JP2012022620A - Information processing unit and information processing unit consumption power changeover method - Google Patents

Abstract

PROBLEM TO BE SOLVED: To achieve a consumption power control method with which a consumption power control is performed in consideration with the characteristics of the information processing unit usage by a user, thereby making it possible to ensure the convenience with respect to the information processing unit usage for each user and the consumption power reduction effect in accordance with each user.SOLUTION: An information processing unit has a sensor which can detect the environment state of the outside of the information processing unit, a sensor control part obtaining information concerning the environment state from the sensor, and a consumption power estimating part for estimating information processing unit consumption power by using the information about the environment state obtained by the sensor control part. The consumption power estimating part estimates the consumption power based on the information about the environment state with respect to at least two consumption power control methods.

Description

  The present invention relates to an information processing apparatus and a power consumption switching method of the information processing apparatus, and more particularly, to an information processing apparatus using a human sensor that detects a human motion and a power consumption switching method of the information processing apparatus.

  In order to reduce the power consumption of information processing apparatuses, devices using human sensors that detect human movement have become widespread. An application example of the human sensor is illumination. Normal illumination is turned on by turning on the switch and turned off by turning off the switch. In the case of this mechanism, if the user forgets to turn off the switch, the illumination remains on, and power is consumed wastefully. Therefore, a human sensor that can detect the movement and presence of a person is used to turn on when a person's movement is detected, and to turn off the lamp when a person's movement cannot be detected, thereby preventing unnecessary power consumption. Yes.

  On the other hand, this human sensor has been applied to various information processing apparatuses as well as illumination from the viewpoint of reducing power consumption. For example, Patent Document 1 below relates to an AV device having a human sensor that senses the presence of a person. A “normal mode” for manually turning off the power and a “power saving mode” using the human sensor are set. An AV device with a human sensor function is disclosed. When “power saving mode” is set, if the presence sensor cannot detect the presence of a person for a predetermined time, it automatically switches to the standby mode, and automatically turns off the power when the predetermined time elapses in the standby mode. .

JP 2007-96462 A

  Patent Document 1 performs power consumption control by estimating the usage status of an information processing apparatus using a sensor. Specifically, the situation where the user is not using the information processing apparatus is estimated, and the operation of the information processing apparatus is changed to an operation with less power consumption.

  In the above document, the power consumption control method is fixed, and does not take into account the characteristics when individual users use the information processing apparatus. For example, it is assumed that the user A frequently repeats the operation of leaving or returning from the information processing apparatus even when the information processing apparatus is being used. On the other hand, it is assumed that the user B does not leave the information processing apparatus if he / she is using the information processing apparatus, and the use of the information processing apparatus is once completed when he / she leaves the information processing apparatus. In this case, for the user A, the elapsed time (timeout) is set for the operation state of the information processing apparatus from the operating state to the standby mode, and the standby mode is switched to the power-off state. Power control is desirable. On the other hand, for user B, it is desirable to control power consumption so that the operating state can be changed immediately without having the above-described elapsed confirmation time. No particular consideration is given to power control.

  The present invention performs power consumption control in consideration of the characteristics of the user's use of the information processing device as described above, thereby ensuring convenience regarding the use of the information processing device for each user and responding to individual users. An object is to realize a power consumption switching method capable of achieving both maximum power consumption reduction.

To achieve the above object, the present invention is an information processing apparatus for processing supplied information,
A sensor that detects an environmental condition including the presence of a person outside the information processing apparatus; a sensor control unit that supplies environmental information related to the environmental condition from the sensor to perform predetermined processing; and the sensor control unit A power consumption estimation unit that is supplied with the environment information processed in step S1 and estimates the power consumption of the information processing device based on the environment information, and the power consumption of the information processing device based on the power consumption estimation result in the power consumption estimation unit A power consumption control method setting unit that sets a control method, and a power consumption control unit that switches power consumption of the information processing device based on the power consumption control method set by the power consumption control method setting unit,
The power consumption estimation unit is configured to estimate power consumption in the plurality of power consumption control methods when estimating power consumption of the information processing apparatus based on the environment information.

