Patents by Inventor Michael W. Williams

Michael W. Williams 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).

  • Patent number: 7580465
    Abstract: Embodiments provide access to a memory over a high speed serial link at slower speeds than the high speed serial links regular operation. An embodiment may comprise a memory apparatus with a differential receiver coupled to a protocol recognition circuit, a low speed receiving circuit that has a first receiver coupled with a first input of the differential receiver and a second receiver coupled with a second input of the differential receiver, wherein the low speed receiving circuit is coupled with the protocol recognition circuit, allowing the first and second receivers to access the protocol recognition block at a different frequency than the differential receiver.
    Type: Grant
    Filed: June 30, 2005
    Date of Patent: August 25, 2009
    Assignee: Intel Corporation
    Inventors: David J. Zimmerman, Michael W. Williams
  • Patent number: 7445132
    Abstract: A gas cartridge actuation state determination system includes a puncture pin adapted to abut an end of the gas cartridge. A load sensor coupled to and in line with the puncture pin. A spring bears against the load sensor. The spring's force is such that it is insufficient to cause the puncture pin to be driven through the end of the gas cartridge when the end has not been punctured, but is sufficient to cause the puncture pin to be driven through the end of the gas cartridge when the end has already been punctured. In addition, the spring's force is such that it will be approximately zero after the puncture pin has been driven through the end that has already been punctured. A device coupled to the load sensor determines when the spring force is approximately zero.
    Type: Grant
    Filed: August 24, 2005
    Date of Patent: November 4, 2008
    Assignee: The United States of America as represented by the Secretary of the Navy
    Inventor: Michael W. Williams
  • Publication number: 20080151591
    Abstract: In some embodiments, a chip includes transmitter circuitry, receiver circuitry, and control circuitry to detect whether a memory module is coupled to the receiver circuitry. The control circuitry selectively provides memory chip configuration signals to the transmitter circuitry to be provided to memory chips to control how many interface lanes in the memory chips are to be used to carry read data in response to a read request and whether some of the interface lanes are used for carrying read data signals or command signals. Other embodiments are described.
    Type: Application
    Filed: December 21, 2006
    Publication date: June 26, 2008
    Inventors: Kevin J. Doran, Joseph H. Salmon, Michael W. Williams
  • Patent number: 7353329
    Abstract: Apparatus and method to carry out refresh operations on rows of memory cells within a memory device independently of a memory controller during times when there is no activity on a memory bus coupling the memory device to the memory controller that involves the memory device.
    Type: Grant
    Filed: September 29, 2003
    Date of Patent: April 1, 2008
    Assignee: Intel Corporation
    Inventors: Robert M. Ellis, Kuljit S. Bains, Chris B. Freeman, John B. Halbert, Narendra S. Khandekar, Michael W. Williams
  • Patent number: 7243205
    Abstract: Method and apparatus for use with buffered memory modules are included among the embodiments. In exemplary systems, the memory module has a buffer that receives memory commands and data, and then presents those commands and data to physical memory devices through a separate interface. The buffer has the capability to accept an implicit memory command, i.e., a command that does not contain a fully-formed memory device command, but instead instructs the memory module buffer to form one or more fully-formed memory device commands to perform memory operations. Substantial memory channel bandwidth can be saved, for instance, with a command that instructs a memory module to clear a region of memory or copy a region to a second area in memory. Other embodiments are described and claimed.
    Type: Grant
    Filed: November 13, 2003
    Date of Patent: July 10, 2007
    Assignee: Intel Corporation
    Inventors: Chris B. Freeman, Pete D. Vogt, Kuljit S. Bains, Robert M. Ellis, John B. Halbert, Michael W. Williams
  • Patent number: 7013788
    Abstract: A launch tube assembly including an aft launch tube portion, a forward launch tube portion, and a transfer sleeve having a first end fixed to and adjacent the forward end of said aft launch tube portion and a second end adjustably receiving the forward launch tube portion. A forward end of the aft launch tube portion faces a rearward end of the forward launch tube portion within the transfer sleeve. An adjustable plenum is present having a volume within the transfer sleeve defined by an adjusted distance between the facing ends of aft and forward launch tube portions. An end cap is pinned to a forward end of the forward launch tube portion, a gas generator housed in the aft launch tube portion, and a countermeasure device is housed in the forward launch tube portion. An adjustably selected volume of the plenum is such that a gas generated by the gas generator will enable propulsion of the countermeasure device at a predetermined acceleration from the forward launch tube portion.
