Thermal zone monitoring in an electronic device
First Claim
1. A method for controlling the thermal behavior of a computing system having a plurality of embedded temperature sensors, comprising:
- accessing a predefined mathematical relationship that is stored in a memory of the system, wherein the relationship refers to temperatures of a plurality of spaced-apart points, respectively, in the system, wherein the points together define a zone of the system, the mathematical relationship to provide a representative temperature for said zone;
accessing a plurality of thermal models that are stored in the memory, wherein each of the thermal models estimates the temperature of a respective one of the plurality of points that define the zone, based on temperature data from the sensors;
obtaining temperature data from the sensors and estimating, using the thermal models, the temperatures of the plurality of points that define the zone;
computing the representative temperature for said zone using the estimated temperatures of the plurality of points as input to the mathematical relationship; and
making a decision on whether or not to change a power consuming activity limit in the system, based on the computed representative temperature, wherein the power consuming activity limit is one of;
the speed of a cooling fan including whether the fan is on or off;
a power supply voltage of a data processing unit;
maximum transmit power of an RF antenna;
clock speed of a data processing unit;
whether a data processing unit is enabled or disabled;
orintensity of a light source including whether the light source is on or off.
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Accused Products
Abstract
A predefined mathematical relationship that is stored in the memory of a computing system is accessed, wherein the relationship refers to temperatures of a number of points in the system, wherein the points together define a zone. The mathematical relationship yields a representative temperature for the zone. Temperature data from sensors in the system is obtained and applied to thermal models, to estimate the temperatures of at least some of the points that define the zone. The representative temperature for the zone is computed using the estimated temperatures as input to the mathematical relationship. A decision is then made on whether or not to change a power consuming activity limit in the system, based on the computed representative temperature. Other embodiments are also described and claimed.
23 Citations
16 Claims
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1. A method for controlling the thermal behavior of a computing system having a plurality of embedded temperature sensors, comprising:
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accessing a predefined mathematical relationship that is stored in a memory of the system, wherein the relationship refers to temperatures of a plurality of spaced-apart points, respectively, in the system, wherein the points together define a zone of the system, the mathematical relationship to provide a representative temperature for said zone; accessing a plurality of thermal models that are stored in the memory, wherein each of the thermal models estimates the temperature of a respective one of the plurality of points that define the zone, based on temperature data from the sensors; obtaining temperature data from the sensors and estimating, using the thermal models, the temperatures of the plurality of points that define the zone; computing the representative temperature for said zone using the estimated temperatures of the plurality of points as input to the mathematical relationship; and making a decision on whether or not to change a power consuming activity limit in the system, based on the computed representative temperature, wherein the power consuming activity limit is one of; the speed of a cooling fan including whether the fan is on or off; a power supply voltage of a data processing unit; maximum transmit power of an RF antenna; clock speed of a data processing unit; whether a data processing unit is enabled or disabled;
orintensity of a light source including whether the light source is on or off. - View Dependent Claims (2, 3, 4, 5, 6)
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7. An article of manufacture comprising:
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a machine-readable medium storing executable instructions which program a processor of a portable electronic device to control the thermal behavior of the device so as to regulate a representative temperature of the device, wherein the programmed processor is to a) obtain temperature readings from a plurality of temperature sensors that are integrated within the portable electronic device, b) analyze the obtained temperature readings to compute a plurality of virtual temperatures each being an estimate of the temperature at a different spot on an outside surface of an exterior housing of the portable electronic device at which spot there is no temperature sensor, c) analyze the plurality of virtual temperatures to compute the representative temperature, and d) take an action that affects thermal generation in the portable electronic device in response to the computed representative temperature being greater than or less than a predefined threshold. - View Dependent Claims (8, 9, 10, 11)
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12. A computing system comprising:
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a thermal manager to perform a closed loop thermal control process that regulates a computed representative temperature of the system by changing power consuming activity limits in the system that affect heat buildup in the system, so as to maintain the representative temperature within a predefined constraint during in-the-field use of the system, wherein the thermal manager is to compute the representative temperature using a stored mathematical relationship that defines the representative temperature as a weighted sum of temperatures of a plurality of points in the system, compare the computed representative temperature to a stored constraint and based on the comparison determine whether or not to change one of the power consuming activity limits in the system; a plurality of temperature sensors that are not located at any of the plurality of points; and an estimator to compute one of the temperatures of the plurality of points using a stored thermal model with temperature data from the plurality of sensors as input to the thermal model. - View Dependent Claims (13, 14, 15, 16)
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Specification