PORTABLE ELECTRONIC APPARATUS HAVING AN OPENABLE LID, PROGRAM PRODUCT AND METHOD OF CONTROLLING PORTABLE ELECTRONIC APPARATUS

• US 20050278557A1
• Filed: 05/23/2005
• Published: 12/15/2005
• Est. Priority Date: 06/11/2004
• Status: Active Grant

• Current Assignee: Lenovo PC International Limited (Lenovo Group Ltd.)
• Original Assignee: Lenovo Singapore Pte Limited (Lenovo Group Ltd.)
• Inventors: Yomo, Takashi, Asoh, Junichi
• Granted Patent: US 7,480,813 B2
• Time in Patent Office: Days
• US Class Current: 713/300
• CPC Class Codes: G06F 1/1616 with folding flat displays, e.g. laptop computers or notebooks having a clamshell configuration, with body parts pivoting to an open position around an axis parallel to the plane they define in closed position
• CPC Class Codes: G06F 1/1677 for detecting open or closed state or particular intermediate positions assumed by movable parts of the enclosure, e.g. detection of display lid position with respect to main body in a laptop, detection of opening of the cover of battery compartment
• CPC Class Codes: G06F 1/3287 by switching off individual functional units in the computer system
• CPC Class Codes: Y02D 10/00 Energy efficient computing, e.g. low power processors, power management or thermal management

Abstract

A portable notebook PC comprising a lid is able to avoid possible trouble during its transfer (as when a user carries the PC with him or her) and is able to reduce the time required to start up after the transfer. The portable notebook PC has a normal operating mode in which a user can utilize the notebook PC, a power saving mode in which an operation performed in the normal operating mode is saved to a predetermined memory so that power consumption can be reduced by using the minimum power required to retain data, and a transfer mode in which the system is temporarily disabled by stopping functions that may become defective during the transfer with a CPU remaining operative.

Claims

1. Apparatus comprising:

a body having a CPU therein;

a lid, wherein the apparatus is used by opening the lid for the body;

a sensor which senses that said lid is opened or closed;

a first circuit, coupled to said sensor, which stops a certain function that may be affected by a transfer of the apparatus without stopping the CPU in response to sensing that said lid is closed in a state in which a normal operation can be performed; and

a second circuit, coupled to said sensor, which clears the stoppage of the function in order to shift to the state in which the normal operation can be performed in response to sensing that said lid is opened.

2. Apparatus according to claim 1, further comprising a hard disk drive, wherein the function stopped by said first circuit is the functionality of the hard disk drive.

3. Apparatus according to claim 1, further comprising a display device, wherein said first circuit further turns off the display device.

4. Apparatus according to claim 1, further comprising a third circuit for saving a state of an operation performed to a predetermined memory to stop the CPU on condition that a predetermined time has elapsed since said first circuit stopped the function.

5. Apparatus according to claim 4, wherein

said second circuit allows a shift to the state in which the normal operation can be performed without requesting a user to input a password, and

in a case where a state in which the CPU is stopped by said third circuit shifts to the state in which the normal operation can be performed, the user is requested to input the password.

6. A method comprising:

a first step of setting a portable electronic apparatus in a normal operation mode corresponding to a normal use state; and

a second step of, in response to sensing that a lid of the electronic apparatus is closed in the normal operation mode, shifting the electronic apparatus to a transfer mode in which a function that may be affected while the electronic apparatus is being transferred is temporarily disabled with a CPU of the electronic apparatus remaining operative.

7. A method according to claim 6, further comprising a third step of shifting the electronic apparatus to the normal operation mode in response to opening of the lid in the transfer mode.

8. A method according to claim 7, wherein said third step shifts the transfer mode to the normal operation mode without requesting a user to input a password.

9. A method according to claim 6, further comprising a fourth step of saving an operation performed in the normal operation mode to a predetermined memory after a predetermined time has elapsed in the transfer mode, and shifting the electronic apparatus to a power saving mode in which a minimum amount of power required to retain data is used.

10. A product comprising:

a computer usable medium having computer readable program code stored therein for controlling a portable computer, the computer readable program code in said product being effective to;

(a) in response to closing of a lid of the computer in a normal operation mode corresponding to a normal use state, shift the computer to a transfer mode in which a function that may be affected while the computer is being transferred is temporarily disabled with a CPU of the computer remaining operative; and

(b) shift the computer to the normal operation mode in response to opening of the lid in the transfer mode.

11. A product according to claim 10, wherein the code is further effective to:

(c) save an operation performed in the normal operation mode to a predetermined memory after a predetermined time has elapsed in the transfer mode and shifting the computer to a power saving mode in which minimum power required to retain data.

12. A product according to claim 11, wherein the code is further effective to:

(d) shift the computer from the power saving mode to the normal operation mode, and

with step (b), a shift to the normal operation is executed without requesting a password from a user, and with step (d), a shift to the normal operation is executed by requesting the password from the user.