Patent Abstract:
There is disclosed a processing system comprising: 1) a first data processor comprising a unified memory architecture for receiving memory access requests from an external bus coupled to the first data processor; 2) a memory coupled to the first data processor and controlled by the unified memory architecture, the memory storing a first plurality of instructions executable by the first data processor; and 3) a second data processor coupled to the external bus and capable of sending the memory access requests to the first data processor, wherein the memory access requests access data used by the second data processor stored in the memory.

Full Description:
TECHNICAL FIELD OF THE INVENTION 
     The present invention is directed, in general, to processing systems and, more specifically, to a data processor implementing a unified memory architecture design that is accessible by external processor(s). 
     BACKGROUND OF THE INVENTION 
     The number of electronic systems which contain microprocessors continues to grow as the prices of microprocessors and memory continue to fall. Microprocessors are implemented not only in traditional desktop personal computers (PCs), but also in a wide variety of consumer electronic devices, including home appliances, and wireless communication devices. Increasingly, many of these systems contain more than one processor. For example, some PC designs contain a main central processing unit (CPU) and a second processor (or “coprocessor” or “peripheral processor”) that performs a specific secondary function, such as a digital signal processor (DSP) that handles digital subscriber line (DSL) communications. 
     The use of more than one processor in a system, however, has numerous drawbacks. Not only does each additional processor increase the overall cost of, for example, a personal computer, but in conventional processing architectures, each additional processor requires its own memory and memory interface to store data and instructions used by that processor. This increases the overall chip count and pin count of the system and further increases the cost of the system. 
     Therefore, there is a need in the art for improved processing systems that minimize the cost and the complexity of multiprocessor systems. In particular, there is a need in the art for improved processing systems that minimize the amount of memory used in a processing system containing a main processor and at least one additional processor. 
     SUMMARY OF THE INVENTION 
     The limitations inherent in the prior art described above are overcome by an advantageous embodiment of the present invention, which provides a processing system comprising: 1) a first data processor comprising a unified memory architecture capable of receiving memory access requests from an external bus coupled to the first data processor; 2) a memory coupled to the first data processor and controlled by the unified memory architecture, the memory capable of storing a first plurality of instructions executable by the first data processor; and 3) a second data processor coupled to the external bus and capable of sending the memory access requests to the first data processor, wherein the memory access requests access data used by the second data processor stored in the memory. 
     According to one embodiment of the present invention, the data used by the second data processor comprises a second plurality of instructions executable by the second data processor. 
     According to another embodiment of the present invention, the second data processor further comprises an on-chip memory capable of storing a third plurality of instructions executable by the second data processor. 
     According to still another embodiment of the present invention, the second processor is capable of controlling the external bus. 
     According to yet another embodiment of the present invention, the external bus is a peripheral component interconnect (PCI) bus. 
     According to a further embodiment of the present invention, the second data processor is disposed in a peripheral device associated with the first data processor. 
     According to a still further embodiment of the present invention, the peripheral device is a communication device and the second data processor is a digital signal processor. 
     The foregoing has outlined rather broadly the features and technical advantages of the present invention so that those skilled in the art may better understand the detailed description of the invention that follows. Additional features and advantages of the invention will be described hereinafter that form the subject of the claims of the invention. Those skilled in the art should appreciate that they may readily use the conception and the specific embodiment disclosed as a basis for modifying or designing other structures for carrying out the same purposes of the present invention. Those skilled in the art should also realize that such equivalent constructions do not depart from the spirit and scope of the invention in its broadest form. 
     Before undertaking the DETAILED DESCRIPTION OF THE INVENTION, it may be advantageous to set forth definitions of certain words and phrases used throughout this patent document: the terms “include” and “comprise,” as well as derivatives thereof, mean inclusion without limitation; the term “or,” is inclusive, meaning and/or; the phrases “associated with” and “associated therewith,” as well as derivatives thereof, may mean to include, be included within, interconnect with, contain, be contained within, connect to or with, couple to or with, be communicable with, cooperate with, interleave, juxtapose, be proximate to, be bound to or with, have, have a property of, or the like; and the term “controller” means any device, system or part thereof that controls at least one operation, such a device may be implemented in hardware, firmware or software, or some combination of at least two of the same. It should be noted that the functionality associated with any particular controller may be centralized or distributed, whether locally or remotely. Definitions for certain words and phrases are provided throughout this patent document, those of ordinary skill in the art should understand that in many, if not most instances, such definitions apply to prior, as well as future uses of such defined words and phrases. 
