Methods for reading data from a storage buffer including delaying activation of a column select

Abstract

Disclosed are methods for reading data from a storage buffer. One such method may include retrieving a first set of data during a first period of time. The method may also include delaying data retrieval during a second period of time after the first period of time. The method may include outputting at least a portion of the first set of data during the first period of time and the second period of time. The first period of time is substantially similar to the second period of time.

What is claimed is: 
     
         1 . A method for reading data from a storage buffer comprising:
 activating a first column select during a first period of time to retrieve a first set of data;   activating a second column select during a second period of time, after the first period of time, to retrieve a second set of data; and   delaying activation of a column select during a third period of time, after the second period of time, to inhibit additional data retrieval;   wherein the third period of time is substantially the same as a sum of the first period of time and the second period of time.   
     
     
         2 . The method of  claim 1 , wherein the first period of time is less than 5 ns, the second period of time is less than 5 ns, or some combination thereof. 
     
     
         3 . The method of  claim 1 , wherein the first set of data comprises 256 bits, the second set of data comprises 256 bits, or some combination thereof. 
     
     
         4 . The method of  claim 1 , wherein the third period of time is less than 10 ns. 
     
     
         5 . The method of  claim 1 , wherein the first period of time is approximately 3.5 ns and the second period of time is approximately 3.5 ns. 
     
     
         6 . The method of  claim 1 , wherein the third period of time is approximately 7 ns. 
     
     
         7 . The method of  claim 1 , comprising:
 activating a third column select during a fourth period of time, after the third period of time, to retrieve a third set of data;   activating a fourth column select during a fifth period of time, after the fourth period of time, to retrieve a fourth set of data; and   delaying activation of a column select during a sixth period of time, after the fifth period of time, to inhibit additional data retrieval;   wherein the sixth period of time is substantially the same as a sum of the fourth period of time and the fifth period of time.   
     
     
         8 . The method of  claim 7 , wherein the first, second, fourth, and fifth periods of time are each approximately 3.5 ns and the third and sixth periods of time are each approximately 7.0 ns. 
     
     
         9 . A method for reading data from a storage buffer comprising:
 retrieving a first set of data during a first period of time;   delaying data retrieval during a second period of time after the first period of time; and   outputting at least a portion of the first set of data during the first period of time and the second period of time;   wherein the first period of time is substantially similar to the second period of time.   
     
     
         10 . The method of  claim 9 , wherein the first period of time and the second period of time are each approximately 7.0 ns. 
     
     
         11 . The method of  claim 9 , wherein retrieving the first set of data during the first period of time comprises retrieving approximately 512 bits of data. 
     
     
         12 . The method of  claim 9 , wherein the first set of data is retrieved at a retrieval rate greater than the data output rate of the storage buffer. 
     
     
         13 . The method of  claim 9 , comprising:
 retrieving a second set of data during a third period of time after the second period of time;   delaying data retrieval during a fourth period of time after the third period of time;   outputting at least a portion of the second set of data during the third period of time and the fourth period of time;   retrieving a third set of data during a fifth period of time after the fourth period of time;   delaying data retrieval during a sixth period of time after the fifth period of time;   outputting at least a portion of the third set of data during the fifth period of time and the sixth period of time;   retrieving a fourth set of data during a seventh period of time after the sixth period of time;   delaying data retrieval during an eighth period of time after the seventh period of time;   outputting at least a portion of the fourth set of data during the seventh period of time and the eighth period of time;   wherein the third, fourth, fifth, sixth, seventh, and eighth periods of time all substantially similar to each other.   
     
     
         14 . The method of  claim 13 , wherein the first, second, third, fourth, fifth, sixth, seventh, and eighth periods of time are each approximately 7.0 ns. 
     
     
         15 . The method of  claim 13 , wherein retrieving the first, second, third, and fourth sets of data comprises retrieving a sum of approximately 2048 bits of data. 
     
     
         16 . The method of  claim 13 , comprising precharging the storage buffer during a ninth period of time after the eighth period of time. 
     
     
         17 . A method for reading data from a storage buffer comprising:
 retrieving a first set of data at a retrieval rate greater than a data output rate of the storage buffer during a first period of time; and   delaying data retrieval during a second period of time;   wherein the sum of the first period of time and the second period of time is substantially the same as a third period of time and the third period of time is an amount of time it takes for the storage buffer to output the first set of data based on the data output rate.   
     
     
         18 . The method of  claim 17 , wherein the retrieval rate is approximately double the data output rate. 
     
     
         19 . The method of  claim 17 , wherein the data output rate is approximately 128 bits per 3.5 ns. 
     
     
         20 . A non-transitory tangible machine-readable medium having code stored thereon, the code comprising instructions for:
 activating a first column select during a first period of time to retrieve a first set of data;   activating a second column select during a second period of time, after the first period of time, to retrieve a second set of data;   delaying activation of a column select during a third period of time, after the second period of time, to inhibit additional data retrieval; and   outputting the first set of data over a fourth period of time that is substantially the same as a sum of the first period of time and the second period of time.   
     
     
         21 . The non-transitory tangible machine-readable medium of  claim 20 , wherein the third period of time is substantially the same as the fourth period of time. 
     
     
         22 . The non-transitory tangible machine-readable medium of  claim 20 , wherein the code comprises instructions for clocking out data during the first period of time, the second period of time, and the third period of time. 
     
     
         23 . A device, comprising:
 a state machine comprising a storage buffer configured to retrieve a first set of data at a retrieval rate greater than a data output rate of the storage buffer during a first period of time and delay data retrieval during a second period of time, wherein the sum of the first period of time and the second period of time is substantially the same as a third period of time and the third period of time is an amount of time it takes for the storage buffer to output the first set of data to the state machine based on the data output rate.   
     
     
         24 . The device of  claim 23 , wherein the state machine comprises a state machine lattice comprising a plurality of data analysis elements and each data analysis element comprises a plurality of memory cells configured to analyze at least a portion of a data stream and to output a result of the analysis. 
     
     
         25 . The device of  claim 23 , wherein the state machine comprises a data buffer system having the storage buffer. 
     
     
         26 . The device of  claim 23 , wherein the state machine comprises a process buffer having the storage buffer. 
     
     
         27 . The device of  claim 23 , wherein the state machine comprises a state vector buffer having the storage buffer. 
     
     
         28 . The device of  claim 23 , wherein the state machine comprises a program buffer system having the storage buffer. 
     
     
         29 . The device of  claim 23 , wherein the state machine comprises a repair buffer system having the storage buffer. 
     
     
         30 . The device of  claim 23 , wherein the state machine comprises a match buffer having the storage buffer.