(a) Field of the Invention
The invention relates to a universal serial bus device, particularly to an online calibration method and device for a universal serial bus system.
(b) Description of the Related Art
Since the use of universal serial bus becomes popular, various products used as universal serial bus host ends (hereinafter referred to as “USB host end”) and universal serial bus device ends (hereinafter referred to as “USB device end”) are derived. In order to communicate the USB host end and the USB device end, the signal compatibility between the USB host end and the USB device end should be taken into account. A USB device, such as a USB host end or a USB device end, includes a transceiver. The transceiver is used to receive and transmit data between the USB host end and the USB device end and to detect signal of both.
Further during high-speed operation of a USB device with USB 2.0 specification, the USB device transmits signals by a current driving method so that the termination impedance in the transceiver has to be within a tolerable range complied with USB 2.0 specification. Thus the correctness of received signals of the transceiver, and the signal compatibility between the USB host end and the USB device end can be assured.
Deviation often occurs in semiconductor processes. Therefore if a USB device couples to another USB device, equivalent termination impedance being referred to any side of a transceiver in the USB device, usually has deviation exceeds a tolerable range according to the design specification. Therefore, in order to improve a connection compatibility of a USB device with other USB devices, such deviation should be corrected.
A common calibration method is a self-calibration method. Such a method is to use a reference voltage source or current source in a USB device to slightly adjust deviation occurred by a USB device itself to achieve deviation within a designed tolerable range.
However, handshaking of USB devices with USB 2.0 specification during building connection is a process of participation of a USB host end and a USB device end. Since a USB host end and a USB device end are combined together, whole deviation contributed by both ends can not be covered by the separate self-calibration of termination impedance. The compatibility problem during connection may occur or even the functionality of the product may fail. Moreover, the product cannot be correctly connected.
One object of the invention is to provide an online calibration method for a universal serial bus device or system and a device having the online calibration function to simultaneously take the characteristics of termination impedance of the USB host end and the USB device end into account.
One object of the invention is to provide an online calibration method for a universal serial bus device or system and a device having the online calibration function to increase compatibility between USB devices.
One embodiment of the invention provides an online calibration method for a universal serial bus system. The universal serial bus system includes a USB host end and a USB device end. The method comprises the following steps. At first, a plurality of chirp JK pairs are provided. The plurality of chirp JK pairs are detected and, before a preset chirp JK pair is outputted, a power is loaded on a terminal resistor of the USB device end and its coupled to a terminal resistor of the USB host end so as to change the voltage level of the chirp JK pair. A voltage level variation of the changed chirp JK pair is detected on a node. According to the voltage level variation, online calibration is processed to maintain the voltage level of the changed chirp JK pair within a preset range.
Another embodiment of the invention provides an online calibration method for a universal serial bus device when coupled to another universal serial bus device. The method comprises the following steps. At first, during a first period of time, a power is loaded on two terminal resistors included in the two universal serial bus devices to lower a voltage level of a chirp JK pair and apply a voltage level on a node between the two terminal resistors. During a second period of time, the voltage level is compared with a reference voltage and the resistance values of the two terminal resistors or one of the two terminal resistors is adjusted to maintain the lowered voltage level of the chirp JK pair within a preset range. The second period of time is after the first period of time and the first period of time is after the universal serial bus accomplishes declaration of high speed capability.
One other embodiment of the invention provides a universal serial bus device, for connecting to another universal serial bus device and processing online calibration. The universal serial bus device comprises a power source, a terminal resistor, and a calibration circuit. The calibration circuit comprises a first switch circuit, a second switch circuit, a comparator, and a regulator. The first switch circuit is coupled between the power source and the terminal resistor to provide the power source to the terminal resistor through a node. The second switch circuit provides a reference voltage. The comparator comprises a first input end coupled to the reference voltage, a second input end coupled to the node, and an output end to output a comparison result. The regulator is coupled to the output end of the comparator and adjusts a resistance value of the terminal resistor. The first switch circuit is turned on during a first period of time to load the power source on the terminal resistor so as to lower a voltage level of a chirp JK pair and apply a voltage level on the node. The second switch circuit provides the reference voltage during a second period of time. The calibration circuit compares the voltage level on the node with the reference voltage to generate the comparison result. The regulator adjusts the resistance value of the terminal resistor according to the comparison result to maintain the lowered voltage level of the chirp JK pair within a preset range. The second period of time is after the first period of time; and the first period of time is after the universal serial bus accomplishes declaration of high speed capability.
The online calibration method and the device or system having online calibration according to the present invention, after the terminal resistors of the USB host end and the device are coupled, compare the chirp JK pairs and the voltage on the node generated by coupling the two terminal resistors of the two ends with a reference voltage to adjust the termination impedance to have the node voltage substantially be equal to the reference voltage so as to reduce the probability of connection error, speed reduction, disconnection of the USB device and to achieve the purpose of increasing compatibility between USB devices.
Other objects and advantages of the invention can be better understood from the technical characteristics disclosed by the invention. In order to clarify the above mentioned and other objects and advantages of the invention, examples accompanying with figures are provided and described in details in the following.
