Patents Examined by Ryan C. Jager
  • Patent number: 7880535
    Abstract: A semiconductor device 2 has a plurality of elements. It also has an F-V table storing unit for low voltage threshold cells 31 for storing an F-V table TB11 of an oscillation frequency f1 relying on the plurality of elements and a power supply voltage EV to be supplied to the plurality of elements. It has a process sensor block 12 having at least one of the plurality of elements, for monitoring the oscillation frequency f1 relying on at least one element. It further has a selector 33 for setting the power supply voltage EV associated with the oscillation frequency f1, as the supply voltage to be supplied to the semiconductor device 2 by selecting according to the F-V table TB11. The F-V table TB11 is obtained by mutually relating the combinations of random number models ?n between an F-? table TB20 and an ?-V table TB30.
    Type: Grant
    Filed: August 8, 2008
    Date of Patent: February 1, 2011
    Assignee: Fujitsu Semiconductor Limited
    Inventor: Yoshio Inoue
  • Patent number: 7872513
    Abstract: An apparatus includes a first selector which selects a test data during a first operation mode, and selects a first input data during a second operation mode, a first latch circuit which latches an output signal of the first selector according to a first clock signal, a second selector which selects one from a second input data and an output signal of the first latch circuit, and a second latch circuit which latches the second input data sent from the second selector according to a second clock signal during the second operation mode, and passes through the output signal of the first latch circuit sent from the second selector during the first operation mode.
    Type: Grant
    Filed: December 5, 2008
    Date of Patent: January 18, 2011
    Assignee: NEC Corporation
    Inventor: Kohei Uchida
  • Patent number: 7873980
    Abstract: A High Definition Multimedia Interface (HDMI) cable carries high speed encoded data which are transmitted differentially over data channels, along with a clock. A Mobile High-Definition Link (MHL) cable carries high speed data which are multiplexed to achieve smaller connectors with fewer pins. A MHL-to-HDMI cable is proposed which includes an embedded MHL to HDMI format conversion device for demultiplexing the received MHL-formatted signal and outputting an HDMI-formatted signal. The embedded device is powered by a combination of power sources, the power being harvested from the high-speed HDMI signals themselves.
    Type: Grant
    Filed: June 9, 2010
    Date of Patent: January 18, 2011
    Assignee: Redmere Technology Ltd.
    Inventors: John Martin Horan, Gerard David Guthrie
  • Patent number: 7868808
    Abstract: A system and method for performing phase-locked loop is disclosed. The system includes phase frequency detector circuitry, charge pump circuitry having first current mirror circuitry and second current mirror circuitry, loop filter circuitry, and voltage controlled oscillator circuitry. The phase frequency detector circuitry generates an up signal and a down signal based on the phase difference of an input signal and a feedback signal. The charge pump circuitry includes the first current mirror circuitry and the second mirror circuitry and generates a charge pump output signal based on the up and down signals. The loop filter circuitry generates a filtered control signal based on the charge pump output signal. The voltage controlled oscillator circuitry generates the feedback signal with a repeating waveform based on the filtered control signal.
    Type: Grant
    Filed: February 4, 2010
    Date of Patent: January 11, 2011
    Assignee: Mosaid Technologies Incorporated
    Inventors: Randy J. Caplan, Steven P. Hardy, Andrew Cole
  • Patent number: 7863959
    Abstract: Some embodiments include a device having storage node and a latch circuit coupled to the storage node to latch data provided to the storage node during one of a first mode and a second mode of the device. The latch circuit includes a first transistor, a second transistor, and a third transistor coupled between a first voltage node and a second voltage node. The third transistor is configured to selectively turn on and off in the first and second modes. Other embodiments are described.
