Power management circuit

Abstract

A power management circuit can be provided for controlling a power state of a voltage regulator for providing a regulated voltage to a load, the voltage regulator being operable in at least first and second distinct power states. The power management circuit can include circuitry for determining output current data relating to an output current provided by the voltage regulator to the load. The power management circuit can include circuitry for determining regulated voltage data relating to a regulated voltage provided by the voltage regulator to the load. The power management circuit can include circuitry for causing a change in the power state of the voltage regulator from a first power state to a second power state based on a comparison of the determined output current data with power state current threshold data.

Description

[Technical field]

[0001] This application claims priority to U.S. patent application Ser. No. 16 / 832,012, filed March 27, 2020, and entitled “SYSTEM, APPARATUS AND METHOD FOR DYNAMIC POWER STATE SCALING OF A VOLTAGE REGULATOR FOR A PROCESSOR.”

[0002] This disclosure relates to power management in a voltage regulator for providing a regulated voltage to a load. [Background technology]

[0003] Current industry trends are toward providing smaller, lighter, and thinner computer systems. In particular, mobile devices, including laptop computers, tablet computers, and the like, continue to shrink in size. Batteries can represent a significant portion of the device's volume in order to provide sufficient, useful operating time. Reducing the power consumption of a computer system can allow for longer operating times or reduced battery size. Reducing the power consumption of mains-operated devices is also important for energy compliance. [Brief description of the drawings]

[0004] The presently described embodiments are illustrated by way of example, and not limitation, in the figures of the accompanying drawings in which like reference numerals refer to like elements and in which: [Figure 1a] 1 illustrates a schematic of a voltage regulator providing an output current and a regulated voltage to a load. [Figure 1b] 1b and 1c show schematic diagrams of a voltage regulator providing an output current and a regulated voltage to a load, the load and the voltage regulator respectively having power management circuitry. [Figure 1c]1b and 1c show schematic diagrams of a voltage regulator providing an output current and a regulated voltage to a load, the load and the voltage regulator respectively having power management circuitry. [Diagram 2] 1 is a table illustrating three example power states of a voltage regulator. [Diagram 3] 2 shows a plot of the power efficiency of three power states of a voltage regulator as a function of the output current provided by the voltage regulator to a load. [Figure 4] 1 shows an upper example plot of power efficiency versus output current for three different power states of a voltage regulator providing a first (higher) regulated voltage to a load, and a lower example plot of power efficiency versus output current for three different power states of a voltage regulator providing a second (lower) regulated voltage to a load. [Diagram 5] 2 shows experimentally derived plots of power efficiency versus output current for two different power states of a voltage regulator for each of a number of different regulated voltages provided by the voltage regulator to a load. [Figure 6] 6 is a plot of the power state current threshold of a voltage regulator as a function of the regulated voltage provided by the voltage regulator to a load, derived from the plot of FIG. 5. [Figure 7] 7 shows the error of the power state current thresholds of the plots of FIG. 6 estimated by the best-fit straight line function. [Figure 8] 4 shows the plot of FIG. 3 and a dotted line that indicates the power efficiency that can be achieved by precisely switching the power states of the voltage regulator. [Figure 9] FIG. 2 is a block diagram of a power management circuit. [Figure 10] Schematic diagram of three voltage regulators providing respective output currents and regulated voltages to respective loads on a system-on-chip. [Figure 11] FIG. 1 is a block diagram of a computing device. [Figure 12]4 is a flow chart of a method for controlling a power state of a voltage regulator to provide a regulated voltage to a load. [Figure 13] 4 is a flow chart of a method for determining a dependence of a power state current threshold of a voltage regulator on a regulated voltage provided by the voltage regulator to a load. [Figure 14] 4 is a flow chart of a method for controlling a power state of a voltage regulator to provide a regulated voltage to a load. [Figure 15] 1 is a block diagram of a machine-readable medium. DETAILED DESCRIPTION OF THE PREFERRED EMBODIMENTS

[0005] Illustrative examples of the present disclosure include, but are not limited to, power management circuits, methods, apparatus, means, and machine-readable instructions for controlling a power state of a voltage regulator or for determining a dependency of a power state current threshold of a voltage regulator on a regulated voltage provided by the voltage regulator to a load. A computer platform is also disclosed.

[0006] Figure 1a shows the regulated voltage V reg and output current I load FIG. 1 shows a schematic diagram of a voltage regulator 1 providing a regulated voltage V to a load 2. The voltage regulator 1 may be powered by a power source 4 which may be a direct current (DC) source, e.g. a battery, or an alternating current (AC) source, e.g. mains power. The regulated voltage V provided by the voltage regulator 1 to the load 2 is reg may be, for example, a regulated DC voltage. The voltage regulator 1 provides a variable regulated voltage V reg to load 2. For example, the load may be capable of operating at a number of different voltage operating points, e.g., a number of different discrete voltage operating points. Voltage regulator 1 receives a load voltage demand signal indicating a voltage required from voltage regulator 1 for load 2, and provides a regulated voltage V that conforms to (e.g., meets) the voltage required from voltage regulator 1 for load 2. regto the load 2. For example, a load power controller 5 (e.g., a load power control unit) may be provided by a circuit of the load 2 or a circuit integrated with the load 2 (e.g., the load power controller 5 may be provided on the same chip, in the same package, or on the same integrated circuit die as the load 2). The load power controller 5 may determine a desired voltage operating point of the load 2. The load power controller 5 may then determine a regulated voltage V required from the voltage regulator 1 for the load 2 according to the determined desired voltage operating point of the load 2. reg Voltage regulator 1 may transmit a load voltage demand signal indicating a regulated voltage V that it supplies to load 2 in response to, or in response to, the load voltage demand signal indicating a regulated voltage required from voltage regulator 1 for load 2 (e.g., when load 2 is to operate at a different voltage operating point). reg The load voltage request signal may be configured to regulate the voltage required from the voltage regulator 1 for the load 2 by a voltage identification (VID) code, which may be a binary code indicating the voltage required from the voltage regulator 1 for the load 2. The load voltage request signal may be sent to the voltage regulator 1 via a power management communication interface 6, for example a power management bus.

[0007] Load 2 may be any suitable load. For example, load 2 may be the load of a computer platform. Load 2 may be provided on an integrated circuit die, for example, the load may include one or more integrated circuits of the integrated circuit die. The load may include any one or more of the following: a computing platform, one or more components of the computing platform (e.g., one or more processors, one or more processor chips, a multi-core processing circuit, at least one domain of a multi-core processing circuit, e.g., a domain having one or more processing cores, or a fan or a display or memory controller of the computer platform), one or more processors, one or more processor chips, circuitry of a processor or processor chip, processing circuitry or computing circuitry of a processor or processor chip, one or more domains of a processor chip, e.g., a domain having one or more cores of a multi-core processor, processing circuitry of a central processing unit of the processor chip, e.g., one or more central processing unit cores, graphics processing circuitry of the processor chip, e.g., one or more graphics processor cores, at least a first domain of a multi-core processing circuit further having a second domain including at least the graphics processing circuitry, the first domain including one or more processing cores, e.g., one or more processing cores of a central processing unit processor, a memory controller, a display controller, non-core circuitry of a processor or processor chip.

[0008] A processor chip, if provided, may comprise a dedicated central processing unit chip (e.g., a central processing unit chip for a personal computer, such as a desktop personal computer) or a system-on-a-chip (SoC) having one or more processors, such as, for example, one or more central processing unit processors and one or more graphics processors. The non-core circuitry of a processor or processor chip may include circuitry of the processor or processor chip other than one or more processing cores of the processor or processor chip, such as, for example, interconnect circuitry, uncore or system agent circuitry (e.g., one or more of an upper cache memory, an interconnect controller, an on-die memory controller, a Thunderbolt controller, etc.).

[0009] Power management circuitry 8 is shown in FIG. 1a with dashed lines because it may be load 2's circuitry or circuitry integrated with load 2 (e.g., circuitry on the same chip, in the same package, or on the same integrated circuit die as load 2), voltage regulator 1's circuitry or circuitry integrated with voltage regulator 1 (e.g., circuitry on the same chip, in the same package, or on the same integrated circuit die as voltage regulator 1), circuitry separate from voltage regulator 1 and load 2 (e.g., circuitry on a different chip, in a different package, or on a different integrated circuit die than voltage regulator 1 and load 2), such as, for example, an embedded controller circuitry, or circuitry distributed among any combination of voltage regulator 1's circuitry or circuitry integrated with voltage regulator 1, load 2's circuitry or circuitry integrated with load 2, and circuitry separate from voltage regulator 1 and load 2.

[0010] For example, FIG. 1b shows a power management circuit 8 provided by a load power controller 5 of or integrated with a load 2, and FIG. 1c shows a power management circuit 8 that is a power management circuit 8 of or integrated with a voltage regulator 1. In the former case, the power management circuit 8 may control the power state of the voltage regulator 1 via a power state update command sent from the power management circuit 8 to the voltage regulator 1, e.g., via a power management communication interface 6. In the latter case, the power management circuit 8 of the voltage regulator 1 may directly control the power state of the voltage regulator 1. In the latter case, the power management circuit 8 of the voltage regulator 1 may be operable to override a power state update command sent from the load power controller 5 to the voltage regulator 1.

[0011] Power management circuitry 8 may be general-purpose processing circuitry or may be special-purpose circuitry. The functions of power management circuitry 8 may be implemented in software, firmware, hardware, or any combination thereof. Power management circuitry 8 may include processing circuitry in communication with memory, such as, for example, non-transitory computer readable memory or memory storing computer program instructions executable by the processing circuitry of power management circuitry 8 to perform the functions of power management circuitry 8.

[0012] The voltage regulator 1 generates an output current I based on one or more phases. load and regulated voltage V reg For example, the voltage regulator may be a multi-phase voltage regulator capable of combining the output from each of multiple parallel phases to provide a regulated voltage output V reg and the load current I load The voltage regulator may be a multi-phase voltage regulator capable of providing a regulated voltage V to a load 2. The voltage regulator may be capable of operating in a continuous conduction mode as well as in a discontinuous conduction mode. For example, the voltage regulator 1 may be reg and output current I loadto the load 2, the on / off cycles being performed continuously in a continuous conduction mode and discontinuously in a discontinuous conduction mode, the discontinuous on / off cycles reducing power loss when the inductor current goes negative. The voltage regulator 1 may be capable of operating at a number of different switching frequencies in the discontinuous conduction mode. For example, the voltage regulator may be capable of operating at a first switching frequency (e.g., a first switching frequency without pulse skipping or with pulse skipping at the first pulse skipping frequency) and at a second switching frequency lower than the first switching frequency (e.g., with pulse skipping or with pulse skipping at a second pulse skipping frequency greater than the first pulse skipping frequency, i.e., pulses are skipped more frequently at the second switching frequency) in the discontinuous conduction mode.

[0013] Voltage regulator 1 may be an external voltage regulator or an internal or integrated voltage regulator. An external voltage regulator may be external to load 2, whereas an internal voltage regulator may be internal to the load or integrated with the load. For example, an internal voltage regulator may be on the same integrated circuit die, or on the same chip, or in the same package as load 2. An external voltage regulator may be separate from the integrated circuit die or chip of load 2 or in a separate package from load 2.

[0014] Voltage regulator 1 may be operable in at least first and second different power states. The maximum output current capability of voltage regulator 1 may be different for each of the power states. The different power states may dissipate different power from voltage regulator 1. The first power state may be more power efficient than the second power state for a first output load, and the second power state may be more power efficient than the first power state for a second output load different from the first output load.

[0015] The first and second power states of the voltage regulator 1 may differ from one another by any one or more of the following: the voltage regulator operates with a different number of phases in the first and second power states; the voltage regulator operates in a continuous conduction mode in one of the first and second power states and the voltage regulator operates in a discontinuous conduction mode in the other of the first and second power states; the voltage regulator operates in a discontinuous conduction mode with a first voltage regulator switching frequency in one of the first and second power states and the voltage regulator operates in a discontinuous conduction mode with a different switching frequency than the first voltage regulator switching frequency in the other of the first and second power states. the first and second power states may differ from each other by any one or more of the following: operating in a discontinuous conduction mode having a second voltage regulator switching frequency equal to or greater than the first and second power states; one or more circuits of the voltage regulator being inactive or powered off in one of the first and second power states and one or more of the one or more circuits of the voltage regulator being active or powered on in the other of the first and second power states; one or more circuits of the voltage regulator being in a lower power state in one of the first and second power states and one or more of the one or more circuits of the voltage regulator being in a higher power state in the other of the first and second power states.

[0016] For example, as shown in the table of FIG. 2, Voltage Regulator 1 may be capable of operating in three different power states: PS0, PS1, and PS2. In power state PS0, Voltage Regulator 1 may be configured to operate in a multi-phase mode. For example, Voltage Regulator 1 may provide an output current I load and regulated voltage V regto load 2. In power state PS0, voltage regulator 1 may be capable of supplying an output current of over 20 A to load 2. In power state PS0, all circuitry of the voltage regulator may be enabled and the voltage regulator may operate in continuous conduction mode. When no current is drawn from voltage regulator 1 by load 2 when voltage regulator 1 is operating in power state PS0, the power dissipation from the voltage regulator may be between 2 W and 4 W.

[0017] In power state PS1, voltage regulator 1 supplies an output current I load and regulated voltage V reg to load 2. In power state PS1 one or more other phases of voltage regulator 1 may be disabled. In power state PS1 voltage regulator 1 may be capable of supplying an output current of up to 20 A to the load. In power state PS1 20 A may be an upper limit of the output current that can be supplied by voltage regulator 1 to load 2. When no current is drawn from voltage regulator 1 by load 2 when voltage regulator 1 is operating in power state PS1, the power dissipation from the voltage regulator may be between 0.5 W and 2 W.

[0018] In power state PS2, voltage regulator 1 operates at a first voltage regulator switching frequency f sw1 With discontinuous conduction mode, the output current I load and regulated voltage V regto load 2. In power state PS2 one or more other phases of voltage regulator 1 may be disabled. In power state PS2 voltage regulator 1 may be capable of supplying an output current of up to 5 A to the load. In power state PS2 5 A may be an upper limit for the output current that can be supplied by voltage regulator 1 to load 2. When no current is drawn from voltage regulator 1 by load 2 when voltage regulator 1 is operating in power state PS2, the power dissipation from the voltage regulator may be between 40 mW and 160 mW.

