KR20130088309A - Mobile terminal and method for controlling thereof - Google Patents

Abstract

PURPOSE: A portable terminal and a control method thereof are provided to support a function for executing a task within the maximum number of useable cores corresponding to the selected core modes. CONSTITUTION: A user input unit (130) selects one core mode from a plurality of core modes that use at least one core. A control unit (180) determines the maximum number of cores supported by the selected core mode. The control unit processes a predetermined task by using the cores of the determined number. Each of the core modes supports the different number cores. [Reference numerals] (110) Wireless communications unit; (111) Broadcasting receiving unit; (112) Mobile communications module; (113) Wireless internet module; (114) Short-distance communication module; (115) Location information module; (120) A/V input unit; (121) Camera; (122) Microphone; (130) User input unit; (140) Sensing unit; (141) Proximity sensor; (150) Output unit; (151) Display unit; (152) Sound output module; (153) Alarming unit; (154) Haptic module; (155) Projector module; (160) Memory; (170) Interface unit; (180) Control unit; (181) Multimedia module; (190) Power supply unit

Description

[0001] MOBILE TERMINAL AND METHOD FOR CONTROLLING THEREOF [0002]

The present invention relates to a mobile terminal and a control method thereof, and more particularly, to a mobile terminal supporting a function of performing a task within a maximum available number of core ranges corresponding to a selected core mode among a plurality of core modes and a control method thereof. It is about.

A terminal can be divided into a mobile / portable terminal and a stationary terminal depending on whether the terminal is movable or not. The mobile terminal may be further classified into a handheld terminal and a vehicle mount terminal according to whether a user can directly carry it.

Such a terminal has various functions, for example, in the form of a multimedia device having multiple functions such as photographing and photographing of a moving picture, reproduction of a music or video file, reception of a game and broadcasting, etc. .

In order to support and enhance the functionality of such terminals, it may be considered to improve the structural and / or software parts of the terminal.

CPUs with multiple cores use an algorithm that increases the number of cores that operate according to the workload. That is, an algorithm for activating a new core or deactivating an activated core is applied by using a ratio of the maximum frequency of the active core to the use frequency.

In addition, the method of applying the frequency of the assigned workload to the mobile terminal includes a performance method, an on demand method, a conservative method, a power save method, and the like.

The performance method is a method of continuously applying the maximum frequency corresponding to the assigned workload to the mobile terminal. However, this performance method has the disadvantage of excessive power consumption.

Next, the on-demand method is a method of applying the maximum frequency corresponding to the assigned workload to the mobile terminal once, and gradually decreasing the frequency to the minimum frequency over time. This on demand method is most frequently applied because it is guaranteed to be efficient.

In addition, the conservative method is a method of increasing the frequency step by step over time to the maximum frequency corresponding to the assigned workload, and then gradually decreasing the frequency to the minimum frequency over time. Such a conservative method has a disadvantage of degrading touch response performance.

Also, a power save method is a method of continuously applying a minimum frequency corresponding to an allocated workload to a mobile terminal. However, this power save method has a problem of deteriorating the overall performance of the mobile terminal.

In general, an algorithm for applying a plurality of cores to a mobile terminal while applying a maximum frequency corresponding to a workload allocated according to an on-demand method to a mobile terminal once and decreasing the frequency step by step to a minimum frequency over time is applied. do.

However, when the on-demand method is applied, a predetermined workload actually requires a small frequency, but once the maximum frequency is applied to the mobile terminal, a plurality of unnecessary cores are driven to induce deterioration of mobile terminal performance and accelerate battery consumption. There is a problem that can be made.

For example, if you run a relatively light program, such as Notepad, you may be able to activate three to four cores instantaneously in response to the required maximum frequency, but in practice it may be enough to process one active core. Afterwards, except for one core, the remaining cores are switched to an inactive state, and thus, a solution for this situation is required.

In addition, even in a relatively heavy program such as a gallery, three to four cores may be instantaneously activated corresponding to the maximum frequency required, but in practice, even if only one or two activated cores are applied, the user may have a difference in performance. Since the performance is often enough to be difficult to recognize, there is a need for a solution to the problem causing excessive power consumption for a slight speed increase.

SUMMARY OF THE INVENTION The present invention has been made to solve the problems of the general technology as described above, and an object of the present invention is to perform a task within a maximum available number of core ranges corresponding to a selected core mode among a plurality of core modes. The present invention relates to a supporting mobile terminal and a control method thereof.

It is to be understood that both the foregoing general description and the following detailed description are exemplary and explanatory and are not restrictive of the invention, unless further departing from the spirit and scope of the invention as defined by the appended claims. It will be possible.

In a mobile terminal supporting a plurality of cores related to an example of the present invention for realizing the above object, any one of a plurality of core modes using at least one core among the plurality of cores is selected And a controller configured to determine a maximum number of cores supported by the user input unit and the selected core mode, and to control a predetermined task using at least one of the determined maximum number of cores, wherein each of the plurality of core modes Can support different maximum number of cores.

The plurality of cores may be four, and the plurality of core modes may include a first core mode, a second core mode, and a third core mode, and the first core mode may include at most one core of the plurality of cores. The second core mode may use up to two cores of the plurality of cores, and the third core mode may use up to four cores of the plurality of cores.

The plurality of cores may also include four main cores and one spare core, and the plurality of core modes may include a first core mode, a second core mode, and a third core mode. The first core mode supports up to one core of the one spare core or the four main cores, and the second core mode supports up to two cores of the four main cores. The three core mode may support up to four cores of the four main cores.

The controller may control the number of cores to be used to process the predetermined task among the determined maximum number of cores based on the frequency required to process the predetermined task.

The display apparatus may further include a display unit, and the control unit may display the first information in which each of the plurality of core modes is disposed in a predetermined form so as to select any one of the plurality of core modes in a predetermined area of the display unit. Can be controlled.

The controller may provide a predetermined visual effect such that the selected one of the plurality of core modes is distinguished from the plurality of core modes included in the first information, and the predetermined visual effect is changed in color, sharpness, and transparency. It may include at least one.

In addition, when the number of cores to be used to process the predetermined task is less than the maximum number among the determined maximum number of cores, the maximum frequency supported by the core to be used to process the predetermined task may be changed.

The controller may control the maximum number of GPUs to be used to process the predetermined task among a plurality of graphic processing units (GPUs) in response to the maximum number of cores supported by the selected core mode.

