Transmission device, transmission method, and communication system

Patent metadata

Field	Value
Publication number	US-10693685-B2
Application number	US-201716074260-A
Country	US
Kind code	B2
Filing date	Jan 18, 2017
Priority date	Feb 22, 2016
Publication date	Jun 23, 2020
Grant date	Jun 23, 2020

Abstract

A transmission device according to the disclosure includes a driver section that is able to transmit a data signal by using three or more predetermined number of voltage states and set voltages in each of the voltage states; and a control section that sets an emphasis voltage that is based on a transition among the predetermined number of the voltage states, and thereby causes the driver section to perform emphasis.

First claim

The invention claimed is:

1. A transmission device comprising:
a driver section that is able to transmit a data signal by using three or more predetermined number of voltage states and set voltages in each of the voltage states; and
a control section that sets an emphasis voltage that is based on a transition among the predetermined number of the voltage states, and thereby causes the driver section to perform emphasis, wherein
the predetermined number of the voltage states include a first voltage state, a second voltage state, and a third voltage state that is between the first voltage state and the second voltage state, and
the emphasis voltage in a case of making a transition from the first voltage state to the second voltage state is greater than the emphasis voltage in a case of making a transition from the first voltage state to the third voltage state.

2. The transmission device according to claim 1 ,
wherein the driver section includes:
a first driver section that selectively sets a voltage state at a first output terminal to any of the first voltage state, the second voltage state, and the third voltage state;
a second driver section that selectively sets a voltage state at a second output terminal to any of the first voltage state, the second voltage state, and the third voltage state; and
a third driver section that selectively sets a voltage state at a third output terminal to any of the first voltage state, the second voltage state, and the third voltage state, and
wherein the voltage states at the first output terminal, the second output terminal, and the third output terminal differ from one another.

3. The transmission device according to claim 2 , wherein
the data signal indicates a sequence of a symbol, and
the control section sets, in accordance with the sequence of the symbol, the emphasis voltage at each of the first output terminal, the second output terminal, and the third output terminal.

4. The transmission device according to claim 3 , further comprising:
a signal generation section that generates, on a basis of a transition signal indicating symbol transition, a first symbol signal indicating a symbol, and a second symbol signal indicating a symbol that is earlier by one symbol than the symbol indicated by the first symbol signal,
wherein the control section sets, on a basis of the first symbol signal and the second symbol signal, the emphasis voltage at each of the first output terminal, the second output terminal, and the third output terminal.

5. The transmission device according to claim 4 , wherein the first driver section, the second driver section, and the third driver section respectively set, on a basis of the first symbol signal, voltage states at the first output terminal, the second output terminal, and the third output terminal.

6. The transmission device according to claim 3 , further comprising a signal generation section that generates, on a basis of a transition signal indicating symbol transition, a symbol signal indicating a symbol,
wherein the control section sets, on a basis of a sequence of the symbol indicated by the symbol signal, the emphasis voltage at each of the first output terminal, the second output terminal, and the third output terminal.

7. The transmission device according to claim 2 , wherein
the first driver section includes:
a first circuit that is provided on a path from a first power supply to the first output terminal; and
a second circuit that is provided on a path from a second power supply to the first output terminal, and

the control section sets an impedance ratio of an impedance of the first circuit to an impedance of the second circuit, and thereby sets the emphasis voltage at the first output terminal.

8. The transmission device according to claim 7 , wherein the control section sets the impedance ratio to cause a parallel impedance of the impedance of the first circuit and the impedance of the second circuit to be constant.

9. The transmission device according to claim 7 , wherein
the first circuit includes a plurality of first sub-circuits each including a first resistor and a first transistor that are provided on the path from the first power supply to the first output terminal,
the second circuit includes a plurality of second sub-circuits each including a second resistor and a second transistor that are provided on the path from the second power supply to the first output terminal, and
the control section sets number of first transistors to be turned ON out of the first transistors that are provided in the first circuit, and sets number of second transistors to be turned ON out of the second transistors that are provided in the second circuit, and thereby sets the emphasis voltage at the first output terminal.

10. The transmission device according to claim 9 , wherein
the plurality of first sub-circuits are grouped into a plurality of first groups,
the plurality of second sub-circuits are grouped into a plurality of second groups, and
the control section causes the first transistors in the first circuit to turn ON and OFF in a unit of the first group, and causes the second transistors in the second circuit to turn ON and OFF in a unit of the second group, and thereby sets the emphasis voltage at the first output terminal.

11. The transmission device according to claim 10 , wherein
the plurality of first groups include a first sub-group and a second sub-group, and
number of the first sub-circuits that belong to the first sub-group differs from number of the first sub-circuits that belong to the second sub-group.

12. The transmission device according to claim 1 , wherein the voltages in each of the voltage states are able to be set to have same number of voltages as the predetermined number, the voltages differing from one another.

13. The transmission device according to claim 1 , wherein the emphasis comprises de-emphasis.

14. The transmission device according to claim 1 , wherein the emphasis comprises pre-emphasis.

15. The transmission device according to claim 1 , further comprising:
a driver controller configured to
receive a plurality of symbol signals and a clock signal, and
output a first plurality of control signals based on the plurality of symbol signals and the clock signal,

wherein the control section is an emphasis controller that is distinct from the driver controller, and the emphasis controller is configured to
receive a portion of the first plurality of control signals, and
output a second plurality of control signals to the driver section, the second plurality of control signals being different than the first plurality of control signals, and

wherein the driver section is further configured to set an output voltage to one of the three or more predetermined number of voltage states based on the second plurality of control signals.

16. A transmission method comprising:
transmitting a data signal by using three or more predetermined number of voltage states; and
setting an emphasis voltage that is based on a transition among the predetermined number of the voltage states, and thereby performing emphasis, wherein
the predetermined number of the voltage states include a first voltage state, a second voltage state, and a third voltage state that is between the first voltage state and the second voltage state, and
the emphasis voltage in a case of making a transition from the first voltage state to the second voltage state is greater than the emphasis voltage in a case of making a transition from the first voltage state to the third voltage state.

Assignees

• Sony Corp

Inventors

• Hayashi Hiroaki
• Suzuki Hideyuki
• Shimada Takahiro
• Sugano Masatsugu

Classifications

• H03K19/018557

  Coupling arrangements; Impedance matching circuits · CPC title

• H04L25/03878 Primary

  Line equalisers; line build-out devices · CPC title

• H04L25/49

  using code conversion at the transmitter; using predistortion; using insertion of idle bits for obtaining a desired frequency spectrum; using three or more amplitude levels {; Baseband coding techniques specific to data transmission systems (spectral shaping H04L25/03828)} · CPC title

• H04L25/028 Primary

  Arrangements specific to the transmitter end · CPC title

• H04L25/0278 Primary

  Arrangements for impedance matching · CPC title