Please refer to
Step S102: start. Please refer to
Step S104: declaration step, during the period of t4˜t5, the USB device end 11 provides a high speed declaration signal through the bus to declare that the USB device end 11 is capable of high speed communication complying with high speed USB specification.
Step S106: handshaking step, starting from the time t5, the USB host end 10 and the USB device end 11 start handshaking and the USB host end 10 outputs a plurality of continuous chirp JK pairs.
Step S108: power loading step, the USB device end 11 detects these chirp JK pairs and, before a preset chirp JK pair is outputted, such as before the chirp-K of the third chirp JK pair shown at the time t6 is outputted, the USB device end 11 loads a power on its terminal resistor to generate a corresponding electric signal on the node formed by connection of the two terminal resistors.
Step S110: voltage level lowering step, after the terminal resistor is loaded with the power in the USB device end, the voltage level of the chirp JK pair is lowered, as shown at the time t6, to be recognized by the USB host end. According to the specification, the USB host end 10 determines the link to be normal operation, low-speed operation, or interrupted according to whether the lowered voltage level is within a preset range or not.
Step S112: detecting step, after the time t6, the chirp JK pair JK having a changed voltage level (changed chirp JK pair) is detected.
Step S114: online calibration step, before the time tN, according to the changed chirp JK pair JK, online calibration is processed to maintain the voltage level of the changed chirp JK pair JK within the preset range.
Step S116: end. At the time tN, according to the specification, the USB host end 10 accomplishes handshaking with and recognition of the USB device end 11 and the USB host end 10 start communication to perform data transmission.
According to the above mentioned method, the USB system according to the invention, besides self-calibration, takes both the characteristics of the USB host end 10 and the USB device end 11 simultaneously into account. For example, the two terminal resistors of the two ends are both taken into account to cover the whole deviation contributed by the two to process precise impedance calibration and adjustment to correctly reflect the signal status on the bus so as to increase the compatibility of the USB product and solve the problem in the prior art. The USB system according to the invention can be built in the USB host end 10 or in the USB device end 11.
The online calibration provided by the invention can be processed from a USB host end or a USB device end.
The following describes the operation method of
During the period of t0˜t2, the USB host end 20 and the USB device end 21 are coupled to each other through a USB bus but the terminal resistors R20 and R21 have not been loaded with the power of the USB device end 21 yet. At the time, the two ends separately process their own self-calibration of the terminal resistor. Taking the USB device end 21 as an example, during this period, the switch sw1 is turned on and the switch sw2 is switched to the self-calibration voltage V1 so that the comparator com compares the voltage on the node N1 with the self-calibration voltage V1. At the time, the voltage on the node N1 is
VN=I21*R21. (1)
The comparator com compares the node voltage VN with the self-calibration voltage V1 to generate a comparison signal Sc. The regulator adj receives the comparison signal Sc and adjusts the resistance of the terminal resistor R21 according to the comparison signal Sc until the node voltage VN is substantially equal to the self-calibration voltage V1 to accomplish self-calibration. In one embodiment, assuming the two terminal resistors R20=R21=45 ohm, the two current sources I1=I2=17.78 mA, and the self-calibration voltage V1=800 mV, the node voltage VN of the node N1 of the USB device end 21 is about 800 mV. Due to process or environmental influences, the value of the node voltage VN may be deviated from 800 mV and then the voltage variation from 800 mV, during the self-calibration process of the USB device end 21, is adjusted to be substantially equal to 800 mV.
After the self-calibration is accomplished, after steps S102˜S106, the USB host end 20 recognizes the USB device end 21 complying with high speed USB specification and the USB host end 20 at the time t5 starts to continuously output a plurality of chirp JK pairs. At the step S108 (time t6), before the preset chirp JK pair is outputted (such as chirp-K of the third chirp JK pair), the switch sw1 is turned on, the switch sw2 is switched to the online calibration voltage V2, and the terminal resistors R20 and R21 of the USB host end 20 and the USB device end 21 are loaded with the power source I21 of the USB device end 21. Therefore, in the step S110, the voltage level of the chirp JK pair is lowered. Then, the step S112 proceeds. During the time the voltage level of the chirp JK pair is lowered before the USB host end 20 accomplishes recognition to start communication, that is, the period of t6˜tN, since the switch sw1 is turned on and the switch sw2 is switched to the online calibration voltage V2, the comparator coin compares the online calibration voltage V2 with the node voltage VN on the node N1 of the USB device end 21 formed by the chirp JK pair. At the time, the node voltage VN is
The comparator com compares the node voltage VN with the online calibration voltage V2 and generates a comparison signal Sc according to the comparison result. The regulator adj adjusts the resistance of the terminal resistor R21 according to the comparison signal Sc until the node voltage VN is substantially equal to the online calibration voltage V2. In one embodiment, the two terminal resistors are R20=R21=45 ohm, the two current sources are I1=I2=17.78 mA, and the online calibration voltage is V2=800 mV. At the time, the two terminal resistors are coupled together and thus the load of the USB device end 20 is R20 and R21 connected in parallel, about 22.5 ohm. Thus, the node voltage VN of the node N1 of the USB device end 21 is about 400 mV. Due to process or environmental influences, the value of the node voltage VN may be deviated from 400 mV. At the time, the comparator com compares the node voltage VN with the online calibration voltage V2 to generate an appropriate comparison signal Sc for the regulator adj to adjust the terminal resistor R21 to have the voltage variation from 400 mV be adjusted to be substantially equal to 400 mV.
