Patent · US Expired

Logic gate identification based on hardware description language circuit specification

US6904573B1 · kind B1 · utility

1Cited by
7References
42Claims
0Family size

Assignee

Inventor

Key dates

Filing dateMay 27, 2003
Grant dateJun 7, 2005
Priority date
Expiry dateDec 9, 2023

Classification

  • Technology area (CPC G)Physics
  • CPC primaryG06F30/3312
  • WIPO fieldComputer technology
  • WIPO sectorElectrical engineering

Abstract

Techniques are disclosed for estimating the signal propagation delays within a circuit, based on a description of the circuit written in a hardware description language (HDL), such as a register transfer language (RTL). Assignment statements in the description which describe the performance of a logical function are modeled using logic gates which perform the function described. A particular function may be modeled using one or more logic gates depending on the number of inputs to the function. The delay associated with performance of the function is estimated by estimating the delay through the circuit used to model the function. Estimates for multiple functions may be combined to estimate the total delay associated with a particular signal path through a circuit.

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