Low power media player for an electronic device

• US 7,426,647 B2
• Filed: 05/28/2004
• Issued: 09/16/2008
• Est. Priority Date: 09/18/2003
• Status: Expired due to Fees

• Current Assignee: Vulcan Portals Incorporated
• Original Assignee: Vulcan Portals Incorporated
• Inventors: Perrin, Stephen L., Fleck, Rod G., Kee, Martin J., Flynn, Rex Antony
• Primary Examiner(s): Patel; Nitin C.
• Assistant Examiner(s): Rahman; Fahmida
• Application Number:
  US10/857,627
• Publication Number:
  US 20050066207A1
• Time in Patent Office: 1,572 Days
• Field of Search: 713/300, 713/310, 713320-324, 713/330, 713/340
• US Class Current: 713/320
• CPC Class Codes: G06F 1/3203 Power management, i.e. event-based initiation of a power-saving mode
• CPC Class Codes: Y02D 30/70 in wireless communication networks

Abstract

A low power media player is provided for an electronic device, such as a hand-held portable computer having capability to operate an application during a low power mode. During the low power mode, portions of hardware, software, services, and/or other components of the portable computer that are not necessary to the operation of the low power media player are suspended or otherwise deactivated. Rather than repeatedly accessing a hard disk to read media files for playback, the low power media player limits its number of access operations by reading as many media files as possible during each access operation, and then caching the read media files. When playback of the media files is to be performed, the media files are read from the cache, thereby reducing the amount of power consumption attributable to hard disk access operations.

Claims

1. A method usable for a portable, hand-held electronic device having a single processor that can operate in a low power mode and in a higher power mode relative to the low power mode, the method comprising:

when the single processor is operating in the higher power mode, operating a media player application in a full power mode to access a plurality of media files in a storage location, wherein at least a full power mode version of the media player application is usable on a desktop or laptop computer, and wherein the portable, hand-held electronic device is sized to fit on a user'"'"'s hand;

monitoring for an event representative of a transition to the low power mode from the higher power mode of the single processor;

if the event is detected, activating a low power media player to operate during the low power mode, wherein the low power media player is separate from the media player application, and wherein the low power media player provides fewer user interface elements than the media player application;

transitioning the media player application to operate in an embedded mode, wherein the embedded mode consumes less power than the full power mode, and wherein the embedded mode provides a subset of the functions available in the full power mode;

reading at least a portion of a media file, to be played during the low power mode, from the storage location using the low power media player supported by the single processor operating in the low power mode;

loading in a memory during the low power mode the portion of the media file read from the storage location using the low power media player supported by the single processor operating in the low power mode;

playing the loaded portion of the media file from the memory during the low power mode using the single processor operating in the low power mode, wherein the playing the read portion of the media file is performed by the media player application in embedded mode but is controlled by the low power media player.

2. The method of claim 1, further comprising:

playing the media file when the transition to the low power mode occurs;

receiving, at the low power media player, information associated with at least one of a plurality of media files stored in the storage location; and

using the received information to determine which media file to read from the storage location and to load in the memory.

3. The method of claim 2 wherein receiving the information associated with the media files stored in the storage location includes receiving a playlist of the media files.

4. The method of claim 2, further comprising providing the information associated with the media files for presentation on a low power display of the electronic device.

5. The method of claim 1, further comprising keeping the low power media player running in modes different from the low power mode.

6. The method of claim 1 wherein loading the portion of the media file read from die storage location includes storing the portion of the media file in a cache while the portion is read from the storage location.

7. The method of claim 1, further comprising suspending operations of other components of the electronic device during the low power mode to prevent data associated with operation of such components from overwriting the loaded portion of the media file.

8. The method of claim 1, further comprising:

receiving user-entered commands, directed towards playing of media tiles, from a user interface on a low power display that is located on an outside surface of a lid of the electronic device, wherein the lid can be closed to cover a display screen on an inside surface of the lid to enable operation of the low power display located on the outside surface of the lid; and

applying the user-entered commands to control, using the low power media player, playing of corresponding media files during the low power mode by a playback function of the media player application.

9. The method of claim 8, further comprising using an application program interface (API) to interact between the media player and the media application, during the low power mode, to control the playback function of the media application.

