Patents by Inventor Mark Alan McClain
Mark Alan McClain 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: 11256426Abstract: In an example embodiment, a device comprises a non-volatile memory and wear leveling control circuitry. The non-volatile memory comprises logical memory sectors mapped to physical memory sectors, and a supervisory memory sector configured to store a mapping of the logical memory sectors to memory partitions with user-defined boundaries. The wear leveling control circuitry is configured to: receive and store, in the mapping, wear leveling parameters based on user input, where each memory partition is associated with a wear leveling parameter indicating whether that memory partition is excluded from wear leveling; and determine and apply, to the non-volatile memory, wear leveling characteristics based on the wear leveling parameters, where the wear leveling characteristics identify an amount of wear leveling allowed for each of the memory partitions.Type: GrantFiled: October 16, 2019Date of Patent: February 22, 2022Assignee: Cypress Semiconductor CorporationInventors: Mark Alan McClain, Willy Obereiner, Rainer Hoehler
-
Patent number: 11010062Abstract: A peripheral device includes a function block to provide data in response to a request from a host device, a data channel coupled with the function block to transmit the data from the function block to a host device as one or more packets, and output logic coupled with the data channel and configured to indicate validity of the data transmitted via the data channel by causing a signal to transition for each of the one or more packets of the data transmitted to the host device via the data channel, and transmit the signal to the host device.Type: GrantFiled: October 15, 2018Date of Patent: May 18, 2021Assignee: Cypress Semiconductor CorporationInventors: Mark Alan McClain, Qamrul Hasan, Clifford Alan Zitlaw
-
Publication number: 20200192583Abstract: In an example embodiment, a device comprises a non-volatile memory and wear leveling control circuitry. The non-volatile memory comprises logical memory sectors mapped to physical memory sectors, and a supervisory memory sector configured to store a mapping of the logical memory sectors to memory partitions with user-defined boundaries. The wear leveling control circuitry is configured to: receive and store, in the mapping, wear leveling parameters based on user input, where each memory partition is associated with a wear leveling parameter indicating whether that memory partition is excluded from wear leveling; and determine and apply, to the non-volatile memory, wear leveling characteristics based on the wear leveling parameters, where the wear leveling characteristics identify an amount of wear leveling allowed for each of the memory partitions.Type: ApplicationFiled: October 16, 2019Publication date: June 18, 2020Applicant: Cypress Semiconductor CorporationInventors: Mark Alan McClain, Willy Obereiner, Rainer Hoehler
-
Patent number: 10489064Abstract: Disclosed herein are systems, methods, and devices for user configurable wear leveling of non-volatile memory devices. Devices include a non-volatile memory including a plurality of physical memory portions, where each of the plurality of physical memory portions is configured to be mapped to a logical memory portion of a plurality of logical memory portions. Devices may also include wear leveling control circuitry configured to receive a plurality of wear leveling parameters, and further configured to determine a plurality of wear leveling characteristics based on the plurality of wear leveling parameters received, where the plurality of wear leveling characteristics identify an amount of wear leveling allowed for each of the plurality of logical memory portions.Type: GrantFiled: December 22, 2016Date of Patent: November 26, 2019Assignee: Cypress Semiconductor CorporationInventors: Mark Alan McClain, Willy Obereiner, Rainer Hoehler
-
Publication number: 20190212920Abstract: A peripheral device includes a function block to provide data in response to a request from a host device, a data channel coupled with the function block to transmit the data from the function block to a host device as one or more packets, and output logic coupled with the data channel and configured to indicate validity of the data transmitted via the data channel by causing a signal to transition for each of the one or more packets of the data transmitted to the host device via the data channel, and transmit the signal to the host device.Type: ApplicationFiled: October 15, 2018Publication date: July 11, 2019Applicant: Cypress Semiconductor CorporationInventors: Mark Alan McClain, Qamrul Hasan, Clifford Alan Zitlaw
-
Patent number: 10120590Abstract: Disclosed herein are system, apparatus, methods and/or combinations and sub-combinations thereof, for using a read data strobe signal received at a host device from a peripheral device to convey variable latency (flow) control or report an error in the data content read from the peripheral device. Reception of the read data strobe signal before a predetermined maximum latency time, provides variable latency control back to the host by indicating when valid data is available for capture. If the read data strobe signal is not received before expiration of a predetermined maximum latency time, the peripheral controller is indicating a read data error back to the host.Type: GrantFiled: September 21, 2016Date of Patent: November 6, 2018Assignee: Cypress Semiconductor CorporationInventors: Mark Alan McClain, Qamrul Hasan, Clifford Alan Zitlaw
-
Publication number: 20180095678Abstract: Disclosed herein are systems, methods, and devices for user configurable wear leveling of non-volatile memory devices. Devices include a non-volatile memory including a plurality of physical memory portions, where each of the plurality of physical memory portions is configured to be mapped to a logical memory portion of a plurality of logical memory portions. Devices may also include wear leveling control circuitry configured to receive a plurality of wear leveling parameters, and further configured to determine a plurality of wear leveling characteristics based on the plurality of wear leveling parameters received, where the plurality of wear leveling characteristics identify an amount of wear leveling allowed for each of the plurality of logical memory portions.Type: ApplicationFiled: December 22, 2016Publication date: April 5, 2018Inventors: Mark Alan McClain, Willy Obereiner, Rainer Hoehler
-
