Use of micro interrupts to provide an instrument oriented input/output structure

Describes the design of a bit-slice based computer, which has been developed for use in data acquisition and control applications. The main design goals have been to provide fast response to external events, and sufficient processing capability to perform data reduction in real time. The initial application of this computer has been in airborne, geophysical surveying, where such instruments as gamma-ray spectrometers, magnetometers and navigation equipment are involved. To meet these response requirements, a microinterrupt has been incorporated. Microinterrupts are serviced in microcode routines, which can be initiated within a maximum of two microinstruction cycle times from an external event. This facility makes it possible to implement powerful input/output control functions without complex and specialized hardware interfaces for each instrument. (2 refs).