RECONFIGURABLE PROCESSOR AND RECONFIGURATION METHOD EXECUTED BY THE RECONFIGURABLE PROCESSOR

• US 20070180315A1
• Filed: 01/12/2007
• Published: 08/02/2007
• Est. Priority Date: 01/13/2006
• Status: Active Grant

• Current Assignee: Canon Kabushiki Kaisha (Canon Inc.)
• Original Assignee: Canon Kabushiki Kaisha (Canon Inc.)
• Inventors: AIZAWA, Eiji
• Granted Patent: US 7,698,594 B2
• Time in Patent Office: Days
• US Class Current: 714/15
• CPC Class Codes: G06F 11/142 Reconfiguring to eliminate the error group management mechanisms in a peer-to-peer network H04L67/1044
• CPC Class Codes: G06F 11/1438 Restarting or rejuvenating
• CPC Class Codes: G06F 11/1637 using additional compare functionality in one or some but not all of the redundant processing components

Abstract

A reconfigurable processor which is capable of carrying out or continuing processing even after occurrence of an error in a data processing unit within the reconfigurable processor. The reconfigurable processor has a processing element matrix comprised of a plurality of processing elements. The reconfigurable processor reconfigures the processing element matrix according to an error of the processing element matrix.

Claims

1. A reconfigurable processor comprising:

a processing unit having a plurality of data processing units; and

a reconfiguration unit that reconfigures said processing unit according to an error of said processing unit.

2. A reconfigurable processor as claimed in claim 1, wherein said reconfiguration unit reconfigures said processing unit such that a data processing unit where an error has occurred does not have any effects on output from said processing unit.

3. A reconfigurable processor as claimed in claim 1, each of said data processing units has a detection unit that detects an error thereof.

4. A reconfigurable processor as claimed in claim 1, wherein said processing unit restarts processing after being reconfigured.

5. A reconfigurable processor as claimed in claim 1, wherein said processing unit processes data read out from a storage device, and said reconfiguration unit determines a storage location of data to be processed by said processing unit after reconfiguration, in the storage device, according to progress of processing by said processing unit.

6. A method of reconfiguring a reconfigurable processor having a plurality of data processing units comprising:

a detection step of detecting an error in each of the data processing units; and

a reconfiguration step of reconfiguring the reconfigurable processor in response to detection of an error.

7. A method as claimed in claim 6, wherein said reconfiguration step reconfigures the reconfigurable processor such that a data processing unit where an error has occurred does not have any effects on output of the reconfigurable processor.

8. A method as claimed in claim 6, comprising a step of causing the reconfigurable processor to restart processing after being reconfigured.

9. A method as claimed in claim 6, comprising a step of determining a storage location of data to be processed by the reconfigurable processor after reconfiguration, according to progress of processing by the reconfigurable processor.

10. A computer program for reconfiguring a reconfigurable processor including a plurality of data processing units, comprising:

a detection module for detecting an error in each of the processing devices; and

a reconfiguration module for reconfiguring the reconfigurable processor in response to detection of an error.