Information processing apparatus and method of displaying remaning battery capacity of the information processing apparatus

• US 20050046390A1
• Filed: 08/27/2004
• Published: 03/03/2005
• Est. Priority Date: 08/29/2003
• Status: Active Grant

• Current Assignee: Kabushiki Kaisha Toshiba (Toshiba Corporation)
• Original Assignee: Kabushiki Kaisha Toshiba (Toshiba Corporation)
• Inventors: Kimura, Takuji
• Granted Patent: US 7,289,166 B2
• Time in Patent Office: Days
• US Class Current: 320/132
• CPC Class Codes: G01R 31/3648 comprising digital calculation means, e.g. for performing an algorithm
• CPC Class Codes: G01R 31/3835 involving only voltage measurements
• CPC Class Codes: G06F 1/263 Arrangements for using multiple switchable power supplies, e.g. battery and AC G06F1/30 takes precedence
• CPC Class Codes: H04H 20/72 of terrestrial networks
• CPC Class Codes: H04H 40/27 specially adapted for broadcast systems covered by groups H04H20/53 - H04H20/95
• CPC Class Codes: H04H 60/32 Arrangements for monitoring conditions of receiving stations, e.g. malfunction or breakdown of receiving stations
• CPC Class Codes: H04N 21/23439 for generating different versions
• CPC Class Codes: H04N 21/2365 Multiplexing of several video streams
• CPC Class Codes: H04N 21/41407 embedded in a portable device, e.g. video client on a mobile phone, PDA, laptop constructional details of equipment or arrangements specially adapted for portable computer application G06F1/1626; arrangements specially adapted for mobile receivers in broadcast systems H04H20/57
• CPC Class Codes: H04N 21/4347 Demultiplexing of several video streams
• CPC Class Codes: H04N 21/4424 Monitoring of the internal components or processes of the client device, e.g. CPU or memory load, processing speed, timer, counter or percentage of the hard disk space used error monitoring in general G06F11/30; arrangements for monitoring conditions of receiving stations in broadcast systems H04H60/32; diagnosis, testing or measuring for television receivers H04N17/04
• CPC Class Codes: H04N 21/4436 Power management, e.g. shutting down unused components of the receiver power management in computer systems G06F1/3203; hibernate or awake process in computer systems G06F9/4418
• CPC Class Codes: H04N 21/47 End-user applications
• CPC Class Codes: H04N 21/485 End-user interface for client configuration
• CPC Class Codes: H04N 21/4882 for displaying messages, e.g. warnings, reminders arrangements for providing short real-time information to substation in data switching networks H04L12/1895
• CPC Class Codes: H04N 5/63 Generation or supply of power specially adapted for television receivers
• CPC Class Codes: H04W 52/0261 managing power supply demand, e.g. depending on battery level
• CPC Class Codes: Y02D 30/70 in wireless communication networks

Abstract

An information processing apparatus has a battery portion which supplies power, a remaining capacity detecting portion which detects a remaining capacity of the battery portion, a remaining time computing portion which computes a remaining time during which processing of an application for information processing can be carried out by the power supplied from the battery portion, on the basis of the remaining capacity detected by the remaining capacity detecting portion, and a display portion which displays the remaining time computed by the remaining time computing portion. In this manner, a user can know a time of an application which can be used with a current remaining battery capacity from a screen.

Claims

1. An information processing apparatus comprising:

a battery portion which supplies power;

a remaining capacity detecting portion which detects a remaining capacity of the battery portion;

a remaining time computing portion which computes a remaining time during which processing of an application for information processing can be carried out by the power supplied from the battery portion, on the basis of the remaining capacity detected by the remaining capacity detecting portion; and

a display portion which displays the remaining time computed by the remaining time computing portion.

2. An information processing apparatus according to claim 1, wherein the remaining capacity detecting portion detects a voltage of the battery portion, and decides a remaining capacity of the battery on the basis of the detected voltage value.

3. An information processing apparatus according to claim 1, wherein the remaining capacity detecting portion detects a voltage of the battery portion, and decides the remaining capacity on the basis of information on a relationship between a voltage and a remaining capacity of the battery portion which have been stored in advance.

