Patents Assigned to Rambus Inc.
  • Patent number: 12197602
    Abstract: A device includes interface circuitry to receive requests from at least one host system, a primary processor coupled to the interface circuitry, and a secure processor coupled to the primary processor. In response to a failure of the primary processor, the secure processor is to: verify a log retrieval command received via the interface circuitry, wherein the log retrieval command is cryptographically signed; in response to the verification, retrieve crash dump data stored in memory that is accessible by the primary processor; generate a log file that comprises the retrieved crash dump data; and cause the log file to be transmitted to the at least one host system over a sideband link that is coupled externally to the interface circuitry.
    Type: Grant
    Filed: October 18, 2022
    Date of Patent: January 14, 2025
    Assignee: Rambus Inc.
    Inventor: Evan Lawrence Erickson
  • Patent number: 12189548
    Abstract: An expandable memory system that enables a fixed signaling bandwidth to be configurably re-allocated among dedicated memory channels. Memory channels having progressively reduced widths are dedicated to respective memory sockets, thus enabling point-to-point signaling with respect to each memory socket without signal-compromising traversal of unloaded sockets or costly replication of a full-width memory channel for each socket.
    Type: Grant
    Filed: November 23, 2021
    Date of Patent: January 7, 2025
    Assignee: Rambus Inc.
    Inventors: Ian P. Shaeffer, Arun Vaidyanath, Sanku Mukherjee
  • Patent number: 12189523
    Abstract: A memory device having a DRAM core and a register stores first data in the register before receiving first and second memory access commands via a command interface and before receiving second data via a data interface. The memory device responds to the first memory access command by writing the first data from the register to the DRAM core and responds to the second memory access command by writing the second data from the data interface to the DRAM core.
    Type: Grant
    Filed: June 15, 2023
    Date of Patent: January 7, 2025
    Assignee: Rambus Inc.
    Inventors: Thomas J. Sheffler, Lawrence Lai, Liang Peng, Bohuslav Rychlik
  • Patent number: 12190974
    Abstract: A method of operation in an integrated circuit (IC) memory device is disclosed. The method includes refreshing a first group of storage rows in the IC memory device at a first refresh rate. A retention time for each of the rows is tested. The testing for a given row under test includes refreshing at a second refresh rate that is slower than the first refresh rate. The testing is interruptible based on an access request for data stored in the given row under test.
    Type: Grant
    Filed: April 24, 2023
    Date of Patent: January 7, 2025
    Assignee: Rambus Inc.
    Inventors: Ely Tsern, Frederick A Ware, Suresh Rajan, Thomas Vogelsang
  • Patent number: 12190990
    Abstract: Row activation operations within a memory component are carried out with respect to subrows instead of complete storage rows to reduce power consumption. Further, instead of activating subrows in response to row commands, subrow activation operations are deferred until receipt of column commands that specify the column operation to be performed and the subrow to be activated.
    Type: Grant
    Filed: September 26, 2023
    Date of Patent: January 7, 2025
    Assignee: Rambus Inc.
    Inventors: James E. Harris, Thomas Vogelsang, Frederick A. Ware, Ian P. Shaeffer
  • Patent number: 12174749
    Abstract: The creation, maintenance, and accessing of page tables is done by a virtual machine monitor running on a computing system rather than the guest operating systems. This allows page table walks to be completed in fewer memory accesses when compared to the guest operating system's maintenance of the page tables. In addition, the virtual machine monitor may utilize additional resources to offload page table access and maintenance functions from the CPU to another device, such as a page table management device or page table management node. Offloading some or all page table access and maintenance functions to a specialized device or node enables the CPU to perform other tasks during page table walks and/or other page table maintenance functions.
    Type: Grant
    Filed: January 14, 2022
    Date of Patent: December 24, 2024
    Assignee: Rambus Inc.
    Inventors: Steven C. Woo, Christopher Haywood, Evan Lawrence Erickson
  • Patent number: 12170126
    Abstract: A memory device includes a first dynamic random access memory (DRAM) integrated circuit (IC) chip including first memory core circuitry, and first input/output (I/O) circuitry. A second DRAM IC chip is stacked vertically with the first DRAM IC chip. The second DRAM IC chip includes second memory core circuitry, and second I/O circuitry. Solely one of the first DRAM IC chip or the second DRAM IC chip includes a conductive path that electrically couples at least one of the first memory core circuitry or the second memory core circuitry to solely one of the first I/O circuitry or the second I/O circuitry, respectively.
