Power management in a computer

Abstract: An apparatus is described for providing power management of a computer. The apparatus includes circuitry configured to assert a power down signal when a low power mode is to be entered and to de-assert the power down signal when the low power mode is to be exited. An audio amplifier has a power input and a mute input, and a switch is connected to the power input and configured to selectively supply power to the power input. A power down circuit is provided responsive to the power down signal and connected to the mute input and the switch such that when the power down signal is asserted, the power down circuit activates the mute input and subsequently closes the switch, and when the power down signal is de-asserted, the power down circuit opens the switch and subsequently deactivates the mute input.

Description: The invention relates to power management in a computer. Power management is an important consideration in the design of modern personal computers. For effective power management, modern personal computers are designed to enter a low power mode after a certain period of inactivity. In order for a personal computer to be in compliance with the "Energy Star" industry standard, the computer must consume less than thirty watts of power in the low power mode. A typical power management scheme for a personal computer is shown in prior art Fig. 1. A personal computer 1 is provided with a central processing unit (CPU) 2, a hard drive 3, an audio board 4, and a power supply 5. The computer 1 is connected to a monitor 6 for display purposes. The computer 1 is also provided with a power management integrated circuit (PMIC) 7 which controls transition into and out of low power mode. The PMIC 7 acts as a "watchdog", and powers down auxiliary components of the personal computer after a certain period of inactivity. This is achieved by issuing a signal to open one or more switches 8, resulting in removal of supply power from the auxiliary components, which in the example of Fig. 1 include the monitor 6, hard drive 3 and audio board 4. The PMIC 7 is provided to control the low power mode instead of vesting this responsibility in the CPU because the CPU itself requires a great deal of power. Therefore, when transition to low power mode occurs, the PMIC issues a signal to the CPU 2 causing the CPU to enter a low power mode. The PMIC 7 then remains active to detect activity such as entry on a keyboard or movement of a mouse (not shown), at which time PMIC 7 will "wake up" the CPU 2 and reactivate the auxiliary components of the computer. One such prior art device is disclosed in US 5,424,678, this device concentrates specifically on substantially reducing the clicks and pops caused by power cycling. The invention provides an apparatus for power management in a computer, comprising; circuitry configured to assert a power down signal in connection with entering a low power node; an audio amplifier having a mute input; a switch connected to selectively supply power to said audio amplifier; and a power down circuit responsive to said power down signal and connected to activate said mute input, effect a first minimum delay, and subsequently open said switch when said power down signal is asserted by said power down circuit, wherein said power down signal is a step function, and wherein said power down circuit comprises: a delay circuit arranged to convert said step function into a ramp function; and wherein a reference voltage circuit is configured to supply a first reference voltage and a second reference voltage; a first comparator is arranged to generate a mute signal when said ramp function reaches said first reference voltage; and a second comparator is arranged to generate a delayed power down signal when said ramp function reaches said second reference voltage. Preferably the circuitry is configured to de-assert said power down signal in connection with exiting the low power mode, and wherein the power down circuit closes said switch and deactivates said mute input when said power down signal is de-asserted. Preferably there is a delay of at least 20 ms between activation of the mute input and opening of the switch. Preferably there is a delay of at least 20 ms between deactivation of the mute input and closing of the switch. Preferably the delay circuit comprises a resistor and a capacitor. Preferably the reference voltage circuit comprises a voltage divider. Preferably the first reference voltage is greater than said second reference voltage. Preferably the first reference voltage is equal to approximately 2.4 volts, and said second reference voltage is equal to approximately 0.5 volts. Advantages of the invention may include one or more of the following: pops and clicks are reduced during transitions to and from low power mode. Muting of the audio amplifier is achieved without requiring significant additional power consumption. Other advantages and features will become apparent from the following description and the claims. FIG. 1 is a block diagram showing a known power management scheme is a personal computer; FIG. 2 is a block diagram in accordance with one embodiment of the invention; FIG. 3 is a schematic diagram in accordance with the embodiment of FIG. 2; FIG. 4A is a timing diagram illustrating the power down sequence in accordance with the embodiment of FIG. 3; FIG. 4B is a timing diagram illustrating the power up sequence in accordance with the embodiment of FIG. 3; FIG. 5 is a block diagram in accordance