Apparatus and method for reducing power consumption in portable terminal

• US 9,485,735 B2
• Filed: 11/02/2015
• Issued: 11/01/2016
• Est. Priority Date: 09/16/2009
• Status: Active Grant

• Current Assignee: Samsung Electronics Co. Ltd.
• Original Assignee: Samsung Electronics Co. Ltd.
• Inventors: Song, Hee-Jun, Kim, Kwang-Choon, Kim, Nam-Woo, Kwon, Sung, Lee, Yu-Jin
• Primary Examiner(s): Pezzlo, John
• Application Number:
  US14/930,564
• Publication Number:
  US 20160057706A1
• Time in Patent Office: 365 Days
• Field of Search: 370/311, 370/329, 370/412
• US Class Current: 1/1
• CPC Class Codes: G06F 1/3203 Power management, i.e. event-based initiation of a power-saving mode
• CPC Class Codes: G06F 1/3206 Monitoring of events, devices or parameters that trigger a change in power modality
• CPC Class Codes: G06F 1/3215 Monitoring of peripheral devices
• CPC Class Codes: G06F 1/3231 Monitoring the presence, absence or movement of users
• CPC Class Codes: G06F 1/3287 by switching off individual functional units in the computer system
• CPC Class Codes: G06F 1/3293 by switching to a less power-consuming processor, e.g. sub-CPU
• CPC Class Codes: G06F 9/4418 Suspend and resume; Hibernate and awake
• CPC Class Codes: H04L 67/535 Tracking the activity of the user network monitoring arrangements H04L43/00; recording of computer activity G06F11/34
• CPC Class Codes: H04M 2250/12 including a sensor for measuring a physical value, e.g. temperature or motion telephones including GPS signal receivers H04M2250/10
• CPC Class Codes: H04W 52/0251 using monitoring of local events, e.g. events related to user activity
• CPC Class Codes: H04W 52/0254 detecting a user operation or a tactile contact or a motion of the device
• CPC Class Codes: H04W 52/028 switching on or off only a part of the equipment circuit blocks
• CPC Class Codes: H04W 88/02 Terminal devices
• 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 apparatus and method for reducing power consumption of a portable terminal are provided. More particularly, an apparatus and method for reducing power consumption generated in an idle state in order to solve a power consumption problem in a portable terminal are provided. The apparatus includes a stale determination unit which is configured independently from an application processor for controlling applications and which wakes up when entering an idle mode to allow the application processor to sleep, and thereafter determines a state of the portable terminal, and if it is determined that the portable terminal escapes from the idle mode, allows the application processor to wake up.

Claims

1. An electronic device comprising:

a memory;

one or more sensors;

an application processor configured to execute applications; and

a sensor processor configured to;

control the one or more sensors to obtain sensing information,

control the memory to store the sensing information in the memory while the application processor is in a sleep state, and

send a notification to the application processor,

wherein, the application processor is further configured to obtain at least a portion of the stored sensing information from the memory based on the notification.

2. The electronic device of claim 1, wherein the sensing information is for determining a movement of a user of the electronic device.

3. The electronic device of claim 1, wherein the one or more sensors comprise at least one of an acceleration sensor, a gyro sensor, a terrestrial magnetism sensor, a proximity sensor, and an ambient light sensor.

4. The electronic device of claim 1, wherein the notification indicates existence of the sensing information stored in the memory.

5. The portable electronic device of claim 1, wherein the application processor is further configured to, after having transited from the sleep state to an operate state, analyze the at least the portion of the sensing information to determine a life pattern of a user of the electronic device.

6. The electronic device of claim 5, wherein the life pattern of the user of the electronic device is determined based on the obtained sensing information.

7. The electronic device of claim 6, wherein the application processor is further configured to perform an appropriate service corresponding to the determined life pattern.

