Patent · US Expired

Method and apparatus for controlling data transfer between a synchronous DRAM-type memory and a system bus

US6148380A · kind A · utility

9Cited by
14References
3Claims
0Family size

Assignee

Inventors

Key dates

Filing dateJan 2, 1997
Grant dateNov 14, 2000
Priority date
Expiry dateJan 2, 2017

Classification

  • Technology area (CPC G)Physics
  • CPC primaryG06F13/1631
  • WIPO fieldComputer technology
  • WIPO sectorElectrical engineering

Abstract

An interface and method for a synchronous DRAM (syncDRAM) memory are provided that improve performance. The read operation in a syncDRAM is significantly sped up by eliminating the step of opening a new page of data in a SyncDRAM using a speculative read method. This provides the ability to open a page of information in the SyncDRAM with a command generator in response to a data request. Speculative read logic is also included to continue reading from the page with an invalid address until a second read request occurs. Thus, in the event that a subsequent read request occurs that requests data located on the same page as the prior request, the data can be indexed and read from a location on that page without having to first assert the SCS# and SCAS#. This frequently removes the step of opening a page from the read process and, over time, can significantly speed up the overall SyncDRAM reads in a computer system.

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