The patent badge is an abbreviated version of the USPTO patent document. The patent badge does contain a link to the full patent document.
The patent badge is an abbreviated version of the USPTO patent document. The patent badge covers the following: Patent number, Date patent was issued, Date patent was filed, Title of the patent, Applicant, Inventor, Assignee, Attorney firm, Primary examiner, Assistant examiner, CPCs, and Abstract. The patent badge does contain a link to the full patent document (in Adobe Acrobat format, aka pdf). To download or print any patent click here.
Patent No.:
Date of Patent:
Nov. 11, 1997
Filed:
Dec. 16, 1996
Gilman Chesley, Santa Cruz, CA (US);
Sun Microsystems, Inc., Mountain View, CA (US);
Abstract
The present invention operates within a data processing system including a processor coupled to a memory controller unit which is coupled to memory used for storing and retrieving data. The memory controller unit provides separate read and write data pipelines, allowing write operations to overlap preceding read operations. The present invention selectively delays a certain limited number of write operations, delaying a write operation only if it is directed to the same memory address as that of a preceding read operation. By delaying this limited number of write operations, the present invention substantially preserves the advantages of write overlap while preventing the problem of overwrite. An alternative embodiment of the present invention selectively suppresses error writeback operations associated with a read operation if the read operation is followed by a write operation to the same address.