Floating point data processor and a method for performing a floating point square root operation within the data processor
US5386375A · kind A · utility
Assignee
Inventor
Key dates
| Filing date | Nov 1, 1993 |
| Grant date | Jan 31, 1995 |
| Priority date | — |
| Expiry date | Nov 1, 2013 |
Classification
- Technology area (CPC G)Physics
- CPC primaryG06F7/5525
- WIPO fieldComputer technology
- WIPO sectorElectrical engineering
Abstract
A method and apparatus used for performing a floating pointing operation has the ability to calculate a square root of a number. An approximation to the inverse of the square root of the number is provided via a step (18). Steps (20 and 22) are used to improve the precision of the inverse of the square root until a predetermined precision is attained. The inverse of the square root, which has a predetermined precision, is used along with the number to generate both an exact floating point value and a small floating point value via steps (24 and 26). The exact and small floating point values are added together in a sum and manipulated to fit into the floating point representation available to the apparatus. The sum is a substantially close approximation to the square root of the number and is either output directly or slightly modified numerically to more accurately represent the square root of the number.
Source: USPTO / EPO open patent data. Objective bibliographic and citation counts.