Patents by Inventor John E. McGowan

John E. McGowan 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: 6362649
    Abstract: A hybrid integrated circuit architecture comprising a mask programmable portion and a field programmable gate array portion. The mask programmable portion has a plurality of mask programmed input and output buffer circuits, and a first group of input/output pads, wherein one of the input/output pads of the first group is connected to an input of one of the input buffer circuits, and one of the input/output pads of the first group is connected to an output of one of the output buffer circuits.
    Type: Grant
    Filed: April 2, 1999
    Date of Patent: March 26, 2002
    Assignee: Actel Corporation
    Inventor: John E. McGowan
  • Patent number: 5959466
    Abstract: A hybrid integrate circuit architecture comprising a mask programmable portion and a field programmable gate array portion. The mask programmable portion has a plurality of mask programmed input and output buffer circuits, and a first group of input/output pads, wherein one of the input/output pads of the first group is connected to an input of one of the input buffer circuits, and one of the input/output pads of the first group is connected to an output of one of the output buffer circuits.
    Type: Grant
    Filed: January 31, 1997
    Date of Patent: September 28, 1999
    Assignee: Actel Corporation
    Inventor: John E. McGowan
  • Patent number: 5952852
    Abstract: In a first aspect of the present invention, implementing a fast, wide decode in a field programmable gate array by selecting a test probe circuit associated with a column in the array, selecting at least one logic module associated with the test probe circuit, driving the test probe circuit in the at least one logic module by an output of the at least one logic module, and sensing a logic level in the test probe circuit to determine whether a match in the decode at the inputs of the at least one logic module occurred.
    Type: Grant
    Filed: July 2, 1997
    Date of Patent: September 14, 1999
    Assignee: Actel Corporation
    Inventors: John E. McGowan, William C. Plants, Warren K. Miller
  • Patent number: 5821776
    Abstract: A mixed signal integrated circuit architecture comprising a mask programmable portion and a field programmable gate array portion. The mask programmable portion has a plurality of mask programmed analog function circuits, and a first group of input/output pads, wherein one of the input/output pads of the first group is connected to an input of one of the analog function circuits, and one of the input/output pads of the first group is connected to an output of one of the analog function circuits.
    Type: Grant
    Filed: January 31, 1997
    Date of Patent: October 13, 1998
    Assignee: Actel Corporation
    Inventor: John E. McGowan
  • Patent number: 5744980
    Abstract: A field programmable gate array architecture comprises a plurality of horizontal and vertical routing channels each including a plurality of interconnect conductors. Some interconnect conductors are segmented by user-programmable interconnect elements, and some horizontal and vertical interconnect conductors are connectable by user-programmable interconnect elements located at selected intersections between them. An array of rows and columns of logic function modules each having at least one input and one output is superimposed on the routing channels. The inputs and outputs of the logic function modules are connectable to ones of the interconnect conductors in either or both of the horizontal and vertical routing channels. At least one column of random access memory blocks is disposed in the array.
    Type: Grant
    Filed: February 16, 1996
    Date of Patent: April 28, 1998
    Assignee: Actel Corporation
    Inventors: John E. McGowan, William C. Plants, Joel D. Landry, Sinan Kaptanoglu, Warren K. Miller