A( inv ). 
         [0040]    The first summer circuit  319 , nodes A and B, the first inverter  314  and its output maj 1  make up a first branch E of the majority voter circuit  304 . The second summer circuit  339 , nodes C and D, the second inverter  334  and its output maj 0  make up a second branch E of the majority voter circuit  304 . 
         [0041]    The operation of the majority voter circuit  304  is now described. When the clock signal CLK is low, the circuit  304  is in a precharge mode. During the precharge mode, all of the nodes A, B, C, D are charged to the supply voltage Vcc. This occurs because the low clock signal CLK turns on the first, third, fourth, sixth and seventh p-channel transistors  310 ,  316 ,  324 ,  332 ,  336  and turns off the second n-channel transistor  326 . 
         [0042]    During the precharge mode, the Vcc potential at the first and third nodes A, C activate the first and third n-channel transistors  318 ,  338 . Since there is a Vcc potential at the first and third nodes A, C, the inverters  314 ,  334  cause the first and second majority outputs maj 1 , maj 0  to be zero. Thus, during precharge, the nodes A, B, C, D are held high (i.e., Vcc) and the outputs maj 1 , maj 0  of the comparison circuit  30   n  are zero (i.e., the outputs of the two branches E, F are the same). The inversion logic circuit  306  ( FIG. 3 ) will not perform inversion processing when both outputs maj 1 , maj 0  of the comparison circuit  305  are zero, since this represents the precharge mode of the circuit  304 . 
         [0043]    When the clock signal CLK goes high, the circuit  304  is in a voter mode. During the voter mode, the high clock signal CLK turns off the first, third, fourth, sixth and seventh p-channel transistors  310 ,  316 ,  324 ,  332 ,  336  and turns on the second n-channel transistor  326 . The nine n-channel transistors  320 ,  322  of the first summer circuit  319  and the nine n-channel transistors  340 ,  342  of the second summer circuit  339  start pulling the nodes A, B, C, D low (towards the ground potential via the second n-channel transistor  326 ). 
         [0044]    At the end of the pre-charge stage, transistors  318  and  338  are off since the voltages on all their three terminals is the same (Vcc). When node B or D is pulled down to Vcc-Vt, transistors  318  or  338  turn on. This causes nodes A or C to be pulled down towards ground switching off the opposite transistor  338  or  318 . For example, if the first summer circuit  319  has the most high inputs (representing the advantage without inversion A(bn), A(inv)), the second node B is pulled down to Vcc-Vt faster than the fourth node D is pulled down. This starts to pull the first node A down, which causes the third n-channel transistor  338  to turn off since its gate is connected to node A. Node C remains high, which keeps the first n-channel transistor  318  on. 
         [0045]    At this point, the two inverters  314 ,  334  use the voltage levels at the first and third nodes A, C to output the first and second majority outputs maj 1 , maj 0 . If the voltage at the first node A is high, then the first inverter  314  outputs a low first majority output maj 1 . If the voltage at the first node A is low, then the first inverter  314  outputs a high first majority output maj 1 . Likewise, if the voltage at the third node C is high, then the second inverter  334  outputs a low second majority output maj 0 . If the voltage at the third node C is low, then the second inverter  334  outputs a high second majority output maj 0 . It should be noted that the majority voter circuit  304  is designed such that when the circuit is in the voter mode, one of the majority outputs maj 1 , maj 0  is high and the other is low (i.e., the output of the two branches E, F have different values). 
         [0046]    The inversion logic circuit  306  ( FIG. 3 ) will perform inversion processing when one of the majority outputs maj 1 , maj 0  is high and the other is low, since this represents the voter mode of the circuit  304 . It should be noted that the voter circuit  304  performs its evaluation in about 1.5 gate delays (based on the fan out of the inverters). Conventional digital logic uses significantly more gate delays because they often include several adder circuits. The illustrated voter  304  consists of thirty-two transistors whereas the conventional logic approach uses more than a hundred to implement its majority voter function. 
         [0047]    Other majority voter circuits have used analog differential amplifiers such as the one shown in the article “A 50% Noise Reduction Interface Using Low-Weight Coding” by Nakamura et al., 1996 Symposium on VLSI Circuits Digest of Technical Papers. These majority voter circuits, however, have the disadvantage of having a continuous power drain and may require additional level translator circuits. Moreover, due to an apparent lack of regenerative feedback, the evaluation times may be long particularly when nearly the same number of transistors are conducting in the two branches. As such, the present invention is more desirable than the convention majority voter and bus inversion logic schemes. 
