Patents by Inventor Patrick J. Meaney

Patrick J. Meaney 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: 20200073565
    Abstract: One or more memory systems, architectural structures, and/or methods of storing information in memory devices is disclosed to improve the data bandwidth and or to reduce the load on the communications links in a memory system. The system may include one or more memory devices, one or more memory control circuits and one or more data buffer circuits. In one embodiment, the Host only transmits data (and CRC) and does not transmit control signals, over its communications link with the data buffer circuits. In one aspect, the memory control circuit does not send the store data tag to the data buffer circuits. In one embodiment, the Host and the data buffer circuits each maintain a separate state machine-driven address pointer or local address sequencer, e.g., local store tag FIFO, which contains the same tags in the same sequence. A periodic system check and resynchronization method is also disclosed.
    Type: Application
    Filed: November 7, 2019
    Publication date: March 5, 2020
    Inventors: Steven R. Carlough, Susan M. Eickhoff, Patrick J. Meaney, Stephen J. Powell, Gary A. Van Huben, Jie Zheng
  • Patent number: 10558519
    Abstract: Embodiments include techniques used for a power-reduced redundant array of independent memory RAIM system. The technique includes blocking commands to one or more memory modules of the RAIM system and reading data from one or more unblocked memory modules. The technique also includes applying a power channel mark for one or more blocked memory modules, the power channel mark indicating the one or more blocked memory modules to a decoder for error correction.
    Type: Grant
    Filed: January 17, 2017
    Date of Patent: February 11, 2020
    Assignee: INTERNATIONAL BUSINESS MACHINES CORPORATION
    Inventors: Glenn D. Gilda, Patrick J. Meaney
  • Publication number: 20200042205
    Abstract: One or more memory systems, architectural structures, and/or methods of storing information in memory devices is disclosed to improve the data bandwidth and or to reduce the load on the communications links in a memory system. The system may include one or more memory devices, one or more memory control circuits and one or more data buffer circuits. In one embodiment, the Host only transmits data over its communications link with the data buffer circuit. In one aspect, the memory control circuit does not send a control signal to the data buffer circuits. In one aspect, the memory control circuit and the data buffer circuits each maintain a separate state machine-driven address pointer or local address sequencer, which contains the same tags in the same sequence. In another aspect, a resynchronization method is disclosed.
    Type: Application
    Filed: October 10, 2019
    Publication date: February 6, 2020
    Inventors: Steven R. Carlough, Susan M. Eickhoff, Patrick J. Meaney, Stephen J. Powell, Gary A. Van Huben, Jie Zheng
  • Patent number: 10541782
    Abstract: Aspects of the invention include using a cyclic redundancy code (CRC) multiple-input signature register (MISR) for early warning and fail detection. Received bits are monitored at a receiver for transmission errors. The monitoring includes receiving frames of bits that are a subset of frames of bits used by the transmitter to generate a multi-frame CRC. At least one of the received frames of bits includes payload bits and a source single check bit not included in the multi-frame CRC. It is determined whether a transmission error has occurred in the received frames of bits. The determining includes generating a calculated single check bit based at least in part on bits in the received frames of bits, and comparing the received source single check bit to the calculated single check bit. An error indication is transmitted to the transmitter if they don't match.
    Type: Grant
    Filed: November 20, 2017
    Date of Patent: January 21, 2020
    Assignee: INTERNATIONAL BUSINESS MACHINES CORPORATION
    Inventors: Steven R. Carlough, Patrick J. Meaney, Gary Van Huben
  • Patent number: 10534555
    Abstract: One or more memory systems, architectural structures, and/or methods of storing information in memory devices is disclosed to improve the data bandwidth and or to reduce the load on the communications links in a memory system. The system may include one or more memory devices, one or more memory control circuits and one or more data buffer circuits. In one embodiment, the Host only transmits data (and CRC) and does not transmit control signals, over its communications link with the data buffer circuits. In one aspect, the memory control circuit does not send the store data tag to the data buffer circuits. In one embodiment, the Host and the data buffer circuits each maintain a separate state machine-driven address pointer or local address sequencer, e.g., local store tag FIFO, which contains the same tags in the same sequence. A periodic system check and resynchronization method is also disclosed.
