Abstract: A single-chip microcomputer comprising: a first bus having a central processing unit and a cache memory connected therewith; a second bus having a dynamic memory access control circuit and an external bus interface connected therewith; a break controller for connecting the first bus and the second bus selectively; a third bus having a peripheral module connected therewith and having a lower-speed bus cycle than the bus cycles of the first and second buses; and a bus state controller for effecting a data transfer and a synchronization between the second bus and the third bus. The single-chip microcomputer has the three divided internal buses to reduce the load capacity upon the signal transmission paths so that the signal transmission can be accomplished at a high speed. Moreover, the peripheral module required to have no operation speed is isolated so that the power dissipation can be reduced.

Abstract: Herein disclosed is a data processing system having a memory packaged therein for realizing a large-scale and high-speed parallel distributed processing and, especially, a data processing system for the neural network processing. The neural network processing system according to the present invention comprises: a memory circuit for storing neuron output values, connection weights, the desired values of outputs, and data necessary for learning; an input/output circuit for writing or reading data in or out of said memory circuit; a processing circuit for performing a processing for determining the neuron outputs such as the product, sum and nonlinear conversion of the data stored in said memory circuit, a comparison of the output value and its desired value, and a processing necessary for learning; and a control circuit for controlling the operations of said memory circuit, said input/output circuit and said processing circuit.

Abstract: When an interrupt request signal is input, a microprocessor checks, upon termination of an instruction cycle being executed, whether the interrupt request is masked. If the interrupt request is not masked, the microprocessor saves the content of the program counter and the processor status register to a stack. If an extended interrupt request signal is at a high level, the microprocessor sets the bus status signals to a unique state so that a data bus is in a high impedance state. An interrupt controller outputs mask flag data to the data bus so that the mask flag data is saved to a stack. Thereafter, the three-byte data is fetched from a vector address and stored in the program counter. When the mask flag data is to be restored, the mask flag data is read while the bus status signals are set to the unique state.

Abstract: A processor provides trace capability. Trace information can be provided over a communication port that is operable both as a trace port and as a parallel debug port. The trace port provides trace information indicating instruction execution flow in the processor core. The operation of the communication port as a trace port and as a parallel debug port is mutually exclusive. The parallel debug port provides for transmission of debug information between a debug host controller and the processor. The parallel debug port and the trace port physically share pins. Bus request and grant signals are provided between the parallel debug port and a debug host controller to ensure that collisions do not occur between use by the trace port and the debug host controller. A separate serial debug port is also provided which can be used to enable the parallel debug port.

Abstract: A memory 1 performs its internal operation in response to access requests (200, 201 and 202) of a CPU 2 in synchronism with the oscillated output of a self-excited oscillator 102 incorporated therein and according to said access requests, and outputs a response request 103 for said access requests to said CPU in synchronism with its internal operation. The CPU performs the access requests for the memory, and fetches data from the outside or outputs the data to the outside in response to and in synchronism with the response request 103 from the accessed memory and according to the kinds of said access requests.

Abstract: Protocol processor intended to be associated with at least one main processor of a system with a view to the execution of tasks to which the main processor is not suited. The protocol processor comprises a program part (30) including an incrementation register (31), a program memory (33) connected to the incrementation register (31) in order to receive addresses thereof, a decoding part (35) intended to receive instructions from the program memory (33) of the program part (30) with a view to executing an instruction in two cycles, and a data part (36) for executing the instruction.

Abstract: A computer system having a pipelined computer processor, which executes a relatively simple instruction set in a hardware controlled execution unit and executes a relatively complex instruction set in a milli-mode architected state with a millicode sequence of simple instructions in said hardware controlled execution unit, a millicode operating in a milli-mode state when macro-mode decoding by said processor is suspended to cause the system to subsequently use processor milli-registers and the processor's decoder decodes them and schedules them for execution upon entry into the processor milli-mode. Millicode flags allow specialized update and branch instructions and flags are either cleared or specifically set for a millicode instruction. A millicode instruction for editing functions processes one byte of an input pattern string, generates one byte of an output string, and updates various pointers and state indications to prepare for processing the next byte in a string.

