CN116367044A

CN116367044A - Electronic device, electronic system and transmission method

Info

Publication number: CN116367044A
Application number: CN202211032951.8A
Authority: CN
Inventors: 郑乃文
Original assignee: Nuvoton Technology Corp
Current assignee: Nuvoton Technology Corp
Priority date: 2021-12-28
Filing date: 2022-08-26
Publication date: 2023-06-30
Also published as: TW202326449A

Abstract

The invention provides an electronic device, an electronic system and a transmission method. The electronic device is adapted to communicate acoustic information with an external device. The electronic device comprises an interface circuit and a controller. The interface circuit is coupled to an external device. The controller is coupled to the interface circuit. The controller provides the written information to the external device through the interface circuit, so that the controller programs the external device on line according to the written information when the voice information is transmitted between the interface circuit and the external device.

Description

Electronic device, electronic system and transmission method

Technical Field

The present invention relates to an apparatus, a system and a method, and more particularly, to an electronic apparatus, an electronic system and a transmission method.

Background

In the conventional voice communication technology, for example, when an electronic device and a codec (Inter-IC Sound) device transmit voice information in compliance with an Inter-chip voice (I2S) standard, if the electronic device wants to write to a memory of the codec device at the same time, the electronic device must stop or pause the voice information transmitted between the electronic device and the codec device to transmit the written information. In this way, the original listening or recording of the voice message by the user is likely to be interrupted due to the influence of the writing operation.

Disclosure of Invention

The invention is directed to an electronic device, an electronic system and a transmission method, which can provide an on-line programming function when transmitting sound information.

According to an embodiment of the invention, the electronic device is adapted to communicate acoustic information with an external device. The electronic device comprises an interface circuit and a controller. The interface circuit is coupled to an external device. The controller is coupled to the interface circuit. The controller provides the written information to the external device through the interface circuit, so that the controller programs the external device on line according to the written information when the voice information is transmitted between the interface circuit and the external device.

According to an embodiment of the invention, an electronic system comprises a first electronic device and a second electronic device. The first electronic device comprises a first interface circuit, a memory and a first controller. The first controller receives information from the first interface circuit to write to the memory. The second electronic device is coupled with the first electronic device to transmit sound information. The second electronic device comprises a second interface circuit and a second controller. The second interface circuit is coupled to the first interface circuit for transmitting the sound information. The second controller is coupled to the second interface circuit, wherein the second controller provides the write information to the first controller through the second interface circuit, so that the first controller performs an online programming on the memory according to the write information when the voice information is transmitted between the first interface circuit and the second interface circuit.

According to an embodiment of the invention, a transmission method includes providing a first electronic device and a second electronic device to transmit sound information between the first electronic device and the second electronic device; and when the sound information is transmitted between the first electronic device and the second electronic device, providing the written information to the first electronic device by the second electronic device so as to program the first electronic device online.

Based on the above, the electronic device, the electronic system and the transmission method can write into the memory and simultaneously can keep continuous and uninterrupted transmission of sound information, thereby effectively providing better use experience for users.

Drawings

The accompanying drawings are included to provide a further understanding of the invention, and are incorporated in and constitute a part of this specification. The drawings illustrate embodiments of the invention and, together with the description, serve to explain the principles of the invention.

FIG. 1 is a block diagram of an electronic system according to an embodiment of the invention;

FIG. 2 is a schematic diagram of waveforms of signals transmitted between the electronic devices of FIG. 1;

FIG. 3 is a block diagram of an electronic system according to an embodiment of the invention;

fig. 4 is a flowchart of a transmission method according to an embodiment of the invention.

Description of the reference numerals

1. 3: an electronic system;

10. 20, 30, 40: an electronic device;

11. 21, 31, 41: a controller;

12. 22, 32, 42: an interface circuit;

23. 43: a memory;

33: a connection port management circuit;

34 to 36: a connection port;

44: a memory controller;

45: a voice message processing circuit;

46: an analog-to-digital converter;

47: a digital-to-analog converter;

clk1, clk2: a clock signal;

DI/DO: a data signal;

f1: frame time;

s40, S41: a step of;

t1 to T6: time intervals.

