Software-centric power management by indirectly determining that user is not actively using computer program running on computing device

• US 9,465,427 B2
• Filed: 06/30/2011
• Issued: 10/11/2016
• 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): Prifti, Aurel
• Application Number:
  US13/174,506
• Publication Number:
  US 20130007481A1
• Time in Patent Office: 1,930 Days
• Field of Search: 713/100, 713/104, 713/310, 713/340, 713/320, 713/300, 713/323, 713/324, 718/104, 709/201, 709/206, 709/223, 719/318, 455/569.2, 707/610, 715/771
• US Class Current: 1/1
• 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 non-transitory storage device storing computer-readable power management code executable by a processor of a computing device to cause the computing device to:

detect a first trigger comprising indirectly determining that a user of the computing device is not actively using a computer program, the computer program being an e-mail messaging computer program, by determining that the user is currently scheduled to be in a meeting with one or more other individuals, regardless of whether the user is actually in the meeting, by inspecting a schedule of the user;

responsive to the first trigger being detected, perform a power-saving action in relation to the computer program to reduce the power usage of the computing device without placing the computing device as a whole into a shutoff, sleep, standby, or hibernation state, the power-saving action being a strictly software-oriented action, the power-saving action to one of;

turn off a functionality of the computer program that checks for and retrieves new email messages while not turning off other functionality of the computer program and while permitting other computer programs to run unaffected on the computing device;

modify the functionality of the computer program that checks for and retrieves the new email messages to check for and retrieve the new email messages less frequently while not modifying the other functionality of the computer program and while not modifying the other computer programs running on the computing device;

responsive to the first trigger being detected, cause the computer program to run on a different computing device;

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

responsive to the second trigger being detected, perform a resumption action in relation to the computer program to undo the power-saving action that has been performed, the resumption action to turn back on the functionality of the computer program that checks for and retrieves new email messages or to modify the functionality so that the computer program checks and retrieves the new email messages more frequently,

wherein the functionality of the computer program that checks for and retrieves the new email messages while not turning off other functionality of the computer program is turned off or modified to check for and retrieve the new email messages less frequently while the computer program does not have active focus within a graphical user interface (GUI) of the computing device, and is turned off or modified without user interaction.

2. The storage device 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 storage device of claim 1, wherein the computer-readable power management code is part of the computer program itself.

4. The storage device of claim 1, wherein the computer-readable power management code is part of another, different computer program than the computer program.

5. The storage device 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. A non-transitory storage device storing computer-readable power management code executable by a processor of a computing device to cause the computing device to:

detect a first trigger comprising indirectly determining that a user of the computing device is not actively using a computer program, the computer program being an e-mail messaging computer program, by determining that the user is currently scheduled to be in a meeting with one or more other individuals, regardless of whether the user is actually in the meeting, by inspecting a schedule of the user;

responsive to the first trigger being detected, perform a power-saving action in relation to the computer program to reduce the power usage of the computing device without placing the computing device as a whole into a shutoff, sleep, standby, or hibernation state, the power-saving action being a strictly software-oriented action, the power-saving action to one of;

turn off a functionality of the computer program that checks for and retrieves new email messages while not turning off other functionality of the computer program and while permitting other computer programs to run unaffected on the computing device;

modify the functionality of the computer program that checks for and retrieves the new email messages to check for and retrieve the new email messages less frequently while not modifying the other functionality of the computer program and while not modifying the other computer programs running on the computing device;

responsive to the first trigger being detected, cause the computer program to run on a different computing device;

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

responsive to the second trigger being detected, performing a resumption action in relation to the computer program to undo the power-saving action that has been performed, the resumption action to turn back on the functionality of the computer program that checks for and retrieves new email messages or to modify the functionality so that the computer program checks and retrieves the new email messages more frequently,

wherein the functionality of the computer program that checks for and retrieves the new email messages while not turning off other functionality of the computer program is turned off or modified to check for and retrieve the new email messages less frequently while the computer program does have active focus within a graphical user interface (GUI) of the computing device, and is turned off or modified without user interaction.

7. The storage device of claim 6, 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.

8. The storage device of claim 6, wherein the computer-readable power management code is part of the computer program itself.

9. The storage device of claim 6, wherein the computer-readable power management code is part of another, different computer program than the computer program.

10. The storage device of claim 6, 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.