    
    
     BRIEF DESCRIPTION OF THE DRAWINGS 
     For a more complete understanding of the present invention, reference is now made to the following descriptions taken in conjunction with the accompanying drawings, in which: 
     FIG. 1 is a block diagram of a prior art processing system, which includes an integrated microprocessor; 
     FIG. 2 is a block diagram of a processing system, including an integrated microprocessor and an external coprocessor, according to one embodiment of the present invention; 
     FIG. 3 is a block diagram of a processing system, including an integrated microprocessor and an external coprocessor, according to an alternate embodiment of the present invention; and 
     FIG. 4 is a flow diagram illustrating the operation of the processing system in FIG. 2, according to one embodiment of the present invention. 
    
    
     DETAILED DESCRIPTION OF THE INVENTION 
     FIGS. 1 through 4, discussed below, and the various embodiments used to describe the principles of the present invention in this patent document are by way of illustration only and should not be construed in any way to limit the scope of the invention. Those skilled in the art will understand that the principles of the present invention may be implemented in any suitably arranged processing system. 
     FIG. 1 is a block diagram of prior art processing system  10 , which includes integrated microprocessor  100  and external coprocessor  170 . Integrated microprocessor  100  comprises central processing unit (CPU)  105 , graphics unit  110 , system memory controller  115 , and bus interface  125 , all of which are coupled to communication bus  106 . Graphics unit  110  and system memory controller  115  may be integrated onto the same die as microprocessor  100 . 
     Integrated memory controller  115  bridges microprocessor  100  to system memory  140 , and may provide data compression and/or decompression to reduce bus traffic over external memory bus  145 . Integrated graphics unit  110  may provide one or more of TFT, DSTN, RGB, and other types of video output to drive display  150 . Bus interface unit  125  connects integrated microprocessor  100  to chipset bridge  155 . Bus interface unit  125  may support the peripheral component interconnect (PCI) bus interface. 
     Chipset bridge  155  may provide a conventional peripheral component interconnect (PCI) bus interface to PCI bus  160 , which connects chipset bridge  155  to one or more peripherals, such as sound card  162 , LAN controller  164 , disk drive  166 , and peripheral processor  170 , among others. In some embodiments, chipset bridge  155  may integrate local bus functions such as sound, disk drive control, modem, network adapter, and the like. 
     Peripheral processor  170  may be anyone of a wide variety of processing devices that may be implemented in processing system  10 . For example, peripheral processor  170  may be a digital signal processor (DSP) that provides a capability for communicating with external devices, such as a digital subscriber line (DSL). Alternatively, peripheral processor  170  may be a dedicated microprocessor that performs only a limited set of function(s) and that is subordinate to microprocessor  100 . Peripheral processor  170  may also be a microcontroller device or an ASIC circuit that is capable of executing instructions retrieved from a memory. 
     Typically, peripheral processor  170  requires its own memory to store the code that it executes. If only a small amount of code is executed by peripheral processor  170 , then the memory may be a dedicated on-chip random access memory (RAM), such as RAM  172 , that is integrated into peripheral processor  170 . However, as the size of the executable code used by peripheral processor  170  grows, the use of on-chip RAM  172  becomes impractical. For this reason, peripheral processor  170  typically requires external memory  174  to store instructions and data used by peripheral processor  170 . Unfortunately, this increases the amount of memory required by processing system  10 . This increases the overall chip count and the number of pins used to interface with memory. 
     FIG. 2 is a block diagram of processing system  20 , including integrated microprocessor  100 , according to one embodiment of the present invention. Processing system  20  is similar in most respects to prior art processing system  10  in FIG.  1 . Integrated microprocessor  100  comprises central processing unit (CPU)  105 , graphics unit  110 , system memory controller  115 , and bus interface  125 , all of which are coupled to communication bus  106 . Graphics unit  110  and system memory controller  115  may be integrated onto the same die as microprocessor  100 . 
