Patent application number | Description | Published |
20130082895 | Antenna Structures with Molded and Coated Substrates - Electronic devices may be provided with antenna structures. The antenna structures may be used in wirelessly transmitting and receiving radio-frequency signals. Antenna structures may be formed from molded dielectric substrates. Patterned conductive material may be formed on the dielectric substrates. The dielectric substrates may be formed from molded materials such as glass or ceramic. Sheets of dielectric or dielectric powder may be compressed to form a dielectric substrate of a desired shape. The patterned conductive material may be formed from metallic paint or other conductors. A hollow antenna chamber may be formed by joining molded dielectric structures. An antenna such as an indirectly-fed loop antenna or other antennas may be formed from the molded dielectric substrates and patterned conductors. | 04-04-2013 |
20130127672 | Distributed Loop Antennas with Extended Tails - Electronic devices may be provided with antenna structures such as distributed loop antenna resonating element structures. A distributed loop antenna may be formed on an elongated dielectric carrier and may have a longitudinal axis. The distributed loop antenna may include a loop antenna resonating element formed from a sheet of conductive material that extends around the longitudinal axis. A gap may be formed in the sheet of conductive material. The gap may be located under an opaque masking layer on the underside of a display cover glass associated with a display. The loop antenna resonating element may have a main body portion that includes the gap and may have an extended tail portion that extends between the display and conductive housing structures. The main body portion and extended tail portion may be configured to ensure that undesired waveguide modes are cut off during operation of the loop antenna. | 05-23-2013 |
20130293424 | Corner Bracket Slot Antennas - A display cover layer may be mounted in an electronic device housing using housing structures such as corner brackets. A slot antenna may be formed from a corner bracket opening, metal traces on a hollow plastic support structure, or other conductive structures. The slot antenna may have a main portion with opposing ends. An antenna feed may be located at one of the ends. The slot antenna may have a slot with one or more bends. The bends may provide the slot antenna with a C-shaped outline. A side branch slot may extend from the main portion of the slot at a location between the two bends. The presence of the side branch slot may enhance antenna bandwidth. A hollow enclosure may serve as an antenna support structure and as a speaker box enclosing a speaker driver. The antenna feed may be positioned so as to overlap the speaker driver. | 11-07-2013 |
20130328730 | Methods for Forming Elongated Antennas With Plastic Support Structures for Electronic Devices - Electronic devices may be provided with antenna structures. The antenna structures may include an antenna support structure covered with patterned antenna traces. An antenna support structure may be mounted in an electronic device so that a surface of the antenna support structure that is covered with patterned antenna traces lies flush with a planar surface of the electronic device housing. A display cover layer or other planar structure may be attached to the surface of the antenna support structure and the planar surface of the housing adhesive. Injection molding and extrusion techniques may be used in forming a support structure with elongated parallel cavities. An injection molding tool may have a mold core supported by a support structure at one end, supporting engagement features at the ends of mating mold core structures, or support pins. Molded interconnect devices may be soldered to laser direct structuring components to form antennas. | 12-12-2013 |
20140166867 | Electronic Devices with Light Sensors - Electronic devices may be provided with light sensors. Light sensors may be proximity sensors or ambient light sensors. Proximity sensors may include a light-emitting component and a light-sensitive component. The electronic device may include an enclosure formed from housing structures and some or all of a display for the device. The enclosure may include openings such as openings formed from clusters of smaller openings. Each light sensor may receive light through one of the clusters of openings. The light sensor may receive the light directly through the openings or may receive light that passes through the openings and is guided to the light sensor by light guiding structures. The light guiding structures may include fiber optic structures or light-reflecting structures. Fiber optic structures may fill or partially fill the openings. Light reflecting structures may be machined cavities in an internal support structure. | 06-19-2014 |
