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. 02, 1999
Filed:
Sep. 10, 1996
Gregory L Ranson, Fort Collins, CO (US);
John W Bockhaus, Fort Collins, CO (US);
Gregg B Lesartre, Fort Collins, CO (US);
Russell C Brockmann, Fort Collins, CO (US);
Robert E Naas, Fort Collins, CO (US);
Jonathan P Lotz, Fort Collins, CO (US);
Douglas B Hunt, Fort Collins, CO (US);
Patrick Knebel, Fort Collins, CO (US);
Paul L Perez, Fort Collins, CO (US);
Steven T Mangelsdorf, Fort Collins, CO (US);
Hewlett Packard Company, Palo Alto, CA (US);
Abstract
User-configurable diagnostic hardware contained on-chip with a microprocessor for the purpose of debugging and monitoring the performance of the microprocessor. Method for using the same. A programmable state machine is coupled to on-chip and off-chip input sources. The state machine may be programmed to look for signal patterns presented by the input sources, and to respond to the occurrence of a defined pattern (or sequence of defined patterns) by driving certain control information onto a state machine output bus. On-chip devices coupled to the output bus take user-definable actions as dictated by the bus. The input sources include user-configurable comparators located within the functional blocks of the microprocessor. The comparators are coupled to storage elements within the microprocessor, and are configured to monitor nodes to determine whether the state of the nodes matches the data contained in the storage elements. By changing data in the storage elements, the programmer may change the information against which the state of the nodes is compared and also the method by which the comparison is made. The output devices include counters. Counter outputs may be used as state machine inputs, so one event may be defined as a function of a different event having occurred a certain number of times. The output devices also include circuitry for generating internal and external triggers. User-configurable multiplexer circuitry may be used to route user-selectable signals from within the microprocessor to the chip's output pads, and to select various internal signals to be used as state machine inputs.