Method and apparatus for reducing power consumption of an electronic display

• US 9,620,072 B2
• Filed: 01/15/2009
• Issued: 04/11/2017
• Est. Priority Date: 01/15/2009
• Status: Active Grant

• Current Assignee: International Business Machines Corporation
• Original Assignee: International Business Machines Corporation
• Inventors: Diaz, Rafael E., Ben-Harrush, Idan, Fifer, Nicholas Duane, Goldberg, Itzhack, Ramon, Dan, Sasson, Amir
• Primary Examiner(s): Tran, Tuyetlien T
• Application Number:
  US12/354,742
• Publication Number:
  US 20100180228A1
• Time in Patent Office: 3,008 Days
• Field of Search: 715803, 345102
• CPC Class Codes: G06F 1/3218 of display devices
• CPC Class Codes: G06F 1/3265 Power saving in display device
• CPC Class Codes: G06F 3/0481 based on specific properties of the displayed interaction object or a metaphor-based environment, e.g. interaction with desktop elements like windows or icons, or assisted by a cursor's changing behaviour or appearance
• CPC Class Codes: G06F 3/0482 Interaction with lists of selectable items, e.g. menus
• CPC Class Codes: G06F 3/0488 using a touch-screen or digitiser, e.g. input of commands through traced gestures
• CPC Class Codes: G06F 3/04886 by partitioning the display area of the touch-screen or the surface of the digitising tablet into independently controllable areas, e.g. virtual keyboards or menus
• CPC Class Codes: G09G 2300/0426 Layout of electrodes and connections
• CPC Class Codes: G09G 2310/027 Details of drivers for data electrodes, the drivers handling digital grey scale data, e.g. use of D/A converters
• CPC Class Codes: G09G 2310/0286 Details of a shift registers arranged for use in a driving circuit
• CPC Class Codes: G09G 2310/0291 Details of output amplifiers or buffers arranged for use in a driving circuit
• CPC Class Codes: G09G 2310/0294 Details of sampling or holding circuits arranged for use in a driver for data electrodes
• CPC Class Codes: G09G 2310/04 Partial updating of the display screen
• CPC Class Codes: G09G 2330/021 Power management, e.g. power saving
• CPC Class Codes: G09G 3/3677 suitable for active matrices only
• CPC Class Codes: G09G 3/3688 suitable for active matrices only
• CPC Class Codes: G09G 5/14 Display of multiple viewports
• CPC Class Codes: Y02D 10/00 Energy efficient computing, e.g. low power processors, power management or thermal management

Abstract

A method, system, and computer program product for reducing power consumption in a display area of an electronic device is provided. The method includes selecting a first window within the display area to be highlighted using a first input command of a user; locating the first window in the display area; and reducing power to at least portions of the display area not corresponding to the first window.

Claims

1. A method of reducing power consumption in a display area of an electronic device, the method comprising the steps of:

selecting a first window that is a current task window within the display area to be highlighted using a first input command of a user generated from a pop-up menu, the pop-up menu activated from a dedicated keyboard hotkey and having an option for the first input command to be darkening, highlighting, and closing from a window activation button in a task bar, the window activation button corresponding to the first window and including the option in the pop-up menu for the first input command of darkening, highlighting, and closing;

identifying and locating the first window in the display area;

maintaining power to the first window that is selected; and

maintaining power to the task bar within the display area while reducing power to all portions of the display area not corresponding to the first window;

wherein the reducing power includes superimposing all the portions of the display area not corresponding to the first window in a white color.

2. The method of claim 1, wherein the reducing power step includes reducing power to a second window.

3. The method of claim 1, further comprising restoring power to the at least portions of the display area based on a second input command of the user.

4. The method of claim 1, wherein the reducing power step includes blacking out the at least portions of the display area not corresponding to the first window.