[0019] It is understood that voltage regulator 1 may have more or fewer power states than the three power states PS0-PS2 described above. It is also understood that the power states of voltage regulator 1 may be defined differently than the power states PS0-PS2 described above.

[0020] Voltage regulator 1 may be operable to provide a plurality of different regulated voltages to load 2 in each of a plurality of different power states of voltage regulator 1. For example, voltage regulator 1 may be capable of supplying the same range of regulated voltages to load 2 in each of a plurality of different power states. Voltage regulator 1 may be capable of supplying a plurality of different output currents to the load in each of a plurality of different power states.

[0021] In the following description, unless otherwise stated, it is assumed that the power management circuitry 8 is provided by the load power controller 5 (e.g., as shown in Fig. 1b, 1c) or by the circuitry of or integrated with the voltage regulator 1. However, it is understood that, as described above, the power management circuitry 8 may be provided by the circuitry of or integrated with the load 2 (e.g., a circuitry on the same chip, in the same package, or on the same integrated circuit die as the load 2), by the circuitry of or integrated with the voltage regulator 1 (e.g., a circuitry on the same chip, in the same package, or on the same integrated circuit die as the voltage regulator 1), by a circuitry separate from the voltage regulator 1 and the load 2 (e.g., a circuitry on a different chip, in a different package, or on a different integrated circuit die than the voltage regulator 1 and the load 2), such as a circuitry of an embedded controller, or by a circuitry distributed among any combination of the circuitry of or integrated with the voltage regulator 1, the circuitry of or integrated with the load 2, and the circuitry separate from the voltage regulator 1 and the load 2.

[0022] The power management circuit 8 may, for example, regulate the output current I provided by the voltage regulator 1 to the load 2. loadVoltage regulator 1 may transition between power states by determining output current data related to (e.g., dependent on or indicative of) a power state at which voltage regulator 1 transitions between power states and comparing the determined output current data to power state current threshold data related to (e.g., dependent on or indicative of) an output current level at which voltage regulator 1 transitions between power states. For example, the determined output current data may comprise or consist of a determined output current provided by voltage regulator 1 to load 2. For example, the output current data may be based on, comprise or consist of a measured (e.g., directly) current from voltage regulator 1 to load 2, or an estimated or predicted current from voltage regulator 1 to load 2. The power state current threshold data may comprise or consist of power state current thresholds corresponding to output current levels at which voltage regulator 1 transitions between power states (e.g., between a first power state and a second power state).

[0023] For example, if the determined output current data indicates an output current equal to or greater than the power state current threshold indicated by the power state current threshold data, the power management circuit 8 may cause the voltage regulator 1 to change power state from a lower power state to a higher power state. In this case, the power state current threshold may be an upper limit current of the lower power state of the voltage regulator 1. For example, with reference to the power states of FIG. 2, when the voltage regulator 1 is operating in power state PS1, the power state current threshold may be 20A (i.e., an upper limit of the output current capacity of the voltage regulator 1 operating in PS1). If the determined output current data indicates an output current of 20A provided by the voltage regulator 1 to the load 2, for example, the power management circuit 8 may cause the voltage regulator to supply an output current I of more than 20A if later required. load To enable voltage regulator 1 to supply power to the load, power management circuit 8 may cause voltage regulator 1 to change its power state from PS1 to PS0.

[0024] In another example, when the determined output current data indicates an output current provided by voltage regulator 1 to load 2 that is less than a power state current threshold indicated by the power state current threshold data, power management circuit 8 may cause voltage regulator 1 to change its power state from a higher power state to a lower power state. In this case, the power state current threshold may be an upper current limit of voltage regulator 1's lower power state. For example, with reference to the power states of FIG. 2, when voltage regulator 1 is operating in power state PS0, the power state current threshold may be 20A (i.e., an upper limit of the output current capacity of voltage regulator 1 operating in PS1). When the determined output current data indicates an output current provided by voltage regulator 1 to load 2 that is less than 20A, power management circuit 8 may cause voltage regulator 1 to change its power state from PS0 to PS1 in order to improve the power efficiency of voltage regulator 1.

[0025] However, it has been found that the output current levels at which different power states of voltage regulator 1 are more power efficient than others may differ from the current limits of the lower power states. load 2 shows a plot of the power efficiency of the three power states (PS0-PS2) of voltage regulator 1 defined in FIG. 2 as a function of output current I. It can be seen that the higher power state PS0 of voltage regulator 1 is actually more power efficient than the lower power state PS1 of voltage regulator 1 when the output current exceeds 14 A, even though the upper current limit of power state PS1 is 20 A. Thus, the power state current threshold, which relates to the output current level that power management circuit 8 allows voltage regulator 1 to change between power states, may be set to be different (e.g., lower) than the upper current limit of the lower power state. For example, the power state current threshold may be set to be different from (e.g., lower than) the upper current limit of the output current I delivered to load 2. load It can be derived from an analysis of the power efficiency of different power states of the voltage regulator 1 as a function of . Thus, the power efficiency of the voltage regulator 1 can be improved.

[0026] It has further been found that the output current levels at which different power states of voltage regulator 1 are more power efficient than others depend on the regulated voltage V supplied by voltage regulator 1 to load 2. reg This is illustrated by an example in Figure 4.

[0027] FIG. 4 illustrates the output current I delivered by Voltage Regulator 1 to Load 2 for three different power states (PS0-PS2) of Voltage Regulator 1 when the Voltage Regulator provides a first (higher) regulated voltage to Load 2. load 4 also shows an upper example plot of the voltage regulator power efficiency vs. the output current I delivered by voltage regulator 1 to load 2 for three different power states (PS0-PS2) of voltage regulator 1 when the voltage regulator provides a second (lower) regulated voltage to load 2. load 4 shows an example plot of voltage regulator power efficiency vs. regulated voltage V from voltage regulator 1 to load 2. As can be seen, the power state current threshold at which one of power states PS0 and PS1 becomes more efficient than the other (labeled “PS1 Cutoff” in FIG. 4) varies with the regulated voltage V from voltage regulator 1 to load 2. reg Similarly, the power state current threshold at which one of the power states PS1 and PS2 becomes more efficient than the other (labeled “PS2 Cutoff” in FIG. 4) also increases with increasing regulated voltage V from Voltage Regulator 1 to Load 2. reg It increases with an increase in

[0028] Thus, the power management circuit 8: load determining output current data related to (e.g., dependent on or indicative of) the regulated voltage V provided by voltage regulator 1 to load 2; regdetermine regulated voltage data related to (e.g., dependent on or indicative of) the output current level at which the voltage regulator changes between a first power state and a second power state of the voltage regulator 1, the power state current threshold data being dependent on the determined regulated voltage data; and cause a change in the power state of the voltage regulator 1 from the first power state to the second power state based on a comparison of the determined output current data to the determined power state current threshold data. The dependence of the power state current threshold data on the determined regulated voltage data related to the regulated voltage provided by the voltage regulator 1 to the load 2 may allow for more accurate power state current threshold data to be determined and therethrough cause a change in the power state of the voltage regulator 1 to the more efficient of the first and second power states. This allows the voltage regulator 1 to operate more power-efficiently. It will be appreciated that the voltage regulator 1 may be capable of providing the regulated voltage in each of the first and second power states. The voltage regulator 1 may be capable of providing the output current to a load 2 in each of a first and a second power state.

[0029] The determined regulated voltage data may comprise or consist of the determined regulated voltage provided by the voltage regulator 1 to the load 2 .

[0030] The determined regulated voltage data may be based on (eg, comprises or consists of) a voltage requested or to be requested from the voltage regulator 1 for the load 2 (eg, by the load power controller 5).

[0031] For example, if the power management circuitry 8 is provided by a load power controller 5 integrated at or with the load 2 (e.g., as shown in FIG. 1b), the power management circuitry 8 (e.g., its processing circuitry) may be configured to regulate the regulated voltage V provided to the load 2 by the voltage regulator 1 in accordance with the voltage requested by the load power controller 5 from the voltage regulator 1 for the load 2. reg For example, the load power controller 5 may determine a voltage operating point of the load 2 and, based thereon, determine a voltage required from the voltage regulator 1 for the load 2. The voltage operating point may be a voltage / frequency operating point of the load 2, such as a voltage / frequency operating point of a processing circuit or a memory controller of the load 2. The load power controller 5 may transmit a load voltage request signal to the voltage regulator 1 corresponding to the determined regulated voltage required from the voltage regulator 1 for the load 2. The load voltage request signal may have a voltage identification (VID) code. The VID code may indicate the regulated voltage required from the voltage regulator 1 for the load 2. The load voltage request signal may be transmitted from the load power controller 5 to the voltage regulator 1 via the power management communication interface 6.

[0032] In another example, for example, when power management circuitry 8 is provided by a circuit integrated with or of voltage regulator 1 (e.g., as shown in FIG. 1c), power management circuitry 8 (e.g., its processing circuitry) may determine the regulated voltage V provided by voltage regulator 1 to load 2 via a received voltage request for load 2, such as a load voltage request received from load power controller 5. regFor example, the regulated voltage data may comprise or consist of a voltage required for the load 2. For example, the load power controller 5 may transmit a load voltage request signal to the power management circuit 8 indicative of a voltage required from the voltage regulator 1 for the load 2, and the power management circuit 8 may receive the load voltage request signal from the load power controller 5. For example, the load power controller 5 may determine a voltage (e.g., voltage / frequency) operating point of the load 2 and, in response, transmit a load voltage request signal to the power management circuit 8 requesting a voltage for the load 2. The load voltage request signal may have a voltage identification (VID) code indicative of a regulated voltage required from the voltage regulator 1 for the load 2. The load voltage request signal may be received by the power management circuit 8 via the power management communication interface 6.

[0033] By determining regulated voltage data relating to the regulated voltage provided by voltage regulator 1 to load 2 based on the voltage required or to be required from voltage regulator 2 for load 2, the regulated voltage provided by voltage regulator 1 to load 2 can be efficiently determined.

[0034] In another example, the power management circuit 8 may be configured to regulate the regulated voltage V provided to the load 2 by the voltage regulator 1. reg The regulated voltage data relating to the measured regulated voltage V provided to load 2 by voltage regulator 1 is reg For example, voltage regulator 1 may determine the regulated voltage V provided by voltage regulator 1 to load 2 based on reg In another example, the load power controller 5 may have an output voltage measurement circuit that measures the regulated voltage V provided by the voltage regulator 1 to the load 2. reg The measured regulated voltage V reg may be communicated to the power management circuit 8. The determined regulated voltage data may comprise or consist of a measured regulated voltage.

[0035] The output current data relating to the output current provided by the voltage regulator 1 to the load 2 may comprise or consist of the determined output current provided by the voltage regulator 1 to the load 2 .

[0036] The power management circuit 8 (e.g., its processing circuit) may determine output current data relating to an output current provided by the voltage regulator 1 to the load 2 based on a predicted output current provided by the voltage regulator 1 to the load 2. For example, the determined output current data may comprise or consist of a predicted output current provided by the voltage regulator 1 to the load 2. The predicted output current may be an output current predicted by the load power controller 5. The predicted output current may be a predicted worst-case output current that may be provided by the voltage regulator 1 to the load 2. For example, if the load 2 comprises a processing circuit, the predicted output current may be based on an assumption that the utilization of the processing circuit of the load is 100% or substantially 100%. The predicted output current may be predicted taking into account one or more further variables related to the load 2, such as, for example, the temperature and the voltage operating point of the load 2. The temperature may be obtained by the load power controller 5 from a temperature sensing circuit, and the load power controller 5 may have prior knowledge of the voltage operating point of the load 2, for example, since the load power controller 5 may control the voltage operating point of the load 2.

[0037] If the power management circuitry 8 (e.g., its processing circuitry) is provided by circuitry integrated in or with the voltage regulator 1 (e.g., as shown in FIG. 1c), the load power controller 5 may communicate the predicted output current level to the power management circuitry 8, for example via a power management communication interface 6.

[0038] Based on the fact that actual workloads rarely reach 100% utilization, it may be unlikely that the worst case output current will be drawn from voltage regulator 1 by load 2. If the current output by voltage regulator 1 to load 2 is inaccurately predicted, voltage regulator 1 may be controlled to operate in a less power efficient power state than may otherwise be possible. For example, referring to FIG. 3, if the predicted worst case current that may be output by voltage regulator 1 to load 2 is 15 A, voltage regulator 1 may be controlled by power management circuit 8 to operate in power state PS0, but if the actual current output by voltage regulator 1 to load 2 is actually 11 A, operating in power state PS1 may be more power efficient, and therefore preferred.

[0039] To address the fact that real workloads rarely reach 100% utilization, the determined power state current threshold data, or the predicted current output by voltage regulator 1 to load 2, or both the determined power state current threshold data and the predicted current output by voltage regulator 1 to load 2 may be scaled by an appropriate scaling factor. Different scaling factors may be given to power state current threshold data relating to changes between different pairs of power states of voltage regulator 1. For example, with reference to the example of FIG. 3, power state current threshold data relating to output current levels at which voltage regulator 1 changes between power states PS1 and PS0 may be scaled (e.g., increased) by a factor of 1.4. Power state current threshold data relating to output current levels at which voltage regulator 1 changes between power states PS2 and PS1 may be scaled (e.g., increased) by a factor of 1.2. It will be appreciated that a similar effect may be achieved by scaling (e.g., decreasing) the predicted current output by voltage regulator 1 to load 2 by a similar factor, or by any suitable combination of scaling the predicted current and the determined threshold.

[0040] Alternatively, the power management circuitry 8 may determine output current data relating to the output current provided by the voltage regulator 1 to the load 2 based on a measured (e.g., directly) output current from the voltage regulator 1 to the load 2. For example, the determined output current data may comprise or consist of this measured current. The measured current from the voltage regulator 1 to the load 2 may be a current measured by a current monitoring circuit, such as a current monitoring circuit of or integrated with the voltage regulator 1, or a current monitoring circuit of or integrated with the load 2 (e.g., a current monitoring circuit provided on the same chip, package, or integrated circuit die as the voltage regulator 1, or a current monitoring circuit provided on the same chip, package, or integrated circuit die as the load 2). The power management circuitry 8 (e.g., its processing circuitry) may determine output current data relating to the output current provided by the voltage regulator 1 to the load 2 by receiving the measured output current of the voltage regulator 1 to the load 2 from the current monitoring circuit. A current monitoring circuit, such as a current monitoring circuit of or integrated with voltage regulator 1, may measure the output current provided by voltage regulator 1 to load 2 and communicate the measured output current, such as by a cord, to power management circuit 8, such as via a power management communication interface 6.

