Technique for correcting single-bit errors in caches with sub-block parity bits
US6304992A · kind A · utility
Assignee
Inventor
Key dates
| Filing date | Sep 24, 1998 |
| Grant date | Oct 16, 2001 |
| Priority date | — |
| Expiry date | Sep 24, 2018 |
Classification
- Technology area (CPC G)Physics
- CPC primaryG06F11/1012
- WIPO fieldComputer technology
- WIPO sectorElectrical engineering
Abstract
A data block includes a plurality of sub-blocks. Each sub-block includes a sub-block check bit that may be used to detect the presence of a bit error within the sub-block. A composite sub-block is generated, which is the column-wise exclusive-or of the bits of each sub-block. In one embodiment, the composite sub-block is not stored, but rather used for computational purposes only. A plurality of composite check bits is used to detect a bit position of a bit error within the composite sub-block. If a bit error within the data block occurs, the sub-block check bits may be used to detect in which sub-block the error occurred. The composite check bits may be used to determine which bit position of the composite sub-block is erroneous. The erroneous bit position of the composite sub-block also identifies the bit position of the erroneous bit in the sub-block identified by the sub-block check bits. Accordingly, the sub-block and the bit position within the sub-block may be detected by using the sub-block check bits and the composite check bits.
Source: USPTO / EPO open patent data. Objective bibliographic and citation counts.