JPH10268987A - Battery driven electronic equipment - Google Patents

Abstract

PROBLEM TO BE SOLVED: To provide battery driven electronic equipment which can supply no power to an unused function module and also can know how much electric saving allows to secure to supply power for desired using time. SOLUTION: Concerning the battery driven electronic equipment with which a low power consumption mode can be selected, this equipment is provided with an operating time storage part 5 for storing the operating time corresponding to the combination of respective functions combining plural function modules such as display part 2 and hard disk device 3 and a power save function part 1 for discriminating whether the function combination having operable time longer than the desires use time is stored in the operating time storage part 5 or not when this desired use time is designated in case of use, displaying the relevant function combination and its correspondent operable time on the display part 2 when it is discriminated the relevant function combination is stored, and performing switching to the power mode of function combination determined based on the display.

Description

DETAILED DESCRIPTION OF THE INVENTION

[0001]

BACKGROUND OF THE INVENTION 1. Field of the Invention The present invention relates to a battery-powered electronic device capable of selecting a low power consumption mode such as a portable information device, and more particularly to a battery driven electronic device capable of realizing a low power consumption mode suitable for a desired use time. It concerns equipment.

[0002]

2. Description of the Related Art A portable information device and the like, which are becoming widespread today, are provided with a battery as a power source, and each unit is driven by the battery. Such a portable information device is provided with a low power consumption mode in order to extend the operable time of the battery as much as possible. In standby mode, power supply to the display device is stopped or the CPU is set to the low power consumption mode. Or For example, JP-A-6-2146
In the information processing apparatus disclosed in Japanese Patent Publication No. 81, the user enters a low power consumption mode in response to an instruction performed using an input unit. The power consumption control device disclosed in Japanese Patent Application Laid-Open No. 6-222862 has a first switch 11 and a second switch 12, as shown in FIG. If the average value is longer than the predetermined time, the power supply from the battery 14 to the CPU 13 is cut off by the first switch 11 when the pause time occurs after that, and the average value becomes longer than the predetermined time. If the clock is short, the clock supply from the clock generator 15 to the CPU 13 is cut off by the second switch 12.

[0003]

However, the above-mentioned conventional technique still has a problem in realizing power saving. That is, in the above-described conventional technology, power supply to unused functional modules is wastefully performed. In addition, there is a problem that it is not known how much power saving is required to secure a desired use time. The problem to be solved by the present invention is to solve the problems of the prior art as described above, to prevent power supply to unused function modules, and to reduce the power consumption to a desired level. It is an object of the present invention to provide a battery-operated electronic device capable of knowing whether time is secured.

[0004]

According to the first aspect of the present invention, there is provided a battery-operated electronic device capable of selecting a low power consumption mode, wherein a plurality of functions or functional modules are provided in advance. Storage means for storing the operable time in association with each of the functional combinations obtained by combining the functions, a use time setting means for setting a desired use time at the time of use, and a desired use time set by the use time setting means. At this time, the use time determining means for determining whether or not the function combination whose operable time is equal to or longer than the desired use time is stored in the storage means, and the determination means determines that the function combination is stored. If so, a function display means for displaying a corresponding function combination and an operable time associated with the function combination on a display unit; Is obtained by a power mode switching means for switching the power mode of the functional combination is determined based on the display that is displayed by the display means. With the configuration described above, in the first aspect of the present invention,
In some cases, it is possible to determine whether or not the desired use time can be secured by not using some functions, and it is possible to switch to the power mode in which the desired use time can be secured.
According to the second aspect of the present invention, in the first aspect,
If the use time determination means determines that the corresponding function combination is not stored, the function display means is configured to display the fact. With the configuration described above, according to the second aspect of the present invention, when the desired use time cannot be secured, it is possible to reliably know that. According to the third aspect of the present invention, in a battery-operated electronic device capable of selecting a low power consumption mode, an operable time is stored in advance in association with each of a plurality of functions or functional combinations obtained by combining functional modules. Storage means for storing, function display means for displaying, on a display unit, a function combination stored in the storage means and an operable time associated therewith when a function combination display is instructed; The apparatus includes a function selecting means for selecting one of the function combinations displayed by the display means, and a power mode switching means for switching to a power mode of the function combination selected by the function selecting means. With the configuration described above, according to the third aspect of the invention, the power mode can be selected in consideration of both the desired use time and the operation function according to the content displayed on the display unit.

