JPH11312029A - Power managing device - Google Patents

Abstract

PROBLEM TO BE SOLVED: To enable a user to manage power consumption by defining the remaining capacitance of a battery as battery usable time and providing a button for instructing the prolongation or shortening of the usable time so that it can be instructed to a power managing part when it is desired to use the battery for a long time. SOLUTION: A microcontroller is used for a power source part 3, the measurement of current consumption and the calculation of usable time are performed together with the control of the power source part 3, and this is displayed on an LCD display part 1. Since the current consumption of an entire system is fluctuated corresponding to the conditions of use, when the use conditions are changed, the usable time is correspondently charged as well. An input part 2 is provided for transmitting feedback from the user to a control part 4 and composed of a push-button switch. When the remaining capacitance of the battery is intuitively presented by time display on the display part 1, simultaneously, the user controls the management of power consumption while having a single reference such as time easy to comprehend, the input part 2 performs control with time as unit of time.

Description

DETAILED DESCRIPTION OF THE INVENTION

[0001]

[0001] 1. Field of the Invention [0002] The present invention relates to a power management device, and more particularly to power control of a notebook personal computer.

[0002]

2. Description of the Related Art In a notebook personal computer, the available time on a battery is regarded as one of the performance indexes. In a conventional notebook PC, the following implementation is performed as power management processing for extending the battery usage time. The following three methods exist for realizing the power management function. 1. 1. System to be implemented in firmware (BIOS) as a unique function APM (Advanced Power Mana)
2. system to implement according to the specification) ACPI (Advanced Advanced Config)
ratio & Power Interface)
Implementation method according to specifications

[0003] In any of the methods, the basic implementation of power management is performed as follows. The following three points are controlled. 1. 1. Switching of CPU clock frequency 2. Switching of bus clock frequency Shifting Various I / Os to Low Power Mode In any of the methods, if some of the events specified in advance do not occur for a certain period of time, the shift to the low power mode is performed for any of these control targets. The events to be monitored include IRQ generation and DMA completion with a focus on keyboard and mouse access. Generally, an interrupt controller and a DMA controller are integrated in about one to three ICs called core logic, and a power management function including a timer for measuring time from the occurrence of an event is also implemented on the core logic.
When a monitoring target event and a timeout value are specified for the core logic, the timer is automatically cleared each time the specified event occurs. If no event occurs until the timeout occurs, processing such as lowering the CPU clock or generating a system management interrupt (SMI) for the CPU is performed according to the previously set contents. The shift of the I / O to the low power consumption mode is performed by the CPU in the SMI handler by software in response to the occurrence of the SMI.

[0004] As described above, all of the conventional power management changes the state of the system in response to an event timeout, and is referred to as timer-based power management here. 3 above
Of the two methods, in the power management of the original specification, only the timer-based control as described above is performed. Software for the power management function is implemented in firmware (BIOS) and is not noticed by the OS.

The advantage of the timer-based power management is that the power consumption of the system can be reduced without depending on the OS. On the other hand, since the information held by the OS is not used, the operating status of the system and the power management The states do not always match, causing problems such as a drop in the low power consumption mode when processing performance is required, and a transition to the full power mode in situations where performance is not so required.

On the other hand, APM B
Power management can be controlled from the OS through the IOS, and CPU Idle, CPU Busy
Is detected and notified to the APM BIOS, and by using this, more appropriate power management control can be performed. However, even in the APM specification, the main body of the power management processing is not the OS but the BIOS.

In the ACPI specification, the OS takes the initiative in power management control, and the BIOS mediates between the OS and hardware for power management. In this method, finer control is possible by performing power management control led by the OS. However, the content of the power management control becomes a black box, and the effect of the power management depends on the specifications of the power management driver on the OS. Therefore, it is becoming difficult for hardware vendors to contribute to the improvement of the power management function.