The present invention also relates to a power consumption switching method for an information processing apparatus that processes supplied information.
A detection step for detecting an environmental state including the presence of a person outside the information processing device; an environmental information processing step for performing predetermined processing on environmental information relating to the environmental state detected in the detection step; A power consumption estimation step for estimating power consumption of the information processing device based on environmental information processed in the information processing step, and a power consumption control method for the information processing device based on a power consumption estimation result in the power consumption estimation step. A power consumption control method setting step for setting, and a power consumption control step for switching the power consumption of the information processing device based on the power consumption control method set in the power consumption control method setting step,
The power consumption estimation step is characterized by estimating power consumption in the plurality of power consumption control methods when estimating power consumption of the information processing apparatus based on the environment information.

ADVANTAGE OF THE INVENTION According to this invention, the power consumption for every some power consumption control method can be estimated based on the characteristic of a user's information processing apparatus utilization.
In addition, the user can select a desired power consumption control method, and there is an effect that it is possible to ensure both convenience when using the information processing apparatus and power consumption reduction for each user.
Moreover, there is also an effect that the power consumption of the information processing apparatus can be confirmed for each user by displaying the estimated power consumption on the power consumption control effect display unit as necessary.

It is a block diagram which shows the function structure of the information processing apparatus which is this 1st embodiment. It is an example of the information (humanity sense data) which shows the presence or absence of the person around the information processing apparatus which a sensor control part produces | generates. It is a figure which shows the power consumption estimation operation | movement of a power consumption estimation part at the time of applying a certain specific power consumption control method with respect to human sensitive data. It is a figure which shows the power consumption estimation operation | movement of a power consumption estimation part at the time of applying the power consumption control method different from FIG. 3 with respect to human sensitive data. It is a figure which shows the example of a display of a power consumption control effect display part.

  Embodiments of the present invention will be described below with reference to the drawings.

  Hereinafter, embodiments of the present invention will be described with reference to FIGS. FIG. 1 is a block diagram showing the functional configuration of an information processing apparatus according to the present invention, and FIG. FIG. 3 shows a power consumption estimation operation of the power consumption estimation unit when a specific power consumption control method is applied to human sense data of two different users. FIG. 4 is a diagram showing an estimation operation of power consumption control when a power consumption control method different from FIG. 3 is applied to the same human sense data as FIG. 3, and FIG. 5 is a power consumption control effect display unit. It is a figure which shows the example of a display.

  In FIG. 1, 101 is a human sensor that detects a moving object in a detection area around the information processing apparatus 110, 102 is a camera that acquires an image around the information processing apparatus 110, and 103 controls the human sensor 101. A sensor control unit that generates sensory sense data, 104 is a power consumption estimation unit that estimates power consumption according to a power consumption control method using the human sense data, and 105 is one of two or more power consumption control methods. A power consumption control method setting unit 106 that selects a control method and sets it in the power consumption control unit 106, a power consumption control unit 107 that controls (switches) the power consumption of the information processing apparatus according to the set power consumption control method, 107 A power consumption control effect display unit 110 that displays the power consumption estimated by the power consumption estimation unit 104 is an information processing apparatus.

  Here, the power consumption control unit 106 performs, for example, energization control or operation speed control of the functional block according to the operation state of the information processing apparatus 110, and controls (switches) the power consumption of the information processing apparatus 110. Hereinafter, in this embodiment, it is assumed that the power consumption control unit 106 has two power control modes of “performance priority mode” and “power consumption priority mode”. In the “performance priority mode”, the information processing apparatus 110 operates with maximum performance and maximizes power consumption. The “power consumption priority mode” operates with the minimum power consumption, but the operation performance is inferior to the “performance priority mode”.

