Linking multiple independent control systems to distribute response

• US 9,436,497 B2
• Filed: 06/17/2013
• Issued: 09/06/2016
• Est. Priority Date: 09/10/2012
• Status: Active Grant

• Current Assignee: Apple Inc.
• Original Assignee: Apple Inc.
• Inventors: Cox, Keith, Wan, Kit-Man, Culbert, Michael F.
• Primary Examiner(s): Patel, Ramesh
• Application Number:
  US13/919,945
• Publication Number:
  US 20140074313A1
• Time in Patent Office: 1,177 Days
• US Class Current: 1/1
• CPC Class Codes: G05D 23/19 characterised by the use of electric means G05D23/1393 takes precedence
• CPC Class Codes: G05D 23/1919 characterised by the type of controller
• CPC Class Codes: G06F 1/206 comprising thermal management
• CPC Class Codes: G06F 9/46 Multiprogramming arrangements
• CPC Class Codes: H01L 23/34 Arrangements for cooling, heating, ventilating or temperature compensation ; Temperature sensing arrangements thermal treatment apparatus H01L21/00
• CPC Class Codes: H01L 2924/00 Indexing scheme for arrangements or methods for connecting or disconnecting semiconductor or solid-state bodies as covered by H01L24/00
• CPC Class Codes: H01L 2924/0002 Not covered by any one of groups H01L24/00, H01L24/00 and H01L2224/00

Abstract

A linked multiple independent control system can include two or more independent controllers configured to cooperatively control operating points of a system. In one particular embodiment, the linked multiple independent control system can control operating temperatures of a computing device. In one embodiment, the independent controllers can operate in parallel to develop control effort signals that are used by the computing device to affect operating parameters of one or more components included in the computing device. In another embodiment, independent controllers can have independent temperature thresholds that can affect control effort signals only from the related controller.

Claims

1. A method for controlling temperature of a computing device, the method comprising:

determining a current operating temperature associated with at least one operational component of the computing device;

determining, based on the current operating temperature, a control effort output for each controller of a plurality of controllers of the computing device;

selecting a controller from the plurality of controllers that provides a greatest control effort output amongst the control effort outputs; and

applying, using the selected controller, the greatest control effort output to control the current operating temperature.

2. The method of claim 1, wherein each control effort output comprises an amount of control effort to control the current operating temperature of the at least one operational component to operate at a predetermined operating point.

3. The method of claim 1, wherein at least one controller of the plurality of controllers comprises a proportional, integral, derivative (PID) controller.

4. The method of claim 1, wherein determining the plurality of control effort values comprises:

determining, at each controller of the plurality of controllers, a control effort output within an operating range of each of the plurality of controllers.

5. The method of claim 4, wherein the operating range of each controller are non-overlapping.

6. The method of claim 5, wherein the operating range of each controller is partially overlapping.

7. The method of claim 1, wherein the plurality of controllers comprises:

a first controller configured to output a control effort within a first operating range; and

a second controller configured to output a control effort within a second operating range independent of the first operating range such that there is no overlap between the first operating range and the second operating range.

8. The method of claim 1, wherein the greatest control effort output causes an operational limitation to the operational component.

9. A method for controlling temperature of a computing device, the method comprising:

determining a current operating temperature of the computing device;

computing a first control effort with a first temperature controller of the computing device when the current operating temperature exceeds a first temperature threshold;

computing a second control effort with a second temperature controller of the computing device when the current operating temperature exceeds a second temperature threshold greater than the first temperature threshold; and

controlling the current operating temperature by selecting at least one of the first control effort from the first controller and the second control effort from the second controller.

10. The method of claim 9, wherein a sampling rate of the first temperature controller is slower than a sampling rate of the second temperature controller.

11. The method of claim 10, wherein the first temperature controller and second temperature controller each comprise a proportional, integral, derivative (PID) controller.

12. The method of claim 9, wherein:

the first temperature control functions according to a first operating range,

the second temperature control functions according to a second operating range that does not overlap with the first operating range.

13. The method of claim 9, wherein:

the first temperature control functions according to a first operating range,

the second temperature control functions according to a second operating range that partially overlaps with the first operating range.

14. The method of claim 9, wherein the first control effort is bound by a first limit, and wherein the second control effort is bound by a second limit greater than the first limit.

15. The method of claim 9, wherein controlling the current operating temperature comprises regulating the current operating temperature with only the first control effort from the first temperature controller when the current operating temperature exceeds the first temperature threshold but does not exceed the second temperature threshold.

16. The method of claim 15, wherein controlling the current operating temperature comprises using both the first control effort of the first temperature controller and the second control effort of the second temperature controller when the current operating temperature exceeds the second temperature threshold.

17. A control system for controlling temperature of a computing device, the control system comprising:

a plurality of controllers configured to receive a current operating temperature associated with at least one operational component of the computing device, wherein each of the plurality of controllers provides a control effort output based on the current operating temperature, and wherein the computing device is configured to select a greatest control effort output from the control effort outputs of the plurality of controllers and apply the greatest control effort output

to control the current operating temperature of the computing device.

18. The control system of claim 17, wherein each control effort output comprises an amount of control effort to control the current operating temperature of the at least one operational component to operate at a predetermined operating point.

19. The control system of claim 17, wherein the plurality of controllers comprises a plurality of independent linked controllers.

20. The control system of claim 17, further comprising a control device configured to sum the control effort outputs of the plurality of controllers to control the current operating temperature of the computing device.