         [0048]      FIG. 5  is a block diagram illustrating a bus inversion circuit  500  constructed in accordance with another exemplary embodiment of the invention. The illustrated circuit  500  includes a modified advantage function circuit  502  and the majority voter circuit  304  and inversion logic  306  previously described above with respect to  FIG. 3 . 
         [0049]    The advantage function circuit  502  inputs n bits to be transmitted bn (i.e., preview bits), n previously transmitted bits dn and the previously transmitted inversion bit dinv. The advantage function circuit  502  calculates the advantage of inversion and non-inversion for each bit and the corresponding inversion bit, and outputs the advantages of non-inversion A(bn) and inversion A( bn ) for each bit, and the advantages of non-inversion A(inv) and inversion A( inv ) for the inversion bit. Although the advantages A(bn), A( bn ), A(inv),A( inv ) may be computed in numerous ways, in the illustrated embodiment, it is desirable that the advantage function  502  use an exclusive NOR (“XNOR”) between the preview bits and the last bits transmitted on the bus since it is receiving the preview bits bn, previously transmitted bits dn and the previously transmitted inversion bit dinv. That is, A(bn)=(bn XNOR dn) and A(inv)=(1 XNOR dinv) as described above with respect to  FIG. 3 . This type of advantage function circuit  502  is useful when the main objective of the bus inversion process is to minimize the number of transitions (i.e., reduce switching noise) of the bits on the bus (including the inversion bit line). 
         [0050]      FIG. 6  is a schematic diagram illustrating an exemplary majority voter circuit  604  constructed in accordance with another embodiment of the invention. The illustrated voter circuit  604  comprises the comparison circuit  305  (described above with respect to  FIG. 4 ) and an advantage function circuit  602 . That is, in the illustrated majority voter circuit  604 , the summer circuits  319 ,  339  ( FIG. 4 ) are replaced by the advantage function circuit  602 . The circuit  604  would be connected to the n bits to be transmitted bn (i.e., preview bits), inverted preview bits, the n previously transmitted bits dn, inverted previously transmitted bits, the previously transmitted inversion bit dinv and an inverted previously transmitted inversion bit instead of the results of the advantages A(bn), A( bn ), A(inv), A( inv ). 
         [0051]    The advantage function  602  performs XNOR&#39;s between n bits to be transmitted bn (i.e., preview bits) and the n previously transmitted bits dn. The advantage function  602  also performs an XNOR of the previously transmitted inversion bit dinv and a predefined default value (e.g., logical one). The letter A is used to indicate a first input (e.g., preview bit), A* indicates an inverted first input (e.g., inverted preview bit), B is used to indicate a second input (e.g., previously transmitted bit), and B* is used to represent the inverted second input (e.g., inverted previously transmitted bit). 
         [0052]    The advantage function  602  includes nine XNOR circuits (eight for the bits to be transmitted, one for the inversion bit) comprising seven transistors  650 ,  652 ,  654 ,  656 ,  658 ,  660 ,  326 . The first transistor  650  is coupled between the second node B of the comparison circuit  305  and the third transistor  654  and has its gate connected to the second input B. The third transistor  654  has its gate connected to the first input A and is coupled between the first transistor  650  and seventh transistor  326 . The second transistor  652  has its gate connected to the inverted second input B* and is coupled between node B and the connection of the fifth and sixth transistors  658 ,  660 . A first branch E of the circuit  604  includes the inverter  314  and nodes A and B of the comparison circuit  305 , and the first three transistors  650 ,  652 ,  654 . 
         [0053]    The fourth transistor  656  has its gate connected to the inverted second input B* and is coupled between node D and the connection of the first and third transistors  650 ,  654 . The fifth transistor  658  has its gate connected to the second input B and is coupled between node D and the sixth transistor  660 . The sixth transistor  660  is coupled between the fifth and seventh transistors  658 ,  326  and has its gate connected to the inverted first input A*. A second branch F of the circuit  604  includes the inverter  334  and nodes C and D of the comparison circuit  305 , and the fourth, fifth and sixth transistors  656 ,  658 ,  660 . 
         [0054]    In operation, the advantage function performs an XNOR operation, which causes one of the nodes B, D to be connected to ground via the seventh transistor (during the voter mode). The pulling down of one of the nodes B, D causes different voltages at the first and third nodes A,C, which causes different outputs maj 1 , maj 0  from the inverters  314 ,  334  (as described above with respect to  FIG. 4 ). 
