Patents Examined by James Cho
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Patent number: 7834655Abstract: An impedance matching device for memory signals includes a resistor array and a switch device. A number of first pins at a first side of the resistor array are connected to control signal pins and/or address signal pins of a memory socket on a motherboard. A number of second pins are extended at a second side of the resistor array. The switch device connects or disconnects the plurality of second pins of the resistor array to or from a power supply on the motherboard.Type: GrantFiled: August 31, 2009Date of Patent: November 16, 2010Assignees: Hong Fu Jin Precision Industry (ShenZhen) Co., Ltd., Hon Hai Precision Industry Co., Ltd.Inventor: Guang-Feng Ou
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Patent number: 7830170Abstract: A logic gate comprises a first switch, a second switch, a data network and a keeping circuitry. The first switch is adapted to connect a logic node to a first potential responsive to a transition of an enabling signal. The second switch is adapted to connect the logic node to a second potential via an electrical path responsive to a transition of the enabling signal. The data network is serially connected within the electrical path. The keeping circuitry comprises third and fourth switches serially connected between the logic node and the first potential and being controllable separately from each other, the third switch being adapted to be closed in case a potential on the logic node assumes the first potential and to be opened in case the potential on the logic node assumes the second potential.Type: GrantFiled: December 30, 2008Date of Patent: November 9, 2010Assignee: Infineon Technologies AGInventors: Thomas Kuenemund, Artur Wroblewski
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Patent number: 7825685Abstract: Some embodiments provide an IC with configuration context switchers. The IC includes several configurable circuits, each of which configurably performs one of several operations at any given time, based on the configuration data set that it receives at that time. The IC includes several storage circuits for storing several configuration data sets for each of the configurable circuits. The IC also includes a context switching interconnect circuit for switchably connecting the configurable circuit to different sets of storage circuits to receive different sets of configuration data sets. The context switcher includes one or more stages for re-timing the data coming from the configuration storage elements. The stages can include interconnect circuitry or storage circuitry. Some embodiments build one of the stages in the configuration data storage elements. Some embodiments encode the configuration data bits and hence utilize a decoder in the context switcher to decode the encoded configuration data.Type: GrantFiled: September 8, 2008Date of Patent: November 2, 2010Assignee: Tabula, Inc.Inventors: Trevis Chandler, Joe Entjer, Martin Voogel, Jason Redgrave
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Patent number: 7821293Abstract: An embodiment of the present invention relates to a asynchronous interconnection system comprising a transmitter circuit and a receiver circuit inserted between inserted between respective first and second voltage references and having respective transmitter and receiver nodes coupled in a capacitive manner. The receiver circuit comprises: a recovery stage inserted between the first and second voltage references of the receiver circuit and connected to the receiver node; and a state control stage, in turn inserted between the first and second voltage references of the receiver circuit connected to the recovery stage correspondence with a first feedback node providing a first control signal and having a second feedback node connected in a feedback manner to the recovery stage.Type: GrantFiled: December 28, 2007Date of Patent: October 26, 2010Assignee: STMicroelectronics, S.r.l.Inventors: Alberto Fazzi, Luca Ciccarelli, Luca Magagni, Roberto Canegallo, Roberto Guerrieri
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Patent number: 7816950Abstract: Semiconductor integrated circuit has a control circuit. The control circuit causes the clock signal generating circuit to control the first clock signal and the second clock signal to make a logic of data held by the first data holding terminal and a logic of data held by the second data holding terminal equal to each other, and switches on the switch circuit, and the error detection circuit senses a logic of the first data holding terminal and a logic of the second data holding terminal after switching on the switching circuit.Type: GrantFiled: August 12, 2009Date of Patent: October 19, 2010Assignee: Kabushiki Kaisha ToshibaInventor: Takayuki Miyazaki
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Patent number: 7812642Abstract: An integrated circuit includes a pass gate having an input and an output. An NMOS pass transistor is connected between the input and the output. The drain of the NMOS pass transistor is connected to the input and the source of the NMOS pass transistor is connected to a node between the source of the NMOS transistor and the output of the pass gate. A current clamp is connected between the node and a current sink so as to conduct current to the current sink when the node reaches a threshold value.Type: GrantFiled: May 12, 2009Date of Patent: October 12, 2010Assignee: Xilinx, Inc.Inventors: John K. Jennings, James Karp, Vassili Kireev, Patrick J. Quinn
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Patent number: 7800399Abstract: According to one exemplary embodiment, a termination circuit includes a number of drivers configured to receive source data on an input bus and to drive an output bus including a number of output lines. In the termination circuit the output lines are terminated by resistors, where one resistor is coupled between each output line and a common capacitor node. The termination circuit further includes a virtual regulator at the drivers, configured to control a termination voltage at the capacitor node by inputting compensation data into the drivers during idle cycles to achieve a net average 50% duty cycle. The virtual regulator can determine which cycles are idle by detecting an idle code in the source data.Type: GrantFiled: August 4, 2009Date of Patent: September 21, 2010Assignee: Broadcom CorporationInventor: Reinhard Schumann
