Memory controller including embedded data compression and decompression engines
US6173381A · kind A · utility
Assignee
Inventor
Key dates
| Filing date | Aug 8, 1997 |
| Grant date | Jan 9, 2001 |
| Priority date | — |
| Expiry date | Aug 8, 2017 |
Classification
- Technology area (CPC G)Physics
- CPC primaryG09G2360/125
- WIPO fieldAudio-visual technology
- WIPO sectorElectrical engineering
Abstract
An integrated memory controller (IMC) which includes data compression and decompression engines for improved performance. The memory controller (IMC) of the present invention preferably sits on the main CPU bus or a high speed system peripheral bus such as the PCI bus and couples to system memory. The IMC preferably uses a lossless data compression and decompression scheme. Data transfers to and from the integrated memory controller of the present invention can thus be in either two formats, these being compressed or normal (non-compressed). The IMC also preferably includes microcode for specific decompression of particular data formats such as digital video and digital audio. Compressed data from system I/O peripherals such as the hard drive, floppy drive, or local area network (LAN) are decompressed in the IMC and stored into system memory or saved in the system memory in compressed format. Thus, data can be saved in either a normal or compressed format, retrieved from the system memory for CPU usage in a normal or compressed format, or transmitted and stored on a medium in a normal or compressed format. Internal memory mapping allows for format definition spaces which define the…
Source: USPTO / EPO open patent data. Objective bibliographic and citation counts.