Patent · US Expired

Integrated processor and programmable data path chip for reconfigurable computing

US5970254A · kind A · utility

292Cited by
5References
11Claims
0Family size

Inventors

Key dates

Filing dateJun 27, 1997
Grant dateOct 19, 1999
Priority date
Expiry dateJun 27, 2017

Classification

  • Technology area (CPC G)Physics
  • CPC primaryG06F15/7867
  • WIPO fieldComputer technology
  • WIPO sectorElectrical engineering

Abstract

A reconfigurable processor chip has a mixture of reconfigurable arithmetic cells and logic cells for higher effective utilization than a standard FPGA. The reconfigurable processor includes a standard microprocessor such as an embedded RISC processor. Many different types of interfaces are used to interface between the embedded processor and the reconfigurable portions of the chip, thus allowing for the fastest interface between standard processor code and configurable "hard-wired" functions. A configuration memory stack is provided, allowing for nearly instantaneous reconfiguration. if desired, configuration planes can be shared between ALU function configuration and bus interconnect configuration, allowing more efficient use of stack memory.

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