In any case, it can be said that the conventional power management method mainly focuses on device control based on a timer and control of CPU performance from a part of the OS side. In such a conventional method, the power management control is adjusted by adjusting the timeout value described above (the CPU operating frequency is switched by the notification from the OS to the BIOS in APM or ACPI when the notification is made from the OS to the BIOS). Sometimes done). But,
In general, it is difficult for users to understand the relationship between a large number of timer values and battery life,
It is difficult to determine how setting such a timer value is most effective in the current usage situation.
At present, use the timer value as the manufacturer's default setting, set it to maximize performance (turn off most timers), or set it to minimize power consumption (set the timer value as small as possible) (Set to a value) is often used after being fixed. In addition, as a result of the OS becoming multitasking, usage forms such as switching and using a plurality of programs within a short period of time and performing a plurality of tasks in parallel have become common. It was impossible to cope with such constantly changing usage conditions.

[0009]

The parameters of the power consumption management used in the notebook PC are complicated and difficult for the user to understand, and the effects thereof are very difficult to understand. This is because the user is interested in how many hours and how long the battery can be used, whereas the power management parameters indicate how to control each device in the computer. However, there is a problem that it is difficult to grasp the relationship with the available time.

SUMMARY OF THE INVENTION The present invention has been made to solve the above-mentioned disadvantages of the prior art, and a user who does not have knowledge of the power consumption of a computer can easily know the available time, and can perform a simple input operation. To extend the available time. Another object of the present invention is to enable a user who does not have knowledge of the power consumption of a computer and various control targets to allocate power to various control targets that meet the user's desire by a simple input operation. That is.

[0011]

Means for solving the problems according to the present invention will be described below. 1. The user can easily recognize the remaining battery level by constantly displaying the remaining battery level as the available battery time. As a result, the user can always recognize whether or not the remaining battery power is sufficient in the current use situation. 2. A button is provided for instructing the power management unit to extend or shorten the usable time so that the user can easily instruct the power management unit when the user desires longer use. This enables the user to intervene in the power consumption management. 3. When the usable time is to be extended, the power consumption management unit attempts to fulfill the request by lowering the CPU clock or shortening the timeout period of the device to lower the performance of the system. 4. The user can recognize whether the performance of the system at a certain point is sufficient or insufficient for the user.
In addition, recognition differs for each user. The first point of the present invention is to improve the performance by shortening the usable time if the user using the system feels the performance is insufficient, and to reduce the performance if the user wants to extend the usable time. Allowing the user to intervene in their control by intuitively showing the user two opposing parameters, such as uptime and system performance, such as accepting;
The point is that the user himself / herself sets a policy of power consumption management.

[0012] In addition to the system performance, a parameter that can be directly recognized by the user is the brightness of the backlight device of the LCD display unit. Therefore, it is considered that the control of the luminance is fed back by the same method. That is, 1. A slight change in luminance is often not noticeable to the user. On the other hand, even if the luminance is slightly reduced, the power consumption of the backlight section is greatly reduced. 2. Therefore, the brightness is gradually reduced little by little so that the user is hard to notice. 3. When the brightness is reduced beyond a certain limit, the user feels that the brightness is insufficient.
Operate the brightness control button. 4. In this manner, the minimum luminance at which the user does not feel inconvenience in the usage environment at that time is detected, and thereafter, the power consumption of the backlight unit is reduced within the range of the minimum luminance or higher.

In practice, the brightness control of the backlight is comprehensively controlled as part of the power consumption management. For example, when the user tries to extend the usable time, The backlight luminance is reduced by the above method, and a point at which the user feels insufficient luminance is detected. 2. If the power consumption cannot be sufficiently reduced due to the decrease in luminance, CPU clock frequency control and device control are performed next.

