Patent ID: 8030956
Filing Date: 2011-10-04
Classification: G01R

Abstract:
1. A semiconductor integrated circuit comprising: a plurality of circuit blocks each having a predetermined function; a plurality of power switches respectively provided in correspondence with said circuit blocks to supply an operating power; a plurality of current measuring circuits respectively provided in correspondence with said power switches to obtain a current flowing to a corresponding one of the circuit blocks based on a voltage between terminals of a corresponding one of the power switches and an on-resistance of the power switch; and a resource manager to control a frequency of an operating clock supplied to each of the circuit blocks, the resource manager having a task managing portion to hold task information indicating a degree of progress of a plurality of tasks executed by the circuit blocks and serving to compare a sum of current values measured by the current measuring circuits with a predetermined maximum current value and to determine if the frequency of any of the operating clocks supplied to the circuit blocks is to be reduced based on the task information stored in the task managing portion when the sum of the current values measured by the current measuring circuits exceeds the maximum current value.