Control structure for a high-speed asynchronous pipeline
US5937177A · kind A · utility
Assignee
Inventors
Key dates
| Filing date | Oct 1, 1996 |
| Grant date | Aug 10, 1999 |
| Priority date | — |
| Expiry date | Oct 1, 2016 |
Classification
- Technology area (CPC G)Physics
- CPC primaryG06F2207/3884
- WIPO fieldComputer technology
- WIPO sectorElectrical engineering
Abstract
Apparatus is disclosed for asynchronously controlling a pipeline. The control circuitry includes an alternating chain of control circuits and detection circuits. When a full control circuit precedes an empty control circuit in the chain, indicating that the data storage element corresponding to the full control circuit should transfer its data to the next storage element corresponding to the empty control circuit, the detection circuit generates a "move" signal. The "move" signal sets the preceding control circuit to empty and the following control circuit to full, thereby enabling movement of a data element from the preceding to the following stage. Because the control circuits are relatively simple and have predictable signal propagation times, the relative reactions of two adjacent control circuits to the common move signal can be tightly controlled. The control circuitry may control a counterflow pipeline, a forking pipeline, or a merging pipeline.
Source: USPTO / EPO open patent data. Objective bibliographic and citation counts.