Patents by Inventor Ian P. Shaeffer

Ian P. Shaeffer 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: 20200066314
    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: Application
    Filed: July 31, 2019
    Publication date: February 27, 2020
    Inventors: James E. Harris, Thomas Vogelsang, Frederick A. Ware, Ian P. Shaeffer
  • Publication number: 20190392875
    Abstract: A memory controller includes an interface to receive a data strobe signal and corresponding read data. The data strobe signal and the read data correspond to a read command issued by the memory controller, and the read data is received in accordance with the data strobe signal and an enable signal. A circuit in the memory controller is to dynamically adjust a timing offset between the enable signal and the data strobe signal, and control logic is to issue a supplemental read command in accordance with a determination that a time interval since a last read command issued by the memory controller exceeds a predetermined value.
    Type: Application
    Filed: July 1, 2019
    Publication date: December 26, 2019
    Inventors: Bret Stott, Frederick A. Ware, Ian P. Shaeffer, Yuanlong Wang
  • Publication number: 20190348985
    Abstract: A memory control component outputs a memory write command to a memory IC and also outputs write data to be received via data inputs of the memory IC. Prior to reception of the write data within the memory IC, the memory control component asserts a termination control signal that causes the memory IC to apply to the data inputs a first on-die termination impedance during reception of the write data followed by a second on-die termination impedance after the write data has been received. The memory control component deasserts the termination control signal to cause the memory IC to apply no termination impedance to the data inputs.
    Type: Application
    Filed: March 18, 2019
    Publication date: November 14, 2019
    Inventors: Kyung Suk Oh, Ian P. Shaeffer
  • Publication number: 20190346911
    Abstract: Circuits, methods, and apparatus that may determine one or more characteristics relating to a mains power supply received by a computer system, and may then determine a maximum amount of power that may be drawn by the computer system given the determined characteristics. An example may provide a computer system having a power supply circuit that may include a detection circuit to receive a mains power supply and to detect a characteristic of the mains power supply. In response to the detected characteristic, the detection circuit may provide an output to a circuit in the computer system that sets a limit on a current that may be drawn by the circuit. In this example, the characteristic may be an RMS value of the mains power supply waveform, a location of where the mains power supply is being received, a quality of the mains power supply, or other characteristic.
    Type: Application
    Filed: September 11, 2018
    Publication date: November 14, 2019
    Applicant: Apple Inc.
    Inventors: Corey N. Axelowitz, William R. Allan, II, Eric C. Gaertner, Ian P. Shaeffer, Ronald P. Songco, John T. Orchard
  • Patent number: 10388337
    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: February 5, 2018
    Date of Patent: August 20, 2019
    Assignee: Rambus Inc.
    Inventors: James E. Harris, Thomas Vogelsang, Frederick A. Ware, Ian P. Shaeffer
  • Patent number: 10339990
    Abstract: A memory controller includes an interface to receive a data strobe signal and corresponding read data. The data strobe signal and the read data correspond to a read command issued by the memory controller, and the read data is received in accordance with the data strobe signal and an enable signal. A circuit in the memory controller is to dynamically adjust a timing offset between the enable signal and the data strobe signal, and control logic is to issue a supplemental read command in accordance with a determination that a time interval since a last read command issued by the memory controller exceeds a predetermined value.
    Type: Grant
    Filed: July 31, 2017
    Date of Patent: July 2, 2019
    Assignee: RAMBUS INC.
    Inventors: Bret Stott, Frederick A. Ware, Ian P. Shaeffer, Yuanlong Wang
  • Publication number: 20190196992
    Abstract: A memory controller includes a clock generator to generate a first clock signal and a timing circuit to generate a second clock signal from the first clock signal. The second clock signal times communications with any of a plurality of memory devices in respective ranks, including a first memory device in a first rank and a second memory device in a second rank. The timing circuit is configured to adjust a phase of the first clock signal, when the memory controller is communicating with the second memory device, based on calibration data associated with the second memory device and timing adjustment data associated with feedback from at least the first memory device.
