Data processing performance control
First Claim
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1. Apparatus for processing data, said apparatus comprising:
- a processor operable to perform data processing operations under control of program instructions, said processor being operable under program instruction control to generate a performance level request signal indicative of a desired data processing performance level of said processor; and
a mapping circuit operable to map said performance level request signal into a control signal supplied to one or more further circuits to control operation of said one or more further circuits so as to support said desired data processing performance level of said processor such that said program instructions controlling generation of said performance level request signal are independent of how said one or more further circuits are controlled to meet said desired data processing performance level, wherein said mapping circuit performs at least one many to one mapping between performance level request signal values and corresponding control signal values.
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Abstract
A processor 46 operating under program instruction control generates a desired performance level request. A mapping circuit then maps this to a control signal, such as a thermometer coded control signal, which is supplied to further circuits which require control so as to support the desired data processing performance level. These further circuits can include a clock generator 4 and a voltage controller 6.
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Citations
43 Claims
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1. Apparatus for processing data, said apparatus comprising:
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a processor operable to perform data processing operations under control of program instructions, said processor being operable under program instruction control to generate a performance level request signal indicative of a desired data processing performance level of said processor; and a mapping circuit operable to map said performance level request signal into a control signal supplied to one or more further circuits to control operation of said one or more further circuits so as to support said desired data processing performance level of said processor such that said program instructions controlling generation of said performance level request signal are independent of how said one or more further circuits are controlled to meet said desired data processing performance level, wherein said mapping circuit performs at least one many to one mapping between performance level request signal values and corresponding control signal values. - View Dependent Claims (2, 3, 4, 5, 6, 7, 8, 9, 10, 11, 12, 13, 14, 15, 16, 17, 18, 19)
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20. A method of processing data, said method comprising the steps of:
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performing data processing operations with a processor under control of program instructions, said processor being operable under program instruction control to generate a performance level request signal indicative of a desired data processing performance level of said processor; and mapping with a mapping circuit said performance level request signal into a control signal supplied to one or more further circuits to control operation of said one or more further circuits so as to support said desired data processing performance level of said processor such that said program instructions controlling generation of said performance level request signal are independent of how said one or more further circuits are controlled to meet said desired data processing performance level, wherein said mapping is at least one many to one mapping between performance level request signal values and corresponding control signal values. - View Dependent Claims (21, 22, 23, 24, 25, 26, 27, 28, 29, 30, 31, 32, 33, 34, 35, 36, 37, 38, 39)
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40. Apparatus for processing data, said apparatus comprising:
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a processor operable to perform data processing operations under control of program instructions, said processor being operable under program instruction control to generate a performance level request signal indicative of a desired data processing performance level of said processor; and a mapping circuit operable to map said performance level request signal into a control signal supplied to one or more further circuits to control operation of said one or more further circuits so as to support said desired data processing performance level of said processor such that said program instructions controlling generation of said performance level request signal are independent of how said one or more further circuits are controlled to meet said desired data processing performance level, wherein performance level supported as controlled by control signal value changes monotonically with performance level request signal value.
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41. Apparatus for processing data, said apparatus comprising:
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a processor operable to perform data processing operations under control of program instructions, said processor being operable under program instruction control to generate a performance level request signal indicative of a desired data processing performance level of said processor; and a mapping circuit operable to map said performance level request signal into a control signal supplied to one or more further circuits to control operation of said one or more further circuits so as to support said desired data processing performance level of said processor such that said program instructions controlling generation of said performance level request signal are independent of how said one or more further circuits are controlled to meet said desired data processing performance level, wherein a clock generator is operable to generate a clock signal with one or more available clock signal frequencies and one or more selectively available clock signal frequencies.
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42. A method of processing data, said method comprising the steps of:
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performing data processing operations with a processor under control of program instructions, said processor being operable under program instruction control to generate a performance level request signal indicative of a desired data processing performance level of said processor; and mapping with a mapping circuit said performance level request signal into a control signal supplied to one or more further circuits to control operation of said one or more further circuits so as to support said desired data processing performance level of said processor such that said program instructions controlling generation of said performance level request signal are independent of how said one or more further circuits are controlled to meet said desired data processing performance level, wherein performance level supported as controlled by control signal value changes monotonically with performance level request signal value.
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43. A method of processing data, said method comprising the steps of:
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performing data processing operations with a processor under control of program instructions, said processor being operable under program instruction control to generate a performance level request signal indicative of a desired data processing performance level of said processor; and mapping with a mapping circuit said performance level request signal into a control signal supplied to one or more further circuits to control operation of said one or more further circuits so as to support said desired data processing performance level of said processor such that said program instructions controlling generation of said performance level request signal are independent of how said one or more further circuits are controlled to meet said desired data processing performance level, wherein a clock generator is operable to generate a clock signal with one or more available clock signal frequencies and one or more selectively available clock signal frequencies.
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Specification