US3699526A
Expired / Lapsed
US
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Program selection based upon intrinsic characteristics of an instruction stream
Assignee: International Business Machines Corp
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Filing: 1971-03-26
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Granted: 1972-10-17
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Expires: 1991-03-26
Abstract
Abstract A programmable machine selects from among a plurality of branches on condition based upon intrinsic characteristics of the instruction stream in the machine. In a preferred form of the invention, an explicitly addressed machine selects from among a plurality of sets of branches on condition based upon the control memory address from which the branch instruction was fetched, such control memory address being an intrinsic characteristic. Such intrinsic characteristics may selectively include control memory addresses of other instruction words fetched from memory. An instruction decoder has plural decoder sections selectable in accordance with such intrinsic characteristics enabling one instruction word to be variably decoded in accordance with instruction stream characteristics.
Inventors
- 👤 James L Iskiyan
- 👤 James M Waddell
- 👤 Donald L Way
Bibliographic Details
Application Number
—
Jurisdiction
US
Data Source
google_patents
Last Synchronized
2026-11-01 02:14
CPC Classifications
G; G06; G06F; G06F9/00; G06F9/06; G06F9/30; G06F9/30181; G06F9/30196; G06F9/30003; G06F9/3005; G06F9/30058; G06F9/30145; G06F9/32; G06F9/322; G06F9/323
Claims Analysis
Total Claims: 18
Claim 1
Independent Claim
91 words
The method of performing a branching operation in a programmable machine having a sequence of operations determined by a stream of instruction words exhibiting intrinsic characteristics and acquired from predetermined memory locations, including the following steps in combination: examining said stream for said intrinsic characteristics, selecting a set of branch conditions in accordance with said examined intrinsic characteristics, and executing a branch on condition instruction based on one of said instruction words related to said examined intrinsic characteristics in accordance with said branch on condition instruction and upon said selected set.
Claim 2
Independent Claim
91 words
The method of performing a branching operation in a programmable machine having a sequence of operations determined by a stream of instruction words exhibiting intrinsic characteristics and acquired from predetermined memory locations, including the following steps in combination: examining said stream for said intrinsic characteristics, selecting a set of branch conditions in accordance with said examined intrinsic characteristics, and executing a branch on condition instruction based on one of said instruction words related to said examined intrinsic characteristics in accordance with said branch on condition instruction and upon said selected set.
Claim 3
Dependent Claim
26 words
The method of performing the operation set forth in claim 1 wherein said intrinsic characteristics include a memory address of an instruction word fetched from memory.
Claim 4
Dependent Claim
29 words
The method of performing the operation set forth in claim 2 wherein said address is the address of one instruction word which was last fetched from a memory location.
Claim 5
Dependent Claim
67 words
The method of performing the operation of claim 3 wherein said branching operation is effected by selecting one of two complete memory addresses as the next instruction word address to be fetched from memory with said one address being selected cojointly in accordance with the memory address of said one instruction word fetched as well as a set of conditions indicated by another portion of said machine.
Claim 6
Dependent Claim
21 words
The method of performing the operation of claim 4 wherein the programmable machine fetches an instruction word on an explicit basis.
Claim 7
Dependent Claim
56 words
A programmable machine having a program selection control for containing a present instruction word comprising: first means for examining intrinsic characteristics of a stream of instruction word addresses, second means examining the present instruction word, and selection means jointly responsive to said first and second means to select a memory register in accordance with said examinations.
Claim 8
Dependent Claim
56 words
A programmable machine having a program selection control for containing a present instruction word comprising: first means for examining intrinsic characteristics of a stream of instruction word addresses, second means examining the present instruction word, and selection means jointly responsive to said first and second means to select a memory register in accordance with said examinations.
Claim 9
Dependent Claim
78 words
The apparatus set forth in claim 6 wherein said second means comprises a decoder responsive to a preselected field in an instruction word independent of the operation being performed and operative to supply branch condition selection signals, said selection means being responsive to said selection signals to select one of a plurality of branch conditions among plural sets of such branch conditions, and being responsive to said first means'' examination to select the set of said branch conditions.
