Transaction Tag Management for Immediate IC Device Reset

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Solution Overview

Problem

Existing integrated circuits face performance degradation and increased latency due to the need to wait for ongoing transactions to complete before resetting a faulty device, leading to operational failures.

Innovation Solution

An integrated circuit with a transaction management system that includes a storage circuit and processing circuit to manage transactions using tag IDs, allowing immediate reset of faulty devices by updating tag values and discarding irrelevant responses, thus avoiding the need to wait for ongoing transactions to finish.

Engineering Contradictions & Design Principles

VSEngineering Contradiction Analysis

1Reliability

If the system waits for ongoing transactions to complete before resetting a faulty device, then transaction integrity is maintained, but system performance degrades and latency increases

Engineering Contradiction:
Improvetransaction integrityVSAvoidsystem performance
Core Design Contradiction:
ReliabilityVSProductivity

Solution Approach 1:

The patent applies preliminary action by pre-assigning tag IDs to devices and pre-establishing the mapping between device IDs and tag IDs in the transaction management system. When a fault is detected, the system can immediately update the tag ID mapping without waiting for ongoing transactions to complete, enabling faster recovery while maintaining transaction integrity through the tag-based identification mechanism.

Inventive Principle:
Principle #10Preliminary action

Solution Approach 2:

The patent introduces tag IDs as an intermediary element between device IDs and transaction processing. This intermediary allows the system to distinguish between active and faulty devices without disrupting ongoing transactions, as the tag ID mapping can be updated independently to redirect future transactions away from faulty devices while existing transactions continue with their original device associations.

Inventive Principle:
Principle #24Intermediary (Mediator)

2Stability of the object's composition

If the system waits for ongoing transactions to complete before resetting a faulty device, then data consistency is maintained, but reset latency increases

Engineering Contradiction:
Improvedata consistencyVSAvoidreset latency
Core Design Contradiction:
Stability of the object's compositionVSLoss of time

Solution Approach 1:

The system performs preliminary actions by pre-establishing the device ID to tag ID mapping before faults occur. When a fault is detected, the mapping can be immediately updated to reflect the faulty status, eliminating the need to wait for transaction completion while maintaining data consistency through the structured mapping approach.

Inventive Principle:
Principle #10Preliminary action

Solution Approach 2:

The patent segments the device identification process into two independent components: device ID and tag ID. This segmentation allows the tag ID mapping to be updated independently of ongoing transactions, enabling immediate fault recovery without compromising data consistency, as each transaction maintains its original device association while future transactions use the updated mapping.

Inventive Principle:
Principle #1Segmentation

3Productivity

If the system immediately resets faulty devices without waiting for transactions, then availability improves, but transaction management complexity increases

Engineering Contradiction:
Improvesystem availabilityVSAvoidtransaction management complexity
Core Design Contradiction:
ProductivityVSDevice complexity

Solution Approach 1:

The tag ID acts as an intermediary that simplifies immediate fault recovery. By maintaining a separate mapping between device IDs and tag IDs, the system can quickly update the mapping to exclude faulty devices without complex transaction rollback procedures. The tag-based system automatically handles the redirection of future transactions while existing transactions complete with their original device associations.

Inventive Principle:
Principle #24Intermediary (Mediator)

Solution Approach 2:

The patent creates a copy of the device identification mechanism through tag IDs. This copying allows the system to maintain parallel tracking of device status independent of active transactions, enabling immediate reset operations without affecting ongoing transactions. The tag ID mapping serves as a simplified copy that can be updated independently to reflect current device availability.

Inventive Principle:
Principle #26Copying

Data Source

PatentEP4195048B1System and method for managing transactions in integrated circuits
Publication Date: 2026.01.21 NXP BV
  • EP4195048B1 patent drawingFigure 1
  • EP4195048B1 patent drawingFigure 2
  • EP4195048B1 patent drawingFigure 3A

AI summary

A transaction management system includes a storage circuit and a processing circuit. The storage circuit stores a current tag value of a tag ID of a device and a tag value associated with a transaction initiated by the device. The processing circuit receives a reset query to determine an availability of the device for reset. When the device is to be reset, the current tag value of the tag ID is updated. Further, the processing circuit generates an acknowledgment in response to the reset query such that the device is reset based on the acknowledgment. The updated tag ID ensures that responses for transactions that are initiated by the device before the reset are discarded.