Sensing current to protect a fuse

• US 9,223,378 B2
• Filed: 09/26/2012
• Issued: 12/29/2015
• Est. Priority Date: 09/26/2012
• Status: Active Grant

• Current Assignee: Hewlett Packard Enterprise Development LP (Hewlett-Packard Enterprise Company)
• Original Assignee: Hewlett Packard Enterprise Development LP (Hewlett-Packard Enterprise Company)
• Inventors: Ng, Kay Seah, Ng, Kah Hoe, Thoon, Koh Yew
• Primary Examiner(s): Cao, Chun
• Application Number:
  US13/627,578
• Publication Number:
  US 20140089698A1
• Time in Patent Office: 1,189 Days
• Field of Search: 713/300, 713/322, 713/324, 714/1, 714/47.1
• US Class Current: 1/1
• CPC Class Codes: G06F 1/3206 Monitoring of events, devices or parameters that trigger a change in power modality
• CPC Class Codes: G06F 1/324 by lowering clock frequency
• CPC Class Codes: Y02D 10/00 Energy efficient computing, e.g. low power processors, power management or thermal management

Abstract

The speed of a processor is adjusted based on the current sensed by a current sensor in order to protect a fuse from being damaged.

Claims

1. A computing device comprising:

a chassis having a power supply and a plurality of fuses;

a plurality of blades placed in the chassis, wherein each of the plurality of blades is connected to the power supply via a respective one of the plurality of fuses, and

wherein each of the plurality of blades includes a processor, a current sensor to detect a current drawn by the blade, and logic circuitry to send a signal to the processor to reduce an operating frequency of the processor if the current detected by the current sensor exceeds a current threshold, said current threshold being a threshold above which the respective fuse connected to the blade is rated to be damaged.

2. The computing device of claim 1, wherein each of the plurality of fuses has a current rating based on a standardized test and the current threshold is a value selected in a range of 65-105% of the current rating of the fuse.

3. The computing device of claim 1, wherein the current threshold is a selected value equal to L plus or minus 5%, where L=current rating of fuse*[1−

D1−

D2], where D1 is a de-rating factor for the fuse and D2 is a temperature de-rating factor for the fuse.

4. The computing device of claim 1, wherein the signal is a prochot signal.

5. The computing device of claim 1, wherein, in each of the plurality of blades, the logic circuitry is to send a signal to the processor to cause the processor to reduce the operating frequency to a minimum operating frequency when the current detected by the current sensor exceeds said current threshold.

6. The computing device of claim 1, wherein the logic circuitry in each of the plurality of blades has a plurality of current thresholds and is to dynamically decrease the operating frequency of the processor each time the current sensed by the current sensor exceeds one of the plurality of current thresholds and to increase the operating frequency of the processor each time the current detected by the current sensor goes below one of the plurality of current thresholds.

7. A computing device comprising a chassis having a power supply and a plurality of fuses, a plurality of blades placed in the chassis, wherein each of the plurality of fuses is connected between a respective one of the plurality of blades and the power supply, each of the plurality of blades comprising:

a CPU;

a current sensor to sense a current drawn by the blade; and

logic circuitry to dynamically adjust a running power of the CPU by adjusting an operating frequency of the CPU based on the current sensed by the current sensor so that a total power drawn by the blade does not exceed a power threshold above which the respective fuse connected to the blade is rated to be damaged, said power threshold being based on a current rating of the respective fuse.

8. The computing device of claim 7, wherein said power threshold associated with each of the plurality of blades is determined according to the equation:

P_B=V_B*X*I_F

where P_B is the power threshold, X is a value selected from the range from 0.65 to 1.05, and

I_F is the current rating of the fuse and V_B is an operating voltage of the blade.

9. The computing device of claim 8, wherein X is a value selected from a range between 0.70 and 1.

10. The computing device of claim 7, wherein each of the plurality of blades has network routing or switching functionality and comprises a switching chip, a routing table and a plurality of network communication ports.

11. The computing device of claim 7, wherein, in each of the plurality of blades, the logic circuitry is to cause the CPU to run at a lower frequency by sending a signal to a pin of the CPU.

12. The computing device of claim 11, wherein the signal is a prochot signal.

13. The computing device of claim 11, wherein the signal is to cause the CPU to operate at a minimum operating frequency.

14. The computing device of claim 11 wherein the signal is to cause the CPU to operate at one of a plurality of operating frequencies depending on the current sensed by the current sensor, said plurality of operating frequencies comprising a minimum frequency, a maximum frequency and at least one other frequency.

15. A method of protecting a fuse in a computing system, wherein the computing system comprises a chassis having a power supply and a plurality of fuses, and a plurality of blades placed in the chassis, wherein each of the plurality of blades is connected to the power supply via a respective one of the plurality of fuses, the method comprising:

detecting a current drawn by a processor in each of the plurality of blades;

determining whether the current drawn by the processor in the respective blade exceeds a current threshold, the current threshold being a threshold above which the fuse associated with the respective blade is rated to be damaged;

causing the processor in the respective blade to run at a lower speed in response to a determination that the current drawn by the processor exceeds the current threshold.

16. The method of claim 15, wherein the current threshold is selected in a range between 65% and 105% of a current rating of the fuse, wherein the current rating of the fuse is determined by a standardized test.

17. The method of claim 15, wherein the processor in the respective blade is caused to run at a lower speed by use of a prochot signal.

18. The method of claim 15, wherein each of the plurality of blades includes a plurality of current thresholds, and the method further comprises:

decreasing an operating frequency of the processor in each of the plurality of blades each time the current drawn by the processor exceeds one of the plurality of current thresholds; and

increasing the operating frequency of the processor in each of the plurality of blades each time the current drawn by the processor falls below one of the plurality of current thresholds.

19. The method of claim 15, wherein each of the plurality of blades comprises a plurality of power drawing components other than the processor, and the total power drawn by the respective blade is equal to a sum of the power drawn by the processor and the plurality of other power drawing components.

20. The method of claim 19, wherein the processor in each of the plurality of blades is to operate at any of a plurality of speeds including a maximum speed, a minimum speed and at least one other speed, and wherein the method comprises determining a highest speed at which the processor is to safely operate without causing the total power drawn by the blade to exceed a power threshold at which a total current drawn by the blade will damage the fuse.