The information processing apparatus 110 is a device having a central processing unit (CPU) and a memory and operable by a program, such as a personal computer, a digital AV device, and a portable terminal. For example, the sensor control unit 103, the power consumption estimation unit 104, the power consumption control method setting unit 105, and the power consumption control unit 106 are often built in the CPU. The memory is a component for storing, for example, a calculation result in the CPU, and may also be built in the CPU. Hereinafter, in this embodiment, a digital AV device is assumed as the information processing apparatus.
In FIG. 2, 201 is the human sense data when the user A is using the information processing apparatus 110, and 202 is the same data of the user B. In each data, the horizontal axis indicates time, and the vertical axis indicates whether or not a moving object is detected. In the vertical axis, “H” indicates a detection state, and “L” indicates a non-detection state.

The power consumption control method used in FIG. 3 is shown below.
(1P) When the human sense data is “L”, the power control mode is set to “power consumption priority mode”.
(2P) When the human sense data is “H”, the power control mode is set to “performance priority mode”.
(3P) When the human sense data changes from “H” to “L”, the power control mode is not immediately shifted to the “power consumption priority mode”, and the power control is performed after the same time as the latest “H” period. Set the mode to “Power consumption priority mode”.

  This power consumption control method assumes a user who frequently moves away from or returns to the information processing apparatus 110 while using the information processing apparatus 110, and maintains the “performance priority mode” in the case of returning immediately after leaving the apparatus. This is an example of a control method for reducing power consumption by setting the “power consumption priority mode” when the user does not return for a long time while ensuring the convenience of the user. Hereinafter, this power consumption control method is referred to as power consumption control P.

  In FIG. 3, 301 is a diagram illustrating a process of estimating the power consumption when the power consumption control P is applied to the user A using human sense data, and the power consumption estimation process of the power consumption estimation unit 104 is illustrated. It is an example. Similarly, reference numeral 302 denotes a process when the same power consumption control method P is applied to the user B.

The power consumption control method used in FIG. 4 is shown below.
(1Q) When the human sense data is “L”, the power control mode is set to “power consumption priority mode”.
(2Q) When the human sense data is “H”, the power control mode is set to “performance priority mode”.
(3Q) Human sense data changes continuously three times at intervals shorter than a predetermined interval T1 (“L” → “H” → “L” → “H” or “H” → “L” In the case of “H” → “L”), the power control mode is set to “performance priority mode” for the subsequent interval T2.
An example of the intervals T1 and T2 is shown in the figure.

  This power consumption control method assumes a user who rarely leaves the apparatus while using the information processing apparatus 110, and immediately sets the “power consumption priority mode” when the user leaves the apparatus. It is an example of the control method which aims at reduction of maximum power consumption. Note that the process (3Q) is a recovery process in the case where the assumption of not leaving the apparatus is not satisfied during use (particularly for the user A). Hereinafter, this power consumption control method is referred to as power consumption control Q.

  In FIG. 4, 401 is a diagram showing a process for estimating the power consumption when the power consumption control Q is applied to the user A by using human sense data. Similarly, 402 is a diagram when the same power consumption control Q is applied to the user B.

  As can be seen by comparing FIG. 3 and FIG. 4, in FIG. 3, for user A who frequently moves away from or returns to the information processing apparatus 110, the user A frequently switches to the “power consumption priority mode”. While the convenience is improved by maintaining the “performance priority mode” without any problem, the “power consumption priority mode” may be used for the user B who rarely leaves the apparatus while using the information processing apparatus 110. Even in the situation, there is a case where it is a “performance priority mode”, and there is a problem that an effect of reducing power consumption is small.

  On the other hand, in FIG. 4, the convenience for switching to the “power consumption priority mode” may be impaired for the user A even in a situation where the “performance priority mode” is desired. When the “mode” is good, it is difficult to enter the “performance priority mode”, so that the power consumption is greatly reduced. For this reason, it is important that the power consumption control method can be selected according to the user.

  In FIG. 5, 5011 shows the estimation effect of power consumption reduction of the power consumption control P and Q for the user A, and power consumption control as a power consumption control method based on the features of the information processing apparatus usage of the user A. It is a display example of the power consumption control effect display unit 107 for recommending P. Similarly, 5021 is a display example for recommending the power consumption control Q to the user B as the power consumption control method. For example, these are determined from the user's behavior based on the human sense data supplied from the human sensor 101 supplied from the sensor control unit 103, and the power consumption reduction effect in both power consumption control methods is determined by the power consumption estimation unit 104. Can be implemented by displaying the result on the power consumption control effect display unit 107. Alternatively, the user's action pattern is grasped in advance, the current user is identified from the video captured by the camera 102, and the power consumption estimation unit 104 shows the power consumption reduction effect in both power consumption control methods. It can also be implemented by estimation.

