Mechanism to control di/dt for a microprocessor
US6636976B1 · kind B1 · utility
Assignee
Inventors
Key dates
| Filing date | Jun 30, 2000 |
| Grant date | Oct 21, 2003 |
| Priority date | — |
| Expiry date | Feb 6, 2022 |
Classification
- Technology area (CPC Y)Emerging Cross-Sectional Technologies
- CPC primaryY02D10/00
- WIPO fieldComputer technology
- WIPO sectorElectrical engineering
Abstract
The present invention provides a mechanism for adjusting the activity of an integrated digital circuit such as a processor to reduce voltage changes attributable to current changes triggered by clock gating. The processor includes one or more functional units and a current control circuit that monitors activity states of the processor's functional units to estimate the current consumed over n clock cycles. The current control circuit estimates the current change for a given clock cycle from the n activity states and compares the estimated current change with first and second thresholds. The processors activity is decreased if the estimated current change is greater than the first threshold, and the processor activity is decreased if the estimated current change is less than the second threshold.
Source: USPTO / EPO open patent data. Objective bibliographic and citation counts.