Temperature-based cooling device controller apparatus and method
First Claim
1. An integrated circuit (IC) comprising:
- a register incorporated into the IC to store a threshold temperature value;
a thermal sensor incorporated into the IC; and
cooling activation logic incorporated into the IC to activate an active cooling device in response to the thermal sensor indicating that the threshold temperature value has been exceeded.
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Abstract
A temperature-based cooling device controller is implemented in an integrated circuit such as a microprocessor. The temperature-based cooling device controller includes a register to store a threshold temperature value, a thermal sensor, and clock adjustment logic to activate a cooling device in response to the thermal sensor indicating that the threshold temperature value has been exceeded. In a microprocessor implementation, the microprocessor contains a plurality of thermal sensors each placed in one of a plurality of different locations across the integrated circuit and an averaging mechanism to calculate an average temperature from the plurality of thermal sensors. Threshold adjustment logic increases the threshold temperature value to a new threshold temperature value in response to the thermal sensor indicating that the threshold temperature value has been exceeded. Threshold adjustment logic further lowers the new threshold temperature to detect decreases in temperature.
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Citations
32 Claims
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1. An integrated circuit (IC) comprising:
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a register incorporated into the IC to store a threshold temperature value;
a thermal sensor incorporated into the IC; and
cooling activation logic incorporated into the IC to activate an active cooling device in response to the thermal sensor indicating that the threshold temperature value has been exceeded. - View Dependent Claims (2, 3, 4, 5, 6, 7, 8, 9, 10, 11, 12)
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13. A method comprising:
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storing a threshold temperature value in a register incorporated into an integrated circuit (IC);
sensing the temperature of the IC using a sensor incorporated into the IC; and
activating an active cooling device for the integrated circuit in response to the sensed temperature exceeding the threshold temperature value. - View Dependent Claims (14, 15, 16, 17, 18, 19, 20, 21)
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22. A computer system comprising:
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an active cooling device;
a microprocessor comprising;
a register incorporated into the microprocessor, the register storing a register value corresponding to a threshold temperature;
a programmable thermal sensor incorporated into the microprocessor, the thermal sensor receiving the register value, wherein the programmable thermal sensor generates a first interrupt signal if a microprocessor temperature exceeds the threshold temperature, and wherein the active cooling device is activated in response to the interrupt signal. - View Dependent Claims (23, 24, 25, 26, 27, 28, 29, 30, 31, 32)
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Specification