Abstract: The present invention provides a circuit for a programmable transitive processing unit for performing complex functions, such as multiplication, pipelining of one or more values, and/or shift operations, wherein the circuit can be configured to be a constituent of an array of other similar circuits to form, for example, a larger multiplier.

Abstract: An electronic circuit has a programmable logic cell with a plurality of programmable logic units that are capable of being configured to operate in a multi-bit operand mode and a random logic mode. The programmable logic units are coupled in parallel between an input circuit and an output circuit. The input circuit can be configured to supply logic input signals from the same combination of the logic inputs to the programmable logic units in the random logic mode. In the multi-bit operand processing mode the input circuit is configured to supply logic input signals from different ones of the logic inputs to the programmable logic units. The programmable logic units are coupled to successive positions along a carry chain at least in the multi-bit operand mode, so as to process carry signals from the carry chain.

Abstract: A programmable analog device that introduces on a single chip a set of tailored analog blocks and elements that can be configured and reconfigured in different ways to implement a variety of different analog functions. The analog blocks can be electrically coupled to each other in different combinations to perform different analog functions. Each analog block includes analog elements that have changeable characteristics that can be specified according to the function to be performed. Configuration registers define the type of function to be performed, the way in which the analog blocks are to be coupled, the inputs and outputs of the analog blocks, and the characteristics of the analog elements. The configuration registers can be dynamically programmed. Thus, the device can be used to realize a large number of different analog functions and applications.

Abstract: A novel architecture for a multi-scale programmable logic array (MSA) to be used in the design of complex digital systems allows digital logic to be programmed using both small-scale blocks (also called gate level blocks) as well as medium scale blocks (also called Register Transfer Level or RTL blocks). The MSA concept is based on a bit sliceable Arithmetic Logic Unit (ALU). Each bit-slice may be programmed to perform a basic Boolean logic operation or may be programmed to contribute to higher-level functions that are further programmed by an ALU controller circuit. The ALU controller level in this new approach also allows the primitive logic operations computed at the bit-slice level to be combined to perform complex random logic operations. The data shifting capability of this new programmable logic architecture reduces the complexity of the programmable routing needed to implement shift operations including multiplier arrays.

Abstract: A vector-domain engine configured to perform conditional operations on an operand vector in a programmable logic device is disclosed. The vector-domain engine may receive an instruction from and transmit an output vector to a programmable-logic-device domain. The output vector may be a first or second output vector depending on whether a comparison unit in the engine determines that a bit-field of the operand vector matches a designated pattern. The first output vector may be the operand vector modified by a function unit, and the second output vector may be the operand vector unmodified. A shifter may be employed to shift the bit-field to a desired position in the operand vector. The operand vector may comprise a pattern-defining portion and a data portion. The engine may also be configured to test a predetermined number of sequential operand vectors for the presence of the pattern.

Abstract: An arithmetic device able to optimize the logic level, able to prevent an increase in the component data, able to prevent the area efficiency as an integrated operation efficiency, and circuit, achieving an improvement in the achieving a reduction power consumption, provided with a first selection device for selecting coefficient inputs C0I to CkI in accordance with a control signal ASEL, a second selection device for selecting data inputs D0I to DmI in accordance with a control signal BSEL, a third selection device for selecting cascade inputs P0 to Pn?2 in accordance with a control signal CSEL, an ALU for receiving as input the output signal of the first to third selection devices and performing a logic operation in accordance with instructions of the control signals ALUMD etc.

Abstract: A calculating unit includes a first calculating unit block, a second calculating unit block, controller, and connector having connecting lines, wherein for each elementary cell having a same significance in the first calculating unit block and the second calculating unit block an individual connecting line is provided to achieve a quick register exchange by means of the controller of the calculating unit blocks operating in parallel.

Abstract: An improved digital signal processing (DSP) processor architecture is presented in which word conditioning (e.g., rounding, saturation, etc.) and analysis operations (e.g., block floating point analysis) are implemented in the write datapath to memory. By moving word conditioning operations from the critical path to the write datapath, the throughput of common DSP functional blocks such as multiplier-accumulator (MAC) blocks may be improved. Delays may be further reduced by combining analysis operations with write or move operations.

Abstract: A method and configuration system are used for producing an application-specific functional module from a predefined functional module for a programmable controller. In this context, a marking device is useable to mask out subfunctions of the predefined functional module, so that just the software code for those subfunctions which is required in order to satisfy the functionality of the application-specific functional module are readable into the programmable controller. In this case, it is simultaneously necessary to ensure that only that software code which is not imperatively required for calculating a result for at least one of the unmarked subfunctions is masked out and is therefore not read in.

