Application processor and integrated circuit including interrupt controller

Patent metadata

Field	Value
Publication number	US-10558597-B2
Application number	US-201715683907-A
Country	US
Kind code	B2
Filing date	Aug 23, 2017
Priority date	Jan 13, 2017
Publication date	Feb 11, 2020
Grant date	Feb 11, 2020

Abstract

An application processor includes: a plurality of interrupt sources to which a plurality of interrupt numbers are respectively assigned; a Central Processing Unit (CPU) configured to receive an interrupt request signal and an interrupt number signal and perform an interrupt handling process for at least one of the plurality of interrupt sources, the at least one of the plurality of interrupt sources corresponding to the interrupt number signal; and an interrupt controller including a master interface connected to a system bus, the interrupt controller being configured to generate the interrupt request signal and the interrupt number signal based on an interrupt signal, which is received from the at least one of the plurality of interrupt sources, and to transmit the interrupt number signal to the CPU via the master interface.

First claim

What is claimed is:

1. An application processor comprising:
a plurality of interrupt sources to which interrupt numbers are respectively assigned;
a Central Processing Unit (CPU) configured to receive an interrupt request signal and an interrupt number signal and perform an interrupt handling process for a first interrupt source of the plurality of interrupt sources, the first interrupt source corresponding to the interrupt number signal; and
an interrupt controller comprising a master interface connected to a system bus, the interrupt controller being configured to generate the interrupt request signal and the interrupt number signal based on an interrupt signal, which is received from the first interrupt source, and to transmit the interrupt number signal to the CPU via the master interface, wherein:
the CPU receives:
the interrupt request signal through direct communication with the interrupt controller that does not employ the system bus, and
the interrupt number signal, from the interrupt controller, through the system bus.

2. The application processor of claim 1 , further comprising:
a memory connected to the CPU, wherein:
the CPU is further configured to transmit the interrupt number signal to the memory, and
the memory is configured to store an interrupt number corresponding to the interrupt number signal.

3. The application processor of claim 2 , wherein the CPU is further configured to determine, based on the interrupt number stored in the memory, an interrupt source on which the interrupt handling process is to be performed.

4. The application processor of claim 2 , wherein the memory is further configured to store validity information indicating validity of the interrupt number stored in the memory.

5. The application processor of claim 4 , wherein the CPU is further configured to determine whether to perform the interrupt handling process, based on the validity information.

6. The application processor of claim 4 , wherein, when the interrupt handling process finishes, the CPU is further configured to change the validity information stored in the memory.

7. The application processor of claim 2 , wherein the memory is directly connected to the CPU.

8. The application processor of claim 1 , wherein the CPU comprises a slave interface, the slave interface of the CPU configured to receive the interrupt number signal via the system bus.

9. The application processor of claim 2 , wherein a time interval, in which the interrupt request signal is transmitted from the interrupt controller and reaches the CPU, overlaps a time interval in which the interrupt number signal is transmitted from the interrupt controller and reaches the memory via the CPU.

10. The application processor of claim 1 , wherein, when receiving a plurality of interrupt signals, the interrupt controller is configured to select one of the plurality of interrupt signals, as a selected interrupt signal, according to priorities of the plurality of interrupt signals and to generate the interrupt request signal based on the selected interrupt signal.

11. An integrated circuit comprising:
first and second interrupt sources configured to respectively generate first and second interrupt signals and having first and second interrupt numbers respectively assigned to the first and second interrupt sources;
an interrupt controller comprising a master interface; and
a system bus connected to the master interface, wherein:
the interrupt controller is configured to receive the first and second interrupt signals from the first and second interrupt sources and generate an interrupt request signal based on the first interrupt signal or the second interrupt signal, and
the master interface is configured to output, to the system bus, an interrupt number signal regarding the first interrupt number or the second interrupt number, wherein:
the interrupt controller transmits:
the interrupt request signal through direct communication with a central processing unit that does not employ the system bus, and
the interrupt number signal, to the central processing unit, through the system bus.

12. The integrated circuit of claim 11 , wherein:
the interrupt controller further comprises a priority register in which priorities of the first interrupt signal and the second interrupt signal are stored, and
when simultaneously receiving the first interrupt signal and the second interrupt signal, the interrupt controller is further configured to generate the interrupt request signal based on the priorities of the first interrupt signal and the second interrupt signal stored in the priority register.

13. The integrated circuit of claim 11 , wherein the interrupt controller further comprises an interrupt number register in which the first interrupt number or the second interrupt number is stored.

14. The integrated circuit of claim 13 , wherein the master interface is further configured to output, to the system bus, the interrupt number signal regarding an interrupt number stored in the interrupt number register.

15. An application processor comprising:
a communication bus;
an interrupt source that generates an interrupt signal;
an interrupt controller that generates, in response to receiving the interrupt signal from the interrupt source, an interrupt request signal and an interrupt number, corresponding to the interrupt signal;
a central processing unit (CPU) that receives, from the interrupt controller, the interrupt request signal and the interrupt number; and
a tightly-coupled memory that stores the interrupt number received by the CPU, wherein:
in response to receiving the interrupt request signal, the CPU:
stores, in the tightly-coupled memory, data pertaining to an interrupted operation being executed at a time the interrupt request signal is received by the CPU,
retrieves the interrupt number stored by the tightly-coupled memory through direct communication that does not employ the communication bus, and
communicates an interrupt-processing command to the interrupt source through the communication bus; and the CPU receives:
the interrupt request signal through direct communication with the interrupt controller that does not employ the communication bus, and
the interrupt number, from the interrupt controller, through the communication bus.

16. The application processor of claim 15 , wherein a time period during which the interrupt controller generates the interrupt request signal overlaps with a time period during which the interrupt controller generates the interrupt number.

17. The application processor of claim 15 , wherein:
the interrupt controller communicates, to the CPU through the communication bus, validity information corresponding to the interrupt request signal that indicates whether the interrupt number is valid, and
the CPU:
stores the validity information, received from the interrupt controller, within the tightly-coupled memory in association with the interrupt number,
retrieves the validity information and the interrupt number stored by the tightly-coupled memory through direct communication that does not employ the communication bus,
determines whether the interrupt source has been serviced based upon the retrieved validity information, and
communicates the interrupt-processing command to the interrupt source through the communication bus in response to determining that the interrupt source has not been serviced and, otherwise, does not communicate the interrupt-processing command to the interrupt source.

18. The application processor of claim 17 ,

Assignees

• Samsung Electronics Co Ltd

Inventors

• Park Jeongwoo

Classifications

• G06F13/362

  with centralised access control · CPC title

• G06F13/18

  based on priority control (G06F13/1605 takes precedence) · CPC title

• G06F13/34

  with priority control · CPC title

• G06F13/24 Primary

  using interrupt (G06F13/32 takes precedence) · CPC title

• G06F13/28

  using burst mode transfer, e.g. direct memory access {DMA}, cycle steal (G06F13/32 takes precedence) · CPC title