Turley had replaced David Pohl as CEO. Pohl resigned from the board on Feb. 7, saying that he wanted to spend more time with his family. Pohl was succeed as chairman by Carlton Johnson, who did not respond to a call yesterday seeking further comment.

Patriot holds patents that cover some features of microprocessor design, and generates nearly all of its revenue by licensing its technology to other companies.

“I leave the company in a strong financial and strategic position,” Turley said in a statement, “but I haven't been able to accomplish many of the things I'd set out to do.”

Turley had worked to make an acquisition to expand the company and improve its cash flow.

Patriot named Rick Goerner interim chief executive. Goerner previously headed TransDimension, an Irvine maker of high-speed connectors for computers, until the company was acquired by Oxford Semiconductor in 2005. Goerner spent much of his career with Silicon Systems and Texas Instruments.

Patriot generated nearly $49 million in licensing revenue for fiscal 2007 and showed an annual profit of nearly $23.4 million.