Appeal 2007-1600
Application 09/753,062
FINDINGS OF FACT
The following Findings of Fact (FF) are shown by a preponderance of
the evidence.
The Invention
1. Appellants invented a method and system for efficiently
handling high contention locking in a multiprocessor system (Specification
1).
2. The processors of the multiprocessor system are organized in a
hierarchical manner, wherein granting of an interruptible lock to a processor
is based upon the hierarchy (Specification 1).
3. Appellants’ Specification contains no specific definition of the
term “hierarchy.”
Kermani
4. Kermani teaches an arbiter for a shared synchronous memory,
comprising an arbitration module to select one of a plurality of requesting
agents (i.e., processors) for access to the shared synchronous memory (col.
2, ll. 46-49).
5. Kermani teaches a plurality of agents, each of which sends a
memory access request to arbiter 102a, which includes a priority encoder
190 (Fig. 2; col. 4, ll. 11-57).
6. A memory access request by an agent (processor) is a digital
signal that indicates that a particular agent desires access to the shared
synchronous memory (col. 4, ll. 33-45).
7. If more than one memory access request signal is received by
the arbiter during any one clock cycle, a winning agent is selected based on a
4
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Last modified: September 9, 2013