4. An information processing apparatus according to claim 1, wherein the remaining capacity detecting portion stores in advance information on a relationship between a voltage and a remaining capacity of the battery portion according to type of the battery portion, and decides a remaining capacity on the basis of the relationship information when a voltage of the battery portion is detected.

5. An information processing apparatus according to claim 1, wherein, based on each of power consumptions of a plurality of applications which have been stored in advance and the detected remaining capacity, the remaining time computing portion computes a remaining time during which processing of at least one of said plurality of applications can be carried out.

6. An information processing apparatus according to claim 1, wherein, when at least one of said plurality of applications is started up, the remaining time computing portion computes a remaining time of that application.

7. An information processing apparatus according to claim 1, wherein an application for the remaining time computing portion to compute a remaining time is at least one of receiving processing of receiving a television broadcast, decoding processing for a broadcast signal of the received television broadcast, and display processing for a video image based on the decoded broadcast signal.

8. An information processing apparatus according to claim 1, wherein an application for the remaining time computing portion to compute a remaining time is at least one of recording processing for motion image information and reproduction processing for motion image information.

9. An information processing apparatus according to claim 1, wherein an application for the remaining time computing portion to compute a remaining time is a game application together with image display.

10. An information processing apparatus according to claim 1, wherein an application for the remaining time computing portion to compute a remaining time is at least one of wait processing and communication processing of a mobile telephone.

11. An information processing apparatus according to claim 1, wherein an application for the remaining time computing portion to compute a remaining time is at least one of receiving processing for a radio broadcast, recording processing for voice information of the received radio broadcast, and reproduction processing for voice information.

12. An information processing apparatus according to claim 1, wherein an application for the remaining time computing portion to compute a remaining time is at least one of recording processing and reproduction processing for a still image.

13. An information processing apparatus according to claim 1, wherein the remaining time computing portion computes a remaining time during which processing of another application can be carried out, after allocating a capacity for maintaining a basic function of the information processing apparatus from a remaining capacity of the battery portion.

14. An information processing apparatus according to claim 1, wherein basic functions of the information processing apparatus are communication processing of a predetermined time and wait processing of a predetermined time, of mobile telephone functions.

15. An information processing apparatus according to claim 1, wherein the remaining time computing portion stores in advance each of power consumptions of a plurality of applications which carry out information processing on the basis of the power supplied from the battery portion, and, upon receipt of a user command, the computing portion computes a remaining time during which processing of at least one of said plurality of applications can be carried out, on the basis of said each stored power consumption.

16. An information processing apparatus according to claim 1, further comprising:

a control portion which, when the remaining capacity detecting portion determines that the remaining capacity of the battery portion is equal to or smaller than a predetermined value, makes a display prompting a change of a processing method for the application;

makes the processing method different from another according to a command; and

controls execution of processing for the application.

17. An information processing apparatus according to claim 16, wherein a method for processing the application is to prompt 13-segment decoding to be changed to 1-segment decoding in processing for decoding a received broadcast signal.

18. An information processing apparatus according to claim 1, further comprising:

a control portion which, in a function for television receiving which is the application, when a predetermined channel is selected, decides a remaining broadcast time from acquired electronic broadcast information with respect to a predetermined program received by the channel;

determines whether or not all of the remaining broadcast time can be displayed on the basis of the remaining capacity detected by the remaining capacity detecting portion; and

, if the determination result is negative, controls a user to promote a change of a method for decoding receiving information on the predetermined program.

19. An information processing apparatus according to claim 1, further comprising:

a control portion which, in a function for television receiving which is the application, when a predetermined channel is selected, decides a remaining broadcast time from acquired electronic broadcast information with respect to a predetermined program received by the channel;

determines whether or not all of the remaining broadcast time can be displayed on the basis of the remaining capacity detected by the remaining capacity detecting portion; and

, if the determination result is negative, controls a user to promote a change of brightness of the display portion.

20. A method of displaying a remaining battery capacity of an information processing apparatus, comprising:

detecting a remaining capacity of a battery portion which supplies power;

computing a remaining time during which processing of an application for carrying out information processing according to the power supplied from the battery portion can be carried out, on the basis of the detected remaining capacity; and

displaying the computed remaining time.