Patents by Inventor Ralph Woodard

Ralph Woodard 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: 7039750
    Abstract: A system for communication on a chip. The system includes an on-chip communication bus including plural tracks, and a plurality of stations that couple a plurality of on-chip components to the on-chip communication bus, whereby the plurality of on-chip components use the tracks to communicate. Each station preferably includes an initiator that requests permission to transmit outgoing data over a track to another station and that transmits the outgoing data, an arbiter that evaluates requests from other stations and selects a track on which to receive incoming data, and a target that receives the incoming data. The initiator can be connected to a grant multiplexor for selecting a grant line, with the grant multiplexor further including plural smaller multiplexors distributed across the chip. Likewise, the arbiter can be connected to a track multiplexor for selecting a track, with the track multiplexor further including plural smaller multiplexors distributed across the chip.
    Type: Grant
    Filed: July 24, 2001
    Date of Patent: May 2, 2006
    Assignee: PLX Technology, Inc.
    Inventors: Jack Regula, Jhy-Ping Shaw, Ronald A. Simmons, Curtis Winward, Ralph Woodard, William Wu