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US 5,672,985 AGranted
Programmable logic array integrated circuits with carry and/or cascade rings
AssigneeAltera Corporation
InventorFung Fung Lee
Life of this patent
Estimating the term…
Abstract
Logic regions in a programmable logic array integrated circuit are interconnected in a closed loop or ring by carry and/or cascade connections. Because such a loop or ring has no ends, a user's logic that uses carry or cascade connections can be placed anywhere along the ring. This eliminates a prior art constraint on the placement of a user's logic on the integrated circuit.
Claims3
A programmable logic array integrated circuit comprising:
- a plurality of regions of programmable logic, each of which has an input for a carry/cascade signal and an output for a carry/cascade signal, said logic regions being disposed on said integrated circuit in an ordered series in which successive logic regions in said series are physically adjacent to one another;
- and
- a plurality of carry/cascade signal paths, each of which is usable substantially only for conveying a carry/cascade signal, each of said carry/cascade signal paths extending from a respective one of said outputs to a respective one of said inputs, the input and output associated with each of said carry/cascade signal paths being the input and output of different ones of said logic regions so that said carry/cascade signal paths collectively interconnect said logic regions in a closed loop, said series being further divided into two interdigitated subseries which are mutually exclusive and collectively exhaustive, wherein carry/cascade signal paths interconnect successive logic regions in a first of said subseries in series order, wherein carry/cascade signal paths interconnect successive logic regions in a second of said subseries in reverse series order, and wherein at each end of said subseries a carry/cascade signal path interconnects said subseries by interconnecting adjacent logic regions at said end of said subseries.
Dependencies are inferred from the claim text.