Appeal No. 96-1772
Application No. 08/180,648
This is a decision on appeal from the final rejection of
claims 8, 12, 15 and 16, all of the claims remaining in the
application.
The invention pertains to a method and apparatus for
counting remaining loop instructions and pipelining the next
instruction.
Representative independent claim 8 is reproduced as
follows:
8. Apparatus for performing a program loop having a
number of iterations of a plurality of instructions
comprising:
a. a means for initializing execution of said
program loop;
b. means coupled to said initializing means for
instantaneously maintaining a first count of said plurality of
instructions within a current one of said number of iterations
which are unexecuted within said current one of said number of
iterations;
c. means coupled to said initializing means and
said instantaneously maintaining means for counting said
number of iterations;
d. means for predetermining a value for the first
count, ranging from zero to the number of instructions in the
plurality; and
e. means for comparing the first count to the value
and for determining an address for an instruction to be
executed when the first count equals the value.
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