JPH06102959A - Microprocessor device - Google Patents

Abstract

PURPOSE:To suppress the temperature of a microprocessor without stopping the operation of a system when the temperature of the microprocessor rises more than permissible temperature. CONSTITUTION:A clock signal generation circuit 3 giving a system clock signal to the microprocessor 1, a temperature sensor 4 detecting the temperature of the microprocessor 1 and a clock frequency control means 5 inputting a temperature signal from the temperature sensor 4 and controlling the frequency of the clock signal given to the microprocessor 1 so that it is dropped when the temperature of the microprocessor 1 exceeds a prescribed permissible temperature range.

Description

Detailed Description of the Invention

[0001]

BACKGROUND OF THE INVENTION 1. Field of the Invention The present invention relates to a microprocessor device having a system temperature monitoring function. More specifically, when the temperature of the system rises, the temperature rise of the microprocessor is automatically suppressed to stop the operation of the system. The present invention relates to a microprocessor device which is not reached.

[0002]

2. Description of the Related Art At present, microprocessors are used in all kinds of electronic equipment, and their usage patterns and usage environments are becoming various. In various electronic devices using a microprocessor, if the temperature of the microprocessor itself rises and exceeds the allowable temperature range, the operation of the microprocessor becomes abnormal.

Therefore, conventionally, a microprocessor used for an electronic device requiring reliability has a temperature sensor for detecting the temperature of the microprocessor itself or the ambient temperature, and this temperature sensor has an allowable temperature range. In the case of detecting a high temperature exceeding 0 ° C., the system is configured to be stopped in order to prevent erroneous operation.

[0004]

However, for example, in a microprocessor used in an electronic device that requires continuous operation, it is not possible to stop the operation of the system every time the allowable temperature range is exceeded.
Therefore, in order to reduce the ambient temperature of the microprocessor, a fan or other cooling means is provided.

The present invention has been made in view of the above circumstances, and when the temperature range in which the operation of the microprocessor is normally exceeded is exceeded, a large-scale device such as cooling means is not required, and An object of the present invention is to provide a microprocessor device capable of continuously operating by lowering the system operating temperature by automatically lowering the operating clock frequency of the processor and reducing the heat generation amount of the microprocessor. .

[0006]

SUMMARY OF THE INVENTION The present invention which achieves such an object is, in a microprocessor device including a microprocessor and an external circuit controlled by the microprocessor, a system for the microprocessor. A clock signal generation circuit that gives a clock signal, a temperature sensor that detects the temperature of the microprocessor, and a temperature signal from the temperature sensor are input, and when the temperature of the microprocessor exceeds a predetermined allowable temperature range, the microprocessor A microprocessor device is provided with a clock frequency control means for controlling the frequency of a clock signal supplied to the processor so as to be lowered.

[0007]

When the operating environment of the microprocessor is deteriorated or the burden on the microprocessor is heavy, the amount of heat generated by the microprocessor increases.

The clock frequency control means lowers the clock frequency given to the microprocessor when the temperature of the microprocessor exceeds the allowable temperature range. When the operating frequency of the microprocessor is lowered due to the reduction of the clock frequency to which it is applied, the heat generation amount is reduced accordingly.

As a result, the temperature of the microprocessor automatically falls within the allowable temperature range, and it becomes possible to continue the operation.

[0010]

Embodiments of the present invention will now be described in detail with reference to the drawings. FIG. 1 is a configuration block diagram showing an embodiment of the present invention. In the figure, 1 is a microprocessor, 2
Is an external circuit controlled by the microprocessor 1, and corresponds to, for example, a memory circuit, an input / output device such as a printer, or the like. The microprocessor 1 and the external circuit 2 are connected by an address bus AB and a data bus DB.

Reference numeral 3 denotes a clock signal generation circuit, which is provided to give the system clock signal CLK to the microprocessor 1. Reference numeral 4 denotes a temperature sensor that detects the temperature of the microprocessor 1 or the ambient temperature. For example, a thermistor is used.
Installed on or around the board. Reference numeral 5 is a block generally showing the clock frequency control means, which is a temperature sensor 4
When the temperature signal of the microprocessor 1 is input and the temperature of the microprocessor 1 exceeds a predetermined allowable temperature range, the frequency of the clock signal supplied to the microprocessor 1 is controlled to be lowered.

