Low power detection apparatus and method for displaying information

• US 10,338,662 B2
• Filed: 11/14/2016
• Issued: 07/02/2019
• Est. Priority Date: 08/28/2012
• Status: Active Grant

• Current Assignee: Samsung Electronics Co. Ltd.
• Original Assignee: Samsung Electronics Co. Ltd.
• Inventors: Oh, Ji-Heon, Hong, Hyun-Su, Park, Sung-Min, Lee, Jae-Myeon, Jung, Hyun-Ki
• Primary Examiner(s): Connolly, Mark A
• Application Number:
  US15/350,811
• Publication Number:
  US 20170060223A1
• Time in Patent Office: 960 Days
• CPC Class Codes: G06F 1/3206 Monitoring of events, devices or parameters that trigger a change in power modality
• CPC Class Codes: G06F 1/3218 of display 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 13/24 using interrupt G06F13/32 takes precedence
• CPC Class Codes: Y02D 10/00 Energy efficient computing, e.g. low power processors, power management or thermal management

Abstract

A low power detection apparatus and a method for displaying information are provided. When a low power manager drives a proximity detection sensor to generate a proximity interrupt in a state within which the portable terminal is in an idle state, the low power manager drives a motion detection sensor and determines a motion of the portable terminal for a preset time. When there is no motion of the portable terminal for the preset time, the low power manager generates proximity data for displaying screen information and then transmits the generated proximity data to an application processor so as to display screen information which the user desires with low power.

Claims

1. An electronic device comprising:

a display;

a first sensor configured to detect an approach of an object to the electronic device;

a second sensor configured to detect a posture of the electronic device; and

a first processor configured to;

based on detecting the approach of the object to the electronic device, determine whether a change in the posture of the electronic device is detected for a preset period of time, and

based on determining that the change in the posture of the electronic device is not detected for the preset period of time, provide first information corresponding to the detected approach to a second processor; and

the second processor configured to;

based on the first information corresponding to the detected approach, control the display to display second information.

2. The electronic device of claim 1, further comprising:

an interrupt circuit configured to generate an interrupt for the first sensor,

wherein the first processor is further configured to;

drive the first sensor and stop a driving of the second sensor when a state of the electronic device is a sleep mode, and

drive the second sensor when the interrupt for the first sensor is generated through the interrupt circuit.

3. The electronic device of claim 1, wherein the first processor is further configured to:

stop a driving of the second sensor when the change in the posture of the electronic device is detected for the preset period of time.

4. The electronic device of claim 3, wherein the first processor is further configured to:

determine whether a next interrupt is generated after the driving of the second sensor is stopped.

5. The electronic device of claim 1, wherein, to determine that the change in the posture of the electronic device is detected, the first processor is further configured to determine whether values of x, y, and z axes of the electronic device are larger than or equal to a preset threshold.

6. The electronic device of claim 5, wherein the first processor is further configured to:

determine that the change in the posture of the electronic device is detected for the preset period of time when the values of the x, y, and z axes of the electronic device are larger than or equal to the preset threshold for the preset period of time, and

stop a driving of the second sensor when the values of the x, y, and z axes of the electronic device are smaller than the preset threshold.

7. A method of displaying information in an electronic device, the method comprising:

detecting an approach of an object to the electronic device by a first sensor;

based on detecting the approach of the object to the electronic device, determining whether a change in posture of the electronic device is detected for a preset period of time by a second sensor;

based on determining that the change in the posture of the electronic device is not detected for the preset period of time, providing first information corresponding to the detected approach from a first processor to a second processor; and

based on the first information corresponding to the detected approach, displaying second information on a display by the second processor.

8. The method of claim 7, further comprising:

driving the first sensor and stopping a driving of the second sensor when a state of the electronic device is a sleep mode; and

driving the second sensor when an interrupt for the first sensor is generated.

9. The method of claim 7, further comprising:

stopping a driving of the second sensor when the change in the posture of the electronic device is detected for the preset period of time.

10. The method of claim 9, further comprising:

determining whether a next interrupt is generated after the driving of the second sensor is stopped.

11. The method of claim 7,

wherein the determining of whether the change in the posture of the electronic device is detected comprises determining whether values of x, y, and z axes of the electronic device are larger than or equal to a preset threshold.

12. The method of claim 11, wherein the determining of whether the change in the posture of the electronic device is detected for the preset period of time comprises:

determining that the change in the posture of the electronic device is detected for the preset period of time when the values of the x, y, and z axes of the electronic device are larger than or equal to the preset threshold for the preset period of time, and

stopping a driving of the second sensor when the values of the x, y, and z axes of the electronic device are smaller than the preset threshold.

13. A non-transitory computer-readable storage medium storing instructions that, when executed, cause at least one processor to perform the method of claim 7.