Patents by Inventor Fred Rennig

Fred Rennig 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).

  • Publication number: 20240048404
    Abstract: An electronic device includes a CAN protocol controller, a first communication port configured to be coupled to a first segment of a differential bus, and a second communication port configured to be coupled to a second segment of the differential bus. A first CAN transceiver circuit is coupled to the CAN protocol controller and is configured to receive a first CAN transmission signal and to transmit a first CAN reception signal. The first CAN transceiver is configured to drive a differential voltage at the first segment of the differential bus based on the first CAN transmission signal and to sense a differential voltage at the first segment of the differential bus. The second communication port is enabled in response to a control signal being de-asserted and disabled in response to the control signal being asserted.
    Type: Application
    Filed: July 11, 2023
    Publication date: February 8, 2024
    Inventor: Fred Rennig
  • Publication number: 20240048405
    Abstract: In an embodiment a method for operating a processing system includes programming, by a microprocessor during a CAN FD Light data transmission phase, a control register of a Serial Peripheral Interface (SPI) communication interface of the processing system in order to activate a master mode; generating, by the microprocessor during the CAN FD Light data transmission phase, a transmission CAN FD Light frame; storing, by the microprocessor during the CAN FD Light data transmission phase, the transmission CAN FD Light frame to a memory; and activating, by the microprocessor during the CAN FD Light data transmission phase a first DMA channel so that the first DMA channel sequentially transfers the transmission CAN FD Light frame from the memory to a transmission shift register in the SPI communication interface.
    Type: Application
    Filed: October 18, 2023
    Publication date: February 8, 2024
    Inventors: Vaclav Dvorak, Fred Rennig
  • Patent number: 11853252
    Abstract: A processing system includes a transmission terminal configured to provide a transmission signal, a reception terminal configured to receive a reception signal, a microprocessor programmable via software instructions, a memory controller configured to be connected to a memory, a serial communication interface, and a communication system. Specifically, the serial communication interface supports a CAN FD Light mode of operation and a UART mode of operation. For this purpose, the serial communication interface comprises a control register, a clock management circuit, a transmission shift register, a transmission control circuit, a reception shift register and a reception control circuit. Accordingly, the microprocessor can transmit and/or receive CAN FD Light or UART frames via the same serial communication interface.
    Type: Grant
    Filed: August 15, 2022
    Date of Patent: December 26, 2023
    Assignees: STMicroelectronics Application GMBH, STMicroelectronics Design & Application S.R.O.
    Inventors: Fred Rennig, Vaclav Dvorak
  • Patent number: 11824681
    Abstract: In an embodiment a method for operating a processing system includes programming, by a microprocessor during a CAN FD Light data transmission phase, a control register of a Serial Peripheral Interface (SPI) communication interface of the processing system in order to activate a master mode; generating, by the microprocessor during the CAN FD Light data transmission phase, a transmission CAN FD Light frame; storing, by the microprocessor during the CAN FD Light data transmission phase, the transmission CAN FD Light frame to a memory; and activating, by the microprocessor during the CAN FD Light data transmission phase a first DMA channel so that the first DMA channel sequentially transfers the transmission CAN FD Light frame from the memory to a transmission shift register in the SPI communication interface.
    Type: Grant
    Filed: July 21, 2022
    Date of Patent: November 21, 2023
    Assignees: STMicroelectronics Application GmbH, STMicroelectronics Design & Application S.R.O.
    Inventors: Vaclav Dvorak, Fred Rennig
  • Publication number: 20230299999
    Abstract: A device has a plurality of CAN XL communication systems, a bus, and a switching circuit. The bus has a transmission node and reception node, and receives from each CAN XL communication system a respective second transmission signal and drives the logic level at the transmission node as a function of the logic levels of the second transmission signals, and provides to each CAN XL communication system a respective second reception signal having a logic level determined as a function of the logic level at the reception node. The switching circuit supports a plurality of modes. In a first mode, the switching circuit is configured to provide the NRZ encoded transmission signals of the CAN XL communication systems as the second transmission signals to the bus system, and provide the respective second reception signal received from the bus to the CAN XL protocol controllers of the CAN XL communication system.
