Inhibition device, method for controlling inhibition device, device under control, electronic equipment, and computer readable storage medium

• US 9,569,382 B2
• Filed: 01/11/2013
• Issued: 02/14/2017
• Est. Priority Date: 02/02/2012
• Status: Active Grant

• Current Assignee: Sharp Kabushiki Kaisha (Hon Hai Precision Industry Co., Ltd.)
• Original Assignee: Sharp Kabushiki Kaisha (Hon Hai Precision Industry Co., Ltd.)
• Inventors: Horiuchi, Kenichi, Miura, Takashi, Itoh, Seigo
• Primary Examiner(s): Misiura, Brian
• Application Number:
  US14/357,892
• Publication Number:
  US 20140317326A1
• Time in Patent Office: 1,495 Days
• 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 1/3234 Power saving characterised by the action undertaken
• CPC Class Codes: G06F 1/324 by lowering clock frequency
• CPC Class Codes: G06F 1/3296 by lowering the supply or operating voltage
• CPC Class Codes: G06F 13/24 using interrupt G06F13/32 takes precedence
• CPC Class Codes: H04W 52/0254 detecting a user operation or a tactile contact or a motion of the device
• 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 inhibition device includes: a location information obtaining section that obtains, from a computing device, information on a touch location; a operation determining section that determines, in accordance with the information on the touch location, whether or not an operation of a user is an operation for causing the computing device to execute a predetermined process; and an inhibition information transmitting section that transmits inhibition information.

Claims

1. An inhibition device for transmitting, to a controlled device, inhibition information that causes the controlled device to be inhibited from transitioning from a first state, in which the controlled device executes a process at a predetermined performance level, to a second state in which the controlled device executes the process at a performance level lower than the predetermined performance level, the controlled device being capable of obtaining, from an electronic device that includes an input screen capable of detecting a location specified by a user, location information on the location,

the inhibition device comprising:

first obtaining means for obtaining, from the controlled device, the location information on the location specified by the user;

first determining means for determining, in accordance with the location information obtained by the first obtaining means, whether or not an operation of the user is an operation for causing the controlled device to execute a predetermined process;

transmitting means for transmitting the inhibition information in a case where the first determining means determines that the operation of the user is an operation for causing the controlled device to execute the predetermined process; and

second obtaining means for obtaining, from the controlled device, completion information indicating that the controlled device has ended the predetermined process,

in a case where the second obtaining means obtains the completion information, the transmitting means further transmitting permission information that permits the controlled device to transition from the first state to the second state.

2. An inhibition device as set forth in claim 1, further comprising:

second determining means for determining, in a case where the first determining means determines that an operation of the user is an operation for causing the controlled device to execute the predetermined process, whether or not a predetermined length of time has elapsed since a time at which the first obtaining means obtained the location information,

in a case where the second determining means determines that the predetermined length of time has elapsed, the transmitting means transmitting, to the controlled device, permission information that permits the controlled device to transition from the first state to the second state.

3. The inhibition device as set forth in claim 1, wherein the transmitting means transmits the inhibition information during a period between (i) a point in time where the first determining means determines that an operation of the user is an operation for causing the controlled device to execute the predetermined process and (ii) a point in time where the controlled device executes the predetermined process.

4. The inhibition device as set forth in claim 1, wherein the first determining means determines, in a case where the predetermined process is a process for launching an application, that an operation of the user is an operation for causing the controlled device to execute the predetermined process.

5. A controlled device (i) capable of obtaining, from an electronic device that includes an input screen capable of detecting a location specified by a user, location information on the location and (ii) capable of operating in both (but either one at a time) (a) a first state, in which the controlled device executes a process at a predetermined performance level and (b) a second state in which the controlled device executes the process at a performance level lower than the predetermined performance level,

the controlled device comprising:

receiving means for receiving inhibition information transmitted from the inhibition device as set forth in claim 1; and

executing means for executing, in the first state, the predetermined process in a case where the receiving means receives the inhibition information.

6. The controlled device as set forth in claim 5, wherein:

the receiving means further receives permission information which has been transmitted from the inhibition device and which permits the controlled device to transition from the first state to the second state; and

in a case where the receiving means receives the permission information, the executing means executes a process either in the first state or in the second state.

7. An electronic device comprising an input screen capable of detecting a location specified by a user, the electronic device comprising:

an inhibition device including

first obtaining means for obtaining, from the controlled device, the location information on the location specified by the user;

first determining means for determining, in accordance with the location information obtained by the first obtaining means, whether or not an operation of the user is an operation for causing the controlled device to execute a predetermined process; and

transmitting means for transmitting the inhibition information in a case where the first determining means determines that the operation of the user is an operation for causing the controlled device to execute the predetermined process; and

a controlled device as set forth in claim 5.

8. A non-transitory computer-readable storage medium containing a program for controlling at least one of

(a) an inhibition device including

first obtaining means for obtaining, from the controlled device, the location information on the location specified by the user;

first determining means for determining, in accordance with the location information obtained by the first obtaining means, whether or not an operation of the user is an operation for causing the controlled device to execute a predetermined process; and

transmitting means for transmitting the inhibition information in a case where the first determining means determines that the operation of the user is an operation for causing the controlled device to execute the predetermined process and

(b) a controlled device as set forth in claim 5 to operate, the program causing a computer to serve as each means included in the inhibition device and/or the controlled device.

