INFORMATION PROCESSING DEVICE AND MOBILE PHONE

• US 20090013204A1
• Filed: 06/30/2008
• Published: 01/08/2009
• Est. Priority Date: 07/02/2007
• Status: Active Grant

• Current Assignee: Socionext Inc.
• Original Assignee: Matsushita Electric Industrial Company Limited (Panasonic Holdings Corporation)
• Inventors: NISHIMURA, Osamu, ITO, Yusuke, KOBAYASHI, Keita, ARAKI, Shoichi, MATSUSHIMA, Yoko, MORITA, Ryoko, ICHINOSE, Naoya, SASAOKA, Toshio
• Granted Patent: US 8,156,363 B2
• Time in Patent Office: Days
• US Class Current: 713/340
• CPC Class Codes: G06F 1/3203 Power management, i.e. event-based initiation of a power-saving mode
• CPC Class Codes: H04W 52/0258 controlling an operation mode according to history or models of usage information, e.g. activity schedule or time of day
• CPC Class Codes: Y02D 30/70 in wireless communication networks

Abstract

An information processing device, for use in a mobile terminal unable to obtain power consumption information from an external source, which can estimate, based on an actual performance value, a battery life, power consumption for processing that changes depending on the usage by the user, and so on, and ensures execution of processing specified by the user for a specified period of time, the information processing device comprising a power consumption calculating unit which calculates, for each processing executed by the information processing device, power consumption information concerning an amount of power consumed by executing each processing; a request generating unit which compares the amount of power indicated by the power consumption information and a remaining amount of power of the information processing device, and generates a request to execute predetermined processing according to a result of the comparison; and a request processing unit which executes the predetermined processing in response to the generated request.

Claims

1. An information processing device configured to measure power consumption of a specific function of said information processing device, and execute predetermined processing when a remaining amount of power of said information processing device becomes equal to or smaller than an amount of power consumption necessary for executing the specific function for a specific period of time with the measured power consumption.

2. The information processing device according to claim 1, comprising:

a power consumption calculating unit configured to calculate, for each processing executed by said information processing device, power consumption information concerning an amount of power consumed by executing each processing;

a request generating unit configured to compare the amount of power indicated by the power consumption information and a remaining amount of power of said information processing device, and to generate a request to execute predetermined processing according to a result of the comparison; and

a request processing unit configured to execute the predetermined processing in response to the request generated by said request generating unit.

3. The information processing device according to claim 2,

wherein each of the processing executed by said information processing device and the predetermined processing is either a task managed by an operating system or interrupt processing.

4. The information processing device according to claim 3,

wherein said power consumption calculating unit is configured to calculate the power consumption information at one of the following timings:

when the operating system performs task dispatching;

when an interrupt occurs; and

when the interrupt terminates.

5. The information processing device according to claim 3,

wherein the request, generated by said request generating unit, to execute the predetermined processing is either a wake-up request or an activation request for the task managed by the operating system.

6. The information processing device according to claim 2,

wherein the power consumption information includes:

an ensured minimum execution time period which is a minimum period of time for which a user wishes to execute the processing; and

power consumption which is an amount of power consumed when the processing is executed for a unit of time.

7. The information processing device according to claim 6,

wherein said power consumption calculating unit is further configured to manage the power consumption information through historical management.

8. The information processing device according to claim 7,

wherein said power consumption calculating unit is configured to calculate, as the power consumption, an average of the power consumption managed through historical management.

9. The information processing device according to claim 7,

wherein said power consumption calculating unit is configured to update the power consumption when the power consumption managed through historical management and current power consumption satisfy a predetermined condition.

10. The information processing device according to claim 7,

wherein the power consumption information further includes a processing operation mode in which processing is executed, and

said power consumption calculating unit is configured to calculate power consumption based on the power consumption managed through historical management and on the processing operation mode.

11. The information processing device according to claim 6,

wherein said power consumption calculating unit is configured to calculate power consumption by dividing, by an execution time period, an amount of power consumption for execution, the execution time period being a period of time for which processing is executed, and the amount of power consumption for execution being an amount of power consumed when the processing is executed for the execution time period.

12. The information processing device according to claim 11,

wherein the amount of power consumption for execution is calculated based on:

a remaining amount of power of said information processing device at a start of the processing; and

a remaining amount of power of said information processing device at termination of the processing, and

the execution time period is calculated based on a time at the start of the processing and a time at the termination of the processing.

13. The information processing device according to claim 6,

wherein said power consumption calculating unit is configured to calculate power consumption based on:

an amount of power consumption for execution which is an amount of power consumed when the processing is executed for an execution time period;

the execution time period which is a period of time for which processing is executed; and

an external factor coefficient which is a value determined based on an external factor affecting the power consumption.

14. The information processing device according to claim 13,

wherein said power consumption calculating unit is configured to calculate power consumption by multiplying, by the external factor coefficient, a value calculated by dividing the amount of power consumption for execution by the execution time period.

15. The information processing device according to claim 13,

wherein the external factor coefficient is determined based on an operation mode of a processor of said information processing device.

16. The information processing device according to claim 6,

wherein the ensured minimum execution time period is a value set in advance.

17. The information processing device according to claim 6,

wherein said power consumption calculating unit is configured to update the ensured minimum execution time period at a predetermined timing.

18. The information processing device according to claim 6,

wherein said power consumption calculating unit is configured to calculate the power consumption information when an event which periodically occurs is processed.

19. The information processing device according to claim 6,

wherein the power consumption information further includes an ensured amount of power, that is, an amount of power necessary for ensuring execution of processing for the ensured minimum execution time period, and

said request generating unit is configured to generate the request to execute the predetermined processing when a total ensured amount of power and the remaining amount of power satisfy a predetermined condition, the total ensured amount of power being a sum of ensured amounts of power of all processing.

20. The information processing device according to claim 2,

wherein said request generating unit is configured to perform one of the following:

generating an interrupt request for interrupt processing to execute the processing; and

calling a function to execute the processing.

21. The information processing device according to claim 1,

wherein the remaining amount of power is an amount of power remaining in a battery of said information processing device.

22. A mobile terminal configured to measure power consumption of a specific function of an information processing device, and execute predetermined processing when a remaining amount of power of the information processing device becomes equal to or smaller than an amount of power consumption necessary for executing, with the measured power consumption, the specific function for a specific period of time.

23. The mobile terminal according to claim 22,

wherein the predetermined processing executed by the information processing device is processing to display a message on said mobile terminal.

24. The mobile terminal according to claim 22,

wherein the predetermined processing executed by the information processing device is processing to switch said mobile terminal to a power-saving mode.

25. The mobile terminal according to claim 22,

wherein the predetermined processing executed by the information processing device is processing to notify another terminal of predetermined information.

26. The mobile terminal according to claim 22,

wherein the predetermined processing executed by the information processing device is processing to either prohibit or permit execution of a specific function of said mobile terminal.

27. The mobile terminal according to claim 22,

wherein the predetermined processing executed by the information processing device is processing to display on said mobile terminal a position of a charging facility.

28. The mobile terminal according to claim 22,

wherein the predetermined processing executed by the information processing device is processing to switch between operation modes of a specific function of said mobile terminal.

29. The mobile terminal according to claim 22,

wherein the predetermined processing executed by the information processing device is processing to power off said mobile terminal.

30. The mobile terminal according to claim 22,

wherein the predetermined processing executed by the information processing device is processing to cause another mobile terminal to continue with execution of an operation which has been executed by said mobile terminal.