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Patent number: 7795903Abstract: An output buffer includes a final driver formed by first and second MOSFET transistors that alternately couple an output terminal to respective supply voltages. The output terminal is biased to a bias voltage intermediate the supply voltages. The slew rate at which the MOSFET transistors transition the output terminal to the supply voltages is affected by the magnitude of at least one of the supply voltages. The output buffer is driven by a pre-driver coupling first and second control signals to the first and second MOSFET transistors, respectively. The pre-driver adjusts the delay between generating one of the control signals to turn off the MOSFET transistor and generating the other of the control signals to turn on the other MOSFET transistor as a function of the supply voltage magnitude to make the slew rate of the resulting transition substantially insensitive to variations in power supply voltage.Type: GrantFiled: April 22, 2009Date of Patent: September 14, 2010Assignee: Micron Technology, Inc.Inventors: Dong Pan, Paul Silvestri
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Patent number: 7795904Abstract: A switching circuit includes a first transistor and a driver circuit. The first transistor has a first current electrode coupled to a first power supply voltage terminal to receive a first power supply voltage, a control electrode, and a second current electrode coupled to an output terminal. The driver circuit has an output coupled to the control electrode of the first transistor, the driver circuit for providing a bias current to the control electrode of the first transistor that is proportional to an inverse of a square root of a voltage between the first current electrode and the control electrode of the first transistor. A voltage at the output terminal increases linearly during a turn-on period of the first transistor.Type: GrantFiled: August 31, 2009Date of Patent: September 14, 2010Inventor: Thierry Sicard
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Patent number: 7791366Abstract: A signal transmitting circuit includes a circuit block having a driving circuit and an intra-block transmission line for transmitting a signal from the driving circuit, a circuit block having a receiving circuit and an intra-block transmission line for transmitting the signal to said receiving circuit, and a main interblock transmission line for propagating a signal between the driving and receiving circuit blocks. The inter-block transmission line is terminated by a resistor having substantially the same impedance as the interblock transmission line. The intra-block transmission lines are provided with a resistance element having a resistance substantially equal to a value derived by subtracting half of an impedance of the inter-block transmission line from an impedance of the intra-block transmission line, to lower signal amplitude and suppress reflections of a signal at branch points along the main interblock transmission line, thereby enabling a high-speed signal transfer.Type: GrantFiled: May 7, 2008Date of Patent: September 7, 2010Assignee: Hitachi, Ltd.Inventors: Toshitsugu Takekuma, Ryoichi Kurihara, Akira Yamagiwa
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Patent number: 7786753Abstract: Output driver circuit, semiconductor memory device including the output driver circuit, and method for operating the semiconductor memory device, including a pre-driver to generate a pull-up control signal and a pull-down control signal according to a logic value of data to output, and to adjust and output a slew rate of the pull-up control signal and a slew rate of the pull-down control signal according to a termination resistance setting information, a pull-up driver to output logic high data in response to the pull-up control signal and a pull-down driver to output logic low data in response to the pull-down control signal.Type: GrantFiled: June 30, 2008Date of Patent: August 31, 2010Assignee: Hynix Semiconductor Inc.Inventors: Chun-Seok Jeong, Kee-Teok Park
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Patent number: 7786748Abstract: In one embodiment, the disclosure relates to a single-flux quantum logic gate capable of providing output from one of the two inputs, which is also known as the A and NOT B gate. The logic gate includes a first input gate and a second input gate for respectively receiving a first input pulse and a second input pulse. An output gate is wired in parallel with the first input gate. A first Josephson junction and a second Josephson junction are connected to the first input gate and the second input gate, respectively. A cross-coupled transformer is also provided. The cross-coupled transformer diverts the first pulse from the output gate if the second pulse is detected at the second input gate. In an optional embodiment, the first Josephson junction has a first critical current which is selected to be less than the critical current of the second Josephson junction.Type: GrantFiled: May 15, 2009Date of Patent: August 31, 2010Assignee: Northrop Grumman Systems CorporationInventor: Quentin P. Herr
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Patent number: 7772878Abstract: A parallel resistor circuit that can reduce an error of a resistance value, an on-die termination having the same, and a semiconductor device having the on-die termination device. The semiconductor memory device includes a calibration circuit configured to pull up or pull down a predetermined node and compare a voltage of the predetermined node with a reference voltage to generate calibration codes, by using parallel resistor units that are turned on or off in response to the calibration codes. An output driver is configured to terminate a data output node to a pull-up or pull-down level to output data, by using the parallel resistor units. At least one of the parallel resistor units having at least two resistivities includes resistors with different resistivities connected to each other in parallel.Type: GrantFiled: December 30, 2008Date of Patent: August 10, 2010Assignee: Hynix Semiconductor, Inc.Inventor: Chang-Kyu Choi