    Type: Grant
    Filed: August 10, 2009
    Date of Patent: January 4, 2011
    Assignee: Atmel Corporation
    Inventors: Johnny Chan, Jeffrey Ming-Hung Tsai, Tin-Wai Wong
  • Patent number: 7861277
    Abstract: An HDMI cable carries high speed encoded data which are transmitted differentially over data channels, along with a clock. High-frequency loss and differential skew within a differential signal may be compensated by analog circuits embedded in the cable. These embedded circuits are tuned at production for best performance by observing the quality of the recovered analog signal. The embedded circuits are powered by a combination of power sources, both carried within the cable, and harvested from the high-speed signals themselves.
    Type: Grant
    Filed: July 18, 2007
    Date of Patent: December 28, 2010
    Assignee: Redmere Technology Ltd.
    Inventors: Aidan Gerard Keady, John Anthony Keane, Judith Ann Rea, Benjamin Griffin, John Martin Horan
  • Patent number: 7843249
    Abstract: An adaptive capacitive touch sense control circuit includes a voltage buffer, a current setting resistor, a current mirror, a capacitor, a start comparator, an end comparator and a time-to-digital converter. The capacitor is connected with the current setting resistor. The circuit further includes a latch with a first control switch and a second control switch. The current setting resistor is switched between the ground and a voltage source through a switching element, so that when the current setting resistor is grounded, the first control switch is closed and the second control switch is opened, and when the current setting resistor is connected with the voltage source, the second control switch is closed and the first control switch is opened. An adaptive charging mode is adopted to sense a capacitance variation with a great ability of interference recognition, a simple structure, low power consumption and real time processing.
    Type: Grant
    Filed: August 6, 2008
    Date of Patent: November 30, 2010
    Assignee: Chiphomer Technology Limited
    Inventors: Zhong Zhang, Jiantao Cheng, Ke Wu, Chaoqun Wu
  • Patent number: 7839180
    Abstract: A noise filter circuit includes a latch circuit that receives an input signal. The latch circuit includes first and second logic circuits (e.g., NAND circuits). The first and second NAND circuits are configured so that the capability of a P-type transistor that receives a set signal or a reset signal is lower than the capability of an N-type transistor that receives the set signal or the reset signal and the capability of an N-type transistor connected in series with the N-type transistor that receives the set signal or the reset signal (total capability). The noise filter circuit may include a waveform adjusting circuit that receives an output signal from the latch circuit.
    Type: Grant
    Filed: July 14, 2008
    Date of Patent: November 23, 2010
    Assignee: Seiko Epson Corporation
    Inventor: Tadamori Saito
  • Patent number: 7834683
    Abstract: Controlled voltage circuit for compensating the performance variations in integrate circuits caused by voltage supply, temperature, and process variations is proposed. The controlled voltage circuit includes several MOSFET transistors connected in series, a unity gain operational amplifier, and a constant current source with an input terminal and an output terminal. The input source terminal of the first MOSFET is connected to a constant current source and to the unity gain operational amplifier. The output terminal of the circuit is connected to the CMOS delay block. To compensate for the performance variation, the output voltage node at or before the unity gain operational amplifier is shifted higher as the operating process state is slowed down or as the temperature is increased. Conversely, the output voltage node is shifted lower as the process becomes faster or the temperature is reduced.
    Type: Grant
    Filed: May 30, 2008
    Date of Patent: November 16, 2010
    Assignee: Nanya Technology Corp.
    Inventors: Phat Truong, Jon Nguyen
  • Patent number: 7830180
    Abstract: A noise protector includes a first noise control block for NORing an input signal and a first trimmed input signal and providing an output; a second noise control block for NANDing the input signal and a second trimmed input signal and providing an output; and an output signal generation block for outputting an output signal removed of noise in response to the outputs of the first noise control block and the second noise control block.
    Type: Grant
    Filed: May 8, 2008
    Date of Patent: November 9, 2010
    Assignee: Hynix Semiconductor Inc.
