Processor with multiple-thread, vertically-threaded pipeline
US6938147B1 · kind B1 · utility
Assignee
Inventors
Key dates
| Filing date | May 11, 1999 |
| Grant date | Aug 30, 2005 |
| Priority date | — |
| Expiry date | May 11, 2019 |
Classification
- Technology area (CPC G)Physics
- CPC primaryG06F9/3851
- WIPO fieldComputer technology
- WIPO sectorElectrical engineering
Abstract
A processor reduces wasted cycle time resulting from stalling and idling, and increases the proportion of execution time, by supporting and implementing both vertical multithreading and horizontal multithreading. Vertical multithreading permits overlapping or “hiding” of cache miss wait times. In vertical multithreading, multiple hardware threads share the same processor pipeline. A hardware thread is typically a process, a lightweight process, a native thread, or the like in an operating system that supports multithreading. Horizontal multithreading increases parallelism within the processor circuit structure, for example within a single integrated circuit die that makes up a single-chip processor. To further increase system parallelism in some processor embodiments, multiple processor cores are formed in a single die. Advances in on-chip multiprocessor horizontal threading are gained as processor core sizes are reduced through technological advancements.
Source: USPTO / EPO open patent data. Objective bibliographic and citation counts.