Patents by Inventor Patrick Heyne

Patrick Heyne 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: 7629820
    Abstract: A delay circuit includes a delay device, to which an input signal is supplied. A first phase-shifted signal can be generated by the delay device, which is delayed by a first delay time with respect to the input signal, and a second phase-shifted signal can be generated, which is delayed by a second delay time with respect to the input signal. The delay device is configured such that the first and second phase-shifted signal can be generated in inverted fashion with respect to one another at an output terminal of the delay device after a delay of the input signal by a delay time.
    Type: Grant
    Filed: September 24, 2007
    Date of Patent: December 8, 2009
    Assignee: Qimonda AG
    Inventors: Patrick Heyne, Per Anders Johansson
  • Patent number: 7457392
    Abstract: A delay locked loop includes a first delay device for obtaining a fine setting and a downstream-connected second delay device for obtaining a coarse setting of the delay time. The control signals for controlling the respective delay devices are provided by synchronization latches, which receive a clock obtained by the output signal of the first delay device for obtaining the fine setting. The delay locked loop enables a linear operating behavior at a high operating frequency and is particularly suitable when a differential embodiment of the two delay devices is used.
    Type: Grant
    Filed: October 8, 2002
    Date of Patent: November 25, 2008
    Assignee: Infineon Technologies AG
    Inventors: Christian Weis, Thomas Miller, Patrick Heyne
  • Patent number: 7414445
    Abstract: A device for synchronizing an input clock signal with an output clock signal is disclosed. One embodiment includes includes a bistable trigger circuit for controlling the edges of a clock signal fed to a first delay, a second phase comparator for determining the phase between the first clock signal delayed by the first delay and the input clock signal, and a second controller for controlling the delay of the first clock signal in correspondence with the phase determined by the second phase comparator.
    Type: Grant
    Filed: August 2, 2006
    Date of Patent: August 19, 2008
    Assignee: Qimonda AG
    Inventor: Patrick Heyne
  • Patent number: 7404018
    Abstract: The invention provides a method for setting and controlling a read latency (L) by means of a FIFO-based read latency control circuit for a read access to a semiconductor memory, having the method steps of providing a common internal clock signal; generating an internal first clock signal and an internal second clock signal, which is different from the first clock signal, from the common clock signal; generating an output pointer for reading out the read data from the first clock signal; generating an input pointer for reading in the read data from the second clock signal; initializing the input and output pointers by allocating a defined, fixedly predetermined time offset between output pointer and input pointer. The invention furthermore provides a corresponding circuit arrangement for carrying out the method.
    Type: Grant
    Filed: May 25, 2005
    Date of Patent: July 22, 2008
    Assignee: Infineon Technologies AG
    Inventors: Stefan Dietrich, Thomas Hein, Patrick Heyne, Peter Schroegmeier
  • Patent number: 7391245
    Abstract: A delay locked loop includes a delay chain that contains a plurality of series-connected delay cells, a phase detector arrangement that contains a plurality of phase detector cells and a control unit. The delay locked loop delays an input signal by a delay time via the delay chain depending on the number of delay cells in the series that are activated for delay. The phase detector arrangement detects the phase of the signal at the output of each delay cell in the delay chain. The control unit activates a number Z of the delay cells of the delay chain based on the difference in phase of the original signal and the delayed signal.
    Type: Grant
    Filed: May 22, 2006
    Date of Patent: June 24, 2008
    Assignee: Infineon Technologies AG
    Inventors: Patrick Heyne, Aaron Nygren
  • Patent number: 7363561
    Abstract: The invention relates to a method for resetting at least one circuit part of an integrated circuit, in particular a synchronous semiconductor memory, in which a clock signal and a clock signal that is inverted with respect to the latter are provided in order to clock the integrated circuit, and in which, when a reset condition is present, an item of reset information is coded onto the clock signal or onto the inverted clock signal. The invention also relates to a circuit arrangement for carrying out the method according to the invention, having a clock suppression device and a decoder circuit, which is intended to extract the reset information from the clock signal or from the inverted clock signal.
    Type: Grant
    Filed: April 29, 2005
    Date of Patent: April 22, 2008
    Assignee: Infineon Technologies AG
    Inventors: Stefan Dietrich, Thomas Hein, Patrick Heyne, Peter Schrögmeier
  • Publication number: 20080074159
    Abstract: A delay circuit includes a delay device, to which an input signal is supplied. A first phase-shifted signal can be generated by the delay device, which is delayed by a first delay time with respect to the input signal, and a second phase-shifted signal can be generated, which is delayed by a second delay time with respect to the input signal. The delay device is configured such that the first and second phase-shifted signal can be generated in inverted fashion with respect to one another at an output terminal of the delay device after a delay of the input signal by a delay time.
