Shared program memory for use in multicore DSP devices
US6691216B2 · kind B2 · utility
Assignee
Inventors
Key dates
| Filing date | Oct 24, 2001 |
| Grant date | Feb 10, 2004 |
| Priority date | — |
| Expiry date | Sep 18, 2022 |
Classification
- Technology area (CPC Y)Emerging Cross-Sectional Technologies
- CPC primaryY02D10/00
- WIPO fieldComputer technology
- WIPO sectorElectrical engineering
Abstract
A multi-core DSP device includes a shared program memory to eliminate redundancy and thereby reduce the size and power consumption of the DSP device. Because each of the program cores typically executes the same software program, memory requirements may be reduced by having multiple processor cores share only a single copy of the software. Accordingly, a program memory couples to each of the processor cores by a corresponding instruction bus. Preferably the program memory services two or more instruction requests in each clock cycle. Data is preferably stored in separate memory arrays local to the processor core subsystems and accessible by the processor cores via a dedicated data bus. In one specific implementation, the program memory includes a wrapper that can perform one memory access in the first half of each clock cycle and a second memory access in the second half of each clock cycle. A designated set of instruction buses is allowed to arbitrate for only the first access, and the remaining instruction buses are allowed to arbitrate for only the second access. In this manner, a reduction in on-board memory requirements and associated power consumption may be advantageously re…
Source: USPTO / EPO open patent data. Objective bibliographic and citation counts.