Patent · US Expired

System for managing signals in different clock domains and a programmable digital filter

US6175603A · kind A · utility

36Cited by
7References
27Claims
0Family size

Assignee

Inventors

Key dates

Filing dateAug 7, 1997
Grant dateJan 16, 2001
Priority date
Expiry dateAug 7, 2017

Classification

  • Technology area (CPC H)Electricity
  • CPC primaryH04L7/02
  • WIPO fieldDigital communication
  • WIPO sectorElectrical engineering

Abstract

A synchronizer circuit manages signals in different clock domains by generating clock pulses synchronized with a system clock. The clock pulses are generated at a rate proportional to the frequency of a clock operating in a first clock domain. Digital circuitry is then driven at the frequency of the first clock and in the time domain of the system clock. A hand-shaking protocol prevents the synchronizer circuit from going into a metastable condition when passing clock or data signals into different time domains. A programmable digital filter includes multiple sampling stages that sample an input signal. A detection circuit has inputs coupled to the outputs of the multiple sampling stages and changes the logic state of an output signal when no glitches are detected in the samples of the input signal. A control circuit selectively varies a time period used by the filter for sampling the input signal.

Source: USPTO / EPO open patent data. Objective bibliographic and citation counts.