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:
Oct. 19, 2004
Filed:
Mar. 21, 2003
Raymond Jit-Hung Sung, Wilmington, MA (US);
John Conrad Koob, Edmonton, AB, CA;
Tyler Lee Brandon, Sherwood Park, AB, CA;
Duncan George Elliot, Edmonton, AB, CA;
Other;
Abstract
A circuit and method for accelerating bus line communication in an integrated circuit is disclosed. High speed transmission of signals along a bus line is achieved by driving a series of bus line segments with their own bi-directional bus amplification circuits. Because each bus line segment has less capacitive loading than longer non-segmented bus lines, voltage reversal, or data inversion of a pair of complementary lines of a bus line segment is accomplished at high speed. Each bi-directional bus amplification circuit includes a precharge circuit for precharging each complementary pair of lines to known logic levels, and a drive circuit for changing the logic level of each line. The bi-directional bus amplification circuit of the present invention logically connects two lines to each other while actively amplifying the signal in either direction without prior knowledge of which direction the signal must be driven, and without additional control overhead than that required for a conventional precharged bus line.