The patent badge is an abbreviated version of the USPTO patent document. The patent badge does contain a link to the full patent document.
The patent badge is an abbreviated version of the USPTO patent document. The patent badge covers the following: Patent number, Date patent was issued, Date patent was filed, Title of the patent, Applicant, Inventor, Assignee, Attorney firm, Primary examiner, Assistant examiner, CPCs, and Abstract. The patent badge does contain a link to the full patent document (in Adobe Acrobat format, aka pdf). To download or print any patent click here.
Patent No.:
Date of Patent:
May. 10, 2016
Filed:
Jun. 25, 2009
David J. Redman, Fremont, CA (US);
Changki Min, San Jose, CA (US);
Philip J. Churchill, Hubbardston, MA (US);
Adrian T. Sheppard, San Jose, CA (US);
David A. Leech, Union City, CA (US);
Unmesh Sahasrabuddhe, Palo Alto, CA (US);
Ian Hendry, San Jose, CA (US);
Eve Brasfield, San Jose, CA (US);
David J. Redman, Fremont, CA (US);
Changki Min, San Jose, CA (US);
Philip J. Churchill, Hubbardston, MA (US);
Adrian T. Sheppard, San Jose, CA (US);
David A. Leech, Union City, CA (US);
Unmesh Sahasrabuddhe, Palo Alto, CA (US);
Ian Hendry, San Jose, CA (US);
Eve Brasfield, San Jose, CA (US);
APPLE INC., Cupertino, CA (US);
Abstract
Systems and methods are disclosed to enable switching of graphics processing unit (GPU) resources based on different factors. Embodiments include a virtual graphics driver as an interface between GPU drivers and the applications or graphics framework executing on an electronic device. The virtual graphics driver may switch GPU resources from a first GPU to a second GPU by routing function calls to the first GPU or the second GPU. The switching of GPU resources may be based on power management, system events such as hot-plug events, load management, user requests, any other factor, or any combination thereof. In some embodiments, a virtual frame buffer driver is provided that interfaces with the frame buffer of the GPU and provides a virtual view of the frame buffer to manage additional system application programming interfaces (APIs) during the switch.