Qualcomm Incorporated

Sumit Sur

Bohuslav Rychlik

Steven S Thomson

Ali Iranli

Jeffrey A Niemann

James Michael Artmeier

Jon James Anderson

Brian J Salsbery

Norman S Gargash

Qing Li

Philip T Mueller, Jr

Mark D Guzzi

Robert A Glenn

James Lyall Esliger

Robert Dreyer

Michael Douglas Sharp

Joshua D Thielen

A method of dynamically controlling power within a multicore CPU is disclosed and may include receiving a degree of parallelism in a workload of a zeroth core and determining whether the degree of parallelism in the workload of the zeroth core is equal to a first wake condition. Further, the method may include determining a time duration for which the first wake condition is met when the degree of parallelism in the workload of the zeroth core is equal to the first wake condition and determining whether the time duration is equal to a first confirm wake condition. The method may also include invoking an operating system to power up a first core when the time duration is equal to the first confirm wake condition.

System and method for controlling central processing unit power based on inferred workload parallelism

Systems and methods for dynamic granularity control of parallelized work in a heterogeneous multi-processor portable computing device (PCD) are provided. During operation a first parallelized portion of an application executing on the PCD is identified. The first parallelized portion comprising a plurality of threads for parallel execution on the PCD. Performance information is obtained about a plurality of processors of the PCD, each of the plurality of processors corresponding to one of the plurality of threads. A number M of workload partition granularities for the plurality of threads is determined, and a total execution cost for each of the M workload partition granularities is determined. An optimal granularity comprising a one of the M workload partition granularities with a lowest total execution cost is determined, and the first parallelized portion is partitioned into a plurality of workloads having the optimal granularity.

System and method for dynamic granularity control of parallelized work in a portable computing device (PCD)

Various embodiments of methods and systems for thermally aware scheduling of workloads in a portable computing device that contains a heterogeneous, multi-processor system on a chip ('SoC') are disclosed. Because individual processing components in a heterogeneous, multi-processor SoC may exhibit different processing efficiencies at a given temperature, and because more than one of the processing components may be capable of processing a given block of code, thermally aware workload scheduling techniques that compare performance curves of the individual processing components at their measured operating temperatures can be leveraged to optimize quality of service ('QoS') by allocating workloads in real time, or near real time, to the processing components best positioned to efficiently process the block of code.

Thermally driven workload scheduling in a heterogeneous multi-processor system on a chip

Methods, systems and devices that include a dynamic clock and voltage scaling (DCVS) solution configured to compute and enforce performance guarantees for a group of processors to ensure that the processors does not remain in a busy state (e.g., due to transient workloads) for a combined period that is more than a predetermined amount of time above that which is required for one of the processors to complete its pre-computed steady state workload. The DCVS may adjust the frequency and/or voltage of one or more of the processors based on a variable delay to ensure that the multiprocessor system only falls behind its steady state workload by, at most, a predefined maximum amount of work, irrespective of the operating frequency or voltage of the processors.

System and method for controlling central processing unit power with guaranteed transient deadlines

A method of dynamically controlling power within a central processing unit is disclosed and may include entering an idle state, reviewing a previous busy cycle immediately prior to the idle state, and based on the previous busy cycle determining a CPU frequency for a next busy cycle.

System and method for controlling central processing unit power with reduced frequency oscillations

Methods, systems and devices that include a dynamic clock and voltage scaling (DCVS) solution configured to compute and enforce performance guarantees to ensure that a processor does not remain in a busy state (e.g., due to transient workloads) for more than a predetermined amount of time above that which is required for that processor to complete its pre-computed steady state workload. The DCVS may adjust the frequency and/or voltage of a processor based on a variable delay to ensure that the processing core only falls behind its steady state workload by, at most, a predefined maximum amount of work, irrespective of the operating frequency or voltage of the processor.

A method of controlling power within a multicore central processing unit (CPU) is disclosed. The method may include monitoring a die temperature, determining a degree of parallelism within a workload of the CPU, and powering one or more cores of the CPU up or down based on the degree of parallelism, the die temperature, or a combination thereof.

System and method for dynamically controlling a plurality of cores in a multicore central processing unit based on tempature

A method and system for managing one or more thermal policies of a portable computing device (PCD) includes monitoring temperature of the portable computing device with internal thermal sensors and external thermal sensors. If a change in temperature has been detected by at least one thermal sensor, then a thermal policy manager may increase a frequency in which temperature readings are detected by the thermal sensors. The thermal policy manager may also determine if a current temperature of the portable computing device as detected by one or more of the thermal sensors falls within one or more predetermined thermal states. Each thermal state may be assigned a unique set of thermal mitigation techniques. Each set of thermal mitigation techniques may be different from one another. The sets of thermal mitigation techniques may differ according to quantity of techniques and impacts on performance of the PCD.

Method and system for managing thermal policies of a portable computing device

Methods and systems for leveraging temperature sensors in a portable computing device ('PCD') are disclosed. The sensors may be placed within the PCD near known thermal energy producing components such as a central processing unit ('CPU') core, graphical processing unit (&#x201c;GPU&#x201d;) core, power management integrated circuit (&#x201c;PMIC&#x201d;), power amplifier, etc. The signals generated by the sensors may be monitored and used to trigger drivers running on the processing units. The drivers are operable to cause the reallocation of processing loads associated with a given component's generation of thermal energy, as measured by the sensors. In some embodiments, the processing load reallocation is mapped according to parameters associated with pre-identified thermal load scenarios. In other embodiments, the reallocation occurs in real time, or near real time, according to thermal management solutions generated by a thermal management algorithm that may consider CPU and/or GPU performance specifications along with monitored sensor data.

Method and system for thermal load management in a portable computing device

A method of controlling power at a central processing unit is disclosed. The method may include moving to a higher CPU frequency after a transient performance deadline has expired, entering an idle state, and resetting the transient performance deadline based on an effective transient budget.

System and method for dynamically controlling a plurality of cores in a multicore central processing unit based on temperature

Methods and systems for managing thermal load distribution on a portable computing device ('PCD') include storing on a PCD a plurality of thermal load steering scenarios which identify simulated thermal load conditions for the PCD, corresponding simulated workloads that produced the simulated thermal load conditions, and thermal load steering parameters for steering the simulated thermal load to a predetermined spatial location on the PCD. A scheduled workload for the PCD is monitored to identify a match with one of the thermal load steering scenarios so that the workload may be scheduled according to a thermal load steering parameter. Another method includes initiating a thermal mitigation technique on a PCD and determining a current graphical load being processed by the PCD. A graphics feature associated with the current graphical load is identified. The graphics feature is then disabled while maintaining a frame rate to reduce temperature of the PCD.

Method and system for controlling thermal load distribution in a portable computing device

A method of controlling core clocks in a multicore central processing unit is disclosed and may include executing a zeroth dynamic clock and voltage scaling (DCVS) algorithm on a zeroth core and executing a first DCVS algorithm on a first core. The zeroth DCVS algorithm may operable to independently control a zeroth clock frequency associated with the zeroth core and the first DCVS algorithm may be operable to independently control a first clock frequency associated with the first core.

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Boulder, CO, United States of America

Sumit Sur