Semiconductor Semaphore Management for Process Switching
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Solution Overview
Problem
Existing semiconductor devices face low use efficiency of common resources and reduced processing capability due to ineffective exclusion control methods, leading to potential operation interference among processes.
Innovation Solution
A semiconductor device with a semaphore management unit that switches processes when a common resource is not initially available, repeatedly attempting to acquire the resource until successful, thereby optimizing resource access and preventing process retardation.
Engineering Contradictions & Design Principles
Engineering Contradiction Analysis
1Reliability
If semaphore performs common resource exclusion control, then operation interference among processes is avoided, but use efficiency of the common resource is low
Solution Approach 1:
The patent applies dynamics by making the process switching behavior adaptive rather than static. The semaphore management unit dynamically switches between the first process and second process based on real-time semaphore acquisition status, allowing the system to adapt its resource access pattern to current conditions, thereby improving overall resource utilization while maintaining exclusion control
Solution Approach 2:
The patent changes the operational parameters of process execution by introducing process switching as a variable. Instead of a single process continuously attempting to acquire the semaphore, the system varies the active process parameter, switching to a second process when the first cannot acquire the semaphore, thus changing the temporal pattern of resource access attempts and improving efficiency
2Reliability
If process repeatedly attempts to acquire semaphore, then possessory right is eventually obtained, but process capability cannot be fully displayed
Solution Approach 1:
The patent introduces a second process as an intermediary mechanism. When the first process cannot acquire the semaphore, the system switches to the second process as a mediator that can attempt acquisition, thereby preventing the first process from being stuck in continuous failed retry cycles and allowing the system to maintain productive operation while still pursuing semaphore acquisition
Solution Approach 2:
The patent prepares the second process in advance as a standby alternative. This preliminary preparation of an alternative process ensures that when the first process fails to acquire the semaphore, the system can immediately switch to the pre-prepared second process without interruption or capability loss, thus maintaining full process capability while ensuring eventual possessory right acquisition
Data Source
AI summary
A semiconductor device includes a common resource commonly used by plural processes executed on a processor, a semaphore controlling the possessory right of the common resource, and a semaphore management unit performing a process of acquiring the possessory right of the common resource to the semaphore in response to a request of a process performed on the processor. When a request to acquire the possessory right of the common resource is received from a first process in the plural processes and the possessory right cannot be obtained, the semaphore management unit switches the process executed on the processor to a second process, repeatedly performs a process of acquiring the possessory right requested by the first process to the semaphore and, when the possessory right requested by the first process is obtained, switches the process on the processor from the second process to the first process.