RUNTIME LOADING OF CONFIGURATION DATA IN A CONFIGURABLE IC
First Claim
1. A integrated circuit (IC) comprising:
- a) a plurality of groups of configurable circuits for configurably performing different operations, each particular configurable circuit for receiving at least one configuration data set for specifying a particular operation that the particular configurable circuit has to perform; and
b) a plurality sets of storage elements, wherein each set of storage elements is communicatively coupled to at least two groups wherein a plurality of sets of storage elements are for loading, in a pipeline fashion, configuration data for configuring a first set of configurable circuits to perform a first set of operations while the IC operates and a second set of configurable circuits performs a second set of operations.
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Accused Products
Abstract
Some embodiments of the invention provide a configurable integrated circuit (IC) that has several configurable circuits for configurably performing different operations. During the operation of the IC, each particular configurable circuit performs a particular operation that is specified by a particular configuration data set for the particular configurable circuit. While the IC operates and a first set of configurable circuits performs a first set of operations, configuration data is loaded from the outside of the IC for configuring a second set of configurable circuits. In some embodiments, the configurable IC includes a configuration network for rapid loading configuration data in the IC from outside of the IC. In some of these embodiments, the configuration network is a pipelined network. Also, the IC of some embodiments includes a configuration controller for retrieving configuration data from outside of the IC, formulating configuration data sets, and routing the configuration data sets to the second set of configurable circuits over the configuration network.
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Citations
35 Claims
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1. A integrated circuit (IC) comprising:
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a) a plurality of groups of configurable circuits for configurably performing different operations, each particular configurable circuit for receiving at least one configuration data set for specifying a particular operation that the particular configurable circuit has to perform; and b) a plurality sets of storage elements, wherein each set of storage elements is communicatively coupled to at least two groups wherein a plurality of sets of storage elements are for loading, in a pipeline fashion, configuration data for configuring a first set of configurable circuits to perform a first set of operations while the IC operates and a second set of configurable circuits performs a second set of operations. - View Dependent Claims (2, 3, 4, 5, 6, 7, 16)
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8. A method of operating an integrated circuit (IC) comprising a plurality of configurable circuits, the method comprising:
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a) loading first and second configuration data sets for configuring first and second sets of configurable circuits; b) operating the IC based on the first and second configuration data sets; c) while the IC operates and the first set of configurable circuits operates based on the first configuration data set, loading a third configuration data set for changing the configuration of the second set of configurable circuits. - View Dependent Claims (9, 13)
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10. (canceled)
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11. (canceled)
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12. (canceled)
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14. (canceled)
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15. An integrated circuit (IC) comprising:
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a) a plurality of configurable circuits for configurably performing different operations; and b) a configuration network for loading configuration data sets into the IC from outside of the IC; wherein the configuration network comprises a plurality of lines traversing a plurality of groups of configurable circuits, said plurality of lines for allowing at least two groups to receive and examine each configuration data set, wherein examining at a particular comprises determining whether a particular configuration data set is directed to the group; wherein the configuration data sets are for configuring the configurable circuits to perform particular operations; wherein during at least one operational period of the configurable IC, said configuration network is for routing a particular configuration data set for a first set of configurable circuits to the first set of configurable circuits while a second set of configurable circuits is performing a set of operations.
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17. A device comprising:
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an integrated circuit (IC) comprising; a) a plurality of groups of configurable circuits for configurably performing different operations, each particular configurable circuit for receiving at least one configuration data set for specifying a particular operation that the particular configurable circuit has to perform; and b) a plurality sets of storage elements, wherein each set of storage elements is communicatively coupled to at least two groups, wherein a plurality of sets of storage elements are for loading, in a pipeline fashion, configuration data for configuring a first set of configurable circuits to perform a first set of operations while the IC operates and a second set of configurable circuits performs a second set of operations. - View Dependent Claims (18)
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19. An apparatus comprising:
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a) a plurality of configurable circuits in an arrangement, said configurable circuits for configurably processing data sets; b) a configuration network for loading configuration data into the arrangement, said configuration data for configuring at least one configurable circuit; and c) a data processor for (i) receiving a first data set for processing by at least one configurable circuit, (ii) identifying that the configurable circuits are not configured to process the first data set, and (iii) causing the configuration network to load an appropriate configuration data set into the arrangement while at least one configurable circuit processes a second data set. - View Dependent Claims (20, 21, 22, 23, 24, 25, 26, 27, 28)
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29. An integrated circuit (IC) comprising:
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a) a plurality of configurable circuits in an arrangement, said configurable circuits for configurably processing data sets; b) a configuration network for loading configuration data into the arrangement, said configuration data for configuring at least one configurable circuit; and c) a data processor for (i) receiving a first data set for at least one configurable circuit to process, (ii) identifying that the configurable circuits are not configured to process the first data set, and (iii) instructing the configuration network to load an appropriate configuration data set into the arrangement while at least one configurable circuit processes a second data set. - View Dependent Claims (30, 31, 32, 33, 34)
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35. An integrated circuit (IC) comprising:
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a) a plurality of groups of configurable circuits for configurably performing different operations; and b) a network comprising; i) a plurality of lines that traverse multiple groups, said lines for carrying configuration data simultaneously on the same set of lines for multiple groups; and ii) a plurality of sets of storage elements for dividing the plurality of lines into a plurality of sets of different line segments, wherein two sets of line segments that are on two sides of a particular set of storage elements are for carrying two different data sets.
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Specification