According to a fourth aspect of the present invention, in a battery-operated electronic device capable of selecting a low power consumption mode, an operation extendable time when not in use is previously associated with each of a plurality of functional modules, and Storage means for storing the operable time when all the function modules are used, use state monitoring means for monitoring the use frequency of each function module, and the use state when the use state display of each function module is instructed Monitoring results of the status monitoring means,
And function display means for displaying the content stored in the storage means on a display unit, and function selection means for selecting a used function module or an unused function module based on information displayed by the function display means, Power mode switching means for switching to a power mode according to the selection result by the function selecting means. With the configuration described above, according to the fourth aspect of the present invention, a desired use time can be secured without using a function that is not frequently used. In addition, it is possible to determine which of the less frequently used functions can be used to secure the desired use time.
Further, according to the invention described in claim 5, in any one of claims 1 to 4, the use status monitoring means for monitoring the use time of each functional module from the time of battery replacement, and the monitoring by the use status monitor means Operating time updating means for updating the operable time based on the result. With the above-described configuration, according to the fifth aspect of the present invention, it is determined from the battery operable time at that time whether or not the desired use time can be secured.

[0006]

Embodiments of the present invention will be described below in detail with reference to the drawings. FIG. 1 is a block diagram showing the configuration of an electronic apparatus according to a first embodiment of the present invention. As shown in the figure, the electronic apparatus of the present embodiment includes a power save function unit 1, a display unit 2, a hard disk device 3,
A plurality of function modules such as a floppy disk device 4,
An operation time storage unit 5 that stores an operable time in association with each of the function combinations obtained by combining the above function modules is provided. The power saving function unit 1 is constituted by a ROM having a CPU and a program therein, and functions as a use time setting unit, a use time determination unit, a function display unit, a power mode switching unit, and the like in the claims. Next, the operation of the first embodiment will be described according to the flow shown in FIG. First, at the time of use, a user inputs a desired use time from a keyboard (not shown) (S1). Then, the power save function unit 1 acquires the information and determines whether there is a function combination whose operable time is equal to or longer than the desired use time. The operable time is the time during which the electronic device can be operated with the built-in battery at that time, and can be extended if some functions (functional modules) are not used. is there. Therefore, the operable time is
As shown in FIG. 3, the operation time is stored in the operation time storage unit 5 in association with the function combination (function module combination).

In FIG. 3, for example, all modules are:
A combination for operating all functional modules is shown, and a combination other than the display unit indicates a combination for operating all functional modules except the display unit 2. The operable time changes every moment during operation. For example, when the operable time of all modules is 3 hours at the start of use, if all modules are operated for 1 hour, the operable time of all modules at that time is 2 hours. Time. Updating of the operable time that changes as described above is performed by a use status monitoring unit realized using a CPU inside or outside the power saving function unit 1. In other words, the usage status monitoring means obtains the current time from a clock circuit (not shown), obtains the function combination used at that time from a predetermined area in the operation time storage unit 5, and obtains each of the operable states shown in FIG. It updates the time. The operation time of 6 hours is 2 ×
It is obtained by calculation of 9/3. Similarly, the operable time of the combination in which only the hard disk device is not operated at this time is 4.7 hours as a result of the calculation of 2 × 7 ÷ 3. If there is a function combination having an operable time equal to or longer than the desired use time, the power save function unit 1 reads out the function combination and the operable time at that time from the operation time storage unit 5 and causes the display unit 2 to display it (S2). ). For example, the operable time at that time is as shown in FIG.
If eight hours are specified as the desired use time, the contents as shown in FIG. 4 are displayed.