Detailed Description

Reference will now be made in detail to the exemplary embodiments of the present invention, examples of which are illustrated in the accompanying drawings. Wherever possible, the same reference numbers are used in the drawings and the description to refer to the same or like parts.

Fig. 1 is a block diagram of an electronic system 1 according to an embodiment of the invention. The electronic system 1 comprises

electronic devices

10, 20. The

electronic devices

10, 20 are coupled to each other and can transmit audio information to each other. The electronic device 10 includes a controller 11 and an interface circuit 12. The electronic device 20 includes a controller 21, an interface circuit 22, and a memory 23. In general, the

interface circuits

12 and 22 are coupled to each other to transmit audio information, and the transmission between the

interface circuits

12 and 22 may conform to an Inter-chip audio (I2S) standard. While the electronic device 10 and the electronic device 20 transmit the audio information, the controller 11 of the electronic device 10 may also provide the written information to the electronic device 20 through the interface circuit 12 to program the memory 23 of the electronic device 20 online (in system programming, ISP). Therefore, the

electronic devices

10 and 20 and the electronic system 1 can write the memory 23 of the electronic device 20 at the same time while maintaining continuous and uninterrupted transmission of the audio information, thereby effectively improving the system convenience.

In some embodiments, the electronic device 10 may be, for example, a master device, the electronic device 20 may be, for example, a codec (code) device, and the electronic device 20 may be further coupled to a voice communication device (not shown in fig. 1). For example, the audio signal device may be a sound receiving or playing device of headphones, microphones, speakers, or the like. The electronic device 20 connected between the electronic device 10 and the audio device can encode and/or decode audio information therebetween. In this way, the electronic device 20 can be used to transmit audio information between the electronic device 10 and the audio device. That is, the electronic device 10 may receive the audio information provided by the audio signal device, or the electronic device 10 may provide the audio information to the audio signal device to transmit the audio information. Of course, the above embodiment is only one implementation of the present invention, and is not intended to limit the implementation of the electronic system 1 and the

electronic devices

10 and 20.

The electronic device 10 includes a controller 11 and an interface circuit 12, wherein the controller 11 can access a memory (not shown in fig. 1) of the electronic device 10 to obtain and execute software or firmware instructions for encoding and/or decoding the transmitted data, or for performing other necessary operations. The interface circuit 12 is coupled to the controller 11, and the interface circuit 12 can be used for transmitting the audio signal in accordance with the inter-chip audio signal standard.

The electronic device 20 includes a controller 21, an interface circuit 22, and a memory 23. The interface circuit 22 is coupled to the interface circuit 21. Interface circuit 22 may be used to perform transmissions conforming to the inter-chip voice communications standard. The controller 21 is coupled to the interface circuit 22, and the controller 21 can obtain the transmitted audio information from the interface circuit 22 and encode and/or decode the audio information. The memory 23 is coupled to the controller 21. In some embodiments, the data stored by the memory 23 may be software or firmware instructions to provide access and execution to the controller 21. For example, the electronic device 20 can perform functions of controlling, adjusting or mixing voice for the transmitted sound information through the data stored in the memory 23.

The

interface circuits

12, 22 may be adapted to Inter-chip voice (I2S) standards for transmitting voice information. Further, to enable on-line programming functionality, the

interface circuits

12, 22 may also support a time-division multiplexing mode (TDM) (time-division multiplexing). Thus, the electronic device 10 may provide the written information to program the electronic device 20 online while transmitting the sound information between the two

electronic devices

10, 20. That is, when the electronic device 10 updates or burns data with respect to the memory 23 in the electronic device 20, the sound information transmitted between the

electronic devices

10, 20 can be kept continuous and uninterrupted. The

electronic devices

10, 20 and the electronic system 1 can provide a better user experience.

The

controller

11, 21 may be, for example, a central processing unit (Central Processing Unit, CPU), or other programmable general purpose or special purpose micro control unit (Micro Control Unit, MCU), microprocessor (Microprocessor), digital signal processor (Digital Signal Processor, DSP), programmable controller, application specific integrated circuit (Application Specific Integrated Circuit, ASIC), graphics processor (Graphics Processing Unit, GPU), arithmetic logic unit (Arithmetic Logic Unit, ALU), complex programmable logic device (Complex Programmable Logic Device, CPLD), field programmable gate array (Field Programmable Gate Array, FPGA), any other kind of integrated circuit, state machine, advanced reduced instruction set machine (Advanced RISC Machine, ARM) based processor, or other similar element or combination thereof. Alternatively, the

controllers

11, 21 may be hardware circuits designed and implemented by hardware description language (Hardware Description Language, HDL) or any other digital circuit design known to those of ordinary skill in the art. The

controllers

11, 21 may be implemented in the same or different ways.

