Low power mode

• US 10,228,751 B2
• Filed: 07/14/2015
• Issued: 03/12/2019
• Est. Priority Date: 08/06/2014
• Status: Expired due to Fees

• Current Assignee: Apple Inc.
• Original Assignee: Apple Inc.
• Inventors: Andrews, Jonathan J., De La Cropte De Chanterac, Cyril, Kim, Eugene
• Primary Examiner(s): Abbaszadeh, Jaweed A
• Assistant Examiner(s): Sampath, Gayathri
• Application Number:
  US14/799,370
• Publication Number:
  US 20160041606A1
• Time in Patent Office: 1,337 Days
• CPC Class Codes: G06F 1/3212 Monitoring battery levels, e.g. power saving mode being initiated when battery voltage goes below a certain level
• CPC Class Codes: G06F 1/3296 by lowering the supply or operating voltage
• CPC Class Codes: G06F 9/4401 Bootstrapping security arrangements therefor G06F21/57
• CPC Class Codes: Y02D 10/00 Energy efficient computing, e.g. low power processors, power management or thermal management
• CPC Class Codes: Y02D 30/50 in wire-line communication networks, e.g. low power modes or reduced link rate

Abstract

Examples of the disclosure are directed to a method of, after hitting a UVLO threshold, rebooting an electronic device in a low power mode having a lower UVLO threshold, such that the device can continue to be used past the first UVLO threshold. For example, in a high power mode, the device may be capable of a number of functionalities of a modern portable electronic device, such as network access, the ability to run applications, Bluetooth connections, etc. In a low power mode, the device may only be able to check and display a current time, play an alarm sound at a predefined time, perform near field communication (NFC) transactions/payments, among other possibilities described herein. The limited functionality and reduced usage of peripherals in the low power mode may prevent the battery from experiencing peaks in current level that may be problematic at relatively low levels of voltage.

Claims

1. A method of an electronic device including a display and a battery, the method comprising:

obtaining a first characteristic of the battery;

determining that the first characteristic is lower than a first threshold;

in accordance with a determination that the first characteristic is lower than the first threshold, enabling a low power mode;

after enabling the low power mode, initiating a booting process;

obtaining a second characteristic of the battery;

determining whether the second characteristic is lower than a second threshold, equal to or higher than the first threshold;

in accordance with a determination that the second characteristic is lower than the second threshold, continuing the booting process according to the low power mode and storing authorization information for performing one or more wireless transactions that require the authorization information; and

in accordance with a determination that the second characteristic is higher than the second threshold, continuing the booting process according to a high power mode,

wherein;

in the high power mode, the electronic device is configured to perform a first set of functions, including performing the one or more wireless transactions, and

in the low power mode, the electronic device is configured to perform only a second set of functions, a subset of the first set of functions and including fewer functions than the first set of functions, including performing the one or more wireless transactions using the stored authorization information.

2. The method of claim 1, the method further comprising:

in the low power mode, only powering on a subset of modules of the electronic device; and

in the high power mode, powering on the subset of modules of the electronic device and powering on one or more additional modules of the electronic device.

3. The method of claim 1, the method further comprising:

in the high power mode, invoking a first operating system configured to perform the first set of functions; and

in the low power mode, invoking a second operating system configured to perform only the second set of functions, a subset of the first set of functions and including fewer functions than the first set of functions.

4. The method of claim 1, wherein enabling the low power mode includes:

setting a low power mode flag before initiating the booting process; and

storing a local time offset from a reference time, the reference time different than a local time at the electronic device, and the local time offset reflecting a difference between the reference time and the local time;

wherein in the low power mode, the electronic device is configured to display the local time at the display of the electronic device by determining a current reference time, and applying the stored local time offset to the current reference time to obtain the local time.

5. The method of claim 4, the method further comprising, in the low power mode:

obtaining the current reference time;

applying the local time offset to the current reference time to obtain the local time at the electronic device; and

displaying, on the display, the local time at the electronic device.

6. The method of claim 4, the method further comprising, in the low power mode:

determining that a current time is an alarm time; and

in accordance with a determination that the current time is the alarm time, playing an alarm sound.

7. The method of claim 1, wherein the second threshold is higher than the first threshold.

8. The method of claim 1, the method further comprising:

in the low power mode, obtaining a third characteristic of the battery;

determining that the third characteristic is lower than a third threshold; and

in accordance with a determination that the third characteristic is lower than the third threshold, powering off the device.

22. The method of claim 1, wherein the wireless transactions are payment transactions.

9. A non-transitory computer readable storage medium storing one or more programs, the one or more programs comprising instructions, which when executed by an electronic device including a display and a battery, cause the electronic device to perform a method comprising:

obtaining a first characteristic of the battery;

determining that the first characteristic is lower than a first threshold;

in accordance with a determination that the first characteristic is lower than the first threshold, enabling a low power mode;

after enabling the low power mode, initiating a booting process;

obtaining a second characteristic of the battery;

determining whether the second characteristic is lower than a second threshold, equal to or higher than the first threshold;

in accordance with a determination that the second characteristic is lower than the second threshold, continuing the booting process according to the low power mode and storing authorization information for performing one or more wireless transactions that require the authorization information; and

in accordance with a determination that the second characteristic is higher than the second threshold, continuing the booting process according to a high power mode,

wherein;

in the high power mode, the electronic device is configured to perform a first set of functions, including performing the one or more wireless transactions, and

in the low power mode, the electronic device is configured to perform only a second set of functions, a subset of the first set of functions and including fewer functions than the first set of functions, including performing the one or more wireless transactions using the stored authorization information.

