Low overhead memory designs for IC terminals

Claim 1

An electronic system, comprising: an integrated circuit having an output terminal which is physically accessible externally thereof, and having an output buffer coupled to said output terminal for driving said output terminal to a plurality of logic levels; a source physically external to said integrated circuit and connected to said output terminal of said integrated circuit for driving said output terminal to said plurality of logic levels; and said integrated circuit including circuitry which is coupled to said output terminal and which is operable, when said physically external source and said output buffer concurrently attempt to drive said output terminal to different ones of said plurality of logic levels, to permit said physically external source to drive said output terminal without contention from said output buffer regardless of which of said plurality of logic levels said output buffer is attempting to drive.

Claim 4

A method of operating an electronic system wherein an output terminal of an integrated circuit is physically accessible externally of the integrated circuit and is connected to a source physically external to the integrated circuit, comprising the steps of: attempting to drive the output terminal to one of a plurality of logic levels using an output buffer of the integrated circuit while concurrently attempting to drive the output terminal to another of the plurality of logic levels using the physically external source, said another logic level differing from said one logic level; and thereafter permitting the physically external source to drive the output terminal without contention from the output buffer regardless of which of said plurality of logic levels the output buffer is attempting to drive.

Claim 5

A method of operating an electronic system wherein an output terminal of an integrated circuit is physically accessible externally of the integrated circuit and is connected to a source physically external to the integrated circuit, comprising the steps of: attempting to drive the output terminal to one of a plurality of logic levels using an output buffer of the integrated circuit while concurrently attempting to drive the output terminal to another of the plurality of logic levels using the physically external source, said another logic level differing from said one logic level; and thereafter permitting the physically external source to drive the output terminal without contention from the output buffer regardless of which of said plurality of logic levels the output buffer is attempting to drive.