Central processing unit with integrated graphics functions
US5938756A · kind A · utility
Assignee
Inventors
Key dates
| Filing date | Apr 19, 1996 |
| Grant date | Aug 17, 1999 |
| Priority date | — |
| Expiry date | Apr 19, 2016 |
Classification
- Technology area (CPC G)Physics
- CPC primaryG06T1/20
- WIPO fieldComputer technology
- WIPO sectorElectrical engineering
Abstract
The integer execution unit (IEU) of a central processing unit (CPU) is provided with a graphics status register (GSR) for storing a graphics data scaling factor and a graphics data alignment address offset. Additionally, the CPU is provided with a graphics execution unit (GRU) for executing a number of graphics operations in accordance to the graphics data scaling factor and alignment address offset, the graphics data having a number of graphics data formats. In one embodiment, the GRU is also used to execute a number of graphics data addition, subtraction, rounding, expansion, merge, alignment, multiplication, logical, compare, and pixel distance operations. The graphics data operations are categorized into a first and a second category, and the GRU concurrently executes one graphics operations from each category. Furthermore, under this embodiment, the IEU is also used to execute a number of graphics data edge handling and 3-D array addressing operations, while the load and store unit (LSU) of the CPU is also used to execute a number of graphics data load and store operations, including conditional store operations.
Source: USPTO / EPO open patent data. Objective bibliographic and citation counts.