A system for distributed power management in portable computers

摘要

The present invention provides a system and method for managing power in a portable, pen-based notebook computer. The system and method provides a means for minimizing power consumption by collecting and interpreting power related data at various processing elements while hiding many of the details from the end-user. The present invention is a system and method for monitoring, collecting and acting upon power-related data in a portable computer to maximize the amount of time the portable computer can be used between battery re-charging with minimal user intervention. The present invention is comprised of a plurality of independently controllable power planes which are selectively powered so that the portable computer consumes the minimum power necessary to perform a particular function and a plurality of central processing units (CPUs) operating asynchronously with respect to each other. The present invention is further comprised of an on/off glue logic means for monitoring battery condition, user invoked functions, and system state and a power management means for controlling the operation of each of the CPUs as a function of the conditions sensed by the sensing means.