On the other hand, in the control method of a mobile terminal supporting a plurality of cores (Core) related to an embodiment of the present invention for realizing the above object, any one of a plurality of core modes using at least one core of the plurality of cores Selecting one core mode, determining a maximum number of cores supported by the selected core mode, and processing a predetermined task using at least one of the determined maximum number of cores, wherein Each core mode can support a different maximum number of cores.

The plurality of cores may be four, and the plurality of core modes may include a first core mode, a second core mode, and a third core mode. The second core mode may use up to two cores of the plurality of cores, and the third core mode may use up to four cores of the plurality of cores.

The plurality of cores may also include four main cores and one spare core, and the plurality of core modes may include a first core mode, a second core mode, and a third core mode. The first core mode supports up to one core of the one spare core or the four main cores, and the second core mode supports up to two cores of the four main cores. The three core mode may support up to four cores of the four main cores.

In addition, the number of cores to be used for processing the predetermined task among the determined maximum number of cores may be determined based on a frequency required for processing the predetermined task.

The method may further include displaying first information in which each of the plurality of core modes is arranged in a predetermined form in order to select one of the plurality of core modes.

In addition, a predetermined visual effect is provided to distinguish one of the selected core modes from among a plurality of core modes included in the first information, and the predetermined visual effect includes at least one of color change, sharpness change, and transparency change. It may include.

In addition, when the number of cores to be used to process the predetermined task is less than the maximum number among the determined maximum number of cores, the maximum frequency supported by the core to be used to process the predetermined task may be changed.

The method may further include determining a maximum number of GPUs to be used to process the predetermined task among a plurality of graphic processing units (GPUs) corresponding to the maximum number of cores supported by the selected core mode.

The mobile terminal according to the at least one embodiment of the present invention configured as described above performs a task within a maximum available number of core ranges corresponding to a selected core mode among a plurality of core modes, thereby optimizing the number of tasks optimized for the current situation. A core can be provided. In addition, when a mobile terminal related to at least one embodiment of the present invention is applied, it is possible to provide a function of preventing performance degradation of the terminal and ensuring a sufficient maintenance period of the battery.

The effects obtained by the present invention are not limited to the above-mentioned effects, and other effects not mentioned can be clearly understood by those skilled in the art from the following description will be.

1 is a block diagram of a mobile terminal according to an embodiment of the present invention.
2 is a front perspective view of a mobile terminal according to an embodiment of the present invention.
3 is a front view of a mobile terminal for explaining an operation state of the mobile terminal according to the present invention.
4 illustrates an example of performing a task using a plurality of cores in accordance with the present invention.
5 is a diagram illustrating a specific example of a method of applying a frequency of a core in response to a workload in an environment using a plurality of cores.
6 is a flowchart illustrating an example of performing a task within a maximum available number of core ranges corresponding to a selected core mode among a plurality of core modes in accordance with the present invention.
7 is a view showing an example of the effect in the case of applying a plurality of core modes and a plurality of core modes in connection with the present invention.
8 is a diagram illustrating an example of displaying information for selecting any one of a plurality of core modes in accordance with the present invention.
9 is a diagram illustrating a specific example in which a plurality of core modes are applied when four cores exist according to the present invention.
FIG. 10 illustrates another specific example of applying a plurality of core modes when four cores exist according to the present invention.

Hereinafter, a mobile terminal related to the present invention will be described in detail with reference to the drawings. The suffix "module" and " part "for the components used in the following description are given or mixed in consideration of ease of specification, and do not have their own meaning or role.

The mobile terminal described in this specification may include a mobile phone, a smart phone, a laptop computer, a digital broadcasting terminal, a PDA (Personal Digital Assistants), a PMP (Portable Multimedia Player), and navigation. However, it will be readily apparent to those skilled in the art that the configuration according to the embodiments described herein may also be applied to fixed terminals such as digital TVs, desktop computers, etc., except when applicable only to mobile terminals.

1 is a block diagram of a mobile terminal according to an embodiment of the present invention.

The mobile terminal 100 includes a wireless communication unit 110, an audio / video input unit 120, a user input unit 130, a sensing unit 140, an output unit 150, a memory 160, A controller 170, a controller 180, a power supply 190, and the like. The components shown in Fig. 1 are not essential, so that the mobile terminal 100 having more or fewer components may be implemented.

Hereinafter, the components will be described in order.

The wireless communication unit 110 may include one or more modules for enabling wireless communication between the mobile terminal 100 and the wireless communication system or between the mobile terminal 100 and the network in which the mobile terminal 100 is located. For example, the wireless communication unit 110 may include a broadcast receiving module 111, a mobile communication module 112, a wireless Internet module 113, a short range communication module 114, and a location information module 115 .

The broadcast receiving module 111 receives a broadcast signal and / or broadcast related information from an external broadcast management server through a broadcast channel.

The broadcast channel may include a satellite channel and a terrestrial channel. The broadcast management server may refer to a server for generating and transmitting broadcast signals and / or broadcast related information, or a server for receiving broadcast signals and / or broadcast related information generated by the broadcast management server and transmitting the generated broadcast signals and / or broadcast related information. The broadcast signal may include a TV broadcast signal, a radio broadcast signal, a data broadcast signal, and a broadcast signal in which a data broadcast signal is combined with a TV broadcast signal or a radio broadcast signal.

The broadcast-related information may refer to a broadcast channel, a broadcast program, or information related to a broadcast service provider. The broadcast related information may also be provided through a mobile communication network. In this case, it may be received by the mobile communication module 112.

The broadcast related information may exist in various forms. For example, it may exist in the form of Electronic Program Guide (EPG) of Digital Multimedia Broadcasting (DMB) or Electronic Service Guide (ESG) of Digital Video Broadcast-Handheld (DVB-H).

For example, the broadcast receiving module 111 may be a Digital Multimedia Broadcasting-Terrestrial (DMB-T), a Digital Multimedia Broadcasting-Satellite (DMB-S), a Media Forward Link Only And a Digital Broadcasting System (ISDB-T) (Integrated Services Digital Broadcast-Terrestrial). Of course, the broadcast receiving module 111 may be adapted to other broadcasting systems as well as the digital broadcasting system described above.

The broadcast signal and / or broadcast related information received through the broadcast receiving module 111 may be stored in the memory 160.