[0041] If the power management circuit 8 (e.g., its processing circuit) is provided by the load power controller 5 and the current monitoring circuit is a circuit integrated at or with the voltage regulator 1, there may be a slight delay in the power management circuit 8 receiving the measured output current (e.g., because the output current provided by the voltage regulator to the load may be a result of reaction to, for example, load utilization and frequency). By providing a current monitoring circuit integrated at or with the load 2 to measure the output current provided by the voltage regulator 1 to the load 2 and communicating the measured output current therefrom to the power management circuit 8 (e.g., its processing circuit), the measured output current may be communicated to the power management circuit 8 (e.g., its processing circuit) more quickly.

[0042] By determining output current data relating to the output current provided by voltage regulator 1 to load 2 based on a measured output current from voltage regulator 1 to load 2, more accurate output current data may be determined, which may allow voltage regulator 1 to be operated more power efficiently. In particular, when load 2 comprises at least a portion of a processor chip, and when power management circuitry 8 (e.g., its processing circuitry) is provided on the processor chip (e.g., by its load power controller 5), the processor chip may control the power state of voltage regulator 1 more power efficiently, for example, without having to provide additional power management circuitry or reconfigure existing voltage regulator 1.

[0043] It will be appreciated that even if the regulated voltage provided by voltage regulator 1 to load 2 is not taken into account when determining the power state current threshold data (e.g., the power state current threshold data remains static), improved power efficiency can be obtained by determining output current data relating to the output current provided by voltage regulator 1 to load 2 based on a measured output current from voltage regulator 1 to load 2 and determining when to cause a change in the power state of voltage regulator 1 based on a comparison of the output current data to the power state current threshold data. It will also be appreciated that even if the regulated voltage provided by voltage regulator 1 to load 2 is taken into account when determining the power state current threshold data, improved power efficiency can be obtained by determining output current data relating to the output current provided by voltage regulator 1 to load 2 based on an estimated or predicted output current from voltage regulator 1 to load 2 and determining when to cause a change in the power state of voltage regulator 1 based on a comparison of the output current data to the power state current threshold data. However, where power state current threshold data is determined in dependence on regulated voltage data relating to the regulated voltage provided by voltage regulator 1 to load 2, even greater improvements in power efficiency can be obtained by determining output current data relating to the output current provided by voltage regulator 1 to load 2 based on a measured output current from voltage regulator 1 to load 2, and determining when to cause a change in the power state of voltage regulator 1 based on a comparison of the output current data with the power state current threshold data.

[0044] The power state current threshold data may have or consist of an output current level at which the voltage regulator 1 changes between a first power state and a second power state of the voltage regulator 1. The power state current threshold data may be dynamically changeable by the power management circuitry 8 (e.g., its processing circuitry) in response to the determined regulated voltage data. For example, while the load 2 is operating, the power management circuitry 8 (e.g., its processing circuitry) may update the previously determined power state current threshold data in response to or in response to a change in the regulated voltage provided by the voltage regulator 1 to the load 2 (e.g., a change in the load voltage demand or a change in a measured regulated voltage supplied by the voltage regulator 1 to the load 2) in response to the determined regulated voltage data. The power state current threshold data may differ from the previously determined power state current threshold data by the determined regulated voltage data being different from the determined regulated voltage data on which the previously determined power state current threshold data was dependent. For example, it may be that the determined regulated voltage data on which the previously determined power state current threshold data depended related to a regulated voltage level provided by voltage regulator 1 to load 2 that was different (e.g., greater or smaller) than the determined regulated voltage data on which the current power state current threshold data depends (e.g., due to a change in voltage demand from load 2).

[0045] For example, if power management circuitry 8 is provided by load power controller 5 (e.g., as shown in FIG. 1b), power management circuitry 8 (e.g., its processing circuitry) may cause a change in the power state of voltage regulator 1, for example, by causing power management circuitry 8 to send a power state update command to voltage regulator 1. The power state update command may indicate a power state of voltage regulator 1 to be implemented by voltage regulator 1. Voltage regulator 1 may receive the power state update command from power management circuitry 8 and, in response, change its configuration of voltage regulator 1 (e.g., by any one or more of the following: changing its number of phases, enabling or disabling one or more of its circuits, changing the power mode of one or more of its circuits, changing between CCM mode and DCM mode, changing the voltage regulator switching frequency in DCM mode) to implement the power state indicated by the power state update command. For example, voltage regulator 1 may have configuration circuitry that dynamically reconfigures the voltage regulator to thereby change its power state. A power state update request received by voltage regulator 1 may cause the voltage regulator's constituent circuitry to dynamically reconfigure voltage regulator 1 from one power state to a different power state.

[0046] Alternatively, for example, if power management circuitry 8 (e.g., its processing circuitry) is provided by circuitry integrated with or of voltage regulator 1 (e.g., as shown in FIG. 1c), power management circuitry 8 may effect a change in the power state of voltage regulator 1 by directly inducing a change to the configuration of voltage regulator 1, for example, by causing voltage regulator 1 to change its number of phases, enable or disable one or more of its circuits, change the power mode of one or more of its circuits, change between CCM and DCM modes, change the voltage regulator switching frequency in DCM mode, etc. In this case, voltage regulator 1 may be operated more power-efficiently (e.g., by operating more frequently in its most power-efficient power state), for example, without having to provide additional power management circuitry or to reconfigure or reprogram power management circuitry external to voltage regulator 1 to control the power state of voltage regulator 1. Furthermore, in this case, more flexibility may be provided regarding the combination of phases of voltage regulator 1 that may be controlled to contribute to the regulated voltage or output current provided by voltage regulator 1 to load 2. For example, voltage regulator 1 may be operable to select any possible combination of phases that contribute to the regulated voltage or output current provided to load 2, and load power controller 5 may be operable to request voltage regulator 1 to operate in a more limited set of defined power states (e.g., this limited set of defined power states may consist of power states that use all (e.g., three or more) phases or a single phase, but other combinations of phases (e.g., two phases) may be possible to implement by voltage regulator 1). Power management circuitry 8 of or integrated with voltage regulator 1 may be configured to override power states requested by load power controller 5 when setting the voltage regulator's power states (e.g., to implement a more power efficient voltage regulator power state).

[0047] The dependence of the power state current thresholds of voltage regulator 1 on the regulated voltage provided by voltage regulator 1 to load 2 may be predetermined, for example, for use in determining power state current threshold data in response to regulated voltage data. For example, to determine the dependence of the power state current thresholds of voltage regulator 1 on the regulated voltage provided by voltage regulator 1 to load 2, for each of a plurality of power states of voltage regulator 1 (e.g., for each of two or more power states of voltage regulator 1), the power efficiency of voltage regulator 1 may be calculated as a function of the output current I provided by voltage regulator 1 to load 2. load as a function of , and the regulated voltage V provided by voltage regulator 1 to load 2 reg For each of a number of regulated voltages provided by voltage regulator 1 to load 2, a load current I load a first one of the power states of voltage regulator 1 is more power efficient at supplying an output current I of voltage regulator 1 to load 2 than a second one of the power states of voltage regulator 1; load A power state current threshold may be determined with respect to the level of the regulated voltage V provided by the voltage regulator 1 to the load 2. reg Reference data may be determined regarding the dependence of the power state current thresholds on V. This reference data may then be stored for use by power management circuit 8 in determining power state current threshold data as a function of the regulated voltage provided by voltage regulator 1 to load 2.

[0048] For example, to predetermine the dependence of the power state current thresholds of voltage regulator 1 on the regulated voltage provided by voltage regulator 1 to load 2, a data processing circuit having one or more processors may be provided, the data processing circuit may determine the power efficiency of the voltage regulator for each of a plurality of power states of the voltage regulator as a function of the output current provided by the voltage regulator to the load and as a function of the regulated voltage provided by the voltage regulator to the load, determine the power state current thresholds for each of the plurality of regulated voltages provided by the voltage regulator to the load, and determine reference data relating to the dependence of the power state current thresholds on the regulated voltage provided by the voltage regulator to the load. The data processing circuit may determine the power efficiency of the voltage regulator for each of a plurality of power states of the voltage regulator as a function of the output current provided by the voltage regulator to the load and as a function of the regulated voltage provided by the voltage regulator to the load by obtaining (e.g., from a memory) input power efficiency data relating to the power efficiency of the voltage regulator for each of a plurality of power states of the voltage regulator as a function of the output current provided by the voltage regulator to the load and as a function of the regulated voltage provided by voltage regulator 1 to load 2. Power efficiency data regarding the power efficiency of the voltage regulator may be obtained by experimentally measuring the input power to and output power from the voltage regulator 1 as a function of different output currents and regulated voltages provided by the voltage regulator 1 to the load 2 for each of the power states. The power efficiency of the voltage regulator 1 may be determined by comparing the input power to the output power as a function of different output currents and regulated voltages to the load 2 for each of the power states. The functionality of the data processing circuitry may be implemented in software, firmware, hardware, or any combination thereof.The data processing circuit may have processing circuitry in communication with a memory, such as a non-transitory computer readable memory, that stores computer program instructions executable by the processing circuitry of the data processing circuit to perform functions of the data processing circuit.

[0049] The reference data may include profile data showing how the power state current thresholds vary with the regulated voltage V provided by voltage regulator 1 to load 2. Alternatively, the reference data may include or consist of power state current threshold data (e.g., power state current thresholds) relating to the output current levels at which one power state becomes more efficient than the other(s) power state(s), as a function of the regulated voltage V provided by voltage regulator 1 to load 2. regA function (e.g., a mathematical equation or formula having one or more parameters) relating regulated voltage data related to (e.g., dependent on or indicative of) the reference data may be determined. For example, the reference data may be determined by fitting a (e.g., predetermined) function (e.g., a mathematical equation or formula having one or more parameters) to power state current threshold data related to the power state current thresholds as a function of regulated voltage data related to the regulated voltage provided to the load by the voltage regulator. The (e.g., fitted) function may be, for example, any one or more of a linear function, a polynomial function, a non-linear function. The reference data may include values ​​of one or more parameters of the (e.g., fitted) function. The reference data may be stored in a memory accessible to processing circuitry of the power management circuitry 8. For example, the reference data may be stored in a memory of the power management circuitry 8. For example, the reference data may be stored in one or more registers of the power management circuitry 8 or made accessible to the processing circuitry of the power management circuitry 8. The register(s) may be a register dedicated to said reference data (which may for example contain the values ​​of one or more parameters of the function as described). This is shown for example in Fig. 9, which is a block diagram showing a schematic of a power management circuit 8 with a processing circuit 8a and registers 8b, 8c accessible to it. The reference data stored in the memory (for example registers 8b, 8c) is programmable by software or firmware, such as for example by a BIOS (Basic Input / Output System) for controlling the power management circuit 8 (for example the BIOS of the load, in case the power management circuit 8 or at least said memory is provided by a circuit of or integrated with the load 2, such as for example the load power controller 5).

[0050] An illustrative example of predetermining the dependence of the power state current threshold of voltage regulator 1 on the regulated voltage provided by voltage regulator 1 to load 2 is provided with reference to FIG.

[0051] Figure 5 shows several regulated voltages V provided by a voltage regulator 1 to a load 2: reg : The output current I provided by the voltage regulator 1 to the load 2 for each of the power states PS0 and PS1 for each of 0.5V, 0.6V, 0.7V, 0.8V, 1.0V, and 1.2V load 2 shows plots of the power efficiency of Voltage Regulator 1 as a function of current. The thicker lines in each case represent the power efficiency vs. output current plot for the lower power state PS1, and the corresponding thinner lines represent the power efficiency vs. output current plot for the higher power state PS0. Consistent with FIG. 4, the power state current threshold at which one of the two power states PS0 and PS1 of Voltage Regulator 1 becomes more efficient than the other (i.e., where the power efficiency curve for power state PS0 intersects the power efficiency curve for power state PS1 for a given regulated voltage provided by Voltage Regulator 1 to Load 2) increases with increasing regulated voltage provided by Voltage Regulator 1 to Load 2. For example, when Voltage Regulator 1 provides a regulated voltage of 0.5V to Load 2, the power state current threshold at which one of power states PS0 and PS1 becomes more power efficient than the other is about 14A, and when Voltage Regulator 1 provides a regulated voltage of 1.0V to Load 2, the power state current threshold at which one of these power states becomes more power efficient than the other is about 20A.

[0052] Regulated voltage V from voltage regulator 1 to load 2 regFIG. 6 shows an example plot of the power state current threshold (referred to in FIG. 6 as I_cross) at which one of the power states PS0, PS1 of voltage regulator 1 becomes more efficient than the other as a function of . Reference data regarding the dependence of the power state current thresholds on the regulated voltage provided by voltage regulator 1 to load 2 may be stored in a memory accessible to the processing circuitry of power management circuit 8, such as in memory of power management circuit 8, for use by power management circuit 8 in determining power state current threshold data in response to regulated voltage data. For example, as discussed above, the reference data may be stored in a memory accessible to the processing circuitry of power management circuit 8, such as in memory of power management circuit 8, for use by power management circuit 8 in determining power state current threshold data in response to regulated voltage data. reg Alternatively, the reference data may include power state current threshold data relating to the output current level that causes a power state of the voltage regulator to change, as a function of the regulated voltage V provided by voltage regulator 1 to load 2. reg The regulated voltage data may include values ​​of one or more parameters of a (e.g., predetermined) function (e.g., a mathematical equation or formula having one or more parameters) relating to regulated voltage data related to the regulated voltage data. The values ​​of the one or more parameters of the function may be stored in one or more registers accessible to the processing circuitry of the power management circuitry 8, such as in one or more registers of the power management circuitry. As explained above, the function may be any one or more of a linear function, a polynomial function, and a non-linear function.

