Scheduling data delivery to manage device resources

• US 8,090,826 B2
• Filed: 06/27/2008
• Issued: 01/03/2012
• Est. Priority Date: 06/27/2008
• Status: Expired due to Fees

• Current Assignee: Microsoft Technology Licensing LLC (Microsoft Corporation)
• Original Assignee: Microsoft Corporation
• Inventors: Tran, Anh P., Moore, Lloyd Alfred, Eldridge, John, Elliott, Steven Oliver
• Primary Examiner(s): DOAN, DUYEN MY
• Application Number:
  US12/147,774
• Publication Number:
  US 20090327491A1
• Time in Patent Office: 1,285 Days
• Field of Search: 4553431-3436, 718/102, 718/107
• US Class Current: 709/225
• CPC Class Codes: G06F 1/3215 Monitoring of peripheral devices
• CPC Class Codes: G06F 1/329 by task scheduling
• CPC Class Codes: G06F 15/173 using an interconnection network, e.g. matrix, shuffle, pyramid, star, snowflake
• CPC Class Codes: Y02D 10/00 Energy efficient computing, e.g. low power processors, power management or thermal management

Abstract

Managing power-consuming resources on a first computing device by time-based and condition-based scheduling of data delivery from a plurality of second computing devices. A scheduler executing on the first computing device has knowledge of recurrent schedules for activation by the second computing devices. The first computing device determines availability of the power-consuming resources and adjusts an activation time for the schedules to use the power-consuming resources when the resources are available. Managing the schedules associated with the second computing devices preserves battery life of the first computing device.

Claims

1. One or more computer-readable storage media embodying computer-executable components for conserving power in a mobile device, the computer-readable storage media not being propagating signals, said components comprising:

a schedule component for determining a future time of availability of a power-consuming resource, said power-consuming resource being associated with the mobile device;

a condition component for identifying a plurality of schedules stored in a memory area that consume the resource during execution, said plurality of schedules being associated with one or more computing devices, said computing devices being connected to the mobile device via a network, each of said plurality of schedules having a recurrent activation time and a tolerance factor and, upon execution by the computing devices, causing data to be transmitted from the computing devices to the mobile device;

an aggregation component for selecting one or more of the identified plurality of schedules for which a difference between the recurrent activation time and the future time of availability determined by the schedule component is within the tolerance factor;

a conservation component for adjusting the recurrent activation time for the schedules selected by the aggregation component as a function of the future time of availability determined by the schedule component; and

an interface component for sending to the computing devices the adjusted, recurrent activation time for the schedules selected by the aggregation component, wherein the computing devices execute the schedules selected by the aggregation component at the adjusted, recurrent activation time to use the power-consuming resource of the mobile device while the resource is available.

2. The computer-readable storage media of claim 1, the computer-readable storage media not being propagating signals, wherein the schedule component determines the future time of availability by searching the memory area for schedules that consume the resource.

3. The computer-readable storage memory of claim 1, the computer-readable storage media not being propagating signals, wherein the interface component receives the identified plurality of schedules from the computing devices.

4. The computer-readable storage media of claim 1, the computer-readable storage media not being propagating signals, wherein the schedule component determines a future time of availability of a radio frequency transmitter associated with the mobile device.

5. The computer-readable storage media of claim 1, the computer-readable storage media not being propagating signals, further comprising a throttle component for limiting a quantity of schedules selected by the aggregation component as a function of a predefined limit value to prevent the mobile device from receiving an amount of data exceeding a predefined threshold during the adjusted, recurrent activation time.

6. The computer-readable storage media of claim 1, the computer-readable storage media not being propagating signals, wherein the power-consuming resource comprises one or more of the following associated with a mobile device:

a backlight, a processor, an audio amplifier, a global positioning system, a digital memory, a short-range wireless network adapter, an auxiliary processor, a vibration motor, a ringer, a camera, an accelerometer, and an ambient light sensor.

