Digital memory with data manipulation capabilities
First Claim
1. Digital memory apparatus for storing and processing digital data comprisinga plurality of circulating storage loop means for storing and circulating said digital data therein,a plurality of data processing circuit means,each said data processing circuit means being serially coupled in each of two said circulating storage loop means,each said circulating storage loop means being serially coupled through two said data processing circuit means at different points of said loop means respectively, andmeans for coupling data manipulation control signals including a mode defining signal and key field defining signals to said plurality of data processing circuit means,each said data processing circuit means including comparator means responsive to said data manipulation control signals and to said digital data circulating in at least one of said two storage loop means associated therewith for performing comparisons with respect to said digital data in accordance with said control signals and loop control means coupled to said comparator means and serially coupled in said two loop means associated therewith for selectively effecting isolating and data interchanging connections between said two loop means,wherein said data processing circuit means performs a plurality of data manipulation operations with respect to said digital data in response to said data manipulation control signals as said digital data serially circulates through said data processing circuit means.
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Abstract
A digital memory comprising a plurality of contiguous circulating serial data storage loops and a plurality of processing elements. Each pair of adjacent loops are coupled to a processing element such that each loop is coupled through two processing elements displaced by one-half loop length. Each processing element includes a serial comparator and a loop control circuit for either isolating or exchanging the data on the two incident loops. Additional circuits are included in each processing element which in combination with the comparator and loop control provide the memory, as the loop data circulates through the processing elements, with the capability of performing an ascending or descending sort of its contents, an associative search of its contents with retrieval of located data, an updating of stored data records, a loading or unloading of a record file or data base and a dynamic reconfiguration of the memory structure.
33 Citations
23 Claims
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1. Digital memory apparatus for storing and processing digital data comprising
a plurality of circulating storage loop means for storing and circulating said digital data therein, a plurality of data processing circuit means, each said data processing circuit means being serially coupled in each of two said circulating storage loop means, each said circulating storage loop means being serially coupled through two said data processing circuit means at different points of said loop means respectively, and means for coupling data manipulation control signals including a mode defining signal and key field defining signals to said plurality of data processing circuit means, each said data processing circuit means including comparator means responsive to said data manipulation control signals and to said digital data circulating in at least one of said two storage loop means associated therewith for performing comparisons with respect to said digital data in accordance with said control signals and loop control means coupled to said comparator means and serially coupled in said two loop means associated therewith for selectively effecting isolating and data interchanging connections between said two loop means, wherein said data processing circuit means performs a plurality of data manipulation operations with respect to said digital data in response to said data manipulation control signals as said digital data serially circulates through said data processing circuit means.
Specification