Abstract: A printing system comprised of a printer, a plurality of processing nodes, each processing node being disposed for processing a portion of a print job into a printer dependent format, and a processing manager for spooling the print job into selectively sized chunks and assigning the chunks to selected ones of the nodes for parallel processing of the chunks by the processing nodes into the printer dependent format. The chunks are selectively sized from at least one page to an entire size of the print job in accordance with predetermined splitting factors for enhancing printer printing efficiency. The operating of the printing system includes a method for parallel processing of a print job with a plurality of processing nodes into a printer-ready format for printing the print job, wherein the processing nodes communicate with a virtual disk transfer system and control usage thereof by monitoring available space in the virtual disk transfer system.

Abstract: In one embodiment, a digital signal processor (DSP) processes both n-bit data and (n/2)-bit data. The DSP includes multiple processing paths. A first processing path processes n-bit data. A second processing path is processes (n/2)-bit data. The multiple processing paths may be established using multiple components or may share components. When the processing paths share components, only one of the processing paths may be used at a time.

Abstract: A printing system comprised of a printer, a plurality of processing nodes, each processing node being disposed for processing a portion of a print job into a printer dependent format, and a processing manager for spooling the print job into selectively sized chunks and assigning the chunks to selected ones of the nodes for parallel processing of the chunks by the processing nodes into the printer dependent format. The chunks are selectively sized from at least one page to an entire size of the print job in accordance with predetermined splitting factors for enhancing printer printing efficiency.

Abstract: In a programmable digital arithmetic circuit, each input/output terminal of the necessary elemental circuit is connected via a matrix switches.in order to selectively constitute multiple types of basic digital arithmetic circuits that differ from each other. By turning on and off each switching element of the matrix switches, any one of the above-mentioned desired basic digital arithmetic circuits can be selectively constituted. Changing the functions is realized by a matrix switches and during the setting of the coefficients a purely physical coefficient value can be chosen so that a programmable digital arithmetic circuit that can be easily understand and handled by users will be constituted.

Abstract: A programmable logic device comprising one or more macrocells and a product term array. The macrocells may comprise logic that may be configured to (i) generate and propagate a carry signal and (ii) generate a sum bit. The product term array may comprise two product terms per macrocell.

Abstract: There can be provided a variable function information processor in which a logic module (10) with the further decreased number of transistors used in the logic module constituting the variable function information processor is provided, a function of being able to realize both a combinational logic circuit for-performing a full addition operation of input signals in accordance with a control signal and outputting the sum and a sequential circuit for temporarily holding the input signal to delay the signal and outputting it by the same logic module is provided, and in a semiconductor circuit element group for constituting the combinational logic circuit and the sequential circuit, a common part of the combinational logic circuit and the sequential circuit is used for both the circuits, whereby the number of elements can be further decreased, and the resources of the variable function information processor can be effectively exploited.

Abstract: An arithmetic logic block which can selectively perform either logical or arithmetic operations or both on 4-bit or 8-bit or larger binary quantities received at operand input buses. Boolean AND, OR and exclusive-OR operations can be performed on 8-bit binary numbers and 8-bit binary numbers can be buffered. Up to four 4-bit numbers can be added, and 4-bit or 8-bit numbers may be added or subtracted. Binary multiplication or addition of n-bit numbers can accomplished with fewer ALBs than the prior art by connection of the ALBs of the invention into a suitable array.

Abstract: There can be provided a variable function information processor in which a logic module (10) with the further decreased number of transistors used in the logic module constituting the variable function information processor is provided, a function of being able to realize both a combinational logic circuit for-performing a full addition operation of input signals in accordance with a control signal and outputting the sum and a sequential circuit for temporarily holding the input signal to delay the signal and outputting it by the same logic module is provided, and in a semiconductor circuit element group for constituting the combinational logic circuit and the sequential circuit, a common part of the combinational logic circuit and the sequential circuit is used for both the circuits, whereby the number of elements can be further decreased, and the resources of the variable function information processor can be effectively exploited.

Abstract: A programmable data arithmetic array includes a set of data buses and a matrix of data arithmetic units including fixed function units and programmable function units connected to the set of data buses. Bidirectional interconnect is positioned between the set of data buses and the matrix of data arithmetic units.

Abstract: A method for generating data characterizing an item described by an ordered string of characters, comprises the steps of: (i) for a set of separation metrics each representing a unique number of positions of separation between arbitrary characters in a character group in the ordered string of characters, associating first with each separation metric; generating a set of character groups, wherein each character group comprises at least two characters contained within the ordered string of characters; and (ii) for at least one given character group in the set of character groups, for each given separation metric in the set of separation metrics, generating second data representing number of occurrences that the given character group satisfies the given separation metric; generating third data associated with the given character group, wherein the third data is based upon the second data and the first data; and storing the third data in memory for subsequent use.