[0053] For example, the function may be a function relating the power state current thresholds to the regulated voltage data, such as a (e.g., best-fit) linear function (e.g., a mathematical expression or equation representing a line) taking the form of y=mx+c, where y is the power state current threshold, x is a regulated voltage variable based on regulated voltage data related to the regulated voltage provided by voltage regulator 1 to load 2, m is the slope of the linear function, and c is the y-intercept of the linear function. For example, in the example of Figure 6, the regulated voltage variable x may be the determined regulated voltage provided by voltage regulator 1 to load 2, and the function relating the power state current thresholds to the regulated voltage data may be a (e.g., best-fit) linear function y=12.298x+8.0595, where y is the power state current threshold, x is the determined regulated voltage provided by voltage regulator 1 to load 2, 12.298 is the slope parameter of the linear function, and 8.0595 is the y-intercept parameter of the linear function. The reference data stored for this function may include a value of a slope parameter m (e.g., 12.298 in the illustrative example of FIG. 6) and a value of a y-axis intercept parameter (e.g., 8.0595 in the illustrative example of FIG. 6). A first register accessible to the processing circuitry of the power management circuitry 8 (e.g., a first register of the power management circuitry, etc.) may store a predetermined value of the slope parameter m. A second register accessible to the processing circuitry of the power management circuitry 8 (e.g., a second register of the power management circuitry, etc.) may store a value of the y-intercept parameter c.

[0054] The table of Figure 7 shows that the error in the power state current thresholds derived from the (e.g., best fit) linear function of Figure 6 is minimal (less than 0.6 A or 3.7%). However, the storage requirements for the values ​​of the slope and y-axis intercept parameters are significantly less than the storage requirements for the (e.g., raw) profile data showing the variation of the power state threshold current with the regulated voltage provided by voltage regulator 1 to load 2. Thus, by storing values ​​of one or more parameters of the function for determining the power state current thresholds, the reference data can be efficiently stored.

[0055] The function representing the variation of the power state current threshold data with respect to the regulated voltage data may be any other type of function suitable for fitting the variation of the power state current threshold data determined with the regulated voltage data. For example, the function may be a polynomial function, a non-linear function, or any other type of suitable function. The value(s) of the parameter(s) of the reference data stored in the memory (if provided) may be the value(s) of the parameter(s) of the respective function(s).

[0056] The power state current thresholds between different pairs of power states of the voltage regulator 1 may vary differently as a function of the regulated voltage provided by the voltage regulator 1 to the load 2. Thus, the process of deriving and storing reference data regarding the dependence of the power state current thresholds on the regulated voltage provided by the voltage regulator 1 to the load 2 may be repeated for the power state current thresholds between different pairs of power states of the voltage regulator 1. For example, referring to the example of FIG. 4, a process of deriving and storing reference data regarding the dependence of the power state current threshold data on the regulated voltage data may be performed for a power state current threshold (referred to as "PS1 cutoff" in FIG. 4) that the voltage regulator 1 changes between power states PS1 and PS0, and for a power state current threshold (referred to as "PS2 cutoff" in FIG. 4) that the voltage regulator 1 changes between power states PS1 and PS2. Different reference data may be stored in memory 8 accessible to the processing circuitry of the power management circuitry 8 for the determination of the power state current thresholds between different pairs of power states of the voltage regulator 1.

[0057] Thus, to determine the dependency of different power state current thresholds that voltage regulator 1 varies between different pairs of power states, the power efficiency of voltage regulator 1 for each of a plurality of power states of voltage regulator 1 (e.g., for each of three or more power states of voltage regulator 1) may be calculated as a function of the output current I provided by voltage regulator 1 to load 2.load as a function of , and the regulated voltage V provided by voltage regulator 1 to load 2 reg For each of a plurality of regulated voltages provided by voltage regulator 1 to load 2, for each of a plurality of pairs of power states of voltage regulator 1, a function of the output current I of voltage regulator 1 to load 2 for which one power state of the pair is more power efficient than the other power state of the pair may be determined. load , and for each of a plurality of power state current thresholds associated with an output current level at which the voltage regulator changes between a respective pair of power states, reference data can be determined relating to the dependency of the respective power state current threshold on a regulated voltage. As discussed above, the reference data can include profile data relating to the dependency of the respective power state current threshold on a regulated voltage provided by voltage regulator 1 to load 2. Alternatively, the reference data can include profile data relating to the dependency of the respective power state current threshold on a regulated voltage V provided by voltage regulator 1 to load 2. reg A function (e.g., a mathematical equation or formula having one or more parameters) relating to voltage regulator 1 may be determined. Each of the functions may be one or more of a linear function, a polynomial function, and a non-linear function. The reference data may include values ​​of one or more parameters of the functions. The reference data may then be stored in a memory, such as a memory (e.g., one or more registers) of power management circuit 8 accessible to processing circuitry of power management circuit 8, such as a memory (e.g., one or more registers) of power management circuit 8, for use by power management circuit 8 to determine when voltage regulator 1 changes power states.

[0058] The reference data may be specific to the type of voltage regulator 1. The reference data may be specific to the type of load 2.

[0059] As described above, the power management circuit 8 (e.g., its processing circuitry) controls the output current I provided by the voltage regulator 1 to the load 2. loadDetermine the output current data related to the regulated voltage V provided by voltage regulator 1 to load 2. regand determine regulated voltage data relating to an output current level at which the voltage regulator 1 changes between a first power state and a second power state, the power state current threshold data being dependent on the determined regulated voltage data, and may cause a change in the power state of the voltage regulator from the first power state to the second power state based on a comparison of the determined output current data to the determined power state current threshold data. The power management circuit 8 (e.g., its processing circuitry) may determine the power state current threshold data further dependent on predetermined reference data relating to a dependency of the power state current threshold data on the regulated voltage data relating to a regulated voltage provided by the voltage regulator 1 to the load 2, the reference data being pre-determined reference data stored in a memory (e.g., a memory of the power management circuit 8 or a memory accessible to the processing circuitry of the power management circuit 8, etc.). The power management circuit 8 (e.g., its processing circuitry) may retrieve the reference data from the memory and determine the power state current threshold data accordingly. For example, as described above, power management circuit 8 (e.g., processing circuitry thereof) may retrieve from memory (e.g., one or more registers) values ​​of one or more parameters of a (e.g., predetermined) function (e.g., a function such as a mathematical equation or formula relating power state current threshold data to a regulated voltage provided by voltage regulator 1 to load 2) and determine the power state current threshold data in response to the retrieved values ​​of one or more parameters of the function, the (e.g., predetermined) function, and determined regulated voltage data related to the regulated voltage provided by voltage regulator 1 to load 2. For example, processing circuitry of power management circuit 8 may be configured to determine the power state current threshold data based on a linear function (e.g., y=mx+c), which may be a predetermined function, values ​​of parameters (e.g., m and c) of the linear function, which may be predetermined values ​​retrieved from memory, and regulated voltage data related to the regulated voltage provided by voltage regulator 1 to load 2.

[0060] As described above, different predetermined reference data may be derived and stored for power state thresholds at which the voltage regulator 1 changes between different pairs of power states of the voltage regulator 1. Thus, the power management circuit 8 may determine first power state current threshold data related to (e.g., dependent on or indicative of) an output current level at which the voltage regulator 1 changes between a first power state and a second power state in response to first determined regulated voltage data related to a first regulated voltage provided by the voltage regulator 1 to the load 2 and first reference data related to a dependency of the first power state current threshold data on the first determined regulated voltage data, the first reference data being specific to the power state current threshold data related to the output current level at which the voltage regulator 1 changes between the first power state and the second power state. The power management circuit 8 may further determine second power state current threshold data related to (e.g., dependent on or indicative of) the output current level at which the voltage regulator 1 changes between the second power state and the third power state in response to second determined regulated voltage data related to the second regulated voltage provided by the voltage regulator 1 to the load 2 and second reference data regarding the dependence of the second power state current threshold data on the second determined regulated voltage data, wherein the second reference data is specific to the power state current threshold data related to the output current level at which the voltage regulator 1 changes between the second power state and the third power state.

[0061] In an illustrative example, referring to FIG. 8, voltage regulator 1 may be in power state PS2. Power management circuitry 8 (e.g., its processing circuitry) controls the regulated voltage V provided by voltage regulator 1 to load 2. regThe power management circuit 8 (e.g., its processing circuitry) may determine regulated voltage data relating to the output current I provided from the voltage regulator 1 to the load 2 in response to the determined regulated voltage data. The power management circuit 8 (e.g., its processing circuitry) may determine the power state current threshold 12 relating to the output current level at which the voltage regulator 1 changes from the lower power state PS2 to the higher power state PS1 in further dependence on reference data relating to the dependency of the power state current threshold on the regulated voltage data. The reference data may be specific to the power state current threshold relating to the output current level at which the voltage regulator 1 changes between the power states PS2 and PS1. The power management circuit 8 (e.g., its processing circuitry) may determine the output current I provided from the voltage regulator 1 to the load 2 in response to the determined regulated voltage data. load . The power management circuitry 8 (e.g., its processing circuitry) may determine output current data relating to a power state current threshold associated with the power state of the power management circuitry 8. The power management circuitry 8 (e.g., its processing circuitry) may compare the determined output current data to the determined power state current threshold. Based on the comparison (e.g., if the determined output current data indicates an output current equal to or greater than the determined power state current threshold), the power management circuitry 8 (e.g., its processing circuitry) may cause voltage regulator 1 to change power state from PS2 to PS1.

[0062] Similarly, when voltage regulator 1 is in power state PS1, power management circuit 8 (e.g., its processing circuitry) determines the second regulated voltage V provided by voltage regulator 1 to load 2. regThe power management circuit 8 (e.g., its processing circuit) may determine a second power state current threshold 14 related to an output current level at which the voltage regulator 1 changes from the lower power state PS1 to the higher power state PS0 in response to the determined second regulated voltage data. The power management circuit 8 (e.g., its processing circuit) may determine a power state current threshold 12 related to an output current level at which the voltage regulator 1 changes from the lower power state PS1 to the higher power state PS0 further dependent on reference data regarding the dependence of the power state current threshold on the regulated voltage data. The reference data may be specific to a power state current threshold related to an output current level at which the voltage regulator 1 changes between the power states PS1 and PS0. The reference data specific to a power state current threshold related to an output current level at which the voltage regulator 1 changes between the power states PS1 and PS0 may be different from the reference data specific to a power state current threshold related to an output current level at which the voltage regulator 1 changes between the power states PS2 and PS1. The power management circuit 8 (e.g., its processing circuitry) controls the second output current I provided by the voltage regulator 1 to the load 2. load , the power management circuit 8 (e.g., its processing circuitry) may determine second output current data relating to the determined second power state current threshold 14. Based on the comparison (e.g., if the determined second output current data indicates an output current equal to or greater than the determined second power state current threshold), the power management circuit 8 (e.g., its processing circuitry) may cause voltage regulator 1 to change power state from PS1 to PS0.

[0063] The power management circuit 8 (e.g., its processing circuitry) may, for example, determine the output current I provided by the voltage regulator 1 to the load 2. loadIn a similar manner, voltage regulator 1 may be configured to change from a higher power state (e.g., PS0 or PS1) to a lower power state (e.g., PS1 or PS2) responsive to a determination that the determined output current data relating to indicates an output current below an applicable power state current threshold (which threshold may also be determined in response to determined regulated voltage data relating to the regulated voltage provided by voltage regulator 1 to load 2).

[0064] It will be appreciated that, as described above, the power state current threshold in each case may be determined further depending on stored predetermined reference data relating to the dependency of the power state current threshold on determined regulated voltage data relating to the regulated voltage provided to the load 2 by the voltage regulator 1, such as, for example, stored reference data specific to the dependency of the power state current threshold on regulated voltage data relating to the regulated voltage supplied to the load 2 by the voltage regulator 1.

[0065] It will be appreciated that if voltage regulator 1 is already in an appropriate (eg, most power efficient) power state for the determined output current data, the power state of voltage regulator 1 may not be changed.

[0066] As shown by the thick dashed line in FIG. 8, voltage regulator 1 can thus be operated in the most power efficient power state for the particular determined output current and regulated voltage data.

[0067] To prevent unstable switching between power states, hysteresis may be applied, for example, by providing different power state current threshold data that causes the power management circuitry 8 (e.g., its processing circuitry) to change from a high power state to a low power state than the power state current threshold data that causes the power management circuitry 8 (e.g., its processing circuitry) to change from a low power state to a high power state. This may be done, for example, by adding or subtracting a nominal value to the power state current threshold data for causing a change from a low power state to a high power state, or to the power state current threshold data for causing a change from a high power state to a low power state.

[0068] A plurality of voltage regulators may be provided for supplying respective regulated voltages to respective loads, each of the plurality of voltage regulators being operable in at least respective first and second distinct power states, where power management circuitry 8 (e.g., its processing circuitry) may determine, for each of the voltage regulators, respective output current data relating to a respective output current provided by the respective voltage regulator to the respective load, determine respective regulated voltage data relating to a respective regulated voltage provided by the respective voltage regulator to the respective load, determine respective power state current threshold data relating to a respective output current level at which each voltage regulator changes between its respective first and second power states, the respective power state current threshold data being dependent on the respective determined regulated voltage data, and cause a change in the power state of each voltage regulator from its respective first power state to its respective second power state based on a comparison of the respective determined output current data with the respective determined power state current threshold data.

[0069] 10 shows an illustrative example in which a battery 19 powers three voltage regulators 20, 22, 24, each of which provides a respective regulated voltage to a respective load. The loads of the voltage regulators 20, 22, 24 are each circuitry of a system-on-chip 26. In particular, a first voltage regulator 20 provides a regulated voltage VCC CORE and a second voltage regulator 22 provides a regulated voltage VCC to the graphics processing circuitry of the system-on-chip 26. GT and a third voltage regulator 24 provides a regulated voltage VCC to the system agent circuitry of the system-on-chip 26. SA The power management circuitry 8 in this case may be provided by a load power control unit (PCU) 30 of the system-on-chip 26. The load power control unit 30 may communicate with the voltage regulators 20, 22, 24 via a power management communication interface (e.g., a VID bus) for communicating, for example, load voltage request signals and power state update commands to the voltage regulators 20, 22, 24. The PCU 30 may also receive measured output currents from the voltage regulators 20, 22, 24 to the corresponding loads via the power management communication interface (which may be bidirectional). The PCU 30 may receive measured output voltages from the voltage regulators 20, 22, 24 to the corresponding loads. The system-on-chip 30 may further include a platform controller hub (PCH) 32 connected to its central processing unit, for example, via a direct media interface. One or more voltage regulators may be provided to provide regulated voltages to the PCH or to provide one or more regulated voltages to one or more components of the PCH, such as, for example, the input / output controllers of the PCH. Such a voltage regulator may operate in a manner similar to regulators 1, 20, 22, 24 described herein.

