Sequencer controlled system and method for controlling timing of operations of functional units

1. A sequencer controlled system for a system-on-chip (SoC) integrated circuit design, comprising:

a plurality of hardware functional units;

an embedded processor operatively coupled to said plurality of hardware functional units through a bus; and

a sequencer having a set of registers, said registers being configured to control the start of at least one operation of said plurality of hardware functional units with stored instructions for each of said plurality of hardware functional units, said sequencer further having a plurality of resources associated with numeric values which represent status information, the status information consisting of available direct memory access (DMA) transfer channels and others selected from the group consisting of processes running on said SoC, available memory area for storage, and available processing power,

wherein the numeric values of the plurality of resources are modified based on responses received from each of the plurality of hardware functional units,

wherein said sequencer sends out trigger signals concurrently, to the plurality of said hardware functional units, based on a waiting pattern programmed in said registers as a direct response to being activated by said embedded processor, and keeps track of said resources based on the responses received from each of said plurality of hardware functional units, and

all of the resources corresponding to said waiting pattern are available before said trigger signal is sent.

2. The sequencer controlled system of claim 1 , wherein said sequencer is activated by said embedded processor or one of said plurality of hardware functional units.

3. The sequencer controlled system of claim 1 , wherein said plurality of hardware functional units comprise a first hardware functional unit, said first hardware functional unit being associated with only trigger signals in communication with said sequencer.

4. The sequencer controlled system of claim 1 , wherein said plurality of hardware functional units comprise a second hardware functional unit, said second hardware functional unit being associated with only response signals in communication with said sequencer.

5. The sequencer controlled system of claim 1 , wherein said plurality of hardware functional units comprise a third hardware functional unit, said third hardware functional unit being associated with both trigger and response signals in communication with said sequencer.

6. The sequencer controlled system of claim 1 , wherein said plurality of hardware functional units comprise a fourth hardware functional unit, said fourth hardware functional unit being associated with both trigger and response signals in communication with said sequencer wherein said fourth hardware functional unit is configured to change sequencer settings.

7. The sequencer controlled system of claim 1 , wherein said plurality of hardware functional units include at least one selected from the group consisting of a microcontroller, an array processor, a video and image encoder, and data manipulation blocks.

8. The sequencer controlled system of claim 1 , wherein said sequencer comprises at least one interrupt instruction, said interrupt instruction being serviced by said embedded processor.

9. The sequencer controlled system of claim 1 , wherein said embedded processor sets up at least some of registers through said bus for an initial configuration.

10. A sequencer controlled system for a system-on-chip (SoC) integrated circuit design, comprising:

a plurality of functional units;

an embedded processor operatively coupled to said plurality of functional units through a bus; and

a register for controlling the start of at least one operation of said plurality of functional units with stored instructions for each of said plurality of functional units, said register further having a plurality of resources associated with numeric values which represent status information, the status information consisting of available direct memory access (DMA) transfer channels and others selected from the group consisting of processes running on said SoC, available memory area for storage, and available processing power,

wherein the numeric values of the plurality of resources are modified based on responses received from each of the plurality of functional units,

wherein said register sends out trigger signals concurrently, to the plurality of said hardware functional units, based on a waiting pattern programmed in said register as a direct response to being activated by said embedded processor, and keeps track of said resources based on the responses received from each of said plurality of functional units, and

all of the resources corresponding to said waiting pattern are available before said trigger signal is sent.

11. The sequencer controlled system of claim 10 , wherein said register is activated by said embedded processor or one of said functional units.

12. The sequencer controlled system of claim 10 , wherein said plurality of functional units comprise a first functional unit, said first functional unit being associated with only trigger signals in communication with said register.

13. The sequencer controlled system of claim 10 , wherein said plurality of functional units comprise a second functional unit, said second functional unit being associated with only response signals in communication with said register.

14. The sequencer controlled system of claim 10 , wherein said plurality of functional units comprise a third functional unit, said third functional unit being associated with both trigger and response signals in communication with said register.

15. The sequencer controlled system of claim 10 , wherein said plurality of functional units comprise a fourth functional unit, said fourth functional unit being associated with both trigger and response signals in communication with said register, wherein said fourth functional unit is configured to change sequencer settings.

16. The sequencer controlled system of claim 10 , wherein said plurality of functional units include at least one selected from the group consisting of a microcontroller, an array processor, a video and image encoder, and data manipulation blocks.

17. The sequencer controlled system of claim 10 , wherein said register comprises at least one interrupt instruction serviced by said embedded processor.

18. A method for controlling timing of operations of functional units, said method comprising:

configuring registers in a sequencer by an external processor to control the start of operations of functional units through a bus, said sequencer having a set of said registers;

activating said sequencer by said external processor through said bus; and

sending trigger signals to at least some of said functional units based, at least in part, upon a waiting pattern programmed in said registers,

wherein said sequencer has a plurality of resources associated with numeric values which represent status information, the status information consisting of available direct memory access (DMA) transfer channels and others selected from the group consisting of processes, available memory area for storage, and available processing power,

wherein the numeric values of the plurality of resources are modified based on responses received from each of the plurality of functional units,

wherein said trigger signals are sent concurrently based on waiting patterns programmed in said registers as a direct response to being activated by said external processor and said resources are kept track of based on the responses received from each of said functional units, and

all of the resources corresponding to said waiting pattern are available before said trigger signal is sent.