ELECTRONIC SYSTEM AND METHOD FOR THERMAL MANAGEMENT THEREIN TAKING INTO ACCOUNT SOLAR THERMAL LOADING

• US 20150000889A1
• Filed: 06/27/2013
• Published: 01/01/2015
• Est. Priority Date: 06/27/2013
• Status: Active Grant

• Current Assignee: Google Technology Holdings LLC (Alphabet Inc.)
• Original Assignee: Motorola Mobility LLC (Lenovo Group Ltd.)
• Inventors: Bellamkonda, Krishna K., Bowers, Morris B., Crosbie, Paul B., Robertson, Brett L., Sehmbey, Maninder S.
• Granted Patent: US 9,518,873 B2
• Time in Patent Office: Days
• US Class Current: 165/287
• CPC Class Codes: G01K 7/42 Circuits effecting compensation of thermal inertia; Circuits for predicting the stationary value of a temperature
• CPC Class Codes: G06F 1/206 comprising thermal management
• CPC Class Codes: Y02D 10/00 Energy efficient computing, e.g. low power processors, power management or thermal management

Abstract

An electronic system performs thermal management during its operation by proactively taking into account expected solar thermal loading. According to one embodiment, the electronic system determines its location and a solar thermal load value expected to affect its location. The system also determines a temperature offset value based on the solar thermal load value and predicts a future temperature for the system based on the temperature offset value and a then-current temperature for the system (e.g., as may be detected by one or more temperature sensors). The electronic system compares the predicted temperature to at least one threshold and executes a thermal mitigation procedure in the event that the predicted temperature exceeds one or more of the thresholds. According to another embodiment in which the electronic system is transportable, the determined solar thermal load value may include a solar thermal load profile for the system'"'"'s expected route of travel.

Claims

1. A method for thermal management in an electronic system, the method comprising:

determining a location of the electronic system;

determining a solar thermal load value representing a solar thermal load expected to affect the location of the electronic system;

determining a temperature offset value based on the solar thermal load value;

predicting a future temperature for the electronic system based on the temperature offset value and a then-current temperature for the electronic system to produce a predicted temperature;

comparing the predicted temperature to at least one threshold; and

executing a thermal mitigation procedure in the event that the predicted temperature exceeds the at least one threshold.

2. The method of claim 1, further comprising:

determining whether the electronic system is likely to be exposed to solar heating during operation;

wherein the solar thermal load value is determined only after a determination that the electronic system is likely to be exposed to solar heating during operation.

3. The method of claim 1, wherein the comparing and executing steps comprise:

comparing the predicted temperature to a first threshold of a plurality of thresholds;

executing a first thermal mitigation procedure in the event that the predicted temperature exceeds the first threshold;

comparing the predicted temperature to a second threshold of a plurality of thresholds in the event that the predicted temperature does not exceed the first threshold, wherein the second threshold is lower than the first threshold; and

executing a second thermal mitigation procedure in the event that the predicted temperature is between the first threshold and the second threshold, wherein the second thermal mitigation procedure involves less thermal mitigation than the first thermal mitigation procedure.

4. The method of claim 1, wherein executing a thermal mitigation procedure comprises at least one of reducing a maximum operating frequency of an application processor of the electronic system, reducing a refresh rate for a display of the electronic system, reducing an upload data rate, reducing a download data rate, reducing a brightness of the display, reducing a battery charging rate, initiating active cooling of the electronic system, reducing average modem transmitter power, closing low priority applications, reducing frequency of a graphics processing unit, and increasing wakeup intervals for background processes and applications.

5. The method of claim 1, wherein predicting a future temperature for the electronic system comprises:

summing the temperature offset value and the then-current temperature for the electronic system to produce the predicted temperature.

6. The method of claim 1, further comprising:

receiving outputs from one or more temperature sensors during operation of the electronic system;

determining one or more temperatures corresponding to the outputs from the one or more temperature sensors to produce one or more sensed temperatures; and

selecting a maximum temperature from the one or more sensed temperatures as the then-current temperature for the electronic system.