[0070] It is understood that the respective regulated voltage data relating to the respective regulated voltages provided by the respective voltage regulators 20, 22, 24 to the respective loads, the respective output current data relating to the respective output currents provided by the respective voltage regulators to the respective loads, and the respective power state current threshold data can be determined by any of the techniques disclosed herein. It is also understood that the change in power state of the respective voltage regulators can be caused by any of the techniques disclosed herein.

[0071] It will also be appreciated that a (e.g., multi-phase) voltage regulator configured to supply a regulated voltage to one or more components of a computer platform (e.g., a memory controller or one or more displays of the computer platform), and in particular to other suitable loads, such as loads that require variable voltage levels from the (e.g., multi-phase) voltage regulator, may be operated more efficiently using the techniques disclosed herein. In examples where the load supplied by the voltage regulator lacks a load power control unit, a power management circuit 8 may be included in or integrated with the voltage regulator 1 to determine appropriate power state current threshold data (e.g., in response to measuring the regulated voltage provided to the load) and cause a change in the power state of the voltage regulator 1 in response to a comparison of the determined output current data relating to the output current from the voltage regulator 1 to the load 2 with the power state current threshold data, such as by enabling or disabling one or more phases of the voltage regulator or by changing the voltage regulator between CCM and DCM modes (or in other suitable manners, such as other suitable manners disclosed herein).

[0072] FIG. 11 shows a regulated voltage V reg and the output load current I load1 illustrates an apparatus 40 having a voltage regulator 1 providing a power supply voltage Vcc, and a power management circuit 8. As previously described, the power management circuit 8 may be a circuit of a load 2 or a circuit integrated with the load 2 (e.g., on the same chip or integrated circuit die or in the same package as the load 2), a circuit of a voltage regulator 1 or a circuit integrated with the voltage regulator 1 (e.g., on the same chip or integrated circuit die or in the same package as the voltage regulator 1), a circuit separate from the voltage regulator 1 and the load 2, or a circuit distributed among any combination of a circuit of or integrated with the voltage regulator 1, a circuit of or integrated with the load 2, and a circuit separate from the voltage regulator 1 and the load 2. The apparatus 40 may comprise a computing device, such as, for example, a desktop computer, a laptop computer, a portable computing device, a smartphone, a tablet or phablet computer, a personal data assistant, a wearable computing device, or any other suitable computing device.Load 2 may comprise any one or more of the following: a load of a computing device; a computing platform of a computing device; one or more components of a computing platform of a computing device (e.g., one or more processors, one or more processor chips, a multi-core processing circuit, at least one domain of a multi-core processing circuit, e.g., a domain having one or more processing cores, or a fan or display of a computer platform); one or more processors of a computing device; one or more processor chips of a computing device; a circuit of a processor or processor chip of a computing device; a processing circuit or computing circuit of a processor or processor chip of a computing device, e.g., a domain having one or more cores of a multi-core processor of a computing device; The computing device may include one or more domains of a processor chip of the computing device, e.g., processing circuitry of a central processing unit of the processor chip of the computing device, such as one or more central processing unit cores of the computing device, graphics processing circuitry of the processor chip of the computing device, such as one or more graphics processor cores, at least a first domain of a multi-core processing circuit of the computing device further having a second domain including at least the graphics processing circuitry, the first domain including one or more processing cores, such as one or more processing cores of a central processing unit processor of the computing device, a memory controller of the computing device, a display controller of the computing device, and non-core circuitry of a processor or processor chip of the computing device.

[0073] A processor chip, if provided, may comprise a dedicated central processing unit chip (e.g., a central processing unit chip for a personal computer, such as a desktop personal computer) or a system-on-a-chip (SoC) having one or more processors, such as, for example, one or more central processing unit processors and one or more graphics processors. The non-core circuitry of a processor or processor chip may include circuitry of the processor or processor chip other than one or more processing cores of the processor or processor chip, such as, for example, interconnect circuitry, uncore or system agent circuitry (e.g., upper cache memory, interconnect controllers, on-die memory controllers, Thunderbolt® controllers).

[0074] In one example, the device 40 is a computing platform having a multi-core processing circuit including a first domain including one or more cores and a second domain including at least a graphics processing circuit. The load may include at least the first domain. In this case, the voltage regulator 1 may provide a regulated voltage to at least the first domain. The voltage regulator 1 may provide an output current to at least the first domain. The power management circuit 8 may determine output current data related to an output current provided by the voltage regulator 1 to the at least first domain, determine regulated voltage data related to a regulated voltage provided by the voltage regulator to the at least first domain, determine power state current threshold data related to an output current level at which the voltage regulator dynamically reconfigures from a first power state to a second power state, the power state current threshold data being dependent on the determined regulated voltage data, and may cause the voltage regulator to change from the first power state to the second power state based on a comparison between the determined output current data and the determined power state current threshold data.

[0075] 12 is a flow chart of a method 50 of controlling the power state of a voltage regulator (such as voltage regulator 1) for providing a regulated voltage to a load (such as load 2), the voltage regulator being operable in at least first and second distinct power states. The method may be performed by a power management circuit (e.g., a processing circuit thereof), such as power management circuit 8. The functions of the method may be implemented in software, firmware, hardware, or any combination thereof.

[0076] The method may include determining output current data relating to the output current provided by the voltage regulator to the load, at 52. The method may include determining the output current data relating to the output current provided by the voltage regulator to the load in any suitable manner, such as, for example, based on a predicted output current provided by the voltage regulator to the load, or based on a measured output current from the voltage regulator to the load, such as in any of the manners described herein.

[0077] The method may include determining regulated voltage data relating to a regulated voltage provided by the voltage regulator to the load, at 54. The method may include determining the regulated voltage data relating to the regulated voltage provided by the voltage regulator to the load in any suitable manner, such as by determining a voltage (e.g., voltage / frequency) operating point of load 2 and based thereon determining a voltage required from voltage regulator 1 for the load, or via a received voltage request for load 2, or based on a measured voltage from the voltage regulator to the load, or in any of the manners described herein.

[0078] The method may include, at 56, determining power state current threshold data relating to an output current level at which the voltage regulator changes between the first power state and the second power state, the power state current threshold data being dependent on the determined regulated voltage data. For example, the method may include determining the power state current threshold data relating to an output current level at which the voltage regulator changes between the first power state and the second power state in dependence on the determined regulated voltage data and predefined reference data relating to a dependency of the power state current threshold data on the regulated voltage data. The method may further include retrieving the reference data from a memory (e.g., one or more registers). For example, the reference data may include values ​​of one or more parameters of a predefined function indicating a dependency of the power state current threshold data on the regulated voltage data. In this case, the method may include determining the power state current threshold data relating to an output current level at which the voltage regulator changes between the first power state and the second power state in dependence on the value(s) of the parameter(s) of the function, the function, and the determined regulated voltage data.

[0079] The method may include causing a change in a power state of the voltage regulator from a first power state to a second power state, at 58, based on a comparison of the determined output current data to the determined power state threshold data. For example, the method may include causing a change in a power state of the voltage regulator from a first power state to a second power state based on the determined output current data indicating that the output current is equal to or greater than the power state current threshold data or is less than the power state current threshold data. The method may include causing the change in a power state of the voltage regulator by sending a power state update command to the voltage regulator. Alternatively, the method may include causing the change in a power state of the voltage regulator by reconfiguring (e.g., directly) the voltage regulator to change the power state of the voltage regulator.

[0080] By relying on the determined regulated voltage data, which relates to the output current level at which the voltage regulator changes between the first and second states, to the determined regulated voltage data, which relates to the regulated voltage provided by the voltage regulator to the load, more accurate power state current threshold data can be determined such that the power state of the voltage regulator can be changed to the more efficient of the first and second power states, which allows the voltage regulator to operate in a more power efficient manner.

[0081] 13 is a flow chart of a method 60 for determining a dependency of a power state current threshold of a voltage regulator on a regulated voltage provided by the voltage regulator (such as voltage regulator 1) to a load (such as load 2), the voltage regulator being operable in a number of different power states. The method of FIG. 13 may be performed by a data processing circuit having one or more processors. The functions of the method may be implemented in software, firmware, hardware, or any combination thereof.

[0082] The method may include, at 62, determining a power efficiency of the voltage regulator for each of a plurality of power states of the voltage regulator as a function of the output current provided by the voltage regulator to the load and as a function of the regulated voltage provided by the voltage regulator to the load.

[0083] The method may include, at 64, determining, for each of a plurality of regulated voltages provided by the voltage regulator to the load, a power state current threshold related to a level of output current of the voltage regulator to the load at which a first power state of the voltage regulator is more power efficient than a second power state of the voltage regulator.

[0084] The method may include, at 66, determining reference data relating to a dependency of a power state current threshold on a regulated voltage provided by the voltage regulator 1 to the load 2. The method may further include storing the reference data in a memory, such as a memory accessible to processing circuitry of the power management circuitry. For example, the method may include determining a function (e.g., a formula or equation having one or more parameters) relating the power state current threshold data to regulated voltage data related to the regulated voltage provided by the voltage regulator to the load. In this case, the reference data may include values ​​of the one or more parameters of the function. In this case, the method may include storing values ​​of the one or more parameters of the function in one or more registers, such as one or more registers accessible to processing circuitry of the power management circuitry, such as one or more registers of the power management circuitry. Storing values ​​of the one or more parameters of the function for determining the power state current threshold data may efficiently store the reference data.

[0085] In this manner, reference data can be derived for dynamically updating power state current threshold data, which relates to the output current levels at which voltage regulator 1 changes between different power states, based on the regulated voltage provided to the load by voltage regulator 1. Thus, the power states of the voltage regulator can be controlled in a more power efficient manner, enabling power savings to be achieved.

[0086] The reference data may be specific to a type of voltage regulator 1. The reference data may be specific to a type of load 2. The reference data may be specific to power state current threshold data through which the voltage regulator changes between a first power state and a second power state. 62-66 may be repeated for power state current threshold data through which the voltage regulator 1 changes between different pairs of power states. The reference data may be stored as described.

[0087] 14 is a flow chart of a method 70 of controlling a power state of a voltage regulator (e.g., voltage regulator 1) for providing a regulated voltage to a load (e.g., load 2), the voltage regulator being operable in at least first and second distinct power states. The method may be performed by power management circuitry of a processor chip, such as a dedicated central processing unit chip or a power management circuitry of a system-on-chip having one or more processors. The functions of the method may be implemented in software, firmware, hardware, or any combination thereof.

[0088] The method may include, at 72, determining output current data relating to an output current from the voltage regulator to a load. The output current data may be based on a measured current from the voltage regulator to the load. For example, the measured current from the voltage regulator to the load may be a current measured by a current monitoring circuit, such as a current monitoring circuit at or integrated with the voltage regulator, or a current monitoring circuit at or integrated with the load. The output current data relating to the output current from the voltage regulator to the load may be determined by receiving a measurement of the output current of the voltage regulator to the load from the current monitoring circuit.

[0089] The method may include determining, at 74, that the voltage regulator changes from the first power state to the second power state based on a comparison of the determined output current data to the power state current threshold data. For example, in response to determining that the output current data indicates that the output current is greater than or equal to the power state current threshold indicated by the power state current threshold data, the voltage regulator may determine to change from the first power state to the second power state.

[0090] The method may include determining regulated voltage data relating to a regulated voltage provided by a voltage regulator to a load, and determining power state current threshold data in response to the regulated voltage data (and in some examples in response to predetermined reference data relating to a dependency of the power state current threshold data on the regulated voltage data).

[0091] The method may include, at 76, sending a power state update command to the voltage regulator to cause a change in the power state of the voltage regulator from the first power state to the second power state based on determining that the power state of the voltage regulator changes from the first power state to the second power state.

[0092] Improved power efficiency can be obtained by determining output current data relating to the output current provided by the voltage regulator to the load based on a measured output current from the voltage regulator to the load, and determining when to cause a change in the power state of the voltage regulator to occur based on a comparison of the output current data to the power state current threshold data. This is true even if regulated voltage data relating to the regulated voltage provided by the voltage regulator to the load is not taken into account in determining the power state current threshold data. However, it will be appreciated that even greater improvements in power efficiency can be obtained by determining output current data relating to the output current provided by the voltage regulator to the load based on a measured output current from the voltage regulator to the load, determining power state current threshold data in dependence on the regulated voltage data relating to the regulated voltage provided by the voltage regulator to the load, and determining when to cause a change in the power state of the voltage regulator to occur based on a comparison of the output current data to the power state current threshold data.

[0093] The present disclosure extends to apparatus having means for carrying out any of the methods disclosed in or derivable from the present disclosure.

[0094] The present disclosure extends to machine-readable instructions provided on at least one tangible or non-tangible machine-readable medium that, when executed (e.g., by a processing circuit), cause the processing circuit to perform any of the methods disclosed in or derivable from the present disclosure. For example, FIG. 15 illustrates such a machine-readable medium 80.

[0095] The present disclosure extends to a computer program product having instructions which, when executed by a computer, cause the computer to perform any of the methods disclosed in or derivable from the present disclosure.

[0096] The present disclosure extends to means for controlling the power state of a voltage regulator to provide a regulated voltage to a load, by any of the methods disclosed in or derivable from this disclosure.

[0097] The present disclosure extends to means for determining the dependence of a power state current threshold of a voltage regulator on the regulated voltage provided by the voltage regulator to a load, by any of the methods disclosed in or derivable from this disclosure.

[0098] The present disclosure extends to a means for a processor chip to control the power state of a voltage regulator to provide a regulated voltage to a load, by any of the methods disclosed in or derivable from this disclosure.

