System and method for preserving internal processor context when the processor is powered down and restoring the internal processor context when processor is restored
US6968469B1 · kind B1 · utility
62Cited by
17References
14Claims
0Family size
Assignee
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Key dates
| Filing date | Jun 16, 2000 |
| Grant date | Nov 22, 2005 |
| Priority date | — |
| Expiry date | May 13, 2021 |
Classification
- Technology area (CPC Y)Emerging Cross-Sectional Technologies
- CPC primaryY02D30/50
- WIPO fieldComputer technology
- WIPO sectorElectrical engineering
Abstract
A CPU (1) automatically preserves the CPU context in a computer memory (5) that remains powered-up when the CPU is powered down in sleep mode. By means of the preserved CPU context, the CPU is able to instantly and transparently resume program execution at the instruction of the program that was asserted for execution when the CPU was powered down. The CPU is permitted to power down frequently, even during execution of a program, and results in reduced average overall power consumption.
Source: USPTO / EPO open patent data. Objective bibliographic and citation counts.