Apple Inc.

Cradle Ip, LLC

Cradle Technologies, Inc.

Erik P Machnicki

Manu Gulati

Shane J Keil

Timothy John Millet

Gilbert H Herbeck

Jung Wook Cho

Brijesh Tripathi

Joshua P De Cesare

Josh P De Cesare

Anand Dalal

Moshe B Simon

Gurjeet S Saund

David A Harrison

Shu-Yi Yu

Deniz Balkan

Munetoshi Fukami

Kiran Kattel

Michael G Frank

Sukalpa Biswas

Mark Hayter

Timothy R Paaske

Harshavardhan Kaushikkar

Ruchi Wadhawan

Kleanthes G Koniaris

Jason M Kassoff

Sanjay Mansingh

Muditha Kanchana

Kevin C Wong

James D Ramsay

Rakesh Singh

Jianlin Yu

Chaitanya Kosaraju

Erdem Guleyupoglu

Mark Longley

Jerrold Von Hauck

Keith Alan Cox

Stephan Vincent Schell

Michael F Culbert

Peter F Holland

Cyril De La Cropte De Chanterac

Hao Chen

Robert E Jeter

Brian P Lilly

Rakesh L Notani

Shinye Shiu

Santiago Fernandez-Gomez

Jean-Didier Allegrucci

Eric G Smith

Bo Yang

Marc A Schaub

John H Kelm

Raman S Thiara

Neeraj Parik

David S Warren

Charles E Tucker

Vijay M Bettada

Khaled M Alashmouny

Vijay Gupta

Fan Wu

Wenlong Wei

Sebastian Skalberg

Seye Ewedemi

Marc Hayter

In an embodiment, a system on a chip (SOC) includes a component that remains powered when the remainder of the SOC is powered off. The component may include a sensor capture unit to capture data from various device sensors, and may filter the captured sensor data. Responsive to the filtering, the component may wake up the remainder of the SOC to permit the processing. The component may store programmable configuration data, matching the state at the time the SOC was most recently powered down, for the other components of the SOC, in order to reprogram them after wakeup. In some embodiments, the component may be configured to wake up the memory controller within the SOC and the path to the memory controller, in order to write the data to memory. The remainder of the SOC may remain powered down.

System on a chip with always-on processor

In an embodiment, a system on a chip (SOC) includes a component that remains powered when a central processing unit (CPU) processor and a memory controller of the SOC are powered off. The component may include a sensor capture unit to capture audio samples from an audio detector circuit and write them to a memory of the component. A processor of the component may be configured to search the audio samples for a predetermined pattern during a time when the CPU processor and the memory controller are powered down. In some embodiments, based on the audio samples filling to a threshold level in the memory of the component and a lack of detection of the predetermined pattern, the component is configured to wake up the memory controller and a path to the memory controller in order to write the audio sample to a memory controlled by the memory controller.

System on a chip with always-on component with powered-down configurations to process audio samples

In some embodiments, a system includes a memory system, a real-time computing device, and a controller. The real-time computing device stores data within a local buffer having a corresponding storage threshold, where the data satisfies the storage threshold, and where the storage threshold is based on a latency of the memory system and an expected rate of utilization of the data of the local buffer. The controller detects that the memory system should perform an operation, where the memory system is unavailable to the real-time computing device during the operation. In response to detecting that an amount of time for the operation exceeds an amount of time corresponding to the storage threshold, the controller overrides the storage threshold. The controller may override the storage threshold by modifying the storage threshold and by overriding a default priority for access requests of the real-time computing device to the memory system.

System for managing memory devices

System on a chip with always-on processor which reconfigures SOC and supports memory-only communication mode

Systems, apparatuses, and methods for coalescing interrupts temporally for later processing are described. An interrupt controller in a computing system maintains a timer for tracking an amount of time remaining after receiving an interrupt before a processor is awakened to service the interrupt. For a received interrupt with a latency tolerance greater than a threshold, the interrupt controller compares a value currently stored in the timer and the latency tolerance selected based on class. The smaller value is retained in the timer. When the timer expires, the interrupt controller sends wakeup indications to one or more processors and indications of the waiting interrupts.