7. The method of claim 1, wherein determining a location of the electronic system comprises:

determining an expected route of travel for the electronic system based on a then-current location of the electronic system and a destination location for the electronic system.

8. The method of claim 7, wherein determining a solar thermal load value comprises:

estimating a solar thermal load profile for at least part of the expected route of travel.

9. The method of claim 8, wherein executing a thermal mitigation procedure comprises:

estimating a speed of travel for the electronic system along the expected route of travel;

estimating a time at which the predicted temperature will occur based on the solar thermal load profile and the speed of travel; and

performing one or more functions prior to the time at which the predicted temperature is expected to occur.

10. The method of claim 8, wherein the expected route of travel includes a plurality of route segments and wherein estimating a solar thermal load profile for at least part of the expected route of travel comprises:

estimating a solar thermal load for each route segment of the plurality of route segments.

11. The method of claim 7, wherein the electronic system includes a display and wherein executing a thermal mitigation procedure comprises:

determining an alternative route of travel from the then-current location to the destination location, wherein the alternative route of travel is expected to incur less solar heating than the expected route of travel; and

displaying the alternative route of travel on the display of the electronic system.

12. The method of claim 1, wherein executing a thermal mitigation procedure comprises:

estimating a time at which the predicted temperature will occur; and

expediting performance of one or more functions so as to perform the one or more functions prior to the time at which the predicted temperature is expected to occur.

13. The method of claim 1, wherein the electronic system executes at least one application during operation thereof and wherein executing a thermal mitigation procedure comprises:

communicating a notification to the at least one application in response to determining that the predicted temperature exceeds the at least one threshold, the notification informing the at least one application of impending thermal mitigation action to be taken by the electronic system.

14. A method for thermal management in a portable electronic device, the method comprising:

determining a then-current location of the portable electronic device;

determining an expected route of travel for the portable electronic device based on the then-current location and a destination location;

estimating a solar thermal load profile for at least part of the expected route of travel;

determining a temperature offset value based on the solar thermal load profile;

predicting a future temperature for the portable electronic device based on the temperature offset value and a then-current temperature for the portable electronic device to produce a predicted temperature;

comparing the predicted temperature to at least one threshold; and

executing a thermal mitigation procedure in the event that the predicted temperature exceeds the at least one threshold.

15. The method of claim 14, wherein the comparing and executing steps comprise:

comparing the predicted temperature to a first threshold of a plurality of thresholds;

executing a first thermal mitigation procedure in the event that the predicted temperature exceeds the first threshold;

comparing the predicted temperature to a second threshold of the plurality of thresholds in the event that the predicted temperature does not exceed the first threshold, wherein the second threshold is lower than the first threshold; and

executing a second thermal mitigation procedure in the event that the predicted temperature is between the first threshold and the second threshold, wherein the second thermal mitigation procedure involves less thermal mitigation than the first thermal mitigation procedure.

16. The method of claim 14, wherein executing a thermal mitigation procedure includes at least one of reducing a maximum frequency of an application processor of the portable electronic device, reducing a refresh rate for a display of the portable electronic device, reducing an upload data rate, reducing a download data rate, reducing a brightness of the display, reducing a battery charging rate, initiating active cooling of the electronic system, reducing average modem transmitter power, closing low priority applications, reducing frequency of a graphics processing unit, and increasing wakeup intervals for background processes and applications.

17. The method of claim 14, further comprising:

receiving outputs from one or more temperature sensors during operation of the portable electronic device;

determining one or more temperatures corresponding to the outputs from the one or more temperature sensors to produce one or more sensed temperatures; and

selecting a maximum temperature from the one or more sensed temperatures as the then-current temperature for the portable electronic device.

18. The method of claim 14, wherein executing a thermal mitigation procedure comprises:

estimating a speed of travel for the portable electronic device along at least part of the expected route of travel;

estimating a time at which the predicted temperature will occur based on the solar thermal load profile and the speed of travel; and

performing one or more functions prior to the time at which the predicted temperature is expected to occur.

19. The method of claim 14, wherein the portable electronic device includes a display and wherein executing a thermal mitigation procedure comprises:

determining an alternative route of travel from the then-current location to the destination location, wherein the alternative route of travel is expected to incur less solar heating than the expected route of travel; and

displaying the alternative route of travel on the display of the portable electronic device.

