Method for detecting a trigger to a program not actively being reviewed by the user and performing a power saving action without placing the device as a whole into a sleep state

• US 8,719,605 B2
• Filed: 05/01/2012
• Issued: 05/06/2014
• Est. Priority Date: 06/30/2011
• Status: Expired due to Fees

• Current Assignee: International Business Machines Corporation
• Original Assignee: International Business Machines Corporation
• Inventors: Chakra, Al, Goldberg, Itzhack, Harpur, Liam, Rice, John
• Primary Examiner(s): Lee, Thomas
• Assistant Examiner(s): Prifti, Aurel
• Application Number:
  US13/460,994
• Publication Number:
  US 20130007487A1
• Time in Patent Office: 735 Days
• Field of Search: 713/340, 713/300, 713/310, 713/320, 718/104, 718/102, 345/173
• US Class Current: 713/320
• CPC Class Codes: G06F 1/3206 Monitoring of events, devices or parameters that trigger a change in power modality
• CPC Class Codes: G06F 1/3228 Monitoring task completion, e.g. by use of idle timers, stop commands or wait commands
• CPC Class Codes: G06F 1/3234 Power saving characterised by the action undertaken
• CPC Class Codes: G06F 1/3287 by switching off individual functional units in the computer system
• CPC Class Codes: G06F 1/329 by task scheduling
• CPC Class Codes: G06F 8/61 Installation
• CPC Class Codes: G06F 8/65 Updates security arrangements therefor G06F21/57
• CPC Class Codes: Y02D 10/00 Energy efficient computing, e.g. low power processors, power management or thermal management

Abstract

A trigger can relate to power usage of a computing device that a computer program to be run or running on the computing device causes. Detection of the trigger causes performance of a power-saving action. The power-saving action relates to the computer program to reduce the power usage of the computing device. The power-saving action is a strictly software-oriented action. An amount of power of the computing device used in detecting the trigger and performing the power-saving action is less than a reduction of the power usage of the computing device that results from performing the power-saving action, resulting in a net power usage reduction.

Claims

1. A method comprising:

detecting, by a processor, a first trigger;

responsive to detecting the first trigger, performing a power-saving action in relation to a computer program to reduce the power usage of a computing device without placing the computing device as a whole into a shutoff, sleep, standby, or hibernation state;

detecting, by the processor, a second trigger related to the power usage of the computing device caused by the computer program; and

responsive to detecting the second trigger, performing a resumption action in relation to the computer program to undo the power-saving action that has been performed,

wherein the power-saving action is a strictly software-oriented action,

wherein detecting the first trigger comprises determining that a user of the computing device is not actively using the computer program,

and wherein determining that the user is not actively using the computer program comprises determining that a number of items presented by the computer program have not yet been reviewed by the user.

2. The method of claim 1, wherein an amount of power of the computing device used in detecting the first trigger and performing the power-saving action is less than a reduction of the power usage of the computing device that results from performing the power-saving action, such that performance of the method results in a net power usage reduction.

3. The method of claim 1, wherein one or more of detecting the first trigger and performing the power-saving action are performed by the computer program itself.

4. The method of claim 1, wherein one or more of detecting the first trigger and performing the power-saving action are performed by another, different computer program.

5. The method of claim 1, wherein the first trigger is defined pursuant to a policy comprising an override condition in which performing the power-saving action in response to detecting the first trigger can be overridden so that the power-saving action is not performed even when the first trigger has been detected.

6. The method of claim 1, wherein determining that the number of items presented by the computer program have not yet been reviewed by the user comprises determining that the number of items presented by the computer program have not yet been reviewed by the user even though the user is otherwise using the computing device.