Method to share memory in a single chip multiprocessor system
US6195733A · kind A · utility
Assignee
Inventors
Key dates
| Filing date | Oct 21, 1998 |
| Grant date | Feb 27, 2001 |
| Priority date | — |
| Expiry date | Oct 21, 2018 |
Classification
- Technology area (CPC G)Physics
- CPC primaryG06F13/1657
- WIPO fieldComputer technology
- WIPO sectorElectrical engineering
Abstract
A multiprocessor data processing system includes a private data bus and a private program bus coupled to each of the processors. Coupled between the private data buses is a plurality of memory banks, each of which can be dynamically switched between the processors to move blocks of data without physically transferring the data from one bank to another. Likewise, a plurality of memory banks is coupled between the program buses. These memory banks are loaded with pages of program instructions from external memory over a shared bus. Any one of the pages can be coupled to either of the processors on its respective private program bus. When the pages are coupled to the shared bus, they appear as a contiguous address space. When a page is coupled to one of the private program buses, the addressing mode is changed so that the page is mapped to a common address space. This permits the program code to be loaded into any available page, and the processors can execute the code regardless of where it has been loaded, thereby permitting easy relocatability.
Source: USPTO / EPO open patent data. Objective bibliographic and citation counts.