Patent · US Expired

Method of simulating additional processors in a SIMD parallel processor array

US4773038A · kind A · utility

95Cited by
6References
3Claims
0Family size

Assignee

Inventors

Key dates

Filing dateFeb 24, 1986
Grant dateSep 20, 1988
Priority date
Expiry dateFeb 24, 2006

Classification

  • Technology area (CPC G)Physics
  • CPC primaryG06F15/8023
  • WIPO fieldComputer technology
  • WIPO sectorElectrical engineering

Abstract

A method is described for simulating additional processors in a SIMD computer by dividing the memory associated with each processor into a plurality of sub-memories and then operating on each sub-memory in succession as if it were associated with a separate processor. Thus, a first instruction or set of instructions is applied to all the processors of the array to cause at least some processors to process data stored at a first location or locations in the first sub-memory. Thereafter, the same first instruction or set of instructions is applied to all the processors of the array to cause at least some processors to process data stored at the same first location in a second sub-memory. And so forth for each of the sub-memories. By operating a SIMD computer in this fashion, it is possible in effect to vary the number of processors in the array so as to provide the number of processors required for a problem.

Source: USPTO / EPO open patent data. Objective bibliographic and citation counts.