The mobile communication module 112 transmits and receives radio signals to at least one of a base station, an external terminal, and a server on a mobile communication network. The wireless signal may include various types of data depending on a voice call signal, a video call signal or a text / multimedia message transmission / reception.

The wireless Internet module 113 is a module for wireless Internet access, and may be built in or externally attached to the mobile terminal 100. Wireless Internet technologies may include Wireless LAN (Wi-Fi), Wireless Broadband (Wibro), World Interoperability for Microwave Access (Wimax), High Speed Downlink Packet Access (HSDPA), and the like.

The short range communication module 114 refers to a module for short range communication. Bluetooth, Radio Frequency Identification (RFID), infrared data association (IrDA), Ultra Wideband (UWB), ZigBee, and the like can be used as a short range communication technology.

The position information module 115 is a module for obtaining the position of the mobile terminal 100, and a representative example thereof is a Global Position System (GPS) module.

Referring to FIG. 1, an A / V (Audio / Video) input unit 120 is for inputting an audio signal or a video signal, and may include a camera 121 and a microphone 122. The camera 121 processes image frames such as still images or moving images obtained by the image sensor in the video call mode or the photographing mode. The processed image frame can be displayed on the display unit 151. [

The image frame processed by the camera 121 may be stored in the memory 160 or transmitted to the outside through the wireless communication unit 110. [ Two or more cameras 121 may be provided depending on the use environment.

The microphone 122 receives an external sound signal through a microphone in a communication mode, a recording mode, a voice recognition mode, or the like, and processes it as electrical voice data. The processed voice data can be converted into a form that can be transmitted to the mobile communication base station through the mobile communication module 112 when the voice data is in the call mode, and output. Various noise reduction algorithms may be implemented in the microphone 122 to remove noise generated in receiving an external sound signal.

The user input unit 130 generates input data for a user to control the operation of the terminal. The user input unit 130 may include a key pad dome switch, a touch pad (static pressure / capacitance), a jog wheel, a jog switch, and the like.

The sensing unit 140 may sense the position of the mobile terminal 100 such as the open / close state of the mobile terminal 100, the position of the mobile terminal 100, the presence of the user, the orientation of the mobile terminal 100, And generates a sensing signal for controlling the operation of the mobile terminal 100. For example, when the mobile terminal 100 is in the form of a slide phone, it may sense whether the slide phone is opened or closed. In addition, whether the power supply unit 190 is supplied with power, whether the interface unit 170 is coupled to the external device may be sensed. Meanwhile, the sensing unit 140 may include a proximity sensor 141.

The output unit 150 is for generating an output relating to visual, auditory or tactile sense and includes a display unit 151, an acoustic output module 152, an alarm unit 153, a haptic module 154, 155, and the like.

The display unit 151 displays (outputs) information processed by the mobile terminal 100. For example, when the mobile terminal 100 is in the call mode, a UI (User Interface) or a GUI (Graphic User Interface) associated with a call is displayed. When the mobile terminal 100 is in the video communication mode or the photographing mode, the photographed and / or received video or UI and GUI are displayed.

The display unit 151 may be a liquid crystal display (LCD), a thin film transistor-liquid crystal display (TFT LCD), an organic light-emitting diode (OLED), a flexible display display, and a 3D display.

Some of these displays may be transparent or light transmissive so that they can be seen through. This can be referred to as a transparent display, and a typical example of the transparent display is TOLED (Transparent OLED) and the like. The rear structure of the display unit 151 may also be of a light transmission type. With this structure, the user can see an object located behind the terminal body through the area occupied by the display unit 151 of the terminal body.

There may be two or more display units 151 according to the embodiment of the mobile terminal 100. For example, in the mobile terminal 100, a plurality of display portions may be spaced apart from one another, or may be disposed integrally with one another, and may be disposed on different surfaces, respectively.

When the display unit 151 and a sensor for detecting a touch operation (hereinafter, referred to as a touch sensor) form a mutual layer structure (hereinafter referred to as a touch screen), the display unit 151 may be configured in addition to an output device. Can also be used as an input device. The touch sensor may have the form of, for example, a touch film, a touch sheet, a touch pad, or the like.

The touch sensor may be configured to convert a change in a pressure applied to a specific portion of the display unit 151 or a capacitance generated in a specific portion of the display unit 151 into an electrical input signal. The touch sensor can be configured to detect not only the position and area to be touched but also the pressure at the time of touch.

If there is a touch input to the touch sensor, the corresponding signal (s) is sent to the touch controller. The touch controller processes the signal (s) and transmits the corresponding data to the controller 180. As a result, the controller 180 can know which area of the display unit 151 is touched.

The proximity sensor 141 may be disposed in the inner region of the mobile terminal 100 surrounded by the touch screen or near the touch screen. The proximity sensor refers to a sensor that detects the presence or absence of an object approaching a predetermined detection surface or a nearby object without mechanical contact using the force of an electromagnetic field or infrared rays. The proximity sensor has a longer life span than the contact sensor and its utilization is also high.

Examples of the proximity sensor include a transmission photoelectric sensor, a direct reflection photoelectric sensor, a mirror reflection photoelectric sensor, a high frequency oscillation proximity sensor, a capacitive proximity sensor, a magnetic proximity sensor, and an infrared proximity sensor. And to detect the proximity of the pointer by the change of the electric field along the proximity of the pointer when the touch screen is electrostatic. In this case, the touch screen (touch sensor) may be classified as a proximity sensor.

Hereinafter, for convenience of explanation, the act of allowing the pointer to be recognized without being in contact with the touch screen so that the pointer is located on the touch screen is referred to as a "proximity touch", and the touch The act of actually touching the pointer on the screen is called "contact touch." The position where the pointer is proximately touched on the touch screen means a position where the pointer is vertically corresponding to the touch screen when the pointer is touched.

The proximity sensor detects a proximity touch and a proximity touch pattern (e.g., a proximity touch distance, a proximity touch direction, a proximity touch speed, a proximity touch time, a proximity touch position, a proximity touch movement state, and the like). Information corresponding to the detected proximity touch operation and the proximity touch pattern may be output on the touch screen.

The sound output module 152 may output audio data received from the wireless communication unit 110 or stored in the memory 160 in a call signal reception, a call mode or a recording mode, a voice recognition mode, a broadcast reception mode, and the like. The sound output module 152 also outputs sound signals related to functions (e.g., call signal reception sound, message reception sound, etc.) performed in the mobile terminal 100. [ The audio output module 152 may include a receiver, a speaker, a buzzer, and the like.