In this method, there are countless combinations of CPU clock control and device control, and it is not possible to automatically determine which and how to control. Therefore, for example, the following method is used. 1. CPU control and device control are appropriately performed. Initially, default settings are set assuming a general usage pattern, and power consumption is reduced so as to satisfy a user's request. 2. When the user feels that the performance is insufficient, the user presses the policy change button. 3. Pressing the policy change button changes the CPU control and device control policies, and reduces power consumption with a different policy. 4. This is repeated until the user is satisfied. 5. If the user continues to use without inconvenience, this is stored as the next default setting. 6. When the function of a controlled object is reduced, the time until the user requests a policy change is monitored.If this time is short, the user's request priority for this controlled object is assumed to be high, and the default value and Improve the function maintenance priority. 7. If the purpose cannot be achieved even after the policy is changed, the usable time is shortened a little, and the function of one of the controlled objects is increased to try to satisfy the user's desire. The means for solving each of the components of the present invention will be described below.

A power management device according to a first configuration of the present invention is a mechanism for managing power consumption of a battery-driven personal computer, and includes a display for displaying a current operable time, and a user. An input unit for instructing an extension or shortening of the operation time or a change of a power consumption control target is provided, and a control unit for controlling consumption of the control target in response to an instruction input to the input unit.

Further, in the power management apparatus according to the second configuration of the present invention, the control unit in the first configuration reduces the power consumption of one of the controlled objects in response to an operation time extension instruction input to the input unit. Then, the power consumption of any one of the control targets is increased in response to the operation time reduction instruction input, and the control target whose power consumption is reduced or increased is changed in accordance with the control target change instruction input. .

Further, in the power management apparatus according to the third configuration of the present invention, the control unit in the first or second configuration stores a default value for determining power consumption of each control target in an initial operation of the personal computer. It has a function to perform.

Further, in the power management apparatus according to the fourth configuration of the present invention, the control unit according to the third configuration is configured such that the control unit controls the power consumption of each control target when the user does not input an instruction to the input unit for a predetermined time. Is stored and used as the next default value.

According to a fifth aspect of the present invention, there is provided the power management apparatus, wherein the first control unit in the first or second configuration is configured such that the control unit reduces power consumption in response to an operation time extension instruction to the input unit. Has a function of storing a priority list for determining the priority order of the priority.

Further, in the power management apparatus according to the sixth configuration of the present invention, the control unit in the fifth configuration is configured such that the user feels the lack of the function and inputs an instruction to shorten the operation time or change the control target. In this case, it has a function of changing the order of the priority list.

Further, in a power management apparatus according to a seventh configuration of the present invention, the control unit in the fifth configuration may include an instruction to shorten the operation time to the input unit or to change the control target in a short time after the power consumption is reduced. It has a function of lowering the order of the priority list of the control target that has received the input.

Further, in the power management apparatus according to the eighth configuration of the present invention, the control unit in the sixth configuration may receive an instruction to shorten the operation time or change the control target to the input unit after reducing the power consumption. It has a function of lowering the order of the priority list of the control target that has been frequently executed.

Further, in the power management apparatus according to the ninth configuration of the present invention, the control unit in the first or second configuration gradually reduces the power consumption of the control target and allows the user to operate the input unit. It has a function of controlling the power consumption as the lower limit of the power reduction of the control target at the time of shortening the time or inputting the instruction to change the control target.

In a power management apparatus according to a tenth aspect of the present invention, the control unit in the first or second aspect has a function of using the microcontroller as a microcontroller for controlling charging and discharging of a power supply. It is.

[0025]

