Patents by Inventor James A. Mathewson

James A. Mathewson 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: 10185663
    Abstract: A data processing apparatus is provided including a memory hierarchy having a plurality of cache levels including a forwarding cache level, at least one bypassed cache level, and a receiver cache level. The forwarding cache level forwards a data access request relating to a given data value to the receiver cache level, inhibiting the at least one bypassed cache level from responding to the data access request. The receiver cache level includes presence determination circuitry for performing a determination as to whether the given data value is present in the at least one bypassed cache level. In response to the determination indicating that the data value is present in the at least one bypassed cache level, one of the at least one bypassed cache level is made to respond to the data access request.
    Type: Grant
    Filed: February 8, 2017
    Date of Patent: January 22, 2019
    Assignee: ARM Limited
    Inventors: Jamshed Jalal, Michael Filippo, Bruce James Mathewson, Phanindra Kumar Mannava
  • Publication number: 20180357178
    Abstract: Access control circuitry comprises: a detector to detect a memory address translation between a virtual memory address in a virtual memory address space and a physical memory address in a physical memory address space, provided in response to a translation request by further circuitry; an address translation memory, to store data representing a set of physical memory addresses previously provided to the further circuitry in response to translation requests by the further circuitry; an interface to receive a physical memory address from the further circuitry for a memory access by the further circuitry; a comparator to compare a physical memory address received from the further circuitry with the set of physical addresses stored by the address translation memory, and to permit access, by the further circuitry, to a physical address included in the set of one or more physical memory addresses.
    Type: Application
    Filed: June 12, 2017
    Publication date: December 13, 2018
    Inventors: Bruce James MATHEWSON, Phanindra Kumar MANNAVA, Matthew Lucien EVANS, Paul Gilbert MEYER, Andrew Brookfield SWAINE
  • Publication number: 20180225047
    Abstract: A compare and swap transaction can be issued by a master device to request a processing unit to select whether to write a swap data value to a storage location corresponding to a target address in dependence on whether a compare data value matches a target data value read from the storage location. The compare and swap data values are transported within a data field of the compare and swap transaction. The compare data value is packed into a first region of the data field in dependence of an offset portion of the target address and having a position within the data field corresponding to the position of the target data value within the storage location. This reduces latency and circuitry required at the processing unit for handling the compare and swap transaction.
    Type: Application
    Filed: February 8, 2017
    Publication date: August 9, 2018
    Inventors: Phanindra Kumar MANNAVA, Bruce James MATHEWSON, Klas Magnus BRUCE, Geoffray Matthieu LACOURBA
  • Publication number: 20180225214
    Abstract: Apparatus and a corresponding method of operating a hub device, and a target device, in a coherent interconnect system are presented. A cache pre-population request of a set of coherency protocol transactions in the system is received from a requesting master device specifying at least one data item and the hub device responds by cause a cache pre-population trigger of the set of coherency protocol transactions specifying the at least one data item to be transmitted to a target device. This trigger can cause the target device to request that the specified at least one data item is retrieved and brought into cache. Since the target device can therefore decide whether to respond to the trigger or not, it does not receive cached data unsolicited, simplifying its configuration, whilst still allowing some data to be pre-cached.
    Type: Application
    Filed: February 8, 2017
    Publication date: August 9, 2018
    Inventors: Phanindra Kumar MANNAVA, Bruce James MATHEWSON, Jamshed JALAL, Klas Magnus BRUCE, Michael FILIPPO, Paul Gilbert MEYER, Alex James WAUGH, Geoffray Matthieu LACOURBA
  • Publication number: 20180225206
    Abstract: Apparatus and a corresponding method of operating the apparatus, in a coherent interconnect system comprising a requesting master device and a data-storing slave device, are provided. The apparatus maintains records of coherency protocol transactions received from the requesting master device whilst completion of the coherency protocol transactions are pending and is responsive to reception of a read transaction from the requesting master device for a data item stored in the data-storing slave device to issue a direct memory transfer request to the data-storing slave device. A read acknowledgement trigger is added to the direct memory transfer request and in response to reception of a read acknowledgement signal from the data-storing slave device a record created by reception of the read transaction is updated corresponding to completion of the direct memory transfer request.
