Claims
- 1. A method of power management, comprising the steps of:
measuring activity of a clocked device; and determining utilization of the clocked device based on the activity of the clocked device over a period of time.
- 2. The method of claim 1, further comprising the step of:
adjusting the clocked device from a first power consumption mode to a second power consumption mode based on the utilization of the clocked device.
- 3. The method of claim 2, the adjusting step comprising the step of:
reducing the clocked device from the first power consumption mode to the second clocked consumption mode.
- 4. The method of claim 2, the adjusting step comprising the step of:
increasing the clocked device from the first power consumption mode to the second power consumption mode.
- 5. The method of claim 2, wherein the first power consumption mode and the second power consumption mode are two of a plurality of selectable power consumption modes.
- 6. The method of claim 2, wherein the adjusting step is performed during active times of the clocked device.
- 7. The method of claim 1, the measuring step comprising the step of:
monitoring hardware activity of the clocked device.
- 8. The method of claim 7, wherein the hardware activity indicates inactive times of the clocked device.
- 9. The method of claim 7, the monitoring step comprising the step of:
monitoring the hardware activity of the clocked device using an activity counter.
- 10. The method of claim 9, the determining step comprising the steps of:
reading an activity count of the activity counter; and comparing the activity count to a value.
- 11. The method of claim 10, further comprising the step of:
selectively adjusting the clocked device from a first power consumption mode to a second power consumption mode based on the comparing step.
- 12. A power management system, comprising:
a means for measuring activity of a clocked device; and a means for determining utilization of the clocked device based on the activity of the clocked device over a period of time.
- 13. The system of claim 12, further comprising:
a means for adjusting the clocked device from a first power consumption mode to a second power consumption mode based on the utilization of the clocked device.
- 14. A computer system, comprising:
a clocked device; a means for measuring activity of the clocked device; and a means for determining utilization of the clocked device based on the activity of the clocked device over a period of time.
- 15. The system of claim 14, further comprising:
a means for adjusting the clocked device from a first power consumption mode to a second power consumption mode based on the utilization of the clocked device.
- 16. The system of claim 14, the means for adjusting comprising:
a means for adjusting the clocked device from a first clock frequency to a second clock frequency based on the utilization of the clocked device.
- 17. The system of claim 14, the means for determining comprising:
a means for maintaining a count proportional to the activity of the clocked device.
- 18. The system of claim 14, further comprising:
a means for adjusting a performance state of the clocked device based on the utilization of the clocked device.
- 19. The system of claim 14, means for determining comprising:
a means for determining an average utilization of the clocked device.
- 20. The system of claim 14, wherein the clocked device comprises a processor.
CROSS-REFERENCE TO RELATED APPLICATIONS
[0001] This application is a continuation of co-pending U.S. application Ser. No. 09/818,981, filed Mar. 27, 2001, which is a continuation U.S. application Ser. No. 09/480,101, filed Jan. 10, 2000, now U.S. Pat. No. 6,233,671, which is a continuation U.S. application Ser. No. 08/166,609, filed Dec. 13, 1993, now U.S. Pat. No. 6,029,249, which is a continuation of U.S. application Ser. No. 08/473,655, filed Jun. 7, 1995, now U.S. Pat. No. 5,625,826, which is a file wrapper continuation of U.S. application Ser. No. 07/809,301, filed Dec. 17, 1991, now abandoned, which are incorporated herein for reference.
Continuations (4)
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Number |
Date |
Country |
Parent |
10224147 |
Aug 2002 |
US |
Child |
10614503 |
Jul 2003 |
US |
Parent |
09818981 |
Mar 2001 |
US |
Child |
10614503 |
Jul 2003 |
US |
Parent |
09480101 |
Jan 2000 |
US |
Child |
09818981 |
Mar 2001 |
US |
Parent |
08166609 |
Dec 1993 |
US |
Child |
09480101 |
Jan 2000 |
US |