Vector Comparator System for Finding a Peak Number

An N-element vector comparator circuit for finding a peak number, comprising:

• a vector register array storage device for storing an input data vector x=(x0, x1, . . . xM) of up to M numbers, where M is greater than N:
• a comparator circuit for generating a candidate set of winning numbers from the input data vector x during a page comparison mode and for performing tree reductions on the candidate set of winning numbers to find the peak value during an element comparison mode, where the comparator circuit comprises:
• a plurality of N multi-bit comparator circuits for generating an N-element comparison output and N select signal outputs from first and second comparison inputs,
• a first multiplexer circuit for generating the first comparison input from successive N-element pages of the input data vector x=(x0, x1, . . . xM) during a page comparison mode, and for generating the first comparison input from odd-indexed elements of the N-element comparison output during an element comparison mode, and
• a second multiplexer circuit for generating the second comparison input from the N-element comparison output during the page comparison mode, and for generating the second comparison input from even-indexed elements of the N-element comparison output during an element comparison mode;
• and
• an index generator circuit for processing the N select signal outputs using control logic to track indices for each number in the input data vector x=(x0, x1, . . . xM), where the index generator circuit comprises:
• a page mode index circuit for storing page count values in an N-element page index register under control of the N select signal outputs during the page comparison mode such that each element in the page index register stores a page count value identifying which page from the input data vector x=(x0, x1, . . . xM) has a minimum or maximum value for that element, and
• an element mode index circuit for storing element index values in an element index register under control of the N select signal outputs during the element comparison mode to keep track of the element index value for the peak value in the candidate set of winning numbers while tree reductions are performed on the candidate set of winning numbers.