    Type: Application
    Filed: May 19, 2023
    Publication date: September 21, 2023
    Applicant: STMICROELECTRONICS APPLICATION GMBH
    Inventors: Fred RENNIG, Rolf NANDLINGER
  • Publication number: 20230300001
    Abstract: In an embodiment a processing system includes a sub-circuit including a three-state driver circuit, wherein the three-state driver circuit has a combinational logic circuit configured to monitor logic levels of a first signal and a second signal, and selectively activate one of the following switching states as a function of the logic levels of the first signal and the second signal: in a first switching state, connect the transmission terminal to the positive supply terminal by closing the first electronic switch, in a second switching state, connect the transmission terminal to the negative supply terminal by closing the second electronic switch, and in a third switching state, put the transmission terminal in a high-impedance state by opening the first electronic switch and the second electronic switch.
    Type: Application
    Filed: February 24, 2023
    Publication date: September 21, 2023
    Inventors: Fred Rennig, Jochen Barthel, Ludek Beran, Mirko Dondini, Vaclav Dvorak, Vincenzo Polisi, Marianna Sanza', CalogeroAndrea Trecarichi, Alfonso Furio
  • Publication number: 20230267087
    Abstract: A device includes a master device, a set of slave devices and a bus. The master device is configured to transmit first messages carrying a set of operation data message portions indicative of operations for implementation by slave devices of the set of slave devices, and second messages addressed to slave devices in the set of slave devices. The second messages convey identifiers identifying respective ones of the slave devices to which the second messages are addressed requesting respective reactions towards the master device within respective expected reaction intervals. The slave devices are configured to receive the first messages transmitted from the master device, read respective operation data message portions in the set of operation data message portions, implement respective operations as a function of the respective operation data message portions read, and receive the second messages transmitted from the master device.
    Type: Application
    Filed: April 28, 2023
    Publication date: August 24, 2023
    Inventors: Fred Rennig, Ludek Beran
  • Publication number: 20230269150
    Abstract: In accordance with an embodiment, a method includes determining whether a frame received from a communication bus is encoded according to a particular communication protocol and is addressed to a particular electronic device; increasing a frame count value when the frame is encoded according to the particular communication protocol and is addressed to the particular electronic device based on the determination, wherein increasing the frame count value comprises increasing a count of a modular arithmetic counter circuit having a first bit depth, and the frame count value is constrained to a modulus value of the modular arithmetic counter circuit; setting a frame count status bit based on comparing the frame count value to threshold values, and transmitting a frame comprising the frame counter status bit over the communication bus, and resetting the frame count value at an end of a monitoring time interval.
    Type: Application
    Filed: April 28, 2023
    Publication date: August 24, 2023
    Inventor: Fred Rennig
  • Patent number: 11695589
    Abstract: A device has a plurality of CAN XL communication systems, a bus, and a switching circuit. The bus has a transmission node and reception node, and receives from each CAN XL communication system a respective second transmission signal and drives the logic level at the transmission node as a function of the logic levels of the second transmission signals, and provides to each CAN XL communication system a respective second reception signal having a logic level determined as a function of the logic level at the reception node. The switching circuit supports a plurality of modes. In a first mode, the switching circuit is configured to provide the NRZ encoded transmission signals of the CAN XL communication systems as the second transmission signals to the bus system, and provide the respective second reception signal received from the bus to the CAN XL protocol controllers of the CAN XL communication system.
    Type: Grant
    Filed: December 1, 2021
    Date of Patent: July 4, 2023
    Assignee: STMICROELECTRONICS APPLICATION GMBH
    Inventors: Fred Rennig, Rolf Nandlinger
  • Patent number: 11675721
    Abstract: A device includes a master device, a set of slave devices and a bus. The master device is configured to transmit first messages carrying a set of operation data message portions indicative of operations for implementation by slave devices of the set of slave devices, and second messages addressed to slave devices in the set of slave devices. The second messages convey identifiers identifying respective ones of the slave devices to which the second messages are addressed requesting respective reactions towards the master device within respective expected reaction intervals. The slave devices are configured to receive the first messages transmitted from the master device, read respective operation data message portions in the set of operation data message portions, implement respective operations as a function of the respective operation data message portions read, and receive the second messages transmitted from the master device.
