The patent badge is an abbreviated version of the USPTO patent document. The patent badge does contain a link to the full patent document.
The patent badge is an abbreviated version of the USPTO patent document. The patent badge covers the following: Patent number, Date patent was issued, Date patent was filed, Title of the patent, Applicant, Inventor, Assignee, Attorney firm, Primary examiner, Assistant examiner, CPCs, and Abstract. The patent badge does contain a link to the full patent document (in Adobe Acrobat format, aka pdf). To download or print any patent click here.
Patent No.:
Date of Patent:
Feb. 07, 1995
Filed:
Jul. 24, 1992
Christopher G McHarg, Winfield, IL (US);
Kenneth N Schaff, Warrenville, IL (US);
AT&T Corp., Murray Hill, NJ (US);
Abstract
A system and method are described for enforcing the validity of circulating pointers stored in a pointer FIFO (first-in-first-out) memory. One or more target pointers are generated and compared to circulating pointers. If a pointer does not circulate through the system within a pre-specified time, then a pointer has been lost and an error is reported. If a circulating pointer matches a target pointer, it is suppressed by being removed from the set of circulating pointers. Another timer is then set to determine whether further circulating pointers match a target pointer. If so, then multiple pointers to the same location are present and all duplicate pointers are suppressed. After expiration of the second time, the target pointers are added to the set of circulation pointers. This process repeats with new target pointers, so that the validity of the set of circulating pointers is verified.