Patent ID: 6377911
Filing Date: 2002-04-23
Classification: G06F

Abstract:
A hardware logic emulation system capable of implementing a digital logic design, said digital logic design comprised of combinational and sequential logic elements, said hardware logic emulation system comprising:a printed circuit board having an emulation array disposed thereon, said emulation array comprising: a plurality of programmable integrated circuits electrically affixed to said printed circuit board, said plurality of programmable integrated circuits having programmable functional logic elements and input/output terminals capable of being connected to at least some of said functional logic elements, said plurality of programmable integrated circuits further comprising reprogrammable electrical conductors capable of reconfigurably interconnecting selected input/output terminals of selected ones of said plurality of programmable integrated circuits, a subset of said plurality of programmable integrated circuits capable of being reserved for interconnecting others of said plurality of programmable integrated circuits such that selected functional logic elements said others of said plurality of programmable integrated circuits can be electrically coupled to selected functional logic elements in another of said others of said plurality of said first programmable integrated circuits; a computer programmed to receive design input data and to partition and route said circuit information, said computer also being programmed to generate configuration information which is transmitted to said plurality of programmable integrated circuits and used for programming said plurality of programmable integrated circuits; and an interface structure including circuitry which provides electrical paths for signals carrying signal information between an external system and said emulation array.