DESCRIPTION OF THE PREFERRED EMBODIMENTS Embodiment 1 FIG. 1 is a conceptual diagram showing a configuration of a power management device according to the present invention.
In FIG. 1, 1 is a display unit, 2 is an input unit, 3 is a power supply unit,
4 is a control unit, and 5 is a main logic. The main logic 5 is a main circuit of the PC including the CPU. The main logic 5 includes a CPU, a memory, and other digital circuits and audio circuits, a disk drive, an external interface, and the like. Core logic in which an interrupt controller, a DMA controller, and the like are integrated is also included here. Most of the main logic operates in synchronization with one or more system clocks, and the operation timing is defined based on the system clock. The power supply unit 3 supplies power to the system and charges and discharges the battery. Then, the power supply unit 3 generates and supplies a stabilized power supply voltage required by the main logic from the voltage of the AC adapter and the battery, and charges the battery. The power supply unit 3 has a built-in control unit 4 for controlling the power supply circuit.
The control unit 4 performs charge / discharge control of a battery, control of a use order when a plurality of batteries are used, detection of a low battery level, switching of a battery, warning to a main logic, and the like. In addition to the control of the power supply unit 3, the control unit 4 calculates the power consumption from the detected current, displays the remaining battery capacity (usable time) on the display unit 1, and performs various power management controls on the main logic. I do. Current detection detects the current flowing due to the voltage drop in the current detection resistor connected in series to the power supply from the battery or AC adapter, and is already used for charge / discharge control, DC / DC converter control, etc. Is what is being done. The current consumption of the system is measured by reading this with a microcomputer for power supply control. The display unit 1 constantly displays the remaining amount of the battery as the available time to the user using a small liquid crystal display device or the like. Of course, the power management status and the normal L
The status of the keyboard, the access status of the disk, and the like as displayed by the ED may be displayed together. The input unit is used for giving an instruction from the user to the microcomputer of the control unit 4 using a combination of specific keys on the keyboard or a dedicated key.

FIG. 2 is a diagram showing the external appearance of the personal computer according to the present invention, in particular, the display unit 1 and the input unit 2. As described above, the present invention is configured by the devices shown in FIG. 1 (display unit 1, input unit 2, power supply unit 3, control unit 4, and main logic 5). The display unit 1 displays the remaining battery power to the user as a usable time in a time display. In order to elicit positive feedback from the user, the available time is updated in real time as much as possible, and the display accuracy is kept high to provide the user with a reliable value. Therefore, accurately measure the current consumption of the system,
Calculate and display usable time. Therefore, in this system, a microcontroller is used for the power supply unit 3 and the power supply unit 3
In addition to the above control, the measurement of the current consumption and the calculation of the usable time are performed, and this is displayed on the LCD display unit. Since the current consumption of the entire system fluctuates according to the usage status, the available time also changes according to the usage status.
If the change in the current consumption is directly reflected in the usable time, the change in the display is too complicated. Therefore, the change in the display is stabilized by taking an average value over a certain period of time.

The input section 2 is for transmitting feedback from the user to the control section 4, and is constituted by a push button switch or the like. In addition to intuitively presenting the remaining battery power in the time display on the display unit, the user can control the power consumption management based on a single reference that makes it easy for the user to understand the time. , And control is performed in units of time. Therefore, in the present system, basically, the user gives feedback to the power consumption management by a simple instruction of extending / reducing the usable time.
Since the content of the power management actually performed is essentially the same as the conventional method, the user's instruction on a time basis is satisfied by appropriately combining a device timeout timer value, a change in the CPU and bus clock frequencies, and the like. Will be. In addition, since the power consumption is not constant but changes depending on the usage state, the power consumption is controlled by dynamically changing the parameters according to the change in the power consumption. In this system, as shown in FIG. 1, by directly performing these controls by the microcontroller of the control unit 4, power consumption control corresponding to a change in current consumption, which has not been possible so far, is performed. In addition, by using one microcontroller for controlling the power supply unit 3 and controlling power consumption in this way, it is possible to reduce the number of components and power consumption.

Embodiment 2 In the second embodiment of the present invention, an LCD (Liquid) used for a notebook PC is used.
d Crystal display (liquid crystal display) is used as one of means for adjusting power consumption. That is, when the user instructs to extend the use time of the battery, the control microcontroller lowers the brightness of the LCD backlight as necessary as one of means for reducing the power consumption of the system.

In general, the user is hard to notice a slight decrease in luminance. Therefore, when the luminance is gradually decreased during use, the user can be expected to continue using without any inconvenience. On the other hand, even if the brightness of the LCD backlight is slightly changed, the change in the current consumption is large, and even if the brightness is reduced so as not to be noticed by the user, it often leads to a significant reduction in power consumption. Further, if the luminance is continuously decreased, the user feels that the luminance is insufficient, and it is expected that the user performs an operation to increase the backlight luminance. This is performed by operating a brightness adjustment button or a brightness adjustment key on a keyboard. In the present invention, by detecting the operation of the user, the extent to which the brightness is reduced and the user feels that the brightness is insufficient are detected, and the detected level is stored as the minimum level value of the time base control thereafter. It is possible to automatically perform the minimum luminance setting that reflects and does not cause a problem in use.

