US 11,734,002 B2Granted

Counting elements in neural network input data

AssigneeShanghai Cambricon Information Technology Co., Ltd.

InventorsTianshi Chen, Jie Wei, Tian Zhi, Zai Wang

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Abstract

The present disclosure provides a counting device and counting method. The device includes a storage unit, a counting unit, and a register unit, where the storage unit may be connected to the counting unit for storing input data to be counted and storing a number of elements satisfying a given condition in the input data after counting; the register unit may be configured to store an address where input data to be counted is stored in the storage unit; and the counting unit may be connected to the register unit, and may be configured to acquire a counting instruction, read a storage address of the input data to be counted in the register unit according to the counting instruction, acquire corresponding input data to be counted in the storage unit, perform statistical counting on a number of elements in the input data to be counted that satisfy the given condition, and obtain a counting result. The counting device and the method may improve the computation efficiency by writing an algorithm of counting a number of elements that satisfy a given condition in input data into an instruction form.

Claims18

Dependent claims

A counting device, comprising:

a storage circuit configured to store input data to be counted and store a count of elements in the input data that satisfy a given condition after counting;
a register circuit is configured to store an address in the storage circuit where the input data to be counted is stored;
and
a counting circuit connected to the register circuit and the storage circuit wherein the counting circuit is configured to:
acquire a counting instruction,
read a storage address of the input data in the register circuit according to the counting instruction,
acquire corresponding input data to be counted in the storage circuit,
identifying elements in the input data that satisfy the given condition, and
obtain a counting result,
wherein the counting circuit includes:
an input/output circuit, a computation circuit, and an accumulator circuit,
wherein the input/output circuit is connected to the computation circuit and is configured to retrieve a portion of data of a set length from the input data to be counted, and transmitting the portion of data to the computation circuit,
wherein the computation circuit includes an adder configured to add a number of respective elements in the portion of data of the set length that satisfy the given condition, and output an obtained result to the accumulator circuit, and
wherein the accumulator circuit is configured to accumulate the result obtained by the computation circuit.

11 more elements

A counting method, comprising:

storing, by a storage circuit, input data to be counted and a count of elements in the input data that satisfy a given condition after counting;
storing, by a register circuit, an address in the storage circuit where the input data is stored;
acquiring, by a counting circuit, a counting instruction;
reading, by the counting circuit, a storage address of the input data to be counted in the register circuit according to the counting instruction;
acquiring, by the counting circuit, corresponding input data to be counted in the storage circuit;
identifying, by the counting circuit, elements in the input data that satisfy the given condition;
and
obtaining a counting result,
wherein, the reading the storage address of the input data to be counted in the register circuit according to the counting instruction, acquiring corresponding input data to be counted in the storage circuit, and performing statistical counting on a number of elements in the input data to be counted that satisfy the given condition includes:
retrieving, by the input/output circuit, a portion of data of a set length of the input data in the storage circuit;
transmitting, by the input/output circuit, the portion of data to the computation circuit,
adding, by an adder of the computation circuit, a number of respective elements in the portion of data of the set length that satisfy the given condition;
transmitting an obtained result to the accumulator circuit;
and
accumulating, by the accumulator circuit, the result obtained by the computation circuit.

12 more elements

Dependencies are inferred from the claim text.

Facts

Application: 16/697,687Filed 27 Nov 2019 · continuation
Priority: CN 201811097569.921 Apr 2017
Published: US 2020/0050918 A126 Mar 2020
Granted: 22 Aug 2023
Term ends: Not estimatedThe source records don’t support an estimate.

Classification16 codes

G06F 9/30
Using stored programs, i.e. using an internal store of processing equipment to receive or retain programs: arrangements for executing machine…
G06N 3/063
Physical realisation, i.e. hardware implementation of neural networks, neurons or parts of neurons: using electronic means
G06F 7/46
Methods or arrangements for performing computations using exclusively denominational number representation, e.g. using binary, ternary, decimal…:…
G06F 7/527
Multiplying only: in serial-parallel fashion, i.e. one operand being entered serially and the other in parallel

Family

PCT/CN2018/083415Parent of this continuation · filed 17 Apr 2018
US 2020/0097794 A1Pre-grant publication · published 26 Mar 2020
Application16/476,262Parent of this continuation
US 11,531,540 B2Parent of this continuation
US 2020/0050918 A1Published application
US 11,734,002 B2This patent

From the US filing history. Foreign family members aren’t listed.