Patents by Inventor Thomas O. Sopchak

Thomas O. Sopchak 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).

  • Diagnostic method and apparatus for non-destructively observing latch data
    Patent number: 7916826
    Abstract: The invention provides a circuit that can observe data within shift registers without altering the data. The circuit includes selectors connected to the inputs and outputs of the shift registers. The selectors selectively connect the input with the output of a selected shift register to form a wiring loop for the selected shift register. A control device connected to the wiring loop uses the wiring loop to cause the data to be continually transferred from the output of the selected shift register to the input of the selected shift register and back through the selected shift register in a circular manner. The control device includes a counter used for determining the length of a selected shift register and a set of registers to store, for future use when rotating data in the shift registers, the length of each shift register. The control device also includes a data output accessible from outside the circuit.
    Type: Grant
    Filed: July 18, 2008
    Date of Patent: March 29, 2011
    Assignee: International Business Machines Corporation
    Inventors: Darren L. Anand, John R. Goss, Peter O. Jakobsen, Michael R. Ouellette, Thomas O. Sopchak, Donald L. Wheater
  • DIAGNOSTIC METHOD AND APPARATUS FOR NON-DESTRUCTIVELY OBSERVING LATCH DATA
    Publication number: 20090180584
    Abstract: The invention provides a circuit that can observe data within shift registers without altering the data. The circuit includes selectors connected to the inputs and outputs of the shift registers. The selectors selectively connect the input with the output of a selected shift register to form a wiring loop for the selected shift register. A control device connected to the wiring loop uses the wiring loop to cause the data to be continually transferred from the output of the selected shift register to the input of the selected shift register and back through the selected shift register in a circular manner. The control device includes a counter used for determining the length of a selected shift register and a set of registers to store, for future use when rotating data in the shift registers, the length of each shift register. The control device also includes a data output accessible from outside the circuit.
    Type: Application
    Filed: July 18, 2008
    Publication date: July 16, 2009
    Applicant: International Business Machines Corporation
    Inventors: Darren L. Anand, John R. Goss, Peter O. Jakobsen, Michael R. Ouellette, Thomas O. Sopchak, Donald L. Wheater