    Inventors: Byoung Sung You, Duck Ju Kim
  • Patent number: 7825708
    Abstract: A first phase-locked loop (PLL) circuit includes an input for receiving a timing reference signal from an oscillator, a controllable oscillator circuit supplying an oscillator output signal, and a multi-modulus feedback divider circuit. A second control loop circuit is selectably coupled through a select circuit to supply a digital control value (M) to the multi-modulus feedback divider circuit of the first loop circuit to thereby control the oscillator output signal. While the second control loop is coupled to supply the control value to the feedback divider circuit, the control value is determined according to a detected difference between the oscillator output signal and a reference signal coupled to the second control loop circuit at a divider circuit.
    Type: Grant
    Filed: October 10, 2008
    Date of Patent: November 2, 2010
    Assignee: Silicon Laboratories Inc.
    Inventors: Axel Thomsen, Yunteng Huang, Jerrell P. Hein
  • Patent number: 7825698
    Abstract: Method and means for random or systematic mismatch compensation for a memory sensing system are disclosed. A sense amplifier includes a bulk voltage source to set the bulk of the sensing transistor to be a voltage different than the voltage driving the sensing transistor. For an NMOS sensing transistor, a triple well is used with the variable bulk voltage. Differential sense amplifiers with various offset compensation are included. Intentional offset creation for useful purpose is also included.
    Type: Grant
    Filed: May 30, 2008
    Date of Patent: November 2, 2010
    Assignee: Silicon Storage Technology, Inc.
    Inventors: Hieu Van Tran, Hung Quoc Nguyen
  • Patent number: 7821320
    Abstract: A temperature detection circuit includes a bandgap reference voltage generation circuit, a detection output circuit, and an output conversion circuit. The bandgap reference voltage generation circuit generates a first reference voltage and causes a bias current to flow through a current path to produce a thermal voltage. The current path has a first resistor. The detection output circuit has a second resistor and causes a mirror current of the bias current to flow through the second resistor. The output conversion circuit uses a second reference voltage to convert a voltage drop across the second resistor to a predetermined output form to detect a temperature. The first and second resistors are substantially identical in temperature dependence. The second reference voltage is generated from the first reference voltage.
    Type: Grant
    Filed: January 31, 2008
    Date of Patent: October 26, 2010
    Assignee: DENSO CORPORATION
    Inventor: Susumu Ueda
  • Patent number: 7816965
    Abstract: The present invention discloses a cooperation circuit, comprising: a first control module, capable of generating a first control signal and a second control signal, the pulse width of the first control signal being determined by the pulse width of the second control signal; and a second control module, coupled to the first control module to receive the first control signal and the second control signal and generate a third control signal according to the first control signal and the second control signal; wherein, according to the first control signal and the second control signal, the second control module enables the third control signal and the second control signal to exhibit the same frequency and the same duty cycle with a phase delay.
    Type: Grant
    Filed: December 3, 2008
    Date of Patent: October 19, 2010
    Assignee: Macroblock, Inc.
    Inventors: Fu-Yang Shih, Ken-Tang Wu
  • Patent number: 7808306
    Abstract: A power supply voltage control apparatus capable of freely setting a clock period setting margin according to a system clock frequency, and capable of converging power supply voltage to minimum power supply voltage where normal operation is possible in a short period of time without errors in operation of internal circuits in response to changes in the system clock frequency is provided. Power supply voltage control apparatus is provided with a first frequency-divider that frequency-divides the system clock at a first frequency-diving ratio, a second frequency-divider that frequency-divides an output of a voltage control oscillator at a second frequency-dividing ratio, a phase comparator/frequency comparator that carries out a phase comparison/frequency comparison on the respective output signals of the first and second frequency-dividers, and a controller.
