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:
May. 29, 2007
Filed:
Feb. 11, 2002
Robert Allan Whitton, Ashford, GB;
Robert Allan Whitton, Ashford, GB;
PTS Corporation, San Jose, CA (US);
Abstract
A processor which is switchable between a first execution mode (such as a scalar mode) and a second execution mode (such as a VLIW mode) is disclosed. The processor has a first processor context when in the first execution mode and a second processor context, different from the first processor context, when in the second execution mode. The processor generates an exception when the processor attempts to change from one execution mode to the other. When the processor switches to a thread of execution which is in the first execution mode, or when the processor switches to a thread of execution which was the last thread to be in the second execution mode, only the first processor context is preserved. The processor may be arranged such that the number of threads that may be in the second execution mode at any one time is less than the total number of threads that may be active on the processor at any one time.