[0099] In this specification, the phrases "at least one of A or B" and "at least one of A and B" should be construed to mean any one or more of the listed items A, B, etc., together or separately, in any and all permutations.

[0100] Where a functional unit is described as a circuit, the circuit may be a general-purpose processor circuit configured by program code to perform a specified processing function. The circuit may also be configured by modifications to processing hardware. The configuration of the circuit to perform a specified function may be entirely in hardware, entirely in software, or may use a combination of hardware modifications and software implementations. Program instructions may be used to configure logic gates of a general-purpose or special-purpose processor circuit to perform a processing function.

[0101] A circuit may be implemented as a hardware circuit having, for example, a processor, a microprocessor, a circuit, circuit elements (e.g., transistors, resistors, capacitors, inductors, etc.), an integrated circuit, an application specific integrated circuit (ASIC), a programmable logic device (PLD), a digital signal processor (DSP), a field programmable gate array (FPGA), logic gates, registers, semiconductor devices, chips, microchips, chipsets, and the like.

[0102] The processor may comprise a general purpose processor, a network processor for processing data communicated over a computer network, or other types of processors including a reduced instruction set computer (RISC) or a multiple instruction set computer (CISC). The processor may have a single core or a multi-core design. A multi-core processor may integrate multiple different processor core types on the same integrated circuit die.

[0103] The machine-readable program instructions may be provided on a transitory medium, such as a transmission medium, or on a non-transitory medium, such as a storage medium. Such machine-readable instructions (computer program code) may be implemented in a high-level procedural or object-oriented programming language. However, the program(s) may be implemented in assembly or machine language, if desired. In any case, the language may be a compiled or interpreted language, and combined with hardware implementations.

[0104] Embodiments of the present disclosure are applicable for use with all types of semiconductor integrated circuit ("IC") chips. Examples of such IC chips include, but are not limited to, processors, controllers, chipset components, programmable logic arrays (PLAs), memory chips, network chips, and the like. In some embodiments, one or more of the components described herein may be embodied as a system-on-a-chip (SOC) device. The SOC may include, for example, one or more central processing unit (CPU) cores, one or more graphics processing unit (GPU) cores, input / output interfaces, and a memory controller. In some embodiments, the SOC and its components may be provided on one or more integrated circuit dies, for example, packaged into a single semiconductor device.

[0105] example The following examples relate to further embodiments.

[0106] 1. A power management circuit for controlling the power states of a voltage regulator for providing a regulated voltage to a load, the voltage regulator being operable in at least first and second distinct power states, the power management circuit comprising: determining output current data relating to an output current provided by the voltage regulator to the load; determining regulated voltage data relating to a regulated voltage provided by the voltage regulator to the load; determining power state current threshold data related to an output current level changing between the first power state and the second power state, the power state current threshold data being dependent on the determined regulated voltage data; causing a change in the power state of the voltage regulator from the first power state to the second power state based on a comparison of the determined output current data and the determined power state current threshold data. a circuit for performing the steps of: Power management circuit.

[0107] 2. Machine-readable instructions provided on at least one tangible or non-tangible machine-readable medium, which when executed (e.g., by a processing circuit), cause the processing circuit to: determining output current data relating to an output current provided to a load by a voltage regulator, the voltage regulator operable in at least first and second distinct power states; determining regulated voltage data relating to a regulated voltage provided by the voltage regulator to the load; causing the voltage regulator to determine power state current threshold data relating to output current levels changing between the first power state and the second power state, the power state current threshold data being dependent on the determined regulated voltage data; causing a change in the power state of the voltage regulator from the first power state to the second power state based on a comparison of the determined output current data and the determined power state current threshold data. Machine-readable instructions.

[0108] 3. A method of controlling power states of a voltage regulator for providing a regulated voltage to a load, the voltage regulator being operable in at least first and second distinct power states, the method comprising: determining output current data relating to an output current provided by the voltage regulator to the load; determining regulated voltage data relating to a regulated voltage provided by the voltage regulator to the load; determining power state current threshold data related to an output current level changing between the first power state and the second power state, the power state current threshold data being dependent on the determined regulated voltage data; causing a change in the power state of the voltage regulator from the first power state to the second power state based on a comparison of the determined output current data and the determined power state current threshold data. The method comprises:

[0109] 4. An apparatus having means for carrying out the method of example 3.

[0110] 5. A means for controlling a power state of a voltage regulator for providing a regulated voltage to a load, the voltage regulator being operable in at least first and second distinct power states, the means comprising: determining output current data relating to an output current provided by the voltage regulator to the load; determining regulated voltage data relating to a regulated voltage provided by the voltage regulator to the load; determining power state current threshold data related to an output current level changing between the first power state and the second power state, the power state current threshold data being dependent on the determined regulated voltage data; causing a change in the power state of the voltage regulator from the first power state to the second power state based on a comparison of the determined output current data and the determined power state current threshold data. A means configured to:

[0111] 6. The power management circuit, machine readable instructions, method, apparatus, or means of any one of Examples 1 to 5, wherein the power state current threshold data is dynamically changeable in response to the determined regulated voltage data.

[0112] 7. The power management circuit, machine-readable instructions, method, apparatus, or means of any one of Examples 1 to 6, wherein the power state current threshold data relates to an output current level at which the second power state is more power efficient than the first power state.

[0113] 8. The power management circuit, machine readable instructions, method, apparatus, or means of any one of Examples 1 to 7, wherein the circuit or means determines the power state current threshold data in response to predetermined reference data relating to a dependency of the power state current threshold data on the determined regulated voltage data, or the machine readable instructions cause the processing circuit to determine the power state current threshold data in response to predetermined reference data relating to a dependency of the power state current threshold data on the determined regulated voltage data, or the method comprises determining the power state current threshold data in response to predetermined reference data relating to a dependency of the power state current threshold data on the determined regulated voltage data.

[0114] 9. The power management circuit, machine readable instructions, method, apparatus, or means of example 8, wherein the circuit or means retrieves the reference data from a memory and determines the power state current threshold data in response to the reference data, or the machine readable instructions cause the processing circuit to retrieve the reference data from a memory and determine the power state current threshold data in response to the reference data, or the method comprises retrieving the reference data from a memory and determining the power state current threshold data in response to the reference data.

[0115] 10. A power management circuit, means, or device according to any one of Examples 8 to 9, further comprising a memory for storing said reference data.

[0116] 11. A power management circuit, machine-readable instructions, method, apparatus, or means according to any one of Examples 8 to 10, wherein the reference data comprises values ​​of one or more parameters of a predetermined function for determining the power state current threshold data in response to the determined regulated voltage data.

[0117] 12. A power management circuit, machine readable instructions, method, apparatus, or means according to example 11, wherein the circuit or means determines the power state current threshold data based on the function, the values ​​of the one or more parameters of the function, and the determined regulated voltage data, or the machine readable instructions cause the processing circuit to determine the power state current threshold data based on the function, the values ​​of the one or more parameters of the function, and the determined regulated voltage data, or the method comprises determining the power state current threshold data based on the function, the values ​​of the one or more parameters of the function, and the determined regulated voltage data.

[0118] 13. The power management circuit, machine-readable instructions, method, apparatus, or means according to example 12, wherein the function is one or more of a linear function, a polynomial function, and a non-linear function.

[0119] 14. A power management circuit, machine readable instructions, method, apparatus, or means according to any of Examples 11 to 13, wherein the circuit or means retrieves the values ​​of the one or more parameters of the function from one or more registers and determines the power state current threshold data in response to the values ​​of the one or more parameters of the function, or the machine readable instructions cause the processing circuit to retrieve the values ​​of the one or more parameters of the function from one or more registers and determine the power state current threshold data in response to the values ​​of the one or more parameters of the function, or the method comprises retrieving the values ​​of the one or more parameters of the function from one or more registers and determining the power state current threshold data in response to the values ​​of the one or more parameters of the function.

[0120] 15. A power management circuit, means, or apparatus according to example 14, further comprising: one or more registers for storing the values ​​of the one or more parameters of the function.

[0121] 16. A power management circuit, machine readable instructions, method, apparatus, or means according to any one of Examples 11 to 15, wherein the function is a linear function relating to a variation of the power state current threshold data as a function of the determined regulated voltage data, and the one or more parameters of the function include a slope parameter for the linear function.

[0122] 17. The power management circuit, machine-readable instructions, method, apparatus, or means according to example 16, wherein the one or more parameters further comprise a y-axis intercept parameter for the linear function.

[0123] 18. A power management circuit, machine-readable instructions, method, apparatus, or means according to any one of Examples 8 to 17, wherein the reference data includes, for example, power state current threshold data relating to output current levels at which the voltage regulator changes between different power state pairs, the reference data being specific to the power state current threshold data relating to the output current levels at which the voltage regulator changes between the first power state and the second power state.

[0124] 19. The reference data is first reference data specific to the power state current threshold data relating to the output current level at which the voltage regulator changes between the first power state and the second power state, the regulated voltage data is first regulated voltage data relating to a first regulated voltage provided to the load by the voltage regulator, and the power state current threshold data is first power state current threshold data, and the circuit or means determines second power state current threshold data relating to a second output current level at which the voltage regulator changes between the second power state and a third power state, or the machine readable instructions cause the processing circuit to determine second power state current threshold data relating to a second output current level at which the voltage regulator changes between the second power state and a third power state. 19. The power management circuit, machine readable instructions, method, apparatus, or means according to any one of Examples 8-18, wherein the method includes determining second power state current threshold data related to a second output current level at which the voltage regulator changes between the second power state and a third power state, the second power state current threshold data being dependent on second determined regulated voltage data related to a second regulated voltage provided to the load by the voltage regulator and second reference data related to a dependency of the second power state current threshold data on the second determined regulated voltage data, the second reference data being specific to the second power state current threshold data related to the second output current level at which the voltage regulator changes between the second power state and the third power state.

[0125] 20. The power management circuit, machine-readable instructions, method, apparatus, or means according to example 19, wherein the first reference data is different from the second reference data.

[0126] 21. A power management circuit, machine-readable instructions, method, apparatus, or means according to any one of Examples 8 to 20, wherein the reference data is specific to a voltage regulator type of the voltage regulator.

[0127] 22. A power management circuit, machine readable instructions, method, apparatus, or means according to any one of Examples 1 to 21, wherein the circuit or means determines the output current data based on a predicted output current provided by the voltage regulator to the load, or the machine readable instructions cause the processing circuit to determine the output current data based on a predicted output current provided by the voltage regulator to the load, or the method comprises determining the output current data based on a predicted output current provided by the voltage regulator to the load.

[0128] 23. A power management circuit, machine-readable instructions, method, apparatus, or means according to example 22, wherein the predicted output current is based on any one or more of an operating point of the load, a voltage operating point of the load, a temperature of the load, and a predetermined utilization factor of the load.

[0129] 24. A power management circuit, machine readable instructions, method, apparatus, or means according to any one of Examples 1 to 23, wherein the circuit or means determines the output current data based on a measured current from the voltage regulator to the load, or the machine readable instructions cause the processing circuit to determine the output current data based on a measured current from the voltage regulator to the load, or the method comprises determining the output current data based on a measured current from the voltage regulator to the load.

[0130] 25. The power management circuit, machine-readable instructions, method, apparatus, or means according to example 24, wherein the determined output current data comprises a measured current from the voltage regulator to the load.

[0131] 26. A power management circuit, machine-readable instructions, method, apparatus, or means according to example 24 or 25, wherein the measured current from the voltage regulator to the load is a current measured by a current monitoring circuit of or integrated with the voltage regulator, or a current measured by a current monitoring circuit of or integrated with the load.

[0132] 27. A power management circuit, machine-readable instructions, method, apparatus, or means according to example 26, wherein the circuit or means determines the output current data by receiving a measured current from the voltage regulator to the load from the current monitoring circuit, or the machine-readable instructions cause the processing circuit to determine the output current data by receiving a measured current from the voltage regulator to the load from the current monitoring circuit, or the method comprises determining the output current data by receiving a measured current from the voltage regulator to the load from the current monitoring circuit.

[0133] 28. A power management circuit, machine readable instructions, method, apparatus, or means according to any one of Examples 1 to 27, wherein the circuit or means determines the regulated voltage data based on a voltage required or to be required from the voltage regulator for the load, or the machine readable instructions cause the processing circuit to determine the regulated voltage data based on a voltage required or to be required from the voltage regulator for the load, or the method comprises determining the regulated voltage data based on a voltage required or to be required from the voltage regulator for the load.

[0134] 29. A power management circuit, machine-readable instructions, method, apparatus, or means according to example 28, wherein the voltage is or will be requested from the voltage regulator for the load by a voltage identification (VID) code.

[0135] 30. A power management circuit, machine-readable instructions, method, apparatus, or means according to example 28 or 29, wherein the voltage is or will be requested from the voltage regulator for the load via a power management communications interface.

[0136] 31. A power management circuit, machine readable instructions, method, apparatus, or means according to any one of Examples 1 to 30, wherein the circuit or means determines the regulated voltage data based on a measurement of a regulated voltage supplied by the voltage regulator to the load, or the machine readable instructions cause the processing circuit to determine the regulated voltage data based on a measurement of a regulated voltage supplied by the voltage regulator to the load, or the method comprises determining the regulated voltage data based on a measurement of a regulated voltage supplied by the voltage regulator to the load.

[0137] 32. The power management circuit, machine-readable instructions, method, apparatus, or means according to any one of Examples 1 to 31, wherein the circuit or means determines the power state current threshold data by updating previously determined power state current threshold data associated with an output current level at which the voltage regulator changes between the first power state and the second power state in response to the determined regulated voltage data, or the machine-readable instructions cause the processing circuit to determine the power state current threshold data by updating previously determined power state current threshold data associated with an output current level at which the voltage regulator changes between the first power state and the second power state in response to the determined regulated voltage data, or the method comprises determining the power state current threshold data by updating previously determined power state current threshold data associated with an output current level at which the voltage regulator changes between the first power state and the second power state in response to the determined regulated voltage data.

[0138] 33. A power management circuit, machine-readable instructions, method, apparatus, or means according to example 32, wherein the power state current threshold data differs from the previously determined power state current threshold data because the determined regulated voltage data differs from determined regulated voltage data on which the previously determined power state current threshold data was dependent.