Abstract: A programmable function block comprises a core logic circuit having a first argument input group consisting of first through fourth argument input terminals, a second argument input group consisting of first through fourth argument input terminals, first through third configuration input terminals, a core logic carry output terminal, a core logic carry generation output terminal, a core logic carry propagation output terminal, a ripple-core logic carry input terminal, and a sum output terminal. Connected to interconnection wires and the first and the second argument input groups, an input block includes eighth input selection units for selecting, as eight input selected signals, eight ones of signals on the interconnection wires, a fixed logic value of “1”, and a fixed logic value of “0”. Connected to the first through the third configuration input terminals, respectively, first through third memory circuits stores, as first through third stored logic values, a logic value of one bit.

Abstract: An application accelerator (AA) unit that in one embodiment is part of an I/O processor (IOP) integrated circuit. The AAU includes logic circuitry for improving the performance of storage applications such as Redundant Array of Inexpensive Disks (RAID). A boolean unit performs operations such as exclusive-or (XOR) on multiple blocks of data to form the image parity block which is written to the redundant disk array. The AAU is associated with a memory-mapped programming interface that allows software executed by a core processor in the IOP to utilize the AAU for accelerating RAID storage applications as well as local memory DMA-type transfers, using the descriptor construct.

Abstract: A digital signal process of a plurality of functions is enabled by a common hardware constructed on one chip having input terminals t1, t2 and t2'; output terminals t3 and t4; and a control signal input terminal t5. The chip is constructed to include class sorting circuits 111a and 111b; delay and selecting circuits 112a and 112b; switching circuits 113a and 113b; switching circuits 114a and 114b; coefficient memories 115a and 115b; filter operating circuits 116a and 116b; a line delay circuit 117; a product sum operating circuit 118; and a switching circuit 119. Signal flow and circuit functions are selectively controlled by control signals. The functions of the chip can be consequently switched and a plurality of signal processes are realized by one chip.

Abstract: The function selection signal of an ALU is resistively decoupled or serially coupled to the input multiplexers of the ALU. By producing delayed function selection signals and decoupling the delayed function signals from the input multiplexers, the input multiplexers are serially activated. This need not impact the overall speed of the ALUs, since the adders are also serially activated by virtue of the carry signal ripple. However, by resistively decoupling the function selection signal from the input multiplexers, the load seen by the input driver that drives the function selection signal inputs of the multiplexer may be reduced, thereby allowing the least significant bit input multiplexer to be activated more rapidly. Moreover, resistive decoupling may be implemented by polysilicon resistors, thereby allowing metal interconnect layers in the integrated circuit to be used for other purposes.

Abstract: Fixed point instructions ADD, ROTATE, COMPARE-TO-ZERO, AND, OR and COUNT-LEADING-ZEROS are each performable in one circuit or macro. Such fixed point instructions may be implemented within an execution unit in a microprocessor, microcontroller, or digital signal processor.

Abstract: A composite digital network including an integrating circuit, a summing circuit and a coefficient circuit is formed as an integrated circuit that provides a selected one of digital arithmetic circuits that perform different arithmetic operations depending upon coefficients of the coefficient circuits. A plurality of units of such composite digital networks may be connected in rows, columns or layers to provide an expanded network. In a method of producing such a composite digital network, basic digital arithmetic circuits that respectively correspond to various types of basic analog arithmetic circuits are defined based on Kirchhoff's rules, for example, and these basic digital arithmetic circuits are coupled to each other via a coefficient circuit to thus provide a generic digital arithmetic integrated circuit.

Abstract: A three input arithmetic logic unit (230) that generates a combination of the three inputs that is selected by a function signal. The second input signal comes from a controllable barrel rotator (235). The rotate amount is a default rotate amount stored in a special data register, a predetermined set of bits of data recalled from a data register or zero. A one's constant source (236) is connected to the barrel rotator (235) to supply a multibit digital signal of "1". This permits generating a second input signal of the form 2.sup.N, with N being the rotate amount. The output of the barrel rotator (235) may be stored independently of the arithmetic logic unit (230) result. The third input signal comes from a multiplexer (233) that selects between an instruction specified immediate field, data recalled from a data register or a mask input from a mask generator (239). One preferred form of the mask has a number of right justified 1's corresponding to a mask input signal.

Abstract: A field programmable, digital signal processing integrated circuit is formed in a semiconductor die and includes an array of arithmetic logic (ALU) circuits. A user programmable interconnect architecture is superimposed on the array of ALU circuits. One or more interface circuits comprising digital-to-analog (D/A) converters or analog-to-digital (A/D) converters are may be provided on the integrated circuit to interface to off-chip analog input signals and provide off-chip analog output signals. Circuitry is provided to program the interconnections between the interface circuits and the ALU circuits and between individual ones of the ALU circuits, as well as to define the specific functions of the individual ALU circuits.