Operating System Forced Idle State for Computing Component Power Conservation
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Solution Overview
Problem
Computing devices, especially those powered by batteries, face significant power consumption issues due to their varied functionalities, leading to rapid battery drain and reduced usability.
Innovation Solution
Implementing a forced idle state for device components, where the operating system determines the importance of threads and forces components into a low power state when no critical threads need to be executed, reducing power consumption by ceasing execution, duty cycling, or changing performance levels.
Engineering Contradictions & Design Principles
Engineering Contradiction Analysis
1Ease of operation
If components are kept in active state to execute all program threads, then device functionality is maintained, but power consumption increases
Solution Approach 1:
The system changes the operational state parameter of device components by introducing a forced idle state. The operating system monitors thread importance levels and forces components into idle state when no critical threads are present, thereby reducing power consumption while maintaining functionality for important tasks.
Solution Approach 2:
The operating system implements self-service by automatically monitoring thread importance and making decisions about component states without user intervention. The system serves itself by managing power distribution based on real-time task requirements, forcing components into idle state when unnecessary while ensuring critical tasks receive adequate resources.
2Use of energy by moving object
If components are forced into idle state to save power, then power consumption is reduced, but execution of non-critical threads is delayed
Solution Approach 1:
The system applies local quality by differentiating between critical and non-critical threads. Critical threads maintain higher priority and can prevent forced idle state, while non-critical threads are allowed to be delayed. This localized quality control ensures that power savings do not compromise essential device functionality.
Solution Approach 2:
The system implements partial action by selectively forcing only non-critical threads to wait in the idle state queue, while critical threads continue to execute. This partial application of forced idle state achieves power savings without completely halting all device operations.
3Device complexity
If all program threads are treated equally in scheduling, then scheduling simplicity is maintained, but power optimization opportunities are lost
Solution Approach 1:
The system introduces a new parameter - thread importance level - into the scheduling framework. Threads are classified as critical or non-critical, and this parameter determines whether they can prevent forced idle state. This parameter addition enables power optimization while maintaining relatively simple scheduling logic through clear priority differentiation.
Data Source
AI summary
An operating system of a computing device determines an importance of the threads running on the computing device, such as assigning the importance of the threads as critical or non-critical. The operating system determines when there are no threads having at least a threshold importance (e.g., no critical threads), and forces one or more components of the computing device into a forced idle state in response to determining that there are no threads having at least the threshold importance. The forced idle state of a device component is a low power state, such as a state in which program instructions are not executed, so the computing device is forced into a forced idle state that reduces power usage in the computing device despite there being threads (e.g., non-critical threads) to be executed.