US Patent 7579864 Logic block control system and logic block control method

The number of blocks that can be stopped when performing target processing in a programmable logic unit is obtained, and a stop rate of each of a plurality of logic blocks included in the programmable logic unit is calculated. The same number of logic blocks as the blocks that can be stopped are selected from among the plurality of logic blocks in ascending order of a stop rate, the selected logic blocks are determined as logic blocks whose operations are to be stopped, and the operations are stopped. As a technique of stopping an operation of a logic block, a gated clock technique, a power-off technique, or the like is used.