公开(公告)号：US3900834A

公开(公告)日：1975-08-19

申请号：US28657572

申请日：1972-09-05

Applicant: BUNKER RAMO

Inventor： CASEY RICHARD C ,  DUGGAN ROBERT J ,  GROSKY STEPHEN A ,  JEN DIXSON TEH-CHAO ,  SERRA JOHN J ,  WHITEHEAD DONALD SHAFFER ,  BOYCE THOMAS E

IPC: G06F12/00 ,  G06F17/30 ,  G06Q40/04 ,  G06F7/28 ,  G06F13/00 ,  G06F15/40

CPC classification number: G06Q40/04 ,  G06F17/30345

Abstract: This invention relates to a system in which a control computer supplies rapidly changing information concerning a large plurality of data items to a plurality of programmable control units for updating information contained in the memory of each unit. Each programmable control unit memory may contain information relating to a plurality of different items and information relating to a given item may be stored in a number of different locations within the memory, there being no predetermined relationship between these locations. The control computer sends a like update message to the programmable control units for updating of information relating to a particular item at all locations in each programmable control unit memory at which it appears. This is effected by use of a common address table provided in each memory, which table has an entry for each of the item storing locations in the memory. Each entry in the table contains the address of the corresponding item-storing memory location and a chain address to another entry in the table for a location at which information relating to the same item is stored. An update message relating to a given item contains information permitting a first entry in the table for the given item to be accessed. The address in the accessed entry is utilized to route the information in the message to a location in memory which is to be updated while the chain address in the accessed entry is utilized to access the table entry for another memory location containing information relating to the item. Succeeding table entries in the chain are utilized to control memory updates until all memory locations containing information relating to the item have been updated. Where the update message contains more than one field of information, the above-described procedure may be repeated for each received field. The table may also contain an indication of the type of information stored for the item at each memory location and this information-type indication may be utilized to determine whether information in a given input field is to be utilized for updati;ng information at a given location for the item, and, in some instances, to control the updating. The system also provides a capability for changing the items concerning which information is stored at a given location. When this occurs, appropriate changes are made in the table entries for the memory location and the chains for the items involved are modified.