Patent ID: 6115837
Filing Date: 2000-09-05
Classification: G11B,G11C

Abstract:
A syndrome generator system for error-correction comprising:a buffer memory storing a block of data words and error-correction words for the data, the block including rows and columns, the buffer memory having a multi-column fetch width for reading the data words and error-correction words, the multi-column fetch width being a multiple of words in width;a multi-column fetcher, coupled to the buffer memory, for reading a first data word in a first column and a second data word in a second column from a row of the block in the buffer memory, the first and second data words being within the multi-column fetch width of each other and both in a same row;a multi-column syndrome generator, coupled to the multi-column fetcher, for receiving first data words from the first column and second data words for the second column from all rows in the block, the multi-column syndrome generator having first registers for storing a first-column syndrome and second registers for storing a second-column syndrome;a shared calculation circuit, in the multi-column syndrome generator, for combining each first data word with an intermediate first-column syndrome in the first registers to form a next intermediate first-column syndrome that is stored into the first registers, and for combining each second data word with an intermediate second-column syndrome in the second registers to form a next intermediate second-column syndrome that is stored into the second registers,wherein the next intermediate first-column syndrome stored in the first register after all first data words from all rows in the block is output as the first-column syndrome; andwherein the next intermediate second-column syndrome stored in the second register after all second data words from all rows in the block is output as the second-column syndrome,whereby the first-column syndrome and the second-column syndrome are generated in a same pass through the multi-column syndrome generator from data words for two columns fetched together from the buffer memory in a same set of memory fetches.