Thermal Control Module for Cross-Platform Computing Power Management
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Solution Overview
Problem
Computing devices face challenges in managing thermal energy generated by high-performance electronic components, which can lead to elevated temperatures damaging these components, and existing systems are inflexible and costly to program for temperature and power control across different manufacturers.
Innovation Solution
A thermal module that communicates with various electronic components to assess their capabilities, dynamically creates a registry of components, and adjusts power and thermal settings through a hybrid control system using open-loop and closed-loop algorithms to maintain optimal performance and prevent damage.
Engineering Contradictions & Design Principles
Engineering Contradiction Analysis
1Productivity
If increasing the performance of electronic components (CPU, GPU, system memory, power supply, displays, communication devices), then the computing power and functionality are improved, but the amount of thermal energy generated increases
Solution Approach 1:
The patent implements a thermal management system that continuously monitors temperature sensors and feeds this information back to dynamically adjust power consumption of electronic components. The system reads temperature data from sensors, evaluates thermal conditions, and automatically modifies power delivery to components like CPU, GPU, and display based on current thermal states, creating a closed-loop feedback mechanism that balances performance with thermal safety
Solution Approach 2:
The system changes operational parameters by dynamically adjusting power consumption levels of electronic components based on thermal conditions. The power management module modifies voltage, current, or operational frequency of components in response to temperature readings, allowing the system to transition between different performance and thermal states to maintain safe operating temperatures while preserving computing capability
2Measurement precision
If using manufacturer-specific programming for temperature and power control, then control precision can be optimized for specific devices, but the system becomes inflexible and costly to program across different manufacturers
Solution Approach 1:
The patent implements a universal thermal management interface that can communicate with electronic components from different manufacturers through standardized protocols. The system uses a common communication framework that reads temperature sensors and controls power consumption across diverse components (CPU, GPU, display, communication devices) without requiring manufacturer-specific programming, enabling the same thermal management logic to operate universally across different device types and manufacturers
Data Source
AI summary
A method of thermal and power control in a computing device includes, at the computing device, initializing a thermal module of the computing device, receiving data at the thermal module from a first component assigned to an interface of the thermal module, and sending an output to a second component from the thermal module based on the data. Initializing the thermal module includes detecting a presence of a plurality of potential components of the computing device; querying each of the plurality of potential components to determine capabilities of each component; in response to the querying, for each of at least a subset of the plurality of potential components receiving identification information for the component and, based on the received identification information, configuring one or more interfaces of the plurality of predefined interfaces of the thermal module to establish communication with the sub set of components.