    Type: Application
    Filed: February 8, 2017
    Publication date: August 9, 2018
    Inventors: Phanindra Kumar MANNAVA, Bruce James MATHEWSON, Jamshed JALAL, Tushar P RINGE
  • Publication number: 20180225209
    Abstract: A system comprises a number of master devices and an interconnect for managing coherency between the master devices. In response to a read-with-overridable-invalidate transaction received by the interconnect from a requesting master device requesting that target data associated with a target address is provided to the requesting master device, when target data associated with the target address is stored by a cache, the interconnect issues a snoop request to said cache triggering invalidation of the target data from the cache except when the interconnect or cache determines to override the invalidation and retain the target data in the cache. This enables greater efficiency in cache usage since data which the requesting master considers is unlikely to be needed again can be invalidated from caches located outside the master device itself.
    Type: Application
    Filed: February 8, 2017
    Publication date: August 9, 2018
    Inventors: Phanindra Kumar MANNAVA, Bruce James MATHEWSON, Jamshed JALAL, Mark David WERKHEISER
  • Publication number: 20180225216
    Abstract: Data processing apparatus comprises a data access requesting node; data access circuitry to receive a data access request from the data access requesting node and to route the data access request for fulfilment by one or more data storage nodes selected from a group of two or more data storage nodes; and indication circuitry to provide a source indication to the data access requesting node, to indicate an attribute of the one or more data storage nodes which fulfilled the data access request; the data access requesting node being configured to vary its operation in response to the source indication.
    Type: Application
    Filed: February 8, 2017
    Publication date: August 9, 2018
    Inventors: Michael FILIPPO, Jamshed JALAL, Klas Magnus BRUCE, Alex James WAUGH, Geoffray LACOURBA, Paul Gilbert MEYER, Bruce James MATHEWSON, Phanindra Kumar MANNAVA
  • Publication number: 20180227382
    Abstract: A data processing apparatus is provided, which includes receiving circuitry to receive a snoop request in respect of requested data on behalf of a requesting node. The snoop request includes an indication as to whether forwarding is to occur. Transmitting circuitry transmits a response to the snoop request and cache circuitry caches at least one data value. When forwarding is to occur and the at least one data value includes the requested data, the response includes the requested data and the transmitting circuitry transmits the response to the requesting node.
    Type: Application
    Filed: February 8, 2017
    Publication date: August 9, 2018
    Inventors: Phanindra Kumar MANNAVA, Bruce James MATHEWSON, Jamshed JALAL, Klas Magnus BRUCE
  • Publication number: 20180225219
    Abstract: A data processing apparatus is provided including a memory hierarchy having a plurality of cache levels including a forwarding cache level, at least one bypassed cache level, and a receiver cache level. The forwarding cache level forwards a data access request relating to a given data value to the receiver cache level, inhibiting the at least one bypassed cache level from responding to the data access request. The receiver cache level includes presence determination circuitry for performing a determination as to whether the given data value is present in the at least one bypassed cache level. In response to the determination indicating that the data value is present in the at least one bypassed cache level, one of the at least one bypassed cache level is made to respond to the data access request.
    Type: Application
    Filed: February 8, 2017
    Publication date: August 9, 2018
    Inventors: Jamshed JALAL, Michael FILIPPO, Bruce James MATHEWSON, Phanindra Kumar MANNAVA
  • Publication number: 20180225210
    Abstract: A data processing apparatus includes receiving circuitry to receive a snoop request sent by a source node in respect of requested data and transmitting circuitry. Cache circuitry caches at least one data value. The snoop request includes an indication as to whether the requested data is to be returned to the source node and when the at least one data value includes the requested data, the transmitting circuitry transmits a response to the source node including said requested data, in dependence on said indication.