with another embodiment which is not claimed; FIG. 6A is a flow chart of the power down sequence in accordance with the circuit of FIG. 5; and FIG. 6B is a flow chart of the power up sequence in accordance with the circuit of FIG. 5. Referring the FIG. 2, a mute signal and a delayed power down signal (PD') are derived from the power down signal (PD) issued by the PMIC. PMIC 7 issues the PD signal on line 13 to a power down circuit 15. In a manner described in more detail below, the power down circuit 15 generates the mute signal on line 17 and the delayed power down signal PD' on line 19. The delayed power down signal PD' is applied to a switch 21 that is arranged to selectively connect or disconnect a +12 volt supply on line 23 to V cc pin 25 of an audio amp 27. Switch 21 may be any type of conventional switch, including an N-channel power transistor or relay. In the conventional power management scheme shown in Fig. 1, the PD signal from PMIC 7 is applied directly to the switch 8. Thus, when the PD signal is activated, switch 8 is opened and power is cut to the auxiliary components. This direct cutting of the power causes difficulties with respect to the audio board 4. Specifically, direct cutting of power to the audio amplifier on the audio board 4 causes clicks and pops to be heard through the speakers of the personal computer, which result from noises and transients within the audio amp. In the present invention as shown in Fig. 2, the PD signal is delayed to allow the mute signal to be applied to a mute pin 29 of the audio amp 27 prior to power being disconnected by the switch 21. Thus, the mute function is activated within the audio amp at the time switch 21 is opened, preventing clicks or pops from being heard through speakers 31. During the power up sequence, the process is reversed. The mute signal on line 17 is deactivated after the delayed power down signal PD' on line 19 closes switch 21. Therefore, the audio amp remains muted until after power to the audio amp has been reestablished and all transients and noise have dissipated. FIG. 3 shows power down circuit 15 in detail. The PD signal is applied to power down circuit 15 on line 13. The PD signal is active low, meaning that the low power mode is entered when the PD signal switches from a high state to a low state. Within the parameters relevant to this invention, the transition of the PD signal from high to low occurs instantaneously, i.e., as a step function. Resistor 33 and capacitor 35 on the input side of power down circuit 15 establish a time constant which converts the step function of the PD signal into a ramp function at point 37. This ramp function (PD(37)) is illustrated in the timing diagram of FIG. 4A. The values of resistor 33 and capacitor 35 can be chosen to produce a desired slope of the ramp function in accordance with well known engineering principles. Typical values would include 20kΩ for resistor 33 and 1µF for capacitor 35. The ramped PD signal at point 37 is applied to the positive input of two comparators 39, 41. The comparators may be any conventional comparator, such as the LM339. Reference voltages for the comparators are supplied from a +5 volt supply provided via line 43, which supplies a voltage divider comprising resistors 45, 47, and 49. The values of resistors 45, 47 and 49 are chosen to establish a first voltage V OH applied to the negative input of comparator 39 and a second voltage V OL applied to the negative input of comparator 41. As illustrated in FIG. 4A, voltages V OH and V OL are chosen to be points along the PD(37) ramp function, e.g., V OH is set to 2.4 volts, and V OL is set to 0.5 volts. The time τ along the PD(37) ramp function is chosen to be of sufficient duration to allow dissipation of any transients or noise in the audio amp 27, e.g., at least 20ms. As the signal PD(37) ramps down from 5 volts, the output from comparator 39, which is the mute signal on line 17, is initially high because the voltage on the positive input of the comparator 39 is higher than the voltage on the negative input. When the signal PD(37) reaches the level of V OH , the output of comparator 39 goes low. At this time, the output of comparator 41, which is the delayed power down signal PD' on line 19, is still high because the voltage on the positive input of comparator 41 is still higher than the voltage on the negative input. After the time τ, however, the voltage of PD(37) reaches V OL , and the output of comparator 41 switches from high to low. Shortly thereafter, all of signals PD(37), the mute signal, and the PD' signal are at zero volts. Referring back to FIG. 2, it is now apparent that when the PMIC issues the PD signal to enter low power mode, power down circuit 15 first generates the mute signal on line 17 to activate the mute function of the audio amp. A period of time τ later, which is sufficient to allow the mute function to become fully engaged and all noise and transients to dissipate, the delayed power down signal PD' is issued to open switch 21 and remove power from terminal 25 of the audio amp. Referring now to FIG. 4B, the opposite sequence occurs when leaving the power down mode. In this case, the CPU exits low power mode by switching PD signal on line 13 from low to high. As a result of the delay caused by resistor 33 and capacitor 35, this is converted into an upward ramp function PD(37) as shown in FIG. 4B. When signal PD(37) reaches the level V OL , the delayed power down signal PD' output by comparator 41 switches from low to high, thus