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US 7,627,291 B1Granted
Integrated circuit having a routing element selectively operable to function as an antenna
AssigneeXilinx, Inc.
InventorsPhilip B. James-Roxby, Daniel J. Downs
Life of this patent
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Abstract
An integrated circuit operable to wirelessly communicate with other devices by utilizing a radio transceiver and a routing element is disclosed. The routing element is operable to route a signal between various circuit elements and is selectively operable to function as an antenna when coupled with the radio transceiver.
Claims51
An integrated circuit comprising:
- a radio transceiver;
- a plurality of circuit elements;
- and
- a configurable routing element for routing a signal between at least two of the circuit elements, wherein the routing element is configured to couple with the radio transceiver and to operate as an antenna;
- wherein the routing element is configurable via one or more memory elements of the integrated circuit to operate as the antenna;
- wherein the plurality of circuit elements, the radio transceiver and the configurable routing element are part of a single integrated circuit;
- wherein the routing element carries a radio wave for the radio transceiver in response to the routing element being configured to operate as an antenna;
- and
- wherein the at least two circuit elements include programmable logic that implements respective functions according to states of associated respective sets of memory elements of the integrated circuit, and the routing element is configurable to route a logic data signal between the at least two circuit elements when not configured to operate as the antenna.
6 more elements
An integrated circuit comprising:
- a plurality of configurable logic elements;
- a plurality of input/output ports configurably coupled to the plurality of configurable logic elements;
- a radio transceiver;
- a plurality of circuit elements;
- wherein one or more of the plurality of circuit elements includes one or more of the plurality of configurable logic elements;
- and
- a plurality of configurable routing elements for routing at least one signal between at least two of the circuit elements, wherein at least one of the routing elements is configured to couple with the radio transceiver and to operate as an antenna such that the radio transceiver and at least one routing element are operable to transmit and receive data;
- wherein the plurality of configurable logic elements, the radio transceiver and the plurality of configurable routing elements are part of a single integrated circuit;
- wherein the at least one routing element carries a radio wave for the radio transceiver in response to the at least one routing element being configured to operate as an antenna;
- and
- wherein respective configurable logic elements in the at least two circuit elements implement respective functions according to states of associated respective sets of memory elements of the integrated circuit, and the at least one routing element is configurable to route a logic data signal between the respective configurable logic elements when not configured to operate as the antenna.
8 more elements
An integrated circuit comprising:
- a plurality of configurable logic elements;
- a plurality of input/output ports configurably coupled to the plurality of configurable logic elements;
- a radio transceiver;
- a plurality of circuit elements;
- a plurality of routing elements;
- wherein one or more of the plurality of circuit elements includes one or more of the plurality of configurable logic elements;
- and
- a programmable routing matrix for routing at least one signal between at least two of the circuit elements, the routing matrix being programmed to couple with the radio transceiver, wherein the routing matrix is formed from at least a portion of the routing elements and is programmed to form an antenna configuration from at least one of the routing elements such that the radio transceiver and the antenna configuration are operable to transmit and receive data;
- wherein the plurality of configurable logic elements, the radio transceiver and the programmable routing matrix are part of a single integrated circuit;
- wherein the at least one routing element carries a radio wave for the radio transceiver in response to the at least one routing element being programmed to form an antenna;
- and
- wherein respective configurable logic elements in the at least two circuit elements implement respective functions according to states of associated respective sets of memory elements of the integrated circuit, and the at least one routing element is configurable to route a logic data signal between the respective configurable logic elements when not configured to operate as the antenna.
9 more elements
Dependencies are inferred from the claim text.