         [0055]      FIG. 7  is a block diagram of a processor system  900  utilizing bus inversion in accordance with any of the embodiments of the invention. That is, any of the components connected to the buses discussed below may utilize bus inversion as described above with respect to  FIGS. 2-6 , when it is deemed beneficial to do so. The processing system  900  includes one or more processors  901  coupled to a local bus  904 . A memory controller  902  and a primary bus bridge  903  are also coupled to the local bus  904 . The processing system  900  may include multiple memory controllers  902  and/or multiple primary bus bridges  903 . The memory controller  902  and the primary bus bridge  903  may be integrated as a single device  906 . 
         [0056]    The memory controller  902  is also coupled to one or more memory buses  907 . Each memory bus accepts memory components  908 . The memory components  908  may be a memory card or a memory module. Examples of memory modules include single inline memory modules (SIMMs) and dual inline memory modules (DIMMs). The memory components  908  may include one or more additional devices  909 ,  110 . For example, in a SIMM or DIMM, the additional device  909  might be a configuration memory, such as a serial presence detect (SPD) memory. The memory controller  902  may also be coupled to a cache memory  905 . The cache memory  905  may be the only cache memory in the processing system. Alternatively, other devices, for example, processors  901  may also include cache memories, which may form a cache hierarchy with cache memory  905 . If the processing system  900  include peripherals or controllers which are bus masters or which support direct memory access (DMA), the memory controller  902  may implement a cache coherency protocol. If the memory controller  902  is coupled to a plurality of memory buses  907 , each memory bus  907  may be operated in parallel, or different address ranges may be mapped to different memory buses  907 . 
         [0057]    The primary bus bridge  903  is coupled to at least one peripheral bus  910 . Various devices, such as peripherals or additional bus bridges may be coupled to the peripheral bus  910 . These devices may include a storage controller  911 , a miscellaneous I/O device  914 , a secondary bus bridge  915 , a multimedia processor  918 , and a legacy device interface  920 . The primary bus bridge  903  may also coupled to one or more special purpose high speed ports  922 . In a personal computer, for example, the special purpose port might be the Accelerated Graphics Port (AGP), used to couple a high performance video card to the processing system  900 . 
         [0058]    The storage controller  911  couples one or more storage devices  913 , via a storage bus  912 , to the peripheral bus  910 . For example, the storage controller  911  may be a SCSI controller and storage devices  913  may be SCSI discs. The I/O device  914  may be any sort of peripheral. For example, the I/O device  914  may be a local area network interface, such as an Ethernet card. The secondary bus bridge may be used to interface additional devices via another bus  916  to the processing system. For example, the secondary bus bridge may be a universal serial port (USB) controller used to couple USB devices  917  to the processing system  900 . The multimedia processor  918  may be a sound card, a video capture card, or any other type of media interface, which may also be coupled to one additional devices such as speakers  919 . The legacy device interface  920  is used to couple legacy devices  921 , for example, older styled keyboards and mice, to the processing system  900 . 
         [0059]    The processing system  900  illustrated in  FIG. 7  is only an exemplary processing system with which the invention may be used. While  FIG. 7  illustrates a processing architecture especially suitable for a general purpose computer, such as a personal computer or a workstation, it should be recognized that well known modifications can be made to configure the processing system  900  to become more suitable for use in a variety of applications. For example, many electronic devices which require processing may be implemented using a simpler architecture which relies on a CPU  901  coupled to memory components  908 . These electronic devices may include, but are not limited to audio/video processors and recorders, gaming consoles, digital television sets, wired or wireless telephones, navigation devices (including system based on the global positioning system (GPS) and/or inertial navigation), and digital cameras and/or recorders. The modifications may include, for example, elimination of unnecessary components, addition of specialized devices or circuits, and/or integration of a plurality of devices. 
         [0060]    It should be noted that the advantage functions of the present invention have been illustrated with binary and XNOR examples, but it should be appreciated that the invention is not limited to these types of advantage functions. It should be appreciated that an n-bit binary function could be used where n transistors with binary weighted drive strength could be used in the summation paths on either side and for either set of inputs. Alternatively, the output of the advantage function could be a one-of-n signal where n transistors of appropriate drive strength could be used for each input. Thus, the illustrated majority voter can be adapted to support more complex bus encoding decisions. 
         [0061]    The processes and devices described above illustrate exemplary methods and typical devices of many that could be used and produced. The above description and drawings illustrate embodiments, which achieve the objects, features, and advantages of the present invention. However, it is not intended that the present invention be strictly limited to the above-described and illustrated embodiments. Any modification, though presently unforeseeable, of the present invention that comes within the spirit and scope of the following claims should be considered part of the present invention.

Technology Category: 4