System on a chip with an arbitration unit to grant right of access to a common resource in response to conflicting requests for access from initiator modules, and storage key incorporating the arbitration unit
US7386645B2 · kind B2 · utility
Assignee
Inventors
Key dates
| Filing date | May 2, 2005 |
| Grant date | Jun 10, 2008 |
| Priority date | — |
| Expiry date | Oct 29, 2025 |
Classification
- Technology area (CPC G)Physics
- CPC primaryG06F13/1605
- WIPO fieldComputer technology
- WIPO sectorElectrical engineering
Abstract
An electronic system comprises a defined number N of functional modules, including a defined number P of initiator modules and a defined number Q of target modules, where N, P and Q are integer numbers such that 2≦P≦N and 1≦Q≦N. In the event of a plurality of conflicting requests to access a common resource originating from a plurality of respective initiator modules, an arbitration unit grants an exclusive right of access to the resource to a defined one of these initiator modules. The arbitration unit is constructed either to apply a standard arbitration mechanism to these respective initiators, or to apply as a priority a specific arbitration mechanism only to the members of a subset of these initiator modules, for each of which it receives a linked privileged access signal.
Source: USPTO / EPO open patent data. Objective bibliographic and citation counts.