Processor Skin Temperature Control With Adaptive Power Distribution
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Solution Overview
Problem
As platform form factors shrink, skin temperature becomes a primary limitation to performance and user experience due to increased heat output, leading to compromised comfort, noise levels, reliability, stability, and performance, with OEMs often compromising cooling configurations to maintain tolerable chassis temperatures.
Innovation Solution
Implementing a power control unit (PCU) with neural network proportional-integral-derivative (PID) controllers and thermal management hardware/software to dynamically regulate processor power and temperature, ensuring safe operating conditions and optimal performance.
Engineering Contradictions & Design Principles
Engineering Contradiction Analysis
1Volume of moving object
If platform form factor is reduced to improve portability, then device compactness is improved, but skin temperature increases causing discomfort and performance limitations
Solution Approach 1:
The patent dynamically changes thermal management parameters including power limits, temperature thresholds, and cooling configurations based on real-time skin temperature measurements. The system adjusts these parameters to maintain skin temperature within acceptable ranges while maximizing performance, directly resolving the contradiction between compact form factor and skin temperature control.
2Temperature
If cooling power is increased to reduce skin temperature, then thermal comfort is improved, but noise level increases due to higher fan speeds
Solution Approach 1:
The system dynamically adjusts cooling power based on real-time skin temperature measurements and performance requirements. By using multiple cooling modes (e.g., fan speed levels) and selecting the appropriate level based on current thermal conditions, the system provides adequate cooling only when necessary, thereby reducing noise while maintaining skin temperature within acceptable ranges.
3Temperature
If cooling configuration is optimized to maintain low skin temperature, then user comfort is improved, but system performance deteriorates due to aggressive thermal limits
Solution Approach 1:
The system performs preliminary thermal management by establishing multiple performance levels with pre-configured power and cooling settings. Based on skin temperature measurements, the system proactively selects the appropriate performance level before thermal runaway occurs, allowing sustained high performance when skin temperature is acceptable while preventing performance degradation when cooling is insufficient.
4Power
If power limit is increased to improve performance, then processing capability is improved, but thermal runout risk increases compromising stability
Solution Approach 1:
The system implements continuous feedback control by monitoring skin temperature in real-time and adjusting power limits accordingly. The feedback loop compares measured skin temperature against threshold values and dynamically modifies power delivery to prevent thermal runaway, thereby maintaining system stability while maximizing performance within safe thermal boundaries.
Data Source
AI summary
An apparatus and method for thermal hardware assist. For example, one embodiment of a processor comprises: a plurality of functional circuit blocks; an interconnect coupled to the plurality of functional circuit blocks; one or more physical or virtual temperature sensors to capture one or more skin temperature measurements; a power management controller to execute a dynamically adjustable thermal control loop to perform an evaluation of the one or more skin temperature measurements based on a corresponding one or more temperature control values and to responsively distribute power to the plurality of functional circuit blocks in accordance with the evaluation, the power management controller to dynamically adjust parameters of the thermal control loop based on measured environmental conditions.