    Type: Grant
    Filed: November 29, 2017
    Date of Patent: January 14, 2020
    Assignee: International Business Machines Corporation
    Inventors: Steven R. Carlough, Susan M. Eickhoff, Patrick J. Meaney, Stephen J. Powell, Gary A. Van Huben, Jie Zheng
  • Patent number: 10530523
    Abstract: Aspects of the invention include receiving a specified number of frames of bits at a receiver. At least one of the received frames includes cyclic redundancy code (CRC) bits. The specified number of frames is based at least in part on a CRC rate. It is determined, by performing a CRC check on the received frames, whether a change in transmission errors has occurred in the received frames. An increase in the CRC rate is initiated at the receiver based at least in part on determining that a change in transmission errors has occurred in the received frames. The increase in the CRC rate is synchronized between the receiver and the transmitter; and performed in parallel with functional operations performed by the receiver.
    Type: Grant
    Filed: November 20, 2017
    Date of Patent: January 7, 2020
    Assignee: INTERNATIONAL BUSINESS MACHINES CORPORATION
    Inventors: Steven R. Carlough, Patrick J. Meaney, Gary Van Huben
  • Patent number: 10530396
    Abstract: Aspects of the invention include monitoring frames of bits received at a receiver for transmission errors. At least one of the received frames of bits includes cyclic redundancy code (CRC) bits for a first type of CRC check. It is determined whether a change in transmission errors has occurred in the received frames by performing the first type of CRC check based at least in part on the received CRC bits and payload bits in the received frames. A change from the first type of CRC check to a second type of CRC check is initiated at the receiver based at least in part on determining that a change in transmission errors has occurred. The change is synchronized between the receiver and the transmitter, and performed in parallel with functional operations performed by the receiver.
    Type: Grant
    Filed: November 20, 2017
    Date of Patent: January 7, 2020
    Assignee: INTERNATIONAL BUSINESS MACHINES CORPORATION
    Inventors: Steven R. Carlough, Patrick J. Meaney, Gary Van Huben
  • Patent number: 10489069
    Abstract: One or more memory systems, architectural structures, and/or methods of storing information in memory devices is disclosed to improve the data bandwidth and or to reduce the load on the communications links in a memory system. The system may include one or more memory devices, one or more memory control circuits and one or more data buffer circuits. In one embodiment, the Host only transmits data over its communications link with the data buffer circuit. In one aspect, the memory control circuit does not send a control signal to the data buffer circuits. In one aspect, the memory control circuit and the data buffer circuits each maintain a separate state machine-driven address pointer or local address sequencer, which contains the same tags in the same sequence. In another aspect, a resynchronization method is disclosed.
    Type: Grant
    Filed: November 29, 2017
    Date of Patent: November 26, 2019
    Assignee: International Business Machines Corporation
    Inventors: Steven R. Carlough, Susan M. Eickhoff, Patrick J. Meaney, Stephen J. Powell, Gary A. Van Huben, Jie Zheng
  • Publication number: 20190317856
    Abstract: Embodiments of the present invention include a memory module that includes a plurality of memory devices and a memory buffer device. Each of the memory devices are characterized as one of a high random bit error rate (RBER) and a low RBER memory device. The memory buffer device includes a read data interface to receive data read from a memory address on one of the memory devices. The memory buffer device also includes common error correction logic to detect and correct error conditions in data read from both high RBER and low RBER memory devices. The common error correction logic includes a plurality of error correction units which provide different complexity levels of error correction and have different latencies. The error correction units include a first fast path error correction unit for isolating and correcting random symbol errors.
    Type: Application
    Filed: April 16, 2018
    Publication date: October 17, 2019
    Inventors: James A. O'Connor, JR., Barry M. Trager, Warren E. Maule, Marc A. Gollub, Brad W. Michael, Patrick J. Meaney
  • Patent number: 10419035
    Abstract: Aspects of the invention include calculating, by a transmitter, source cyclic redundancy code (CRC) bits for payload bits. The source CRC bits include source CRC bits for a first type of CRC check and source CRC bits for a second type of CRC check. The source CRC bits are stored at the transmitter. The payload bits and the source CRC bits for the first type of CRC check are transmitted to the receiver. The receiver performs the first type of CRC check based at least in part on the payload bits and the source CRC bits for the first type of CRC check. The receiver also calculates and stores at the receiver calculated CRC bits for the second type of CRC check. If the first type of CRC check indicates an error, a comparison of the source and calculated CRC bits for the second type of CRC check is initiated.
