Patent · US Expired

Technique to support progressively programmable nonvolatile memory

US5390317A · kind A · utility

19Cited by
17References
21Claims
0Family size

Assignee

Inventors

Key dates

Filing dateMar 18, 1994
Grant dateFeb 14, 1995
Priority date
Expiry dateMar 18, 2014

Classification

  • Technology area (CPC G)Physics
  • CPC primaryG11C16/08
  • WIPO fieldComputer technology
  • WIPO sectorElectrical engineering

Abstract

A nonvolatile memory (28) in a data processor (10) is capable of being progressively programmed and/or accessed in a user determined number of sections. A user can program and/or access what appears to the user to be reprogrammable nonvolatile memory (28) at a same address when in actuality the user is programming and accessing sequential sections of nonvolatile memory (28). Nonvolatile information stored in nonvolatile control bits (20) is used to control which section of the nonvolatile memory is connected to a communication bus and is thus accessible to the user. When the user desires to write and/or access a new section of nonvolatile memory (28), either the user directly asserts one of the nonvolatile control bits (20) using software, or the nonvolatile control (24) asserts one of the nonvolatile control bits (20) using hardware.

Source: USPTO / EPO open patent data. Objective bibliographic and citation counts.