The memory 23 may store data to provide access. The Memory 23 may be, for example, a fixed or removable random access Memory (Random Access Memory, RAM), a Read-Only Memory (ROM), a Flash Memory (Flash Memory), a Hard Disk (HDD), a solid state Disk (Solid State Drive, SSD), or the like, or a combination of the above. The memory 23 may store information about functions to be performed such as voice control, adjustment, or mixing.

Fig. 2 is a schematic diagram of waveforms of signals transmitted between the

electronic devices

10, 20 of fig. 1. As shown in fig. 2, the signals transmitted between the

electronic devices

10 and 20 include clock signals Clk1 and Clk2 and data signals DI/DO. In some embodiments, each pulse (pulse) of the clock signal Clk1 may correspond to each bit of data signaled between the

electronic devices

10, 20. The clock signal Clk2 defines a frame time F1 for the

electronic devices

10 and 20 to signal, i.e. a sampling frequency for the

electronic devices

10 and 20 to signal. The data signal DI/DO may be a signal transmitted between the

electronic devices

10, 20, and the data signal DI/DO may include audio information and writing information. In this way, the

electronic devices

10 and 20 can transmit the data signal DI/DO according to the clock signals Clk1 and Clk 2.

In detail, the

electronic devices

10 and 20 can communicate with each other according to the clock signals Clk1 and Clk2, wherein the

electronic devices

10 and 20 can distinguish the frame time F1 according to the clock signal Clk2, and the

electronic devices

10 and 20 can distinguish the time intervals T1 to T6 in each frame time F1 according to the clock signal Clk1, so that the

electronic devices

10 and 20 can transmit the audio information and the writing information through the data signals DI/DO in the corresponding time intervals. In some embodiments, the frame time F1 period length distinguished by the clock signal Clk2 may be 192 times the clock signal Clk1 period length, and each frame time F1 may be distinguished into time intervals T1 to T6. That is, there may be 192 pulses of the clock signal Clk1 in each frame time F1, and each of the time intervals T1 to T6 may have 32 pulses of the clock signal Clk1, respectively. Of course, the period length of the frame time F1 and the number of time intervals in each frame time F1 can be preferably adjusted according to different design concepts and use settings. For example, the clock Clk2 may have a sampling frequency of, for example, 32KHz, 44.1KHz, 44KHz, 48KHz, 96KHz, 192KHz, or any frequency between 32KHz and 192KHz, and the number of time intervals may be, for example, 6, 8, 12, etc., or more.

Specifically, in the time intervals T1, T2, the

electronic devices

10, 20 can transmit audio information therebetween. More specifically, the sound information transmitted between the

electronic devices

10, 20 includes left channel information and right channel information. In the time interval T1, when the clock signal Clk2 is at the enable voltage level, the data signal DI/DO transmitted by the

electronic device

10, 20 may include the right channel information; in the time interval T2, when the clock signal Clk2 is at the disable voltage level, the data signal DI/DO transmitted by the

electronic device

10, 20 may include left channel information, wherein the left channel information and the right channel information may be, for example, 16-bit, 24-bit or 32-bit data in pulse-code modulation (PCM).

Further, in the time interval T3 to T6, transmission of the written information between the

electronic devices

10, 20 is possible. More specifically, the write information transmitted between the

electronic devices

10, 20 includes a write command and write data. In the time interval T3, the data signal DI/DO transmitted by the

electronic device

10, 20 may include a write command; in the time interval T4 to T6, the data signal DI/DO transmitted by the

electronic device

10, 20 may contain the write data.