The alarm unit 153 outputs a signal for notifying the occurrence of an event of the mobile terminal 100. Examples of events generated in the mobile terminal 100 include call signal reception, message reception, key signal input, touch input, and the like. The alarm unit 153 may output a signal for notifying the occurrence of an event in a form other than the video signal or the audio signal, for example, vibration. The video signal or the audio signal may be output through the display unit 151 or the audio output module 152 so that they may be classified as a part of the alarm unit 153.

The haptic module 154 generates various tactile effects that the user can feel. Vibration is a representative example of the haptic effect generated by the haptic module 154. The intensity and pattern of vibration generated by the haptic module 154 can be controlled. For example, different vibrations may be synthesized and output or sequentially output.

In addition to vibration, the haptic module 154 may be configured to provide a pin array that vertically moves with respect to the contact skin surface, a jetting force or suction force of air through an injection or inlet port, grazing to the skin surface, contact of an electrode, electrostatic force, and the like. Various tactile effects can be generated, such as effects by the endothermic and the reproduction of a sense of cold using the elements capable of endotherm or heat generation.

The haptic module 154 can be implemented not only to transmit the tactile effect through the direct contact but also to allow the user to feel the tactile effect through the muscular sensation of the finger or arm. The haptic module 154 may include two or more haptic modules 154 according to the configuration of the portable terminal 100.

The projector module 155 is a component for performing an image project function using the mobile terminal 100 and is similar to the image displayed on the display unit 151 in accordance with a control signal of the controller 180 Or at least partly display another image on an external screen or wall.

Specifically, the projector module 155 includes a light source (not shown) that generates light (for example, laser light) for outputting an image to the outside, a light source And a lens (not shown) for enlarging and outputting the image at a predetermined focal distance to the outside. Further, the projector module 155 may include a device (not shown) capable of mechanically moving the lens or the entire module to adjust the image projection direction.

The projector module 155 can be divided into a CRT (Cathode Ray Tube) module, an LCD (Liquid Crystal Display) module and a DLP (Digital Light Processing) module according to the type of the display means. In particular, the DLP module may be advantageous for miniaturization of the projector module 151 by enlarging and projecting an image generated by reflecting light generated from a light source on a DMD (Digital Micromirror Device) chip.

Preferably, the projector module 155 may be provided longitudinally on the side, front or back side of the mobile terminal 100. It goes without saying that the projector module 155 may be provided at any position of the mobile terminal 100 as occasion demands.

The memory unit 160 may store a program for processing and controlling the controller 180, and temporarily stores input / output data (for example, a phone number, a message, an audio, a still image, a video, etc.). It can also perform a function for. The memory unit 160 may also store the frequency of use of each of the data (for example, each telephone number, each message, and frequency of use for each multimedia). In addition, the memory unit 160 may store data on vibration and sound of various patterns output when the touch is input on the touch screen.

The memory 160 may be a flash memory type, a hard disk type, a multimedia card micro type, a card type memory (for example, SD or XD memory), a RAM (Random Access Memory), SRAM (Static Random Access Memory), ROM (Read Only Memory), EEPROM (Electrically Erasable Programmable Read-Only Memory), PROM A disk, and / or an optical disk. The mobile terminal 100 may operate in association with a web storage that performs a storage function of the memory 160 on the Internet.

The interface unit 170 serves as a path for communication with all external devices connected to the mobile terminal 100. The interface unit 170 receives data from an external device or supplies power to each component in the mobile terminal 100 or transmits data to the external device. For example, a wired / wireless headset port, an external charger port, a wired / wireless data port, a memory card port, a port for connecting a device having an identification module, an audio I / O port, A video input / output (I / O) port, an earphone port, and the like may be included in the interface unit 170.

The identification module is a chip for storing various information for authenticating the use right of the mobile terminal 100 and includes a user identification module (UIM), a subscriber identity module (SIM), a general user authentication module A Universal Subscriber Identity Module (USIM), and the like. Devices with identification modules (hereinafter referred to as "identification devices") can be manufactured in a smart card format. Accordingly, the identification device can be connected to the terminal 100 through the port.

When the mobile terminal 100 is connected to an external cradle, the interface unit may be a path through which power from the cradle is supplied to the mobile terminal 100, or various command signals input by the user to the cradle may be transmitted It can be a passage to be transmitted to the terminal. The various command signals or the power source input from the cradle may be operated as a signal for recognizing that the mobile terminal is correctly mounted on the cradle.

The controller 180 typically controls the overall operation of the mobile terminal 100. For example, voice communication, data communication, video communication, and the like. The control unit 180 may include a multimedia module 181 for multimedia playback. The multimedia module 181 may be implemented in the control unit 180 or may be implemented separately from the control unit 180. [

The controller 180 may perform a pattern recognition process for recognizing handwriting input or drawing input performed on the touch screen as characters and images, respectively.

The power supply unit 190 receives an external power source and an internal power source under the control of the controller 180 to supply power for operation of each component.

The various embodiments described herein may be embodied in a recording medium readable by a computer or similar device using, for example, software, hardware, or a combination thereof.

According to a hardware implementation, the embodiments described herein include application specific integrated circuits (ASICs), digital signal processors (DSPs), digital signal processing devices (DSPDs), programmable logic devices (PLDs), field programmable gate arrays (FPGAs), and the like. It may be implemented using at least one of processors, controllers, micro-controllers, microprocessors, and electrical units for performing other functions. The described embodiments may be implemented by the controller 180 itself.

According to the software implementation, embodiments such as the procedures and functions described herein may be implemented as separate software modules. Each of the software modules may perform one or more of the functions and operations described herein. Software code can be implemented in a software application written in a suitable programming language. The software code is stored in the memory 160 and can be executed by the control unit 180. [

2 is a front perspective view of an example of a mobile terminal 100 or a mobile terminal according to the present invention.

The disclosed mobile terminal 100 has a bar-shaped terminal body. However, the present invention is not limited thereto, and can be applied to various structures such as a slide type, a folder type, a swing type, and a swivel type in which two or more bodies are relatively movably coupled.

The body includes a case (a casing, a housing, a cover, and the like) which forms an appearance. In this embodiment, the case may be divided into a front case 101 and a rear case 102. [ A variety of electronic components are embedded in the space formed between the front case 101 and the rear case 102. At least one intermediate case may be additionally disposed between the front case 101 and the rear case 102. [

The cases may be formed by injecting synthetic resin or may be formed of a metal material, for example, a metal material such as stainless steel (STS) or titanium (Ti).

