System and method for configuring analog elements in a configurable hardware device

A system for configuring a programmable device, comprising:

• a first programmable device;
• a second programmable device having configurable hardware and configuration data registers for configuring the configurable hardware, the second programmable device communicating with the first programmable device;
• a programmable computing device having a design tool with first computer program code for generating at least one of a configuration data, an address data, and algorithms;
• and
• second computer program code generated at least in part by the first computer program code, incorporating at least one of the generated configuration data, the address data, and algorithms for determining data values, and embodied in the first programmable device for:
• a) applying the configuration data to selected memory locations within the configurable hardware device;
• b) determining a subset of at least one of (i) the programmable memory locations in the configurable hardware device and (ii) the configuration data to be modified;
• and
• c) determining a new value to be applied to the subset of at least one of (i) the memory locations and (ii) the configuration data.

A method of implementing configuration or reconfiguration of analog elements provided in a configurable hardware device, comprising:

• providing a configurable hardware device communicating with a programmable controlling device;
• generating a hardware design including analog elements;
• generating a computer program code that provides at least one of a data and an algorithm usable in carrying out at least one of:
• configuring the analog elements by applying the configuration data to selected memory locations within the configurable hardware device;
• determining a location of a subset of at least one of (i) the programmable memory locations and (ii) the configuration data to be modified;
• and determining a new data value to be applied to the subset of at least one of (i) the memory locations and (ii) the configuration data;
• incorporating the computer program code into an application for updating configuration of the configurable hardware device;
• and
• delivering the application to the programmable controlling device for reconfiguring the configurable hardware device.

A method of configuring a field programmable analog array, the field programmable analog array being connected to a programmable controlling device, comprising:

• providing a hardware design for at least one analog element within the field programmable analog array;
• generating a computer program code including at least one of a data set and a process usable to:
• configure the analog elements by applying a configuration data to selected programmable memory locations within the field programmable analog array;
• determine a location of a subset of at least one of (i) the memory locations and (ii) the configuration data to be modified;
• and determine a new data value to be applied to the subset of at least one of (i) the memory locations and (ii) the configuration data;
• generating an application program incorporating at least in part the computer program code operative to update configuration of the field programmable analog array;
• receiving the application program at the programmable controlling device;
• with the application program, programming the programmable controlling device with instructions to write configuration data to at least one configuration data register within the field programmable analog array;
• writing the configuration data to the at least one configuration data register of the field programmable analog array;
• and
• configuring hardware within the field programmable analog array in response to writing the configuration data to the at least one configuration data register.

A method in a computer system for reconfiguring an analog hardware in a configurable hardware device, the method comprising:

• providing an analog hardware design;
• rendering a computer program code that automatically incorporates at least one of algorithms and data usable in performing at least one of the following operations:
• a) configuring the analog elements by applying a configuration data to selected memory locations within the configurable hardware device;
• b) determining a location of a subset of at least one of (i) the programmable memory locations and (ii) the configuration data to be modified;
• and
• c) determining a new data value to be applied to the subset of at least one of (i) the memory locations and (ii) the configuration data;
• rendering an application program based at least in part on the computer program code for updating configuration of the configurable hardware device;
• communicating with a configurable hardware device via the programmable controlling device, the configurable hardware device having configuration data within at least one configuration data register for configuring analog hardware within the configurable hardware device;
• receiving user input at the programmable controlling device comprising instructions that cooperate with the application program to write new configuration data to a configuration data register within the configurable hardware device;
• writing the new configuration data to the at least one configuration data register;
• and
• reconfiguring the analog hardware within the configurable hardware device using the new configuration data.

A method in a computer system for reconfiguring a configurable hardware device, comprising:

• providing a programmable controlling device in communication with the configurable hardware device;
• receiving a computer program code at the programmable controlling device that incorporates at least one of algorithms and data usable to:
• configure the analog elements by applying a configuration data to selected memory locations within the configurable hardware device;
• determine a location of a subset of at least one of (i) the programmable memory locations and (ii) the configuration data to be modified;
• and determine a new data value to be applied to the subset of at least one of (i) the memory locations and (ii) the configuration data;
• and
• receiving user input at the programmable controlling device;
• and
• using the computer program code and the user input, reconfiguring the configurable hardware device from a first configuration to a second configuration.

A method of configuring a field programmable analog array, the field programmable analog array being connected to a host processor for configuration thereby, the method comprising:

• with a design tool, generating a first computer program code that provides at least one of a configuration data, address data, and algorithms;
• generating a second computer program code using at least part of the first computer program code;
• transferring the second computer program code to the host processor;
• configuring the field programmable analog array by applying a configuration data to selected memory locations within the configurable hardware device;
• determining a location of a subset of at least one of (i) the programmable memory locations and (ii) the configuration data to be modified;
• determining a new data value to be applied to the subset of at least one of (i) the memory locations and (ii) the configuration data;
• and
• receiving user input at the host processor comprising new configuration data.

A system for programming a configurable semiconductor device, comprising:

• a programmable semiconductor device specifically constructed to accept programming data that configures a configurable semiconductor device to:
• a) configure the configurable semiconductor device by applying a configuration data to selected memory locations within the configurable semiconductor device;
• b) determine a location of a subset of at least one of (i) the programmable memory locations and (ii) the configuration data to be modified;
• c) determine a new data value to be applied to the subset of at least one of (i) the memory locations and (ii) the configuration data;
• and
• d) enable a user to interact via a programmable controlling device coupled with the programmable semiconductor device to reconfigure at least one analog component of the programmable semiconductor device.