    Type: Grant
    Filed: June 13, 2022
    Date of Patent: June 13, 2023
    Assignees: STMicroelectronics Application GMBH, STMicroelectronics Design & Application S.R.O.
    Inventors: Fred Rennig, Ludek Beran
  • Patent number: 11677648
    Abstract: In accordance with an embodiment, a method includes determining whether a frame received from a communication bus is encoded according to a particular communication protocol and is addressed to a particular electronic device; increasing a frame count value when the frame is encoded according to the particular communication protocol and is addressed to the particular electronic device based on the determination, wherein increasing the frame count value comprises increasing a count of a modular arithmetic counter circuit having a first bit depth, and the frame count value is constrained to a modulus value of the modular arithmetic counter circuit; setting a frame count status bit based on comparing the frame count value to threshold values, and transmitting a frame comprising the frame counter status bit over the communication bus, and resetting the frame count value at an end of a monitoring time interval.
    Type: Grant
    Filed: February 23, 2021
    Date of Patent: June 13, 2023
    Assignee: STMicroelectronics Application GMBH
    Inventor: Fred Rennig
  • Publication number: 20230053798
    Abstract: A processing system includes a transmission terminal configured to provide a transmission signal, a reception terminal configured to receive a reception signal, a microprocessor programmable via software instructions, a memory controller configured to be connected to a memory, a serial communication interface, and a communication system. Specifically, the serial communication interface supports a CAN FD Light mode of operation and a UART mode of operation. For this purpose, the serial communication interface comprises a control register, a clock management circuit, a transmission shift register, a transmission control circuit, a reception shift register and a reception control circuit. Accordingly, the microprocessor can transmit and/or receive CAN FD Light or UART frames via the same serial communication interface.
    Type: Application
    Filed: August 15, 2022
    Publication date: February 23, 2023
    Inventors: Fred Rennig, Vaclav Dvorak
  • Publication number: 20230053564
    Abstract: In an embodiment a method for operating a processing system includes programming, by a microprocessor during a CAN FD Light data transmission phase, a control register of a Serial Peripheral Interface (SPI) communication interface of the processing system in order to activate a master mode; generating, by the microprocessor during the CAN FD Light data transmission phase, a transmission CAN FD Light frame; storing, by the microprocessor during the CAN FD Light data transmission phase, the transmission CAN FD Light frame to a memory; and activating, by the microprocessor during the CAN FD Light data transmission phase a first DMA channel so that the first DMA channel sequentially transfers the transmission CAN FD Light frame from the memory to a transmission shift register in the SPI communication interface.
    Type: Application
    Filed: July 21, 2022
    Publication date: February 23, 2023
    Inventors: Vaclav Dvorak, Fred Rennig
  • Publication number: 20220398213
    Abstract: In an embodiment a microcontroller includes a processing unit and a deserial-serial peripheral interface (DSPI) module, wherein the deserial-serial peripheral interface module is coupleable to a communication bus configured to operate according to a selected communication protocol, wherein the processing unit is configured to read user data intended for inclusion in an outgoing frame encoded according to the selected communication protocol, calculate, as a function of the user data, a cyclic redundancy check (CRC) value intended for inclusion in the outgoing frame, compose the outgoing frame by including the user data and the calculated CRC value into the outgoing frame, produce a DSPI frame encoded according to the selected communication protocol as a function of the outgoing frame and program a data register of the deserial-serial peripheral interface module with the DSPI frame, and wherein the deserial-serial peripheral interface module is configured to transmit the DSPI frame via the communication bus.
    Type: Application
    Filed: June 1, 2022
    Publication date: December 15, 2022
    Inventors: Giuseppe Cavallaro, Fred Rennig
  • Patent number: 11526458
    Abstract: An embodiment method of operating a CAN bus comprises coupling a first device and second devices to the CAN bus via respective CAN transceiver circuits, and configuring the respective CAN transceiver circuits to set the CAN bus to a recessive level during transmission of messages via the CAN bus by the respective first device or second devices.
