# US 2009/0276232 A1 · Warranty monitoring and enforcement for integrated circuit

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- Number: US 2009/0276232 A1
- Document ID: US20090276232A1
- Status: Published application
- Kind: A1
- Application number: 12/113,966
- Filed: 2008-05-02
- Published: 2009-11-05
- Earliest claimed: 2008-05-02
- Inventors: Kenneth J. Goodnow; Suzanne Granato; Eze Kamanu; Todd E. Leonard; Ramnath Ravindran; Kyle E. Schneider; Peter A. Twombly
- Web page: https://patentgrep.com/patent/US20090276232A1

## CPC

- G06Q 10/06: Resources, workflows, human or project management; Enterprise or organisation planning; Enterprise or organisation modelling
- G06Q 30/012: Providing warranty services
- G06Q: INFORMATION AND COMMUNICATION TECHNOLOGY [ICT] SPECIALLY ADAPTED FOR ADMINISTRATIVE, COMMERCIAL, FINANCIAL, MANAGERIAL OR SUPERVISORY PURPOSES; SYSTEMS OR METHODS SPECIALLY ADAPTED FOR ADMINISTRATIVE, COMMERCIAL, FINANCIAL, MANAGERIAL OR SUPERVISORY PURPOSES, NOT OTHERWISE PROVIDED FOR

## Abstract

An integrated circuit (IC) including a warranty and enforcement system and a method are disclosed. In one embodiment, an IC includes a parameter obtainer for obtaining a value of a parameter of the IC; a warranty data storage system for storing warranty limit data regarding the IC; a comparator for determining whether a warranty limit has been exceeded by comparing the value of the parameter to a corresponding warranty limit; and an action taker for taking a prescribed action in response to the warranty limit being exceeded.

## Claims

### Claim 1

A method comprising:
storing warranty limit data regarding an integrated circuit (IC);
obtaining a value of a parameter of the IC;
determining whether a warranty limit has been exceeded by comparing the value of the parameter to a corresponding warranty limit; and
taking a prescribed action in response to the warranty limit being exceeded.

### Claim 2 (depends on 1)

The method of claim 1, further comprising storing the value of the parameter as parameter data.

### Claim 3 (depends on 1)

The method of claim 1, wherein the prescribed action includes disabling at least a part of the IC.

### Claim 4 (depends on 1)

The method of claim 1, wherein the prescribed action includes re-enabling at least a part of the IC that has been disabled by a previous prescribed action.

### Claim 5 (depends on 1)

The method of claim 1, further comprising changing the warranty limit.

### Claim 6 (depends on 5)

The method of claim 5, wherein the warranty limit data changing includes dynamically changing the warranty limit based on at least one parameter of the IC.

### Claim 7 (depends on 5)

The method of claim 5, wherein the warranty limit data changing includes changing the warranty limit based on an input from a source external to the IC.

### Claim 8 (depends on 1)

The method of claim 1, wherein the parameter is selected from the group consisting of: power-on hours, temperature, clock frequency, location, and data communication volume over one or more interfaces.