    Type: Application
    Filed: December 20, 2018
    Publication date: June 27, 2019
    Inventors: Jared L. Zerbe, Ian P. Shaeffer, John Eble
  • Patent number: 10270442
    Abstract: A memory control component outputs a memory write command to a memory IC and also outputs write data to be received via data inputs of the memory IC. Prior to reception of the write data within the memory IC, the memory control component asserts a termination control signal that causes the memory IC to apply to the data inputs a first on-die termination impedance during reception of the write data followed by a second on-die termination impedance after the write data has been received. The memory control component deasserts the termination control signal to cause the memory IC to apply no termination impedance to the data inputs.
    Type: Grant
    Filed: July 31, 2018
    Date of Patent: April 23, 2019
    Assignee: Rambus Inc.
    Inventors: Kyung Suk Oh, Ian P. Shaeffer
  • Patent number: 10254987
    Abstract: Example embodiments provide a disaggregated memory appliance, comprising: a plurality of leaf memory switches that manage one or more memory channels of one or more of leaf memory modules; a low-latency memory switch that arbitrarily connects one or more external processors to the plurality of leaf memory modules over a host link; and a management processor that responds to requests from one or more external processors for management, maintenance, configuration and provisioning of the leaf memory modules within the memory appliance.
    Type: Grant
    Filed: September 28, 2015
    Date of Patent: April 9, 2019
    Assignee: Samsung Electronics Co., Ltd.
    Inventors: Steven L. Shrader, Harry R. Rogers, Robert Brennan, Ian P. Shaeffer
  • Patent number: 10249353
    Abstract: In an illustrative embodiment, the memory circuit includes first and second data paths on which data is transferred for read and write memory operations and first and second mixer circuits for adjusting the phase of clock signals applied to their inputs. The mixer circuits are cross-coupled so that the outputs of the first and second mixers are both available to both the first and second data paths. One mixer is used to provide a first phase adjusted clock signal for use by the operating circuit and the other mixer is used to provide a second phase adjusted clock signal for use by a following operation whatever that may be.
    Type: Grant
    Filed: May 24, 2017
    Date of Patent: April 2, 2019
    Assignee: Rambus Inc.
    Inventors: Ian P. Shaeffer, Lei Luo
  • Publication number: 20190088295
    Abstract: A memory controller having a time-staggered request signal output. A first timing signal is generated while a second timing signal is generated having a first phase difference relative to the first timing signal. An address value is transmitted in response to the first timing signal and a control value is transmitted in response to the second timing signal, the address value and control value constituting portions of a first memory access request.
    Type: Application
    Filed: August 22, 2018
    Publication date: March 21, 2019
    Inventors: Ian P. Shaeffer, Bret Stott, Benedict C. Lau
  • Publication number: 20190052269
    Abstract: A memory control component outputs a memory write command to a memory IC and also outputs write data to be received via data inputs of the memory IC. Prior to reception of the write data within the memory IC, the memory control component asserts a termination control signal that causes the memory IC to apply to the data inputs a first on-die termination impedance during reception of the write data followed by a second on-die termination impedance after the write data has been received. The memory control component deasserts the termination control signal to cause the memory IC to apply no termination impedance to the data inputs.
    Type: Application
    Filed: July 31, 2018
    Publication date: February 14, 2019
    Inventors: Kyung Suk Oh, Ian P. Shaeffer
  • Publication number: 20190026501
    Abstract: Techniques are disclosed in which a secure circuit controls a gating circuit to enable or disable other circuitry of a device (e.g., one or more input sensors). For example, the gating circuit may be a power gating circuit and the secure circuit may be configured to disable power to an input sensor in certain situations. As another example, the gating circuit may be a clock gating circuit and the secure circuit may be configured to disable the clock to an input sensor. As yet another example, the gating circuit may be configured to gate a control bus and the secure circuit may be configured to disable control signals to an input sensor. In some embodiments, hardware resources included in or controlled by the secure circuit are not accessible by other elements of the device, other than by sending requests to a predetermined set of memory locations (e.g., a secure mailbox).
