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. 14, 2000
Filed:
Nov. 18, 1994
Manfred Sand, Amberg, DE;
Georg Trummer, Amberg, DE;
Siemens Aktiengesellschaft, Munich, DE;
Abstract
The present invention provides a processing unit with an improved ability to coordinate the execution of multiple tasks with varying priorities. Tasks to be executed are assigned both a request condition and a terminating condition, with the processing unit initiating execution of the task with the highest priority whose request condition is satisfied. In general, the processing unit terminates an executing task once the terminating condition of that task is satisfied, and then initiates execution of the next highest-priority task with a satisfied request condition. However, the processing unit may abort execution of a task (other than the highest-priority task) if the request condition of a higher-priority task becomes satisfied. Moreover, the processing unit ensures the highest-priority task does not monopolize system resources by tracking the elapsed execution time and terminating the highest-priority task if this elapsed time exceeds a predetermined maximum, in which case the processing unit initiates execution of the next highest priority task with a satisfied request condition.