Register-based programmable post-silicon system to patch and dyn

Details Register-based programmable post-silicon system to patch and dyn Register-based programmable post-silicon system to patch and dyn

1997-08-01

1999-09-07

Santamauro, Jon

Electronic digital logic circuitry

Multifunctional or programmable

Sequential or with flip-flop

326 38, 326 93, H03K 19173

Patent

active

059492511

ABSTRACT:
The present invention allows the behavior of a state machine to be readily modified by software after it has been fabricated in silicon. To perform these modifications, the present invention uses special patch registers, multiplexers, and comparators to bypass certain states within the sequence of states within the combinatorial logic of the state machine and/or add new state sequences. Each patch register stores a state to be patched, a next state, and outputs. The state to be patched is the state that will be modified, while the next state is the state the state machine transitions into from the state to be patched, and the outputs are the outputs generated and asserted by the state machine while within the next state. Many such patch registers can be used by the present invention to define many modifications. Using this patch mechanism, the present invention allows new states to be added and existing states to be removed from the sequence of states that the state machine cycles through. To implement the functionality of the patch registers within the present invention, a separate comparator is connected to each patch register to determine when the present state of the state machine matches the state to be patched as stored within each respective patch register. When these values match, the corresponding comparator sends control signals causing the multiplexers to transfer into the state machine the next state and outputs as stored within that particular patch register that matched.

REFERENCES:
patent: 5097151 (1992-03-01), Eerenstein et al.
patent: 5778251 (1998-07-01), Kuroiwa et al.
patent: 5825199 (1998-10-01), Shelton et al.

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