Power and load management based on contextual information
First Claim
1. A computer-implemented method for managing power in a computing device based on location, the method comprising:
- detecting a power-intensive task invoked on the computing device;
determining a current power state of the computing device;
determining a location of the device and a proximity to additional power and/or computing resources wherein determining further comprises determining an availability of power and whether the device'"'"'s current power level is sufficient to complete tasks that will occur before the user reaches a location of an additional power source;
identifying one or more alternative devices for performing the requested task by requesting information describing availability and a monetary cost of power for the alternative computing devices;
receiving information from the one or more identified alternative devices, the received information describing characteristics of each of the one or more identified alternative devices;
determining suitability of the identified one or more alternative devices for performing the requested task based on the received information; and
taking a power-based action to manage the computing device based on the determined location of the device, other received information, and the determined suitability of the identified one or more alternative devices;
wherein the preceding steps are performed by at least one processor.
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Accused Products
Abstract
A power context system is described herein that makes decisions related to device power usage based on factors such as location, load, available alternatives, cost of power, and cost of bandwidth. The system incorporates contextual knowledge about the situation in which a device is being used. Using the context of location, devices can make smarter decisions about deciding which processes to migrate to the cloud, load balancing between applications, and switching to power saving modes depending on how far the user is from a power source. As the cloud becomes more frequently used, load balancing by utilizing distributed data warehouses to move processes to different locations in the world depending on factors such as accessibility, locales, and cost of electricity are considerations for power management. Power management of mobile devices is becoming important as integration with the cloud yields expectations of devices being able to reliably access and persist data.
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Citations
18 Claims
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1. A computer-implemented method for managing power in a computing device based on location, the method comprising:
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detecting a power-intensive task invoked on the computing device; determining a current power state of the computing device; determining a location of the device and a proximity to additional power and/or computing resources wherein determining further comprises determining an availability of power and whether the device'"'"'s current power level is sufficient to complete tasks that will occur before the user reaches a location of an additional power source; identifying one or more alternative devices for performing the requested task by requesting information describing availability and a monetary cost of power for the alternative computing devices; receiving information from the one or more identified alternative devices, the received information describing characteristics of each of the one or more identified alternative devices; determining suitability of the identified one or more alternative devices for performing the requested task based on the received information; and taking a power-based action to manage the computing device based on the determined location of the device, other received information, and the determined suitability of the identified one or more alternative devices; wherein the preceding steps are performed by at least one processor. - View Dependent Claims (2, 3, 4, 5, 6, 7, 8, 9, 10, 11)
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12. A computer system for power and load management based on contextual Information on a computing device, the system comprising:
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a processor and memory configured to execute software instructions embodied within the following components; a power state component that maintains information describing a current power state of the computing device; a load-sensing component that senses one or more load requests caused by activity on the computing device; a power cost component that determines current and future costs of power for the mobile computing device; a location awareness component that determines a current location of the computing device and determines one or more potential subsequent locations of the device; a decision engine component that receives information from other components and makes decisions related to power states of the computing device and whether to transfer loads to remote devices, the decision engine component further configured to receive information from a plurality of remote devices describing characteristics of the plurality of remote devices, a monetary cost of power for the remote devices, and to determine suitability of each of the plurality of remote devices to perform one or more of the loads; a load transfer component that transfers a computing load from the computing device to a secondary computing device as directed by the decision engine based on a determined monetary power cost; and a power conserving component that transitions the computing device from the current power state to another or prevents a transition from the current power state based on location information. - View Dependent Claims (13, 14, 15, 16, 17)
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18. A computer-readable storage medium comprising instructions for controlling a computer system to transfer a computing load from one computing device to another computing device, wherein the instructions, upon execution, cause a processor to perform actions comprising:
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receiving a request to execute a task that will produce a computational load on one or more resources of the computing device; determining a location associated with the computing device that determines availability of additional power and/or computing resources wherein determining further comprising determining an availability of power and whether the computing device'"'"'s current power level is sufficient to complete tasks that will occur before the user reaches a location of an additional power source; identifying one or more alternative devices for performing the requested task; determining a monetary power cost for executing the requested load locally on the computing device and at one or more of the identified alternatives; and automatically deciding whether to execute the requested load on the local computing device or to transfer at least some of the requested load to an identified alternative computing device.
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Specification