Low power residual remaining power indicator

• US 20040128570A1
• Filed: 04/25/2003
• Published: 07/01/2004
• Est. Priority Date: 04/26/2002
• Status: Active Grant

• Current Assignee: Lenovo PC International Limited (Lenovo Group Ltd.)
• Original Assignee: International Business Machines Corporation
• Inventors: Shibata, Kohhei, Katoh, Takayuki, Ohtani, Reiko
• Granted Patent: US 7,308,585 B2
• Time in Patent Office: Days
• US Class Current: 713/300
• CPC Class Codes: G06F 1/1616 with folding flat displays, e.g. laptop computers or notebooks having a clamshell configuration, with body parts pivoting to an open position around an axis parallel to the plane they define in closed position
• CPC Class Codes: G06F 1/1662 Details related to the integrated keyboard

Abstract

Provided is an information processing apparatus that performs a desired process by a user while preserving a low consumption power state. The information processing apparatus comprises an electric power button for starting operation of an operating system when receiving an input from the user, a controller part for receiving an input to a switch other than the electric power button in an operation termination state in which the operation of the operating system is terminated, an execution part for executing a predetermined processing while preserving the operation termination state when the input to the switch is accepted by the controller part in the operation termination state.

Claims

1. An apparatus comprising:

an electric power button which starts the operation of an operating system when input is received from a user;

a controller energized in response to user input to said power button and responsive to an input received through a switch other than said electric power button while in a termination state in which the operation of the operating system is terminated; and

an executor, coupled to said controller, which performs a predetermined process while preserving the termination state when the input to the switch is accepted by said controller in the termination state.

2. The apparatus of claim 1, wherein said termination state is a state selected from the group consisting of suspended, hibernation, sleep, standby and a low power state.

3. The apparatus of claim 1, further comprising:

firmware which enables said executor to execute the predetermined process.

4. The apparatus of claim 1, wherein the predetermined process performed by said executor is the process of indicating the position of said electric power button to the user.

5. The apparatus of claim 1, further comprising:

a keyboard, coupled to said executor, which accepts a second input provided by a user;

wherein the predetermined process performed by said executor is the process of lighting a projector for illuminating said keyboard.

6. The apparatus of claim 1, wherein the predetermined process performed by said executor is the process of indicating to the user a residual amount of battery capacity remaining for powering said apparatus.

7. The apparatus of claim 1, further comprising:

a keyboard including a plurality of keys; and

a plurality of emission devices which are turned on in response to each-key input while in an operation state where the operating system is started;

wherein said executor while in the termination state performs a process which indicates a residual amount of the remaining battery capacity by turning on a pre-designated combination of said emission devices.

8. The apparatus of claim 7, wherein said termination state is a state selected from the group consisting of suspended, hibernation, sleep, standby and low power state.

9. The apparatus of claim 1, further comprising:

a keyboard including a plurality of keys;

a switch used as a first key that is predetermined among the plurality of keys; and

an inputter which accepts keyed input to a second key that is predetermined among the plurality of keys;

wherein said controller accepts an input to the first key, wherein said executor performs a process associated with the second key when said input accepts keyed input to the second key.

10. The apparatus of claim 9, wherein said inputter accepts keyed input to the second key for a predetermined period, when accepting keyed input to the first key.

11. The apparatus of claim 9, wherein said controller supplies power to said input, when accepting keyed input to the first key, and said executor terminates power supplied to said inputter, when the processing associated with the second key is completed.

12. The apparatus of claim 9, wherein said inputter accepts keyed input to two predetermined keys among said plurality of keys, when detecting keyed input to the first key, and said executor performs a process associated with a combination of the two keys.

13. An apparatus comprising:

a processor which executes an operating system;

a keyboard having a plurality of keys;

an inputter which accepts keyed inputs to the plurality of keys; and

a controller coupled to the input which accepts an input to a predetermined key in a termination state in which operation of said processor and said inputter is terminated whereby said inputter is placed into an operational state while preserving said processor in the termination state.

14. The apparatus of claim 13, wherein said termination state is a state selected from the group consisting of suspended, hibernation, sleep, standby and a low power state.

15. An apparatus comprising:

a keyboard having a plurality of keys;

a display which displays an image;

a connector which couples said keyboard and said display such that said display can be opened or closed relative to said keyboard, wherein said plurality of keys are hidden by said display in a closed state and wherein the plurality of keys are not hidden by said display to be available for input by a user in an open state; and

a controller, coupled to said connector, which lights a projector indicating the position of at least one key among the plurality of keys when said-connector is changed from the closed state to the open state.

16. An apparatus comprising:

a keyboard having a plurality of keys;

a display which displays an image;

a connector which couples said keyboard and said display such that said display can be opened or closed relative to said keyboard, wherein the plurality of keys are hidden by said display in a closed state and wherein the plurality of keys are not hidden by said display to be available for input by a user in an open state; and

a controller, coupled to said connector, which lights an emission device indicating the position of an electric power button for starting operation of said keyboard and said display unit when said connector is changed from the closed state to the open state.

17. A method comprising the steps of:

accepting an input to a switch other than an electric power button of an information processing apparatus while in an operation termination state in which the operation of an operating system is terminated; and

executing a predetermined processing while preserving the operation termination state when accepting the input to the switch in the operation termination state.

18. The method of claim 17, wherein said termination state is a state selected from the group consisting of suspended, hibernation, sleep, standby and a low power state.

19. A method comprising the steps of:

detecting a pressing of a predetermined key when a processing part and an input part are in a termination state; and

moving the input part to an operational state while preserving said processor part in the termination state when the pressing of the predetermined key is detected.

20. The method of claim 19, wherein said termination state is a state selected from the group consisting of suspended, hibernation, sleep, standby and a low power state.