The display unit 151, the sound output unit 152, the camera 121, the user input units 130/131 and 132, the microphone 122, the interface 170, and the like may be disposed in the front body 101 have.

The display unit 151 occupies most of the main surface of the front case 101. A sound output unit 151 and a camera 121 are disposed in an area adjacent to one end of both ends of the display unit 151 and a user input unit 131 and a microphone 122 are disposed in an area adjacent to the other end. The user input unit 132 and the interface 170 may be disposed on the side surfaces of the front case 101 and the rear case 102. [

The user input unit 130 is operated to receive a command for controlling the operation of the portable terminal 100 and may include a plurality of operation units 131 and 132. The operation units 131 and 132 may be collectively referred to as a manipulating portion and may be employed in any manner as long as the user operates in a tactile manner.

The contents inputted by the first or second operation unit 131 or 132 may be variously set. For example, the first operation unit 131 receives commands such as start, end, scroll, and the like, and the second operation unit 132 controls the size of the sound output from the sound output unit 152 or the size of the sound output from the display unit 151 To the touch recognition mode of the touch screen.

Hereinafter, the operation of the display unit 151 and the touch pad 135 will be described with reference to FIG. 3.

3 is a front view of a portable terminal for explaining an operation state of the portable terminal according to the present invention.

Various types of time information can be displayed on the display unit 151. [ These pieces of information can be displayed in the form of letters, numbers, symbols, graphics, or icons.

At least one of the letters, numbers, symbols, graphics, or icons may be displayed in a predetermined arrangement for inputting such information, thereby being implemented as a keypad. Such a keypad may be referred to as a so-called " virtual keypad ".

3 illustrates inputting of a touch applied to the virtual keypad through the front surface of the terminal body.

The display unit 151 may operate as an entire area or may be divided into a plurality of areas and operated. In the latter case, the plurality of areas can be configured to operate in association with each other.

For example, an output window 151a and an input window 151b are displayed on the upper and lower portions of the display unit 151, respectively. The output window 151a and the input window 151b are areas allocated for outputting or inputting information, respectively. In the input window 151b, a virtual keypad 151c is displayed in which a number for inputting a telephone number or the like is displayed. When the virtual keypad 151c is touched, numbers and the like corresponding to the touched virtual keypad are displayed on the output window 151a. When the first operation unit 131 is operated, call connection to the telephone number displayed on the output window 151a is attempted.

The display unit 151 or the touch pad 135 may be configured to receive a touch input by scrolling, as well as the input method described in the above embodiments. The user can move a cursor or a pointer located on an object displayed on the display unit 151, for example, an icon or the like, by scrolling the display unit 151 or the touch pad 135. [ Further, when the finger is moved on the display portion 151 or the touch pad 135, the path along which the finger moves may be visually displayed on the display portion 151. [ This will be useful for editing the image displayed on the display unit 151. [

One function of the terminal may be executed in response to a case where the display unit 151 (touch screen) and the touch pad 135 are touched together within a predetermined time range. In the case of being touched together, there may be a case where the user clamps the terminal body using the thumb and index finger. The one function may be activation or deactivation of the display unit 151 or the touch pad 135, for example.

For convenience of explanation, it is assumed that the mobile terminal 100 mentioned below includes at least one of the components shown in FIG.

The central processing unit (CPU) included in the controller 180 may provide a function of processing all data of the mobile terminal as a central processing unit. In other words, the CPU interprets and computes commands received from the user and outputs the result.

In addition, a type in which a computing device, a decoding device, and a control device are integrated in one component is called a 'micro-processor'. The CPU and the microprocessor are frequently used in almost the same sense, and will be described herein in the context of the same meaning in order to avoid confusion.

The most basic role of the CPU is computation and computation. For example, when the user issues a command of '0 + 1', the CPU can take the calculation and display the result of '1' on the video output device, and process various data such as document, picture, music or video processing. It may be.

The operation speed of the CPU may vary depending on the type of CPU. A representative unit of CPU speed is clock, which measures how many steps are processed inside the CPU per second and expresses it in terms of frequency (Hz). Therefore, the higher the clock value, the faster the CPU.

In the past, these clock speeds were an absolute criterion for CPU performance, but recently, multi-core (Multi-core) CPUs, which have two or more cores in one CPU, have emerged. It is another standard.

In computer CPUs, cores are an integral part of the processing circuitry embedded in the CPU. In the past, it was natural to have only one core per single CPU.

However, multi-core CPUs have become increasingly popular with the introduction of Intel's Pentium D, a dual-core CPU with two cores, and Athlon64 X2 from AMD.

Also recently, quad-core CPUs with four cores have emerged. For example, Intel's Core2 Quad has emerged.

AMD's Phenom X3, a three-core triple-core CPU between dual-core and quad-core, and a Hexa Core CPU with six cores are also used.

Such multi-core CPUs have a performance similar to that of a real CPU with the number of embedded cores. In other words, a dual-core CPU can complete tasks that a typical single-core CPU must process twice in one step, increasing overall processing efficiency.

However, multi-core CPUs can achieve real performance gains when processing multiple tasks at the same time (multi-tasking) or running software optimized for multi-core operations. For example, when a multi-core CPU is applied to a graphic editing program, a video encoding program, or a file compression program, a great effect can be obtained.

However, when using software that doesn't support multi-core operations or doing only one task intensively, a CPU with a small number of cores but a high number of clocks may perform better.

4 illustrates an example of performing a task using a plurality of cores in accordance with the present invention.

In FIG. 4, it is assumed that a quad core CPU having four cores is applied to the mobile terminal 100.

As shown in (a) of FIG. 4, the current quad core CPU uses an algorithm of increasing the cores by one according to the workload. That is, an algorithm for activating a new core or deactivating an activated core is applied by using a ratio of the maximum frequency of the active core to the use frequency.

For example, assume 411 when the first core drives alone. If the first core is driven at 90% of the maximum frequency, the controller 180 controls the second core to be driven together (412).

Similarly, when the first core and the second core are driven together (412), if the first core and the second core are driven outside the threshold range compared to the maximum frequency, the controller 180 controls the third core to be driven together (413).

