Patents by Inventor Duane H. Chinnow, Jr.

Duane H. Chinnow, Jr. 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: 6029236
    Abstract: A field programmable gate array (FPGA) comprising a number of configurable function blocks, each separately configurable by the user of the FPGA as either high performance programmable logic or a block of SRAM is disclosed. In accordance with the present invention, each configurable function block includes a volatile logic array comprised of an array of "AND" gates and an array of "OR" gates with programmable connections. The programmable connections in the volatile logic array comprise SRAM cells. These SRAM cells are then capable of serving the user of the FPGA in two modes of operation. In a first mode of operation, logic mode, the SRAM cells provide for the programmable connections which direct the logic operations in the volatile logic array. In a second mode of operation, memory mode, the SRAM cells function as a block of SRAM which can then be written to, and read from, using standard SRAM access signals.
    Type: Grant
    Filed: November 18, 1997
    Date of Patent: February 22, 2000
    Assignee: Altera Corporation
    Inventors: Randy Charles Steele, Duane H. Chinnow, Jr.
  • Patent number: 5809281
    Abstract: A field programmable gate array (FPGA) includes a number of configurable function blocks, each separately configurable by the user of the FPGA as either high performance programmable logic or a block of SRAM. In accordance with the present invention, each configurable function block includes a volatile logic array comprised of an array of "AND" gates and an array of "OR" gates with programmable connections. The programmable connections in the volatile logic array comprise SRAM cells. These SRAM cells are then capable of serving the user of the FPGA in two modes of operation. In a first mode of operation, logic mode, the SRAM cells provide for the programmable connections which direct the logic operations in the volatile logic array. In a second mode of operation, memory mode, the SRAM cells function as a block of SRAM which can then be written to, and read from, using standard SRAM access signals.
    Type: Grant
    Filed: January 28, 1997
    Date of Patent: September 15, 1998
    Assignee: Altera Corporation
    Inventors: Randy Charles Steele, Duane H. Chinnow, Jr.