Voltage scaling for holistic energy management

Patent metadata

Field	Value
Publication number	US-9660649-B2
Application number	US-201514639755-A
Country	US
Kind code	B2
Filing date	Mar 5, 2015
Priority date	Nov 17, 2014
Publication date	May 23, 2017
Grant date	May 23, 2017

Abstract

A method for scaling voltages provided to different modules of a system-on-chip (SOC) includes receiving, at an energy-performance engine of the SOC, a first indication of usage history for a first module of the SOC and a second indication of usage history for a second module of the SOC. The method includes receiving a battery life indication that indicates a remaining battery life for a battery of the SOC. The method also includes adjusting a first supply voltage provided to the first module of the SOC based on the first indication, the second indication, and the battery life indication. The method further includes adjusting a second supply voltage provided to the second module of the SOC based on the first indication, the second indication, and the battery life indication.

First claim

What is claimed is:

1. A method for scaling voltages provided to different modules of a system-on-chip (SOC), the method comprising:
receiving, at a processor of the SOC, a first indication of usage history for a first module coupled to the processor and a second indication of usage history for a second module coupled to the processor, the usage history for the first module indicating how frequently the first module is used and the usage history for the second module indicating how frequently the second module is used;
receiving a battery life indication that indicates a remaining battery life for a battery coupled to the processor;
adjusting a first supply voltage provided to the first module based on the first indication, the second indication, and the battery life indication; and
adjusting a second supply voltage provided to the second module based on the first indication, the second indication, and the battery life indication.

2. The method of claim 1 , further comprising determining whether the remaining battery life is below a threshold, wherein the first supply voltage and the second supply voltage are adjusted in response to a determination that the remaining battery life is below the threshold.

3. The method of claim 1 , wherein adjusting the first supply voltage comprises:
lowering the first supply voltage if the first indication and the second indication indicate that the first module has a lower power draw than the second module, wherein the power draw is based on a use of operation and a historical frequency of use; and
raising the first supply voltage if the first indication and the second indication indicate that the first module has a higher power draw than the second module.

4. The method of claim 1 , wherein adjusting the second supply voltage comprises:
lowering the second supply voltage if the first indication and the second indication indicate that the second module has a lower power draw than the first module; and
raising the second supply voltage if the first indication and the second indication indicate that the second module has a higher power draw than the first module.

5. The method of claim 1 , wherein adjusting the first supply voltage comprises commanding a voltage regulator to adjust the first supply voltage, and wherein adjusting the second supply voltage comprises commanding the voltage regulator to adjust the second supply voltage.

6. The method of claim 1 , further comprising:
receiving a third indication of usage history for a third module coupled to the processor, the usage history for the third module indicating how frequently the third module is used; and
adjusting a third supply voltage provided to the third module based on the first indication, the second indication, and the third indication.

7. The method of claim 6 , wherein the first module includes a central processing unit, wherein the second module includes a graphics processing unit, and wherein the third module includes a digital signal processor.

8. The method of claim 1 , wherein adjustments to the first supply voltage are further based on transistor characteristics of the first module.

9. The method of claim 8 , wherein the transistor characteristics include transistor threshold voltages, transistor channel lengths, or any combination thereof.

10. The method of claim 8 , wherein the transistor characteristics are determined based on a user profile, the user profile indicating a primary use for the SOC.

11. An apparatus comprising:
a processor of a system-on-chip (SOC); and
a memory storing instructions executable by the processor to perform operations comprising:
receiving a first indication of usage history for a first module coupled to the processor and a second indication of usage history for a second module coupled to the processor, the usage history for the first module indicating how frequently the first module is used and the usage history for the second module indicating how frequently the second module is used;
receiving a battery life indication that indicates a remaining battery life for a battery coupled to the processor;
adjusting a first supply voltage provided to the first module of the SOC based on the first indication, the second indication, and the battery life indication; and
adjusting a second supply voltage provided to the second module based on the first indication, the second indication, and the battery life indication.

12. The apparatus of claim 11 , wherein the operations further comprise determining whether the remaining battery life is below a threshold, wherein the first supply voltage and the second supply voltage are adjusted in response to a determination that the remaining battery life is below the threshold.

13. The apparatus of claim 11 , wherein adjusting the first supply voltage comprises:
lowering the first supply voltage if the first indication and the second indication indicate that the first module has a lower power draw than the second module, wherein the power draw is based on a use of operation and a historical frequency of use; and
raising the first supply voltage if the first indication and the second indication indicate that the first module has a higher power draw than the second module.

14. The apparatus of claim 11 , wherein adjusting the second supply voltage comprises:
lowering the second supply voltage if the first indication and the second indication indicate that the second module has a lower power draw than the first module; and
raising the second supply voltage if the first indication and the second indication indicate that the second module has a higher power draw than the first module.

15. The apparatus of claim 11 , wherein adjusting the first supply voltage comprises commanding a voltage regulator to adjust the first supply voltage, and wherein adjusting the second supply voltage comprises commanding the voltage regulator to adjust the second supply voltage.

16. The apparatus of claim 11 , wherein the operations further comprise:
receiving a third indication of usage history for a third module coupled to the processor, the usage history for the third module indicating how frequently the third module is used; and
adjusting a third supply voltage provided to the third module based on the first indication, the second indication, and the third indication.

17. The apparatus of claim 16 , wherein the first module includes a central processing unit, wherein the second module includes a graphics processing unit, and wherein the third module includes a digital signal processor.

18. The apparatus of claim 11 , wherein adjustments to the first supply voltage are further based on transistor characteristics of the first module.

19. The apparatus of claim 18 , wherein the transistor characteristics include transistor threshold voltages, transistor channel lengths, or any combination thereof.

20. The apparatus of claim 18 , wherein the transistor characteristics are determined based on a user profile, the user profile indicating a primary use for the SOC.

21. A non-transitory computer-readable medium comprising instructions for scaling voltages provided to different modules of a system-on-chip (SOC), the instructions, when executed by a processor of the SOC, cause the processor to:
receive a first indication of usage history for a first module coupled to the processor and a second indication of usage history for a second module coupled to the processor, the usage history for the first module indicating how frequently the first

Assignees

• Qualcomm Inc

Inventors

• Mojumder Niladri Narayan
• Song Stanley Seungchul
• Rim Kern
• Yeap Choh Fei

Classifications

• G06F2119/06

  Power analysis or power optimisation · CPC title

• G06F30/327

  Logic synthesis; Behaviour synthesis, e.g. mapping logic, HDL to netlist, high-level language to RTL or netlist · CPC title

• G06F2115/10

  Processors · CPC title

• G06F1/3212 Primary

  Monitoring battery levels, e.g. power saving mode being initiated when battery voltage goes below a certain level · CPC title

• G06F2209/5019

  Workload prediction · CPC title