Patents by Inventor Brick Stephenson

Brick Stephenson 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).

  • Relaxed memory consistency model
    Patent number: 8307194
    Abstract: A method and apparatus to provide specifiable ordering between and among vector and scalar operations within a single streaming processor (SSP) via a local synchronization (Lsync) instruction that operates within a relaxed memory consistency model. Various aspects of that relaxed memory consistency model are described. Further, a combined memory synchronization and barrier synchronization (Msync) for a multistreaming processor (MSP) system is described. Also, a global synchronization (Gsync) instruction provides synchronization even outside a single MSP system is described. Advantageously, the pipeline or queue of pending memory requests does not need to be drained before the synchronization operation, nor is it required to refrain from determining addresses for and inserting subsequent memory accesses into the pipeline.
    Type: Grant
    Filed: August 18, 2003
    Date of Patent: November 6, 2012
    Assignee: Cray Inc.
    Inventors: Steven L. Scott, Gregory J. Faanes, Brick Stephenson, William T. Moore, Jr., James R. Kohn
  • Multistream processing memory-and barrier-synchronization method and apparatus
    Patent number: 7437521
    Abstract: A method and apparatus to provide specifiable ordering between and among vector and scalar operations within a single streaming processor (SSP) via a local synchronization (Lsync) instruction that operates within a relaxed memory consistency model. Various aspects of that relaxed memory consistency model are described. Further, a combined memory synchronization and barrier synchronization (Msync) for a multistreaming processor (MSP) system is described. Also, a global synchronization (Gsync) instruction provides synchronization even outside a single MSP system is described. Advantageously, the pipeline or queue of pending memory requests does not need to be drained before the synchronization operation, nor is it required to refrain from determining addresses for and inserting subsequent memory accesses into the pipeline.
    Type: Grant
    Filed: August 18, 2003
    Date of Patent: October 14, 2008
    Assignee: Cray Inc.
    Inventors: Steven L. Scott, Gregory J. Faanes, Brick Stephenson, William T. Moore, Jr., James R. Kohn