The duration of each chirp JK pair is about 50 micro-seconds while the time length of the whole chirp JK pair (t6˜4N) is about few tens of milliseconds. Thus, the calibration circuit 21a of the USB device end 21 has enough time to process the calibration of the terminal resistor to achieve the effect of calibrating the two terminal resistors of the USB host end 20 and the USB device end 21.
In one embodiment, the comparison signal Sc comprises the up counting signal (Up) and down counting signal (Dn) and the regulator adj can be a counter. According to the up counting signal or the down counting signal, the terminal resistor R21 is adjusted through a digital means.
As shown in
The online calibration method provided by the invention can be executed at the USB host end 20. As shown in
Step S302: start. The USB device end 21 is coupled to the USB host end 20 through a bus. At the time, the terminal resistor of the high speed transceiver of the USB device end 21 is coupled to the terminal resistor of the high speed transceiver of the USB host end 20 to form a node but no signal (voltage or current) is loaded on the two terminal resistors. The power of the USB device end 21 starts and internal reset is executed. The USB device end 21 and the USB host end 20 accomplish their self-calibration, the switch sw4 is turned on and the switch sw5 is switched to the self-calibration voltage V1. The comparator com compares the node voltage VN with the self-calibration voltage V1 and generates the comparison signal Sc according to the comparison result. The regulator adj adjusts the resistance of the terminal resistor R21 according to the comparison signal Sc until the node voltage VN is substantially equal to the self-calibration voltage V1 to accomplish self-calibration. At the time, the node voltage is
VN=I20*R20. (3)
The USB host end 20 recognizes the connection of the USB device end 21 and then, it is preceded to step S304.
Step S304: declaration step, the USB device end 21 provides a declaration signal through the bus to notify the USB host end 20 that the USB device end 21 complies with the USB high speed specification.
Step S306: handshaking step, the USB host end 20 and the USB device end 21 start handshaking to output a plurality of chirp JK pairs.
Step S308: power loading step, the USB host end 20, before outputting a preset chirp JK pair, such as before outputting the chirp-K of the third chirp JK pair, loads a power on its terminal resistor R20 to generate a corresponding electric signal on the node connecting the terminal resistors R20 and R21.
Step S310: voltage level changing step, the voltage level of the chirp JK pair is changed.
Step S312: detecting step the USB host end 20 detects the changed chirp JK pair.
Step S314: online calibration step, the USB host end 20 processes online calibration according to the changed chirp JK pair to maintain the voltage level of the changed chirp JK pair within a preset range. Referring to
The comparator corn compares the node voltage VN with the online calibration voltage V2 to generate a comparison signal Sc. The regulator adj adjusts the resistance of the terminal resistor R20 according to the comparison signal Sc until the node voltage VN is substantially equal to the online calibration voltage V2. In other words, the voltage level of the changed chirp JK pair is maintained within the preset range.
Step S116: end. According to the specification, the USB host end 20 accomplishes handshaking with and recognition of the USB device end 21 and the USB device end 21 and the USB host end 20 start communication to perform data transmission.
According to the above operation, the USB host end 20 simultaneously calibrates the terminal resistors of the USB host end and the USB device end and thus the compatibility of the USB product can be increased and the problem in the prior art can be solved.
It should be noted that the calibration circuit 20a of the USB host end 20 shown in
Furthermore, in one embodiment, as shown in
It should be noted that the coupling method of circuitry according to each embodiment of the invention is shown in each figure and the details of the circuitry in each figure will not be given hereinafter.
The online calibration method and the device or system having online calibration according to the present invention, after the terminal resistors of the USB host end and the device are coupled, compare the chirp JK pairs and the voltage on the node generated by coupling the two terminal resistors of the two ends with a reference voltage to adjust the termination impedance to have the node voltage substantially be equal to the reference voltage so as to reduce the probability of connection error, speed reduction, disconnection of the USB device and to achieve the purpose of increasing compatibility between USB devices
Although the present invention has been fully described by the above embodiments, the embodiments should not constitute the limitation of the scope of the invention. Various modifications or changes can be made by those who are skilled in the art without deviating from the spirit of the invention. Any embodiment or claim of the present invention does not need to reach all the disclosed objects, advantages, and uniqueness of the invention. Besides, the abstract and the title are only used for assisting the search of the patent documentation and should not be construed as any limitation on the implementation range of the invention.
Number | Date | Country | Kind |
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201010577500.3 | Dec 2010 | CN | national |