    Type: Grant
    Filed: April 30, 2021
    Date of Patent: December 13, 2022
    Assignees: STMICROELECTRONICS APPLICATION GMBH, STMICROELECTRONICS DESIGN AND APPLICATION S.R.O
    Inventors: Fred Rennig, Vaclav Dvorak, Ludek Beran
  • Publication number: 20220318173
    Abstract: A device includes a master device, a set of slave devices and a bus. The master device is configured to transmit first messages carrying a set of operation data message portions indicative of operations for implementation by slave devices of the set of slave devices, and second messages addressed to slave devices in the set of slave devices. The second messages convey identifiers identifying respective ones of the slave devices to which the second messages are addressed requesting respective reactions towards the master device within respective expected reaction intervals. The slave devices are configured to receive the first messages transmitted from the master device, read respective operation data message portions in the set of operation data message portions, implement respective operations as a function of the respective operation data message portions read, and receive the second messages transmitted from the master device.
    Type: Application
    Filed: June 13, 2022
    Publication date: October 6, 2022
    Inventors: Fred Rennig, Ludek Beran
  • Publication number: 20220286319
    Abstract: A circuit includes a first and a second memory, a processor and a timer. The processor generates a sequence of bits encoding a CAN frame and processes the sequence of bits to detect a sequence of PWM periods. The processor stores values of a first parameter of the PWM periods into the first memory, and values of a second parameter of the PWM periods into the second memory. The timer comprises a first register which reads from the first memory a value of the first parameter of a current PWM period. The timer comprises a counter which increases a count number and resets the count number as a function of the value of the first register.
    Type: Application
    Filed: February 22, 2022
    Publication date: September 8, 2022
    Inventors: Fred Rennig, Vaclav Dvorak
  • Patent number: 11366778
    Abstract: A device includes a master device, a set of slave devices and a bus. The master device is configured to transmit first messages carrying a set of operation data message portions indicative of operations for implementation by slave devices of the set of slave devices, and second messages addressed to slave devices in the set of slave devices. The second messages convey identifiers identifying respective ones of the slave devices to which the second messages are addressed requesting respective reactions towards the master device within respective expected reaction intervals. The slave devices are configured to receive the first messages transmitted from the master device, read respective operation data message portions in the set of operation data message portions, implement respective operations as a function of the respective operation data message portions read, and receive the second messages transmitted from the master device.
    Type: Grant
    Filed: May 14, 2020
    Date of Patent: June 21, 2022
    Assignees: STMICROELECTRONICS APPLICATION GMBH, STMICROELECTRONICS DESIGN AND APPLICATION S.R.O.
    Inventors: Fred Rennig, Ludek Beran
  • Publication number: 20220191059
    Abstract: A device has a plurality of CAN XL communication systems, a bus, and a switching circuit. The bus has a transmission node and reception node, and receives from each CAN XL communication system a respective second transmission signal and drives the logic level at the transmission node as a function of the logic levels of the second transmission signals, and provides to each CAN XL communication system a respective second reception signal having a logic level determined as a function of the logic level at the reception node. The switching circuit supports a plurality of modes. In a first mode, the switching circuit is configured to provide the NRZ encoded transmission signals of the CAN XL communication systems as the second transmission signals to the bus system, and provide the respective second reception signal received from the bus to the CAN XL protocol controllers of the CAN XL communication system.
    Type: Application
    Filed: December 1, 2021
    Publication date: June 16, 2022
    Applicant: STMICROELECTRONICS APPLICATION GMBH
    Inventors: Fred RENNIG, Rolf NANDLINGER
  • Publication number: 20210357344
    Abstract: An embodiment method of operating a CAN bus comprises coupling a first device and second devices to the CAN bus via respective CAN transceiver circuits, and configuring the respective CAN transceiver circuits to set the CAN bus to a recessive level during transmission of messages via the CAN bus by the respective first device or second devices.
    Type: Application
    Filed: April 30, 2021
    Publication date: November 18, 2021
    Inventors: Fred Rennig, Vaclav Dvorak, Ludek Beran