The user looks at the display contents as shown in FIG. 4 (S3), and if there is no desired function combination (No in S4), the user decreases the desired use time and resets it (S1).
For example, if the desired use time is set to 7 hours, the function combinations excluding all the modules shown in FIG. 3 and the operable time are displayed (S2), so that the user can, for example, select a floppy from among the displayed function combinations. A combination excluding the disk device is selected (OK in S4). In step S2, when there is no function combination whose operable time is equal to or longer than the desired use time, the power save function unit 1 displays that fact. Thereafter, the power saving function unit 1 switches to a power mode in which power is supplied to the module of the selected function combination (S
5). According to the first embodiment that operates as described above, it is possible to extend the operable time by not supplying power to unused function modules, and to notify the user of the operable time in advance. Can be.

FIG. 5 is an operation flowchart showing a second embodiment of the present invention. In the electronic device of this embodiment, when a predetermined key is pressed, the operable time as shown in FIG. 3 is first displayed on the display unit 2 (S11). Thus, the user selects a function combination in consideration of the desired use time (S12). Thus, the power saving function unit 1 switches to the power mode in which power is supplied to the module of the selected function combination (S
13). According to the second embodiment that operates as described above, the operable time can be extended by not supplying power to the unused functional modules, and the operable time can be notified to the user in advance. it can.

FIG. 6 is a block diagram showing the configuration of the third embodiment. As shown, the electronic device of this embodiment includes a module use frequency monitoring unit 6 in addition to the configuration of the first embodiment. Hereinafter, the operation of this embodiment will be described with reference to the flowchart shown in FIG. In this electronic device, as shown in step S21, the module usage frequency monitoring unit 6 constantly monitors the usage frequency of each module. For example, each time the power mode is switched, the module usage frequency monitoring unit 6 determines the module to be used from that power mode, and stores the accumulation result in a predetermined storage area in the operation storage unit 5 (FIG. 8). reference). Note that outdated data is not included in the accumulation result. Therefore, two accumulation results having different accumulation start times are stored as the unused frequency data shown in FIG. 8, and when the accumulation period of the later accumulation start time elapses, for example, one month,
The older data is discarded, and the storage area stores the accumulation result with that time as the accumulation start time. The module use frequency monitoring unit 6 may periodically check the status of each module to collect the accumulated results of the use state (or the unused state). That is,
Each function module is provided with a use state register that is set when data is input / output and is automatically reset when a predetermined time has elapsed from that time. The module use state monitoring unit 6 Get the output value. FIG. 6 shows an example of the latter.

When the user presses a predetermined key of an operation unit (not shown) and instructs the display of the use status in a state where the use frequency data as shown in FIG. 8 is accumulated (S22), the power save function unit 1 Acquires the usage status accumulation result at that time from the module usage status monitoring unit 6, and as shown in FIG.
The names of the frequently used unused function modules, the number of unused times in association with the names, the extended operation time when not used previously stored in the operation time storage unit, and the operable time when all the function modules are used are displayed. (S23). Therefore,
When the user designates, for example, an extended memory and a floppy disk device (FDD) as unused modules in consideration of the desired usage time and the usage frequency (unused frequency) of the function module, the operable time in that case is as follows: For example, it is displayed as 8 hours. Thereafter, when the user presses a predetermined key of the operation unit to give an instruction that the setting content currently displayed on the display unit 2 is sufficient (S24), the power saving function unit 1 performs the function according to the instruction. The mode is switched to a power mode in which power is supplied to the combined module (S25).

