MULTI-CIRCUIT PROCESSOR DEVICE AND METHOD

摘要

A multi-circuit processor device, such as a personal digital assistant, having a processor (11). The processor (11) has a memory select output (19 or 14). A program memory (12) with a memory select input (18 or 14) is coupled to the memory select output of the processor for selecting the program memory for addressing by the processor. A peripheral circuit (20) such as a radio modem has a data memory (40) for storing secure data. A connection (16) couples the processor and the peripheral circuit for communicating data between the processor and the data memory. A gate element (17) is associated with the connection between the processor and the peripheral circuit. The gate element is coupled to the memory select output of the processor for opening the gate element, thus allowing for security of access to the critical data in the data memory (40).