IC monitoring chip and a method for monitoring temperature of a component in a computer
US6169442A · kind A · utility
Assignee
Inventors
Key dates
| Filing date | Apr 13, 1999 |
| Grant date | Jan 2, 2001 |
| Priority date | — |
| Expiry date | Apr 13, 2019 |
Classification
- Technology area (CPC G)Physics
- CPC primaryG06F11/3093
- WIPO fieldComputer technology
- WIPO sectorElectrical engineering
Abstract
An IC monitoring chip (10) for remotely monitoring the output of a thermal diode (5) formed in the substrate of a CPU (2) for monitoring the temperature of a thermal plate (3) of the CPU (2) comprises a signal conditioning circuit (12) which relays the output from the diode (5) to an analog-to-digital converter (14), which in turns outputs a two's compliment signal to an adder (22). The adder (22) adds the two's compliment signal to a temperature offset value stored in a temperature offset register (17), which compensates for the temperature difference between the diode (5) and the thermal plate (3). Comparators (24) and (25) compare the output from the adder (22) with upper and lower predetermined temperature limits in upper and lower limit registers (19) and (20) for determining the temperature of the thermal plate (3). The temperature offset value is stored in ROM (35) of the computer (1) and is written to the register (17) each time the computer (1) is powered up. The IC chip (10) operates independently of the CPU (2).
Source: USPTO / EPO open patent data. Objective bibliographic and citation counts.