5. An apparatus for reducing power consumption in a display area of an electronic device, the apparatus comprising:

an input device configured to receive a first input command generated from a pop-up menu, the pop-up menu activated from a dedicated keyboard hotkey and having an option for the first input command to be darkening, highlighting, and closing from a window activation button by a user, the first input command in the pop-up menu identifying a first task window which is a current task window and the window activation button corresponding to the current task window and the window activation button including an option in the pop-up menu for the first input command of darkening, highlighting, and closing;

a power reducing module coupled to the input device and configured to;

identify and locate the first window in the display area,

maintain power to the task bar within the display area while reducing power to all portions of the display device not associated with the current task window;

wherein the reducing power includes superimposing all the portions of the display area not corresponding to the first window in a white color, and

maintain power to the first window that is selected; and

a display device coupled to the power reducing module and configured to display the current task window and to obscure the at least portions of the display device not associated with the current task window.

6. The apparatus of claim 5, wherein the input device is configured to receive a second input command, and the power reducing module is configured to restore power to the at least portions of the display area based on the second input command.

7. The apparatus of claim 5, further comprising a driving circuit coupled between the power reducing module and the display device, the display device comprising a panel with a plurality of picture elements disposed in a matrix shape, said driving circuit comprising:

a circuit generating pulses which sequentially shift in a synchronous relation with clock pulses to sequentially select, at a period of the clock pulse of a given frequency, respectively each row and each column of the panel; and

an output circuit amplifying the pulses to output to said panel, said output circuit including a first FET in which said pulses are input to a gate, and a second FET connected in series with the first FET and in which signals opposite in phase to said pulses are to be input to a gate, so that an output signal is output from a connection point of both FETs.

8. The apparatus of claim 5, further comprising a driving circuit coupled between the power reducing module and the display device, wherein the display device comprising an active matrix panel, with a plurality of picture elements being disposed in matrix shape, respective rows and columns of said active matrix panel are respectively selected by a clock pulse of a given frequency to drive each of said picture elements, the driving circuit comprising:

a counter counting said clock pulses and outputting binary count values and inverted binary count values for said respective rows and columns;

a decoder decoding the binary and inverted binary count value from the counter to simultaneously generate a pair of pulses opposite in polarity, said pair of pulses sequentially shifting in a synchronous relation to said clock pulses in each of said respective rows and/or respective columns; and

an output circuit including first and second FETs being connected in series, a pair of pulses opposite in polarity being applied respectively upon each gate of each FET, output signals amplified from connection points of both FETs being output to said active matrix panel.

9. The apparatus of claim 5, further comprising a driving circuit coupled between the power reducing module and the display device, wherein the display device comprising an active matrix panel, with a plurality of picture elements being disposed in matrix shape, respective rows and columns of said active matrix panel are respectively selected by clock pulses of a given frequency to drive the respective picture elements, the driving circuit comprising:

a counter counting said clock pulses and outputting binary count values and inverted binary count values; and

a pair of decoders are respectively connected at both ends of each of the rows and/or both ends of each of the columns, the decoders decoding the binary and inverted binary count values of the counter to generate pulses, in each of said rows and/or in each of said columns, which sequentially shift in a synchronous relation with said clock pulses, said decoders are formed of a-si thin film transistors.

10. A computer program product for reducing power consumption of a display device in a computing environment, the computer program product comprising a non-transitory computer-readable storage medium having computer-readable program code portions stored therein, the computer-readable program code portions comprising:

a first executable portion for receiving a selection of a first window within the display area to be highlighted based on a first input command of a user, the first input command generated from a pop-up menu, the pop-up menu activated from a dedicated keyboard hotkey and having an option for the first input command to be darkening, highlighting, and closing from a window activation button, the window activation button corresponding to the first window and including the option in the pop-up menu for the first input command of darkening, highlighting, and closing;

a second executable portion for identifying locating the first window in the display area; and

a third executable portion for maintaining power to the task bar within the display area while reducing power to at least portions of the display area not corresponding to the first window while maintaining power to the first window that is selected;

wherein the reducing power includes superimposing all the portions of the display area not corresponding to the first window in a white color.

11. The computer program product of claim 10, wherein the third executable portion further reduces power to a second window.