    Type: Application
    Filed: February 8, 2017
    Publication date: August 9, 2018
    Inventors: Phanindra Kumar MANNAVA, Bruce James MATHEWSON, Jamshed JALAL, Klas Magnus BRUCE
  • Publication number: 20180173660
    Abstract: A data processing system comprises a master node to initiate data transmissions; one or more slave nodes to receive the data transmissions; and a home node to control coherency amongst data stored by the data processing system; in which at least one data transmission from the master node to one of the one or more slave nodes bypasses the home node.
    Type: Application
    Filed: December 20, 2016
    Publication date: June 21, 2018
    Inventors: Guanghui GENG, Andrew David TUNE, Daniel Adam SARA, Phanindra Kumar MANNAVA, Bruce James MATHEWSON, Jamshed JALAL
  • Publication number: 20180157590
    Abstract: A filter unit comprises interface circuitry, to intercept coherency protocol transactions exchanged between a master device comprising a first cache and an interconnect for managing coherency between the first cache and at least one other cache or other master device. The filter unit has filtering circuitry for filtering the coherency protocol transactions in dependence on memory access permission data defining which regions of an address space the master device is allowed to access.
    Type: Application
    Filed: November 29, 2017
    Publication date: June 7, 2018
    Inventors: Håkan Lars-Göran PERSSON, Ian Rudolf BRATT, Andrew Brookfield SWAINE, Bruce James MATHEWSON
  • Publication number: 20180052790
    Abstract: An interconnect circuit, and method of operation of such an interconnect circuit, are provided. The interconnect circuitry has a first interface for coupling to a master device and a second interface for coupling to a slave device. Transactions are performed between the master device and the slave device, where each transaction comprises or more transfers, and each transfer comprises a request and a response. A first connection path between the first interface and the second interface is provided that comprises a first plurality of pipeline stages. The first connection path forms a default path for propagation of the requests and responses of the transfers. A second connection path is also provided between the first interface and the second interface that comprises a second plurality of pipeline stages, where the second plurality is less than the first plurality. Path selection circuitry is then used to determine presence of a fast path condition.
    Type: Application
    Filed: August 19, 2016
    Publication date: February 22, 2018
    Applicant: ARM Limited
    Inventors: Rowan Nigel NAYLOR, Phanindra Kumar MANNAVA, Bruce James MATHEWSON
  • Publication number: 20180032435
    Abstract: An apparatus (2) comprises processing circuitry (4) for performing data processing in response to instructions. The processing circuitry (4) supports a cache maintenance instruction (50) specifying a virtual page address (52) identifying a virtual page of a virtual address space. In response to the cache maintenance instruction, the processing circuitry (4) triggers at least one cache (18, 20, 22) to perform a cache maintenance operation on one or more cache lines for which a physical address of the data stored by the cache line is within a physical page that corresponds to the virtual page identified by the virtual page address provided by the cache maintenance instruction.
    Type: Application
    Filed: January 12, 2016
    Publication date: February 1, 2018
    Inventors: Jason PARKER, Bruce James MATHEWSON, Matthew Lucien EVANS
  • Patent number: 9830294
    Abstract: A data processing system having a master device and a plurality of slave devices uses interconnect circuitry to couple the master device with the plurality of slave devices to enable transactions to be performed by the slave devices upon request from the master device. The master device issues a multi-transaction request identifying multiple transactions to be performed, the multi-transaction request providing a base transaction identifier, a quantity indication indicating a number of transactions to be performed, and address information. Request distribution circuitry within the interconnect circuitry analyses the address information and the quantity indication in order to determine, for each of the multiple transactions, the slave device that is required to perform that transaction. Transaction requests are then issued from the request distribution circuitry to each determined slave device to identify which transactions need to be performed by each slave device.
    Type: Grant
    Filed: December 22, 2014
    Date of Patent: November 28, 2017
    Assignee: ARM Limited
    Inventors: Bruce James Mathewson, Daren Croxford, Jason Parker
  • Patent number: 9569365
    Abstract: A data processing system includes a plurality of transaction masters, each with an associated local cache memory and coupled to coherent interconnect circuitry. Monitoring circuitry within the coherent interconnect circuitry maintains a state variable (flag) in respect of each of the transaction masters to monitor whether an exclusive store access state is pending for that transaction master. When a transaction master is to execute a store-exclusive instruction, then a current value of the subject state variable for that transaction master is compared with a previous value of that variable stored when the exclusive store access was setup. If there is a match, then store-exclusive instruction is allowed to proceed and the state variables of all other transaction masters for which there is a pending exclusive store access state are changed. If there is not a match, then the execution of the store-exclusive instruction is marked as failing.