    Type: Application
    Filed: September 24, 2007
    Publication date: March 27, 2008
    Applicant: QIMONDA AG
    Inventors: Patrick Heyne, Per Johansson
  • Publication number: 20070285139
    Abstract: An amplifier circuit is configured to correct the duty ratio of a differential clock signal to a desired value of 50% via a differential amplifier including a MOS transistor pair. The clock signal to be corrected is applied to a respective gate terminal of the MOS transistor pair of the amplifier circuit, a differential analog duty ratio correction signal is generated by in each case integrating the true and complementary clock signal delivered by each MOS transistor at a source/drain terminal. The differential duty ratio correction signal is in each case applied to the electrically separated substrate terminals of the MOS transistor pair so that the substrate voltages, and thus the turn-on voltages of the MOS transistors of the transistor pair are in each case conversely influenced.
    Type: Application
    Filed: May 15, 2007
    Publication date: December 13, 2007
    Applicant: QIMONDA AG
    Inventor: Patrick Heyne
  • Patent number: 7304515
    Abstract: The invention involves a clock pulse synchronization process as well as a device to be used in the synchronization of clock pulses, including a first delay apparatus with variably controllable delay period, in which a clock pulse or a signal derived from it, has a variably controllable delay period imposed on it and is then emitted as a delayed signal. In addition to the first delay apparatus with variably controllable delay period, a second delay apparatus with variably controllable delay period is provided.
    Type: Grant
    Filed: January 25, 2005
    Date of Patent: December 4, 2007
    Assignee: Infineon Technologies AG
    Inventors: Martin Brox, Patrick Heyne, Alessandro Minzoni, Rajashekhar Rao, Kazimierz Szczypinski
  • Publication number: 20070273416
    Abstract: A signal delay loop (1) having a first signal delay line (4) which has a plurality of series-connectable signal delay elements with a respective associated component signal delay time (?TVE), where the first signal delay line (4) outputs an input signal, applied to a signal input (2) of the signal delay loop (1), with a time delay to a signal output (3) of the signal delay loop (1); a second signal delay line (5) which feeds back the signal which is output on the signal output (3) of the signal delay loop (1) to a phase detector (6) which detects a phase difference (??) between the feedback signal and the input signal; a control unit (7) which takes the detected phase difference (??) as a basis for connecting a portion of the signal delay elements in the first signal delay line (4) in series to set a total signal delay time for the first signal delay line (4); where the respective component signal delay time (?TVE) of each signal delay element in the first signal delay line (4) is adjustable.
    Type: Application
    Filed: May 25, 2007
    Publication date: November 29, 2007
    Inventor: Patrick Heyne
  • Publication number: 20070182470
    Abstract: A device for synchronizing an input clock signal with an output clock signal is disclosed. One embodiment includes includes a bistable trigger circuit for controlling the edges of a clock signal fed to a first delay, a second phase comparator for determining the phase between the first clock signal delayed by the first delay and the input clock signal, and a second controller for controlling the delay of the first clock signal in correspondence with the phase determined by the second phase comparator.
    Type: Application
    Filed: August 2, 2006
    Publication date: August 9, 2007
    Inventor: Patrick Heyne
  • Publication number: 20060273834
    Abstract: A delay locked loop includes a delay chain that contains a plurality of series-connected delay cells, a phase detector arrangement that contains a plurality of phase detector cells and a control unit. The delay locked loop delays an input signal by a delay time via the delay chain depending on the number of delay cells in the series that are activated for delay. The phase detector arrangement detects the phase of the signal at the output of each delay cell in the delay chain. The control unit activates a number Z of the delay cells of the delay chain based on the difference in phase of the original signal and the delayed signal.
    Type: Application
    Filed: May 22, 2006
    Publication date: December 7, 2006
    Inventors: Patrick Heyne, Aaron Nygren
  • Patent number: 7126401
    Abstract: A delay device has series-connected multiplexers in a differential form. First connections of the multiplexers are connected to the output of an upstream multiplexer. Second inputs of the multiplexers are connected to the input connection to which the signal to be delayed can be supplied. A control signal controls the switch setting of one of the multiplexers such that its output is connected to the input of the delay device. The other multiplexers have the other switch setting. In consequence, a specific delay time is set for the delay device. The multiplexers have four current paths which are coupled in pairs. One of the current path pairs can be decoupled from the current source via a transistor.
    Type: Grant
    Filed: March 11, 2005
    Date of Patent: October 24, 2006
    Assignee: Infineon Technologies AG
    Inventors: Patrick Heyne, Musa Saglam
  • Publication number: 20060214709
    Abstract: A circuit arrangement is provided for generating a synchronization signal having signal edge changes whose timings are defined. The arrangement includes a plurality of controllable signal delay arrangements, each including a circuit part with variable signal delay and a circuit part with constant signal delay, where an input signal is supplied to a first controllable signal delay arrangement, a phase detection device including two inputs and one output, and a control circuit that controls the circuit parts with variable signal delay. The input of the control circuit is connected to the output of the phase detection device, and the output of the control circuit is connected to control inputs of the circuit parts with variable signal delay. The input signal is also supplied to the first input of the phase detection device. One output of one of the controllable signal delay arrangements is connected to the second input of the phase detection device.