In addition, when the first core, the second core, and the third core are driven together (413), when driving out of the threshold range compared to the maximum frequency, the controller 180 controls the fourth core to be driven together (414). ).

On the contrary, if the frequency of the core currently being driven is driving within the threshold range compared to the maximum frequency, the controller 180 may control the driving of any one core to be stopped.

For example, when three cores currently being driven are driven at 50% or less of the maximum frequency, the controller 180 may control the driving of the third core to be stopped.

4B is a diagram illustrating an algorithm applied to a plurality of cores.

Referring to FIG. 4B, when the first condition of being driven out of the threshold range is satisfied in the current state 422, the controller 180 further drives one additional core (423).

In addition, when the second condition of being driven within the threshold range is satisfied in the current state 422, the controller 180 stops driving one of the cores (433).

In addition, when the task is performed in the range allocated to the current state 422, the current number of cores is maintained as it is without adding or deleting cores.

Therefore, a plurality of quad core CPUs use an algorithm that increases the number of cores that operate according to the workload. In other words, in response to the frequency corresponding to the assigned workload, the frequency is increased when there is a lot of work, and the frequency is decreased when there is little work to use each core.

5 is a diagram illustrating a specific example of a method of applying a frequency of a core in response to a workload in an environment using a plurality of cores.

5 illustrates specific methods of applying a frequency of an allocated workload to a mobile terminal.

The method of applying the frequency of the assigned workload to the mobile terminal includes a performance method 510, an on demand method 520, a conservative method 530, a power save method 540, and the like.

The performance method 510 is a method of continuously applying the maximum frequency corresponding to the assigned workload to the mobile terminal. However, this performance method 510 has the disadvantage of excessive power consumption.

Next, the on-demand method 520 is a method of applying the maximum frequency corresponding to the assigned workload to the mobile terminal once, and decreasing the frequency step by step to the minimum frequency over time. This on demand method 520 is most frequently applied because efficiency is guaranteed.

In addition, the conservative method 530 is a method of raising the frequency step by step over time to the maximum frequency corresponding to the assigned workload, and then gradually decreasing the frequency to the minimum frequency over time. This conservative method 530 has the disadvantage that it may degrade the touch response performance.

In addition, the power save method 540 is a method of continuously applying the minimum frequency corresponding to the assigned workload to the mobile terminal. However, this power save method 540 has a problem of deteriorating the overall performance of the mobile terminal.

Therefore, in general, the mobile station 100 applies a plurality of cores to the mobile terminal 100 while applying the maximum frequency corresponding to the assigned workload according to the on-demand method 520 to the mobile terminal once, and decreasing the frequency step by step to the minimum frequency over time. Algorithm is applied.

However, when the on-demand method 520 is applied, a predetermined workload actually requires a small frequency, but once the maximum frequency is applied to the mobile terminal 100, there is a problem that a plurality of unnecessary cores may be driven.

For example, if you run a relatively light program, such as Notepad, you may be able to activate three to four cores instantaneously in response to the required maximum frequency, but in practice it may be enough to process one active core. Afterwards, with the exception of one core, the remaining cores are inactive.

In addition, even in a relatively heavy program such as a gallery, three to four cores may be instantaneously activated corresponding to the maximum frequency required, but in practice, even if only one or two activated cores are applied, the user may have a difference in performance. Often enough performance is hard to notice.

That is, when the on-demand method 520 is applied, the speed of processing a task is guaranteed but power is wasted due to activation of unnecessary cores, which automatically switches a plurality of cores applied to the mobile terminal 100. This is a problem that arises.

Accordingly, the present invention provides a method for automatically switching operation within a maximum available number of core ranges corresponding to a manually selected core mode among a plurality of core modes.

For example, you can use a first core mode that can use up to four cores, a second core mode that can use up to three cores, a third core mode that can use up to two cores, and up to one core. When the fourth core mode is present, a method of operating a plurality of cores by applying the aforementioned algorithm within a maximum number of core ranges corresponding to the core mode selected by the user among the first to fourth core modes is provided. Can be applied.

Hereinafter, with reference to Figure 6 will be described the specific content of the present invention.

6 is a flowchart illustrating an example of performing a task within a maximum available number of core ranges corresponding to a selected core mode among a plurality of core modes in accordance with the present invention.

First, the user may select any one of the plurality of core modes through a key button operation or a menu operation (S610).

The plurality of core modes may be set in various ways corresponding to the number of cores applicable to the mobile terminal.

For example, if six cores are applied to the mobile terminal 100, a first core mode capable of using up to six cores, a second core mode capable of using up to five cores, and up to four cores may be used. A third core mode that can be used and a fourth core mode that can use up to three cores, a fifth core mode that can use up to two cores, and a sixth core mode that can use up to one code may be applied.

In addition, the number of core modes need not be determined to exactly correspond to the number of cores to be applied, and fewer code modes may be used.

For example, if four cores are applied, up to four core modes may be used, but only three core modes may be applied. That is, a first core mode that can use up to four cores, a second core mode that can use up to two cores, and a third core mode that can use up to one core may be applied.

Hereinafter, in the present specification, for convenience of description, it is assumed that the mobile terminal 100 supports four cores, and it is assumed that a plurality of core modes are applied.

That is, it is assumed that a quad core mode that can use up to four cores, a dual core mode that can use up to two cores, and a power saving mode that can use up to one core are applied.

However, the fact that the mobile terminal 400 supports four cores and the quad core mode, the dual core mode, and the power saving mode are merely examples to which the present invention may be applied. It is obvious that the content can be applied.

7 is a view showing an example of the effect in the case of applying a plurality of core modes and a plurality of core modes in connection with the present invention.

Referring to FIG. 7A, quad core mode 710 for using up to four cores, dual core mode 720 for using up to two cores, and power saving for using up to one core may be used. Mode 730 is shown.

The user may select one core mode to be applied to the mobile terminal 100 among three core modes.

Since the quad core mode 710 may use one to four cores, the quad core mode 710 has the advantage of being the fastest in terms of speed but has the disadvantage of consuming the most power.

Next, since dual core mode 720 can be used with one or two cores, it is guaranteed to be slower but faster than quad core mode 710 and consumes less power than quad core mode 710. The advantage is that.

In addition, since the power saving mode 730 can use one core, there is a disadvantage in that performance is slow, but it is guaranteed that the battery life can be extended because it consumes less power as much as possible.

Accordingly, the user may select a core mode required for the current situation from among the quad core mode 710, the dual core mode 720, and the power saving mode 730.