    Type: Grant
    Filed: January 23, 2024
    Date of Patent: December 17, 2024
    Assignee: Rambus Inc.
    Inventor: Thomas Vogelsang
  • Patent number: 12164808
    Abstract: Technologies for converting quad data rates on a host interface to double data rates on a memory interface are described. One memory module includes a data buffer device with a host-side interface circuit that sends or receives first data to and from a host device at a quad data rate and a memory-side interface circuit that sends or receives second data to and from a set of memory devices at a first specified data rate that is less than the quad data rate. The memory module includes conversion circuitry to down-convert the first data at the quad data rate to the second data at the first specified data rate and up-convert the second data at the first specified data rate to the first data at the quad data rate.
    Type: Grant
    Filed: October 7, 2022
    Date of Patent: December 10, 2024
    Assignee: Rambus Inc.
    Inventors: Lei Luo, John C Eble, III
  • Patent number: 12164447
    Abstract: In a modular memory system, a memory control component, first and second memory sockets and data buffer components are all mounted to the printed circuit board. The first and second memory sockets have electrical contacts to electrically engage counterpart electrical contacts of memory modules to be inserted therein, and each of the data buffer components includes a primary data interface electrically coupled to the memory control component, and first and second secondary data interfaces electrically coupled to subsets of the electrical contacts within the first and second memory sockets, respectively.
    Type: Grant
    Filed: March 1, 2023
    Date of Patent: December 10, 2024
    Assignee: Rambus Inc.
    Inventors: Frederick A. Ware, Christopher Haywood
  • Patent number: 12165047
    Abstract: An integrated-circuit neural network includes chain of multiply-accumulate units co-located with a high-bandwidth storage array. Each multiply accumulate includes a digital input port, analog input port and multiply-adder circuitry. The digital input port receives a matrix of digital-weight values from the storage array and the analog input port receives a counterpart matrix of analog input signals, each analog input signal exhibiting a respective electronic current representative of input value. The multiply-adder circuitry generates a matrix of analog output signals by convolving the matrix of digital-weight values with the matrix of analog input signals including, for each analog output signal within the matrix of analog output signals, switchably enabling weighted current contributions to the analog output signal based on logic states of on respective bits of one or more of the digital-weight values.
    Type: Grant
    Filed: January 23, 2020
    Date of Patent: December 10, 2024
    Assignee: Rambus Inc.
    Inventors: Dongyun Lee, Brent S. Haukness
  • Patent number: 12166485
    Abstract: Described is an integrated circuit with a driving amplifier that transmits a signal over a link (e.g. a wire) by raising and lowering a voltage on the link. A reference oscillator provides an error measure for the rate at which the voltage transitions between voltages, the slew rate. Slew-rate calibration circuitry adjusts the driving amplifier responsive to the error measure.
    Type: Grant
    Filed: August 30, 2022
    Date of Patent: December 10, 2024
    Assignee: Rambus Inc.
    Inventor: Cosmin Iorga
  • Patent number: 12155391
    Abstract: A phase-locked loop or delay locked loop provides a coarse alignment between an input clock and an output clock. A latch receiver circuit provides an indicator of a delay error between the input clock and the output clock. The delay error is used by a control circuit or state machine to adjust a fine delay that affects the output clock signal timing relative to the input clock signal. The fine delay is adjusted to minimize the timing difference between the output clock signal and the input clock signal.
    Type: Grant
    Filed: November 29, 2022
    Date of Patent: November 26, 2024
    Assignee: Rambus, Inc.
    Inventors: Panduka Wijetunga, Catherine Chen
  • Patent number: 12147345
    Abstract: Memory controllers, devices, modules, systems and associated methods are disclosed. In one embodiment, a memory system is disclosed. The memory system includes volatile memory configured as a cache. The cache stores first data at first storage locations. Backing storage media couples to the cache. The backing storage media stores second data in second storage locations corresponding to the first data. Logic uses a presence or status of first data in the first storage locations to cease maintenance operations to the stored second data in the second storage locations.
    Type: Grant
    Filed: December 2, 2022
    Date of Patent: November 19, 2024
    Assignee: Rambus Inc.
    Inventors: Collins Williams, Michael Miller, Kenneth Wright
  • Patent number: 12147367
    Abstract: A memory module comprises a data interface including a plurality of data lines and a plurality of configurable switches coupled between the data interface and a data path to one or more memories. The effective width of the memory module can be configured by enabling or disabling different subsets of the configurable switches. The configurable switches may be controlled by manual switches, by a buffer on the memory module, by an external memory controller, or by the memories on the memory module.
