Patent ID: 9110671
Filing Date: 2015-08-18
Classification: G06F,Y02D

Abstract:
1. A method comprising: entering an idle state during operation of a functional unit of an integrated circuit (IC); placing the functional unit in a low power state responsive to the functional unit entering the idle state; and preemptively exiting the low power state at a predetermined time after entering the low power state, wherein the predetermined time is based on a prediction of idle state duration made prior to entering the low power state, wherein the prediction is made by a prediction unit implemented on the IC; wherein the prediction unit is configured to record a history of idle state durations and subdivide the history of idle state durations into a plurality of bins of a histogram, wherein each of the plurality of bins is designated to record a count of instances of idle state durations within a specific range, and further configured to generate the prediction based on the history of idle state durations indicative of durations of previous instances in which the functional unit was in the idle state.