20. An electronic system comprising:

at least one temperature sensor that produces at least one output representative of one or more sensed temperatures; and

a processing subsystem operably coupled to the at least one temperature sensor and operable in accordance with stored operating instructions to;

determine a location of the electronic system;

determine a solar thermal load value representing a solar thermal load expected to affect the location of the electronic system;

determine a temperature offset value based on the solar thermal load value;

receive the at least one output from the at least one temperature sensor;

determine one or more temperatures based on the at least one output from the at least one temperature sensor to produce at least one sensed temperature;

predict a temperature for the electronic system based on the temperature offset value and the at least one sensed temperature to produce a predicted temperature;

compare the predicted temperature to at least one threshold; and

execute a thermal mitigation procedure for the electronic system in the event that the predicted temperature exceeds the at least one threshold.

21. The electronic system of claim 20, wherein the processing subsystem is further operable in accordance with the stored operating instructions to determine a location of the electronic system by:

determining an expected route of travel for the electronic system based on a then-current location of the electronic system and a destination location for the electronic system.

22. The electronic system of claim 21, further comprising:

a display operably coupled to the processing subsystem;

wherein the processing subsystem is further operable in accordance with the stored operating instructions to execute a thermal mitigation procedure by;

determining an alternative route of travel from the then-current location to the destination location, wherein the alternative route of travel is expected to incur less solar heating than the expected route of travel; and

displaying the alternative route of travel on the display.

23. The electronic system of claim 20, wherein the processing subsystem is further operable in accordance with the stored operating instructions to compare the predicted temperature to at least one threshold and execute a thermal mitigation procedure by:

comparing the predicted temperature to a first threshold of a plurality of thresholds;

executing a first thermal mitigation procedure for the electronic system in the event that the predicted temperature exceeds the first threshold;

comparing the predicted temperature to a second threshold of the plurality of thresholds in the event that the predicted temperature does not exceed the first threshold, wherein the second threshold is lower than the first threshold; and

executing a second thermal mitigation procedure for the electronic system in the event that the predicted temperature is between the first threshold and the second threshold, wherein the second thermal mitigation procedure involves less thermal mitigation than the first thermal mitigation procedure.

24. The electronic system of claim 20, further comprising:

memory operable to store a lookup table of temperature offset values versus solar thermal load values;

wherein the processing subsystem is operable to determine a temperature offset value based on the solar thermal load value by retrieving a temperature offset value from the lookup table based on the solar thermal load value.

25. The electronic system of claim 20, wherein the processing subsystem is further operable in accordance with the stored operating instructions to execute a thermal mitigation procedure by:

estimating a time at which the predicted temperature will occur; and

expediting performance of one or more functions to as to perform the one or more functions prior to the time at which the predicted temperature is expected to occur.

26. The electronic system of claim 20, wherein the electronic system executes at least one application during operation thereof and wherein the processing subsystem is further operable to in accordance with the stored operating instructions to execute a thermal mitigation procedure by:

communicating a notification to the at least one application in response to determining that the predicted temperature exceeds the at least one threshold, the notification informing the at least one application of impending thermal mitigation action to be taken by the processing subsystem.

27. An electronic system comprising:

at least one temperature sensor that produces at least one output representative of one or more sensed temperatures;

a location determining module operable to determine a location of the electronic system;

a solar thermal load estimation module operable to determine a solar thermal load value representing a solar thermal load expected to affect the location of the electronic system and determine a temperature offset value based on the solar thermal load value; and

a thermal management module operably coupled to the at least one temperature sensor and the solar thermal load estimation module, the thermal management module operable to;

receive the at least one output from the at least one temperature sensor;

determine one or more temperatures based on the at least one output from the at least one temperature sensor to produce at least one sensed temperature;

predict a temperature for the electronic system based on the temperature offset value and the at least one sensed temperature to produce a predicted temperature;

compare the predicted temperature to at least one threshold; and

execute a thermal mitigation procedure for the electronic system in the event that the predicted temperature exceeds the at least one threshold.