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:
Nov. 18, 2008
Filed:
Jul. 31, 2003
Johannes Petrus Maria Van Lammeren, Nijmegen, NL;
Arnoldus Petrus Antonius Theodorus Sengers, Nijmegen, NL;
Johannes Petrus Maria Van Lammeren, Nijmegen, NL;
Arnoldus Petrus Antonius Theodorus Sengers, Nijmegen, NL;
NXP B.V., Eindhoven, NL;
Abstract
A circuit module contains a sub-circuit that is capable of providing a level of performance dependent on the version number that is stored in a version number memory. The version number is passed to the sub-circuit from a write-protected memory to the version memory in the multiplex mode with normal operating signals for the sub-circuit. In one embodiment various commands for the circuit module are received from outside the circuit module and distributed in the circuit module via a communication bus. A watchdog monitors received commands for an update command that commands updating of the version number in the version number memory and if so it passes said update command to the communication bus, replacing a version number in the update command by a version number from the write-protected memory. In another embodiment the version number is passed to the sub-circuit in time-slot multiplexing with the signals that are processed, for example in a blanking period of a video signal that is being processed.