US 11,960,341 B2
Power delivery reduction scheme for SoC
Jamie L. Langlinais, Los Gatos, CA (US); Inder M. Sodhi, Palo Alto, CA (US); Lior Zimet, Kerem Maharal (IL); and Keith Cox, Sunnyvale, CA (US)
Assigned to Apple Inc., Cupertino, CA (US)
Filed by Apple Inc., Cupertino, CA (US)
Filed on Feb. 21, 2022, as Appl. No. 17/676,665.
Claims priority of provisional application 63/239,264, filed on Aug. 31, 2021.
Prior Publication US 2023/0069344 A1, Mar. 2, 2023
Int. Cl. G06F 1/3206 (2019.01); G06F 1/3228 (2019.01); G06F 1/324 (2019.01); G06F 1/3293 (2019.01); G06F 1/3296 (2019.01)
CPC G06F 1/3206 (2013.01) [G06F 1/3228 (2013.01); G06F 1/324 (2013.01); G06F 1/3293 (2013.01); G06F 1/3296 (2013.01)] 20 Claims
OG exemplary drawing
 
1. A system comprising:
an integrated circuit;
a plurality of voltage regulators configured to supply a plurality of supply voltages to the integrated circuit; and
a plurality of power delivery trigger circuits coupled to the integrated circuit and the plurality of voltage regulators, wherein the power delivery trigger circuits are configured to monitor the plurality of voltage regulators and generate a plurality of trigger signals based on electrical load experienced by the plurality of voltage regulators, wherein the plurality of power delivery trigger circuits includes a first type of power delivery trigger circuit and a second type of power delivery trigger circuit coupled to one or more sets of voltage regulators in the plurality of voltage regulators, and wherein a given set of voltage regulators is coupled to at least one power delivery trigger circuit of the first type and at least one power delivery circuit of the second type;
wherein the first type of power delivery trigger circuits are coupled to the integrated circuit by a plurality of one-way wired interfaces, the first type of power delivery trigger circuits being configured to generate trigger signals and send the trigger signals through the one-way wired interfaces when the electrical load experienced by the voltage regulators satisfies a first threshold;
wherein the second type of power delivery trigger circuits are coupled to the integrated circuit by a plurality of two-way serial communication interfaces, the second type of power delivery trigger circuits being configured to generate trigger signals and send the trigger signals through the two-way serial communication interfaces when the electrical load experienced by the voltage regulators satisfies a second threshold;
wherein the first threshold is closer to a functional failure point of the integrated circuit than the second threshold.