Patent · US Expired

Multi-port RAM having functionally identical ports

US6167487A · kind A · utility

80Cited by
4References
12Claims
0Family size

Assignee

Inventors

Key dates

Filing dateJan 13, 1998
Grant dateDec 26, 2000
Priority date
Expiry dateJan 13, 2018

Classification

  • Technology area (CPC G)Physics
  • CPC primaryG11C11/005
  • WIPO fieldComputer technology
  • WIPO sectorElectrical engineering

Abstract

A memory having a SRAM, a DRAM, and two independent and functionally identical IO ports. Each port may be used as a read-only, a write-only, or a read-write port. One port may perform a read access to the SRAM, whereas the other port may carry out a write access to the SRAM in the same clock cycle. Each and every location of the SRAM may be accessed from any of the ports. Each port comprises a two-stage pipelined data path for providing a read or write access to the SRAM. Stage 1 decodes control and write enable signals, latches address signals and performs the output of read data. Stage 2 supports accesses to SRAM cells for writing and reading data. In a unified-port mode of operation, two 16-bit ports may be combined to produce a single port supporting a 32-bit write or read access to the SRAM. In a data burst mode of operation, each port may be programmed to select individual length of data bursts and individual burst type.

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