[0139] 34. The first and second power states of the voltage regulator differ from one another by any one or more of the following: the voltage regulator operates with a different number of phases in the first and second power states; the voltage regulator operates in a continuous conduction mode in one of the first and second power states and the voltage regulator operates in a discontinuous conduction mode in the other of the first and second power states; the voltage regulator operates in a discontinuous conduction mode having a first voltage regulator switching frequency in one of the first and second power states and the voltage regulator operates in a discontinuous conduction mode having a second voltage regulator switching frequency that is different from the first voltage regulator switching frequency in the other of the first and second power states. 34. The power management circuit, machine readable instructions, method, apparatus, or means according to any one of Examples 1 to 33, wherein the power management circuit, machine readable instructions, method, apparatus, or means differ from each other by any one or more of: operating in a discontinuous conduction mode having a frequency of 100 Hz; one or more circuits of the voltage regulator being inactive or powered off in one of the first and second power states and one or more of the one or more circuits of the voltage regulator being active or powered on in the other of the first and second power states; one or more circuits of the voltage regulator being in a lower power state in one of the first and second power states and one or more of the one or more circuits of the voltage regulator being in a higher power state in the other of the first and second power states.

[0140] 35. A power management circuit, machine-readable instructions, method, apparatus, or means according to any one of Examples 1 to 34, wherein the voltage regulator is a multi-phase voltage regulator capable of providing an output current and regulated voltage to the load based on one phase in the first power state and based on multiple phases in the second power state.

[0141] 36. A power management circuit, machine-readable instructions, method, apparatus, or means according to any one of Examples 1 to 35, wherein the circuit or means causes a change in the power state of the voltage regulator from the first power state to the second power state by causing a power state update command to be sent to the voltage regulator, or the machine-readable instructions include causing the processing circuit to cause a change in the power state of the voltage regulator from the first power state to the second power state by causing a power state update command to be sent to the voltage regulator, or the method includes causing a change in the power state of the voltage regulator from the first power state to the second power state by causing a power state update command to be sent to the voltage regulator.

[0142] 37. A power management circuit, machine-readable instructions, method, apparatus, or means according to any one of Examples 1 to 36, wherein the circuit or means causes a change in the power state of the voltage regulator from the first power state to the second power state by reconfiguring (e.g., directly) the voltage regulator, such as by changing a number of phases of the voltage regulator, or the machine-readable instructions include causing the processing circuit to cause a change in the power state of the voltage regulator from the first power state to the second power state by reconfiguring (e.g., directly) the voltage regulator, such as by changing a number of phases of the voltage regulator, or the method comprises causing a change in the power state of the voltage regulator from the first power state to the second power state by reconfiguring (e.g., directly) the voltage regulator, such as by changing a number of phases of the voltage regulator.

[0143] 38. The power management circuit, machine readable instructions, method, apparatus, or means according to any one of Examples 1-36, wherein the load comprises any one or more of the following: a computing platform, one or more components of a computing platform, one or more processors, one or more processor chips, circuitry of a processor or processor chip, processing or computing circuitry of a processor or processor chip, one or more domains of a processor chip, such as a domain having one or more cores of a multi-core processor, processing circuitry of a central processing unit of the processor chip, such as one or more central processing unit cores, graphics processing circuitry of the processor chip, such as one or more graphics processor cores, at least a first domain of a multi-core processing circuit further including a second domain including at least the graphics processing circuitry, the first domain including one or more processing cores, such as one or more processing cores of a central processing unit processor, a memory controller, a display controller, non-core circuitry of a processor or processor chip.

[0144] 39. The power management circuit or means controls the power state of a plurality of voltage regulators providing respective regulated voltages to respective loads, or the machine readable instructions cause the processing circuitry to control the power state of a plurality of voltage regulators providing respective regulated voltages to respective loads, or the method comprises controlling the power state of a plurality of voltage regulators providing respective regulated voltages to respective loads, each of the voltage regulators being operable in at least respective first and second distinct power states, and for each of the voltage regulators, the power management circuit comprises circuitry to: determining respective output current data relating to respective output currents provided by respective voltage regulators to respective loads; determining respective regulated voltage data relating to respective regulated voltages provided by respective voltage regulators to respective loads; determining respective power state current threshold data relating to respective output current levels that change between a respective first power state and a respective second power state for each voltage regulator, the respective power state current threshold data being dependent on the respective determined regulated voltage data; causing a change in a power state of each of the voltage regulators from a respective first power state to a respective second power state based on a comparison of the respective determined output current data to the respective determined power state current threshold data. A power management circuit, machine readable instructions, method, apparatus, or means according to any one of Examples 1 to 38.

[0145] 40. A power management circuit, machine-readable instructions, method, apparatus, or means according to any one of Examples 1 to 39, wherein a maximum output current capacity of the voltage regulator in the first power state is different from a maximum output current capacity of the voltage regulator in the second power state.

[0146] 41. The power management circuit according to any one of Examples 1 to 40, wherein the power management circuit is a power management circuit for a processor or processor chip, such as a dedicated central processing unit chip or a system-on-chip.

[0147] 42. The power management circuit according to any one of Examples 1 to 41, wherein the power management circuit is a power management circuit for a voltage regulator.

[0148] 43. A processor or processor chip (e.g., a dedicated central processing unit chip or a system-on-chip) having a power management circuit according to any one of Examples 1 to 41.

[0149] 44. A voltage regulator having a power management circuit according to any one of Examples 1 to 40 or 42.

[0150] 45. Load and 43. A power management circuit according to any of Examples 1-42, the power management circuit controlling a power state of a voltage regulator to provide a regulated voltage to the load, the voltage regulator operable in at least first and second distinct power states; and An apparatus having

[0151] 46. ​​The apparatus of example 45, further comprising the voltage regulator.

[0152] 47. A multi-core processing circuit, A first domain including one or more cores; and a second domain including at least graphics processing circuitry; A multi-core processing circuit having a voltage regulator providing a regulated voltage to at least the first domain, the voltage regulator having configuration circuitry for dynamically reconfiguring the voltage regulator from a first power state to a second power state; a power management circuit; determining output current data relating to an output current provided by the voltage regulator to the at least first domain; determining regulated voltage data relating to a regulated voltage provided by the voltage regulator to the at least first domain; determining power state current threshold data relating to an output current level at which the voltage regulator will dynamically reconfigure from the first power state to the second power state, the power state current threshold data being dependent on the determined regulated voltage data; causing the configuration circuitry of the voltage regulator to dynamically reconfigure the voltage regulator from the first power state to the second power state based on a comparison of the determined output current data and the determined power state current threshold data. A power management circuit; A computing platform having:

[0153] 48. The computing platform of Example 47, wherein the first and second domains of the multicore processing circuitry are provided by a system-on-chip (SoC).

[0154] 49. Machine-readable instructions provided on at least one tangible or non-tangible machine-readable medium, the machine-readable instructions, when executed (e.g., by a processing circuit), cause the processing circuit to: determining a power efficiency of a voltage regulator for each of a plurality of power states of the voltage regulator as a function of an output current provided by the voltage regulator to a load and as a function of a regulated voltage provided by the voltage regulator to the load; determining, for each of a plurality of regulated voltages provided by the voltage regulator to the load, a power state current threshold related to a level of an output current of the voltage regulator to the load at which a first power state of the voltage regulator is more power efficient than a second power state of the voltage regulator; determining reference data regarding a dependence of the power state current threshold on the regulated voltage provided by the voltage regulator to the load; Machine-readable instructions.

[0155] 50. A data processing circuit having one or more processors, determining a power efficiency of a voltage regulator for each of a plurality of power states of the voltage regulator as a function of an output current provided by the voltage regulator to a load and as a function of a regulated voltage provided by the voltage regulator to the load; determining, for each of a plurality of regulated voltages provided by the voltage regulator to the load, a power state current threshold related to a level of an output current of the voltage regulator to the load at which a first power state of the voltage regulator is more power efficient than a second power state of the voltage regulator; determining reference data regarding a dependence of the power state current threshold on the regulated voltage provided by the voltage regulator to the load; Data processing circuit.

[0156] 51. A method for determining a dependence of a power state current threshold of a voltage regulator on a regulated voltage provided by the voltage regulator to a load, the voltage regulator being capable of operating in a plurality of different power states, the method comprising: determining a power efficiency of the voltage regulator for each of a plurality of power states of the voltage regulator as a function of an output current provided by the voltage regulator to a load and as a function of a regulated voltage provided by the voltage regulator to the load; determining, for each of a plurality of regulated voltages provided by the voltage regulator to the load, a power state current threshold related to a level of an output current of the voltage regulator to the load at which a first power state of the voltage regulator is more power efficient than a second power state of the voltage regulator; determining reference data regarding a dependence of the power state current threshold on the regulated voltage provided by the voltage regulator to the load; The method comprises:

[0157] 52. An apparatus having means for carrying out the method of example 51.

[0158] 53. A means for determining a dependence of a power state current threshold of a voltage regulator on a regulated voltage provided by said voltage regulator to a load, said voltage regulator being operable in a plurality of different power states, said means comprising: determining a power efficiency of the voltage regulator for each of a plurality of power states of the voltage regulator as a function of an output current provided by the voltage regulator to a load and as a function of a regulated voltage provided by the voltage regulator to the load; determining, for each of a plurality of regulated voltages provided by the voltage regulator to the load, a power state current threshold related to a level of an output current of the voltage regulator to the load at which a first power state of the voltage regulator is more power efficient than a second power state of the voltage regulator; determining reference data regarding a dependence of the power state current threshold on the regulated voltage provided by the voltage regulator to the load; A means configured to:

[0159] 54. The machine-readable instructions, data processing circuit, method, apparatus, or means according to any one of Examples 49 to 53, wherein the circuit or means stores the reference data in a memory, or the machine-readable instructions cause the processing circuit to store the reference data in a memory, or the method comprises storing the reference data in a memory.

[0160] 55. The machine-readable instructions, data processing circuit, method, apparatus, or means according to any one of Examples 49 to 54, wherein the reference data comprises values ​​of one or more parameters of a function for determining power state current threshold data relating to the output current level at which the first power state is more efficient than the second power state, as a function of regulated voltage data relating to a regulated voltage provided by the voltage regulator to the load.

[0161] 56. The machine-readable instructions, data processing circuit, method, apparatus, or means according to example 55, wherein the circuit or means stores values ​​of the one or more parameters of the function in one or more registers, e.g., one or more registers of a power management circuit, or the machine-readable instructions cause the processing circuit to store values ​​of the one or more parameters of the function in one or more registers, e.g., one or more registers of a power management circuit, or the method comprises storing values ​​of the one or more parameters of the function in one or more registers, e.g., one or more registers of a power management circuit.

[0162] 57. A power management circuit for a processor chip that controls the power state of a voltage regulator operable in at least first and second distinct power states, the power management circuit comprising: determining output current data relating to an output current from the voltage regulator to a load; determining that the power state of the voltage regulator will change from the first power state to the second power state based on a comparison of the determined output current data and power state current threshold data; sending a power state update command to the voltage regulator to cause a change in the power state of the voltage regulator from the first power state to the second power state based on the determination that the power state of the voltage regulator will change from the first power state to the second power state; a circuit for performing the steps of: the determined output current data is based on a measured current from the voltage regulator to the load. Power management circuit.

[0163] 58. Machine-readable instructions provided on at least one tangible or non-tangible machine-readable medium, the machine-readable instructions, when executed (e.g., by power management circuitry of a processor chip), cause power management circuitry of a processor chip to: determining output current data relating to an output current from a voltage regulator to a load, the voltage regulator being operable in at least first and second distinct power states; determining, based on a comparison of the determined output current data and power state current threshold data, that the voltage regulator will change from the first power state to the second power state; sending a power state update command to the voltage regulator to cause a change of the power state of the voltage regulator from the first power state to the second power state based on the determination that the power state of the voltage regulator changes from the first power state to the second power state; the determined output current data is based on a measured current from the voltage regulator to the load. Machine-readable instructions.

[0164] 59. A means for a processor chip for controlling a power state of a voltage regulator for providing a regulated voltage to a load, the voltage regulator being operable in at least first and second distinct power states, the means comprising: determining output current data relating to an output current from the voltage regulator to the load; determining, based on a comparison of the determined output current data and power state current threshold data, that the voltage regulator will change from the first power state to the second power state; sending a power state update command to the voltage regulator to cause a change in the power state of the voltage regulator from the first power state to the second power state based on the determination that the power state of the voltage regulator will change from the first power state to the second power state; It is configured as follows: the determined output current data is based on a measured current from the voltage regulator to the load. means.

[0165] 60. A method of controlling power states of a voltage regulator for providing a regulated voltage to a load, the voltage regulator being operable in at least first and second distinct power states, the method comprising: power management circuitry of the processor chip determines output current data relating to an output current from said voltage regulator to said load; the power management circuitry of the processor chip determines, based on a comparison of the determined output current data to power state current threshold data, that the voltage regulator changes from the first power state to the second power state; based on the determination that the power state of the voltage regulator is to change from the first power state to the second power state, the power management circuitry of the processor chip sending a power state update command to the voltage regulator to effect a change from the first power state to the second power state. Having said that, the determined output current data is based on a measured current from the voltage regulator to the load. method.

[0166] 61. An apparatus having means for carrying out the method of example 60.

[0167] 62. The power management circuit, machine-readable instructions, means, method, or apparatus according to any one of Examples 57 to 61, wherein the processor chip is a dedicated central processing unit chip or a system-on-chip (SoC) having one or more processors.

[0168] 63. The power management circuit, machine-readable instructions, means, method, or apparatus according to any one of Examples 57 to 62, wherein the power management circuit, means, or apparatus is a power management circuit, means, or apparatus of the processor chip.

[0169] 64. A power management circuit, machine-readable instructions, means, method, or apparatus according to any one of Examples 57 to 63, wherein the load comprises a load of the processor chip.

