Portable terminal device with power saving information processing

• US 7,050,838 B1
• Filed: 07/12/1999
• Issued: 05/23/2006
• Est. Priority Date: 07/13/1998
• Status: Expired due to Fees

• Current Assignee: Matsushita Electric Industrial Company Limited (Panasonic Holdings Corporation)
• Original Assignee: Matsushita Electric Industrial Company Limited (Panasonic Holdings Corporation)
• Inventors: Muramatsu, Fumihiro, Sugihara, Takashi
• Primary Examiner(s): Maung, Nay
• Assistant Examiner(s): Gesesse, Tilahun
• Application Number:
  US09/351,521
• Time in Patent Office: 2,507 Days
• Field of Search: 455/557, 455/556, 455/575, 455/90, 455/522, 455/571, 455/572, 455/573, 455/574, 455/343
• US Class Current: 455/556.1
• CPC Class Codes: H04B 1/1615 Switching on; Switching off, e.g. remotely battery saving circuits associated with selective call operation H04W52/00; details of power consumption reduction in a PLL, H03L7/0802, H03L7/14, H03L2207/08, H03L2207/18; muting amplifiers by gain control see H03G3/34
• CPC Class Codes: H04W 52/0274 by switching on or off the equipment or parts thereof
• CPC Class Codes: Y02D 30/70 in wireless communication networks

Abstract

There is provided a portable information terminal having a built-in radio communications device which minimizes a drop in the voltage of a battery and diminishes the operation threshold voltage of the portable information terminal, thereby lengthening the operatable time of the terminal. In the portable information terminal, when a radio communications section is in a transmission state, a microprocessor of an interface and a microprocessor of an information processing section are brought into a hold state, thereby deactivating the interface and the information processing section. As a result, the operating current required during transmission can be minimized. When the radio communications section is not in a transmission state, the information processing section and the interface are activated. Even when the radio communications section is in a voice communication state and when information is not input to the information processing section for a given period of time, the information processing section and the interface are deactivated. A voltage drop due to internal resistance of the battery is diminished by distributing or reducing the electric current dissipated by operation, in accordance with operating conditions. Consequently, the portable information device can be operated even when the voltage of the battery drops, thus lengthening the operatable time.

Claims

1. A portable information terminal having a built-in radio communications device, including

a radio communications section for performing transmission and receipt operations through use of a time-division technique,

an information processing section for receiving, processing, storing, and outputting information,

an interface which electrically connects the radio communications section to the information processing section and exchange information therebetween, and

a battery for supplying power to the radio communications section, the information processing section, and the interface, wherein the portable information terminal is characterized by comprising

means for deactivating the information processing section and the interface when the radio communications section is in a transmission state.

2. The portable information terminal as defined in claim 1, further comprises means for controlling the radio communications section and the information processing section so as to exchange information therebetween only while the radio communications section is in a non-transmission state.

3. The portable information terminal as defined in claim 1, wherein the radio communications section has a function of exchanging audio data or non-audio data with respect to a network;

and further comprises means for deactivating the information processing section and the interface while the radio communications section is in a voice communication state and information is not input to the information processing section for a given period of time.