In the present embodiment, since the audio information transmitted between the

electronic devices

10 and 20 only includes the left channel information and the right channel information, only two time intervals are needed for transmission. In this way, the electronic system 1 and the

electronic devices

10 and 20 can transmit the audio information in the time intervals T1 and T2, and the electronic system 1 and the

electronic devices

10 and 20 can transmit the writing information in the other time intervals T3 to T6 in which the audio information is not transmitted. Of course, the number of time intervals used for transmission between the

electronic devices

10 and 20 may be adjusted or changed according to the compatibility of the

interface circuits

12 and 22 and the user's needs, so that the

electronic devices

10 and 20 can transmit with fewer or more time intervals. According to the above, when the sound information is transferred between the

electronic devices

10 and 20, the electronic device 10 can write the memory 23 of the electronic device 20 in an online programming manner, so that the sound information transferred between the

electronic devices

10 and 20 can be kept continuous and uninterrupted, thereby providing a better use experience for users.

Fig. 3 is a block diagram of an electronic system 3 according to an embodiment of the invention. The electronic system 3 comprises

electronic devices

30, 40. The electronic device 30 includes a controller 31, an interface circuit 32, a connection port management circuit 33, and connection ports 34 to 36. The electronic device 40 includes a controller 41, an interface circuit 42, a memory 43, a memory controller 44, a voice signal processing circuit 45, an analog-to-digital converter (analog to digital converter, ADC) 46, a digital-to-analog converter (digital to analog converter, DAC) 47.

Generally, the controller 31, the interface circuit 32, the controller 41, the interface circuit 42 and the memory 43 in fig. 3 are similar to the controller 11, the interface circuit 12, the controller 21, the interface circuit 22 and the memory 23 in fig. 1, respectively, so the related description is referred to the above related paragraphs, and the description is omitted here.

In the electronic device 30, the controller 31 is further coupled to the connection port management circuit 33, and is coupled to the connection ports 34 to 36 through the connection port management circuit 33. The connection ports 34 to 36 may be the same or different connection ports to be connected to external devices and access data, respectively. In some embodiments, connection port 34 may be a universal serial bus (universal serial bus, USB) connection port, connection port 35 may be a network connection port, and connection port 36 may be a memory card (secure digital memory card, SD card) connection port. In this way, the connection port 34 may be connected to, for example, a flash drive, a desktop computer, a notebook computer, a tablet computer, or other electronic devices that can be connected through a USB connection port and perform data access. The connection port 35 may be connected to, for example, a network line or a network connection device, and connected to the World Wide Web (WWW) through a network line for data access. The connection port 36 may be connected to, for example, a memory card to access data of the memory card. The connection port management circuit 33 is coupled between the controller 31 and each of the connection ports 34 to 36, and the connection port management circuit 33 can be responsible for signal transmission between the controller 31 and the connection ports 34 to 36.

In the electronic device 40, the controller 41 is coupled to the interface circuit 42, the memory controller 44 and the audio processing circuit 45. The controller 41 and the voice processing circuit 45 can process the encoding/decoding operation of the voice information and transmit with the voice device through the analog-digital converter 46 and the digital-analog converter 47. The controller 41 may be coupled to the memory 43 through the memory controller 44, and the controller 41 and the memory controller 44 may write the memory 43 according to the writing information.

In some embodiments, the audio signal processing circuit 45 may be, for example, a mixer (mixer) that may perform mixing processing for the transmitted sound information. The memory 43 may store data for voice control, tuning, or mixing functions. In this way, the audio processing circuit 45 in the electronic device 40 can mix audio information or perform other operations by accessing the memory 43.

In general, in one aspect, the electronic system 3 may transmit audio information (e.g., the electronic device 30 receives audio information from the electronic device 40 or the electronic device 30 sends audio information to the electronic device 40). On the other hand, the electronic system 3 may obtain the writing data from the external device through at least one of the connection ports 34 to 36, for example, and perform the on-line programming writing to the memory 43 of the electronic device 40 through the time-division multiplexing process of the controller 31 and the

interface circuits

32, 42 without interrupting the transmission of the audio information. Therefore, the electronic system 3 and the

electronic devices

30 and 40 are integrally configured, so that the function of online programming can be realized, and the convenience of the system is effectively improved.

Fig. 4 is a flowchart of a transmission method according to an embodiment of the invention. The transmission method in fig. 4 may be performed by the electronic system 1 of fig. 1 or the electronic system 3 of fig. 3. In step S40, the first electronic device and the second electronic device may be provided to transmit sound information between the first electronic device and the second electronic device. In step S41, when transmitting the audio information between the first electronic device and the second electronic device, the second electronic device is used to provide the written information to the first electronic device so as to perform online programming on the first electronic device.