    Type: Grant
    Filed: May 21, 2012
    Date of Patent: February 14, 2017
    Assignee: ARM Limited
    Inventors: Stuart David Biles, Richard Roy Grisenthwaite, Bruce James Mathewson
  • Publication number: 20170031713
    Abstract: There is provided an apparatus comprising scheduling circuitry, which selects a task as a selected task to be performed from a plurality of queued tasks, each having an associated priority, in dependence on the associated priority of each queued task. Escalating circuitry increases the associated priority of each of the plurality of queued tasks after a period of time. The plurality of queued tasks comprises a time-sensitive task having an associated deadline and in response to the associated deadline being reached, the scheduling circuitry selects the time-sensitive task as the selected task to be performed.
    Type: Application
    Filed: June 28, 2016
    Publication date: February 2, 2017
    Inventors: Michael Andrew CAMPBELL, Fergus Wilson MacGARRY, Bruce James MATHEWSON
  • Patent number: 9477623
    Abstract: Interconnect circuitry is configured to provide data routes via which at least one initiator device may access at least one recipient device. The circuitry including: at least one input for receiving transaction requests from at least one initiator device; at least one output for outputting transaction requests to the at least one recipient device; and at least one path for transmitting transaction requests between at least one input and at least one output. Also includes is control circuitry for routing the received transaction requests from at least one input to at least one output and responds to a barrier transaction request to maintain an ordering of at least some transaction requests with respect to said barrier transaction request within a stream of transaction requests passing along one of said at least one paths. Barrier transaction requests include an indicator of transaction requests whose ordering is to be maintained.
    Type: Grant
    Filed: August 6, 2013
    Date of Patent: October 25, 2016
    Assignee: ARM Limited
    Inventors: Peter Andrew Riocreux, Bruce James Mathewson, Christopher William Laycock, Richard Roy Grisenthwaite
  • Patent number: 9193246
    Abstract: A universal kit attaching a universal lid thereof to a rooftop structure includes a plurality of mounts and a pair of hinge arms attached to the interior side of the universal lid, and a pair of braces for pivotally attaching distal ends of the hinge arms to the rooftop structure. Each brace has a face for pivotally engaging the mounting hole of one of the hinge arms. The kit includes a plurality of operator brackets, each operator bracket having a respective plurality of fastener holes placed to match particular mounts in the interior side of the universal lid. At least some of the mounts correspond to more than one operator bracket. In a method for attaching a universal lid, the braces are used as templates for forming holes in a rooftop structure. Upon closing the attached lid, the braces are positioned between the roof structure and the universal lid.
    Type: Grant
    Filed: March 11, 2013
    Date of Patent: November 24, 2015
    Inventors: Joe K. Wood, Daniel C. Fuccella, James A. Mathewson
  • Publication number: 20150199290
    Abstract: A data processing system having a master device and a plurality of slave devices uses interconnect circuitry to couple the master device with the plurality of slave devices to enable transactions to be performed by the slave devices upon request from the master device. The master device issues a multi-transaction request identifying multiple transactions to be performed, the multi-transaction request providing a base transaction identifier, a quantity indication indicating a number of transactions to be performed, and address information. Request distribution circuitry within the interconnect circuitry analyses the address information and the quantity indication in order to determine, for each of the multiple transactions, the slave device that is required to perform that transaction. Transaction requests are then issued from the request distribution circuitry to each determined slave device to identify which transactions need to be performed by each slave device.
    Type: Application
    Filed: December 22, 2014
    Publication date: July 16, 2015
    Inventors: Bruce James MATHEWSON, Daren CROXFORD, Jason PARKER