Reference numeral 5031 denotes a display example of the power consumption control effect display unit 107 indicating the set power consumption control method and the actual power consumption control effect, and is displayed after selecting the power consumption control method.
The power consumption control method may be selected by the user, or may be selected by the power consumption control method setting unit 105 of the information processing apparatus 110 as will be described later.

  The operation of this embodiment will be described below. In FIG. 1, an information processing apparatus 110 (hereinafter referred to as a digital AV device 110) has a function of receiving and reproducing broadcast contents such as terrestrial digital broadcasts and BS broadcasts according to a user's selection. It should be noted that the broadcast receiving function described above is a widely used technique, and the illustration and details thereof are omitted here. The power consumption control effect display unit 107 may also serve as a display unit for the received broadcast content.

  When the power control mode is “power consumption priority mode”, the power consumption control unit 106 sets the brightness of the display panel for displaying broadcast content to the darkest setting allowed by the display panel, and maximizes the operation speed of the broadcast reception function. Lower than the operating speed. When the power control mode is the “performance priority mode”, the brightness of the display panel is set to the brightness set by the user, and the operating speeds of all broadcast receiving functions are set to the maximum operating speed.

  The power consumption control unit 106 switches the power control mode to “power consumption priority mode” or “performance priority mode” as appropriate according to, for example, the power consumption control method of the power consumption control P or the power consumption control Q described above. The selection of the power control mode is determined based on the human sense data obtained by the human sensor 101.

The sensor control unit 103 removes unnecessary information (noise) from the information on presence / absence of movement detected by the human sensor 101, and generates human sensory sense data indicating whether the user is near the digital AV device. .
An example of human sense data is 201 in FIG. 201 is the human sense of human sense data, which is not close to the digital AV device until time ta, is close to the digital AV device from time ta to tb, and close to the digital AV device from time tb to tc. It indicates that it is not. The same applies after time tc. Similarly, reference numeral 202 in FIG.

  The power consumption estimation unit 104 estimates the power consumption of the digital AV device for each of two or more power consumption control methods using the human sense data 201 and 202 generated by the sensor control unit 103. Reference numeral 301 in FIG. 3 shows power consumption estimation processing when the power consumption control P is applied to the user A. 302 of FIG. 3 shows the power consumption estimation process when the power consumption control P is applied to the user B. In this figure, the vertical axis indicates the power consumption ratio (0.1) in the “power consumption priority mode” when the power consumption of the digital AV device in the “performance priority mode” is 1.0, and the power consumption when the digital device is turned off. Indicates the power ratio (0.0). Until time ta, the human sense data is “L”, and “power consumption priority mode” is selected as the power control mode in accordance with the power consumption control method (1P), (2P), and (3P) of power consumption control P described above. The

“Performance priority mode” is selected from time ta to tb. When the human sense data changes from “H” to “L” at time tb, the “performance priority mode” is maintained for a period of tb-ta from time tb.
As in 301, when the time tc when the human sense data becomes “H” next is before or simultaneously with the time tb-ta after the time tb, the power control mode continues to be the “performance priority mode”. Will remain. Next, when the human sense data changes from “H” to “L” at time td, the “performance priority mode” is maintained for a period of td-tc from time td. Next, if the time te when the human sense data becomes “H” is before or at the same time as the time td-tc after the time td, the power control mode continues to be the “performance priority mode”. Similarly, the “performance priority mode” is maintained until time 2tj-ti. However, since the human sense data does not change from “L” to “H” by the time tj-ti after the time tj when the human sense data changes from “H” to “L”, the time 2tj In “-ti”, “power consumption priority mode” is selected. This “power consumption priority mode” is held until the time tk when the human sense data changes from “L” to “H”. Thereafter, the same processing is performed, and the estimated power consumption shown in 301 is obtained.