8. The electronic device of claim 1, wherein the one or more sensors comprise a global positioning system (GPS),

wherein the sensor processor is configured to control the memory to accumulate and store a location and speed of a user on a periodic basis while the application processor is in the sleep state, and

wherein data of the location is transmitted to the application processor when the application processor is configured to transit from the sleep state to an operate state.

9. The electronic device of claim 8, wherein the application processor is further configured to operate a garage door of a user'"'"'s house, using the transmitted data of the location.

10. The electronic device of claim 8, wherein the application processor is further configured to operate a heating system of a user'"'"'s house, based on an expected arrival time calculated by the location and speed.

11. The electronic device of claim 8, wherein the application processor is further configured to receive traffic information of a path that is expected to be used by a user, based on the data of the location.

12. The electronic device of claim 1, wherein the one or more sensors comprise at least one of a proximity sensor and an ambient light sensor, and

wherein the sensing information received from the at least one of the proximity sensor and the ambient light sensor is used to determine whether the electronic device is turned over.

13. The portable terminal of claim 1, further comprising a controller configured to control a state of the application processor between the sleep state and an operate state.

14. A method of an electronic device, the method comprising:

controlling, at a sensor processor, one or more sensors to obtain sensing information;

controlling, at the sensor processor, a memory to store the sensing information in the memory while an application processor is in a sleep state;

controlling, at the sensor processor, to send a notification to the application processor; and

controlling, at the application processor obtains, to obtain at least a portion of the stored sensing information from the memory based on the notification.

15. The method of claim 14, wherein the sensing information is for determining a movement of a user of the electronic device.

16. The method of claim 14, wherein the one or more sensors comprise at least one of an acceleration sensor, a gyro sensor, a terrestrial magnetism sensor, a proximity sensor, and an ambient light sensor.

17. The method of claim 14, wherein the notification indicates existence of the sensing information stored in the memory.

18. The method of claim 14, wherein the application processor analyzes the obtained sensing information to determine a life pattern of a user of the electronic device after having transited from the sleep state to an operate state.

19. The method of claim 18, further comprising:

determining a life pattern of a user of the electronic device based on the obtained sensing information.

20. The method of claim 19, wherein the application processor performs an appropriate service corresponding to the determined life pattern.

21. The method of claim 14, wherein the one or more sensors comprise a global positioning system (GPS),

wherein the sensor processor controls the memory to accumulate and stores a location and speed of a user on a periodic basis while the application processor is in a sleep state, and

wherein data of the location is transmitted to the application processor when the application processor has transited from the sleep state to an operate state.

22. The method of claim 21, wherein the application processor operates a garage door of a user house, using the transmitted data of the location.

23. The method of claim 22, wherein the application processor operates a heating system of a user'"'"'s house, based on an expected arrival time calculated by the data of the location and speed.

24. The method of claim 14, wherein the application processor receives traffic information of a path that is expected to be used by a user, based on the data of the location.

25. The method of claim 14, wherein the one or more sensors comprise at least one of a proximity sensor and an ambient light sensor, and

wherein at least one physical value received from the at least one of the proximity sensor and the ambient light sensor determines whether the electronic device is turned over.

26. An electronic device comprising:

a memory;

one or more sensors;

an application processor configured to execute applications; and

a sensor processor configured to;

control the one or more sensors to obtain sensing information,

control the memory to store sensing information in the memory, and

send a notification to the application processor,

wherein the application processor is further configured to obtain from the memory based on the notification at least a portion of sensing information, stored in the memory while the application processor is in a sleep state.

27. The electronic device of claim 26, wherein the notification is sent to the application processor while the application processor is in the sleep state.

28. A method of an electronic device, the method comprising:

controlling, at a sensor processor, one or more sensors to obtain sensing information;

controlling, at the sensor processor, a memory to store the sensing information in the memory;

controlling, at the sensor processor, to send a notification to an application processor; and

controlling, at the application processor, to obtain from the memory based on the notification at least a portion of sensing information, stored in the memory while the application processor is in a sleep state.

29. The method of claim 28, wherein the notification is sent to the application processor while the application processor is in the sleep state.