    Type: Grant
    Filed: January 27, 2009
    Date of Patent: October 5, 2010
    Assignee: Panasonic Corporation
    Inventor: Minoru Ito
  • Patent number: 7800421
    Abstract: An apparatus includes plural combinations of a clock supplier and a clock supply destination supplied with a clock from the clock supplier. The clock supply destination includes a return route through which the clock supply destination returns a clock to a corresponding clock supplier. The clock supplier includes a variable delay unit that adds a delay to the clock to be supplied to a corresponding clock supply destination; a comparison-reference-clock supply unit that supplies a comparison reference clock having the same phase as that of a comparison reference clock supplied from other clock supplier; a phase comparator that compares the phase of a return clock returned from a corresponding clock supply destination with that of the comparison reference clock; and a phase-difference control unit that controls the delay, so that the phases of the return clock and the comparison reference clock coincide with each other, based on the comparison result.
    Type: Grant
    Filed: November 27, 2007
    Date of Patent: September 21, 2010
    Assignee: Fujitsu Limited
    Inventors: Hayato Okuda, Hiroyuki Matsuo
  • Patent number: 7800411
    Abstract: A system and method is disclosed for providing a strobed comparator with reduced offset and reduced charge kickback. The strobed comparator circuit comprises a differential pair of transistors coupled to a first switch circuit, a regenerative latch circuit, a first strobe signal line coupled to the switch circuit and a second strobe signal line coupled to the regenerative latch circuit. The first and second strobe signal lines provide separate strobe controls. The differential pair of transistors reduces the charge kickback effect by remaining in an “on” state. The differential pair of transistors is enabled when the regenerative latch circuit is in a reset condition and the regenerative latch circuit is enabled when the differential pair of transistors is in a saturation condition.
    Type: Grant
    Filed: January 30, 2006
    Date of Patent: September 21, 2010
    Assignee: National Semiconductor Corporation
    Inventor: Jitendra Mohan
  • Patent number: 7795927
    Abstract: A digital circuit with adaptive resistance to single event upset. A novel transient filter is placed within the feedback loop of each latch in the digital circuit to reject pulses having a width less than T, where T is the longest anticipated duration of transients. The transient filter includes a first logic element having a controllable inertial delay and a second logic element coupled to an output of the first logic element. A first controller provides a control voltage VcR to each first logic element to control a rise time of the first logic element to be equal to T. A second controller provides a control voltage VcF to each first logic element to control a fall time of the first logic element to be equal to T.
    Type: Grant
    Filed: August 17, 2007
    Date of Patent: September 14, 2010
    Assignee: Raytheon Company
    Inventor: William D. Farwell
  • Patent number: 7791383
    Abstract: Input circuits connected to an external input terminal PAD via resistor elements are activated in response to the level transition of the clock signals supplied thereto for accepting input signals. In order to input signals applied to the external input terminal PAD clock signals having different phases are supplied to the respective input circuits. The cycle time of each one input circuit can be made longer by sequentially assigning the serial data supplied to the external input terminals in response to the clock signals having different clock signals. Since the input circuits are isolated from each other by means of the resistor elements, the influence of the kick back signal which occurs at first stage of each the input circuit upon the other input circuit can be made very small.
    Type: Grant
    Filed: June 25, 2008
    Date of Patent: September 7, 2010
    Assignee: Elpida Memory, Inc.
    Inventors: Toru Ishikawa, Kunihiko Katou
  • Patent number: RE41926
    Abstract: The present invention discloses an output circuit that is able to adjust the output voltage slew rate and avoid short-circuit current, comprising: a control circuit for receiving an input data and generating a first set of control signals based on the input data; an output control device consisting of a first field effect transistor (FET) connected in series with a second field effect transistor (FET) and the point of connection is the output end for generating an output signal; a first capacitor having one end connected to a first working voltage and generates a first control voltage by charging/discharging on another end to control the gate of the first field effect transistor; a first switch for controlling charging/discharging of the first capacitor device based on the first set of control signals; a first current source for providing charging current for the first capacitor device; a second capacitor having one end connected to a second working voltage and generates a second control voltage by charging/d
    Type: Grant
    Filed: September 9, 2005
    Date of Patent: November 16, 2010
    Assignee: Realtek Semiconductor Corp.
    Inventor: An-Ming Lee