10. The non-transitory computer readable storage medium of claim 9, the method further comprising:

in the low power mode, only powering on a subset of modules of the electronic device; and

in the high power mode, powering on the subset of modules of the electronic device and powering on one or more additional modules of the electronic device.

11. The non-transitory computer readable storage medium of claim 9, the method further comprising:

in the high power mode, invoking a first operating system configured to perform the first set of functions; and

in the low power mode, invoking a second operating system configured to perform the second set of functions, a subset of the first set of functions and including fewer functions than the first set of functions.

12. The non-transitory computer readable storage medium of claim 9, wherein enabling the low power mode includes:

setting a low power mode flag before initiating the booting process; and

storing a local time offset from a reference time, the reference time different than a local time at the electronic device, and the local time offset reflecting a difference between the reference time and the local time;

wherein in the low power mode, the electronic device is configured to display the local time at the display of the electronic device by determining a current reference time, and applying the stored local time offset to the current reference time to obtain the local time.

13. The non-transitory computer readable storage medium of claim 12, the method further comprising, in the low power mode:

obtaining the current reference time;

applying the local time offset to the current reference time to obtain the local time at the electronic device; and

displaying, on the display, the local time at the electronic device.

14. The non-transitory computer readable storage medium of claim 12, the method further comprising, in the low power mode:

determining that a current time is an alarm time; and

in accordance with a determination that the current time is the alarm time, playing an alarm sound.

15. The non-transitory computer readable storage medium of claim 9, wherein the second threshold is higher than the first threshold.

16. The non-transitory computer readable storage medium of claim 9, the method further comprising:

in the low power mode, obtaining a third characteristic of the battery;

determining that the third characteristic is lower than a third threshold; and

in accordance with a determination that the third characteristic is lower than the third threshold, powering off the device.

23. The non-transitory computer readable storage medium of claim 9, wherein the wireless transactions are payment transactions.

17. An electronic device, comprising:

one or more processors;

memory;

a display;

a battery; and

one or more programs, wherein the one or more programs are stored in the memory and configured to be executed by the one or more processors, which when executed by the one or more processors, cause the electronic device to perform a method comprising;

obtaining a first characteristic of the battery;

determining that the first characteristic is lower than a first threshold;

in accordance with a determination that the first characteristic is lower than the first threshold, enabling a low power mode;

after enabling the low power mode, initiating a booting process;

obtaining a second characteristic of the battery;

determining whether the second characteristic is lower than a second threshold, equal to or higher than the first threshold;

in accordance with a determination that the second characteristic is lower than the second threshold, continuing the booting process according to the low power mode and storing authorization information for performing one or more wireless transactions that require the authorization information; and

in accordance with a determination that the second characteristic is higher than the second threshold, continuing the booting process according to a high power mode,

wherein;

in the high power mode, the electronic device is configured to perform a first set of functions, including performing the one or more wireless transactions, and

in the low power mode, the electronic device is configured to perform only a second set of functions, a subset of the first set of functions and including fewer functions than the first set of functions, including performing the one or more wireless transactions using the stored authorization information.

18. The electronic device of claim 17, the method further comprising:

in the low power mode, only powering on a subset of modules of the electronic device; and

in the high power mode, powering on the subset of modules of the electronic device and powering on one or more additional modules of the electronic device.

19. The electronic device of claim 17, the method further comprising:

in the high power mode, invoking a first operating system configured to perform the first set of functions; and

in the low power mode, invoking a second operating system configured to perform only the second set of functions, a subset of the first set of functions and including fewer functions than the first set of functions.

20. The electronic device of claim 17, wherein enabling the low power mode includes:

setting a low power mode flag before initiating the booting process; and

storing a local time offset from a reference time, the reference time different than a local time at the electronic device, and the local time offset reflecting a difference between the reference time and the local time;

wherein in the low power mode, the electronic device is configured to display the local time at the display of the electronic device by determining a current reference time, and applying the stored local time offset to the current reference time to obtain the local time.

21. The electronic device of claim 20, the method further comprising, in the low power mode:

obtaining the current reference time;

applying the local time offset to the current reference time to obtain the local time at the electronic device; and

displaying, on the display, the local time at the electronic device.

24. The electronic device of claim 17, wherein the wireless transactions are payment transactions.

25. The electronic device of claim 20, the method further comprising, in the low power mode:

determining that a current time is an alarm time; and

in accordance with a determination that the current time is the alarm time, playing an alarm sound.

26. The electronic device of claim 17, wherein the second threshold is higher than the first threshold.

27. The electronic device of claim 17, the method further comprising:

in the low power mode, obtaining a third characteristic of the battery;

determining that the third characteristic is lower than a third threshold; and

in accordance with a determination that the third characteristic is lower than the third threshold, powering off the device.