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:
Apr. 24, 2012
Filed:
Dec. 24, 2008
Alex Chow, Palo Alto, CA (US);
Robert J. Drost, Los Altos, CA (US);
Ronald Ho, Mountain View, CA (US);
Robert Proebsting, Sonora, CA (US);
Arlene Proebsting, Legal Representative, Sonora, CA (US);
Alex Chow, Palo Alto, CA (US);
Robert J. Drost, Los Altos, CA (US);
Ronald Ho, Mountain View, CA (US);
Robert Proebsting, Sonora, CA (US);
Arlene Proebsting, legal representative, Sonora, CA (US);
Oracle America, Inc., Redwood Shores, CA (US);
Abstract
One embodiment of the present invention provides a system that facilitates reducing the power needed for proximity communication. This system includes an integrated circuit with an array of transmission pads that transmit signals using proximity communication. This array is comprised of a set of macropads, where each given macropad is comprised of a set of micropads that can be configured to transmit a signal. A steering fabric routes signals to and within macropads, such that a subset of the micropads in the array can be configured to transmit the signal to a receiving component. Each macropad receives a limited number of input signals, with the steering fabric routing input signals to the micropads of the macropads. By limiting the number of input signals that are routed to the micropads of the macropads, the steering fabric eliminates redundant steering configurations for the array and reduces the power needed to transmit the signal.