Transient load management for a system-on-chip meeting an activity threshold
AssigneeMicron Technology, Inc.
InventorsLeon Zlotnik, Leonid Minz, Ekram H. Bhuiyan
Life of this patent
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Abstract
Sensing circuitry and clock management circuitry provide transient load management. The sensing circuitry detects a voltage, current, and/or activity associated with a system-on-chip (SoC) and determines whether the detected voltage, current, and/or activity meets a threshold. The clock management circuitry generates clocking signals for the SoC and alters a frequency of the generated clocking signals in response to the detected voltage, current, and/or activity meeting the threshold to alter an amount of power consumed by the SoC.
Claims23
An apparatus, comprising:
- sensing circuitry configured to:
- detect activity associated with a system-on-chip (SoC);
- and
- determine whether the detected activity meets a threshold;
- and
- clock management circuitry configured to:
- generate clocking signals for the SoC;
- and
- alter a frequency of the generated clocking signals in response to the detected activity meeting the threshold to:
- alter an amount of power consumed by the SoC;
- and
- alter an amount of power applied from the SoC to components external to the SoC.
A method, comprising:
- detecting, by sensing circuitry resident on a system-on-chip (SoC), a current associated with the SoC;
- determining, by the sensing circuitry, whether the detected current meets a threshold;
- generating, by clock management circuitry coupled to the sensing circuitry, clocking signals for the SoC;
- and
- altering, by the clock management circuitry, a frequency of the generated clocking signals in response to:
- the detected current meeting the threshold to alter an amount of power consumed by the SoC;
- and
- the detected current meeting the threshold to alter an amount of power applied from the SoC to components external to the SoC.
A system, comprising:
- a plurality of computing components coupled to a system-on-chip (SoC), wherein the SoC comprises:
- a voltage regulator;
- a sensing circuit configured to:
- determine characteristics of a voltage received from the voltage regulator;
- and
- determine whether the characteristics of the voltage meet a voltage threshold;
- and
- clock management circuitry configured to:
- generate clocking signals for the SoC;
- alter a frequency of the generated clocking signals and alter an amount of power applied from the SoC to components external to the SoC in response to the characteristics of the voltage meeting the voltage threshold;
- and
- apply the clocking signals having the altered frequency to one or more of the plurality of computing components or to one or more components of the SoC to alter an amount of power used by the SoC.
Dependencies are inferred from the claim text.