Patents by Inventor Andrew Brian Thomas Hopkins

Andrew Brian Thomas Hopkins has filed for patents to protect the following inventions. This listing includes patent applications that are pending as well as patents that have already been granted by the United States Patent and Trademark Office (USPTO).

  • Publication number: 20140013172
    Abstract: Roughly described, a method of controlling transportation of debug data on an integrated circuit chip, the integrated circuit chip comprising a shared hub and a plurality of peripheral circuits, each peripheral circuit being connected to a respective debug unit, wherein between each respective debug unit and the shared hub there is an interface configured to transport data messages over each of a plurality of flows, the flows being assigned priorities, the method comprising: transporting control data for controlling the state of a debug unit on a priority flow having a first priority; and transporting debug data output by a debug unit as a result of debugging the peripheral circuit connected to that debug unit on a flow having a second priority, wherein the first priority is higher than the second priority.
    Type: Application
    Filed: July 9, 2013
    Publication date: January 9, 2014
    Inventor: Andrew Brian Thomas Hopkins
  • Publication number: 20140013161
    Abstract: Roughly described, a method of sending a message from a source unit to a destination unit both forming part of a hierarchical debug architecture on a chip, the units in the hierarchy using a protocol in which each unit has an internal address which is the same base address, and in which each unit addresses other units using addresses derivable relative to that unit's internal address given positions of other units in the hierarchy, comprising: the source unit in a first level of the hierarchy sending a message comprising a destination address of the destination unit, the destination address being relative to the source unit's internal address, and an intermediate unit in a second level of the hierarchy: adding an offset to the destination address to form a rebased destination address, being relative to the intermediate unit's internal address, and routing the rebased message onto the destination unit.
    Type: Application
    Filed: July 9, 2013
    Publication date: January 9, 2014
    Applicant: UltraSoC Technologies Ltd.
    Inventor: Andrew Brian Thomas Hopkins
  • Publication number: 20140013157
    Abstract: Roughly described, an integrated circuit chip comprises a plurality of peripheral circuits, each peripheral circuit connected to a respective debug unit, the respective debug unit configured to generate debug information of that peripheral circuit; and a plurality of separate stores for receiving debug information, storing debug information, and outputting debug information; wherein in response to a single trigger signal, the debug units are configured to stream their generated debug information to the plurality of separate stores; and wherein each of the plurality of separate stores is configured to receive debug information at a higher stream rate than it outputs debug information.
    Type: Application
    Filed: July 9, 2013
    Publication date: January 9, 2014
    Inventor: Andrew Brian Thomas Hopkins
  • Publication number: 20140013421
    Abstract: Roughly described, a method of restricting access of a debug controller to debug architecture on an integrated circuit chip, the debug architecture comprising an access controller, a plurality of peripheral circuits, and a shared hub, the shared hub being accessible by the access controller and the plurality of peripheral circuits, the method comprising: at the access controller, authenticating the debug controller; at the access controller, following authentication, assigning to the debug controller a set of access rights, the set of access rights granting the debug controller partial access to the debug architecture; and after assigning the set of access rights, allowing the debug controller access to the debug architecture as allowed by the set of access rights.
    Type: Application
    Filed: July 9, 2013
    Publication date: January 9, 2014
    Inventors: Andrew Brian Thomas Hopkins, Arnab Banerjee, Stephen John Barlow, Klaus Dieter McDonald-Maier
  • Publication number: 20140013011
    Abstract: Roughly described, an integrated circuit chip comprises a plurality of peripheral circuits, each peripheral circuit connected to a respective debug unit; a shared hub; and between each respective debug unit and the shared hub, a single physical interface configured to transport both configuration data and event data, wherein the interface is configured such that if an event occurs whilst the interface is transporting configuration data, the interface interrupts the transport of the configuration data in order to transport the event data.
    Type: Application
    Filed: July 9, 2013
    Publication date: January 9, 2014
    Applicant: UltraSoC Technologies Ltd.
