US Patent 7272684 Range compare circuit for search engine

A range matching circuit (100) may include a range compare circuit (102) that receives a first range value from a first value store (104) and a second range value from a second range store (106). A range compare circuit (102) can determine if a comparand value falls within a range defined by a first and second range value. A comparand value may also be applied to a compare section (112). A compare section (112) can output an active a match result when a comparand value matches at least one entry in the compare section (112).