Broadcast state renaming in a microprocessor
US6857062B2 · kind B2 · utility
Assignee
Inventors
Key dates
| Filing date | Nov 30, 2001 |
| Grant date | Feb 15, 2005 |
| Priority date | — |
| Expiry date | May 24, 2023 |
Classification
- Technology area (CPC G)Physics
- CPC primaryG06F9/3858
- WIPO fieldComputer technology
- WIPO sectorElectrical engineering
Abstract
A microprocessor uses broadcast state renaming to reduce processing delays and microcode overhead which would otherwise result from rebroadcasts of state due to register renaming. The microprocessor comprises a memory execution unit, a microcode sequencer, and various functional units. The memory execution unit includes a segment register, content of which represents state of the processor. The microcode sequencer sets an identifier field in at least some microinstructions, indicating which of multiple copies of broadcast state are to be used in processing each such microinstruction. Each functional unit receives and internally stores multiple copies of broadcast state, each of which may correspond to a different renamed version of the segment register. Each functional unit selects, based on the identifier field of a microinstruction, one of its internally stored copies of broadcast state for use in processing the microinstruction.
Source: USPTO / EPO open patent data. Objective bibliographic and citation counts.