FIG. 7B is a graph comparing the quad core mode 710, the dual core mode 720, and the power saving mode 730 in terms of power consumption and task processing time.

Referring to FIG. 7B, it can be seen that the quad core mode 710 consumes the most power but takes the least amount of time for task processing. In contrast, the power saving mode 730 may confirm that the task processing time takes the most but consumes the least power. It can also be seen that dual core mode 720 exhibits intermediate performance between quad core mode 710 and power saving mode 730.

In addition, information for selecting the quad core mode 710, the dual core mode 720, and the power saving mode 730 may be additionally displayed on the display unit.

8 is a diagram illustrating an example of displaying information for selecting any one of a plurality of core modes in accordance with the present invention.

Referring to FIG. 8, information 1000 for selecting the quad core mode 710, the dual core mode 720, and the power saving mode 730 is displayed in a predetermined area of the display unit.

That is, the user can select a quad core point, a dual core point, and a power saving point displayed at a predetermined position of a bar included in the information 1000, and the controller 180 moves the core mode corresponding to the selected point. It may be controlled to be set in the terminal 100.

In addition, the controller 180 may control to display a predetermined visual effect to notify a user of a selected point among the quad core point, the dual core point, and the power saving point. The visual effects displayed may include color change, sharpness change, and transparency change visual effect.

In addition, the bar included in the information 1000 may be displayed in a status bar that is always displayed on the display of the mobile terminal 100. However, a bar included in the information 1000 is not always displayed and may be selectively displayed according to a user's needs.

6 again, if any one of the plurality of core modes is selected, the controller 180 determines the maximum number of available cores in response to the selected core mode (S620).

As described above, up to four cores may be used when the quad core mode 710 is selected, up to two cores may be used when the dual core mode 720 is selected, and power may be used. If the saving mode 730 is selected, it is determined that up to one core can be used.

Thereafter, the controller 180 controls the task to be processed within the determined maximum available core range (S630).

For example, when the quad core mode 710 is selected, a predetermined task may be processed using one to four cores according to the algorithm described above with reference to FIG. 4. In addition, when the power saving mode 730 is selected, a predetermined task is processed using only one core.

Meanwhile, according to an embodiment of the present invention, the controller 180 may change the maximum frequency that can be applied according to the selected core mode.

For example, when the quad core mode 710 or the dual core mode 720 is selected, 1.5 GHz may be applied as the maximum frequency, but when the power saving mode 730 is selected, the maximum frequency of 1.2 GHz is applied. You can also control it.

In addition, according to another embodiment of the present invention, when the power saving mode 730 is selected, the controller 180 may control power consumption for other functions to be maximized.

For example, when the power saving mode 730 is selected, the controller 180 can automatically reduce the brightness of the display unit to the minimum. Alternatively, when the power saving mode 730 is selected, the controller 180 may control the Bluetooth mode set in the mobile terminal 100 to be turned off.

9 is a diagram illustrating a specific example in which a plurality of core modes are applied when four cores exist according to the present invention.

First, the quad core mode 710 is preferably applied when extreme performance is required that requires a large workload, and a frequency of up to 1.5 GHz may be applied. In quad core mode 710, one to four cores are applied as needed.

Next, the dual core mode 720 is preferably applied when the performance and the battery is required in most daily life as a default setting, a frequency of up to 1.5 GHz can be applied. In dual core mode 720, one or two cores are applied as needed. If a triple core mode is set, one to three cores may be applied as necessary.

In addition, the power saving mode 730 is preferably applied when there is almost no battery remaining, and a frequency of up to 1.2 GHz may be applied. In power saving mode 730, only one core is applied to the task.

FIG. 10 illustrates another specific example of applying a plurality of core modes when four cores exist according to the present invention.

In FIG. 10, an example in which the assumption of FIG. 9 is applied as it is, but in addition to the four cores, is provided with a spare core that is responsible for maintaining the minimum function of the mobile terminal 100.

That is, in the power saving mode 730 of FIG. 10, all four cores are not driven, and only the spare cores are applied, so that the mobile terminal 100 can be driven even in a low battery level. However, the power saving mode 730 of FIG. 10 provides the user with lower performance when compared to the power saving mode 730 of FIG. 9.

In addition, in the power saving mode 730 of FIG. 10, a frequency of up to 600 MHz may be applied.

Therefore, it is obvious that the contents of the present invention can be applied even when there are spare cores that are responsible for maintaining the minimum function of the mobile terminal 100 in addition to the four cores.

As described above, when the present invention is applied, the maximum available number of cores corresponding to the selected core mode among the plurality of core modes is manually selected in advance, and the required frequency within the selected maximum available number of core ranges is applied. Since the number of cores to be operated is automatically changed, the number of cores optimized for the current situation can be provided to the user.

In addition, the contents of the present invention may be applied to a graphics processing unit (GPU).

First, a description will be given of a graphics processing unit (GPU), and a detailed form to which the present invention can be applied will be described.

In recent years, 3D graphics have been introduced in earnest to give a three-dimensional effect, and various light source effects and texture expression techniques for making a screen more realistic have begun to develop, and these tasks have become difficult to process by the CPU alone.

Therefore, a processor dedicated to 3D graphics calculation, or GPU (Graphics Processing Unit), has been developed and installed in the graphics card.

The GPU's primary role is the computation and generation of 2D and 3D graphics, but modern GPUs have many additional features. Typical examples include NVIDIA PureVideo, which improves playback quality and encoding speed of video, and AMD's Avivo (Advance video in video out) technology. This was once a CPU-specific area, but recently the GPU's floating-point arithmetic (mostly for multimedia processing or scientific calculations) outperforms the CPU, making it possible to leverage the power of the GPU for general processing as well as graphics processing. The movement began to appear.

The general purpose computing on graphics processing units (GPGPU), which uses GPU resources to perform general tasks other than graphics operations, is used in areas such as molecular structure analysis, cryptography, and weather change prediction, in addition to video encoding. have

Recently, the number of GPUs in a chip has increased to dual, triple and quad, and the number of GPUs has exploded.

For example, the TI OMAP4 has one GPU (Imagination's IP, SGX540), but OMAP5 will have two identical GPUs, while Apple's A5 chip already uses two. In addition, Samsung's Exynos uses four smaller GPUs (ARM's Mali-400), while nVidia's Tegra3 uses 12 smaller GPUs, with more to come.

