Patents Examined by Archie E. Wiliams, Jr.
  • Patent number: 4980852
    Abstract: A non-locking queueing mechanism is described for transferring information from a sending unit to a receiving unit through a queue in which there is no interference between the independent units (sender and receiver) during enqueueing or dequeueing. The invention thus avoids any form of interlock or serialism. The mechanism includes a first pointer (D), identifying the element area in the queueing device where the last dequeued information element, if any, was located, and a second pointer register for logging a second pointer (E) identifying the element area in the queueing device where the last enqueued information element, if any, was located, a first control block activated by the sending unit to enqueue the information element into the queueing device and for updating the second pointer, and a second control block activated by the recieving unit to dequeue the information element from the queueing device and for updating the first pointer.
    Type: Grant
    Filed: December 29, 1987
    Date of Patent: December 25, 1990
    Assignee: International Business Machines Corporation
    Inventors: Didier F. Giroir, Alvin P. Mullery, Andre Pauporte