System and method for managing power consumption of an information handling system

• US 9,568,990 B2
• Filed: 10/01/2013
• Issued: 02/14/2017
• Est. Priority Date: 10/16/2008
• Status: Active Grant

• Current Assignee: Dell Products LP (Dell Technologies Inc.)
• Original Assignee: Dell Products LP (Dell Technologies Inc.)
• Inventors: Chueh, Yung Fa, Huang, Wen-Hung, Ti, Ching, Weng, So-Yu
• Primary Examiner(s): Abbaszadeh, Jaweed A
• Assistant Examiner(s): JOHNSON, TERRELL S
• Application Number:
  US14/043,252
• Publication Number:
  US 20140181549A1
• Time in Patent Office: 1,232 Days
• Field of Search: 713/320, 320/137
• US Class Current: 1/1
• CPC Class Codes: G06F 1/1632 External expansion units, e.g. docking stations
• CPC Class Codes: G06F 1/24 Resetting means
• CPC Class Codes: G06F 1/26 Power supply means, e.g. regulation thereof for memories G11C
• CPC Class Codes: G06F 1/263 Arrangements for using multiple switchable power supplies, e.g. battery and AC G06F1/30 takes precedence
• CPC Class Codes: G06F 1/28 Supervision thereof, e.g. detecting power-supply failure by out of limits supervision
• CPC Class Codes: G06F 1/32 Means for saving power
• CPC Class Codes: G06F 1/3203 Power management, i.e. event-based initiation of a power-saving mode
• CPC Class Codes: G06F 1/3296 by lowering the supply or operating voltage
• CPC Class Codes: G06F 11/30 Monitoring
• CPC Class Codes: Y02D 10/00 Energy efficient computing, e.g. low power processors, power management or thermal management

Abstract

An AC-to-DC power adapter provides DC power to an information handling system at a first higher DC voltage or a second lower DC voltage based upon a power state of the information handling system. For example, approximately 19 Volts DC power is provided if the information handling system is in an on state or if the information handling system is charging a battery. Approximately 13 Volts DC power is provided if the information handling system is in a reduced power state, such as an ACPI S3 state, with a battery having a substantially full charge.

Claims

1. An information handling system comprising:

plural components that consume power to process information, the plural components including at least a central processor unit;

a power subsystem operable to provide direct current voltage to the plural components;

a power adapter operable to convert alternating current to direct current and to provide the direct current to the power subsystem;

an adapter manager integrated with the adapter and operable to adjust the adapter direct current voltage output between a first voltage level and a second voltage level; and

a power manager associated with the power subsystem and interfaced with the adapter manager, the power manager operable to command the first direct current voltage if the central processor unit has a first power consumption state in which the central processor unit consumes a first amount of power and the second direct current voltage if the central processor unit has a second power consumption state in which the central processor unit consumes no power, wherein at least some of the plural components consume power in both the first and second power consumption states.

2. The information handling system of claim 1 wherein the first direct current voltage comprises 19.5 Volts and the second direct current voltage comprises 13 Volts.

3. The information handling system of claim 1 wherein the first power consumption state comprises an on state and the second power consumption state comprises a power consumption state having at least a processing component of random access memory powered.

4. The information handling system of claim 3 further comprising a battery that charges to store power and discharges the stored power to provide power to the plural components, wherein the second power consumption state further comprises a battery fully charged state.

5. The information handling system of claim 1 wherein the second power consumption state comprises an ACPI S3 state.

6. The information handling system of claim 5 wherein the second power consumption state further comprises a battery fully charged state.

7. The information handling system of claim 1 wherein the first power consumption state comprises a battery not fully charged state and the first direct current voltage is greater than the second direct current voltage.

8. The information handling system of claim 1 further comprising a housing that contains the plural components, wherein the power adapter is integrated within the housing.

9. The information handling system of claim 1 further comprising a housing that contains the plural components, wherein the power adapter is external to the housing.

10. A method for managing power applied to an information handling system, the method comprising:

determining at the information handling system a first power state or a second power state, the first power state having a central processor unit powered on, the second power state having the central processor unit powered off and a random access memory powered on and storing an operating system for access by the central processor upon power up of the central processor;

commanding an AC-to-DC adapter to provide a first direct current voltage if the first power state is determined or a second direct current voltage if the second power state is determined, the first direct current voltage greater than the second direct current voltage; and

outputting either the first or second direct current voltage from the AC-to-DC adapter in response to the commanding.

11. The method of claim 10 wherein the first direct current voltage comprises 19.5 Volts and the second direct current voltage comprises 13 Volts.

12. The method of claim 10 wherein the first power state comprises an ACPI on state and the second power state comprises an ACPI reduced power state, and wherein the first direct current voltage is greater than the second direct current voltage.

13. The method of claim 12 wherein the on state comprises an ACPI S0 state and the reduced power state comprises an ACPI S3 state.

14. The method of claim 10 wherein the first power state further comprises a battery charging state and the second power state comprises a battery charged state.

15. An AC-to-DC power adapter comprising:

a converter circuit operable to convert an AC voltage to either a first or a second DC voltage and to provide the first or the second DC voltage to a device, the first DC voltage greater than the second DC voltage; and

an adapter manager operable to receive power state information from the device and to apply the power state information to select output of either the first or second DC voltage, the power state information including at least whether a central processor unit of the device is powered on or powered off;

wherein the adapter manager applies the first DC voltage if the processor is powered on and the second DC voltage if the processor is powered off, the selection of the first or second DC voltage made independent of a battery charge state of the device.

16. The AC-to-DC power adapter of claim 15 wherein the first DC voltage comprises 19.5 Volts and the second DC voltage comprises 13 Volts.

17. The AC-to-DC power adapter of claim 15 wherein the power state information further comprises a reduced power state having the processor of the device powered off and a memory of the device powered on, the adapter manager selecting the first DC voltage for the on state and the second DC voltage for the reduced power state.