Patents by Inventor Tom Salt

Tom Salt 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: 20020141239
    Abstract: An EEPROM having reduced circuit loading of a high voltage write pulse by dividing an array of bit cells into two or more switchable common source segments. Only common source segments containing the bit cells being written to are connected, the other common source segments remain unconnected and do not contribute substantially to loading of the write pulse. Having multiple switchable common segmentations reduces the amount of parasitic capacitance connected in the EEPROM array during a write operation, thus reducing loading on the write circuits. Also reducing the number of bit cells having the common source segments connected during a write operation reduces the amount of leakage current contribution which adversely affects the write operation.
    Type: Application
    Filed: March 5, 2001
    Publication date: October 3, 2002
    Inventors: Bruce Beauchamp, Tom Salt
  • Patent number: 6459616
    Abstract: An EEPROM having reduced circuit loading of a high voltage write pulse by dividing an array of bit cells into two or more switchable common source segments. Only common source segments containing the bit cells being written to are connected, the other common source segments remain unconnected and do not contribute substantially to loading of the write pulse. Having multiple switchable common segmentations reduces the amount of parasitic capacitance connected in the EEPROM array during a write operation, thus reducing loading on the write circuits. Also reducing the number of bit cells having the common source segments connected during a write operation reduces the amount of leakage current contribution which adversely affects the write operation.
    Type: Grant
    Filed: March 5, 2001
    Date of Patent: October 1, 2002
    Assignee: Microchip Technology Incorporated
    Inventors: Bruce Beauchamp, Tom Salt
  • Patent number: 5469557
    Abstract: A semiconductor microcontroller device is adapted to control the operation of an external system. The device includes a CPU, program memory for storing instructions to be executed by the CPU to perform its control functions, and data memory for storing data for selective retrieval by the CPU. The contents of either memory are code protected by an EEPROM fuse, and are automatically erased if the code protect state of the EEPROM fuse is sought to be reset, and the EEPROM fuse is reset only after the erasure of the memory contents.
    Type: Grant
    Filed: March 5, 1993
    Date of Patent: November 21, 1995
    Assignee: Microchip Technology Incorporated
    Inventors: Tom Salt, Rodney Drake
  • Patent number: 5351216
    Abstract: A single chip, semiconductor microcontroller device is adapted to control an aspect of the operation of an external system. The device includes a CPU, program memory for storing instructions to be selectively executed by the CPU to perform the control functions, and peripheral EEPROM data memory adapted to be written to for storing selected data in selected ones of a multiplicity of addresses of the data memory and for selective retrieval of the stored dam by the CPU within its control function. Internal logic in the device is implemented to abort a write operation in progress on the EEPROM data memory upon occurrence of an asynchronous reset of the device. An error flag is set by the logic to indicate that the write operation is being aborted, and the data that was partially written to the EEPROM memory at the time the write operation was aborted is held intact.
    Type: Grant
    Filed: March 5, 1993
    Date of Patent: September 27, 1994
    Assignee: Microchip Technology Incorporated
    Inventors: Tom Salt, Rodney Drake, Ray Allen