    Type: Grant
    Filed: November 20, 2017
    Date of Patent: September 17, 2019
    Assignee: iNTERNATIONAL BUSINESS MACHINES CORPORATION
    Inventors: Steven R. Carlough, Patrick J. Meaney, Gary Van Huben
  • Patent number: 10395698
    Abstract: One or more memory systems, architectural structures, and/or methods of storing information in memory devices is disclosed to improve the data bandwidth and or to reduce the load on the communication links. The system may include one or more memory devices, one or more memory control circuits and one or more data buffer circuits. The memory system, architectural structure and/or method improves the ability of the communications links to transfer data downstream to the data buffer circuits. In one aspect, the memory control circuit receives a store command and a store data tag (Host tag) from a Host and sends the store data command and the store data tag to the data buffer circuits. No store data tag or control signal is sent over the communication links between the Host and the data buffer circuits, only data is sent over the communication links between the Host and the data buffer circuits.
    Type: Grant
    Filed: November 29, 2017
    Date of Patent: August 27, 2019
    Assignee: International Business Machines Corporation
    Inventors: Steven R. Carlough, Susan M. Eickhoff, Warren E. Maule, Patrick J. Meaney, Stephen J. Powell, Gary A. Van Huben, Jie Zheng
  • Publication number: 20190252010
    Abstract: One or more memory systems, architectural structures, and/or methods of storing information in memory devices is disclosed to improve the data bandwidth and or to reduce the load on the communication links. The system may include one or more memory devices, one or more memory control circuits and one or more data buffer circuits. The memory system, architectural structure and/or method improves the ability of the communications links to transfer data downstream to the data buffer circuits. In one aspect, the memory control circuit receives a store command and a store data tag (Host tag) from a Host and sends the store data command and the store data tag to the data buffer circuits. No store data tag or control signal is sent over the communication links between the Host and the data buffer circuits, only data is sent over the communication links between the Host and the data buffer circuits.
    Type: Application
    Filed: April 29, 2019
    Publication date: August 15, 2019
    Inventors: Steven R. Carlough, Susan M. Eickhoff, Warren E. Maule, Patrick J. Meaney, Stephen J. Powell, Gary A. Van Huben, Jie Zheng
  • Patent number: 10379748
    Abstract: Scheduling memory accesses in a memory system having a multiple ranks of memory, at most r ranks of which may be powered up concurrently, in which r is less than the number of ranks. If fewer than r ranks are powered up, a subset of requested powered down ranks is powered up, such that at r ranks are powered up, the subset of requested powered down ranks to be powered up including the most frequently accessed requested powered down ranks. Then, if fewer than r ranks are powered up, a subset of unrequested powered down ranks is powered up, such that a total of at most r ranks is powered up concurrently, the subset of unrequested powered down ranks to be powered up including the most frequently accessed unrequested powered down ranks.
    Type: Grant
    Filed: December 19, 2016
    Date of Patent: August 13, 2019
    Assignee: International Business Machines Corporation
    Inventors: James J. Bonanno, Michael J. Cadigan, Jr., Adam B. Collura, Daniel Lipetz, Patrick J. Meaney, Craig R. Walters
  • Publication number: 20190243709
    Abstract: A memory system includes memory modules having a number of sets of memory devices including data memory devices for data and error correction code (ECC). The ECC memory devices carry ECC symbols for the memory modules. A host receives and decodes the ECC symbols and executes error correction operations. The host and the memory modules are coupled by a number of channels.
    Type: Application
    Filed: April 17, 2019
    Publication date: August 8, 2019
    Inventors: Patrick J. MEANEY, Christian JACOBI, Barry M. TRAGER
  • Publication number: 20190227741
    Abstract: A memory system, architecture, and method for storing data in response to commands received from a host is disclosed. The memory system includes a memory control circuit configured to receive commands from the host; at least one memory device configured to store data; and at least one data buffer circuit associated with the at least one memory device and the memory control circuit, the data buffer circuit having data buffers and at least one register. The system preferably includes communication links between the host, the at least one memory control circuit, the at least one data buffer circuit, and the at least one memory device. The system preferably is configured so that register access commands are sent by the host to the memory control circuit over the communication links between the host and the memory control circuit.