    Type: Grant
    Filed: July 24, 2003
    Date of Patent: March 21, 2006
    Assignee: The United States of America represented by the Secretary of the Navy
    Inventors: Michael W. Williams, Nicholas Bitsakis, Gary R. Berlam, James A. Lilley, Brenda Brennan MacLeod
  • Patent number: 6976121
    Abstract: An apparatus and a method to track command signal occurrence for DRAM data transfer have been disclosed. In one embodiment, the apparatus includes an interface to couple to a data bus, the data bus to transfer data between the interface and one or more memory devices, and a logic unit to generate a command occurrence signal to identify when a command signal is issued, wherein a set of data transfer operations on one of the one or more memory devices are completed in response to the command occurrence signal, a transition of a flag signal, and a chip select signal corresponding to the one memory device. Other embodiments have been claimed and described.
    Type: Grant
    Filed: January 28, 2002
    Date of Patent: December 13, 2005
    Assignee: Intel Corporation
    Inventors: Narendra S. Khandekar, Michael W. Williams, Howard S. David
  • Patent number: 6976120
    Abstract: A method and an apparatus to track transition of a flag signal for DRAM data transfer have been disclosed. In one embodiment, the apparatus includes one or more memory devices, coupled to a data bus, to receive a command signal, wherein the command signal initiates a set of data transfer operations to transfer data between the data bus and one of the one or more memory devices; and a timing unit, coupled to the one or more memory devices, to receive the command signal, a flag signal, and a memory select signal, the timing unit to generate a trigger signal, in response to a transition of the flag signal, to complete the data transfer operations if the memory select signal corresponds to the one of the one or more memory devices. Other embodiments have been claimed and described.
    Type: Grant
    Filed: January 28, 2002
    Date of Patent: December 13, 2005
    Assignee: Intel Corporation
    Inventors: Narendra S. Khandekar, Michael W. Williams, Howard S. David
  • Patent number: 6957307
    Abstract: A memory controller or other device may be programmed with a data mask mapping scheme. A selection device within the memory controller may be set with the data mask mapping scheme between data and a data mask. In one embodiment, a storage device may be included and programmed with the data mask mapping scheme.
    Type: Grant
    Filed: March 22, 2002
    Date of Patent: October 18, 2005
    Assignee: Intel Corporation
    Inventors: Robert J. Riesenman, James M. Dodd, Michael W. Williams
  • Patent number: 6952367
    Abstract: A data mask map may be programmed into a storage device in various ways. In one embodiment, the data mask is hardwired into a selection device to reorder either the data mask bits or the data chunks. In another embodiment, a data mask map is retrieved from a location in memory. In still another embodiment, the data mask map is determined through an algorithm.
    Type: Grant
    Filed: November 3, 2003
    Date of Patent: October 4, 2005
    Assignee: Intel Corporation
    Inventors: Robert J. Riesenman, James M. Dodd, Michael W. Williams
  • Patent number: 6941484
    Abstract: A method, system, and device capable of generating one or more clocks internally to detect, sample, and receive synchronous data streams and eliminate the need for corresponding external synchronization clocks for each data stream. One aspect of the clock generator provides a two-stage interpolation system. In a first stage, two clocks are selected which accurately detect a calibration data sample. In a second stage, a single, fine-tuned, clock is synthesized by interpolating the two selected clocks.
    Type: Grant
    Filed: March 1, 2002
    Date of Patent: September 6, 2005
    Assignee: Intel Corporation
    Inventors: Hing Y. To, Joseph H. Salmon, Michael W. Williams
  • Patent number: 6934823
    Abstract: A method of handling memory read return data from different time domains includes determining a number of distinct memory device ranks. A time domain for each of the distinct memory device ranks is determined. A transaction is scheduled based on the time domain for each of the distinct memory device ranks so that at least one of data collisions and out-of-order data returns are prevented.
    Type: Grant
    Filed: March 29, 2001
    Date of Patent: August 23, 2005
    Assignee: Intel Corporation
    Inventors: Michael W Williams, James M Dodd
  • Patent number: 6928494
    Abstract: A method and apparatus for communicating commands and/or data between two different time domains. In one embodiment, multiple memory commands are placed into one or more FIFOs in a manner that specifies the delays that must take place between execution of the different commands. Along with the commands, delay information is placed into the FIFOs, specifying the number of clock cycles, or other form of time delay, that must elapse between execution of a command and execution of a subsequent command. This delay information is used to delay the execution of the subsequent command for the specified time period, while minimizing or eliminating any excess delays. Cue information can also be placed into the FIFOs with the commands to specify which commands must wait for other commands before beginning execution. The delay and cue information is determined and created in the time domain that initiates the transfers. The delays and cueing are executed in the other time domain.
