Mesh parallel computer architecture apparatus and associated methods
First Claim
1. Digital data processing apparatus for synchronously processing data from a host computer, comprising:
- program memory means for storing data, and bus means connecting said program memory means to the host computer;
a master processor element and an array of slave processor elements, said master processor element having means to access said data within said program memory and for broadcasting instructions to said array; and
input/output module means connected to communicate with said bus means and having a plurality of data links connected to said array, each of said data links providing serial communication with selected slave processor elements;
wherein each of said slave processor elements comprises(i) an input/output processor section having interprocessor communication links for communicating data through link ports to and from selected other processor elements within said array, and further having means for communicating data to and from said input/output module means, the input/output processor section being programmable to through-route data by defining transfer leg specifications including link port selection and leg durations,(ii) internal memory means having a storage capacity of at least 128 kilobytes for storing executable code and data, and(iii) a core processor section for processing said executable code and said instructions, each of said processor sections being operable independently from the other of said processor sections;
said slave processor elements synchronously executing at least one of said instructions and said executable code.
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Accused Products
Abstract
A Monolithic Synchronous Processor (MeshSP) processes data and incorporates a mesh parallel computer architecture, primarily SIMD, thereby combining high data throughput with modest size, weight, power and cost. Each MeshSP processor node utilizes a single DSP processor element, a large internal memory of at least 128k-bytes, and separately operable computational and I/O processing sections. The processor element provides data throughput of at least 120 MFlops. The processor is programmed in ANSI C and without parallel extensions. A combination of on-chip DMA hardware and system software simplifies data I/O and interprocessor communication. The MeshSP is programmed to solve a wide variety of computationally demanding signal processing problems. A functional simulator enables MeshSP algorithms to be coded and tested on a personal computer.
102 Citations
40 Claims
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1. Digital data processing apparatus for synchronously processing data from a host computer, comprising:
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program memory means for storing data, and bus means connecting said program memory means to the host computer; a master processor element and an array of slave processor elements, said master processor element having means to access said data within said program memory and for broadcasting instructions to said array; and input/output module means connected to communicate with said bus means and having a plurality of data links connected to said array, each of said data links providing serial communication with selected slave processor elements; wherein each of said slave processor elements comprises (i) an input/output processor section having interprocessor communication links for communicating data through link ports to and from selected other processor elements within said array, and further having means for communicating data to and from said input/output module means, the input/output processor section being programmable to through-route data by defining transfer leg specifications including link port selection and leg durations, (ii) internal memory means having a storage capacity of at least 128 kilobytes for storing executable code and data, and (iii) a core processor section for processing said executable code and said instructions, each of said processor sections being operable independently from the other of said processor sections; said slave processor elements synchronously executing at least one of said instructions and said executable code. - View Dependent Claims (2, 3, 4, 5, 6, 7, 8, 9, 10, 11, 12, 13, 14, 15, 16, 17, 18, 19, 20, 21, 22, 23, 24, 25, 26, 27, 28)
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29. A monolithic processor element for use in a synchronous digital data processing system, comprising:
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(i) an input/output processor section having interprocessor communication means for transferring data through link ports to and from selected other monolithic processor elements in the system, and further having serial port means for transferring data to and from the system, the input/output processor section being programmable to through-route data by defining transfer leg specifications including link port selection and leg durations; (ii) external port means for receiving instructions for the system, and for communicating interrupts to the system; (iii) a core processor section for processing instructions and data, each of said processor sections being operable independently from the other of said processor sections; and (iv) internal memory means having a storage capacity of at least 128 kilobytes for storing data and executable code, and further having bus means for communicating with said processor sections and said external port means; said processor element being programmably operable to synchronously process data in conjunction with other processor elements in the system. - View Dependent Claims (30, 31, 32, 33, 34, 35, 36, 37, 38, 39, 40)
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Specification