20140240195 | Electronic Device With Diverse Antenna Array Having Soldered Connections - A wireless electronic device may be provided with antenna structures. The antenna structures may be formed from an antenna ground and an array of antenna resonating elements. The antenna resonating elements may be electrically connected to the antenna ground using solder. The antenna resonating elements may be formed from metal traces on a dielectric support structure that surrounds the antenna ground. The antenna ground may be formed form stamped sheet metal and may have slanted steps adjacent to the antenna resonating elements. To form a solder joint between the metal antenna resonating element traces and the sheet metal of the antenna ground, laser light may be applied to the sheet metal of the antenna ground in the vicinity of the solder paste. Separate metal members may also be provided in the vicinity of the solder paste and may be heated using the laser to join metal traces on plastic carriers. | 08-28-2014 |
20140306845 | Electronic Device With Foam Antenna Carrier - Electronic devices may include radio-frequency transceiver circuitry and antenna structures. The antenna structures may include a dielectric carrier such as a foam carrier. The foam carrier may be formed from a material that can withstand elevated temperatures. Metal traces for antennas can be formed on the foam carrier by selectively activating areas on a powder coating with a laser and plating the laser-activated areas. Metal for the antennas may also be formed by attaching layers such as flexible printed circuit layers and metal foil layers to the foam carrier. Solder may be used to attach a coaxial cable or other transmission line, electrical components, and other electrical structures to the metal antenna structures on the foam carrier. The foam carrier may be formed from open cell or closed cell foam. The surface of the foam may be smoothed to facilitate formation of metal antenna structures. | 10-16-2014 |
20140370821 | Methods and Apparatus for Testing Electronic Devices with Antenna Arrays - A wireless electronic device may be provided with antenna structures. The antenna structures may be formed from an antenna ground and an array of antenna resonating elements formed along its periphery. The antenna resonating elements may be formed from metal traces on a dielectric support structure that surrounds the antenna ground. The electronic device may be tested using a test system for detecting the presence of manufacturing/assembly defects. The test system may include an RF tester and a test fixture. The device under test (DUT) may be attached to the test fixture during testing. Multiple test probes arranged along the periphery of the DUT may be used to transmit and receive RF test signals for gathering scattering parameter measurements on the device under test. The scattering parameter measurements may then be compared to predetermined threshold values to determine whether the DUT contains any defects. | 12-18-2014 |
20150050893 | Methodology and Apparatus for Testing Conductive Adhesive Within Antenna Assembly - Damage to conductive material that serves as bridging connections between conductive structures within an electronic device may result in deficiencies in radio-frequency (RF) and other wireless communications. A test system for testing device structures under test is provided. Device structures under test may include substrates and a conductive material between the substrates. The test system may include a test fixture for increasing tensile or compressive stress on the device structures under test to evaluate the resilience of the conductive material. The test system may also include a test unit for transmitting RF test signals and receiving test data from the device structures under test. The received test data may include scattered parameter measurements from the device structures under test that may be used to determine if the device structures under test meet desired RF performance criteria. | 02-19-2015 |
Patent application number | Description | Published |
20080294162 | Energy delivery conduits for use with electrosugical devices - A conduit assembly for transmitting energy between an electrosurgical energy generator and an energy delivering device comprises a first cable sub-assembly including a cable having a flexibility and an energy attenuation; a second cable sub-assembly including a cable having a flexibility and an energy attenuation; wherein the flexibility of the cable of the first cable sub-assembly is less than the flexibility of the cable of the second cable sub-assembly; and wherein the energy attenuation of the cable of the first cable sub-assembly is less than the energy attenuation of the cable of the second cable sub-assembly. | 11-27-2008 |
20110270240 | System and Method of Deploying an Antenna Assembly - A method of deploying an antenna of an ablation device includes the step of placing an introducing member relative to tissue. The introducing member is disposed on a distal end of a handle member. The method also includes the steps of advancing an antenna distally through the handle member and at least partially through the introducer and rotating the handle member about the longitudinal axis thereof relative to the antenna. The method also includes the step of moving the handle member proximally along the longitudinal axis thereof to retract the introducer proximally relative to the antenna such that the antenna is at least partially deployed relative to the introducer to treat tissue. | 11-03-2011 |