    Type: Grant
    Filed: March 29, 2000
    Date of Patent: August 9, 2005
    Assignee: Intel Corporation
    Inventors: Andrew M. Volk, Michael W. Williams, David J. McDonnell
  • Patent number: 6925013
    Abstract: A data mask map may be programmed into a storage device in various ways. In one embodiment, the data mask is hardwired into a selection device to reorder either the data mask bits or the data chunks. In another embodiment, a data mask map is retrieved from a location in memory. In still another embodiment, the data mask map is determined through an algorithm.
    Type: Grant
    Filed: February 24, 2004
    Date of Patent: August 2, 2005
    Assignee: Intel Corporation
    Inventors: Robert J. Riesenman, James M. Dodd, Michael W. Williams
  • Patent number: 6915399
    Abstract: An apparatus and method for transferring units of information between clock domains. A respective set of N units of information is loaded from an output circuit in a first clock domain into a storage circuit in a second clock domain during each cycle of the first clock domain. Each set of N units is selected by the output circuit to include (1) units of information that have previously loaded into the storage circuit and that will not be output from the storage output from the storage circuit prior to the storage circuit being loaded with a subsequent set of N units of information, and (2) a complement number of units of information that have not previously been loaded into the storage circuit.
    Type: Grant
    Filed: March 14, 2000
    Date of Patent: July 5, 2005
    Assignee: Intel Corporation
    Inventors: David J. McDonnell, Andrew M. Volk, Michael W. Williams
  • Patent number: 6862653
    Abstract: A system and method for controlling the direction of data flow in a memory system is provided. The system comprising memory devices, a memory controller, a buffering structure, and a data flow director. The memory controller sends data, such as read-data, write-data, address information and command information, to the memory devices and receives data from the memory devices. The buffering structure interconnects the memory device and the memory controller. The buffering structure is adapted to operate in a bi-directional manner for the direction of data flow therethrough. The data flow director, which may reside in the buffering structure, the memory controller, the memory devices, or an external device, controls the direction of data flow through the buffering structure based on the data transmitted from the memory controller or the memory device.
    Type: Grant
    Filed: September 18, 2000
    Date of Patent: March 1, 2005
    Assignee: Intel Corporation
    Inventors: James M. Dodd, Michael W. Williams
  • Patent number: 6829184
    Abstract: A technique to encode a precharge command on a flag signal used to execute data transfer to and from a DRAM.
    Type: Grant
    Filed: January 28, 2002
    Date of Patent: December 7, 2004
    Assignee: Intel Corporation
    Inventors: Narendra S. Khandekar, Michael W. Williams
  • Patent number: 6801459
    Abstract: A data mask map may be programmed into a storage device in various ways. In one embodiment, the data mask is hardwired into a selection device to reorder either the data mask bits or the data chunks. In another embodiment, a data mask map is retrieved from a location in memory. In still another embodiment, the data mask map is determined through an algorithm.
    Type: Grant
    Filed: March 22, 2002
    Date of Patent: October 5, 2004
    Assignee: Intel Corporation
    Inventors: Robert J. Riesenman, James M. Dodd, Michael W. WIlliams
  • Publication number: 20040165446
    Abstract: A data mask map may be programmed into a storage device in various ways. In one embodiment, the data mask is hardwired into a selection device to reorder either the data mask bits or the data chunks. In another embodiment, a data mask map is retrieved from a location in memory. In still another embodiment, the data mask map is determined through an algorithm.
    Type: Application
    Filed: February 24, 2004
    Publication date: August 26, 2004
    Inventors: Robert J. Riesenman, James M. Dodd, Michael W. Williams
  • Patent number: 6772352
    Abstract: A method of issuing activate commands to a memory device includes issuing the activate commands to the memory device. A number of activate commands issued within a time period is counted. A determination is made as to whether the number of activate commands issued within the time period exceeds a threshold. The rate at which the activate commands are being issued is lowered if the number of activate commands being issued exceeds the threshold within the time period.
    Type: Grant
    Filed: September 29, 2000
    Date of Patent: August 3, 2004
    Assignee: Intel Corporation
    Inventors: Michael W. Williams, James M. Dodd