7. A method comprising:

receiving, by a first computing device from a second computing device, data corresponding to one or more recurrent schedules associated with the second computing device, said data indicating a defined activation time and a tolerance factor for each of the recurrent schedules, wherein activation of the recurrent schedules by the second computing device causes data to be transferred from the second computing device to a communication interface associated with the first computing device;

determining one or more future times during which the communication interface associated with the first computing device will be available;

associating the determined future times of availability of the communication interface with the recurrent schedules of the second computing device as a function of the defined activation time and the tolerance factor, wherein associating comprises matching at least one of the recurrent schedules to at least one of the determined future times of availability of the communication interface such that a difference between the activation time of said at least one of the recurrent schedules and said determined one or more future times of availability of the communication interface is within the tolerance factor, wherein associating further comprises adjusting the activation time of said at least one of the recurrent schedules as a function of said determined one or more future times of availability of the communication interface; and

providing the adjusted activation time of said at least one of the recurrent schedules to the second computing device, wherein the second computing device activates said at least one of the recurrent schedules at the adjusted activation time to use the communication interface on the first computing device when the communication interface is available.

8. The method of claim 7, wherein receiving the data comprises receiving priority values corresponding to the recurrent schedules, and wherein associating the determined future times of availability of the communication interface with the recurrent schedules comprises associating the determined future times of availability of the communication interface with the recurrent schedules as a function of the received priority values.

9. The method of claim 7, wherein each of the recurrent schedules has an interval duration between activation times, and further comprising defining a next activation time for each of the activated schedules based on the interval duration for the schedule.

10. The method of claim 9, wherein defining the next activation time comprises adding the interval duration for each of the schedules to a current time to define the next activation time for each of the schedules.

11. The method of claim 9, wherein a difference between a current time and the defined next activation time is less than the interval duration.

12. The method of claim 7, wherein associating the determined future times of availability of the communication interface with the recurrent schedules comprises:

calculating differences between the determined future times of availability of the communication interface and the defined activation time for each of the schedules;

comparing the calculated differences to the tolerance factor for the schedules; and

selecting one of the determined future times of availability of the communication interface based on said comparing.

13. The method of claim 7, wherein said receiving, said determining, said associating, and said providing are performed by a mobile device.

14. The method of claim 7, further comprising defining a throttling limit, and wherein associating the determined future times of availability of the communication interface with the recurrent schedules comprises associating the determined future times of availability of the communication interface with a quantity of the recurrent schedules that is less than the defined throttling limit.

15. The method of claim 14, wherein defining the throttling limit comprises defining the throttling limit as a function of a consumption state of the communication interface on the mobile device.

16. A system associated with a first computing device, said system comprising:

a memory area for storing an activation time and a tolerance factor for each of a plurality of recurrent schedules, said plurality of recurrent schedules being associated with a plurality of second computing devices; and

a processor configured to execute computer-executable instructions for;

receiving, from the second computing devices, the defined activation time and tolerance factor for each of the recurrent schedules;

storing the received activation time and tolerance factor for each of the recurrent schedules in the memory area;

receiving notification of a future time of availability of a resource, said resource being associated with the first computing device;

identifying one or more of the recurrent schedules that use the resource and for which a difference between the defined activation time and the future time of availability is within the tolerance factor, said identified recurrent schedules for execution by the second computing devices;

adjusting the defined activation times of at least one of the identified recurrent schedules as a function of the future time of availability of the resource; and

notifying the second computing devices corresponding to the identified recurrent schedules of the adjusted, defined activation times, wherein the corresponding second computing devices execute the identified recurrent schedules at the adjusted, defined activation times to use the resource on the first computing device during the future time of availability of the resource.

17. The system of claim 16, wherein the resource comprises a communication interface associated with the first computing device.

18. The system of claim 16, further comprising:

means for identifying the one or more of the recurrent schedules that use the resource and for which a difference between the defined activation time and the future time of availability is within the tolerance factor; and

means for managing the recurrent schedules associated with the second computing devices to use the resource on the first computing device during the future time of availability of the resource.