Abstract: A computer system having a pipelined computer processor, which executes a relatively simple instruction set in a hardware controlled execution unit and executes a relatively complex instruction set in a milli-mode architected state with a millicode sequence of simple instructions in said hardware controlled execution unit, a millicode operating in a milli-mode state when macro-mode decoding by said processor is suspended to cause the system to subsequently use processor milli-registers and the processor's decoder decodes them and schedules them for execution upon entry into the processor milli-mode. Millicode flags allow specialized update and branch instructions and flags are either cleared or specifically set for a millicode instruction. A millicode instruction for editing functions processes one byte of an input pattern string, generates one byte of an output string, and updates various pointers and state indications to prepare for processing the next byte in a string.

Abstract: A computer system having a pipelined computer processor, which executes a relatively simple instruction set in a hardware controlled execution unit and executes a relatively complex instruction set in a milli-mode architected state with a millicode sequence of simple instructions in said hardware controlled execution unit, a millicode operating in a milli-mode state when macro-mode decoding by said processor is suspended to cause the system to subsequently use processor milli-registers and the processor's decoder decodes them and schedules them for execution upon entry into the processor milli-mode. Millicode flags allow specialized update and branch instructions and flags are either cleared or specifically set for a millicode instruction. A millicode instruction for editing functions processes one byte of an input pattern string, generates one byte of an output string, and updates various pointers and state indications to prepare for processing the next byte in a string.

Abstract: A NULL convention asynchronous register regulates wavefronts of signals through a NULL convention sequential circuit. The asynchronous register receives a control signal from a downstream circuit when the downstream circuit is ready to receive a new wavefront. Wavefronts alternate between meaningful data and NULL. The asynchronous register further generates a feedback signal to upstream circuits so that upstream circuits generate a wavefront when the sequential circuit is ready to receive the wavefront. Asynchronous registers can be used to create a variety of architectures, and to store data, as in a sequential circuit (state machine).

Abstract: A system and method are described for maintaining synchronization of information propagating through multiple front-end pipelines operating in parallel. In general, these multiple front-end pipelines become asynchronous in response to a stall condition and re-establish synchronization by flushing both front-end pipelines as well as by selectively releasing these front-end pipelines from their stall condition at different periods of time.

Abstract: A communications system utilizes an embedded Digital Signal Processor (DSP), a DSP interface and memory architecture, a micro-controller interface, a DSP operating system (OS), a data flow model, and an interface for hardware blocks. The design allows software to control much of the configuration of the architecture while using hardware to provide efficient data flow, signal processing, and memory access. In devices with embedded DSPs, memory access is often the bottleneck and is tightly coupled to the efficiency of the design. The platform architecture involves a method that allows the sharing of the DSP memory with other custom hardware blocks or the micro-controller. The DSP can operate at full millions-of-instructions-per-second (MIPS) while another function is transferring data to and from memory. This allows for an efficient use of the memory and for a partitioning of the DSP tasks between software and hardware.

Abstract: To improve the efficiency of delayed transactions in bus-to-bus bridge systems which include at least one interface to a PCI bus, a bridge system is disclosed including at least a primary interface and an interface to a secondary subsystem for interconnecting a primary PCI bus system and the secondary subsystem. The system comprises a delayed transaction mechanism for enabling a transaction source attached to the primary PCI bus system to effect delayed transactions with a target in the secondary subsystem. This system has a programmable delay transaction timer which provides a degree of flexibility in the configuration of PCI systems. This flexibility can be exploited to provide considerable efficiency gains, albeit at the expense of some deviation of the strict requirements of the PCI Specification.

Abstract: A microcomputer capable of outputting pulses in which an arithmetic processing unit outputs pulse control data according to the receiving of a trigger signal transferred from a trigger circuit, a data latch circuit latches each kind of pulse control data to be used for controlling output operation of the control register that stores the pulse control data, the data latch circuit outputs a pulse control signal, a NAND circuit performs a logical arithmetic operation between the output from the pulse generation circuit and the pulse control signal from the data latch circuit, so that a desired pulse or a pulse train is output in real time.

Abstract: The present invention comprises and interrupt controller for use with a programmable digital processor system. The interrupt controller of the present invention includes a plurality of interrupt blocks. The interrupt blocks are used for coupling to a corresponding plurality of peripheral devices. Each of the interrupt blocks are coupled to a data bus included within the interrupt controller. The interrupt controller also includes an interrupt control register. The interrupt control register is coupled to each of the interrupt blocks, and upon receiving an internal interrupt request from any of the interrupt blocks, asserts a processor interrupt request responsive to the internal interrupt request. The interrupt controller includes a processor interrupt request line adapted to couple to a programmable digital processor.