[0170] 65. The power management circuit, machine readable instructions, means, method, or apparatus according to any of Examples 57-64, wherein the load comprises any one or more of the following: a computing platform, one or more components of a computing platform, one or more processors, one or more processor chips, circuitry of a processor or processor chip, processing or computing circuitry of a processor or processor chip, one or more domains of a processor chip, such as a domain having one or more cores of a multi-core processor, processing circuitry of a central processing unit of the processor chip, such as one or more central processing unit cores, graphics processing circuitry of the processor chip, such as one or more graphics processor cores, at least a first domain of a multi-core processing circuit further including a second domain including at least the graphics processing circuitry, the first domain including one or more processing cores, such as one or more processing cores of a central processing unit processor, a memory controller, a display controller, non-core circuitry of a processor or processor chip.

[0171] 66. A power management circuit, machine readable instructions, means, method, or apparatus according to any one of Examples 57 to 65, wherein the power management circuit or means determines the power state current threshold data in response to regulated voltage data related to a regulated voltage provided by the voltage regulator to the load, or the machine readable instructions cause the power management circuit to determine the power state current threshold data in response to regulated voltage data related to a regulated voltage provided by the voltage regulator to the load, or the method comprises determining the power state current threshold data in response to regulated voltage data related to a regulated voltage provided by the voltage regulator to the load.

[0172] 67. A processor chip having a power management circuit, means, or device according to any of examples 57, 59, 61, or 62-66.

[0173] Further examples may be realized by combining one or more selected components of any one of the examples described in this disclosure with one or more selected components of one or more other examples described in this disclosure, or with one or more features of the appended independent claims. Further examples may be realized having one or more components of any of the example(s) described herein, together and separately, in any permutation.

[0174] Two or more physically distinct components of any described example may, where possible, instead be integrated into a single component (provided that the same functionality is performed by the single component so formed). Conversely, a single component of an implementation described in this disclosure may, where appropriate, instead be implemented as two or more distinct components so as to achieve the same functionality.

Claims

1. 1. A power management circuit for controlling a power state of a voltage regulator for providing a regulated voltage to a load, the voltage regulator being operable in at least first and second distinct power states, the power management circuit comprising: determining output current data relating to an output current provided by the voltage regulator to the load; determining regulated voltage data relating to a regulated voltage provided by the voltage regulator to the load; determining power state current threshold data related to output current levels changing between the first power state and the second power state, the power state current threshold data being dependent on the determined regulated voltage data; causing a change of the power state of the voltage regulator from the first power state to the second power state based on a comparison of the determined output current data and the determined power state current threshold data. a circuit for performing the steps of: The first and second power states of the voltage regulator differ from one another by any one or more of the following: the voltage regulator operating with different numbers of phases in the first and second power states; the voltage regulator operates in a continuous conduction mode in one of the first and second power states, and the voltage regulator operates in a discontinuous conduction mode in the other of the first and second power states; the voltage regulator operates in a discontinuous conduction mode with a first voltage regulator switching frequency in one of the first and second power states, and the voltage regulator operates in a discontinuous conduction mode with a second voltage regulator switching frequency different from the first voltage regulator switching frequency in the other of the first and second power states; one or more circuits of the voltage regulator are inactive or powered off in one of the first and second power states, and one or more of the one or more circuits of the voltage regulator are active or powered on in the other of the first and second power states; one or more circuits of the voltage regulator are in a lower power state in one of the first and second power states, and one or more of the one or more circuits of the voltage regulator are in a higher power state in the other of the first and second power states; differ from each other by any one or more of Power management circuit.

2. 2. The power management circuit of claim 1, wherein the power state current threshold data relates to an output current level at which the second power state is more power efficient than the first power state.

3. 3. A power management circuit as claimed in claim 1 or 2, wherein the circuit is adapted to determine the power state current threshold data in response to predetermined reference data relating to a dependency of the power state current threshold data on the determined regulated voltage data.

4. 4. The power management circuit of claim 3, further comprising a memory for storing said reference data, said circuit retrieving said reference data from said memory and determining said power state current threshold data in response to said reference data.

5. 4. The power management circuit of claim 3, wherein the reference data comprises values ​​of one or more parameters of a predetermined function for determining the power state current threshold data in response to the determined regulated voltage data, and the circuit determines the power state current threshold data based on the function, the values ​​of the one or more parameters of the function, and the determined regulated voltage data.

6. 6. The power management circuit of claim 5, wherein the power management circuit has one or more registers that store the values ​​of the one or more parameters of the function, and the circuit retrieves the values ​​of the one or more parameters of the function from the one or more registers and determines the power state current threshold data in response to the values ​​of the one or more parameters of the function.

7. 7. A power management circuit as claimed in any preceding claim, wherein the circuit determines the output current data based on a measured current from the voltage regulator to the load.

8. 8. The power management circuit of claim 7, wherein the measured current from the voltage regulator to the load is a current measured by a current monitoring circuit of or integrated with the voltage regulator, or a current measured by a current monitoring circuit of or integrated with the load.

9. 9. A power management circuit as claimed in any preceding claim, wherein the circuit determines the regulated voltage data based on a voltage required or to be required from the voltage regulator for the load.

10. 10. A power management circuit as claimed in claim 1, wherein the circuit determines the power state current threshold data by updating previously determined power state current threshold data in response to the determined regulated voltage data.

11. 11. The power management circuit of claim 10, wherein the power state current threshold data differs from the previously determined power state current threshold data because the determined regulated voltage data differs from determined regulated voltage data on which the previously determined power state current threshold data was dependent.

12. The load may have any one or more of the following: Computing platform, one or more components of a computing platform; one or more processors; one or more processor chips; The circuitry of a processor or processor chip, the processing or computing circuitry of a processor or processor chip; one or more domains of a processor chip, such as a domain having one or more cores of a multi-core processor; processing circuitry of a central processing unit of a processor chip, such as one or more central processing unit cores; graphics processing circuitry of the processor chip, such as one or more graphics processor cores; at least a first domain of a multi-core processing circuit further including a second domain including at least a graphics processing circuit, the first domain including one or more processing cores, such as one or more processing cores of a central processing unit processor; Memory controller, Display controller, non-core circuitry of a processor or processor chip; 12. A power management circuit as claimed in claim 1, further comprising any one or more of the following:

13. The power management circuitry controls the power states of a plurality of voltage regulators providing respective regulated voltages to respective loads, each of the voltage regulators operable in at least respective first and second distinct power states, the power management circuitry including, for each of the voltage regulators, circuitry that: determining respective output current data relating to respective output currents provided by respective voltage regulators to respective loads; determining respective regulated voltage data relating to respective regulated voltages provided by respective voltage regulators to respective loads; determining respective power state current threshold data relating to respective output current levels changing between a respective first power state and a respective second power state, the respective power state current threshold data being dependent on the respective determined regulated voltage data; causing a change in a power state of each of the voltage regulators from a respective first power state to a respective second power state based on a comparison of the respective determined output current data to the respective determined power state current threshold data.

13. A power management circuit as claimed in claim 1, further comprising:

14. A power management circuit as claimed in any one of claims 1 to 13, wherein the load comprises a processor or a processor chip.

15. A power management circuit as claimed in any one of claims 1 to 14, wherein the power management circuit is a circuit isolated from the voltage regulator and the load.

16. A power management circuit as claimed in any preceding claim, wherein the power management circuit is integrated with the load.

17. Load and a voltage regulator for providing a regulated voltage to the load; 17. A power management circuit as claimed in any one of claims 1 to 16, the power management circuit controlling a power state of the voltage regulator, the voltage regulator being operable in at least first and second distinct power states; An apparatus having the above configuration.

18. A computer program provided on at least one tangible or non-tangible machine-readable medium, the computer program, when executed, causing a processing circuit to: determining output current data relating to an output current provided to a load by a voltage regulator, the voltage regulator operable in at least first and second distinct power states; determining regulated voltage data relating to a regulated voltage provided by the voltage regulator to the load; causing the voltage regulator to determine power state current threshold data relating to output current levels changing between the first power state and the second power state, the power state current threshold data being dependent on the determined regulated voltage data; causing a change in the power state of the voltage regulator from the first power state to the second power state based on a comparison of the determined output current data and the determined power state current threshold data; The first and second power states of the voltage regulator differ from one another by any one or more of the following: the voltage regulator operating with different numbers of phases in the first and second power states; the voltage regulator operates in a continuous conduction mode in one of the first and second power states, and the voltage regulator operates in a discontinuous conduction mode in the other of the first and second power states; the voltage regulator operates in a discontinuous conduction mode with a first voltage regulator switching frequency in one of the first and second power states, and the voltage regulator operates in a discontinuous conduction mode with a second voltage regulator switching frequency different from the first voltage regulator switching frequency in the other of the first and second power states; one or more circuits of the voltage regulator are inactive or powered off in one of the first and second power states, and one or more of the one or more circuits of the voltage regulator are active or powered on in the other of the first and second power states; one or more circuits of the voltage regulator are in a lower power state in one of the first and second power states, and one or more of the one or more circuits of the voltage regulator are in a higher power state in the other of the first and second power states; differ from each other by any one or more of Computer program.

19. A method performed by a processing circuit for controlling a power state of a voltage regulator for providing a regulated voltage to a load, the voltage regulator being operable in at least first and second distinct power states, the method comprising: determining output current data relating to an output current provided by the voltage regulator to the load; determining regulated voltage data relating to a regulated voltage provided by the voltage regulator to the load; determining power state current threshold data related to output current levels changing between the first power state and the second power state, the power state current threshold data being dependent on the determined regulated voltage data; causing a change of the power state of the voltage regulator from the first power state to the second power state based on a comparison of the determined output current data and the determined power state current threshold data. Having said that, The first and second power states of the voltage regulator differ from one another by any one or more of the following: the voltage regulator operates with different numbers of phases in the first and second power states; the voltage regulator operates in a continuous conduction mode in one of the first and second power states, and the voltage regulator operates in a discontinuous conduction mode in the other of the first and second power states; the voltage regulator operates in a discontinuous conduction mode with a first voltage regulator switching frequency in one of the first and second power states, and the voltage regulator operates in a discontinuous conduction mode with a second voltage regulator switching frequency different from the first voltage regulator switching frequency in the other of the first and second power states; one or more circuits of the voltage regulator are inactive or powered off in one of the first and second power states, and one or more of the one or more circuits of the voltage regulator are active or powered on in the other of the first and second power states; one or more circuits of the voltage regulator are in a lower power state in one of the first and second power states, and one or more of the one or more circuits of the voltage regulator are in a higher power state in the other of the first and second power states; differ from each other by any one or more of method.

20. 20. The method of claim 19, further comprising determining the power state current threshold data in response to predetermined reference data relating to a dependency of the power state current threshold data on the determined regulated voltage data.

21. It is a multi-core processing circuit, A first domain including one or more cores; and a second domain including at least graphics processing circuitry; A multi-core processing circuit having a voltage regulator providing a regulated voltage to at least the first domain, the voltage regulator having configuration circuitry for dynamically reconfiguring the voltage regulator from a first power state to a second power state; a power management circuit; determining output current data relating to an output current provided by the voltage regulator to the at least first domain; determining regulated voltage data relating to a regulated voltage provided by the voltage regulator to the at least first domain; determining power state current threshold data relating to an output current level at which the voltage regulator will dynamically reconfigure from the first power state to the second power state, the power state current threshold data being dependent on the determined regulated voltage data; causing the configuration circuitry of the voltage regulator to dynamically reconfigure the voltage regulator from the first power state to the second power state based on a comparison of the determined output current data and the determined power state current threshold data. A power management circuit; having The first and second power states of the voltage regulator differ from one another by any one or more of the following: the voltage regulator operating with different numbers of phases in the first and second power states; the voltage regulator operates in a continuous conduction mode in one of the first and second power states, and the voltage regulator operates in a discontinuous conduction mode in the other of the first and second power states; the voltage regulator operates in a discontinuous conduction mode with a first voltage regulator switching frequency in one of the first and second power states, and the voltage regulator operates in a discontinuous conduction mode with a second voltage regulator switching frequency different from the first voltage regulator switching frequency in the other of the first and second power states; one or more circuits of the voltage regulator are inactive or powered off in one of the first and second power states, and one or more of the one or more circuits of the voltage regulator are active or powered on in the other of the first and second power states; one or more circuits of the voltage regulator are in a lower power state in one of the first and second power states, and one or more of the one or more circuits of the voltage regulator are in a higher power state in the other of the first and second power states; differ from each other by any one or more of Computing platform.

22. 22. The computing platform of claim 21, wherein the first and second domains of the multi-core processing circuitry are provided by a system on a chip (SoC).

23. A computer program provided on at least one tangible or non-tangible machine-readable medium, the computer program, when executed, causing a processing circuit to: determining a power efficiency of a voltage regulator for each of a plurality of power states of the voltage regulator as a function of an output current provided by the voltage regulator to a load and as a function of a regulated voltage provided by the voltage regulator to the load; determining, for each of a plurality of regulated voltages provided by the voltage regulator to the load, a power state current threshold related to a level of an output current of the voltage regulator to the load at which a first power state of the voltage regulator is more power efficient than a second power state of the voltage regulator; determining reference data regarding a dependence of the power state current threshold on the regulated voltage; The first and second power states of the voltage regulator differ from one another by any one or more of the following: the voltage regulator operates with different numbers of phases in the first and second power states; the voltage regulator operates in a continuous conduction mode in one of the first and second power states, and the voltage regulator operates in a discontinuous conduction mode in the other of the first and second power states; the voltage regulator operates in a discontinuous conduction mode with a first voltage regulator switching frequency in one of the first and second power states, and the voltage regulator operates in a discontinuous conduction mode with a second voltage regulator switching frequency different from the first voltage regulator switching frequency in the other of the first and second power states; one or more circuits of the voltage regulator are inactive or powered off in one of the first and second power states, and one or more of the one or more circuits of the voltage regulator are active or powered on in the other of the first and second power states; one or more circuits of the voltage regulator are in a lower power state in one of the first and second power states, and one or more of the one or more circuits of the voltage regulator are in a higher power state in the other of the first and second power states; differ from each other by any one or more of Computer program.

24. 24. The computer program product of claim 23, wherein the reference data comprises values ​​of one or more parameters of a function for determining power state current threshold data related to a level of the output current at which the first power state is more efficient than the second power state as a function of regulated voltage data related to a regulated voltage provided to the load by the voltage regulator.

25. Apparatus comprising means for carrying out the method according to claim 19 or 20.

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