closing switch 21 and re-connecting power to the audio amp 27. A period of time τ later, after all noise and transients have dissipated within the audio amp 27, the level V OH is reached, and the mute signal output by comparator 39 switches from low to high, thus disengaging the mute function of the audio amp 27. As a result, no undesirable sounds are emitted from speakers 31 in either the power down or the power up sequence. An alternate embodiment which is not claims is illustrated in FIG. 5. In this embodiment, the mute and PD' signals are issued under software control by the CPU 11. This embodiment requires the use of two general purpose input/output (GPIO) ports of an application specific integrated circuit (ASIC) 51 connected to CPU 11 via a bus 53. Software within CPU 11 causes ASIC 51 to issue the mute signal from GPIO 0 53 and the delayed PD' signal from GPIO 1 55 at the same timings described above with reference to FIGs. 4A and 4B. The end result is the same as the embodiment of FIG. 1. Namely, during the power down sequence, CPU 11 first causes ASIC 51 to issue the mute signal at port GPIO 0 to activate the mute function of audio amp 27. After the period of time τ has elapsed, the CPU 11 causes ASIC 51 to issue the PD' signal at port GPIO 1 , which opens switch 21 and removes power from the audio amp 27. During the power up sequence, the reverse sequence occurs in the manner described above with reference to FIG. 4B. FIG. 6A is a flow chart illustrating the software executed by CPU 11 during the power down sequence. In step ST101, the CPU 11 must keep the ASIC 51 active, i.e., make sure that the ASIC itself is not powered down when the low power mode is entered. In step ST103, CPU 11 writes to GPIO 0 , causing the mute signal to go from high to low and the mute function of audio amp 27 to be activated. In step ST105, the CPU 11 sets an internal timer, which is a conventional feature of the CPU and is not shown in the drawings, equal to the desired time delay τ. In step ST107, the CPU 11 waits until the timer has expired. When it has, CPU 11 writes to GPIO 1 in ST109, causing the PD' signal to go low and thus switch 21 to be opened. FIG. 6B is a flow chart illustrating the software executed by CPU 11 during the power up sequence. In ST111, the CPU 11 makes sure that the output of GPIO 0 remains active, i.e., that the mute function of audio amp 27 remains engaged. In ST113, the output of GPIO 1 is de-asserted, causing the PD' signal to go high and switch 21 to be closed. The internal timer of the CPU 11 is set to the time τ in state ST115, and in state ST117 the CPU waits for the timer to expire. When the timer has expired, GPIO 0 is de-asserted in state ST119, thus deactivating the mute function of audio amp 27. Specific embodiments of the invention have been described above with reference to the accompanying figures. However, the invention is not limited to the specific embodiments, and rather is limited only by the scope of the appended claims.

Claims: An apparatus for power management in a computer, comprising; circuitry (7) configured to assert a power down signal (13) in connection with entering a low power mode; an audio amplifier (27) having a mute input (29) ; a switch (21) connected to selectively supply power to said audio amplifier (27); and a power down circuit (15) responsive to said power down signal (13) and connected to activate said mute input, effect a first minimum delay, and subsequently open said switch (21) when said power down signal is asserted by said power down circuit, wherein said power down signal (13) is a step function, and wherein said power down circuit (15) comprises: a delay circuit (33,35) arranged to convert said step function into a ramp function (37); and characterised by a reference voltage circuit (43, 45, 47, 49) configured to supply a first reference voltage (V OH ) and a second reference voltage (V OL ) ; a first comparator (39) arranged to generate a mute signal when said ramp function reaches said first reference voltage (V OH ); and a second comparator (41) arranged to generate a delayed power down signal when said ramp function reaches said second reference voltage (V OL ). The apparatus of claim 1, wherein said circuitry is configured to de-assert said power down signal (13) in connection with exiting the low power mode, and wherein the power down circuit (15) closes said switch (21) and deactivates said mute input (29) when said power down signal (13) is de-asserted. The apparatus of claim 1 or claim 2, wherein there is a delay of at least 20 ms between activation of the mute input (29) and opening of the switch (21). The apparatus of claim 1 or claim 2, wherein there is a delay of at least 20 ms between deactivation of the mute input (29) and closing of the switch (21). The apparatus of any of claims 1 to 4, wherein said delay circuit comprises a resistor (33) and a capacitor (35). The apparatus of any of claims 1 to 5, wherein said reference voltage circuit comprises a voltage divider (45, 47, 49). The apparatus of any of claims 1 to 6, wherein said first reference voltage (V OH ) is greater than said second reference voltage (V OL ). The apparatus of claim 7, wherein said first reference voltage (V OH ) is equal to approximately 2.4 volts, and said second reference voltage (V OL ) is equal to approximately 0.5 volts.

Inventors: TRAN THANH T, TRAN, THANH T.
Applicants: COMPAQ COMPUTER CORP, COMPAQ COMPUTER CORPORATION
Application year: 1996
Main classification: H03G3
IPC codes: H03G3