US Patent 7603576 Hysteresis in thermal throttling

A computer implemented method, data processing system, and processor are provided for hysteresis in thermal throttling. A digital thermal sensor senses a temperature in the integrated circuit. A determination is made as to whether the sensed temperature is greater than or equal to a throttling temperature. A throttling mode is initiated in response to the sensed temperature meeting or exceeding the throttling temperature. The digital thermal sensor senses a new temperature. A determination is made as to whether the new sensed temperature is less than an end throttling temperature. The throttling mode is disabled in response to the new sensed temperature being less than the end throttling temperature.