     Integrated memory controller  115  bridges microprocessor  100  to system memory  140 , and may provide data compression and/or decompression to reduce bus traffic over external memory bus  145 . Integrated graphics unit  110  may provide one or more of TFT, DSTN, RGB, and other types of video output to drive display  150 . Bus interface unit  125  connects integrated microprocessor  100  to chipset bridge  155 . Bus interface unit  125  may support the peripheral component interconnect (PCI) bus interface. 
     Chipset bridge  155  may provide a conventional peripheral component interconnect (PCI) bus interface to PCI bus  160 , which connects chipset bridge  155  to one or more peripherals, such as sound card  162 , LAN controller  164 , disk drive  166 , and peripheral processor  210 , among others. In some embodiments, chipset bridge  155  may integrate local bus functions such as sound, disk drive control, modem, network adapter, and the like. 
     Those skilled in the art will recognize that bus interface unit  125  and memory controller  115  in microprocessor  100  comprise what is frequently referred to as a “north bridge” architecture. Similarly, chipset bridge  155  and PCI bus  160  are frequently referred to as a “south bridge” architecture. 
     Peripheral processor  210  may be anyone of a wide variety of processing devices that may be implemented in processing system  20 . For example, peripheral processor  210  may be a digital signal processor (DSP) that provides a capability for communicating with external devices, such as a digital subscriber line (DSL) Alternatively, peripheral processor  210  may be a general purpose microprocessor that is dedicated to performing only a limited set of function(s) and that is subordinate to microprocessor  100 . Peripheral processor  210  may also be a microcontroller, an ASIC chip, a programmable logic array (PAL) chip, or similar device that is capable of executing instructions retrieved from a memory. 
     As in the case of peripheral processor  170  in prior art processing system  10 , peripheral processor  210  also requires memory to store the code executed by peripheral processor  210 . Again, if only a small amount of code is executed by peripheral processor  210 , then the memory may be a dedicated on-chip random access memory (RAM), such as RAM  220 , that is integrated into peripheral processor  210 . However, if the size of the executable code used by peripheral processor  210  is large, peripheral processor  210  also requires an external memory to store instructions and data used by peripheral processor  210 . Unlike the prior art system, however, peripheral processor  210  uses the same memory, namely system memory  140 , used by microprocessor  100 , to store data and instruction code used by peripheral processor  210 . This decreases the amount of memory required by processing system  20  and reduces the overall chip count and the number of pins used to access memory. 
     In an advantageous embodiment of the present invention, bus interface unit  125  is implemented as a unified memory architecture (UMA) design and at least a portion of system memory  140  comprises dedicated memory  230 . Dedicated memory  230  comprises graphics memory  240 . In prior art processing system  10 , dedicated memory  141  typically is used by graphics unit  110  to hold graphics data and instruction code, represented collectively as graphics memory  142  in dedicated memory  141 . In accordance with an advantageous embodiment of the present invention, the instructions and data used by peripheral processor  210 , represented collectively as peripheral processor memory  250 , are also stored in dedicated memory  230 . The use of dedicated memory  230  allows the code and data in peripheral processor memory  250  used by peripheral processor  210  to be accessed without the need for page tables. In other words, the instruction code and data in peripheral processor memory  250  is always in dedicated memory  230  at the same physical address. 
     In order to use system memory  140  to store and to retrieve data and instruction code that it needs, peripheral processor  210  takes advantages of the features of the PCI Local Bus Specification followed by chipset bridge  155 . The PCI bus standard describes the way that peripherals on PCI bus  160  are electrically connected and the structured and controlled manner in which those peripherals must behave. Specifically, peripheral processor  210  uses the “bus mastering” capability of the PCI bus standard. Bus mastering allows peripheral processor  210 , or any other device on PCI bus  160 , to take control of PCI bus  160  and perform transfers directly, without requiring CPU  105  to act a “middle man” for any data transfers. The bus mastering capability is facilitated by chipset bridge  155 , which arbitrates requests to take control of PCI bus  160  from the peripherals attached to PCI bus  160 . 
