Valid Logic Systems Inc has spawned a new company to concentrate on the hardware modelling part of Valid’s business. The new company, Logic Modeling Systems Inc, intends to develop products that will become industry standard hardware modelling systems for integration with popular logic simulators. The new venture is privately financed, with Valid holding an equity position, and will be headed up by one of the Valid founders, Curtis Widdoes, aided by the president of Valid, Douglas Hajjar. Logic Modeling has been given an exclusive licence to use Valid’s hardware modelling patents, and the right to sublicense use of the patents. Valid retains a sublicence under the patents and will continue to support and enhance its Realchip and Realmodel hardware modelling products, and intends to offer Logic Modeling’s advanced hardware modelling system when it becomes available. Valid says that the market is currently confused with seven different vendors offering products that each operates with only one simulator. Logic Modeling says that it will offer modellers that will integrate easily with all major logic simulators and fault simulators. It will look for OEM customers among digital logic simulation vendors, and firms using proprietary simulators. Hardware modelling enables electronic design engineers to simulate designs containing complex VLSI devices such as microprocessors, their peripheral chips and ASICs. Valid announced the first product using that technology, Realchip, in March 1984. On May 20, 1986, Widdoes was awarded the patent on the basic technology behind hardware modelling, and the patent was assigned to Valid, which has sued six companies to protect it, one of which, Teradyne Inc, has settled and has now been granted a licence.
