Patent · US Expired

Processor core and methods to reduce power by not using components dedicated to wide operands when a micro-instruction has narrow operands

US7020789B2 · kind B2 · utility

5Cited by
2References
26Claims
0Family size

Assignee

Inventors

Key dates

Filing dateDec 31, 2002
Grant dateMar 28, 2006
Priority date
Expiry dateApr 2, 2024

Classification

  • Technology area (CPC Y)Emerging Cross-Sectional Technologies
  • CPC primaryY02D30/50
  • WIPO fieldComputer technology
  • WIPO sectorElectrical engineering

Abstract

In some embodiments of the present invention, one or more elements of a processor core may receive a signal indicating that operands of a micro-instruction are narrow, for example less than or equal to 32 bits. In response to this signal, one or more components of a processor core element that are able to handle more than 32 bits of data (e.g. operands or results) may function as though they handle only 32 bits of data.

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