Multipurpose and programmable pad ring for an integrated circuit
First Claim
1. A transceiver, comprising:
- a substrate;
a plurality of ports including serial ports and parallel ports, said plurality of ports being configured and arranged such that any one of said serial and parallel ports can be connected to another serial or parallel port, each port including programmable pads, said plurality of ports being arranged on said substrate in a rotational symmetric layout,wherein a first programmable pad is part of a first parallel port and a second programmable pad is part of a first serial port,wherein at least one of a group consisting of said first programmable pad and said second programmable pad is configurable to operate according to a plurality of electrical specifications and a plurality of data protocols;
a bus coupled to said plurality of ports on said substrate; and
a pad control system constructed and arranged to configure said at least one of said first programmable pad and said second programmable pad to operate in accordance with a specified data protocol from among said plurality of data protocols and a specified electrical specification from among said plurality of electrical specifications.
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Accused Products
Abstract
A multi-port SERDES transceiver includes multiple parallel and serial ports, and the flexibility to connect any one of the parallel or serial ports to another parallel or serial port. The ports include programmable pads that are capable of supporting multiple different data protocols, timing protocols, electrical specifications, and input-output functions. A management data IO pad also enables the transceiver to support different electrical requirements and data protocols at the same time. The substrate layout of the transceiver is configured so that the parallel ports and the serial ports are on the outer perimeter. A logic core is at the center, where the logic core operates the serial and parallel data ports, and the bus that connects the data ports. The bus can be described as a “ring” structure (or donut “structure”) around the logic core, and is configured between the logic core and the data ports.
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Citations
46 Claims
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1. A transceiver, comprising:
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a substrate; a plurality of ports including serial ports and parallel ports, said plurality of ports being configured and arranged such that any one of said serial and parallel ports can be connected to another serial or parallel port, each port including programmable pads, said plurality of ports being arranged on said substrate in a rotational symmetric layout, wherein a first programmable pad is part of a first parallel port and a second programmable pad is part of a first serial port, wherein at least one of a group consisting of said first programmable pad and said second programmable pad is configurable to operate according to a plurality of electrical specifications and a plurality of data protocols; a bus coupled to said plurality of ports on said substrate; and a pad control system constructed and arranged to configure said at least one of said first programmable pad and said second programmable pad to operate in accordance with a specified data protocol from among said plurality of data protocols and a specified electrical specification from among said plurality of electrical specifications. - View Dependent Claims (2, 3, 4, 5, 6, 20, 21, 22, 23, 24, 25, 26, 27, 28, 29, 30, 39, 40, 41)
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7. A method for programming a plurality of ports including serial ports and parallel ports, said plurality of ports being configured and arranged such that any one of said serial and parallel ports can be connected to another serial or parallel port, each port including a plurality of programmable pads, said plurality of pads being arranged on a substrate in a rotational symmetric layout, wherein a first programmable pad among said plurality of programmable pads is part of a first parallel port and a second programmable pad among said plurality of programmable pads is part of a first serial port, comprising:
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(A) accessing a first set of instructions that specify a specified data protocol from among a plurality of data protocols; (B) accessing a second set of instructions that specify a specified electrical specification from among a plurality of electrical specifications; (C) sending a first control signal to at least one of a group consisting of said first programmable pad and said second programmable pad that carries said first set and second set of instructions; (D) executing said first set and second set of instructions to configure said at least one of said group consisting of said first programmable pad and said second programmable pad; (E) sending a second control signal to instruct said at least one of said group consisting of said first programmable pad and said second programmable pad to function as an output or an input based on said first set and second set of instructions. - View Dependent Claims (8, 9, 10, 11, 12, 13, 34, 35, 36, 37, 38, 42, 43)
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14. A transceiver, comprising:
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a substrate; a plurality of ports including serial ports and parallel ports, said plurality of ports being configured and arranged such that any one of said serial and parallel ports can be connected to another serial or parallel port, each port including programmable pads, said plurality of ports being arranged on said substrate to provide a rotational symmetric layout wherein at least one of a group consisting of said first programmable pad and said second programmable pad is configurable to operate with a plurality of electrical specifications and a plurality of data protocols; means for coupling said plurality of ports on said substrate; means for accessing instructions that specify at least one of a specified data protocol from among a plurality of data protocols and a specified electrical specification from among a plurality of electrical specifications; and means for executing said instructions to configure at least one of said group consisting of said first programmable pad and said second programmable pad to comply with said specified data protocol and said specified electrical specification. - View Dependent Claims (15, 16, 17, 18, 19, 31, 32, 33, 44, 45, 46)
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Specification