Patents by Inventor ROBERT F. MORAN

ROBERT F. MORAN 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: 9785508
    Abstract: A peripheral integrated circuit (IC) device for providing support to a data processing IC device. The peripheral IC device comprises a fault detection component arranged to detect an occurrence of fault conditions within the data processing IC device. The peripheral IC device further comprises a safe state control component. Upon detection of a fault condition occurring within the data processing IC device by the fault detection component, the safe state control component is arranged to cause at least one I/O cell of the data processing IC device to be configured into at least one scan-chain, and cause at least one predefined control signal to be scanned into the at least one scan-chain to configure the at least one I/O cell into a state corresponding to the predefined control signal.
    Type: Grant
    Filed: September 10, 2014
    Date of Patent: October 10, 2017
    Assignee: NXP USA, Inc.
    Inventors: Robert F. Moran, Alan Devine, Alistair Paul Robertson
  • Patent number: 9594623
    Abstract: In a system on chip SoC, a memory control unit connected between the memory unit and the processing unit controls access to the memory unit. An update request received or generated by the processing unit triggers an update operation which comprises appending an update enabling record to a sequence of update records in the log region, writing new program code to the memory unit, and appending an update completion record to a sequence of update records. Write access to the log region is disabled if a fault is detected in the SoC during the update operation.
    Type: Grant
    Filed: March 24, 2015
    Date of Patent: March 14, 2017
    Assignee: NXP USA, INC.
    Inventors: Alistair Paul Robertson, Ray Charles Marshall, Robert F. Moran, Murray Douglas Stewart
  • Publication number: 20160283313
    Abstract: In a system on chip SoC, a memory control unit connected between the memory unit and the processing unit controls access to the memory unit. An update request received or generated by the processing unit triggers an update operation which comprises appending an update enabling record to a sequence of update records in the log region, writing new program code to the memory unit, and appending an update completion record to a sequence of update records. Write access to the log region is disabled if a fault is detected in the SoC during the update operation.
    Type: Application
    Filed: March 24, 2015
    Publication date: September 29, 2016
    Inventors: ALISTAIR PAUL ROBERTSON, RAY CHARLES MARSHALL, ROBERT F. MORAN, MURRAY DOUGLAS STEWART
  • Patent number: 9406347
    Abstract: There is provided a semiconductor wafer comprising a plurality of replicated IC modules. Each replicated IC module is capable of forming an individual IC die. The semiconductor wafer further comprises inter-module cross-wafer electrical connections, and the replicated IC modules are further arranged to be cut into IC dies comprising multiple replicated IC modules. There is further provided a method of fabricating an IC die. The method comprises fabricating such a semiconductor wafer, determining a required configuration of replicated IC modules, identifying inter-module boundaries along which to cut the semiconductor wafer to achieve the required configuration of replicated IC modules, and cutting the semiconductor wafer along the identified inter-module boundaries to produce at least one IC die comprising the required configuration of replicated IC modules.
    Type: Grant
    Filed: December 18, 2014
    Date of Patent: August 2, 2016
    Assignee: FREESCALE SEMICONDUCTOR, INC.
    Inventors: Robert F. Moran, Derek Beattie, Mark Maiolani
  • Publication number: 20160180891
    Abstract: There is provided a semiconductor wafer comprising a plurality of replicated IC modules. Each replicated IC module is capable of forming an individual IC die. The semiconductor wafer further comprises inter-module cross-wafer electrical connections, and the replicated IC modules are further arranged to be cut into IC dies comprising multiple replicated IC modules. There is further provided a method of fabricating an IC die. The method comprises fabricating such a semiconductor wafer, determining a required configuration of replicated IC modules, identifying inter-module boundaries along which to cut the semiconductor wafer to achieve the required configuration of replicated IC modules, and cutting the semiconductor wafer along the identified inter-module boundaries to produce at least one IC die comprising the required configuration of replicated IC modules.
    Type: Application
    Filed: December 18, 2014
    Publication date: June 23, 2016
    Applicant: FREESCALE SEMICONDUCTOR, INC.
    Inventors: ROBERT F. MORAN, DEREK BEATTIE, MARK MAIOLANI
  • Patent number: 9311206
    Abstract: An apparatus and method for monitoring general purpose input output, GPIO, signals at GPIO pins of a GPIO port of a system on chip, SoC. The apparatus comprises a first checksum generation unit adapted to generate a first checksum on the basis of GPIO bits stored in GPIO registers of the SoC, being connected via corresponding input output, IO, pad circuits to provide analog GPIO signals at the GPIO pins. A second checksum generation unit is adapted to generate a second checksum on the basis of the analog GPIO signals at the GPIO pins representing the GPIO bits. Checker logic is adapted to compare the first checksum generated by the first checksum generation unit with a second checksum generated by the second checksum generation unit.
    Type: Grant
    Filed: April 15, 2014
    Date of Patent: April 12, 2016
    Assignee: FREESCALE SEMICONDUCTOR, INC.
    Inventors: Carl Culshaw, Mark Maiolani, Robert F. Moran
  • Publication number: 20160070619
    Abstract: A peripheral integrated circuit (IC) device for providing support to a data processing IC device. The peripheral IC device comprises a fault detection component arranged to detect an occurrence of fault conditions within the data processing IC device. The peripheral IC device further comprises a safe state control component. Upon detection of a fault condition occurring within the data processing IC device by the fault detection component, the safe state control component is arranged to cause at least one I/O cell of the data processing IC device to be configured into at least one scan-chain, and cause at least one predefined control signal to be scanned into the at least one scan-chain to configure the at least one I/O cell into a state corresponding to the predefined control signal.
    Type: Application
    Filed: September 10, 2014
    Publication date: March 10, 2016
    Applicant: FREESCALE SEMICONDUCTOR, INC.
    Inventors: ROBERT F. MORAN, ALAN DEVINE, ALISTAIR PAUL ROBERTSON
  • Publication number: 20150293829
    Abstract: An apparatus and method for monitoring general purpose input output, GPIO, signals at GPIO pins of a GPIO port of a system on chip, SoC. The apparatus comprises a first checksum generation unit adapted to generate a first checksum on the basis of GPIO bits stored in GPIO registers of the SoC, being connected via corresponding input output, IO, pad circuits to provide analog GPIO signals at the GPIO pins. A second checksum generation unit is adapted to generate a second checksum on the basis of the analog GPIO signals at the GPIO pins representing the GPIO bits. Checker logic is adapted to compare the first checksum generated by the first checksum generation unit with a second checksum generated by the second checksum generation unit.
    Type: Application
    Filed: April 15, 2014
    Publication date: October 15, 2015
    Applicant: FREESCALE SEMICONDUCTOR, INC.
    Inventors: CARL CULSHAW, MARK MAIOLANI, ROBERT F. MORAN