9. An inhibition device for transmitting, to a controlled device, inhibition information that causes the controlled device to be inhibited from transitioning from a first state, in which the controlled device executes a process at a predetermined performance level, to a second state in which the controlled device executes the process at a performance level lower than the predetermined performance level, the controlled device being capable of obtaining, from an electronic device that includes an input screen capable of detecting a location specified by a user, location information on the location,

the inhibition device comprising:

first obtaining means for obtaining, from the controlled device, the location information on the location specified by the user;

first determining means for determining, in accordance with the location information obtained by the first obtaining means, whether or not an operation of the user is an operation for causing the controlled device to execute a predetermined process; and

transmitting means for transmitting the inhibition information in a case where the first determining means determines that the operation of the user is an operation for causing the controlled device to execute the predetermined process

wherein the transmitting means further transmits, to the controlled device, permission information that permits the controlled device to transition from the first state to the second state in a case where, after the transmitting means transmits inhibition information because the first determining means determined that the operation of the user was an operation for causing the controlled device to execute the predetermined process, the first determining means determines, in accordance with location information which has been further obtained by the first obtaining means, that the operation of the user was not an operation for causing the controlled device to execute the predetermined process.

10. An inhibition device as set forth in claim 9, further comprising:

second determining means for determining, in a case where the first determining means determines that an operation of the user is an operation for causing the controlled device to execute the predetermined process, whether or not a predetermined length of time has elapsed since a time at which the first obtaining means obtained the location information,

in a case where the second determining means determines that the predetermined length of time has elapsed, the transmitting means transmitting, to the controlled device, permission information that permits the controlled device to transition from the first state to the second state.

11. The inhibition device as set forth in claim 9, wherein the transmitting means transmits the inhibition information during a period between (i) a point in time where the first determining means determines that an operation of the user is an operation for causing the controlled device to execute the predetermined process and (ii) a point in time where the controlled device executes the predetermined process.

12. The inhibition device as set forth in claim 9, wherein the first determining means determines, in a case where the predetermined process is a process for launching an application, that an operation of the user is an operation for causing the controlled device to execute the predetermined process.

13. A controlled device (i) capable of obtaining, from an electronic device that includes an input screen capable of detecting a location specified by a user, location information on the location and (ii) capable of operating in both (but either one at a time) (a) a first state, in which the controlled device executes a process at a predetermined performance level and (b) a second state in which the controlled device executes the process at a performance level lower than the predetermined performance level,

the controlled device comprising:

receiving means for receiving inhibition information transmitted from the inhibition device as set forth in claim 9; and

executing means for executing, in the first state, the predetermined process in a case where the receiving means receives the inhibition information.

14. The controlled device as set forth in claim 13, wherein:

the receiving means further receives permission information which has been transmitted from the inhibition device and which permits the controlled device to transition from the first state to the second state; and

in a case where the receiving means receives the permission information, the executing means executes a process either in the first state or in the second state.

15. An electronic device comprising an input screen capable of detecting a location specified by a user, the electronic device comprising:

an inhibition device including

first obtaining means for obtaining, from the controlled device, the location information on the location specified by the user;

first determining means for determining, in accordance with the location information obtained by the first obtaining means, whether or not an operation of the user is an operation for causing the controlled device to execute a predetermined process; and

transmitting means for transmitting the inhibition information in a case where the first determining means determines that the operation of the user is an operation for causing the controlled device to execute the predetermined process; and

a controlled device as set forth in claim 13.

16. A method of controlling an inhibition device for transmitting, to a controlled device, inhibition information that causes the controlled device to be inhibited from transitioning from a first state, in which the controlled device executes a process at a predetermined performance level, to a second state in which the controlled device executes the process at a performance level lower than the predetermined performance level, the controlled device being capable of obtaining, from an electronic device that includes an input screen capable of detecting a location specified by a user, location information on the location, the method comprising:

obtaining, from the controlled device, the location information on the location specified by the user;

determining, in accordance with the information obtained on the location specified by the user, whether or not an operation of the user is an operation for causing the controlled device to execute a predetermined process;

transmitting inhibition information when the information obtained on the location specified by the user determines that the operation of the user is an operation for causing the controlled device to execute the predetermined process;

obtaining, from the controlled device, completion information indicating that the controlled device has ended the predetermined process, and

when obtaining the completion information, further transmitting permission information that permits the controlled device to transition from the first state to the second state.

17. A method for controlling an inhibition device for transmitting, to a controlled device, inhibition information that causes the controlled device to be inhibited from transitioning from a first state, in which the controlled device executes a process at a predetermined performance level, to a second state in which the controlled device executes the process at a performance level lower than the predetermined performance level, the controlled device being capable of obtaining, from an electronic device that includes an input screen capable of detecting a location specified by a user, location information on the location, the method comprising:

obtaining, from the controlled device, the location information on the location specified by the user;

determining, in accordance with the information obtained on the location specific by the user, whether or not an operation of the user is an operation for causing the controlled device to execute a predetermined process; and

transmitting inhibition information when the information obtained on the location specified by the user determines that the operation of the user is an operation for causing the controlled device to execute the predetermined process, and

further transmitting, to the controlled device, permission information that permits the controlled device to transition from the first state to the second state when, after transmitting inhibition information because the operation of the user was an operation for causing the controlled device to execute the predetermined process, it is determined, in accordance with obtained location information, that the operation of the user was not an operation for causing the controlled device to execute the predetermined process.