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:
Sep. 23, 2003
Filed:
May. 31, 2001
James H. Ma, San Jose, CA (US);
Lisa C. Grenier, San Jose, CA (US);
Sun Microsystems, Inc., Santa Clara, CA (US);
Abstract
A technique for arbitrating and selecting one access request to a shared memory from among multiple contenders is disclosed. In a first aspect, the invention includes a method for accessing a shared memory. The method includes receiving a plurality of access requests; presenting a plurality of characteristics for each access request; ascertaining a plurality of operational characteristics; and selecting one of the access requests for processing upon consideration of the access request characteristics and the operational characteristics. In a second aspect, the invention includes an arbitration and select logic (“ASL”) unit. The ASL unit comprises a plurality of input sorting units, each input sorting unit capable of receiving a respective access request and a merge and interleave unit (“MIU”). The MIU is capable of receiving a plurality of characteristics for each access request; receiving a plurality of operational characteristics; and selecting one of the access requests for processing upon consideration of the access request characteristics and the operational characteristics.