  If the time tc when the human sense data becomes “H” next time tb after the time tb is later than the time tb-ta after the time tb, as in 302, the time 2tb-ta The power control mode is the “power consumption priority mode”. This “power consumption priority mode” is held until time tc when the human sense data changes from “L” to “H”. Thereafter, the same processing is performed, and the estimated power consumption shown in 302 is obtained.

  The power consumption estimation unit 104 calculates the power consumption reduction ratio of the above-mentioned estimated power consumption as the estimated power consumption effect with respect to the power consumption when the digital AV device is always operated in the “performance priority mode” without performing power consumption control. To do. The estimated power consumption reduction effect in this example is −26% for both 301 and 302.

  The power consumption estimation unit 104 can estimate the power consumption reduction effect for a plurality of power consumption control methods. 401 in FIG. 4 shows the effect of reducing the power consumption when the power control method Q (1Q) (2Q) (3Q) is applied as another power consumption control method to the human sense data of the same user A as 301. The operation to perform estimation is shown. Here, it is assumed that the set value T1 in (3Q) is T1> tc-ta and tb-ta = tc-tb = td-tc. The set value T2 is assumed to be T2 = tr-tc. The estimated power consumption reduction effect in this example is −22%.

Similarly, reference numeral 402 denotes an estimation operation of the power consumption reduction effect when the power control method Q is applied to the human sense data of the same user B as 302. The estimated power consumption reduction effect in this example is −58%.
As described above with reference to FIGS. 3 and 4, the power consumption reduction effect estimation of the power consumption estimation unit 104 changes according to the human sense data that is assumed even in the same power consumption control method. In this embodiment, the power consumption reduction effect of the power consumption control P (26%> 22%) is high for the user A, and the power consumption control Q (58%> 26%) is consumed for the user B. The power reduction effect is increased.

  The power consumption reduction effect estimation result of the power consumption estimation unit 104 is displayed on the power consumption control effect display unit 107. In FIG. 5, reference numeral 5011 denotes a display example in the case of the user A. 5012 is a button for selecting the power consumption control P (may be a soft key such as an icon), 5013 is a button for selecting the power consumption control Q, and 5014 is a power consumption reduction effect estimation when the power consumption control P is selected. The value 5015 is a power consumption reduction effect estimated value when the power consumption control Q is selected. A button 5012 displayed in a thick frame is a power saving control method recommended by the power consumption estimation unit 104. In the case of the user A, as described above, the power consumption control P is more effective in reducing the estimated power consumption, so that the power consumption control P is recommended and the power consumption in each power consumption control method is recommended. The power reduction effect estimated value is displayed.

Similarly, reference numeral 5021 denotes a display example of the power consumption control effect display unit 107 for the user B. In the case of the user B, the power consumption control Q is more effective in reducing the estimated power consumption, so the recommended power consumption control method is the button 5023.
Reference numeral 5031 denotes a display example of the power consumption control effect display unit 107 displayed after the user selects a power consumption control method from the display of 5011 or 5021. Reference numerals 5032 and 5033 denote currently selected power consumption control methods. In this example, 5032 is selected. Reference numeral 5034 denotes an actual power consumption reduction effect value by the selected power consumption control method.

The selection result of the buttons 5012 and 5013 or the buttons 5022 and 5023 is notified to the power consumption control method setting unit 105, and the power consumption control method corresponding to the power consumption control unit 106 is set.
In the above embodiment, the power consumption control method recommended by the power consumption estimation unit 104 with a high power consumption reduction effect is presented to the user, and the user selects the power saving control method. A configuration is also possible in which the power control method is directly notified from the power consumption estimation unit 104 to the power control method setting unit 105 so that the user setting is not required and the optimum power consumption control method is automatically set. When the power consumption control method setting unit 105 sets, for example, based on the human sense data of the human sensor 101 supplied from the sensor control unit 103, the above-described power consumption control is determined based on the user behavior pattern. It may be selected by judging which of P and Q is suitable. Alternatively, it is also possible to grasp each user's behavior pattern in advance, specify the current user from the video captured by the camera 102, and then select one of the power consumption controls P and Q described above.