    Inventor: Andrew Brian Thomas Hopkins
  • Publication number: 20140013145
    Abstract: Roughly described, a method of powering down a portion of an integrated circuit chip, the portion of the integrated circuit chip comprising a plurality of peripheral circuits, each peripheral circuit being connected to a respective debug unit, the method comprising: prior to power down, extracting from each debug unit configuration information of that debug unit; storing the configuration information of the debug units in a memory on the integrated circuit chip during power down of the portion of the integrated circuit chip; and on power up, restoring the configuration information of each debug unit to that debug unit prior resuming operation of that debug unit and the peripheral circuit connected to that debug unit.
    Type: Application
    Filed: July 9, 2013
    Publication date: January 9, 2014
    Inventor: Andrew Brian Thomas Hopkins
  • Publication number: 20130055030
    Abstract: A data processing apparatus, comprising processing circuitry, which in use, generates data and debug circuitry arranged to debug operation of the processing circuitry. The processing circuitry includes bus circuitry arranged to pass data at least one of into and out of the processing apparatus over a communication bus. The debug circuitry comprises monitoring circuitry arranged to monitor the data generated, in use, by the processing circuitry and generate a stream of trace elements. An interface unit is arranged to interface, using the bus circuitry, the trace elements generated by the monitoring circuitry onto the communication bus to be output, in use, from the processing apparatus using the communication bus. The interface unit comprises a controller which is arranged to control operation of the interface unit independently of the operation of the processing circuitry.
    Type: Application
    Filed: September 23, 2011
    Publication date: February 28, 2013
    Applicant: ULTRASOC TECHNOLOGIES LTD.
    Inventors: Andrew Brian Thomas Hopkins, Stephen John Barlow, Constantine Krasic
  • Patent number: 8112677
    Abstract: A method of debugging a multiple concurrent processes comprising: obtaining, from each process, a plurality of events that have been processed and, if no time information is associated with each event, associating time information therewith; causing a display to display the events such that an event that has occurred in a first portion of the display associated with a first process at a first time is aligned with an event in a second portion of the display associated with a second process that has occurred at a similar time to the first time. To be accompanied, when published, by FIG. 5 of the drawings.
    Type: Grant
    Filed: February 26, 2010
    Date of Patent: February 7, 2012
    Assignee: UltraSoc Technologies Limited
    Inventors: Stephen John Barlow, Andrew James Bower, Andrew Brian Thomas Hopkins, Klaus Dieter McDonald-Maier
  • Publication number: 20110214023
    Abstract: A method of debugging a multiple concurrent processes comprising: obtaining, from each process, a plurality of events that have been processed and, if no time information is associated with each event, associating time information therewith; causing a display to display the events such that an event that has occurred in a first portion of the display associated with a first process at a first time is aligned with an event in a second portion of the display associated with a second process that has occurred at a similar time to the first time. To be accompanied, when published, by FIG. 5 of the drawings.
    Type: Application
    Filed: February 26, 2010
    Publication date: September 1, 2011
    Applicant: UltraSoC Technologies Limited
    Inventors: Stephen John Barlow, Andrew James Bower, Andrew Brian Thomas Hopkins, Klaus Dieter McDonald-Maier
  • Publication number: 20090057914
    Abstract: A semiconductor device has first and second semiconductor chips comprising electronic circuit elements located at an inner part of the chip and first connection terminals located on an upper surface of the inner part of the chip. One of the chips has second connection terminals located at a peripheral part of the chip. The first and second semiconductor chips are mounted one on top of the other to form the device connected together by the first connection terminals of the first and second semiconductor chips, and wherein the second connection terminals of the first semiconductor chip provide external connections to the device. The invention enables SoC resources to be increased based on the System-in-Package (SiP) approach by duplication identical chip components into a single package.
    Type: Application
    Filed: July 22, 2005
    Publication date: March 5, 2009
    Applicant: UNIVERSITY OF KENT
    Inventors: Klaus Dieter McDonald-Maier, Andrew Brian Thomas Hopkins