APPARATUS AND METHOD FOR MANAGING THE POWER OF AN ELECTRONIC DEVICE

• US 20110006690A1
• Filed: 07/16/2008
• Published: 01/13/2011
• Est. Priority Date: 03/18/2008
• Status: Abandoned Application

• Current Assignee: Shenzhen TCL New Technology Limited
• Original Assignee: Shenzhen TCL New Technology Limited
• Inventors: Hoffman, Brent William, Baxter, Scott Charles
• Application Number:
  US12/920,582
• Publication Number:
  US 20110006690A1
• Time in Patent Office: Days
• US Class Current: 315/150
• CPC Class Codes: H04N 21/4122 additional display device, e.g. video projector digital output for controlling a plurality of local displays G06F3/1423
• CPC Class Codes: H04N 21/42202 environmental sensors, e.g. for detecting temperature, luminosity, pressure, earthquakes
• CPC Class Codes: H04N 21/4312 involving specific graphical features, e.g. screen layout, special fonts or colors, blinking icons, highlights or animations
• 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 5/58 in dependence upon ambient light

Abstract

An electronic device comprising a sensor adapted to sense ambient light and an indicator adapted to display a power consumption status. The electronic device may additionally comprise a processor adapted to vary the luminosity of the device based on the ambient light sensed. A method may comprise sensing ambient light, illuminating a display at a luminosity based on the ambient light, and displaying a power consumption status on the device.

Claims

1. A method of operation of an electronic device, the method comprising:

sensing an ambient light level;

illuminating a display of the electronic device at a luminosity level corresponding to the ambient light level; and

displaying a status on the electronic device, the status relating to a level of power consumption of the electronic device.

2. The method of claim 1, comprising determining the status by comparing the luminosity level to a maximum level stored within the device and a minimum level stored within the device.

3. The method of claim 1, comprising adjusting the luminosity level in response to changes sensed in the ambient light level.

4. The method of claim 1, comprising determining the luminosity level using a relationship stored in the device.

5. The method of claim 1, wherein the status corresponds to a maximum power status, a minimum power status, or a power savings status.

6. The method of claim 1, wherein illuminating the display comprises sending a pulse-width modulation signal to a light source.

7. The method of claim 1, wherein displaying the status comprises sending a pulse-width modulation signal to an indicator located within the electronic device.

8. The method of claim 1, comprising displaying the status via an indicator separate from the display, wherein the indicator comprises an LED.

9. The method of claim 8, comprising displaying the status via a bi-color light emitting diode (LED).

10. The method of claim 9, comprising:

varying the pulse-width modulation signal to enable the LED to emit light of a first color when the luminosity level (corresponds to a minimum level stored within the device;

varying the pulse-width modulation signal to enable the LED to emit light of a second color when the luminosity level corresponds to a maximum level stored within the device; and

varying the pulse-width modulation signal to enable the LED to emit light of the first color and light of the second color when the luminosity level is a value between the minimum level and the maximum level.

11. An electronic device, comprising:

a sensor that is adapted to sense ambient light;

a light source that is adapted to illuminate a display of the electronic device;

an indicator that is adapted to display a status relating to power consumption of the electronic device; and

a processor that is adapted to vary a luminosity of the light source based on the ambient light and determine the status using the luminosity.

12. The device of claim 11, wherein the processor is adapted to vary the luminosity using a relationship stored within a memory of the electronic device, the relationship providing levels of the luminosity of the light source corresponding to levels of the ambient light.

13. The device of claim 11, wherein the electronic device comprises a television.

14. The device of claim 11, wherein the sensor comprises a light dependent resistor (LDR).

15. The device of claim 11, wherein the light source comprises a backlight illumination system including at least one fluorescent tube.

16. The device of claim 11, wherein the indicator is separate from the display.

17. The device of claim 11, wherein the indicator comprises a graphical display accessible through a menu of the electronic device.

18. The device of claim 11, wherein the sensor and the indicator are controlled by a floating point coprocessor located within the device.

20. The tangible machine-readable medium of claim 17, wherein the maximum level and the minimum level are user input values.

19. A tangible machine-readable medium, comprising:

first instructions stored on the tangible machine-readable medium, the first instructions adapted to receive data corresponding to an ambient light level;

second instructions stored on the tangible machine-readable medium, the second instructions adapted to determine luminosity for a light source using a relationship relating the ambient light level to the luminosity;

third instructions stored on the tangible machine-readable medium, the third instructions adapted to display a maximum power status if the luminosity corresponds to a maximum level;

fourth instructions stored on the tangible machine-readable medium, the fourth instructions adapted to display a minimum power status if the luminosity corresponds to a minimum level; and

fifth instructions stored on the tangible machine-readable medium, the fourth instructions adapted to display a power savings status if the luminosity corresponds to a value between the minimum level and the maximum level.