Therefore, the above-described contents of the present invention can be applied to a plurality of GPUs. That is, the controller 180 can control the number of activated CPU cores to be linked to the number of activated GPUs.

GPUs don't run as fast as 1.2-1.5GHz, but they're basically the same multicore architecture, so you can control the CPU exactly as it works. Therefore, the controller 180 may control to limit the number of activated GPUs according to the number of CPU cores. In particular, in consideration of the fact that battery savings can be maximized, the embodiment of the present invention which controls the number of activated CPU cores and the number of activated GPUs to work together can have a great effect in the power saving mode.

Meanwhile, according to another embodiment of the present invention, in the single core mode focused on power saving, the controller 180 may not only display the number of cores but also display brightness, whether GPS is used, 3G / 4G, to achieve power consumption optimization. Various power saving techniques such as whether data is used may be controlled to be comprehensively applied to the mobile terminal 100.

Further, according to another embodiment of the present invention, when the single core mode focused on power saving in the power saving mode state applied to the mobile terminal 100 is applied, the controller 180 limits the number of cores or simultaneously You can also adjust the operating frequency.

In addition, according to another embodiment of the present invention, if more cores are already activated than the number of cores to be set by the user, the controller 180 may designate a smaller number of cores through the information window. You can also temporarily stop the task to reduce the number of active cores.

For example, if a user listens to an mp3, downloads an application from the market, browses the web, then closes the window, there may still be four cores running for about 10 seconds. In this case, when the user selects the single core mode to make the mobile terminal 100 sleep mode, software problems such as sharing information between cores may occur because three of the four activated cores must be turned off at once. .

Therefore, the controller 180 may reduce the number of naturally activated cores by temporarily stopping downloading of the mp3 or market application, and control the restarted tasks to be restarted after the number of activated cores is reduced to one. That is, according to an exemplary embodiment of the present invention, in the process of stopping a plurality of tasks at a moment, the screen is blacked out and the screen is returned again in one second without stopping all tasks at once. UI) can be implemented smoothly.

Meanwhile, according to an embodiment of the present invention, the above-described method may be implemented as code that can be read by a processor in a medium in which a program is recorded. Examples of the medium that can be read by the processor include ROM, RAM, CD-ROM, magnetic tape, floppy disk, optical data storage, etc., and may be implemented in the form of a carrier wave (e.g., transmission over the Internet) .

A mobile terminal having a display unit capable of displaying a stereoscopic image as described above is not limited to the configuration and method of the above-described embodiments, but the embodiments may be modified in various ways. All or some of these may optionally be combined.

Claims (16)

In a mobile terminal supporting a plurality of cores,
A user input unit for selecting any one of a plurality of core modes using at least one core among the plurality of cores; And
And a controller configured to determine a maximum number of cores supported by the selected core mode and to control a predetermined task using at least one of the determined maximum number of cores.
And each of the plurality of core modes supports a maximum number of different cores. The method of claim 1,
The plurality of cores is four,
The plurality of core modes include a first core mode, a second core mode and a third core mode,
The first core mode supports at most one core of the plurality of cores, the second core mode supports at most two cores of the plurality of cores, and the third core mode is the maximum of the plurality of cores. A mobile terminal, characterized in that it supports four cores. The method of claim 1,
The plurality of cores includes four main cores and one spare core,
The plurality of core modes include a first core mode, a second core mode and a third core mode,
The first core mode supports up to one core of the one spare core or the four main cores, the second core mode supports up to two cores of the four main cores, and the third The core mode is characterized in that for supporting up to four cores of the four main cores. The method of claim 1,
And the control unit controls to determine the number of cores to be used for processing the predetermined task from among the determined maximum number of cores based on the frequency required for processing the predetermined task. The method of claim 1,
And a display unit,
The control unit controls to display the first information in which each of the plurality of core modes in a predetermined form is displayed on a predetermined area of the display unit in order to select any one of the plurality of core modes. terminal. 6. The method of claim 5,
The control unit gives a predetermined visual effect such that the selected one of the core mode of the plurality of core modes included in the first information is distinguished,
The predetermined visual effect includes at least one of color change, sharpness change, and transparency change. The method of claim 1,
And when the number of cores to be used for processing the predetermined task is less than the determined maximum number, the maximum frequency supported by the cores to be used for processing the predetermined task is changeable. The method of claim 1,
The control unit controls to determine a maximum number of GPUs to be used to process the predetermined task among a plurality of graphic processing units (GPUs) corresponding to the maximum number of cores supported by the selected core mode. terminal. In the control method of a mobile terminal supporting a plurality of cores,
Selecting any one of a plurality of core modes using at least one core of the plurality of cores;
Determining a maximum number of cores supported by the selected core mode; And
Processing a predetermined task using at least one of the determined maximum number of cores,
And each of the plurality of core modes supports a maximum number of different cores. The method of claim 9,
The plurality of cores is four,
The plurality of core modes include a first core mode, a second core mode and a third core mode,
The first core mode supports at most one core of the plurality of cores, the second core mode supports at most two cores of the plurality of cores, and the third core mode is the maximum of the plurality of cores. The control method of the mobile terminal, characterized in that for supporting four cores. The method of claim 9,
The plurality of cores includes four main cores and one spare core,
The plurality of core modes include a first core mode, a second core mode and a third core mode,
The first core mode supports up to one core of the one spare core or the four main cores, the second core mode supports up to two cores of the four main cores, and the third Core mode, characterized in that for supporting up to four cores of the four main cores, the control method of the mobile terminal. The method of claim 9,
The number of cores to be used for processing the predetermined task among the determined maximum number of cores is determined based on the frequency required for processing the predetermined task. The method of claim 9,
And displaying, on a predetermined area of the display unit, first information in which each of the plurality of core modes is arranged in a predetermined form to select any one of the plurality of core modes. . The method of claim 13,
A predetermined visual effect is given to distinguish one of the selected core modes among the plurality of core modes included in the first information,
The predetermined visual effect includes at least one of color change, sharpness change, and transparency change. The method of claim 9,
And when the number of cores to be used for processing the predetermined task is less than the determined maximum number, the maximum frequency supported by the cores to be used for processing the predetermined task is changeable. The method of claim 9,
And determining a maximum number of GPUs to be used to process the predetermined task among a plurality of graphic processing units (GPUs) corresponding to the maximum number of cores supported by the selected core mode. .

Images