Micro-operation Redundancy Detection in Processing Lanes

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Solution Overview

Problem

Data processing apparatuses with multiple processing lanes face inefficiencies in performance and energy consumption due to redundant processing of micro-operations that yield the same results across different lanes.

Innovation Solution

Incorporating control circuitry to detect and prevent redundant micro-operations by sharing results between lanes, where if a micro-operation in one lane would produce the same result as another, the result from the second lane is reused, and the first lane is placed in a power-saving state to avoid duplication.

Engineering Contradictions & Design Principles

VSEngineering Contradiction Analysis

1Productivity

If multiple processing lanes process micro-operations in parallel, then processing speed and throughput are improved, but energy consumption increases due to redundant processing of identical operations

Engineering Contradiction:

Improveprocessing throughputVSAvoidenergy consumption

Core Design Contradiction:

ProductivityVSUse of energy by moving object

Solution Approach 1:

The patent merges the execution of identical micro-operations across multiple processing lanes by implementing a mechanism where one lane processes the operation while other lanes are suppressed. The control circuitry detects when multiple lanes have identical micro-operations and prevents redundant processing, combining the work into a single execution instance that serves all lanes.

Inventive Principle:

Principle #5Merging (Combining)

Solution Approach 2:

The control circuitry performs preliminary detection and comparison of micro-operations before they are executed by the processing lanes. By identifying identical operations in advance, the system can prevent redundant processing from occurring, allowing one lane to execute the operation while suppressing others before the energy-intensive execution phase.

Inventive Principle:

Principle #10Preliminary action

2Loss of energy

If control circuitry is added to detect and prevent redundant micro-operations, then energy consumption is reduced, but device complexity increases

Engineering Contradiction:

Improveenergy waste from redundant processingVSAvoidcomplexity of control circuitry

Core Design Contradiction:

Loss of energyVSDevice complexity

Solution Approach 1:

The control circuitry creates simplified copies or representations of the micro-operations (such as opcode comparisons or key特征的 extraction) to enable quick identification of identical operations without performing full analysis. This allows the detection mechanism to operate with reduced complexity while still effectively identifying redundant processing cases.

Inventive Principle:

Principle #26Copying

Data Source

PatentUS10514928B2Preventing duplicate execution by sharing a result between different processing lanes assigned micro-operations that generate the same result

Publication Date: 2019.12.24 ARM LTD

AI summary

A data processing apparatus has control circuitry for detecting whether a first micro-operation to be processed by a first processing lane would give the same result as a second micro-operation processed by a second processing lane. If they would give the same result, then the first micro-operation is prevented from being processed by the first processing lane and the result of the second micro-operation is output as the result of the first micro-operation. This avoids duplication of processing, to save energy for example.