System and method for dynamic power management using data buffer levels

• Main Authors: PERING TREVOR, WIRASINGHE MARCO Y, ZACCARIN ANDRE
• Format: Patent
• Language: English
• Published: 08.03.2005
• Edition: 7
• Subjects: CALCULATING; CLIMATE CHANGE MITIGATION TECHNOLOGIES IN INFORMATION ANDCOMMUNICATION TECHNOLOGIES [ICT], I.E. INFORMATION ANDCOMMUNICATION TECHNOLOGIES AIMING AT THE REDUCTION OF THIR OWNENERGY USE; COMPUTING; COUNTING; ELECTRIC DIGITAL DATA PROCESSING; GENERAL TAGGING OF CROSS-SECTIONAL TECHNOLOGIES SPANNING OVER SEVERAL SECTIONS OF THE IPC; GENERAL TAGGING OF NEW TECHNOLOGICAL DEVELOPMENTS; PHYSICS; TECHNICAL SUBJECTS COVERED BY FORMER USPC CROSS-REFERENCE ART COLLECTIONS [XRACs] AND DIGESTS; TECHNOLOGIES OR APPLICATIONS FOR MITIGATION OR ADAPTATION AGAINSTCLIMATE CHANGE

A power management system for digital circuitry uses data buffer monitoring to determine appropriate processor clock speed or voltage. This allows a processor to be switched from a low power state to a high power state when a monitored data buffer level feeding data to a power intensive application is greater than a second memory buffer level. The processor is switched from a high power state to a low power state when the monitored data buffer level is less than a first memory buffer level.