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:
Dec. 28, 1999
Filed:
Jun. 03, 1998
James M Sibigtroth, Round Rock, TX (US);
Michael C Wood, Pflugerville, TX (US);
Linda R Nuckolls, Austin, TX (US);
Daniel Mark Thompson, Austin, TX (US);
Motorola Inc., Schaumburg, IL (US);
Abstract
A method for automatically detecting a programmed status of a non-volatile memory and selecting one of multiple operational modes based on that status. In one embodiment a non-volatile memory (102) has a normal and an access restricted operational mode. The memory is placed in the access restricted operational mode once it is programmed in order to prevent unauthorized access to the programmed data. A detection logic (226) determines whether the non-volatile memory is in a non-programmed state. Based on this detection it is determined whether the non-volatile memory is to be placed in a normal or an access restricted operational mode. The invention relates also to determining an operational mode of the microcontroller which can advantageously be incorporated into an assembled electronic device.