Non-sequentially configurable IC

• US 7,167,025 B1
• Filed: 06/30/2004
• Issued: 01/23/2007
• Est. Priority Date: 02/14/2004
• Status: Expired due to Fees

• Current Assignee: Tahoe Research Limited (f/k/a Learndale Limited) (Vector Capital Corporation)
• Original Assignee: Tabula Incorporated
• Inventors: Schmit, Herman, Butts, Michael, Hutchings, Brad L., Teig, Steven
• Primary Examiner(s): Tan, Vibol
• Assistant Examiner(s): WHITE, DYLAN C
• Application Number:
  US10/883,051
• Time in Patent Office: 937 Days
• Field of Search: 716/16, 327/100
• US Class Current: 326/47
• CPC Class Codes: G06F 30/39 Circuit design at the physical level physical level design for reconfigurable circuits G06F30/347
• CPC Class Codes: H03K 19/17748 Structural details of configuration resources
• CPC Class Codes: H03K 19/17752 for hot reconfiguration
• CPC Class Codes: H03K 19/17758 for speeding up configuration or reconfiguration

Abstract

Some embodiments of the invention provide a configurable integrated circuit (IC). The IC includes at least fifty configurable circuits arranged in an array having a plurality of rows and a plurality of columns. Each configurable circuit for configurably performing a set of operations. At least a first configurable circuit reconfigures at a first reconfiguration rate. The first configurable circuit performs a different operation each time the first configurable circuit is reconfigured. The reconfiguration of the first configurable circuit does not follow any sequential progression through the set of operations of the first configurable circuit.

Claims

1. A reconfigurable integrated circuit (IC) comprising:

at least fifty reconfigurable circuits arranged in an array having a plurality of rows and a plurality of columns;

said reconfigurable circuits including at least a first reconfigurable circuit for reconfigurably performing at least two different operations based on two different configuration data sets that are both stored in the IC concurrently;

wherein, for at least a duration of time, a non-sequentially encoded periodic reconfiguration signal identifies the configuration data set upon which the first reconfigurable circuit bases its operation.

2. The reconfigurable IC of claim 1, wherein said reconfiguration signal uses a Gray code encoding scheme.

3. The reconfigurable IC of claim 1, wherein the reconfiguration signal uses a one-hot encoding scheme.

4. The reconfigurable IC of claim 1, wherein the first reconfigurable circuit reconfigures at a first reconfiguration rate, wherein the reconfiguration signal has a second particular rate.

5. The reconfigurable IC of claim 4, wherein the first and second rates are equal.

6. The reconfigurable IC of claim 1, wherein the IC includes at least 300 reconfigurable circuits arranged in the array.

7. The reconfigurable IC of claim 1, wherein each reconfigurable circuit in a set of a plurality of reconfigurable circuits reconfigures multiple times at the first reconfiguration rate, wherein each reconfigurable circuit in the set performs a different operation each time the particular circuit is reconfigured.

8. The reconfigurable IC of claim 1, wherein the reconfigurable circuits include reconfigurable interconnect circuits, each reconfigurable interconnect circuit configurably performing a set of connection operations.

9. The reconfigurable IC of claim 8, wherein the reconfigurable circuits further include reconfigurable logic circuits, each reconfigurable logic circuit configurably performing a set of functions, wherein the interconnect circuits configurably connect the logic circuits.

10. The reconfigurable IC of claim 1, wherein the reconfigurable circuits includes reconfigurable logic circuits, each reconfigurable logic circuit configurably performing a set of functions.

11. The reconfigurable IC of claim 1, wherein the first circuit reconfigures at least five times at the first reconfiguration rate.

12. The reconfigurable IC of claim 1, further comprising a signal generator for generating the non-sequentially encoded reconfiguration signal.

13. A reconfigurable integrated circuit (IC) comprising:

a plurality of reconfigurable circuits, each reconfigurable circuit for reconfigurably performing a set of operations;

wherein at least a plurality of the reconfigurable circuits receive a Gray code encoded reconfiguration signal that allows said plurality of the reconfigurable circuits to reconfigure;

wherein a reconfigurable circuit reconfigures when configuration data that specifies the operation of the reconfigurable circuit changes.

14. The reconfigurable IC of claim 13, wherein the reconfigurable circuits include a plurality of reconfigurable logic circuits each for reconfigurably performing a set of functions, and a plurality of reconfigurable interconnect circuits for reconfigurably coupling the logic circuits.

15. The reconfigurable IC of claim 14, wherein the reconfigurable circuits include the logic circuits.

16. The reconfigurable IC of claim 15, wherein the reconfigurable circuits further include the interconnect circuits.

17. The reconfigurable IC of claim 14, wherein the reconfigurable circuits include the interconnect circuits.

18. The reconfigurable IC of claim 14 further comprising a signal generator for generating the reconfiguration signal.

19. A reconfigurable integrated circuit (IC) comprising:

a) a plurality of reconfigurable circuits, each reconfigurable circuit for configurably performing a set of operations; and

b) a signal generator for generating a multi-value signal that changes at a first particular rate and causes a set of the reconfigurable circuits to reconfigure at a second particular rate, said multi-value signal for representing a plurality of values, wherein at least for a certain duration, the changes in the multi-value signal do not follow any particular incrementing or decrementing progression through the plurality of values.

20. The reconfigurable IC of claim 19, wherein the first and second rates are equal.

21. A reconfigurable integrated circuit (IC) comprising:

a) a plurality of reconfigurable circuits, each reconfigurable circuit for configurably performing a set of operations; and

b) a signal generator for generating a reconfiguration signal that changes at a first particular rate and causes a set of the reconfigurable circuits to reconfigure at a second particular rate, wherein, the reconfiguration signal follows a one-hot encoding scheme.

22. The reconfigurable IC of claim 21, wherein the first and second rates are equal.