Embodiment 3 The third embodiment of the present invention relates to determining a combination of parameters to be controlled for reducing power consumption. In the method of the present invention, since the user does not directly determine the parameters for power consumption management, there are several combinations of parameters for realizing the usable time (average power consumption) specified by the user. Will do. For example, the CPU frequency is the lowest, the backlight brightness is medium, the HDD stop timeout is 2 minutes, the audio IC suspend timeout is 30 seconds, and the CPU frequency is the highest, the backlight brightness is lowest, the HDD stop timeout is 1 minute, the audio IC is If the suspend timeout is one minute and the power consumption is the same, it is not easy to determine which should be selected. First, here, it is considered that parameter determination is automated by assigning priorities to the devices whose power consumption is to be reduced in advance. For example, it is assumed that the user wants to use for a longer time than the currently displayed time and presses a time extension instruction button. Here, it is assumed that the following means can be used as a method for reducing power consumption. 1. Decrease CPU frequency. 2. Darken the LCD backlight. 3. Invalidate the secondary cache and stop using it. 4. Shorten the HDD timeout. 5. Shorten the audio timeout. 6. Reduce PCcard timeout. In this case, for example, the parameters can be automatically determined to some extent by controlling with an algorithm as shown in FIGS. In other words, the priority of the control target for reducing the power consumption is fixed, but the user simply repeats the simple input operation of instructing the extension of the use time until the target is achieved, and the combination of the parameters to be reduced is set. Can be automatically determined. In addition, if the priority of reduction targets can be accessed from the menu screen and can be changed according to the user's individual request priority, it is possible to reflect the individual user's request even though it is a simple implementation can do.

Embodiment 4 FIG. In the algorithm described in the third embodiment, when a request for power consumption reduction occurs, the priority order of the device that performs power reduction is fixed. However, among the devices whose power consumption is to be reduced, the LCD backlight can receive feedback from the user through the brightness adjustment switch or the like as described in the second embodiment. Therefore, by using this, it is possible to determine whether to control the LCD backlight luminance with priority or to control other devices with priority in reducing power consumption. As an example, FIG. 6 shows an example of an algorithm when the control target is only the CPU clock and the backlight luminance. If the user has not changed the backlight brightness within the last five minutes, the current backlight brightness is preferentially reduced. This can provide a parameter distribution according to the user's current requirements.

Embodiment 5 FIG. 7 is a flowchart illustrating an example of a power consumption reduction algorithm that enables a policy change of the power management apparatus of the present invention. Embodiment 3 and Embodiment 4
In the algorithm shown in (1), the priority of the device that performs power reduction is fixed, or the priority can be changed only partially. However, which device should be targeted for power consumption reduction depends on the usage situation and user preference. Therefore, those in which the feedback from the user can be expected as in the first and second embodiments are used, and those without the feedback are used by using the voluntary parameter change instruction from the user. Of parameters suitable for the user. When the user issues a parameter change instruction, it is necessary to be able to issue the instruction by a simple method as much as possible without having to know the details of the parameter to be changed. Therefore, in this method, a method of instructing a parameter change with one or two buttons is adopted. This is implemented as follows. 1. When the usable time displayed on the display unit is shorter than the desired usable time, the user instructs to extend the time by pressing a time extension switch or the like. 2. The power consumption control unit creates and holds a priority list that determines the priority order of devices to be reduced in power consumption. In the initial state, a priority list is generated with an appropriate default value. 3. If the power consumption needs to be reduced, the power reduction target devices are determined in the order of the priority list as in the example shown in FIG. 3, and the power consumption is reduced until the request is satisfied. 4. After reducing the power consumption to the required value, if the user presses the policy change button due to lack of function, the priority list is changed and the power consumption reduction processing is performed based on the new priority list. 5. The latest priority list is stored, and is used as a default priority list for the next and subsequent times. 6. In addition to the policy change button, a change cancel button or the like may be provided to return the changed policy. 7. If the contents of the priority list are displayed on the display unit in some form so that the current priority can be identified, the parameter can be selected in a form close to manual operation for a user having knowledge of power management. 8. As a change of the priority list, a method of incorporating a plurality of representative lists and appropriately switching the lists or a method of randomly changing priorities and improving the order through a response from the user can be considered. 9. Further, when the user manually adjusts the backlight luminance, the same effect as in the fourth embodiment can be obtained by lowering the priority of the LCD backlight on the priority list. 10. In addition, when the power consumption of a specific control target is reduced, if the time until the user presses the policy change button or the time reduction button is short or the number of times the button is pressed is large, the user for this control target is May be regarded as having a high function request level, and the priority may be lowered. FIG. 5 shows an outline of the algorithm of the above power consumption control. As described above, the present invention has been described by taking a typical personal computer as an example. However, similar effects can be obtained by applying the present invention to a battery-driven information processing apparatus such as a word processor.