    Type: Application
    Filed: September 11, 2018
    Publication date: January 24, 2019
    Inventors: Pierre-Olivier J. Martel, Jeffrey R. Wilcox, Ian P. Shaeffer, Andrew D. Myrick, Robert W. Hill, Tristan F. Schaap
  • Patent number: 10162772
    Abstract: A memory controller includes a clock generator to generate a first clock signal and a timing circuit to generate a second clock signal from the first clock signal. The second clock signal times communications with any of a plurality of memory devices in respective ranks, including a first memory device in a first rank and a second memory device in a second rank. The timing circuit is configured to adjust a phase of the first clock signal, when the memory controller is communicating with the second memory device, based on calibration data associated with the second memory device and timing adjustment data associated with feedback from at least the first memory device.
    Type: Grant
    Filed: February 3, 2017
    Date of Patent: December 25, 2018
    Assignee: RAMBUS INC.
    Inventors: Jared L. Zerbe, Ian P. Shaeffer, John Eble
  • Publication number: 20180349649
    Abstract: Techniques are disclosed in which a secure circuit controls a gating circuit to enable or disable other circuity of a device (e.g., one or more input sensors). For example, the gating circuit may be a power gating circuit and the secure circuit may be configured to disable power to an input sensor in certain situations. As another example, the gating circuit may be a clock gating circuit and the secure circuit may be configured to disable the clock to an input sensor. As yet another example, the gating circuit may be configured to gate a control bus and the secure circuit may be configured to disable control signals to an input sensor. In some embodiments, hardware resources included in or controlled by the secure circuit are not accessible by other elements of the device, other than by sending requests to a predetermined set of memory locations (e.g., a secure mailbox).
    Type: Application
    Filed: September 29, 2017
    Publication date: December 6, 2018
    Inventors: Pierre-Olivier J. Martel, Jeffrey R. Wilcox, Ian P. Shaeffer, Andrew D. Myrick, Robert W. Hill, Tristan F. Schaap
  • Publication number: 20180341603
    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: Application
    Filed: May 29, 2018
    Publication date: November 29, 2018
    Inventors: Ian P. Shaeffer, Arun Vaidyanath, Sanku Mukherjee
  • Publication number: 20180261266
    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: Application
    Filed: February 5, 2018
    Publication date: September 13, 2018
    Inventors: James E. Harris, Thomas Vogelsang, Frederick A. Ware, Ian P. Shaeffer
  • Patent number: 10062421
    Abstract: A memory controller having a time-staggered request signal output. A first timing signal is generated while a second timing signal is generated having a first phase difference relative to the first timing signal. An address value is transmitted in response to the first timing signal and a control value is transmitted in response to the second timing signal, the address value and control value constituting portions of a first memory access request.
    Type: Grant
    Filed: June 17, 2017
    Date of Patent: August 28, 2018
    Assignee: Rambus Inc.
    Inventors: Ian P. Shaeffer, Bret Stott, Benedict C. Lau
  • Patent number: 10056902
    Abstract: A memory control component outputs a memory write command to a memory IC and also outputs write data to be received via data inputs of the memory IC. Prior to reception of the write data within the memory IC, the memory control component asserts a termination control signal that causes the memory IC to apply to the data inputs a first on-die termination impedance during reception of the write data followed by a second on-die termination impedance after the write data has been received. The memory control component deasserts the termination control signal to cause the memory IC to apply no termination impedance to the data inputs.
    Type: Grant
    Filed: April 28, 2017
    Date of Patent: August 21, 2018
    Assignee: Rambus Inc.
    Inventors: Kyung Suk Oh, Ian P. Shaeffer
  • Patent number: 9996485
    Abstract: A memory-control integrated circuit includes internal data conductors, steering circuitry and distinct first and second data interfaces, the first data interface having twice as many input/output (I/O) transceivers as the second data interface. In a first memory system configuration in which only the first data interface is coupled to a memory module, the steering circuitry couples all the internal data conductors exclusively to the I/O transceivers of the first data interface. In a second memory system configuration in which the first and second data interfaces are coupled to respective memory modules, the steering circuitry couples a first half of the internal data conductors exclusively to the I/O transceivers of the second data interface while a second half of the internal data conductors remains exclusively coupled to half the I/O transceivers of the first data interface.
    Type: Grant
    Filed: March 14, 2017
    Date of Patent: June 12, 2018
    Assignee: Rambus Inc.
    Inventors: Ian P. Shaeffer, Arun Vaidyanath, Sanku Mukherjee