    Type: Application
    Filed: January 23, 2018
    Publication date: July 25, 2019
    Inventors: Steven R. Carlough, Markus Cebulla, Susan M. Eickhoff, Logan I. Friedman, Patrick J. Meaney, Walter Pietschmann, Nicholas Rolfe, Gary A. Van Huben
  • Patent number: 10353606
    Abstract: A host divides a dataset into stripes and sends the stripes to respective data chips of a distributed memory buffer system, where the data chips buffer the respective slices. Each data chip can buffer stripes from multiple datasets. Through the use of: (i) error detection methods; (ii) tagging the stripes for identification; and (iii) acknowledgement responses from the data chips, the host keeps track of the status of each slice at the data chips. If errors are detected for a given stripe, the host resends the stripe in the next store cycle, concurrently with stripes for the next dataset. Once all stripes have been received error-free across all the data chips, the host issues a store command which triggers the data chips to move the respective stripes from buffer to memory.
    Type: Grant
    Filed: October 12, 2017
    Date of Patent: July 16, 2019
    Assignee: International Business Machines Corporation
    Inventors: Susan M. Eickhoff, Steven R. Carlough, Patrick J. Meaney, Stephen J. Powell, Jie Zheng, Gary A. Van Huben
  • Publication number: 20190188074
    Abstract: An embodiment includes a method for use in operating a memory chip, the method comprising: operating the memory chip with an increased burst length relative to a standard burst length of the memory chip; and using the increased burst length to access metadata during a given operation of the memory chip. Another embodiment includes a memory module, comprising a plurality of memory chips, each memory chip being operable with an increased burst length relative to a standard burst length of the memory chip, the increased burst length being used to access metadata during a given operation of the memory module.
    Type: Application
    Filed: December 20, 2017
    Publication date: June 20, 2019
    Inventors: Paul W. Coteus, Kyu-hyoun Kim, Luis A. Lastras-Montano, Warren E. Maule, Patrick J. Meaney, James A. O'Connor, Barry M. Trager
  • Publication number: 20190163384
    Abstract: One or more memory systems, architectural structures, and/or methods of storing information in memory devices is disclosed to improve the data bandwidth and or to reduce the load on the communications links in a memory system. The system may include one or more memory devices, one or more memory control circuits and one or more data buffer circuits. In one embodiment, the Host only transmits data (and CRC) and does not transmit control signals, over its communications link with the data buffer circuits. In one aspect, the memory control circuit does not send the store data tag to the data buffer circuits. In one embodiment, the Host and the data buffer circuits each maintain a separate state machine-driven address pointer or local address sequencer, e.g., local store tag FIFO, which contains the same tags in the same sequence. A periodic system check and resynchronization method is also disclosed.
    Type: Application
    Filed: November 29, 2017
    Publication date: May 30, 2019
    Inventors: Steven R. Carlough, Susan M. Eickhoff, Patrick J. Meaney, Stephen J. Powell, Gary A. Van Huben, Jie Zheng
  • Publication number: 20190163378
    Abstract: One or more memory systems, architectural structures, and/or methods of storing information in memory devices is disclosed to improve the data bandwidth and or to reduce the load on the communications links in a memory system. The system may include one or more memory devices, one or more memory control circuits and one or more data buffer circuits. In one embodiment, the Host only transmits data over its communications link with the data buffer circuit. In one aspect, the memory control circuit does not send a control signal to the data buffer circuits. In one aspect, the memory control circuit and the data buffer circuits each maintain a separate state machine-driven address pointer or local address sequencer, which contains the same tags in the same sequence. In another aspect, a resynchronization method is disclosed.
    Type: Application
    Filed: November 29, 2017
    Publication date: May 30, 2019
    Inventors: Steven R. Carlough, Susan M. Eickhoff, Patrick J. Meaney, Stephen J. Powell, Gary A. Van Huben, Jie Zheng
  • Publication number: 20190163383
    Abstract: One or more memory systems, architectural structures, and/or methods of storing information in memory devices is disclosed to improve the data bandwidth and or to reduce the load on the communication links. The system may include one or more memory devices, one or more memory control circuits and one or more data buffer circuits. The memory system, architectural structure and/or method improves the ability of the communications links to transfer data downstream to the data buffer circuits. In one aspect, the memory control circuit receives a store command and a store data tag (Host tag) from a Host and sends the store data command and the store data tag to the data buffer circuits. No store data tag or control signal is sent over the communication links between the Host and the data buffer circuits, only data is sent over the communication links between the Host and the data buffer circuits.
    Type: Application
    Filed: November 29, 2017
    Publication date: May 30, 2019
    Inventors: Steven R. Carlough, Susan M. Eickhoff, Warren E. Maule, Patrick J. Meaney, Stephen J. Powell, Gary A. Van Huben, Jie Zheng