10. An article of manufacture usable for a portable electronic device, the article of manufacture comprising:

a machine-readable medium having instructions stored thereon to cause a single processor to operate a media player application of the electronic device in a low power mode of the single processor, wherein at least a full power version of the media player application is usable on a desktop or laptop computer, by;

when the single processor is operating in a higher power mode, operating the media player application in a full power mode to access a plurality of media files in a first storage location;

monitoring for an event representative of a transition to the low power mode from the higher power mode of the single processor;

if the event is detected, activating a low power media player to operate during the low power mode;

transitioning the media player application to operate in an embedded mode, wherein the embedded mode consumes less power than the full power mode, and wherein the embedded mode provides a subset of the functions available in the full power mode;

reading, from the first storage location, at least a portion of at least one of the plurality of media files, to be played during the low power mode, the reading being supported by the single processor operating in the low power mode;

storing during the low power mode the portion of the plurality of media files read from the first storage location in a second storage location, the storing being supported by the single processor operating in the low power mode; and

playing the stored portion of the plurality of media files from the second storage location during the low power mode, the playing being supported by the single processor operating in the low power mode.

11. The article of manufacture of claim 10 wherein the machine-readable medium further includes instructions stored thereon to substantially minimize access of the first storage location to read media files during the low power mode.

12. The article of manufacture of claim 10 wherein the machine-readable medium further includes instructions stored thereon to obtain information associated with the plurality of media files stored in the first storage location and to provide the obtained information for presentation on a low power display that is located on an outside surface of a lid of the electronic device, wherein the lid can be closed to cover a display screen on an inside surface of the lid to enable operation of the low power display located on the outside surface of the lid.

13. The article of manufacture of claim 12 wherein the machine-readable medium further includes instructions stored thereon to use the obtained information to determine which media files to read from the first storage location and store in the second storage location during playing of a portion of one of the plurality of media files.

14. The article of manufacture of claim 12 wherein the machine-readable medium further includes instructions stored thereon to use an application program interface (API) to interact between the media player application and the low power media player, during the low power mode, to control the playback function of the media player application.

15. A portable, hand-held apparatus that can operate at least one application during a low power mode, the apparatus comprising:

a portable power supply;

a single processor having the low power mode and a higher power mode relative to the low power mode;

a media player application having a full power mode and an embedded mode, wherein the embedded mode consumes less power than the full power mode and provides a subset of the functions available in the full power mode, and wherein at least a full power version of the media player application is usable on a desktop or laptop computer;

a low power media player application enabled to operate in the low power mode, wherein the low power media player application is separate from the media player application, and wherein the low power media player application provides fewer user interface elements than the media player application;

a persistent storage location accessible by the low power media player application and that can store a plurality of media files;

wherein during the high power mode the single processor employs the full power mode of the media player application and accesses the plurality of media files in the persistent storage location;

a volatile storage location; and

a housing for at least partially carrying the portable power supply, the single processor, the persistent storage location and the volatile storage location, wherein the housing is sized to be held within a user'"'"'s hand;

wherein during the low power mode;

the low power media player application as supported by the single processor operating in the low power mode is able to control playing of a first media file, and able to read at least a portion of one other additional media file from the persistent storage location and load that read additional media file in the volatile storage location during playing of the first media file during the low power mode; and

the media player application operating in the embedded mode plays the portion of the loaded media file under control of the low power media player application.

16. The apparatus of claim 15 wherein the portion of the additional media file is read from the volatile storage location instead of the persistent storage location after completion of playing of the first media file.

17. The apparatus of claim 15 wherein the low power media player application comprises an audio player application that is substantially inactive, but running, during a full power mode of the single processor.

18. The apparatus of claim 17 wherein the audio player application comprises an MP3 player application.

19. The apparatus of claim 15, further comprising a low power mode service to activate the low power media player application during the low power mode and to control either one or both deactivation and suspension of processes during the low power mode.

20. The apparatus of claim 19 wherein the low power mode service can selectively instruct deactivation of elements during the low power mode after use of such elements by the low power media player application for a particular task.

21. The apparatus of claim 15, further comprising:

a lid having an inside surface and an outside surface;

a display screen located on the inside surface of the lid;

a low power display module having a low power display located on the outside surface of the lid to present data associated with the plurality of media files and to provide user-entered commands to the low power media player application, wherein the lid can be closed to cover the display screen located on the inside surface of the lid to enable operation of the low power display located on the outside surface of the lid.

22. The apparatus of claim 15, further comprising a plurality of application program interfaces (APIs) to allow the low power media player application to communicate with other components in connection with playing the portion of the media file during the low power mode, wherein one of the APIs enables the low power media player application to communicate with the media player application during the low power mode to control the playback function of the low power media player application.

23. The apparatus of claim 15 wherein the volatile storage location comprises a cache.

24. The apparatus of claim 15, further comprising an element to provide the low power media player application with a playlist of media files, the low power media player application capable to use the playlist to determine which portion of the plurality of media files to read and load during playing of a particular media file portion.