2 and 3 are block diagrams showing an example of the clock frequency control means 5 for controlling the clock frequency from the clock signal generation circuit 3 based on the signal from the temperature sensor 4.

In the embodiment of FIG. 2, the frequency dividing circuit 5 for dividing the clock (frequency f1) from the clock signal generating circuit 3 is used.
1 and the divided clock (frequency f
2) and a clock from the clock signal generation circuit 3 are configured by a data selector 52 that selects based on a signal from the temperature sensor 4.

In the embodiment of FIG. 3, the frequencies are f1, f2 (f
1> f2) and two different clock signal generation circuits 31 and 32, and a data selector 52 that selects one of the clock signals from the two clock signal generation circuits based on the signal from the temperature sensor 4. It is composed of.

The operation of the thus constructed apparatus will be described below. FIG. 4 shows the microprocessor 1.
FIG. 3 is a diagram showing the relationship between the temperature and the frequency of the clock signal supplied to the microprocessor.

First, in the normal rated temperature range of the microprocessor 1, the data selector 52 selects the clock signal of the frequency f1 based on the temperature signal from the temperature sensor 4 and uses it as the system clock. Is given to 1. The microprocessor 1 executes a predetermined operation according to the cycle of the clock of the given frequency f1.

When the operating environment (ambient temperature) of the microprocessor 1 deteriorates or when the burden on the microprocessor 1 becomes heavy, the amount of heat generated by the microprocessor increases. As a result, the temperature signal from the temperature sensor 4 eventually becomes the allowable temperature t at which normal operation of the microprocessor 1 is not guaranteed.
Will exceed 1. Then, the data selector 52
Is a frequency f2 lower than the clock frequency f1 up to then.
Select the clock signal of the microprocessor 1
Give to.

The microprocessor 1 operates at a lower cycle than before according to the cycle of the applied clock frequency f2. If you operate at a lower cycle than before,
The heat generation amount of the microprocessor 1 gradually decreases. As a result, the temperature of the microprocessor 1 will be automatically lowered to a range lower than the maximum temperature t1 allowed. When the temperature of the microprocessor 1 falls below the temperature t1, the data selector 52 selects the clock signal of the frequency f1 again and returns to the normal operation state.

In this way, when the temperature of the microprocessor 1 exceeds the maximum allowable temperature t1, the frequency of the clock signal supplied to the microprocessor 1 is lowered and the temperature is automatically lowered to continue the operation. Is possible.

FIG. 5 is a configuration block diagram showing another circuit example for controlling the clock frequency from the clock signal generating circuit 3 based on the signal from the temperature sensor 4. In this embodiment, a voltage control type is used as the clock signal generation circuit 3, and a voltage signal generation circuit 50 for converting the temperature signal from the temperature sensor 4 into a voltage signal is provided. The frequency of the clock signal from the clock signal generation circuit 3 is controlled by the signal.

FIG. 6 is a diagram showing the relationship between the output voltage signal e1 obtained from the voltage signal generating circuit 50 and the temperature signal from the temperature sensor 4. The voltage signal generating circuit 50 is configured to output a signal e1 whose voltage value gradually decreases when the temperature of the microprocessor 1 rises (when the signal from the temperature sensor 4 increases), as shown in the figure. There is.

FIG. 7 is a diagram showing the relationship between the voltage signal e1 input by the voltage-controlled clock signal generation circuit 3 and the frequency fo of the generated clock signal. As shown in the figure, the voltage-controlled clock signal generation circuit 3 supplies the microprocessor 1 with a clock signal whose frequency changes in response to the increase and decrease of the voltage signal e1. Therefore, a clock signal whose frequency gradually decreases as the temperature rises is applied to the microprocessor 1, and the heat generation amount in the microprocessor 1 is controlled to decrease.

FIG. 8 is a block diagram showing the configuration of another embodiment of the present invention. In this embodiment, a control means 5 for controlling the clock frequency of the clock signal generation circuit 3 is provided in the microprocessor 1, and the temperature signal from the temperature sensor 4 is converted into an A / D converter 40. Is converted into a digital signal and is supplied to the microprocessor 1.

