Patents Represented by Attorney, Agent or Law Firm Lawrence J. Bassuk
  • Patent number: 7834615
    Abstract: An apparatus and method for self-testing a DDR memory interface are disclosed. In one aspect, a built-in-self-test (BIST) memory interface circuit includes a signal multiplier for receiving a first clock signal from a tester and outputs a multiplied clock signal. A first multiplexer is used for selecting between a test mode and a normal operating mode and provides an output signal. A delay magnitude generator is coupled to the signal multiplier to receive the multiplied clock signal and provides a second clock signal and a phase control signal. A plurality of digitally controlled delay line blocks are used for each receiving the second clock signal and the phase control signal and outputting a phase shifted data strobe output signal in response to receiving an internal data strobe input signal. A second multiplexer selects one of the internal data strobe input signals and a third multiplexer selects the phase shifted data strobe output signal that corresponds to the selected internal data strobe input signal.
    Type: Grant
    Filed: July 2, 2007
    Date of Patent: November 16, 2010
    Assignee: Texas Instruments Incorporated
    Inventors: James Michael Jarboe, Jr., Sukanta Kishore Panigrahi, Vinay Agrawal, Neeraj P. Nayak
  • Patent number: 7831875
    Abstract: A test architecture accesses IP core test wrappers within an IC using a Link Instruction Register (LIR). An IEEE P1500 standard is in development for providing test access to these individual cores via a test structure called a wrapper. The wrapper resides at the boundary of the core and provides a way to test the core and the interconnections between cores. The test architecture enables each of the plural wrappers in the IC, including wrappers in cores embedded within other cores, with separate enable signals.
    Type: Grant
    Filed: March 13, 2009
    Date of Patent: November 9, 2010
    Assignee: Texas Instruments Incorporated
    Inventor: Lee D. Whetsel
  • Patent number: 7831878
    Abstract: An IC includes an IEEE 1149.1 standard test access port (TAP) interface and an additional Off-Chip TAP interface. The Off-Chip TAP interface connects to the TAP of another IC. The Off Chip TAP interface can be selected by a TAP Linking Module on the IC.
    Type: Grant
    Filed: December 18, 2009
    Date of Patent: November 9, 2010
    Assignee: Texas Instruments Incorporated
    Inventor: Lee D. Whetsel
  • Patent number: 7826485
    Abstract: Apparatus and methods implement aggregation frames and allocation frames. The aggregation frames include a plurality of MSDUs or fragments thereof aggregated or otherwise combined together. An aggregation frame makes more efficient use of the wireless communication resources. The allocation frame defines a plurality of time intervals. The allocation frame specifies a pair of stations that are permitted to communicate with each other during each time interval as well as the antenna configuration to be used for the communication. This permits stations to know ahead of time when they are to communicate, with which other stations and the antenna configuration that should be used. A buffered traffic field can also be added to the frames to specify how much data remains to be transmitted following the current frame. This enables network traffic to be scheduled more effectively.
    Type: Grant
    Filed: October 15, 2009
    Date of Patent: November 2, 2010
    Assignee: Texas Instruments Incorporated
    Inventors: Jin-Meng Ho, Don Shaver, Xiaolin Lu
  • Patent number: 7827453
    Abstract: An integrated circuit carries an intellectual property core. The intellectual property core includes a test access port 39 with test data input leads 15, test data output leads 13, control leads 17 and an external register present, ERP lead 37. A scan register 25 encompasses the intellectual property core and ERP lead 37 carries a signal indicating the presence of the scan register.
    Type: Grant
    Filed: October 8, 2009
    Date of Patent: November 2, 2010
    Assignee: Texas Instruments Incorporated
    Inventor: Lee D. Whetsel
  • Patent number: 7825695
    Abstract: First and second devices may simultaneously communicate bidirectionally with each other using only a single pair of LVDS signal paths. Each device includes an input circuit and a differential output driver connected to the single pair of LVDS signal paths. An input to the input circuit is also connected to the input of the driver. The input circuit may also receive an offset voltage. In response to its inputs, the input circuit in each device can use comparators, gates and a multiplexer to determine the logic state being transmitted over the pair of LVDS signal paths from the other device. This advantageously reduces the number of required interconnects between the first and second devices by one half.
    Type: Grant
    Filed: September 16, 2009
    Date of Patent: November 2, 2010
    Assignee: Texas Instruments Incorporated
    Inventor: Lee D. Whetsel
  • Patent number: 7823036
    Abstract: Plural scan test paths (401) are provided to reduce power consumed during testing such as combinational logic (101). A state machine (408) operates according to plural shift states (500) to control each scan path in capturing data from response outputs of the combinational logic and then shifting one bit at a time to reduce the capacitive and constant state power consumed by shifting the scan paths.
