# US 10,320,372 B2 · Information processing device, semiconductor device, and information processing method > Agents: this data is available as JSON from the patentgrep API and MCP server — see https://patentgrep.com/llms.txt - Number: US 10,320,372 B2 - Document ID: US10320372B2 - Status: Granted - Kind: B2 - Application number: 15/914,304 - Filed: 2018-03-07 - Published: 2018-11-29 - Granted: 2019-06-11 - Earliest claimed: 2017-05-23 - Assignees: Kabushiki Kaisha Toshiba - Applicants: Kabushiki Kaisha Toshiba - Inventors: Kentaro Yoshioka; Akihide Sai; Kohei Onizuka; Masanori Furuta - Web page: https://patentgrep.com/patent/US10320372B2 ## CPC - H03K 5/06: by the use of delay lines or other analogue delay elements - G06N 3/063: using electronic means - H03K 3/0315: {Ring oscillators} - H03K 5/08: by limiting; by thresholding; by slicing, i.e. combined limiting and thresholding (H03K5/07 takes precedence; comparing one pulse with another H03K5/22; providing a determined threshold for switching H03K17/30) - G06N 20/00: Machine learning - H03K 2005/00058: {controlled by a digital setting} - H03K 2005/00195: {using FET's} - H03K: PULSE TECHNIQUE (measuring pulse characteristics G01R; modulating sinusoidal oscillations with pulses H03C; transmission of digital information H04L; discriminator circuits detecting phase difference between two signals by counting or integrating cycles of oscillation H03D3/04; automatic control, starting, synchronisation or stabilisation of generators of electronic oscillations or pulses where the type of generator is irrelevant or unspecified H03L; coding, decoding or code conversion, in general H03M) - G06N: COMPUTING ARRANGEMENTS BASED ON SPECIFIC COMPUTATIONAL MODELS ## Abstract An information processing device has a digital-to-pulse converter which outputs a pulse signal including a pulse having a pulse length in accordance with a digital input signal, and a selective oscillator which performs an oscillation operation while the pulse of the pulse signal is output and holds an oscillation operation state at a point of time where the output of the pulse is stopped. ## Claims ### Claim 1 An information processing device comprising: a digital-to-pulse converter which outputs N (N is an integer of 2 or more) pulse signals including pulses having pulse lengths in accordance with N digital input signals sequentially input; and a selective oscillator which: performs a first oscillation operation according to pulse lengths of a first pulse signal of the N pulse signals when the first pulse signal is input, holds an oscillation operation state after the first oscillation operation, performs a second oscillation operation from the held oscillation operation state when a second pulse signal is input, and holds a second oscillation operation state after the second oscillation operation. ### Claim 2 (depends on 1) The information processing device according to claim 1, further comprising: a reading unit which outputs a digital output signal including the first oscillation operation state and the second oscillation operation state. ### Claim 3 (depends on 2) The information processing device according to claim 2, wherein a plurality of sets each of which comprises the selective oscillator and the reading unit and which are different for each of weight signals of the N digital input signals are provided, and the digital-to-pulse converter inputs the N digital input signals to the selective oscillator of the set in accordance with the corresponding weight signals. ### Claim 4 (depends on 3) The information processing device according to claim 3, further comprising: a plurality of weighting units which weight a plurality of digital output signals output from a plurality of reading units in the plurality of sets, in accordance with corresponding weight signals; and a synthesis unit which synthesizes output signals of the plurality of weighting units. ### Claim 5 (depends on 2) The information processing device according to claim 2, wherein the selective oscillator comprises: a ring oscillator which comprises a plurality of delay elements connected in a ring shape and sequentially transmits an initial pulse signal by the plurality of delay elements; and a plurality of switches which switch whether or not to cause the plurality of delay elements to perform a delay operation, and the reading unit holds the number of oscillations by the ring oscillator and a phase state specified by the delay element holding the initial pulse signal at a point of time where the output of the pulse is stopped as the first oscillation operation state. ### Claim 6 (depends on 1) The information processing device according to claim 1, wherein the digital-to-pulse converter outputs the N pulse signals including pulses having pulse lengths in accordance with the N digital input signals and a corresponding weight signal of the digital input signal. ### Claim 7 (depends on 1) The information processing device according to claim 1, further comprising: a weighting unit which generates N weighted digital input signals obtained by weighting the N digital input signals by a corresponding weight signals of the N digital input signals and inputs the N weighted digital input signals to the digital-to-pulse converter. ### Claim 8 (depends on 5) The information processing device according to claim 5, wherein the plurality of delay elements in the ring oscillator have delay times