[0012]

As described above, the present invention has the following excellent effects. According to the first aspect of the present invention, it can be determined whether or not the desired use time can be secured, and in some cases, the power mode can be switched to the power mode capable of securing the desired use time by not using some functions. As a result, it is possible to avoid a situation in which the device cannot be used during use, and it is possible to secure a longer desired use time. According to the second aspect of the present invention, in addition to the effect of the first aspect, when the desired use time cannot be secured, it is possible to surely know that. According to the third aspect of the present invention, the power mode can be selected in consideration of both the desired use time and the operation function, so that the function-oriented use and the use time-oriented use can be performed according to the situation. Become.
Further, according to the invention described in claim 4, it is possible to secure a desired use time by not using a function that is not frequently used. In addition, it is possible to determine which of the less frequently used functions can be used to secure the desired use time. According to the fifth aspect of the invention, in addition to the effects of the first to fourth aspects, it is possible to determine whether or not the desired use time can be secured by judging from the battery operable time at that time.

[Brief description of the drawings]

FIG. 1 is a configuration block diagram of an electronic apparatus according to a first embodiment of the present invention.

FIG. 2 is an operation flowchart of the electronic apparatus according to the first embodiment of the present invention.

FIG. 3 is a data configuration diagram of a main part of the electronic device according to the first embodiment of the present invention.

FIG. 4 is an explanatory diagram of screen display contents of the electronic apparatus according to the first embodiment of the present invention.

FIG. 5 is an operation flowchart of the electronic apparatus according to the second embodiment of the present invention.

FIG. 6 is a configuration block diagram of an electronic apparatus according to a third embodiment of the present invention.

FIG. 7 is an operation flowchart of an electronic device according to a third embodiment of the present invention.

FIG. 8 is a data configuration diagram of a main part of an electronic device according to a third embodiment of the present invention.

FIG. 9 is an explanatory diagram of screen display contents of an electronic device according to a third embodiment of the present invention.

FIG. 10 is a configuration block diagram illustrating an example of a conventional technique.

[Explanation of symbols]

1 power save function section (use time setting means, use time determination means, function display means, power mode switching means, function selection means) 2 display section 5 operation time storage section (storage means) 6 module use frequency monitoring section (use status) Monitoring means)

Claims (5)

[Claims] 1. A storage means for storing an operable time in advance in a battery-operated electronic device capable of selecting a low power consumption mode, in association with each of a plurality of functions or function combinations obtained by combining function modules. ,
Use time setting means for setting a desired use time at the time of use,
When the desired use time is set by the use time setting means, a use time determination means for determining whether or not a function combination whose operable time is equal to or longer than the desired use time is stored in the storage means; If it is determined by the means that the function combination is stored, the function combination means and the operable time associated with the function combination are displayed on the display unit, and the function combination means is displayed by the function display means. A battery-driven electronic device comprising: a power mode switching unit configured to switch to a power mode of a function combination determined based on the display. 2. The apparatus according to claim 1, wherein the function display means displays the fact on the display when the use time determination means determines that the corresponding function combination is not stored. A battery-operated electronic device according to claim 1. 3. A storage means for storing an operable time in advance in a battery-operated electronic device capable of selecting a low power consumption mode, in association with each of a plurality of functions or function combinations in which function modules are combined. ,
A function display unit for displaying, on a display unit, a function combination stored in the storage unit and an operable time associated therewith when a function combination display is instructed, and a function displayed by the function display unit A battery-driven electronic device comprising: a function selecting unit that selects one of the combinations; and a power mode switching unit that switches to a power mode of the function combination selected by the function selecting unit. 4. In a battery-operated electronic device capable of selecting a low power consumption mode, an operation extendable time when not in use is previously associated with each of a plurality of functional modules.
Storage means for storing the operable time when all the function modules are used, use state monitoring means for monitoring the use frequency of each function module, and when the use state display of each function module is instructed, A function display unit for displaying on the display unit the monitoring result of the usage status monitoring unit and the contents stored in the storage unit, and selecting a used function module or an unused function module based on the information displayed by the function display unit And a power mode switching means for switching to a power mode in accordance with a result of the selection by the function selecting means. 5. A device according to claim 1, further comprising: a use status monitor for monitoring a use time of each of the functional modules after the battery is replaced; and an operation time update unit for updating an operable time based on a result of the monitor by the use status monitor. The battery-operated electronic device according to any one of claims 1 to 4, wherein: