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:
Mar. 04, 1997
Filed:
Jun. 21, 1996
Margaret Claffey-Cohen, Juniper, FL (US);
Mark G Noll, Lake Worth, FL (US);
Jose A Olive, Miami, FL (US);
Roberto V Perez, Palm Beach, FL (US);
James P Ward, Boca Raton, FL (US);
International Business Machines Corporation, Armonk, NY (US);
Abstract
A timeout mechanism for a computer system is provided, comprising a clocked linear feedback shift register and a programmable comparing mechanism. The linear feedback shift register comprises a series of latches serially connected to each other, and is responsive to a received interrupt signal to (i) incrementally count sequentially in the presence of the interrupt signal to provide a distinct binary vector array at the outputs of the latches for each count in the sequence and (ii) reset to a particular binary vector array in the absence of the interrupt signal. The comparing mechanism outputs a timeout command in response to the linear feedback shift register reaching a predetermined count and outputting a corresponding predetermined binary vector array at the output of the latches. The timeout mechanism uses a minimal amount of combinatorial logic, while permitting the issuance of a timeout command after the detection of an interrupt signal after any multiple of clock cycles.