Patents by Inventor W. Thomas Blank

W. Thomas Blank has filed for patents to protect the following inventions. This listing includes patent applications that are pending as well as patents that have already been granted by the United States Patent and Trademark Office (USPTO).

  • Patent number: 5598408
    Abstract: A massively parallel computer system is disclosed having a global router network in which pipeline registers are spatially distributed to increase the messaging speed of the global router network. The global router network includes an expansion tap for processor to I/O messaging so that I/O messaging bandwidth matches interprocessor messaging bandwidth. A route-opening message packet includes protocol bits which are treated homogeneously with steering bits. The route-opening packet further includes redundant address bits for imparting a multiple-crossbars personality to router chips within the global router network. A structure and method for spatially supporting the processors of the massively parallel system and the global router network are also disclosed.
    Type: Grant
    Filed: January 14, 1994
    Date of Patent: January 28, 1997
    Assignee: MasPar Computer Corporation
    Inventors: John R. Nickolls, John Zapisek, Won S. Kim, Jeffrey C. Kalb, W. Thomas Blank, Eliot Wegbreit, Kevin Van Horn
  • Patent number: 5581777
    Abstract: A massively parallel processor is provided with a plurality of clusters. Each cluster includes a plurality of processor elements ("PEs") and a cluster memory. Each PE of the cluster has associated with it an address register, a stage register, an error register, a PE enable flag, a memory flag, and a grant request flag. A cluster data bus and an error bus connects each of the stage registers and error registers of the cluster to the memory. The grant request flags of the cluster are interconnected by a polling network, which polls only one of the grant request flags at a time. In response to a signal on the polling network and the state of the associated memory flag, the grant request flag determines an I/O operation between the associated data register and the cluster memory over the cluster data bus. Both data and error bits are associated with respective processor elements. The sequential memory operations proceed in parallel with parallel processor operations.
    Type: Grant
    Filed: March 3, 1995
    Date of Patent: December 3, 1996
    Assignee: MasPar Computer Corporation
    Inventors: Won S. Kim, David M. Bulfer, John R. Nickolls, W. Thomas Blank, Hannes Figel
  • Patent number: 5280474
    Abstract: A massively parallel computer system is disclosed having a global router network in which pipeline registers are spatially distributed to increase the messaging speed of the global router network. The global router network includes an expansion tap for processor to I/O messaging so that I/O messaging bandwidth matches interprocessor messaging bandwidth. A route-opening message packet includes protocol bits which are treated homogeneously with steering bits. The route-opening packet further includes redundant address bits for imparting a multiple-crossbars personality to router chips within the global router network. A structure and method for spatially supporting the processors of the massively parallel system and the global router network are also disclosed.
    Type: Grant
    Filed: January 5, 1990
    Date of Patent: January 18, 1994
    Assignee: Maspar Computer Corporation
    Inventors: John R. Nickolls, John Zapisek, Won S. Kim, Jeffery C. Kalb, W. Thomas Blank, Eliot Wegbreit, Kevin Van Horn