    Type: Grant
    Filed: December 15, 2009
    Date of Patent: October 26, 2010
    Assignee: Texas Instruments Incorporated
    Inventor: Lee D. Whetsel
  • Patent number: 7823038
    Abstract: Special test circuitry in an IC for wafer level testing selectively connects the specialized test circuitry to the functional circuitry during wafer test. Following wafer test the special test circuitry is electrically isolated from the functional circuitry and power supplies such that it does not load functional circuit signals nor consume power.
    Type: Grant
    Filed: July 29, 2009
    Date of Patent: October 26, 2010
    Assignee: Texas Instruments Incorporated
    Inventors: Richard L. Antley, Lee D. Whetsel
  • Patent number: 7822021
    Abstract: A media over packet networking appliance provides a network interface, a voice transducer, and at least one integrated circuit assembly coupling the voice transducer to the network interface. The at least one integrated circuit assembly provides media over packet transmissions and holds bits defining reconstruction of a packet stream having a primary stage and a secondary stage. The secondary stage has one or more of linear predictive coding parameters, long term prediction lags, parity check, and adaptive and fixed codebook gains. The packet stream has an instance of single packet loss, and the reconstruction includes receiving a packet sequence represented by P(n)P(n?1)?, [Lost Packet], P(n+2)P(n+1)?, and P(n+3)P(n+2)?, obtaining as information from the secondary stage one or more of the linear predictive coding parameters, long term prediction lags, parity check, and adaptive and fixed codebook gains, and performing an excitation reconstruction utilizing said packet sequence thus received.
    Type: Grant
    Filed: December 11, 2009
    Date of Patent: October 26, 2010
    Assignee: Texas Instruments Incorporated
    Inventors: Krishnasamy Anandakumar, Vishu R. Viswanathan, Alan V. McCree
  • Patent number: 7823037
    Abstract: An optimized JTAG interface is used to access JTAG Tap Domains within an integrated circuit. The interface requires fewer pins than the conventional JTAG interface and is thus more applicable than conventional JTAG interfaces on an integrated circuit where the availability of pins is limited. The interface may be used for a variety of serial communication operations such as, but not limited to, serial communication related integrated circuit test, emulation, debug, and/or trace operations.
    Type: Grant
    Filed: December 17, 2009
    Date of Patent: October 26, 2010
    Assignee: Texas Instruments Incorporated
    Inventor: Lee D. Whetsel
  • Patent number: 7818641
    Abstract: The disclosure describes a process and apparatus for accessing devices on a substrate. The substrate may include only full pin JTAG devices (504), only reduced pin JTAG devices (506), or a mixture of both full pin and reduced pin JTAG devices. The access is accomplished using a single interface (502) between the substrate (408) and a JTAG controller (404). The access interface may be a wired interface or a wireless interface and may be used for JTAG based device testing, debugging, programming, or other type of JTAG based operation.
    Type: Grant
    Filed: October 18, 2007
    Date of Patent: October 19, 2010
    Assignee: Texas Instruments Incorporated
    Inventor: Lee D. Whetsel
  • Patent number: 7809987
    Abstract: An identification (ID) process comprises in each of a plurality of bit times, a debug test system asserting a control signal at a predefined state to a plurality of target systems, and each target system, having a bit pattern and the bit patterns being different among the target systems, outputting a bit from its bit pattern on the control signal. The process further comprises each target system comparing the resulting state of the control signal to that target system's output bit. If the target system's output bit differs from the resulting control signal state, the target system ceases participating in the ID process or, if the target system's output bit matches the resulting control signal state, the target system continues to participate in the ID process.
    Type: Grant
    Filed: December 2, 2005
    Date of Patent: October 5, 2010
    Assignee: Texas Instruments Incorporated
    Inventor: Gary L. Swoboda
  • Patent number: 7808264
    Abstract: An integrated circuit includes switching circuits for selectively connecting the bond pads to functional core logic and isolating the bond pads from second conductors, and the switch circuits for selectively connecting the bond pads to the second conductors to provide bi-directional connections between the bond pads on opposite sides of the substrate and isolating the bond pads from the functional core logic.
    Type: Grant
    Filed: September 5, 2007
    Date of Patent: October 5, 2010
    Assignee: Texas Instruments Incorporated
    Inventor: Lee Whetsel
  • Patent number: 7805647
    Abstract: A system for, and method of, testing a plurality of circuits, which may be unsingulated die on a wafer. In one embodiment, the system includes: (1) a test data interconnect that connects a test data output of a first circuit directly to a test data input of a second circuit located adjacent to the first circuit, (2) a test clock interconnect that connects a test clock output of the first circuit directly to a test clock input of the second circuit, (3) a test mode select interconnect that connects a test mode select output of the first circuit directly to a test mode select input of the second circuit and (4) a contact region coupled to provide test data, a test clock signal and a test mode select signal respectively to the test data interconnect, the test clock interconnect and the test mode select interconnect.
