Patent ID: RE42314

Claim:
A computer system with improved tolerance to microprocessor functional interrupts induced by environmental sources, comprising: a microprocessor not required to be radiation hardened; an array of memory, volatile or non-volatile, connected to said microprocessor; a hardened core circuit, designed to withstand environmentally induced faults, and connected to said microprocessor, in a manner allowing for said microprocessor's interrupt control, reset control, data bus, and address bus signals to connect to said hardened core circuit, and for said hardened core's status, interrupt (s) output , reset output(s) and /or power cycle output signals to connect to said microprocessor; a microprocessor software routine configured to send a predetermined timer signal from the microprocessor to the said hardened core circuit on a predetermined time period; a hardened core circuit function configured to read the predetermined timer signal from said microprocessor on the predetermined time period and activate said microprocessor's interrupt and or reset control input signals if timer signal is not received within the predetermined time period to provide for removal of said microprocessor from functionally interrupted state; a microprocessor software routine located at said microprocessor's interrupt or reset vector addresses, configured to restart the microprocessor's application software.