    Type: Grant
    Filed: July 20, 2023
    Date of Patent: November 19, 2024
    Assignee: RAMBUS INC.
    Inventors: Amir Amirkhany, Suresh Rajan, Ravindranath Kollipara, Ian Shaeffer, David A. Secker
  • Patent number: 12148462
    Abstract: The embodiments described herein describe technologies for using the memory modules in different modes of operation, such as in a standard multi-drop mode or as in a dynamic point-to-point (DPP) mode (also referred to herein as an enhanced mode). The memory modules can also be inserted in the sockets of the memory system in different configurations.
    Type: Grant
    Filed: November 16, 2023
    Date of Patent: November 19, 2024
    Assignee: Rambus Inc.
    Inventors: Frederick A Ware, Suresh Rajan, Scott C. Best
  • Patent number: 12147351
    Abstract: Memory pages are background-relocated from a low-latency local operating memory of a server computer to a higher-latency memory installation that enables high-resolution access monitoring and thus access-demand differentiation among the relocated memory pages. Higher access-demand memory pages are background-restored to the low-latency operating memory, while lower access-demand pages are maintained in the higher latency memory installation and yet-lower access-demand pages are optionally moved to yet higher-latency memory installation.
    Type: Grant
    Filed: April 25, 2023
    Date of Patent: November 19, 2024
    Assignee: Rambus Inc.
    Inventors: Evan Lawrence Erickson, Christopher Haywood, Mark D. Kellam
  • Patent number: 12147285
    Abstract: Disclosed are techniques for a power management integrated circuit (PMIC) to support a power-up sequence from a powered-down state to a powered-up state when both a main supply voltage and a backup supply voltage are present or when only the backup supply voltage is present. The PMIC may monitor the two supply voltages to identify the supply voltages that are present. The PMIC may be configured with a power-up initialization mode of operation through an EFUSE/MTP register, including a first bit to control power up of a voltage regulator of the PMIC with the main supply voltage or the backup supply voltage. Another bit may control power up of the voltage regulator with the backup supply voltage in the dual-supply or the single-supply configuration. The PMIC may execute one of four power-up sequences based on the monitored status of the supply voltages and the configured power-up initialization mode of operation.
    Type: Grant
    Filed: December 8, 2022
    Date of Patent: November 19, 2024
    Assignee: Rambus Inc.
    Inventors: Aws Shallal, Panduka Wijetunga
  • Patent number: 12149289
    Abstract: A photonic communication system in which a host communicates bidirectionally with a target via a single optical fiber using light of the same wavelength and from the same light source. Signals flowing in opposite directions are discriminated based on polarity. Using the same fiber and light source in both directions reduces cost, complexity, and power consumption.
    Type: Grant
    Filed: October 17, 2022
    Date of Patent: November 19, 2024
    Assignee: Rambus Inc.
    Inventors: Mark D. Kellam, Carl W. Werner
  • Patent number: 12147362
    Abstract: Memory controllers, devices, modules, systems and associated methods are disclosed. In one embodiment, a memory controller is disclosed. The memory controller includes write queue logic that has first storage to temporarily store signal components of a write operation. The signal components include an address and write data. A transfer interface issues the signal components of the write operation to a bank of a storage class memory (SCM) device and generates a time value. The time value represents a minimum time interval after which a subsequent write operation can be issued to the bank. The write queue logic includes an issue queue to store the address and the time value for a duration corresponding to the time value.
    Type: Grant
    Filed: August 29, 2023
    Date of Patent: November 19, 2024
    Assignee: Rambus Inc.
    Inventors: Frederick A. Ware, Brent Haukness
  • Patent number: 12141081
    Abstract: System and method for training and performing operations (e.g., read and write operations) on a double buffered memory topology. In some embodiments, eight DIMMs are coupled to a single channel. The training and operations schemes are configured with timing and signaling to allow training and operations with the double buffered memory topology. In some embodiments, the double buffered memory topology includes one or more buffers on a system board (e.g., motherboard).
    Type: Grant
    Filed: August 21, 2023
    Date of Patent: November 12, 2024
    Assignee: Rambus Inc.
    Inventors: Chi-Ming Yeung, Yoshie Nakabayashi, Thomas Giovannini, Henry Stracovsky