    Type: Application
    Filed: March 15, 2006
    Publication date: September 28, 2006
    Inventors: Aaron Nygren, Patrick Heyne
  • Patent number: 7016452
    Abstract: A delay locked loop includes a delay unit with a controllable delay time. Switching elements are provided in order to tap off output signals from the delay elements of the delay unit. Two nodes connected to the switching elements are connected to a multiplexer configuration in order to activate in each case two of the switching elements that are connected to delay elements connected directly in succession. A phase interpolator generates an intermediate phase from the signals provided.
    Type: Grant
    Filed: June 24, 2002
    Date of Patent: March 21, 2006
    Assignee: Infineon Technologies AG
    Inventors: Torsten Partsch, Thomas Hein, Thilo Marx, Patrick Heyne
  • Publication number: 20050270852
    Abstract: The invention provides a method for setting and controlling a read latency (L) by means of a FIFO-based read latency control circuit for a read access to a semiconductor memory, having the method steps of providing a common internal clock signal; generating an internal first clock signal and an internal second clock signal, which is different from the first clock signal, from the common clock signal; generating an output pointer for reading out the read data from the first clock signal; generating an input pointer for reading in the read data from the second clock signal; initializing the input and output pointers by allocating a defined, fixedly predetermined time offset between output pointer and input pointer. The invention furthermore provides a corresponding circuit arrangement for carrying out the method.
    Type: Application
    Filed: May 25, 2005
    Publication date: December 8, 2005
    Applicant: Infineon Technologies AG
    Inventors: Stefan Dietrich, Thomas Hein, Patrick Heyne, Peter Schroegmeier
  • Patent number: 6967893
    Abstract: An integrated synchronous memory has a register which can store a frequency-range information item regarding whether the memory is operated in a first or in a lower, second frequency range in an application. The mode of operation of a subcircuit in the memory can be controlled on the basis of the stored frequency-range information item in the register. A memory configuration having a memory module on which at least one such synchronous memory is disposed contains a controller which can be connected to the memory module and sets the register in the at least one memory. Therefore, optimum functionality of the memory can be ensured both in a high and in a low frequency range of the operating frequency.
    Type: Grant
    Filed: July 25, 2003
    Date of Patent: November 22, 2005
    Assignee: Infineon Tecnologies AG
    Inventor: Patrick Heyne
  • Publication number: 20050253638
    Abstract: The invention relates to a method for resetting at least one circuit part of an integrated circuit, in particular a synchronous semiconductor memory, in which a clock signal and a clock signal that is inverted with respect to the latter are provided in order to clock the integrated circuit, and in which, when a reset condition is present, an item of reset information is coded onto the clock signal or onto the inverted clock signal. The invention also relates to a circuit arrangement for carrying out the method according to the invention, having a clock suppression device and a decoder circuit, which is intended to extract the reset information from the clock signal or from the inverted clock signal.
    Type: Application
    Filed: April 29, 2005
    Publication date: November 17, 2005
    Applicant: Infineon Technologies AG
    Inventors: Stefan Dietrich, Thomas Hein, Patrick Heyne, Peter Schrogmeier
  • Publication number: 20050218954
    Abstract: A delay device has series-connected multiplexers in a differential form. First connections of the multiplexers are connected to the output of an upstream multiplexer. Second inputs of the multiplexers are connected to the input connection to which the signal to be delayed can be supplied. A control signal controls the switch setting of one of the multiplexers such that its output is connected to the input of the delay device. The other multiplexers have the other switch setting. In consequence, a specific delay time is set for the delay device. The multiplexers have four current paths which are coupled in pairs. One of the current path pairs can be decoupled from the current source via a transistor.
    Type: Application
    Filed: March 11, 2005
    Publication date: October 6, 2005
    Inventors: Patrick Heyne, Musa Saglam
  • Publication number: 20050179478
    Abstract: The invention involves a clock pulse synchronization process as well as a device (1, 101) to be used in the synchronization of clock pulses (CLK), containing a first delay apparatus (2a) with variably controllable delay period (tvar), in which a clock pulse (CLK) or a signal derived from it, has a variably controllable delay period (tvar) imposed on it and is then emitted as a delayed signal (FBA), characterized in that in addition to the first delay apparatus (2a) with variably controllable delay period (tvar), a second delay apparatus (2b) with variably controllable delay period (tvar) is provided.
    Type: Application
    Filed: January 25, 2005
    Publication date: August 18, 2005
    Applicant: Infineon Technologies AG
    Inventors: Martin Brox, Patrick Heyne, Alessandro Minzoni, Rajashekhar Rao, Kazimierz Szczypinski