Power management integrated circuit, power management method, mobile device and clock adjusting method
First Claim
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1. A power management method for a mobile device including a battery providing a power supply voltage, a system-on-chip (SoC) including a central processing unit (CPU) operating in response to an operating clock, and a power management integrated circuit (PMIC) separate from the SoC and receiving the power supply voltage from the battery, the method comprising:
- generating by the PMIC a first alarm signal when the power supply voltage is higher than a reference voltage indicating a minimal normal-level power supply voltage for the mobile device, and generating a second alarm signal when the power supply voltage is lower than the reference voltage;
providing one of the first alarm signal and the second alarm signal from the PMIC to the SoC; and
determining the operating clock based on the provided one of the first alarm signal and the second alarm signal,wherein the operating clock has a first frequency in response to the first alarm signal and a second frequency lower than the first frequency in response to the second alarm signal, and wherein the SoC further includes an interrupt controller,the method further comprising generating by the interrupt controller an interrupt signal that controls the CPU responsive to the provided one of the first alarm signal and the second alarm signal.
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Abstract
A power management approach for a mobile device includes comparing a battery provided power supply voltage to a reference voltage in order to generate an alarm signal. In response to the alarm signal the frequency of an operating clock applied to a system-on-chip is changed.
29 Citations
17 Claims
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1. A power management method for a mobile device including a battery providing a power supply voltage, a system-on-chip (SoC) including a central processing unit (CPU) operating in response to an operating clock, and a power management integrated circuit (PMIC) separate from the SoC and receiving the power supply voltage from the battery, the method comprising:
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generating by the PMIC a first alarm signal when the power supply voltage is higher than a reference voltage indicating a minimal normal-level power supply voltage for the mobile device, and generating a second alarm signal when the power supply voltage is lower than the reference voltage; providing one of the first alarm signal and the second alarm signal from the PMIC to the SoC; and determining the operating clock based on the provided one of the first alarm signal and the second alarm signal, wherein the operating clock has a first frequency in response to the first alarm signal and a second frequency lower than the first frequency in response to the second alarm signal, and wherein the SoC further includes an interrupt controller, the method further comprising generating by the interrupt controller an interrupt signal that controls the CPU responsive to the provided one of the first alarm signal and the second alarm signal. - View Dependent Claims (2, 3)
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4. A mobile device comprising:
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a power management integrated circuit (PMIC) that receives a power supply voltage from a battery and compares the power supply voltage to a reference voltage indicating a minimal normal-level power supply voltage for the mobile device, wherein the PMIC generates a first alarm signal when the power supply voltage is higher than the reference voltage and generates a second alarm signal when the power supply voltage is lower than the reference voltage; and a System-on-Chip (SoC) separate from the PMIC that receives one of the first alarm signal and the second alarm signal, the SoC comprising a Central Processing Unit (CPU) that operates in response to an operating clock, a clock divider that generates the operating clock, wherein the operating clock is generated as having a first frequency in response to the first alarm signal and as having a second frequency lower than the first frequency in response to the second alarm signal, and an interrupt controller that generates an interrupt signal that controls the CPU responsive to the one of the first alarm signal and the second alarm signal. - View Dependent Claims (5, 6, 7, 8, 9)
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10. A mobile device, comprising:
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a battery providing a power supply voltage; a power management integrated circuit (PMIC) that compares the power supply voltage with a reference voltage indicating a minimal normal-level power supply voltage for the mobile device to provide a comparison signal, and generates an alarm signal from the comparison signal; and a System-on-Chip (SoC) including a Central Processing Unit (CPU) that operates in response to an operating clock, a clock divider that generates the operating clock in response to the alarm signal, and a current control unit that generates clock division information and power management information, wherein the PMIC comprises a comparator that compares the power supply voltage and the reference voltage to generate the comparison signal in response to the power management information, and a debounce circuit that receives the comparison signal and generates the alarm signal by removing a bounced signal portion of the comparison signal in response to the power management information, wherein the power management information is communicated from the SoC to the PMIC via an interface connection, and the PMIC adjusts the reference voltage in response to the power management information. - View Dependent Claims (11, 12, 13, 14, 15, 16, 17)
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Specification