in accordance with a corresponding weight signals of the N digital input signals. ### Claim 9 (depends on 1) The information processing device according to claim 1, further comprising: a sign determiner which determines whether positive operation processing is executed or negative operation processing is executed, on the basis of the N digital input signals and a corresponding weight signals of the N digital input signals; a first operation circuit which, when it is determined by the sign determiner that the positive operation processing is executed, executes the positive operation processing on the basis of the N digital input signals and the corresponding weight signals: a second operation circuit which, when it is determined by the sign determiner that the negative operation processing is executed, executes the negative operation processing on the basis of the N digital input signals and the corresponding weight signals; and a subtracter which subtracts an output signal of the second operation circuit from an output signal of the first operation circuit, wherein each of the first operation circuit and the second operation circuit comprises the selective oscillator. ### Claim 10 A semiconductor device comprising: a product-sum operation core in which a plurality of operation circuits each having an information processing device are disposed on the same semiconductor substrate, wherein the information processing device comprises: a digital-to-pulse converter which outputs N (N is an integer of 2 or more) pulse signals including pulses having pulse lengths in accordance with N digital input signals sequentially input; and a selective oscillator which: performs a first oscillation operation according to pulse lengths of a first pulse signal of the N pulse signals when the first pulse signal is input, holds an oscillation operation state after the first oscillation operation, performs a second oscillation operation from the held oscillation operation state when a second pulse signal is input, and holds a second oscillation operation state after the second oscillation operation. ### Claim 11 An information processing method comprising: outputting N (N is an integer of 2 or more) pulse signals including pulses having pulse lengths in accordance with N digital input signals sequentially input from a digital-to-pulse converter; performing a first oscillation operation according to pulse lengths of a first pulse signal of the N pulse signals when the first pulse signal is input; holding an oscillation operation state after the first oscillation operation; performing a second oscillation operation from the held oscillation operation state when a second pulse signal is input; and holding a second oscillation operation state after the second oscillation operation. ### Claim 12 (depends on 11) The information processing method according to claim 11, further comprising: outputting a digital output signal including the first oscillation operation state and the second oscillation operation state. ### Claim 13 (depends on 12) The information processing method according to claim 12, wherein a plurality of sets each of which comprises the selective oscillator and the reading unit and which are different for each of weight signals of the N digital input signals are provided, and the digital-to-pulse converter inputs the N digital input signals to the selective oscillator of the set in accordance with the corresponding weight signals. ### Claim 14 (depends on 13) The information processing method according to claim 13, further comprising: weighting a plurality of digital output signals output from a plurality of reading units in the plurality of sets, in accordance with corresponding weight signals; and synthesizing the weighted output signals of the plurality of weighting units. ### Claim 15 (depends on 12) The information processing method according to claim 12, wherein performing the oscillating operations by a selective oscillator by using a ring oscillator which comprises a plurality of delay elements connected in a ring shape, sequentially transmitting an initial pulse signal by the plurality of delay elements; and switching whether or not to cause the plurality of delay elements to perform a delay operation, and the outputting the digital output signal holds the number of oscillations by the ring oscillator and a phase state specified by the delay element holding the initial pulse signal at a point of time where the output of the pulse is stopped as the first oscillation operation state. ### Claim 16 (depends on 11) The information processing method according to claim 11, wherein the digital-to-pulse converter outputs the N pulse signals including pulses having pulse lengths in accordance with the N digital input signals and a corresponding weight signal of the digital input signal. ### Claim 17 (depends on 11) The information processing method according to claim 11, further comprising: generating N weighted digital input signals obtained by weighting the N digital input signals by a corresponding weight signals of the N digital input signals and inputs the N weighted digital input signal to the digital-to-pulse converter. ### Claim 18 (depends on 15) The information processing method according to claim 15, wherein the plurality of delay elements in the ring oscillator have delay time in accordance with a corresponding weight signals of the N digital input signals.