The clock signal generation circuit 3 generates a clock signal whose frequency changes according to the control signal output from the clock frequency control means 5 in the microprocessor 1 and supplies the clock signal to the microprocessor 1 as a system clock. It is like this.

FIG. 9 is a block diagram showing the configuration of still another embodiment of the present invention. In this embodiment, the transfer end signal of asynchronous transfer data performed between the microprocessor 1 and the external circuit 2 is controlled so as to be delayed when the temperature of the microprocessor 1 exceeds a predetermined allowable temperature. It is a thing.

That is, the data selector 43 is installed on the signal line for sending the data transfer end signal from the external circuit 2 to the microprocessor 1, and the delay circuit 44 for delaying the data transfer end signal is provided. The data selector 43, when the temperature signal from the temperature sensor 4 indicates the allowable temperature or higher, delay circuit 44
In the allowable temperature range, the data transfer end signal from the external circuit 2 is selected as it is so as to select the delayed data transfer end signal via the.

According to the device thus constructed, when the temperature of the microprocessor 1 rises and exceeds the allowable temperature, the data transfer end signal for data transfer from the external circuit 2 is delayed by the delay circuit 44. Since it is returned to the microprocessor 1 side after a delay, the communication speed decreases. When the communication speed with the external circuit 2 is reduced, the operation load of the microprocessor 1 is lightened, the power consumption is reduced, and the temperature is lowered.

Therefore, without stopping the operation of the microprocessor 1, the operation is continued in a state where the communication speed with the external circuit 2 is lowered, and when the temperature of the microprocessor 1 eventually falls within the allowable temperature range, the original It is possible to return to normal operation.

[0029]

As described in detail above, according to the present invention, when the temperature of the microprocessor rises above the allowable temperature, the temperature sensor detects it and the frequency of the system clock or the external The load on the microprocessor 1 is reduced by automatically lowering the communication speed with the circuit. In the conventional case, the system operation had to be stopped once. Things can reduce the temperature of the microprocessor while still operating.

Therefore, the present invention is highly effective when applied to a microprocessor device which requires continuous operation.

[Brief description of drawings]

FIG. 1 is a configuration block diagram showing an embodiment of the present invention.

FIG. 2 is a configuration block diagram showing an example of clock frequency control means for controlling a clock frequency from a clock signal generation circuit based on a signal from a temperature sensor.

FIG. 3 is a configuration block diagram showing another example of the clock frequency control means.

FIG. 4 is a diagram showing a relationship between a temperature of a microprocessor and a frequency of a clock signal given to the microprocessor.

FIG. 5 is a configuration block diagram showing another circuit example for controlling the clock frequency from the clock signal generation circuit based on the signal from the temperature sensor.

FIG. 6 is a diagram showing the relationship between the output voltage signal e1 obtained from the voltage signal generation circuit and the temperature signal from the temperature sensor in FIG.

FIG. 7 is a diagram showing the relationship between the voltage signal e1 input to the voltage-controlled clock signal generation circuit and the frequency fo of the clock signal generated in FIG.

FIG. 8 is a configuration block diagram showing another embodiment of the present invention.

FIG. 9 is a configuration block diagram showing still another embodiment of the present invention.

[Explanation of symbols]

 1 Microprocessor 2 External Circuit AB Address Bus DB Data Bus 3 Clock Signal Generation Circuit 4 Temperature Sensor 5 Clock Frequency Control Means

Claims (2)

[Claims] 1. A microprocessor device comprising a microprocessor and an external circuit controlled by the microprocessor, comprising: a clock signal generation circuit for supplying a system clock signal to the microprocessor; and a temperature of the microprocessor. A temperature sensor that detects the temperature sensor and a clock frequency that controls the temperature signal from the temperature sensor so that when the temperature of the microprocessor exceeds a predetermined allowable temperature range, the frequency of the clock signal supplied to the microprocessor is lowered. A microprocessor device provided with a control means. 2. A microprocessor device comprising a microprocessor and an external circuit controlled by the microprocessor, comprising: a temperature sensor for detecting the temperature of the microprocessor; and a temperature signal from the temperature sensor. And a control means for controlling so as to delay the data transfer end signal transferred from the external circuit to the microprocessor when the temperature of the microprocessor exceeds a predetermined allowable temperature range. Processor device.