Patent ID: 11861367
Assignee: TEXAS INSTRUMENTS INCORPORATED
Field: Computer technology (Electrical engineering)
Classification: CPC G | IPC G

Claim 10:
11. A method comprising:
storing instructions that include a first instruction in an instruction memory, wherein the first instruction specifies a pre-fetch threshold value;
receiving the first instruction from the instruction memory by a fetch unit that includes storage cells that include a subset configured as a pre-fetch buffer;
providing the first instruction to a decode unit of a set of pipeline stages;
receiving the pre-fetch threshold value from an execution unit of the set of pipeline stages;
setting a number of the storage cells in the subset configured as the pre-fetch buffer based on the pre-fetch threshold value;
prefetching a subset of the instructions from the instruction memory;
storing the subset of the instructions in the pre-fetch buffer; and
providing the subset of the instructions from the pre-fetch buffer to the set of pipeline stages.