Method and apparatus for converting data into different ordinal types
US6591361B1 · kind B1 · utility
Assignee
Inventors
Key dates
| Filing date | Dec 28, 1999 |
| Grant date | Jul 8, 2003 |
| Priority date | — |
| Expiry date | Dec 28, 2019 |
Classification
- Technology area (CPC G)Physics
- CPC primaryG06F9/30043
- WIPO fieldComputer technology
- WIPO sectorElectrical engineering
Abstract
A method and apparatus that converts integer numbers to/from floating point representations while loading/storing the data. The method and apparatus perform this conversion within a central processing unit having a converter unit and a set of conversion registers. The load/store instructions having data requiring conversion include an index field for identifying one of the conversion registers. Each one of the conversion registers includes information on the type of conversion required and any scaling factors to be applied. Upon receiving one of these instructions, the converter uses the identified conversion register to perform the conversion and stores the converted data into the corresponding register or memory location.
Source: USPTO / EPO open patent data. Objective bibliographic and citation counts.