BIOS Thermal Control for OS-Independent Processor and Fan Modes
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Solution Overview
Problem
Conventional information processing apparatuses rely on OS drivers for thermal control, limiting their versatility and making them incompatible with operating systems that do not support these drivers, thereby restricting their thermal control functionality.
Innovation Solution
An information processing apparatus with a controller that outputs notification information based on input signals from sensors and user operations, allowing a BIOS processing unit to execute thermal control independently of the OS type, including setting operating modes for the processor and fan rotation control based on placement states and user-defined settings.
Engineering Contradictions & Design Principles
Engineering Contradiction Analysis
1Reliability
If a driver running on an OS is used to detect user operation or placement state for thermal control, then thermal control function can be implemented, but the system becomes incompatible with operating systems that do not support the driver function, reducing versatility
Solution Approach 1:
The patent introduces a BIOS-based intermediary layer that mediates between the hardware (sensors, cooling fan) and the OS. The BIOS contains the thermal control program that directly communicates with hardware components, while the OS only needs to provide basic input/output support. This intermediary approach allows thermal control to function on any OS that can execute BIOS-level instructions, eliminating the need for OS-specific drivers and significantly improving OS compatibility while maintaining reliable thermal control functionality.
2Measurement precision
If thermal control is implemented through OS drivers, then precise temperature monitoring and fan control can be achieved, but the system complexity increases due to OS dependency and driver installation requirements
Solution Approach 1:
The patent extracts the thermal control program from the OS driver layer and relocates it to the BIOS level. This separation removes the dependency on complex OS driver mechanisms while maintaining precise temperature monitoring capabilities through direct sensor communication. The BIOS-based implementation simplifies the overall system architecture by eliminating the need for separate driver installation, registration, and maintenance processes, thereby reducing system complexity while preserving measurement precision.
Data Source
AI summary
An information processing apparatus includes: a controller that outputs notification information based on input information; and a processor that functions as a system processing unit that executes system processing based on an operating system (OS) and a Basic Input Output System (BIOS) processing unit that executes control related to the performance of the system processing by control of a BIOS using the notification information output from the controller.