Patent · US Expired

Method and apparatus for addressing a cache memory

US4884197A · kind A · utility

57Cited by
64References
16Claims
0Family size

Assignee

Inventors

Key dates

Filing dateOct 3, 1986
Grant dateNov 28, 1989
Priority date
Expiry dateOct 3, 2006

Classification

  • Technology area (CPC G)Physics
  • CPC primaryG06F12/0848
  • WIPO fieldComputer technology
  • WIPO sectorElectrical engineering

Abstract

A microprocessor architecture is disclosed having separate very high speed instruction and data interface circuitry for coupling via respective separate very high speed instruction and data interface buses to respective external instruction cache and data cache circuitry. The microprocessor is comprised of an instruction interface, a data interface, and an execution unit. The instruction interface controls communications with the external instruction cache and couples the instructions from the instruction cache to the microprocessor at very high speed. The data interface controls communications with the external data cache and communicates data bidirectionally at very high speed between the data cache and the microprocessor. The execution unit selectively processes the data received via the data interface from the data cache responsive to the execution unit decoding and executing a respective one of the instructions received via the instruction interface from the instruction cache. In one embodiment, the external instruction cache is comprised of a program counter and addressable memory for outputting stored instructions responsive to its program counter and to an instruction cache…

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