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Patent number: 7772877Abstract: An output buffer circuit, a differential output buffer circuit, an output buffer circuit having a regulation circuit and a regulation function, and a transmission method, to improve resolution of a pre-emphasis amount without increasing power consumption or a circuit area. The output buffer includes a delay circuit, an inverter and output buffers to transmit a logical signal to a transmission line and generate a waveform having four or more types of signal voltages on a transmission side according to a signal attenuation amount of the transmission line. The output buffer has a selector and a variable resistance portion at an output resistance to change a pre-emphasis amount according to a change in a variable resistance value. The inverter is configured to select a signal to input into the output buffer, invert a data signal and adjust a tap pre-emphasis amount by a select signal of the selector logic.Type: GrantFiled: December 24, 2008Date of Patent: August 10, 2010Assignee: Hitachi, Ltd.Inventors: Norio Chujo, Keiichi Yamamoto, Hisaaki Kanai, Toru Yazaki
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Patent number: 7772875Abstract: An electronic device comprising at least one input/output circuit (10) in a first supply voltage domain (VDD, GND) is provided. The electronic device furthermore comprises a buffer (INV) which is coupled to the input/output circuit for driving an input of the input/output circuit (10). The buffer comprises a first and second switch (T1, T2; T4, T5). The buffer is arranged in a second supply voltage domain (VDD1, GND1). Furthermore, a control circuit is coupled to the buffer for controlling the first and second switch (T1, T2; T4, T5) such that during a transition of an input signal of the input/output circuit (10) both switches (T1, T2; T4, T5) are temporarily kept in a conducting state and a crowbar current flows through the buffer (INV).Type: GrantFiled: December 18, 2006Date of Patent: August 10, 2010Assignee: NXP B.V.Inventor: Mukesh Nair
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Patent number: 7772885Abstract: One embodiment of the present invention sets forth a technique for shifting the voltage level of signals from the high voltage domain to a low voltage domain, where VDD_IO is the supply voltage of the high voltage domain and VDD_Logic is the supply voltage of the low voltage domain. A level shifting circuit using a combination of I/O and logic transistors avoids exceeding a maximum tolerable voltage across the gate and source of any of the transistors. The level shifting circuit operates includes a reference voltage circuit that is independent of VDD_IO, so the same level shifting circuit may be used for various VDD_IO voltages. Additionally, the voltage level shifting circuit is not sensitive to scaling of VDD_Logic and operates properly when VDD_Logic is reduced due to shrinking silicon process technology and/or is reduced for a low power application.Type: GrantFiled: May 15, 2009Date of Patent: August 10, 2010Assignee: NVIDIA CorporationInventors: Hwong-Kwo Lin, Ge Yang, Guoqing Ning, Charles Chew-Yuen Young
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Patent number: 7768307Abstract: A current mode logic (CML)-complementary metal oxide semiconductor (CMOS) converter prevents change of a duty ratio to stably operate during an operation for converting a CML level signal into a CMOS level signal. The CML-CMOS converter includes a reference level shifting unit configured to receive a CML signal swinging about a first reference level to shift a swing reference level to a second reference level; and an amplifying unit configured to amplify an output signal of the reference level shifting unit to output the amplified signal as a CMOS signal.Type: GrantFiled: December 26, 2007Date of Patent: August 3, 2010Assignee: Hynix Semiconductor Inc.Inventors: Kyung-Hoon Kim, Dae-Han Kwon
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Patent number: 7768294Abstract: The disclosed invention is intended to decrease the power consumption of a pulse latch circuit. A pulse latch circuit that operates in sync with a pulsed clock signal, including a first operation mode in which shifting test pattern scan data is performed and a second operation mode in which shifting the test pattern scan data is not performed, comprises the following circuits: a first latch circuit that is able to latch input data in sync with the clock signal; a second latch circuit that is connected to the first latch circuit and is able to latch the test pattern scan data to be shifted in sync with the clock signal; and a control circuit that stops supply of the clock signal to the second latch circuit during the second operation mode. By thus stopping the supply of the clock signal to the second latch circuit, decrease the power consumption is achieved.Type: GrantFiled: July 11, 2008Date of Patent: August 3, 2010Assignee: Renesas Technology Corp.Inventors: Yasuhisa Shimazaki, Masakazu Nishibori
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Patent number: 7755383Abstract: Calibration circuit, semiconductor memory device including the same, and operation method of the calibration circuit includes a calibration unit configured to generate a calibration code for controlling a termination resistance value, a calibration control unit configured to count a clock and allow the calibration unit to be enabled during a predetermined clock and a clock control unit configured to selectively supply the clock to the calibration control unit according to an operation mode of a semiconductor device employing the calibration circuit.Type: GrantFiled: June 30, 2008Date of Patent: July 13, 2010Assignee: Hynix Semiconductor, Inc.Inventors: Chun-Seok Jeong, Seok-Cheol Yoon
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Patent number: 7750675Abstract: A method and computer program product for running state machines by the steps of running at least a first and a second state machine in parallel, observing at least the first state machine for at least one first synchronization rule, and changing the state of the second state machine when the first synchronization rule applies.Type: GrantFiled: December 19, 2006Date of Patent: July 6, 2010Assignee: International Business Machines CorporationInventors: Ajay Dholakia, Jan Van Lunteren