Power and thermal management based on a power supply output

Patent 6182232 Issued on January 30, 2001. Estimated Expiration Date:

January 29, 2019. Estimated Expiration Date is calculated based on simple USPTO term provisions. It does not account for terminal disclaimers, term adjustments, failure to pay maintenance fees, or other factors which might affect the term of a patent.

Abstract Claims Description Full Text

Patent References

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Inventor

Klein, Dean A.

Assignee

Micron Electronics, Inc.

Application

No. 239635 filed on 01/29/1999

US Classes:

713/340, Having power source monitoring713/300, COMPUTER POWER CONTROL713/320, Power conservation713/322, By clock speed control (e.g., clock on/off)713/323Active/idle mode processing

Examiners

Primary: Etienne, Ario

Attorney, Agent or Firm

Trop, Pruner & Hu, P.C.

International Class

G06F 001/26

Abstract

A method to manage power consumption in a computer system includes receiving a power signal from a power source (the power signal furnishing power to a portion of the circuit), generating a first signal indicating the power transferred from the power source to the portion of the computer system, and generating a second signal to effect a power management action based on the first signal. By way of example, the power source may be a switching or linear power supply, and the second signal may be a fan control signal, a processor halt signal, or a processor interrupt signal.