Systems and methods for coalescing interrupts

In an embodiment, an integrated circuit such as an SOC (or even a discrete chip system) includes one or more local timebases in various locations. The timebases may be incremented based on a high frequency local clock that may be subject to variation during use due. Periodically, based on a lower frequency clock that is subject to less variation, the local timebases may be synchronized to the correct time, using hardware circuitry. In particular, the correct timebase value for the next synchronization may be transmitted to each local timebase, and the control circuit for the local timebase may be configured to saturate the local timebase at the correct value if the local timebase reaches the correct value before the synchronization occurs. Similarly, if the synchronization occurs and the local timebase has not reached the correct value, the control circuit may be configured to load the correct timebase value.

Timebase synchronization

In an embodiment, a system includes a functional unit that remains powered when the remainder of the system is powered off. The functional unit may, in response to a transition from a first power state to a second power state, retrieve configuration information from a read-only memory. In some embodiments, may be configured to store at least a portion of the configured information in a secure portion of a memory included in the functional unit and then lock the secure portion of the memory. The functional unit may then complete the transition to the second power state.

Secure bypass of low-level configuration in reconfiguration of a computing system

A method and apparatus for power management of cache duplicate tags is disclosed. An IC includes a cache, a coherence circuit, and a duplicate tags memory that may store duplicates of the tags stored in the cache. The cache includes a number of ways that are separately and independently power controllable. The duplicate tags memory may be similarly organized, with portions that are power controllable separately and independently of others. The coherence circuit is also power controllable, and may be placed into a sleep mode when idle. The IC also includes a power management circuit. During operation, the cache may change power states and provide a corresponding indication to the power management circuit. Responsive to the indication, the power management circuit may awaken the coherence circuit if in a sleep state. The coherence circuit may then power manage the duplicate tags in accordance with the change in power state.

Power management of cache duplicate tags

Embodiments of a method that allow the adjustment of performance settings of a computing system are disclosed. One or more functional units may include multiple monitor circuits, each of which may be configured to monitor a given operational parameter of a corresponding functional unit. Upon detection of an event related to a monitored operational parameter, a monitor circuit may generate an interrupt. In response to the interrupt a processor may adjust one or more performance settings of the computing system.

Low energy processor for controlling operating states of a computer system

In an embodiment, an apparatus may include a plurality of circuit blocks, a plurality of fuses and circuitry. The circuitry may be configured to determine a state for each of the plurality of fuses in response to transitioning from an off mode to a first operating mode. A first number of circuit blocks may be enabled in the first operating mode. The circuitry may also be configured to initialize the first number of circuit blocks dependent upon the states of one or more of the plurality of fuses and to transition from the first operating mode to a second operating mode. A second number of circuit blocks, less than the first number, may be enabled in the second operating mode. The circuitry may also be configured to store data representing the states of a subset of the plurality of fuses into a first memory enabled in the second operating mode.

Configuration fuse data management in a partial power-on state

An under voltage detection circuit and method of operating an IC including the same is disclosed. In one embodiment, an IC includes an under voltage protection circuit having first and second comparators configured to compare a supply voltage to first and second voltage thresholds, respectively, with the second voltage threshold being greater than the first. A logic circuit is coupled to receive signals from the first and second comparators. During operation in a high performance state by a corresponding functional circuit, the logic circuit is configured to cause assertion of a throttling signal responsive to an indication that the supply voltage has fallen below the first threshold. A clock signal provided to the functional circuit may be throttled responsive to the indication. If the supply voltage subsequently rises to a level above the second threshold, the throttling signal may be de-asserted.

Under voltage detection and performance throttling

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San Jose, CA, United States of America

Erik P Machnicki