Information terminal and computer program

• US 8,724,602 B2
• Filed: 10/15/2010
• Issued: 05/13/2014
• Est. Priority Date: 10/16/2009
• Status: Active Grant

• Current Assignee: Fujitsu Limited
• Original Assignee: Fujitsu Limited
• Inventors: Tanaka, Hideki, Yamada, Isamu, Shiotsu, Shinichi
• Primary Examiner(s): Nooristany, Sulaiman
• Application Number:
  US12/905,165
• Publication Number:
  US 20110090883A1
• Time in Patent Office: 1,306 Days
• Field of Search: 370/338
• US Class Current: 370/338
• CPC Class Codes: G06F 1/3203 Power management, i.e. event-based initiation of a power-saving mode
• CPC Class Codes: G06F 1/3287 by switching off individual functional units in the computer system
• CPC Class Codes: G08B 13/1418 Removal detected by failure in electrical connection between the appliance and a control centre, home control panel or a power supply
• CPC Class Codes: H04W 60/04 using triggered events
• CPC Class Codes: Y02D 10/00 Energy efficient computing, e.g. low power processors, power management or thermal management
• CPC Class Codes: Y02D 30/70 in wireless communication networks

Abstract

An information terminal includes: a wireless communication section configured to communicate with an outside; a main functional section configured to perform an information processing operation that includes data communication with the outside, performed using the wireless communication section; a monitoring section configured to detect a state of power supply for the main functional section; and a communication control section configured to cause the wireless communication section to transmit data, preliminarily stored in a memory, to the outside when the state detected by the monitoring section corresponds to a state in which the main functional section is not capable of performing data communication using the wireless communication section.

Claims

1. An information terminal comprising:

a first processor that executes an information processing operation that includes data communication with an external device using a wireless communication device;

a second processor that executes, as an auxiliary controller, the information processing operation that includes data communication with the external device using the wireless communication device; and

a third processor that executes a procedure including

a monitoring process that detects a state of power supply for the first processor; and

a switching control process performs a switching control operation in response to the state detected in the monitoring process, the switching control process switches control of the wireless communication device to one of the first processor and the second processor, wherein

the second processor further executes a communication control process that causes the wireless communication device to transmit data, stored in a first memory device, to the external device when the state detected in the monitoring process corresponds to a state in which the first processor is not capable of executing the data communication using the wireless communication device, wherein the data transmitted includes information on whereabouts of the information terminal.

2. The information terminal according to claim 1, wherein when the first processor is in a state in which the first processor is capable of executing the information processing operation, the first processor stores data that indicates an operation status of the information terminal in the first memory device.

3. The information terminal according to claim 1, wherein the first memory device and the second processor are included in a microcomputer.

4. The information terminal according to claim 1, wherein the communication control process establishes a communication connection to the external device on the basis of access point information stored in a second memory device.

5. The information terminal according to claim 1, wherein the procedure further includes:

an intermittent operation control process that

alternately switches a state of the wireless communication device between an operational state and a nonoperational state,

sets an operation interval to a timer,

changes the state of the wireless communication device to the operational state in response to an interrupt from the timer, and

changes the state of the wireless communication device to the nonoperational state in response to termination of data transmission performed by the communication control process.

6. The information terminal according to claim 1, wherein the procedure further includes:

an intermittent operation control process that alternately switches a state of the wireless communication device between an operational state and a nonoperational state.

7. A recording medium that records a program for causing a microcontroller, which is included in an information terminal and is different from a processor also included in the information terminal, to execute a processing operation, the processing operation comprising:

detecting a state of power supply for the processor which is configured to perform an information processing operation that includes data communication with an external device using a wireless communication device;

switching, in response to the detected state, control of the wireless communication device to one of the processor and the microcontroller; and

when the state of power supply corresponds to a state in which the processor is not capable of executing the data communication using the wireless communication device, causing the wireless communication device to transmit data stored in a memory in which the processor stores an operation status of the information terminal when the state of the power supply corresponds to a state in which the processor is capable of executing the data communication using the wireless communication device, wherein the data transmitted includes information on whereabouts of the information terminal.

8. The recording medium according to claim 7, wherein the processing operation further comprises:

alternately switching a state of the wireless communication device between an operational state and a nonoperational state;

setting an operation interval to a timer in the microcontroller; and

changing the state of the wireless communication device to the operational state in response to an interrupt from the timer.

9. A method of controlling an information terminal, the method comprising:

detecting a state of power supply for a processor that executes an information processing operation that includes data communication with an external device using a wireless communication device;

switching, in response to the detected state, control of the wireless communication device to one of the processor and a microcontroller; and

causing, when the state detected in the detecting corresponds to a state in which the processor is not capable of executing the data communication using the wireless communication device, the wireless communication device to transmit, to the external device, data stored in a memory in which the processor stores an operation status of the information terminal when the state of the power supply corresponds to a state in which the processor is capable of executing the data communication using the wireless communication device, wherein the data transmitted includes information on whereabouts of the information terminal.