For a description of online programming with either electronic system 1 or electronic system 3, refer to the relevant paragraphs above. However, it is understood that the

electronic devices

10, 20, 30, 40 or the

electronic systems

1, 3 may be modified or adapted according to different design concepts and user requirements. For example, taking the electronic system 1 of fig. 1 as an example, although the above description only describes the electronic device 10 as the master device to program the slave device of the electronic device 20 (codec device) online, the invention is not limited thereto. The electronic device 20 may also be used as a master device for performing online programming operations on the electronic device 10 as a slave device. That is, when the electronic device 10 and the electronic device 20 transmit the audio information therebetween, the electronic device 20 can provide the written information to the electronic device 10 to write the memory (not shown in fig. 1) of the electronic device 10.

In summary, the electronic device, the electronic system and the transmission method of the present invention can effectively provide the on-line programming function of the electronic device when transmitting the audio information by supporting the interface circuit in the time-division multiplexing mode under the condition of conforming to the inter-chip audio standard. Therefore, when the memory is written, the transmission of the sound information can be kept continuous and uninterrupted, and better use experience of a user is effectively provided.

Finally, it should be noted that: the above embodiments are only for illustrating the technical solution of the present invention, but are not limited thereto; although the invention has been described in detail with reference to the foregoing embodiments, it will be understood by those of ordinary skill in the art that: the technical scheme described in the foregoing embodiments can be modified or some or all of the technical features thereof can be replaced by equivalents; such modifications and substitutions do not depart from the spirit of the invention.

Claims

1. An electronic device for transmitting sound information with an external device, comprising:

an interface circuit coupled to the external device; and

and the controller is coupled with the interface circuit and transmits the sound information to the external device through the interface circuit, wherein the controller provides writing information to the external device through the interface circuit, so that the controller carries out online programming on the external device according to the writing information when the sound information is transmitted between the interface circuit and the external device.

2. The electronic device of claim 1, wherein communication between the interface circuit and the external device conforms to an inter-chip voice communication standard.

3. The electronic device of claim 1, wherein the interface circuit supports a time-division multiplexing mode.

4. The electronic device of claim 1, wherein the electronic device communicates with the external device according to a first clock signal that distinguishes a plurality of frame times and a second clock signal that distinguishes a plurality of time intervals in each of the frame times.

5. The electronic device of claim 4, wherein the interface circuit is configured to transmit the audio information between the external device and the interface circuit during at least a first one of the time intervals defined by the second clock signal,

wherein the write information is transmitted between the interface circuit and the external device in at least a second time interval of the time intervals.

6. The electronic device of claim 5, wherein the sound information includes left channel information and right channel information, and the write information includes a write command and write data.

7. An electronic system, comprising:

a first electronic device, comprising:

a first interface circuit;

a memory; and

a first controller that receives information from the first interface circuit to write to the memory; and

a second electronic device coupled to the first electronic device for transmitting sound information, the second electronic device comprising:

a second interface circuit coupled to the first interface circuit for transmitting the sound information; and

the second controller is coupled with the second interface circuit, and transmits the sound information with the first electronic device through the second interface circuit, wherein the second controller provides writing information to the first controller through the second interface circuit, so that when the sound information is transmitted between the first interface circuit and the second interface circuit, the first controller carries out online programming on the memory of the first electronic device according to the writing information.

8. The electronic system of claim 7, wherein the first electronic device and the second electronic device communicate according to a first clock signal that distinguishes a plurality of frame times, and a second clock signal that distinguishes a plurality of time intervals in each of the frame times.

9. A transmission method, comprising:

providing a first electronic device and a second electronic device to transmit sound information between the first electronic device and the second electronic device; and

when the sound information is transmitted between the first electronic device and the second electronic device, the second electronic device is used for providing written information to the first electronic device so as to program the first electronic device online.

10. The transmission method of claim 9, wherein the first electronic device and the second electronic device communicate according to a first clock signal and a second clock signal, wherein the first clock signal distinguishes a plurality of frame times, and the second clock signal distinguishes a plurality of time intervals in each of the frame times.