Serial communications links with bonded first-in-first-out buffer circuitry
AssigneeAltera Corporation
InventorsFrederic Richard, Lambertus De Jong
Life of this patent
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Abstract
Serial communications circuitry is provided that has bonded first-in-first-out (FIFO) buffer circuitry. The circuitry may include state machine and barrel shifter circuitry that conveys data between the bonded FIFO circuitry and a bonded serial communications path. The bonded FIFO circuitry and the bonded lane may increase the efficiency of the serial communications circuitry by reducing the number of empty data bytes buffered in the FIFO circuitry and conveyed over the serial communications path.
Claims20
A method, comprising:
- with input-output circuitry, receiving an input data stream over a serial communications path that includes first and second streams of bonded data bytes;
- with a third circuit, separating the input data stream into the first and second streams of bonded data bytes;
- with a first circuit, producing a first stream of unbonded data bytes from the first stream of bonded data bytes;
- and
- with a second circuit, producing a second stream of unbonded data bytes from the second stream of bonded data bytes, wherein the serial communications path comprises a single lane of a multilane communications link, wherein receiving the input data stream comprises receiving the input data stream over the single lane, wherein each stream of bonded data bytes has at least one clock cycle in which at least one byte from a first packet and at least one byte from a second packet are conveyed, and wherein each clock cycle in each stream of unbonded data bytes conveys bytes from no more than one packet.
A method for transmitting data bytes from an integrated circuit over a serial communications path that is coupled to the integrated circuit, comprising:
- with a first bonding circuit on the integrated circuit, producing a first stream of bonded data bytes from a first stream of unbonded data bytes;
- with a second bonding circuit on the integrated circuit, producing a second stream of bonded data bytes from a second stream of unbonded data bytes;
- with input-output circuitry on the integrated circuit, transmitting an output data stream that includes the first and second streams of bonded data bytes over the serial communications path, wherein the serial communications path comprises a single lane of a multilane communications link and wherein transmitting the output data stream comprises transmitting the output data stream over the single lane;
- and
- with a third bonding circuit on the integrated circuit, bonding the first and second streams of bonded data bytes into the output data stream, wherein each stream of bonded data bytes has at least one clock cycle in which at least one byte from a first packet and at least one byte from a second packet are conveyed, and wherein each clock cycle in each stream of unbonded data bytes conveys bytes from no more than one packet.
Communications circuitry on an integrated circuit that transmits data over a serial communications path that is coupled to the integrated circuit, comprising:
- a first bonding circuit on the integrated circuit that is configured to receive a first stream of unbonded data bytes and produce a corresponding first stream of bonded data bytes;
- a second bonding circuit on the integrated circuit that is configured to receive a second stream of unbonded data bytes and produce a corresponding second stream of bonded data bytes;
- input-output circuitry on the integrated circuit that transmits an output data stream that includes the first and second streams of bonded data bytes over the serial communications path, wherein the serial communications path comprises a single lane of a multilane communications link and wherein the input-output circuitry is operable to transmit the output data stream over the single lane;
- and
- a third bonding circuit that includes state machine and barrel shifter circuitry that bonds the first and second streams of bonded data bytes into the output data stream, wherein each stream of bonded data bytes has at least one clock cycle in which at least one byte from a first packet and at least one byte from a second packet are conveyed, and wherein each clock cycle in each stream of unbonded data bytes conveys bytes from no more than one packet.
Dependencies are inferred from the claim text.