Patents by Inventor Kenneth J. Stern

Kenneth J. Stern 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: 6774694
    Abstract: A timing vernier applies a pair of stable bias voltages to intermediate points of an impedance string to establish reliable and calibratable delay cell biases for a fine multiplexer. A coarse input multiplexer is switched to a new timing signal substantially immediately after passing a prior valid timing signal to maximize the time prior to each valid output that the waveform is independent of the prior delay pattern. Logic circuitry is provided for three different phase differential regimes between successive timing signals to ensure that invalid output signals separated by less than a clock period are not produced. Mask commands are inserted into a series of timing control commands to equalize the average rates of writing and reading out the timing control commands with the mask commands skipped at readout.
    Type: Grant
    Filed: December 24, 2002
    Date of Patent: August 10, 2004
    Assignee: Analog Devices, Inc.
    Inventors: Kenneth J. Stern, Jeff W. Barrell, Paul S. Cheung, Thomas Alan Gaiser
  • Patent number: 6429712
    Abstract: A precision SET-RESET logic circuit and operating method separate a latch function from the critical signal path which produces the logic outputs. In a particular implementation the logic circuit includes two differential switch pairs controlled respectively by SET and RESET inputs, with respective enable circuits for the differential pair controlled by the output of the latch circuit. The SET and RESET differential switch pairs respond faster than the latch circuit to a change to the input SET-RESET state. A logic output is initially produced by establishing a first current path through. the differential switches and enable circuits in response to a new logic input, and then latched via a different current path.
    Type: Grant
    Filed: August 29, 2001
    Date of Patent: August 6, 2002
    Assignee: Analog Devices, Inc.
    Inventors: Thomas A. Gaiser, Kenneth J. Stern, Farhad Vazehgoo, Vincenzo DiTommaso, William L. Walter, Edward B. Hilton
  • Publication number: 20020024370
    Abstract: A precision SET-RESET logic circuit and operating method separate a latch function from the critical signal path which produces the logic outputs. In a particular implementation the logic circuit includes two differential switch pairs controlled respectively by SET and RESET inputs, with respective enable circuits for the differential pair controlled by the output of the latch circuit. The SET and RESET differential switch pairs respond faster than the latch circuit to a change to the input SET-RESET state. A logic output is initially produced by establishing a first current path through the differential switches and enable circuits in response to a new logic input, and then latched via a different current path.
    Type: Application
    Filed: August 29, 2001
    Publication date: February 28, 2002
    Inventors: Thomas A. Gaiser, Kenneth J. Stern, Farhad Vazehgoo, Vincenzo DiTommaso, William L. Walter, Edward B. Hilton
  • Patent number: 6326828
    Abstract: A precision SET-RESET logic circuit and operating method separate a latch function from the critical signal path which produces the logic outputs. In a particular implementation the logic circuit includes two differential switch pairs controlled respectively by SET and RESET inputs, with respective enable circuits for the differential pair controlled by the output of the latch circuit. The SET and RESET differential switch pairs respond faster than the latch circuit to a change to the input SET-RESET state. A logic output is initially produced by establishing a first current path through the differential switches and enable circuits in response to a new logic input, and then latched via a different current path.
    Type: Grant
    Filed: December 7, 1999
    Date of Patent: December 4, 2001
    Assignee: Analog Devices, Inc.
    Inventors: Thomas A. Gaiser, Kenneth J. Stern, Farhad Vazehgoo, Vincenzo DiTommaso, William L. Walter, Edward B. Hilton
  • Patent number: 6265901
    Abstract: A high speed, multiple input restrictive OR circuit with fully differential inputs and output is used in applications in which only one input can be active at a time. N differential voltage inputs are converted into N corresponding differential current signals of unit current values. The current signals corresponding to active complement input signals are summed together, with a compensation current equal to (N−1) current units subtracted from the total. The resulting compensated complement currents together with any active input current form a single differential current that indicates the logic state at the input. This differential current is preferably converted to a buffered output differential voltage in an output stage. For high accuracy applications, a common unit reference current is used to generate both a scaled compensation current and unit input stage source currents.
    Type: Grant
    Filed: November 24, 1999
    Date of Patent: July 24, 2001
    Assignee: Analog Devices, Inc.
