Reducing power consumption in a networked battery-operated device using sensors

• US 20050136994A1
• Filed: 01/07/2005
• Published: 06/23/2005
• Est. Priority Date: 04/17/2002
• Status: Abandoned Application

• Current Assignee: Microsoft Technology Licensing LLC (Microsoft Corporation)
• Original Assignee: Microsoft Corporation
• Inventors: Sinclair, Michael J., Bahl, Paramvir, Shih, Eugene
• Application Number:
  US11/031,664
• Publication Number:
  US 20050136994A1
• Time in Patent Office: Days
• US Class Current: 455/574
• CPC Class Codes: G06F 1/3203 Power management, i.e. event-based initiation of a power-saving mode
• CPC Class Codes: G06F 1/3231 Monitoring the presence, absence or movement of users
• CPC Class Codes: H04M 1/72454 according to context-related or environment-related conditions
• CPC Class Codes: H04W 52/0225 using monitoring of external events, e.g. the presence of a signal
• CPC Class Codes: H04W 52/0251 using monitoring of local events, e.g. events related to user activity
• CPC Class Codes: H04W 52/0277 according to available power supply, e.g. switching off when a low battery condition is detected
• 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

A method and system for mobile device power consumption management decreases the instantaneous power consumption of a mobile device, increasing operational lifetime of the device. In an embodiment of the invention, the mobile device is associated with a plurality of device behavior modification techniques that can be set in response to data collected from a plurality of sensors associated with the device. In an embodiment, the sensors detect the device'"'"'s motion, tilt, proximity to a user, contact with a user, and orientation with respect to a user. In a further embodiment, the sensors detect a temperature related to the device or its environment.

Claims

1-17. -17. (canceled)

18. A computer-readable medium having stored thereon a data structure comprising:

a plurality of device context fields each having a plurality of entries corresponding to the status of a device context variable; and

a device behavior field having a plurality of entries, each entry describing a device behavior for a mobile device, wherein each entry is associated with an entry in each of the plurality of device context fields.

19. The computer-readable medium according to claim 18, wherein the plurality of entries in the plurality of device context fields are derived from the outputs of a plurality of sensors associated with the mobile device.

20. The computer-readable medium according to claim 19, wherein the plurality of sensors associated with the mobile device comprise at least two sensors selected from the group consisting of a temperature sensor, a proximity sensor, an accelerometer, a tilt sensor, a touch sensor, and a ranging sensor.

21-23. -23. (canceled)