    Type: Grant
    Filed: February 15, 2008
    Date of Patent: September 28, 2010
    Assignee: Texas Instruments Incorporated
    Inventor: Anne-Clotilde McGarry
  • Patent number: 7797602
    Abstract: Testing of die on wafer is achieved by; (1) providing a tester with the capability of externally communicating JTAG test signals using simultaneously bidirectional transceiver circuitry, (2) providing die on wafer with the capability of externally communicating JTAG test signals using simultaneously bidirectional transceiver circuitry, and (3) providing a connectivity mechanism between the bidirectional transceiver circuitry's of the tester and a selected group or all of the die on wafer for communication of the JTAG signals.
    Type: Grant
    Filed: June 29, 2009
    Date of Patent: September 14, 2010
    Assignee: Texas Instruments Incorporated
    Inventor: Lee D. Whetsel
  • Patent number: 7793152
    Abstract: A method comprises performing at least one zero-bit scan across an interface. The at least one zero-bit scan defines a command window. Further, the method implements one of a selectable plurality of control levels in the command window based on the number of the at least one zero-bit scans.
    Type: Grant
    Filed: December 2, 2005
    Date of Patent: September 7, 2010
    Assignee: Texas Instruments Incorporated
    Inventor: Gary L. Swoboda
  • Patent number: 7793182
    Abstract: This disclosure describes a reduced pin bus that can be used on integrated circuits or embedded cores within integrated circuits. The bus may be used for serial access to circuits where the availability of pins on ICs or terminals on cores is limited. The bus may be used for a variety of serial communication operations such as, but not limited to, serial communication related test, emulation, debug, and/or trace operations of an IC or core design. Other aspects of the disclosure include the use of reduced pin buses for emulation, debug, and trace operations and for functional operations. In a fifth aspect of the present disclosure, an interface select circuit, FIGS. 41-49, provides for selectively using either the 5 signal interface of FIG. 41 or the 3 signal interface of FIG. 8.
    Type: Grant
    Filed: September 21, 2009
    Date of Patent: September 7, 2010
    Assignee: Texas Instruments Incorporated
    Inventor: Lee D. Whetsel
  • Patent number: 7788559
    Abstract: A device test architecture and interface is provided to enable efficient testing embedded cores within devices. The test architecture interfaces to standard IEEE 1500 core test wrappers and provides high test data bandwidth to the wrappers from an external tester. The test architecture includes compare circuits that allow for comparison of test response data to be performed within the device. The test architecture further includes a memory for storing the results of the test response comparisons. The test architecture includes a programmable test controller to allow for various test control operations by simply inputting an instruction to the programmable test controller from the external tester. The test architecture includes a selector circuit for selecting a core for testing. Additional features and embodiments of the device test architectures are also disclosed.
    Type: Grant
    Filed: March 2, 2009
    Date of Patent: August 31, 2010
    Assignee: Texas Instruments Incorporated
    Inventor: Lee D. Whetsel
  • Patent number: 7788422
    Abstract: A method includes generating a transfer configuration descriptor (“TCD”), the TCD includes information pertaining to data to be transferred. The method further includes dynamically configuring a direct memory access (“DMA) channel based on the TCD without using a CPU and transferring a group of data blocks by way of the DMA channel.
    Type: Grant
    Filed: April 25, 2005
    Date of Patent: August 31, 2010
    Assignee: Texas Instruments Incorporated
    Inventors: Filip Moerman, Pierre Bertrand, David Q. Bell
  • Patent number: 7783948
    Abstract: Today many instances of IEEE 1149.1 Tap domains are included in integrated circuits (ICs). While all TAP domains may be serially connected on a scan path that is accessible external to the IC, it is generally preferred to have selectivity on which Tap domain or Tap domains are accessed. Therefore Tap domain selection circuitry may be included in ICs and placed in the scan path along with the Tap domains. Ideally, the Tap domain selection circuitry should only be present in the scan path when it is necessary to modify which Tap domains are selected in the scan path. The present disclosure describes a novel method and apparatus which allows the Tap domain selection circuitry to be removed from the scan path after it has been used to select Tap domains and to be replaced back into the scan path when it is necessary to select different Tap domains.
    Type: Grant
    Filed: September 8, 2009
    Date of Patent: August 24, 2010
    Assignee: Texas Instruments Incorporated
    Inventor: Lee D. Whetsel