Low power subsystem for portable computers

• US 7,725,748 B1
• Filed: 12/29/2000
• Issued: 05/25/2010
• Est. Priority Date: 12/29/2000
• Status: Active Grant

• Current Assignee: Tahoe Research Limited (f/k/a Learndale Limited) (Vector Capital Corporation)
• Original Assignee: Intel Corporation
• Inventors: Kedia, Pankaj, Kardach, James
• Primary Examiner(s): CHEN, TSE W
• Application Number:
  US09/753,326
• Time in Patent Office: 3,434 Days
• Field of Search: 713/320, 713/323
• US Class Current: 713/323
• CPC Class Codes: G06F 1/1615 with several enclosures having relative motions, each enclosure supporting at least one I/O or computing function constructional details of portable telephones comprising a plurality of mechanically joined movable body parts H04M1/0206
• CPC Class Codes: G06F 1/165 the additional display being small, e.g. for presenting status information
• CPC Class Codes: G06F 1/3203 Power management, i.e. event-based initiation of a power-saving mode
• CPC Class Codes: G06F 1/3293 by switching to a less power-consuming processor, e.g. sub-CPU
• CPC Class Codes: G06Q 30/0601 Electronic shopping [e-shopping]
• CPC Class Codes: Y02D 10/00 Energy efficient computing, e.g. low power processors, power management or thermal management
• CPC Class Codes: Y02D 30/50 in wire-line communication networks, e.g. low power modes or reduced link rate

Abstract

An embedded subsystem is coupled to a shared database is synchronized with the notebook and has access to the hard drive. The subsystem is in operation when the notebook is in low power mode.

Claims

1. A method comprising:

transitioning a central processing unit (CPU) of a computer system into a low power mode, the computer system having a memory,

activating a low power subsystem when the CPU enters the low power mode, the low-power subsystem including a low power processor, an external interface and a low power memory;

independent of the CPU, using the low power processor of the low power subsystem to access data contained within the computer system memory; and

providing the accessed data through the external interface of the low-power subsystem.

2. The method of claim 1, wherein accessing data comprises accessing data through a shared database of the low-power subsystem, the method further comprising storing at least a partial copy of data accessed from the computer system memory in the shared database.

3. The method of claim 1, wherein accessing data contained within the computer system memory comprises accessing data contained within a disk drive unit.

4. The method of claim 3, wherein the data contained in the shared database includes multimedia data.

5. The method of claim 1, further comprising accessing data from a network via the external interface of the low-power subsystem.

6. The method of claim 5, wherein accessing data from the network comprises accessing data from the network using a wireless interface.

7. The method of claim 5, wherein accessing data from the network comprises accessing data from an electronic store allowing an electronic purchase.

8. The method of claim 1, wherein providing the accessed data through the external interface comprises presenting the data accessed to a user via a display of the external interface of the low-power subsystem.

9. The method of claim 1, wherein providing the accessed data through the external interface comprises presenting the data accessed to a user via an audio medium of the external interface of the low-power subsystem.

10. An apparatus comprising:

a computer system having a central processing unit, a system memory, a mass storage device, and a user interface, the computer system having a low-power mode; and

a low-power subsystem in operation when the computer system enters the low-power mode, the low power subsystem having a low power processor, a low power subsystem memory and an external interface independent of the computer system, the low power processor providing access to the computer system when the computer system is in the low power mode and the external interface providing data accessed from the computer system externally.

11. The apparatus of claim 10, further comprising a shared database coupled to the computer system and to the low-power subsystem and wherein the low power processes accesses the computer system through the shared database.

12. The apparatus of claim 11, wherein the computer system memory comprises a random access memory coupled to the central processing unit, and wherein the computer system mass storage device comprises a disk drive unit coupled to the central processing unit.

13. The apparatus of claim 12, wherein the shared database is coupled to the disk drive unit, the shared database to store at least a partial copy of data stored on the disk drive unit.

14. The apparatus of claim 11, wherein data contained within the shared database includes multimedia data.

15. The apparatus of claim 10, wherein the low-power subsystem external interface comprises a wireless interface to connect with a local area network.

16. The apparatus of claim 11, wherein the low power subsystem external interface comprises a video display to display data from the shared database.

17. The apparatus of claim 10, wherein the external interface of the low-power subsystem further comprises a wireless user interface to receive verbal commands from a user.

18. The apparatus of claim 17, wherein the wireless user interface further comprises an audio headset to receive audio data transmitted from the wireless user interface.

19. The apparatus of claim 10, wherein the low-power subsystem external interface further comprises an interface to transmit data to a cellular phone.

20. The apparatus of claim 10, wherein the computer system comprises a main screen and the low-power subsystem comprises a miniature display screen and wherein the low-power subsystem including the miniature display screen is activated when the main screen is closed.

21. The apparatus of claim 10, wherein the computer system comprises stored multimedia data, wherein the low-power subsystem accesses the stored multimedia data and wherein the low-power subsystem presents the multimedia data to a user through the external interface.

22. The apparatus of claim 21, wherein the low-power subsystem presents the multimedia data to the user over a miniature display screen of the external interface.

23. A low-power subsystem comprising:

a miniature display screen;

a user input unit;

a low-power subsystem memory; and

a low-power processor coupled to the miniature display screen, to the user input unit, and to the memory, the low-power processor providing access for the miniature display screen and the user input unit to a connected computer system when the connected computer system is in a low-power mode.

24. The low-power subsystem of claim 23 wherein the processor provides access to the computer system through a shared database, the shared database being a part of the low-power subsystem.

25. The low-power subsystem of claim 24, wherein the shared database is coupled to the computer system to store at least a partial copy of data stored in the computer system.

26. The low-power subsystem of claim 23, further comprising a wireless interface to connect to an external network.

27. The low-power subsystem of claim 23, further comprising a wireless interface to connect the user input unit and the processor.

28. The low-power subsystem of claim 23 wherein the user input unit comprises a wireless user interface to receive verbal commands from a user.