Patents by Inventor Mark D. Earl

Mark D. Earl 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: 12602249
    Abstract: In various embodiments, a resource allocation management circuit may allocate a plurality of different types of hardware resources (e.g., different types of registers) to a plurality of threads. The different types of hardware resources may correspond to a plurality of hardware resource allocation circuits. The resource allocation management circuit may track allocation of the hardware resources to the threads using state identification values of the threads. In response to determining that fewer than a respective requested number of one or more types of the hardware resources are available, the resource allocation management circuit may identify one or more threads for deallocation. As a result, the hardware resource allocation system may allocate hardware resources to threads more efficiently (e.g.
    Type: Grant
    Filed: April 26, 2021
    Date of Patent: April 14, 2026
    Inventors: Mark D. Earl, Dimitri Tan, Christopher L. Spencer, Jeffrey T. Brady, Ralph C. Taylor, Terence M. Potter
  • Publication number: 20210248006
    Abstract: In various embodiments, a resource allocation management circuit may allocate a plurality of different types of hardware resources (e.g., different types of registers) to a plurality of threads. The different types of hardware resources may correspond to a plurality of hardware resource allocation circuits. The resource allocation management circuit may track allocation of the hardware resources to the threads using state identification values of the threads. In response to determining that fewer than a respective requested number of one or more types of the hardware resources are available, the resource allocation management circuit may identify one or more threads for deallocation. As a result, the hardware resource allocation system may allocate hardware resources to threads more efficiently (e.g.
    Type: Application
    Filed: April 26, 2021
    Publication date: August 12, 2021
    Inventors: Mark D. Earl, Dimitri Tan, Christopher L. Spencer, Jeffrey T. Brady, Ralph C. Taylor, Terence M. Potter
  • Patent number: 10990445
    Abstract: In various embodiments, a resource allocation management circuit may allocate a plurality of different types of hardware resources (e.g., different types of registers) to a plurality of threads. The different types of hardware resources may correspond to a plurality of hardware resource allocation circuits. The resource allocation management circuit may track allocation of the hardware resources to the threads using state identification values of the threads. In response to determining that fewer than a respective requested number of one or more types of the hardware resources are available, the resource allocation management circuit may identify one or more threads for deallocation. As a result, the hardware resource allocation system may allocate hardware resources to threads more efficiently (e.g.
    Type: Grant
    Filed: August 4, 2017
    Date of Patent: April 27, 2021
    Assignee: Apple Inc.
    Inventors: Mark D. Earl, Dimitri Tan, Christopher L. Spencer, Jeffrey T. Brady, Ralph C. Taylor, Terence M. Potter
  • Publication number: 20190244323
    Abstract: Techniques are disclosed relating to processing groups of graphics work (which may be referred to as “kicks”) using a graphics processing pipeline. In some embodiments, a graphics processor includes multiple sets of configuration registers such that multiple kicks can be processed in the pipeline at the same time. In some embodiments, kicks are pipelined such that a subsequent kick ramps up use of hardware resources as a previous kick winds down. In some embodiments, the graphics processing may execute kicks concurrently and/or preemptively, e.g., based on a priority scheme. In some embodiments, the disclosed techniques may be used with pipelines that include front and back-end fixed function circuitry as well as shared programmable resources such as shader cores. In various embodiments, the disclosed techniques may improve overall performance and/or reduce latency for high-priority graphics tasks.
    Type: Application
    Filed: February 2, 2018
    Publication date: August 8, 2019
    Inventors: Benjiman L. Goodman, Christopher L. Spencer, Mark D. Earl, Robert S. Hartog, Timothy M. Kelley
  • Publication number: 20190042312
    Abstract: In various embodiments, a resource allocation management circuit may allocate a plurality of different types of hardware resources (e.g., different types of registers) to a plurality of threads. The different types of hardware resources may correspond to a plurality of hardware resource allocation circuits. The resource allocation management circuit may track allocation of the hardware resources to the threads using state identification values of the threads. In response to determining that fewer than a respective requested number of one or more types of the hardware resources are available, the resource allocation management circuit may identify one or more threads for deallocation. As a result, the hardware resource allocation system may allocate hardware resources to threads more efficiently (e.g.
    Type: Application
    Filed: August 4, 2017
    Publication date: February 7, 2019
    Inventors: Mark D. Earl, Dimitri Tan, Christopher L. Spencer, Jeffrey T. Brady, Ralph C. Taylor, Terence M. Potter