Method for setting a power operating mode transition interval of a disk drive in a mobile device based on application category
First Claim
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1. A disk drive for operating in a mobile device having a file system, comprising:
- means for receiving data transfer commands from the mobile device, each data transfer command being generated based on a request by an application and being accompanied by a code for an application category that is based on the requesting application;
means for setting at least first and second operating mode transition time intervals for transitioning the disk drive after an end of a response to a data transfer command from a first operating mode that consumes a relatively high level of power to a second operating mode that consumes a relatively low level of power, the first time interval being less than the second time interval and being associated with a first application category and the second time interval being associated with a second application category;
means for selecting a delay time interval to correspond to one of the transition time intervals based on the application category associated with a most recent data transfer command; and
means for transitioning the disk drive from the first operating mode to the second operating mode based on the selected delay time interval.
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Abstract
The invention may be embodied in a method for operating a disk drive in a mobile device to optimize power usage based on an application category. The mobile device may be a hand held computing device such as a personal digital assistant (PDA) or a mobile terminal such as a cellular telephone. A technique of the invention may spin down the disk drive after an adjustable delay time interval that is set based on an application category associated with a most recent data transfer command.
219 Citations
32 Claims
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1. A disk drive for operating in a mobile device having a file system, comprising:
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means for receiving data transfer commands from the mobile device, each data transfer command being generated based on a request by an application and being accompanied by a code for an application category that is based on the requesting application; means for setting at least first and second operating mode transition time intervals for transitioning the disk drive after an end of a response to a data transfer command from a first operating mode that consumes a relatively high level of power to a second operating mode that consumes a relatively low level of power, the first time interval being less than the second time interval and being associated with a first application category and the second time interval being associated with a second application category; means for selecting a delay time interval to correspond to one of the transition time intervals based on the application category associated with a most recent data transfer command; and means for transitioning the disk drive from the first operating mode to the second operating mode based on the selected delay time interval. - View Dependent Claims (2, 3, 4, 5, 6, 7, 8, 10, 11)
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9. A disk drive for operating in a mobile device having a file system, comprising:
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means for receiving data transfer commands from the mobile device, each data transfer command being generated based on a request by an application; means for setting first, second, and third operating mode transition time intervals for transitioning the disk drive after an end of a response to a data transfer command from a first operating mode that consumes a relatively high level of power to a second operating mode that consumes a relatively low level of power, the first time interval being less than the second time interval, and the second time interval being less than the third time interval, and the first time interval being associated with the first application category, the second time interval being associated with the second application category, and the third time interval being associated with a third application category; means for selecting a delay time interval to correspond to one of the transition time intervals based on the application category associated with a most recent data transfer command; and means for transitioning the disk drive from the first operating mode to the second operating mode based on the selected delay time interval.
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12. A method for operating a disk drive in a mobile device having a file system and a disk drive driver, the disk drive for receiving data transfer commands and accompanying application category codes from the disk drive driver and executing the data transfer commands, the file system for generating each data transfer command based on a request by an application, and the disk drive driver for issuing each data transfer command and accompanying application category code to the disk drive, the method comprising the steps of:
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setting at least first and second operating mode transition time intervals for transitioning the disk drive from a first operating mode to a second operating mode after an end of a response to a data transfer command, the first time interval being less than the second time interval and being associated with a first application category, and the second time interval being associated with a second application category; the disk drive selecting a delay time interval to correspond to one of the transition time intervals based on the application category code accompanying a most recently executed data transfer command; and the disk drive transitioning from the first operating mode to the second operating mode based on the selected delay time interval; wherein the disk drive consumes a higher level of power in the first operating mode than in the second operating mode. - View Dependent Claims (13, 14, 15, 16, 17, 18, 19, 20, 21, 22)
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23. A mobile device, comprising:
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a disk drive having a first operating mode that consumes a relatively high level of power and having a second operating mode that consumes a relatively low level of power, the disk drive configured to receive data transfer commands and accompanying application category codes from the mobile device, the disk drive including a microprocessor operable to; execute the data transfer commands, select a delay time interval based on the application category code accompanying a most recently executed data transfer command, and cause the disk drive to transition from the first operating mode to the second operating mode based on the delay time interval, a file system for generating the data transfer commands based on a request by an application; and a disk drive driver for issuing the data transfer commands and accompanying application category codes to the disk drive. - View Dependent Claims (24, 25, 26, 27, 28, 29, 30, 31, 32)
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Specification