    Inventors: Kenneth J. Stern, Vincenzo DiTommaso
  • Patent number: 6242959
    Abstract: One or more main programmed delay circuits (PDCs) are compensated to provide constant delays despite variations in environmental factors, such as temperature and power supply, by means of a dummy PDC that emulates the main PDCs in environmental sensitivity. While the main PDCs have dynamically changing programmed inputs, the dummy PDC has a constant programmed input. Changes in the dummy PDC's delay due to environmental changes are monitored and a correction signal is applied to the dummy PDC to maintain its delay substantially constant, with the same correction provided to the main PDCs to correct for the same changes in the delay of these circuits. The dummy PDC is preferably initially calibrated so that its fixed delay period coincides with an integer number of clock periods. Both the main and dummy PDCs preferably produce respective delays equal to the linear sum of a programmed delay and their correction delays.
    Type: Grant
    Filed: December 2, 1999
    Date of Patent: June 5, 2001
    Assignee: Analog Devices, Inc.
    Inventor: Kenneth J. Stern
  • Patent number: 5150386
    Abstract: A clock multiplier/jitter attenuator circuit provides a stable clock which is a multiple frequency of the average frequency of an external digital data stream. The external data is written into successive storage cells of a FIFO at its own clock rate and read out of the FIFO at the rate of an internal clock signal which is formed by frequency dividing the stable clock. The relative locations of the cell being written into and the cell being read out of are determined at periodic time intervals, and these relative locations are used to adjust the frequency of an internal oscillator which generates the stable clock. The instantaneous jitter on the digital data stream is absorbed by the FIFO.
    Type: Grant
    Filed: February 9, 1989
    Date of Patent: September 22, 1992
    Assignee: Crystal Semiconductor Corporation
    Inventors: Kenneth J. Stern, Navdeep S. Sooch, Jerrell P. Hein
  • Patent number: 4988954
    Abstract: A linear power amplifier having differential push-pull outputs, in which each output consists of an upper and a lower output transistor, includes cross-coupling transistors coupled between the gate of each of the output transistors and a reference voltage such that when the cross-coupled transistor is made conductive, it acts to turn off its associated output transistor. Each of the cross-coupled transistors is controlled by the voltage at the gate of the corresponding output transistor at the other of the differential outputs. Thus, the cross-coupling transistors insure that only one of the upper output transistors is on at one time and only one of the lower output transistors is on at any one time. These cross-coupling transistors operate in conjection with output stage shutoff circuitry to control the current wasted in the output stages of the linear power amplifier by ensuring that the output transistors at each output are not both conducting a significant amount of current at any one time.
    Type: Grant
    Filed: April 28, 1989
    Date of Patent: January 29, 1991
    Assignee: Crystal Semiconductor Corporation
    Inventors: Kenneth J. Stern, Stephen F. Bily
  • Patent number: 4941156
    Abstract: A jitter attenuation circuit includes a FIFO data register (10) which is operable to receive data that is synchronized with a Write clock output therefrom synchronized with a Read clock. The data is written to the FIFO register (10) from a location determined by a Write pointer (12). The data is read out from the FIFO register (10) from a location determined by a Read pointer (14) which is clocked by a Read clock. The Read clock is synchronized with the Write clock by a phase lock loop (24). The phase lock loop (24) has a phase detector (26) which is operable to accrue phase error over intervals of 2.pi. radians such that the phase lock loop (24) virtually never loses lock as a result of phase jitter on the Write clock.
    Type: Grant
    Filed: March 22, 1989
    Date of Patent: July 10, 1990
    Assignee: Crystal Semiconductor
    Inventors: Kenneth J. Stern, John A. Beck
  • Patent number: 4805198
    Abstract: A clock multiplier/jitter attenuator circuit provides a stable clock which is a multiple frequency of the average frequency of an external digital data stream. The external data is written into successive storage cells of a FIFO at its own clock rate and read out of the FIFO at the rate of an internal clock signal which is formed by frequency dividing the stable clock. The relative locations of the cell being written into and the cell being read out of are determined at periodic time intervals, and these relative locations are used to adjust the frequency of an internal oscillator which generates the stable clock. The instantaneous jitter on the digital data stream is absorbed by the FIFO.
    Type: Grant
    Filed: May 19, 1987
    Date of Patent: February 14, 1989
    Assignee: Crystal Semiconductor Corporation
    Inventors: Kenneth J. Stern, Navdeep S. Sooch, Jerrell P. Hein