Patents by Inventor Stephen W. Hamilton

Stephen W. Hamilton 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: 20080320476
    Abstract: A method, apparatus, and system are described, which generally relate to an integrated circuit having an interconnect that implements internal controls. The interconnect in an integrated circuit communicates transactions between initiator Intellectual Property (IP) cores and target IP cores coupled to the interconnect. The interconnect implements logic configured to support multiple transactions issued from a first initiator IP core to the multiple target IP cores while maintaining an expected execution order within the transactions. The logic supports a second transaction to be issued from the first initiator IP core to a second target IP core before a first transaction issued from the same first initiator IP core to a first target IP core has completed while ensuring that the first transaction completes before the second transaction and while ensuring an expected execution order within the first transaction and second transaction are maintained. The logic does not include any reorder buffering.
    Type: Application
    Filed: June 24, 2008
    Publication date: December 25, 2008
    Applicant: Sonics, Inc.
    Inventors: Drew E. Wingard, Chien-Chun Chou, Stephen W. Hamilton, Ian Andrew Swarbrick, Vida Vakilotojar
  • Publication number: 20080320268
    Abstract: In an embodiment, an interconnect for an integrated circuit communicates transactions between one or more initiator Intellectual Property (IP) cores and multiple target IP cores coupled to the interconnect. Two or more memory channels make up a first aggregate target of the target IP cores. The two or more memory channels populate an address space assigned to the first aggregate target and appear as a single target to the initiator IP cores. The interconnect implements chopping logic to chop individual two-dimensional (2D) transactions that cross the memory channel address boundaries from a first memory channel to a second memory channel within the first aggregate target into two or more 2D transactions with a height value greater than one, as well as stride and width dimensions, which are chopped to fit within memory channel address boundaries of the first aggregate target.
    Type: Application
    Filed: June 24, 2008
    Publication date: December 25, 2008
    Applicant: Sonics, Inc.
    Inventors: Drew E. Wingard, Chien-Chun Chou, Ian Andrew Swarbrick, Stephen W. Hamilton, Vida Vakilotojar
  • Publication number: 20080320255
    Abstract: An interconnect for an integrated circuit communicating transactions between initiator Intellectual Property (IP) cores and multiple target IP cores coupled to the interconnect is generally described. The interconnect routes the transactions between the target IP cores and initiator IP cores in the integrated circuit. A first aggregate target of the target IP cores includes two or more memory channels that are interleaved in an address space for the first aggregate target in the address map. Each memory channel is divided up in defined memory interleave segments and then interleaved with memory interleave segments from other memory channels. An address map is divided up into two or more regions. Each interleaved memory interleave segment is assigned to at least one of those regions and populates the address space for that region, and parameters associated with the regions and memory interleave segments are configurable.
    Type: Application
    Filed: June 24, 2008
    Publication date: December 25, 2008
    Applicant: Sonics, Inc.
    Inventors: Drew E. Wingard, Chien-Chun Chou, Stephen W. Hamilton, Ian Andrew Swarbrick, Vida Vakilotojar
  • Publication number: 20080320254
    Abstract: A method, apparatus, and system are described, which generally relate to an interconnect routing transactions to target IP cores, including two or more channels making up a first aggregate target. The two or more channels populate an address space assigned to the first aggregate target and appear as a single target to the initiator IP cores. The interconnect implements chopping logic to chop an individual transaction from a first initiator IP core whose address sequence crosses a channel address boundary from a first channel to a second channel within the first aggregate target into two or more burst transactions. A first chopped burst transaction is chopped to fit within the address boundaries of the first channel and a second chopped burst transaction is chopped to fit within the address boundaries of the second channel.
    Type: Application
    Filed: June 24, 2008
    Publication date: December 25, 2008
    Applicant: Sonics, Inc.
    Inventors: Drew E. Wingard, Chien-Chun Chou, Stephen W. Hamilton, Ian Andrew Swarbrick, Vida Vakilotojar
  • Publication number: 20080301708
    Abstract: In one embodiment, payload of multiple threads between intellectual property (IP) cores of an integrated circuit are transferred, by buffering the payload using a number of order queues. Each of the queues is guaranteed access to a minimum number of buffer entries that make up the queue. Each queue is assigned to a respective thread. A number of buffer entries that make up any queue is increased, above the minimum, by borrowing from a shared pool of unused buffer entries on a first-come, first-served basis. In another embodiment, an interconnect implements a content addressable memory (CAM) structure that is shared storage for a number of logical, multi-thread ordered queues that buffer requests and/or responses that are being routed between data processing elements coupled to the interconnect. Other embodiments are also described and claimed.
    Type: Application
    Filed: June 1, 2007
    Publication date: December 4, 2008
    Inventor: Stephen W. Hamilton
  • Patent number: 7243264
    Abstract: A method and apparatus for error handling in networks have been described. The method configures a plurality of cores, wherein each core is connected with and associated with each of one of a plurality of initiators. The method further connects one or more of the initiators to a network. Next, one or more of the initiators determine an error in one or more of the cores and communicate the error.
    Type: Grant
    Filed: November 1, 2002
    Date of Patent: July 10, 2007
    Assignee: Sonics, Inc.
    Inventors: Wolf-Dietrich Weber, Chien-Chun Chou, Jeffrey Allen Ebert, Stephen W. Hamilton, Michael J. Meyer
  • Publication number: 20040088607
    Abstract: A method and apparatus for error handling in networks have been described.
    Type: Application
    Filed: November 1, 2002
    Publication date: May 6, 2004
    Inventors: Wolf-Dietrich Weber, Chien-Chun Chou, Jeffrey Allen Ebert, Stephen W. Hamilton, Michael J. Meyer
  • Patent number: 5450455
    Abstract: A scannable logic unit includes one or more storage registers that maintain copies of data communicated from the scannable unit to registers in a nonscannable unit. When the scannable unit is subjected to a scan test, the registers will contain state information respecting that transfer to the nonscannable unit. When the scannable and nonscannable units are placed in a run condition, the registers supply to the nonscannable unit state information for continuing operation.
    Type: Grant
    Filed: June 28, 1993
    Date of Patent: September 12, 1995
    Assignee: Tandem Computers Incorporated
    Inventors: Stephen W. Hamilton, Walter E. Gibson, Cheng-Gang Kong
  • Patent number: 4764687
    Abstract: A variable timing sequencer for producing sets of data which correspond to different current states of the sequencer, wherein the interval of each such set of data corresponds to said current state and user input, and said current state is determined by a previous state and input data. This separation of the time domain sequencing from the functional sequencing allows operation of functional components at lower frequencies than the timing components and the increase of effective memory density. The ability to affect both current state and interval by means of an input permits the sequencer to be used in a variety of conditions and applications with a minimum amount of reprogramming.
    Type: Grant
    Filed: June 30, 1987
    Date of Patent: August 16, 1988
    Assignee: Data General Corporation
    Inventors: Stephen W. Hamilton, Philip C. Wong