Apparatus and method for reducing power consumption in portable terminal

• US 10,111,175 B2
• Filed: 08/18/2015
• Issued: 10/23/2018
• Est. Priority Date: 09/16/2009
• Status: Active Grant

• Current Assignee: Samsung Electronics Co. Ltd.
• Original Assignee: Samsung Electronics Co. Ltd.
• Inventors: Song, Hee-Jun, Kim, Kwang-Choon, Kim, Nam-Woo, Kwon, Sung, Lee, Yu-Jin
• Primary Examiner(s): Chery, Dady
• Application Number:
  US14/829,194
• Publication Number:
  US 20150358911A1
• Time in Patent Office: 1,162 Days
• Field of Search: 713300, 713310, 713320, 713322-324, 370310, 370311
• CPC Class Codes: G06F 1/3203 Power management, i.e. event-based initiation of a power-saving mode
• CPC Class Codes: G06F 1/3206 Monitoring of events, devices or parameters that trigger a change in power modality
• CPC Class Codes: G06F 1/3215 Monitoring of peripheral devices
• CPC Class Codes: G06F 1/3231 Monitoring the presence, absence or movement of users
• CPC Class Codes: G06F 1/3287 by switching off individual functional units in the computer system
• CPC Class Codes: G06F 1/3293 by switching to a less power-consuming processor, e.g. sub-CPU
• CPC Class Codes: G06F 9/4418 Suspend and resume; Hibernate and awake
• CPC Class Codes: H04L 67/535 Tracking the activity of the user network monitoring arrangements H04L43/00; recording of computer activity G06F11/34
• CPC Class Codes: H04M 2250/12 including a sensor for measuring a physical value, e.g. temperature or motion telephones including GPS signal receivers H04M2250/10
• CPC Class Codes: H04W 52/0251 using monitoring of local events, e.g. events related to user activity
• CPC Class Codes: H04W 52/0254 detecting a user operation or a tactile contact or a motion of the device
• CPC Class Codes: H04W 52/028 switching on or off only a part of the equipment circuit blocks
• CPC Class Codes: H04W 88/02 Terminal devices
• CPC Class Codes: Y02D 10/00 Energy efficient computing, e.g. low power processors, power management or thermal management
• CPC Class Codes: Y02D 30/70 in wireless communication networks

Abstract

An apparatus and method for reducing power consumption of a portable terminal are provided. More particularly, an apparatus and method for reducing power consumption generated in an idle state in order to solve a power consumption problem in a portable terminal are provided. The apparatus includes a state determination unit which is configured independently from an application processor for controlling applications and which wakes up when entering an idle mode to allow the application processor to sleep, and thereafter determines a state of the portable terminal, and if it is determined that the portable terminal escapes from the idle mode, allows the application processor to wake up.

Claims

1. An electronic device comprising:

a memory;

a sensor for sensing motion of the electronic device;

a first processor; and

a second processor configured to at least;

while the first processor is in a sleep state, control to cause motion information relating to the motion of the electronic device to be written in the memory, and

control to send a notification to the first processor in the sleep state,

wherein the first processor is configured to read the motion information from the memory based on the notification, and to provide activity information for a user of the electronic device by processing the read motion information.

2. The electronic device of claim 1, wherein the sensor comprises at least one of an acceleration sensor, a gyro sensor, a proximity sensor, and an ambient light sensor.

3. The electronic device of claim 2, wherein the first processor is further configured to determine whether the electronic device is turned over based on the read motion information relating to the motion of the electronic device.

4. The electronic device of claim 1, wherein the first processor is further configured to determine a life pattern of a user of the electronic device based on the read motion information relating to the motion of the electronic device.

5. The electronic device of claim 4, wherein the first processor is further configured to perform an appropriate service corresponding to the determined life pattern.

6. The electronic device of claim 1, wherein the motion information is motion data from the sensor.

7. The electronic device of claim 1, wherein the second processor is configured to cause the motion information to be written in the memory only while the first processor is in the sleep state.

8. A method for obtaining motion information of an electronic device including a first processor and a second processor, the method comprising:

controlling, by the second processor while the first processor is in a sleep state, to cause motion information relating to motion of the electronic device sensed by a sensor of the electronic device to be written in a memory of the electronic device;

controlling, by the second processor, to send a notification to the first processor in the sleep state; and

controlling, by the first processor, to read the motion information from the memory based on the notification, and to provide activity information for a user of the electronic device by processing the read motion information.

9. The method of claim 8, wherein the sensor comprises at least one of an acceleration sensor, a gyro sensor, a proximity sensor, and an ambient light sensor.

10. The method of claim 9, further comprising controlling, by the first processor, to determine whether the electronic device is turned over based on the read motion information relating to the motion of the electronic device.

11. The method of claim 8, further comprising controlling, by the first processor, to determine a life pattern of a user of the electronic device based on the read motion information relating to the motion of the electronic device.

12. The method of claim 11, further comprising controlling, by the first processor, to perform an appropriate service corresponding to the determined life pattern.

13. The method of claim 8, wherein the motion information is motion data from the sensor.

14. The method of claim 8, wherein the controlling to cause the motion information to be written in the memory comprises controlling to cause the motion information to be written in the memory only while the first processor is in the sleep state.