Program control system programmable to selectively execute a plurality of programs

Patent 5761522 Issued on June 2, 1998. Estimated Expiration Date:

April 18, 2016. Estimated Expiration Date is calculated based on simple USPTO term provisions. It does not account for terminal disclaimers, term adjustments, failure to pay maintenance fees, or other factors which might affect the term of a patent.

Abstract Claims Description Full Text

Patent References

3705389

Minimal interrupt latency scheme using multiple program counters
Patent #: 5317745
Issued on: 05/31/1994
Inventor: Chan

Multi-tasking low-power controller having multiple program counters
Patent #: 5630130
Issued on: 05/13/1997
Inventor: Perotto, et al.

Microprogrammed timer processor having a variable loop resolution architecture Patent #: 5664167
Issued on: 09/02/1997
Inventor: Pickett, et al.

Inventors

Assignee

Fuji Xerox Co., Ltd.

Application

No. 634732 filed on 04/18/1996

US Classes:

712/1, PROCESSING ARCHITECTURE712/220, PROCESSING CONTROL713/502, Counting, scheduling, or event timing718/107Multitasking, time sharing

Examiners

Primary: Bowler, Alyssa H.
Assistant: Davis, Albert W. Jr.

Attorney, Agent or Firm

Oliff & Berridge, PLC

Foreign Patent References

62-168231 JP. 07/13/1987
6-131173 JP. 05/13/1994

International Class

G06F 009/00

Foreign Application Priority Data

1995-05-24 JP

Abstract

The present invention provides a program control system including plural programs, plural execution means each of which executes the corresponding program of the plural programs, a memory for storing the plural programs, plural program counters each of which generates an address for reading the corresponding one of the programs from the memory, and a selector for selecting an output of one of the program counters and providing the output to the memory. Each of the programs stored in the memory and executed by the corresponding one of the execution means is indicated by the address generated by the corresponding one of the program counters selected by the selector, and the memory sequentially stores instructions in each of the programs.