Method and apparatus for waking a single core of a multi-core microprocessor, while maintaining most cores in a sleep state
US10108431B2 · kind B2 · utility
Assignee
Inventors
Key dates
| Filing date | Sep 14, 2016 |
| Grant date | Oct 23, 2018 |
| Priority date | — |
| Expiry date | Oct 15, 2036 |
Classification
- Technology area (CPC Y)Emerging Cross-Sectional Technologies
- CPC primaryY02D30/50
- WIPO fieldComputer technology
- WIPO sectorElectrical engineering
Abstract
A microprocessor includes a plurality of cores, a shared cache memory, and a control unit that individually puts each core to sleep by stopping its clock signal. Each core executes a sleep instruction and responsively makes a respective request of the control unit to put the core to sleep, which the control unit responsively does, and detects when all the cores have made the respective request and responsively wakes up only the last requesting cores. The last core writes back and invalidates the shared cache memory and indicates it has been invalidated and makes a request to the control unit to put the last core back to sleep. The control unit puts the last core back to sleep and continuously keeps the other cores asleep while the last core writes back and invalidates the shared cache memory, indicates the shared cache memory was invalidated, and is put back to sleep.
Source: USPTO / EPO open patent data. Objective bibliographic and citation counts.