Method and apparatus to calibrate thermometer

• US 7,181,357 B1
• Filed: 09/08/2005
• Issued: 02/20/2007
• Est. Priority Date: 09/08/2005
• Status: Expired due to Fees

• Current Assignee: Intel Corporation
• Original Assignee: Intel Corporation
• Inventors: Rotem, Efraim, Cooper, Barnes, Karr, Ben, Rangarajan, Ravi
• Primary Examiner(s): Nghiem; Michael
• Assistant Examiner(s): Walling; Meagan S.
• Application Number:
  US11/220,913
• Publication Number:
  US 20070055469A1
• Time in Patent Office: 530 Days
• Field of Search: 702/99, 702/130, 702/132, 702/136, 702/57, 702/58, 374/1, 374/101, 374/110, 374/163, 374/166
• US Class Current: 702/99
• CPC Class Codes: G01K 15/00 Testing or calibrating of thermometers

Abstract

Briefly, a processor and a method to calibrate a temperature reading of a digital thermometer. The calibration is done by using a first temperature value measured by an analog temperature sensor located at one point on the processor die and a second temperature value measured by a digital temperature sensor located at a second point of the processor die.

Claims

1. A computer system comprising:

a thermometer having a computation unit capable of calculating a constant value of a slope of a linear temperature equation from temperatures values of first and second set points and capable of calculating a constant value of an offset of a temperature linear equation from temperatures values of the first and second set points operably coupled to a first temperature sensor to measure at a predetermined processor power state a first temperature read value to be used as a first set point in a temperature calibration process and to a second temperature sensor to measure a second temperature read value at a stabilized temperature state of the processor, to be used as a second set point in a temperature calibration process; and

a processor capable of operating a Binary Operating System (BIOS) procedure to calculate a calibrated temperature read value according to first and second temperature read values of the first and second temperature sensors.

2. The computer system of claim 1, wherein the first temperature sensor comprises an analog temperature sensor and wherein the second temperature sensor comprises a digital temperature sensor.

3. The computer system of claim 2, wherein the digital temperature sensor comprises:

a compensation unit to compensate temperature reading of the digital thermometer using stored constant values of the slope and the offset.

4. The computer system of claim 1, comprising a computer platform that includes the processor, wherein at least one of the first and second sensors are located on the computer platform.

5. The computer system of claim 1, wherein the processor comprises a processor die and wherein the first and second temperature sensors are located at different points on the processor die.

6. The computer system of claim 1, comprising:

a memory to store first and second temperature values measured at the first and second set points.

7. The computer system of claim 1, wherein the thermometer comprises:

a computation unit capable of calculating a non-linear temperature calibration function to provide a calibrated temperature read.

8. The computer system of claim 1, wherein the thermometer comprises:

a memory for storing the constant values of the slope and the offset.

9. A method comprising:

measuring a first temperature value of a processor at a first point on a processor at a predetermined power state of the processor to provide a first set point;

measuring a second temperature value of the processor at a second point on the processor after processor power up when the temperature of the processor is stabilized to provide a second set point;

calculating a constant value of a slope of a linear temperature equation from temperature values of the first and second set points;

calculating a constant value of an offset of the linear temperature equation from temperature values of the first and second set points;

storing the constant values of the slope and the offset in a memory; and

calibrating a temperature read value based on the first and second temperature values.

10. The method of claim 9, wherein calibrating comprises:

calibrating the temperature read value of a digital thermometer using the first temperature value of a processor measured by a first temperature sensor located at the first point on the processor, and the second temperature value of the processor measured by a second temperature sensor located at the second point on the processor.

11. The method of claim 10, comprising:

locating at least one of the first and second sensors on a computer platform which includes the processor.

12. The method of claim 10, wherein calibrating comprises:

calibrating the temperature read value according to a liner temperature calibration function.

13. The method of claim 9, wherein calibrating comprises:

calibrating the temperature read value according to a non-linear temperature calibration function.

14. The method of claim 9, wherein measuring the temperature at a predetermined power state comprises:

measuring the temperature at at least one of manufacturing stages of the processor.

15. The method of claim 9, comprising:

compensating one or more temperature read values of the digital thermometer by using one or more stored constant values of the slope and the offset.

16. A computer platform comprising:

a processor; and

a thermometer having a computation unit capable of calculating a constant value of a slope of a temperature linear equation from temperatures values of the first and second set points and capable of calculating a constant value of an offset of the temperature linear equation from temperatures values of the first and second set points, operably coupled to a first temperature sensor to measure at a predetermined processor power state a first temperature read value to be used as a first set point in a temperature calibration process and to a second temperature sensor to measure at a stabilized temperature state of the processor a second temperature read value to be used as a second set point in a temperature calibration process, wherein the thermometer is capable of providing a calibrated temperature read value according to first and second temperature read values of the first and second temperature sensors.

17. The computer platform of claim 16, wherein the first temperature sensor comprises an analog temperature sensor and the second temperature sensor comprises a digital temperature sensor.

18. The computer platform of claim 16, wherein the processor comprises a processor die and the first and second temperature sensors are located at different points on the processor die.

19. The computer platform of claim 16, comprising:

a memory to store first and second temperature values measured at the first and second set points.

20. The computer platform of claim 16, wherein the thermometer comprises:

a computation unit capable of calculating a non-linear temperature calibration function to provide a calibrated temperature read.

21. The computer platform of claim 16, wherein the thermometer comprises:

a memory for storing the constant values of the slope and the offset.

22. The computer platform of claim 16, wherein the digital temperature sensor comprises:

a compensation unit to compensate temperature reading of the digital thermometer by using stored constant values of the slope and the offset.