     When peripheral processor  210  takes control of PCI bus  160 , peripheral processor  210  can directly access peripheral processor memory  250  via the unified memory architecture (UMA) provided by bus interface unit  125  without requiring any action by CPU  105 . In a non-UMA system, data must be transferred between graphics, video and imaging memory located on separate memory boards. In a UMA design, main (or system) memory used by CPU  105 , frame buffer, z-buffer, texture memory, rendering memory, image memory, video memory are all implemented in system memory  140 . Bus interface unit  125  arbitrates memory requests from the different subsystems in processing system  20 , including CPU  105 , graphics unit  110 , and chipset bridge  155 . Thus, each one of CPU  105 , graphics unit  110 , and chipset bridge  155  has direct access to the contents of system memory  140 . Bus interface unit  125  is capable of automatically reallocating memory space in system memory  140  according to the relative needs of CPU  105 , graphics unit  110 , chipset bridge  155 , and other devices. 
     FIG. 3 is a block diagram of processing system  30 , including integrated microprocessor  100  and external coprocessor  210 , according to an alternate embodiment of the present invention. The operation of processing system  30  is similar in nearly all respects to the operation of processing system  20  in FIG.  2 . However, in processing system  30 , coprocessor  210  is implemented in chipset bridge  155 . In this type of configuration, coprocessor  210  may be an integral part of chipset bridge  155  that controls its operation. Alternatively, coprocessor  210  may be a distinct PCI device that is incorporated into chipset bridge  155  in order to save board space. Nonetheless, the operation of coprocessor  210  in FIG. 3 is substantially the same as the operation of coprocessor  210  in FIG.  2 . 
     FIG. 4 depicts flow diagram  400 , which illustrates the operation of processing system  20 , according to one embodiment of the present invention. Initially, peripheral processor  210  must make an access to system memory  140  in order to fetch instruction(s), to read data, to write data, or to perform some combination of these operations. Peripheral processor  210  begins a memory access cycle by requesting control of PCI bus  160  (i.e., bus master request) from chipset bridge  155  (process step  405 ). After chipset bridge  155  receives the request and arbitrates it with any other such requests, peripheral processor  210  becomes the bus master of PCI bus  160  (process step  410 ). 
     Next, peripheral processor  210  sends a memory access request through chipset bridge  155  and an I/O interface (not shown) to the unified memory architecture controlled by bus interface unit  125  (process step  415 ). Bus interface unit  125  arbitrates the memory access request received from peripheral processor  210  with any other pending memory access requests that may have been received from CPU  105  or any other device in processing system  20  (process step  420 ). Then, bus interface unit  125  processes the peripheral processor  210  memory access request by 1) fetching instructions from system memory  140 , 2) reading data from system memory  140 , or 3) writing data to system memory  140 , or some combination of two or more of these operations (process step  425 ). 
     When the memory access request is completed, peripheral processor  210  relinquishes control over PCI bus  160  and chipset bridge  155  again is bus master of PCI bus  160  (process step  430 ). Next, peripheral processor  210  processes any pending instructions, including instructions fetched during the memory access cycle, until the next memory access is needed (process step  435 ). Peripheral processor  210  then returns to process step  405  to begin the next memory access cycle. 
     Generally speaking, the memory access performed by coprocessor  210  into system memory  140  will be slower than the memory access performed by the prior art coprocessor  170  (which uses dedicated external memory  174 ). Therefore, on-chip RAM  220  should be designed to be large enough to contain the “inner loops” of performance-critical code. On-chip RAM  220  may also be used by coprocessor  210  to temporarily store intermediate calculation values during fast data manipulations before returning a final block of data to coprocessor memory  250 . 
     Although the foregoing text described an embodiment of the present invention in which peripheral processor  210  is coupled to the unified memory architecture of microprocessor  100  by means of a PCI bus, those skilled in the art will understand that this is by way of illustration only. The PCI embodiment described above should not be construed so as to limit the scope of the present invention in any way. In fact, peripheral processor  210  may be coupled to the unified memory architecture of microprocessor  100  by means of any external bus that may be controlled (or mastered) by a peripheral device coupled to that external bus. 
     Although the present invention has been described it detail, those skilled in the art should understand that they can make various changes, substitutions and alterations herein without departing from the spirit and scope of the invention in its broadest form.

Technology Classification (CPC): 6