  In this embodiment, the sensor control unit 103 acquires data indicating whether the user is near the digital AV device using the human sensor 101. However, the user uses a plurality of sensors such as a camera to acquire the digital AV. A configuration for determining whether or not the device is near is also possible, and the configurations of the sensor and the sensor control unit are not particularly limited.

As described above, according to the present embodiment, the power consumption reduction effect of two or more power consumption control methods can be estimated according to the characteristics of the user's use of the digital AV device. Further, by displaying the estimation result, it is possible to confirm and select a power consumption control method that is more effective for each user. In addition, a highly effective power consumption control method can be recommended to the user. As described above, the operation according to the present embodiment has an effect that it is possible to ensure both the convenience related to the use of the information processing apparatus for each user and the maximum power consumption reduction according to the user.
The embodiments described so far are not intended to limit the present invention. For example, in the block diagram shown in FIG. 1, an embodiment in which components are added or changed can be considered, and three or more power consumption control methods may be provided, all of which are within the scope of the present invention.

  DESCRIPTION OF SYMBOLS 101: Human sensor 102: Camera 103: Sensor control part 104: Power consumption estimation part 105: Power consumption control method setting part 106: Power consumption control part 107: Power consumption control effect display part 110: Information processing device.

Claims (6)

An information processing apparatus for processing supplied information,
A sensor for detecting an environmental condition including the presence of a person outside the information processing apparatus;
A sensor control unit that is supplied with environmental information about the environmental state from the sensor and performs predetermined processing on the environmental information;
A power consumption estimation unit that is supplied with environment information processed by the sensor control unit and estimates power consumption of the information processing device based on the environment information;
A power consumption control method setting unit configured to set a power consumption control method of the information processing device based on a power consumption estimation result in the power consumption estimation unit;
A power consumption control unit that switches power consumption of the information processing device based on the power consumption control method set by the power consumption control method setting unit;
The power consumption estimation unit is
An information processing apparatus that estimates power consumption in a plurality of the power consumption control methods when estimating power consumption of the information processing apparatus based on the environment information.   The information processing apparatus according to claim 1, wherein the plurality of power consumption control methods have different response characteristics with respect to changes in the environment information supplied to the power consumption estimation unit.   The information processing apparatus according to claim 1, further comprising: a power consumption control effect display unit that displays power consumption in the plurality of power consumption control methods estimated by the power consumption estimation unit, wherein the power consumption control method setting unit includes: An information processing apparatus, wherein a power consumption control method selected by a user of the information processing apparatus based on a power consumption estimation result displayed on the power consumption control effect display unit is set in the information processing apparatus. A power consumption switching method for an information processing apparatus for processing supplied information,
A detection step of detecting an environmental condition including the presence of a person outside the information processing apparatus;
An environmental information processing step for performing predetermined processing on environmental information relating to the environmental state detected in the detection step;
A power consumption estimation step for estimating power consumption of the information processing device based on the environmental information processed in the environmental information processing step;
A power consumption control method setting step for setting a power consumption control method of the information processing device based on a power consumption estimation result in the power consumption estimation step;
A power consumption control step of switching the power consumption of the information processing device based on the power consumption control method set in the power consumption control method setting step;
The power consumption estimation step includes:
A power consumption switching method for an information processing apparatus, wherein power consumption in the plurality of power consumption control methods is estimated when estimating the power consumption of the information processing apparatus based on the environment information.   5. The power consumption switching method for an information processing apparatus according to claim 4, wherein the plurality of power consumption control methods have different response characteristics with respect to a change in the environmental information supplied to the power consumption estimation unit. A method for switching power consumption of an information processing apparatus.   5. The power consumption switching method for an information processing apparatus according to claim 4, further comprising: a power consumption control effect display step for displaying power consumption in the plurality of power consumption control methods estimated by the power consumption estimation step. The control method setting step sets, in the information processing apparatus, a power consumption control method selected by a user of the information processing apparatus based on the power consumption estimation result displayed in the power consumption control effect display step. Device power consumption switching method.

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