20120004650 | Adjustable Tuning of a Dielectrically Loaded Loop Antenna - A microwave antenna assembly is disclosed. The antenna assembly includes an elongated member defining a longitudinal axis and having proximal and distal ends. The antenna assembly also includes an outer conductor and an inner conductor each disposed within the elongated member and extending along the longitudinal axis. A portion of the inner conductor is deployable relative to the outer conductor such that the antenna assembly may transition from a first configuration to a second configuration. The antenna assembly also includes an expandable sheath at least partially disposed about a distal portion of the inner conductor and defining at one or more lumens configured to couple to a supply of dielectric material used to regulate the expansion of the expandable sheath. | 01-05-2012 |
20120004651 | Microwave Antenna Having a Reactively-Loaded Loop Configuration - A microwave ablation system is provided. The microwave ablation system includes a power source. A microwave antenna is adapted to connect to the power source via a coaxial cable feed including an inner conductor defining a portion of a radiating section of the microwave antenna, an outer conductor and dielectric shielding. The inner conductor loops back around and toward the outer conductor of the coaxial cable feed such that a distal end of the inner conductor is operably disposed adjacent the dielectric shielding. The inner conductor includes one or more reactive components disposed thereon forming a reactively-loaded loop configuration configured to maximize delivery of microwave energy from the power source to tissue such that a desired effect to tissue is achieved. | 01-05-2012 |
20120041433 | Microwave Antenna Assembly and Method of Using the Same - A microwave antenna assembly comprising an elongate shaft having proximal and distal ends and a lumen defined therebetween, a conductive member at least partially disposed within the inner lumen of elongate shaft, conductive member being selectively deployable relative to a distal end of elongate shaft from a first condition wherein a distal end of conductive member at least partially abuts the distal end of elongate shaft to a second condition wherein the distal end of conductive member is spaced relative to the distal end of elongate shaft and a first dielectric material disposed between elongate shaft and conductive member, wherein a portion of conductive member is distal to the distal end of elongate shaft and adapted to penetrate tissue. | 02-16-2012 |
20130126207 | ENERGY DELIVERY CONDUITS FOR USE WITH ELECTROSURGICAL DEVICES - A conduit assembly for transmitting energy between an electrosurgical energy generator and an energy delivering device comprises a first cable sub-assembly including a cable having a flexibility and an energy attenuation; a second cable sub-assembly including a cable having a flexibility and an energy attenuation; wherein the flexibility of the cable of the first cable sub-assembly is less than the flexibility of the cable of the second cable sub-assembly; and wherein the energy attenuation of the cable of the first cable sub-assembly is less than the energy attenuation of the cable of the second cable sub-assembly. | 05-23-2013 |
20130178846 | MICROWAVE ANTENNA HAVING A CURVED CONFIGURATION - A microwave antenna having a curved configuration is described herein. The antenna portion is formed into various shapes whereby the antenna substantially encloses, by a partial or complete loop or enclosure, at least a majority of the tissue to be irradiated. When microwave energy is delivered through the antenna, the curved configuration forms an ablation field or region defined by the curved antenna and any tissue enclosed within the ablation region becomes irradiated by the microwave energy. The microwave antenna is deployed through one of several methods, and multiple curved antennas can be used in conjunction with one another. Moreover, RF energy can also be used at the distal tip of the antenna to provide a cutting tip for the antenna during deployment in tissue. | 07-11-2013 |
20140128862 | ENERGY DELIVERY CONDUITS FOR USE WITH ELECTROSURGICAL DEVICES - A conduit assembly for transmitting energy between an electrosurgical energy generator and an energy delivering device comprises a first cable sub-assembly including a cable having a flexibility and an energy attenuation; a second cable sub-assembly including a cable having a flexibility and an energy attenuation; wherein the flexibility of the cable of the first cable sub-assembly is less than the flexibility of the cable of the second cable sub-assembly; and wherein the energy attenuation of the cable of the first cable sub-assembly is less than the energy attenuation of the cable of the second cable sub-assembly. | 05-08-2014 |
20140180269 | MICROWAVE ANTENNA HAVING A REACTIVELY-LOADED LOOP CONFIGURATION - A microwave ablation system is provided. The microwave ablation system includes a power source. A microwave antenna is adapted to connect to the power source via a coaxial cable feed including an inner conductor defining a portion of a radiating section of the microwave antenna, an outer conductor and dielectric shielding. The inner conductor loops back around and toward the outer conductor of the coaxial cable feed such that a distal end of the inner conductor is operably disposed adjacent the dielectric shielding. The inner conductor includes one or more reactive components disposed thereon forming a reactively-loaded loop configuration configured to maximize delivery of microwave energy from the power source to tissue such that a desired effect to tissue is achieved. | 06-26-2014 |
20140257267 | ADJUSTABLE TUNING OF A DIELECTRICALLY LOADED LOOP ANTENNA - A microwave antenna assembly is disclosed. The antenna assembly includes an elongated member defining a longitudinal axis and having proximal and distal ends. The antenna assembly also includes an outer conductor and an inner conductor each disposed within the elongated member and extending along the longitudinal axis. A portion of the inner conductor is deployable relative to the outer conductor such that the antenna assembly may transition from a first configuration to a second configuration. The antenna assembly also includes an expandable sheath at least partially disposed about a distal portion of the inner conductor and defining at one or more lumens configured to couple to a supply of dielectric material used to regulate the expansion of the expandable sheath. | 09-11-2014 |
20140275756 | Devices, Systems and Methods for Treating Benign Prostatic Hyperplasia and Other Conditions - Devices, systems and methods for compressing, cutting, incising, reconfiguring, remodeling, attaching, repositioning, supporting, dislocating or altering the composition of tissues or anatomical structures to alter their positional or force relationship to other tissues or anatomical structures. In some applications, the invention may be used to improve patency or fluid flow through a body lumen or cavity (e.g., to limit constriction of the urethra by an enlarged prostate gland). | 09-18-2014 |
20140358139 | ELECTROSURGICAL ENERGY CHANNEL SPLITTERS AND SYSTEMS FOR DELIVERING ELECTROSURGICAL ENERGY - An electrosurgical energy channel splitter apparatus includes a channel input a plurality of channel outputs, and a controller. The channel input is configured to receive electrosurgical energy from an electrosurgical energy source. Each channel output is configured to couple to a respective electrosurgical device. The controller is coupled to the channel input and the plurality of channel outputs. The controller is configured to selectively direct the electrosurgical energy from the channel input to one of the plurality of channel outputs. | 12-04-2014 |
Patent application number | Description | Published |
20080212553 | LOW LATENCY FREQUENCY SWITCHING - Techniques for improved low latency frequency switching are disclosed. In one embodiment, a controller receives a frequency switch command and generates a frequency switch signal at a time determined in accordance with a system timer. In another embodiment, gain calibration is initiated subsequent to the frequency switch signal delayed by the expected frequency synthesizer settling time. In yet another embodiment, DC cancellation control and gain control are iterated to perform gain calibration, with signaling to control the iterations without need for processor intervention. Various other embodiments are also presented. Aspects of the embodiments disclosed may yield the benefit of reducing latency during frequency switching, allowing for increased measurements at alternate frequencies, reduced time spent on alternate frequencies, and the capacity and throughput improvements that follow from minimization of disruption of an active communication session and improved neighbor selection. | 09-04-2008 |
20080215573 | Inter-Frequency Neighbor List Searching - Techniques for inter-frequency neighbor list searching are disclosed. Embodiments disclosed herein address the need for inter-frequency neighbor list searching. In one embodiment, a searcher is deployed to search a PN space with a first set of search parameters and to return search results. A subset of those results is selected, along with a previously saved search result, to form a set of PN locations for a second search. The second search is performed on a window around each of the PN locations, using a second set of search parameters. The maximum peak from the second search is saved for use in future iterations. In one embodiment, the subset is selected as the highest energy level peaks from the first search. In one embodiment, if a maximum peak is deemed to correspond to a valid base station when the position of that maximum peak is within a pre-determined time offset from a previous maximum peak. | 09-04-2008 |
20080233995 | POWER CONTROL FOR A CHANNEL WITH MULTIPLE FORMATS IN A COMMUNICATION SYSTEM - Techniques to more efficiently control the transmit power for a data transmission that uses a number of formats (e.g., rates, transport formats). Different formats for a given data channel (e.g., transport channel) may require different target SNIRs to achieved a particular BLER. In one aspect, individual target BLER may be specified for each format of each data channel. In another aspect, various power control schemes are provided to achieve different target SNIRs for different formats. In a first power control scheme, multiple individual outer loops are maintained for multiple formats. For each format, its associated outer loop attempts to set the target SNIR such that the target BLER specified for that format is achieved. In a second power control scheme, multiple individual outer loops are maintained and the base station further applies different adjustments to the transmit power levels for different formats. | 09-25-2008 |
20110158293 | NOISE AND CHANNEL ESTIMATION USING LOW SPREADING FACTORS - Noise measurements are made within a fraction of a single symbol period of a longest orthogonal code symbol. A control processor identifies an unoccupied code having a spreading factor that is less than a longest spreading factor for the system. A despreader measures symbol energy based on the unoccupied code and a noise estimator generates noise estimations based on the measured symbol energies. The subscriber station uses similar techniques in order to perform channel estimations within a period that is a fraction of a symbol period of a longest-spreading-factor code | 06-30-2011 |
Patent application number | Description | Published |
20080233776 | RETRACTABLE MEMORY DRIVE - A retractable memory drive in accordance with the present invention comprises a top casing, a middle carrier, an electronic device such as a USB thumb drive, and a bottom casing. There are guide rails that allow the middle carrier to remain in an appropriate position. There is also a metal spring clip coupled to the middle carrier for contacting a connector of a device coupled to the drive to provide for improved EMI and ESD protection. | 09-25-2008 |
20100124847 | USB CONNECTOR AND METHOD OF MANUFACTURE - A special USB connector which can accommodate PCBA with discrete components soldered on the frontal portion of PCBA is disclosed. The components can be positioned inside the USB connector. A carrier is utilized for PCBA support within a special USB connector used for compact USB devices and sliding motion. | 05-20-2010 |
20100240236 | PORTABLE COMPUTER UNIVERSAL SERIAL BUS DEVICE WITH AN EXTENDABLE CONNECTOR SECURED BY MULTIPLE LOCKING MECHANISMS - An apparatus for use within an electrical devices is disclosed. The apparatus comprises a casing having an upper body and a lower body, the casing including a tab disposed on a surface thereof and an adjustable base having a plurality of tab cavities adjacent to the tab. The tab engagingly couples to one of the plurality of tab cavities to secure the adjustable base. The apparatus also includes a connector system coupled to the adjustable base. | 09-23-2010 |
20100330828 | RETRACTABLE MEMORY DRIVE - A retractable memory drive in accordance with the present invention comprises a top casing, a middle carrier, an electronic device such as a USB thumb drive, and a bottom casing. There are guide rails that allow the middle carrier to remain in an appropriate position. There is also a metal spring clip coupled to the middle carrier for contacting a connector of a device coupled to the drive to provide for improved EMI and ESD protection. | 12-30-2010 |
20110092097 | USB CONNECTOR - A USB connector including a metal shield for holding at least a portion of a printed circuit board having a plurality of connector contacts on a top side of the at least a portion of the printed circuit board, the metal shield including prongs which are attachable to the printed circuit board. A top support is separate from the printed circuit board and is provided within the metal shield above the at least a portion of the printed circuit board, the top support supporting the top side of the printed circuit board. | 04-21-2011 |
Patent application number | Description | Published |
20100182850 | DYNAMIC LEAKAGE CONTROL FOR MEMORY ARRAYS - A memory circuit is disclosed that comprises a plurality of memory cells coupled to a virtual voltage rail. The plurality of memory cells may form, for example, a sub-array of an SRAM array. A switching circuit may be coupled between the virtual voltage rail and a voltage supply node, and a comparator may be coupled to compare a voltage level present on the virtual voltage rail to a reference voltage to thereby provide an output signal based on the comparison. The switching circuit may be configured to electrically couple the virtual voltage rail to the voltage supply node depending upon the output signal. In some embodiments, the switching circuit may be implemented using either a PMOS transistor or an NMOS transistor, although other embodiments may employ other switching circuits. | 07-22-2010 |
20100208540 | INTEGRATED CIRCUIT WITH MULTIPORTED MEMORY SUPERCELL AND DATA PATH SWITCHING CIRCUITRY - An integrated circuit. The integrated circuit includes a plurality of memory requesters and a memory supercell. The memory supercell includes a plurality of memory banks each of which forms a respective range of separately addressable storage locations, wherein the memory supercell is organized into a plurality of bank groups. Each of the plurality of bank groups includes a subset of the plurality of memory banks and a corresponding dedicated access port. The integrated circuit further includes a switch coupled between the plurality of memory requesters and the memory supercell. The switch is configured, responsive to a memory request by a given one of the plurality of memory requesters, to connect a data path between the given memory requester and the dedicated access port of a particular one of the bank groups addressed by the memory request. | 08-19-2010 |
20110194370 | Memory Having Asynchronous Read With Fast Read Output - A memory circuit is disclosed. The memory circuit includes memory cells and asynchronous read decode logic configured to decode a received address and to select particular ones of the memory cells for reading. The read decode logic may be comprised of static, combinational logic, and thus the decoding of the received address may be conducted without the use of a clock signal or a cycle of a clock signal. Accordingly, a read operation may be conducted responsive to receiving the read address, without waiting for a subsequent clock edge. Furthermore, read output logic may also be asynchronous, and thus may provide data read from the memory cells without having to wait for a clock edge. The read output logic may include push-pull driver circuits coupled to global bit lines. The push-pull driver circuits may drive their corresponding global bit lines based on the data read from corresponding memory cells. | 08-11-2011 |
20120294095 | Dynamic Level Shifter - A dynamic level shifter is disclosed. In one embodiment, a dynamic level shifter circuit may receive an input signal referenced to a first voltage of a first power domain, and may output a corresponding signal referenced to a second voltage into a second power domain. The dynamic level shifter circuit may include an evaluation node that is precharged during a first phase (e.g., the low portion) of a clock signal. During the second phase (e.g., the high portion) of the clock signal, the evaluation node may be either pulled low or high, depending on the state of the input signal. A corresponding output signal, based on the evaluated level on the evaluation node, may be output into the second power domain. | 11-22-2012 |
Patent application number | Description | Published |
20130335152 | Dynamic Level Shifter Circuit and Ring Oscillator Using the Same - A dynamic level shifter circuit and a ring oscillator implemented using the same are disclosed. A dynamic level shifter may include a pull-down circuit and a pull-up circuit. The pull-up circuit may include an extra transistor configured to reduce the current through that circuit when the pull-down circuit is activated. A ring oscillator may be implemented using instances of the dynamic level shifter along with instances of a static level shifter. The ring oscillator may also include a pulse generator configured to initiate oscillation. The ring oscillator implemented with dynamic level shifters may be used in conjunction with another ring oscillator implemented using only static level shifters to compare relative performance levels of the static and dynamic level shifters. | 12-19-2013 |
20140059297 | SYSTEM CACHE WITH STICKY ALLOCATION - Methods and apparatuses for implementing a system cache within a memory controller. Multiple requesting agents may allocate cache lines in the system cache, and each line allocated in the system cache may be associated with a specific group ID. Also, each line may have a corresponding sticky state which indicates if the line should be retained in the cache. The sticky state is determined by an allocation hint provided by the requesting agent. When a cache line is allocated with the sticky state, the line will not be replaced by other cache lines fetched by any other group IDs. | 02-27-2014 |
20140075118 | SYSTEM CACHE WITH QUOTA-BASED CONTROL - Methods and apparatuses for implementing a system cache with quota-based control. Quotas may be assigned on a group ID basis to each group ID that is assigned to use the system cache. The quota does not reserve space in the system cache, but rather the quota may be used within any way within the system cache. The quota may prevent a given group ID from consuming more than a desired amount of the system cache. Once a group ID's quota has been reached, no additional allocation will be permitted for that group ID. The total amount of allocated quota for all group IDs can exceed the size of system cache, such that the system cache can be oversubscribed. The sticky state can be used to prioritize data retention within the system cache when oversubscription is being used. | 03-13-2014 |
20140075125 | SYSTEM CACHE WITH CACHE HINT CONTROL - Methods and apparatuses for utilizing a cache hint mechanism in which a requesting agent can provide hints as to how data corresponding to a request should be cached in a system cache within a memory controller. The way the system cache responds to received requests is determined by the cache hint provided by the originating requesting agent. When a request is accompanied by a de-allocate cache hint, the system cache causes a cache line hit by the request to be de-allocated. For a request with a do not allocate cache hint, the system cache does not allocate a cache line if the request misses in the system cache, and the system cache maintains a given cache line in its current state if the requests hits the given cache line. | 03-13-2014 |
20140089590 | SYSTEM CACHE WITH COARSE GRAIN POWER MANAGEMENT - Methods and apparatuses for reducing power consumption of a system cache within a memory controller. The system cache includes multiple ways, and individual ways are powered down when cache activity is low. A maximum active way configuration register is set by software and determines the maximum number of ways which are permitted to be active. When searching for a cache line replacement candidate, a linear feedback shift register (LFSR) is used to select from the active ways. This ensures that each active way has an equal chance of getting picked for finding a replacement candidate when one or more of the ways are inactive. | 03-27-2014 |
20140089592 | SYSTEM CACHE WITH SPECULATIVE READ ENGINE - Methods and apparatuses for processing speculative read requests in a system cache within a memory controller. To expedite a speculative read request, the request is sent on parallel paths through the system cache. A first path goes through a speculative read engine to determine if the speculative read request meets the conditions for accessing memory. A second path involves performing a tag lookup to determine if the data referenced by the request is already in the system cache. If the speculative read request meets the conditions for accessing memory, the request is sent to a miss queue where it is held until a confirm or cancel signal is received from the tag lookup mechanism. | 03-27-2014 |
20140089600 | SYSTEM CACHE WITH DATA PENDING STATE - Methods and apparatuses for utilizing a data pending state for cache misses in a system cache. To reduce the size of a miss queue that is searched by subsequent misses, a cache line storage location is allocated in the system cache for a miss and the state of the cache line storage location is set to data pending. A subsequent request that hits to the cache line storage location will detect the data pending state and as a result, the subsequent request will be sent to a replay buffer. When the fill for the original miss comes back from external memory, the state of the cache line storage location is updated to a clean state. Then, the request stored in the replay buffer is reactivated and allowed to complete its access to the cache line storage location. | 03-27-2014 |
20140089602 | SYSTEM CACHE WITH PARTIAL WRITE VALID STATES - Methods and apparatuses for processing partial write requests in a system cache within a memory controller. When a write request that updates a portion of a cache line misses in the system cache, the write request writes the data to the system cache without first reading the corresponding cache line from memory. The system cache includes error correction code bits which are redefined as word mask bits when a cache line is in a partial dirty state. When a read request hits on a partial dirty cache line, the partial data is written to memory using a word mask. Then, the corresponding full cache line is retrieved from memory and stored in the system cache. | 03-27-2014 |
20140095777 | SYSTEM CACHE WITH FINE GRAIN POWER MANAGEMENT - Methods and apparatuses for reducing leakage power in a system cache within a memory controller. The system cache is divided into multiple small sections, and each section is supplied with power from a separately controllable power supply. When a section is not being accessed, the voltage supplied to the section is reduced to a voltage sufficient for retention of data but not for access. Incoming requests are grouped together based on which section of the system cache they target. When enough requests that target a given section have accumulated, the voltage supplied to the given section is increased to a voltage sufficient for access. Then, once the given section has enough time to ramp-up and stabilize at the higher voltage, the waiting requests may access the given section in a burst of operations. | 04-03-2014 |
20140095800 | SYSTEM CACHE WITH STICKY REMOVAL ENGINE - Methods and apparatuses for releasing the sticky state of cache lines for one or more group IDs. A sticky removal engine walks through the tag memory of a system cache looking for matches with a first group ID which is clearing its cache lines from the system cache. The engine clears the sticky state of each cache line belonging to the first group ID. If the engine receives a release request for a second group ID, the engine records the current index to log its progress through the tag memory. Then, the engine continues its walk through the tag memory looking for matches with either the first or second group ID. The engine wraps around to the start of the tag memory and continues its walk until reaching the recorded index for the second group ID. | 04-03-2014 |
