Patent · US Expired

Method and apparatus for computing parallel leading zero count with offset

US6654776B1 · kind B1 · utility

2Cited by
10References
10Claims
0Family size

Assignee

Inventors

Key dates

Filing dateJun 2, 2000
Grant dateNov 25, 2003
Priority date
Expiry dateNov 30, 2021

Classification

  • Technology area (CPC G)Physics
  • CPC primaryG06F7/74
  • WIPO fieldComputer technology
  • WIPO sectorElectrical engineering

Abstract

A method and apparatus for computing leading zero count with offset (LZCO) using a parallel nibble calculation scheme. The invention receives as its input a first operand and a second “offset” operand. The first operand is identified by a plurality of nibbles, each comprising four bits. The LZCO calculator calculates the lower two bits of the result for each nibble while simultaneously (or in parallel) calculating the upper remaining bits of the result for each nibble. The LZCO also selects the resulting nibble calculation for the lower two bits and the upper bits according to the nibble that corresponds to the highest order nibble without all zero values.

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