Claim 10
Dependent Claim
77 words
The apparatus set forth in claim 7 further including a current address register and a backup address register, said backup address register receiving signals from the current address register substantially simultaneously with the supplying of such signals to a memory for selecting a memory register, and portions of said backup address register being connected to said first means and said first means being responsive to code permutations in said portions for selecting a set of brAnch conditions.
Claim 11
Dependent Claim
70 words
The apparatus set forth in claim 6 wherein said first means includes examination of a plurality of items in said stream of instruction word addresses for determining a plurality of intrinsic characteristics, and said selection means being responsive to said determined characteristics for selecting one of a plurality of sets of branch conditions for selecting a memory address for the next instruction word to be executed in said programmable machine.
Claim 12
Dependent Claim
71 words
The apparatus set forth in claim 6 wherein said first means includes memory means for memorizing characteristics of a stream of instruction word addresses that have been previously used in connection with fetching at least one instruction word from a memory for establishing upstream intrinsic characteristics for said stream of instruction word addresses, and said selection means being responsive to said upstream intrinsic characteristics for selecting a set of branch conditions.
Claim 13
Dependent Claim
138 words
A programmable machine having control means with improved branching operations including the combination of: an instruction word register for containing code permutations of a current instruction word, a control memory connected to said instruction word register for repeatedly supplying instruction words thereto, first and second address registers for receiving and temporarily memorizing instruction word addresses in a sequence of two instruction words, one of said registers supplying a selection signal to the control memory for selecting a memory location for fetching an instruction word to be supplied to said instruction word register, and first and second branch controls jointly responsive to said second register and to at least a portion of said instruction word in said instruction word register to select which address is to be used among a plurality of addresses for fetching the next instruction word.
Claim 14
Dependent Claim
138 words
A programmable machine having control means with improved branching operations including the combination of: an instruction word register for containing code permutations of a current instruction word, a control memory connected to said instruction word register for repeatedly supplying instruction words thereto, first and second address registers for receiving and temporarily memorizing instruction word addresses in a sequence of two instruction words, one of said registers supplying a selection signal to the control memory for selecting a memory location for fetching an instruction word to be supplied to said instruction word register, and first and second branch controls jointly responsive to said second register and to at least a portion of said instruction word in said instruction word register to select which address is to be used among a plurality of addresses for fetching the next instruction word.
Claim 15
Dependent Claim
50 words
The apparatus set forth in claim 11 wherein said portion is a branch field in said instruction word independent of other portions thereof and including: branch control means responsive to said selection signal to activate one of said branch controls to select said address for fetching the next instruction word.
Claim 16
Dependent Claim
54 words
An instruction word decoder for a programmable machine, including in combination: means fetching instruction words, a decoder having plural sections, means responsive to said fetching means to activate one of said decoder sections, and said one decoder section being responsive to one of said instruction words to initiate a predetermined action in the machine.
Claim 17
Dependent Claim
54 words
An instruction word decoder for a programmable machine, including in combination: means fetching instruction words, a decoder having plural sections, means responsive to said fetching means to activate one of said decoder sections, and said one decoder section being responsive to one of said instruction words to initiate a predetermined action in the machine.
Claim 18
Dependent Claim
96 words
The decoder set forth in claim 13 wherein said instruction words are stored in preselected control memory zones in a control memory, the improvement further including the combination of: said fetching means indicating which zone of said control memory the present instruction word was fetched, said responsive means being responsive to said indication to activate said one decoder section, and said one decoder section being responsive to said present instruction word to initiate said pre-determined action while other of said decoder sections capable of initiating other actions in response to the same instruction word when selected.
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USPTO Annuity & Maintenance Windows
| Annuity Stage | Window Opens | Payment Deadline | Surcharge Period Until | Estimated Fee | Status |
|---|---|---|---|---|---|
| 3.5 Years (Year 4) | 1975-10-17 | 1976-04-17 | 1976-10-17 | $2000.00 | Window Closed / Lapsed |
| 7.5 Years (Year 8) | 1979-10-17 | 1980-04-17 | 1980-10-17 | $3760.00 | Window Closed / Lapsed |
| 11.5 Years (Year 12) | 1983-10-17 | 1984-04-17 | 1984-10-17 | $7700.00 | Window Closed / Lapsed |