20140244920 | SCHEME TO ESCALATE REQUESTS WITH ADDRESS CONFLICTS - Techniques for escalating a real time agent's request that has an address conflict with a best effort agent's request. A best effort request can be allocated in a memory controller cache but can progress slowly in the memory system due to its low priority. Therefore, when a real time request has an address conflict with an older best effort request, the best effort request can be escalated if it is still pending when the real time request is received at the memory controller cache. Escalating the best effort request can include setting the push attribute of the best effort request or sending another request with a push attribute to bypass or push the best effort request. | 08-28-2014 |
20140297959 | ADVANCED COARSE-GRAINED CACHE POWER MANAGEMENT - Methods and apparatuses for reducing power consumption of a system cache within a memory controller. The system cache includes multiple ways, and each way is powered independently of the other ways. A target active way count is maintained and the system cache attempts to keep the number of currently active ways equal to the target active way count. The bandwidth and allocation intention of the system cache is monitored. Based on these characteristics, the system cache adjusts the target active way count up or down, which then causes the number of currently active ways to rise or fall in response to the adjustment to the target active way count. | 10-02-2014 |
20140298058 | ADVANCED FINE-GRAINED CACHE POWER MANAGEMENT - Methods and apparatuses for reducing leakage power in a system cache within a memory controller. The system cache is divided into multiple sections, and each section is supplied with power from one of two supply voltages. When a section is not being accessed, the voltage supplied to the section is reduced to a voltage sufficient for retention of data but not for access. The cache utilizes a maximum allowed active section policy to limit the number of sections that are active at any given time to reduce leakage power. Each section includes a corresponding idle timer and break-even timer. The idle timer keeps track of how long the section has been idle and the break-even timer is used to periodically wake the section up from retention mode to check if there is a pending request that targets the section. | 10-02-2014 |
20140310469 | COHERENCE PROCESSING WITH PRE-KILL MECHANISM TO AVOID DUPLICATED TRANSACTION IDENTIFIERS - An apparatus for processing coherency transactions in a computing system is disclosed. The apparatus may include a request queue circuit, a duplicate tag circuit, and a memory interface unit. The request queue circuit may be configured to generate a speculative read request dependent upon a received read transaction. The duplicate tag circuit may be configured to store copies of tag from one or more cache memories, and to generate a kill message in response to a determination that data requested in the received read transaction is stored in a cache memory. The memory interface unit may be configured to store the generated speculative read request dependent upon a stall condition. The stored speculative read request may be sent to a memory controller dependent upon the stall condition. The memory interface unit may be further configured to delete the speculative read request in response to the kill message. | 10-16-2014 |
20140317355 | CACHE ALLOCATION SCHEME OPTIMIZED FOR BROWSING APPLICATIONS - Methods and systems for cache allocation schemes optimized for browsing applications. A memory controller includes a memory cache for reducing the number of requests that access off-chip memory. When an idle screen use case is detected, the frame buffer is allocated to the memory cache using a sequential allocation mode. Pixels are allocated to indexes of a given way in a sequential fashion, and then each way is accessed in a sequential fashion. When a given way is being accessed, the other ways of the memory cache are put into retention mode to reduce the leakage power. | 10-23-2014 |
20140337649 | Memory Power Savings in Idle Display Case - In an embodiment, a system includes a memory controller that includes a memory cache and a display controller configured to control a display. The system may be configured to detect that the images being displayed are essentially static, and may be configured to cause the display controller to request allocation in the memory cache for source frame buffer data. In some embodiments, the system may also alter power management configuration in the memory cache to prevent the memory cache from shutting down or reducing its effective size during the idle screen case, so that the frame buffer data may remain cached. During times that the display is dynamically changing, the frame buffer data may not be cached in the memory cache and the power management configuration may permit the shutting down/size reduction in the memory cache. | 11-13-2014 |