Patent number: 9646661Abstract: Embodiments of the present invention include an apparatus, method, and system for integrating data processing logic with memory. An embodiment of a memory integrated circuit is designed to execute a task on the data in a memory array within a memory integrated circuit. The memory integrated circuit can include a memory array, a data access component, a data holding component, and a logic component. The data access component can be coupled to the memory array and configured to provide an address to the memory array. The data holding component can be coupled to the memory array and configured to temporarily store the data in the memory array located at the address. The logic component can be coupled to both the data access component and the data holding component, and be configured to execute a task using data received from the data holding component. The logic component can include combinational or sequential logic.Type: GrantFiled: February 24, 2016Date of Patent: May 9, 2017Assignee: Cypress Semiconductor CorporationInventor: Mark Alan McClain
-
Publication number: 20170090781Abstract: Disclosed herein are system, apparatus, methods and/or combinations and sub-combinations thereof, for using a read data strobe signal received at a host device from a peripheral device to convey variable latency (flow) control or report an error in the data content read from the peripheral device. Reception of the read data strobe signal before a predetermined maximum latency time, provides variable latency control back to the host by indicating when valid data is available for capture. If the read data strobe signal is not received before expiration of a predetermined maximum latency time, the peripheral controller is indicating a read data error back to the host.Type: ApplicationFiled: September 21, 2016Publication date: March 30, 2017Applicant: Cypress Semiconductor CorporationInventors: Mark Alan McClain, Qamrul Hasan, Clifford Alan Zitlaw
-
Publication number: 20160307611Abstract: Embodiments of the present invention include an apparatus, method, and system for integrating data processing logic with memory. An embodiment of a memory integrated circuit is designed to execute a task on the data in a memory array within a memory integrated circuit. The memory integrated circuit can include a memory array, a data access component, a data holding component, and a logic component. The data access component can be coupled to the memory array and configured to provide an address to the memory array. The data holding component can be coupled to the memory array and configured to temporarily store the data in the memory array located at the address. The logic component can be coupled to both the data access component and the data holding component, and be configured to execute a task using data received from the data holding component. The logic component can include combinational or sequential logic.Type: ApplicationFiled: February 24, 2016Publication date: October 20, 2016Inventor: Mark Alan McClain
-
Patent number: 9454421Abstract: Disclosed herein are system, apparatus, methods and/or combinations and sub-combinations thereof, for using a read data strobe signal received at a host device from a peripheral device to convey variable latency (flow) control or report an error in the data content read from the peripheral device. Reception of the read data strobe signal before a predetermined maximum latency time, provides variable latency control back to the host by indicating when valid data is available for capture. If the read data strobe signal is not received before expiration of a predetermined maximum latency time, the peripheral controller is indicating a read data error back to the host.Type: GrantFiled: October 15, 2013Date of Patent: September 27, 2016Assignee: CYPRESS SEMICONDUCTOR CORPORATIONInventors: Mark Alan McClain, Qamrul Hasan, Clifford Alan Zitlaw
-
Patent number: 9305614Abstract: Embodiments of the present invention include an apparatus, method, and system for integrating data processing logic with memory. An embodiment of a memory integrated circuit is designed to execute a task on the data in a memory array within a memory integrated circuit. The memory integrated circuit can include a memory array, a data access component, a data holding component, and a logic component. The data access component can be coupled to the memory array and configured to provide an address to the memory array. The data holding component can be coupled to the memory array and configured to temporarily store the data in the memory array located at the address. The logic component can be coupled to both the data access component and the data holding component, and be configured to execute a task using data received from the data holding component. The logic component can include combinational or sequential logic.Type: GrantFiled: December 21, 2012Date of Patent: April 5, 2016Assignee: Cypress Semiconductor CorporationInventor: Mark Alan McClain
-
Publication number: 20150106664Abstract: Disclosed herein are system, apparatus, methods and/or combinations and sub-combinations thereof, for using a read data strobe signal received at a host device from a peripheral device to convey variable latency (flow) control or report an error in the data content read from the peripheral device. Reception of the read data strobe signal before a predetermined maximum latency time, provides variable latency control back to the host by indicating when valid data is available for capture. If the read data strobe signal is not received before expiration of a predetermined maximum latency time, the peripheral controller is indicating a read data error back to the host.Type: ApplicationFiled: October 15, 2013Publication date: April 16, 2015Applicant: Spansion LLCInventors: Mark Alan McCLAIN, Qamrul Hasan, Clifford Alan Zitlaw
-
Patent number: 7058779Abstract: A method for reducing the number of interface lines and non-volatile memory devices in a computer system includes providing a non-volatile memory having a SDRAM style interface. A system having both non-volatile memory and SDRAM has reduced interface lines by providing only one memory interface. A system where the SDRAM interface logic is initialized by code stored in the non-volatile memory having a SDRAM style interface, eliminating any requirement for other non-volatile memory, independent of the SDRAM interface, from which to initialize the system.Type: GrantFiled: March 5, 2002Date of Patent: June 6, 2006Assignee: Advanced Micro Devices, Inc.Inventor: Mark Alan McClain
-
Patent number: 6731536Abstract: In protecting Flash memory data, a flexible system and method provides for different levels of protection. It offers the ability to dynamically lock a sector of memory using a dynamic protection bit in volatile memory. It offers persistent locking of a sector using a non-volatile bit in memory and locking this status using a lock bit in volatile memory. It offers yet further protection by including a password mode which requires a password to clear the lock bit. The password is located in an unreadable, one time programmable area of the memory. The memory also includes areas, whose protection state is controlled by an input signal, for storing boot code in a protected manner.Type: GrantFiled: March 7, 2002Date of Patent: May 4, 2004Assignee: Advanced Micro Devices, Inc.Inventors: Mark Alan McClain, Michael Garrett Tanaka, Ralf Muenster