SoC Power Supply Phase Control for Fast Low-Power Wake-Up

Solution Overview

Problem

Existing power management systems in electronic circuitry face challenges in efficiently transitioning between low-power modes and normal modes due to slow wake-up times of power stages, which can lead to voltage drops and performance degradation.

Innovation Solution

The implementation of a control circuitry that adaptively activates and deactivates power stages based on safe operating voltage settings, transitioning between low-power and normal modes by ensuring only a predefined number of power stages are active, and using temperature thresholds to refine safe settings.

Engineering Contradictions & Design Principles

VSEngineering Contradiction Analysis

1Loss of energy

If multiple power stages are deactivated to reduce power consumption, then energy efficiency improves, but the system response time deteriorates due to slow wake-up times

Engineering Contradiction:

Improvepower consumptionVSAvoidwake-up time

Core Design Contradiction:

Loss of energyVSLoss of time

Solution Approach 1:

The control circuitry pre-activates selected power stages before they are actually needed based on predicted workload requirements. This preliminary action ensures that when power is needed, the stages are already active or nearly active, reducing the wake-up time penalty while still allowing other stages to remain deactivated for energy savings.

Inventive Principle:

Principle #10Preliminary action

Solution Approach 2:

The system dynamically adjusts the number of active power stages based on real-time workload conditions and transition requirements. The control circuitry monitors system state and adaptively switches between low-power mode (fewer active stages) and normal mode (more active stages), optimizing the balance between energy efficiency and response time.

Inventive Principle:

Principle #15Dynamics

2Loss of energy

If fewer power stages are kept active to reduce leakage current, then energy efficiency improves, but voltage stability deteriorates during transitions

Engineering Contradiction:

Improveleakage currentVSAvoidvoltage stability

Core Design Contradiction:

Loss of energyVSStability of the object's composition

Solution Approach 1:

The control circuitry pre-activates selected power stages before they are actually needed based on predicted workload requirements. This preliminary action ensures that when power is needed, the stages are already active or nearly active, reducing the wake-up time penalty while still allowing other stages to remain deactivated for energy savings.

Inventive Principle:

Principle #10Preliminary action

Solution Approach 2:

The control circuitry continuously monitors voltage levels, current draw, and system state, using this feedback to make real-time decisions about which power stages to activate or deactivate. This closed-loop control ensures voltage stability during transitions by adjusting the active stage configuration based on actual system conditions rather than predetermined schedules.

Inventive Principle:

Principle #23Feedback

3Loss of energy

If power stages are deactivated to extend battery life, then energy efficiency improves, but system reliability deteriorates due to potential voltage drops

Engineering Contradiction:

Improvebattery lifeVSAvoidvoltage reliability

Core Design Contradiction:

Loss of energyVSReliability

Solution Approach 1:

The control circuitry pre-activates selected power stages before they are actually needed based on predicted workload requirements. This preliminary action ensures that when power is needed, the stages are already active or nearly active, reducing the wake-up time penalty while still allowing other stages to remain deactivated for energy savings.

Inventive Principle:

Principle #10Preliminary action

Solution Approach 2:

The control circuitry maintains a buffer of pre-activated power stages that can immediately take over if a currently active stage fails or cannot meet the required power output. This redundancy cushioning ensures that voltage drops are prevented by having backup capacity already available, while still allowing most stages to remain deactivated for battery conservation.

Inventive Principle:

Principle #11Beforehand cushioning (Prior cushioning)

Data Source

PatentUS11709512B2System-on-chip with power supply mode having reduced number of phases

Publication Date: 2023.07.25 APPLE INC

AI summary

An apparatus includes hardware circuits, a front-end power supply, voltage regulators, and control circuitry. The front-end power supply generates electrical power for the hardware circuits. The front-end power supply includes power stages that generate portions of electrical power and are activated and deactivated independently. The voltage regulators are connected to an output of the front-end power supply and provide adjustable operating voltages to the hardware circuits. The control circuitry controls the voltage regulators to supply the adjustable operating voltages responsively to requests from the hardware circuits, compares the adjustable operating voltages to settings that are specified as safe for provisioning by a predefined partial number of the power stages of the front-end power supply, and adaptively activates and deactivates the power stages, including ensuring that a number of active power stages is set to the predefined partial number only while the operating voltages match the safe settings.