IP Library Granted Patent US 9,170,931
Granted Patent B2
US 9,170,931 · App. 13/283,434 · Granted Oct 27, 2015

Partitioning a memory into a high and a low performance partitions

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Quick Facts
Patent No.
US 9,170,931
App. No.
13/283,434
Granted
Oct 27, 2015
Kind
B2
Abstract

Examples disclose partitioning a volatile memory into a high performance partition and a low performance partition. Further the example discloses retrieving an application with a high performance data and a low performance data from a non-volatile memory to place the high and the low performance data in the high and low performance partitions, respectively. Additionally, the example also discloses receiving a request to decrease power and in response, reduce an amount of power to the high performance partition and maintaining an amount of power provided to the low performance partition.

Claims (70)

1. A method for execution by a computing device comprising:

partitioning, by the computing device, a volatile memory into a high performance partition and a low performance partition, the high performance partition providing a higher data rate than a data rate of the low performance partition;

retrieving an application from a non-volatile memory,

separating data for the application into high performance data and low performance data, wherein:

a size of each of the high performance data and the low performance data is less than a size of the data for the application, and

the high performance data includes a portion of the data for the application which requires a greater amount of bandwidth relative to the low performance data;

placing the high performance data in the high performance partition and the low performance data in the low performance partition;

receiving a request to decrease power; and

in response to the decrease power request, reducing an amount of power to the high performance partition and maintaining an amount of power provided to the low performance partition.

2. The method of claim 1 , wherein the high performance partition has a first type of memory architecture and the low performance partition has a second type of memory architecture.

3. The method of claim 1 , wherein reducing the amount of power to the high performance partition includes: copying the high performance data from the high performance partition to the low performance partition.

4. The method of claim 3 , further comprising:

receiving a request to increase power;

in response to the increase power request, restoring the high performance data to the high performance partition from the low performance partition.

5. The method of claim 1 , further comprising:

in response to the decrease power request:

identifying a frame including visual data from the high performance data; and

storing the frame from the high performance data in the low performance partition for display of the visual data on a display of the computing device.

6. The method of claim 5 , further comprising:

in response to a request to increase power:

increasing an amount of power to the high performance partition to which power was reduced in response to the decrease power request, and

restore the frame from the low performance partition to the high performance partition.

7. The method of claim 1 , wherein the decrease power a request to enter a sleep mode or a request to terminate the application.

8. The method of claim 1 , wherein the high performance data includes at least one of a graphic, a media, or a computation.

9. The method of claim 1 , wherein the low performance data includes at least one of a source code, a configurable file, or an executable file.

10. A computing device comprising:

a non-volatile memory to store an application;

a volatile memory partitioned into a high performance partition and a low performance partition, the high performance partition providing a higher data rate than a data rate of the low performance partition; and

a processor to:

fetch the application from the non-volatile memory,

separate data for the application into high performance data and low performance data, wherein a size of each of the high performance data and the low performance data is less than a size of the data for the application, and the high performance data includes a portion of the data for the application which requires a greater amount of bandwidth relative to the low performance data;

store the high performance data in the high performance partition of the

volatile memory and the low performance data in the low performance partition of the volatile memory, and

receiving a request to decrease power; and in response to the decrease power request, reducing an amount of power to the high performance partition and maintaining an amount of power provided to the low performance partition.

11. The computing device of claim 9 , wherein the processor is further to:

in response to the decrease power request:

identify a frame including visual data from the high performance data; and

store the frame from the high performance data in the low performance partition to display the visual data on a display of the computing device.

12. The computing device of claim 9 , wherein the processor is further to: copy the high performance data from the high performance partition to the low performance partition.

13. A non-transitory machine-readable storage medium encoded with instructions executable by a processor, the instructions executable to:

partition a volatile memory into a high performance partition and a low performance partition, the high performance partition providing a higher data rate than a data rate of the low performance partition;

retrieve an application from a non-volatile memory,

separate data for the application into high performance data and low performance data, wherein:

a size of each of the high performance data and the low performance data is less than a size of the data for the application, and

the high performance data includes a portion of the data for the application which requires a greater amount of bandwidth relative to the low performance data

store the high performance data in the high performance partition and the low performance data in the low performance partition;

receive a request to decrease power; and

in response to the decrease power request, reduce an amount of power to the high performance partition while maintaining an amount of power provided to the low performance partition.

14. The non-transitory machine-readable storage medium of claim 13 , wherein the high performance partition has a first type of memory architecture and the low performance partition has a second type of memory architecture.

15. The non-transitory machine-readable storage medium comprising the instructions of claim 13 , wherein if executed cause the processor additionally to: copy the high performance data from the high performance partition to the low performance partition.

16. The non-transitory machine-readable storage medium of claim 13 , further comprising instructions executable to:

in response to the decrease power request:

identify a frame including visual data from the high performance data; and

store the frame from the high performance data in the low performance partition for display of the visual data on a display of a computing device; and

in response to a request to increase power:

increase an amount of power to the high performance partition to which power was reduced in response to the decrease power request, and

restore the frame from the low performance partition to the high performance partition.

17. An apparatus, comprising:

means for partitioning a volatile memory into a high performance partition and a low performance partition, the high performance partition providing a higher data rate than a data rate of the low performance partition;

means for retrieving an application from a non-volatile memory;

means for separating data for the application into high performance data and low performance data, wherein:

a size of each of the high performance data and the low performance data is less than a size of the data for the application, and

the high performance data includes a portion of the data for the application which requires a greater amount of bandwidth relative to the low performance data;

means for placing the high performance data in the high performance partition and the low performance data in the low performance partition;

means for receiving a request to decrease power; and

means for, in response to the decrease power request, reducing an amount of power to the high performance partition and maintaining an amount of power provided to the low performance partition.

18. The apparatus of claim 17 , wherein the means for reducing the amount of power to the high performance partition comprises means for copying the high performance data from the high performance partition to the low performance partition.

19. The apparatus of claim 18 , further comprising:

means for receiving a request to increase power;

means for, in response to the increase power request, restoring the high performance data to the high performance partition from the low performance partition.

Assignments (5)
ASSIGNMENT OF ASSIGNOR'S INTEREST Recorded Jan 28, 2014
From: HEWLETT-PACKARD COMPANY; HEWLETT-PACKARD DEVELOPMENT COMPANY, L.P.; PALM, INC.
To: QUALCOMM INCORPORATED
Reel/Frame 032177/0210 →
ASSIGNMENT OF ASSIGNOR'S INTEREST Recorded Dec 18, 2013
From: PALM, INC.
To: HEWLETT-PACKARD DEVELOPMENT COMPANY, L.P.
Reel/Frame 031837/0239 →
ASSIGNMENT OF ASSIGNOR'S INTEREST Recorded Dec 18, 2013
From: HEWLETT-PACKARD DEVELOPMENT COMPANY, L.P.
To: PALM, INC.
Reel/Frame 031837/0544 →
ASSIGNMENT OF ASSIGNOR'S INTEREST Recorded Dec 18, 2013
From: PALM, INC.
To: HEWLETT-PACKARD DEVELOPMENT COMPANY, L.P.
Reel/Frame 031837/0659 →
ASSIGNMENT OF ASSIGNOR'S INTEREST Recorded May 3, 2013
From: HEWLETT-PACKARD DEVELOPMENT COMPANY, L.P.
To: PALM, INC.
Reel/Frame 030341/0459 →