Decentralized bus arbitration system which continues to assert bus request signal to preclude other from asserting bus request signal until information transfer on the bus has been completed
US5546587A · kind A · utility
Assignee
Inventor
Key dates
| Filing date | Oct 31, 1994 |
| Grant date | Aug 13, 1996 |
| Priority date | — |
| Expiry date | Oct 31, 2014 |
Classification
- Technology area (CPC G)Physics
- CPC primaryG06F13/374
- WIPO fieldComputer technology
- WIPO sectorElectrical engineering
Abstract
A processor system comprising a number of data handling units interconnected by a system bus operates according to a novel protocol wherein one of the number of data handling units issues a buss request signal together with a separate arbitration signal uniquely identifying the data handling unit requesting access to the system bus. Distributed priority determination logic, located in each data handling unit, allows each data handling unit requesting bus access at the same moment in time to independently and unilaterally ascertain who has access. The bus request signal remains asserted to hold off any additional requests for bus access until all data handling units first requesting access have been serviced.
Source: USPTO / EPO open patent data. Objective bibliographic and citation counts.