[0033]

According to the power management apparatus of the first and second configurations of the present invention, the user can easily know the use time of the computer, and the use time can be extended by a simple input operation. It becomes possible.

Further, according to the power management apparatus of the third and fourth configurations of the present invention, it is possible to appropriately set the available time and the various control objects in the early stage of the operation of the computer without requesting the setting by the user. Appropriate distribution of power becomes possible.

Further, according to the power management apparatus having the fifth to eighth configurations of the present invention, when the extension of the use time of the computer is instructed, the order of the control targets for reducing the power consumption is appropriately controlled. Can be.

According to the power management apparatus having the ninth configuration of the present invention, when an instruction to extend the use time of the computer is issued, the limit of the reduction of the power consumption of the control target is set based on the usage history of the user. The user does not feel lacking in the function because it is determined and controlled.

Further, according to the power management apparatus having the tenth configuration of the present invention, the number of parts can be reduced because one microcontroller is used for both battery charge / discharge control of the power supply unit and management of power consumption of the control target. And power consumption can be saved.

[Brief description of the drawings]

FIG. 1 is a diagram showing a configuration of a power management device of the present invention.

FIG. 2 is a diagram illustrating an appearance of a personal computer equipped with the power management device of the present invention.

FIG. 3 is a flowchart illustrating an example of an algorithm for reducing power consumption of the power management apparatus of the present invention.

FIG. 4 is a flowchart illustrating an example of an algorithm for reducing power consumption of the power management apparatus of the present invention.

FIG. 5 is a flowchart illustrating an example of an algorithm for reducing power consumption of the power management apparatus of the present invention.

FIG. 6 is a flowchart illustrating an example of an algorithm using feedback by brightness adjustment of the power management apparatus of the present invention.

FIG. 7 is a flowchart illustrating an example of a power consumption reduction algorithm that enables a policy change of the power management apparatus of the present invention.

[Explanation of symbols]

1 display unit, 2 input unit, 3 power supply unit, 4 control unit, 5
Main logic.

──────────────────────────────────────────────────の Continued on the front page (51) Int.Cl. ⁶ Identification code FIG06F 1/00 333Z

Claims (10)

[Claims] 1. A mechanism for managing power consumption of a battery-powered personal computer, comprising: a display unit for displaying a current operable time; and a user for extending or shortening the operation time or controlling power consumption. A power management apparatus, comprising: an input unit for instructing a change in power, and a control unit for controlling power consumption of a control target in response to an instruction input to the input unit. 2. The control unit according to claim 1, wherein the control unit reduces power consumption of one of the control targets in response to an operation time extension instruction input to the input unit, and reduces the power consumption of any of the control targets in response to the operation time reduction instruction input. 2. The power management apparatus according to claim 1, wherein the power management apparatus increases power consumption and changes a control target whose power consumption is reduced or increased in accordance with a control target change instruction input. 3. The power management device according to claim 1, wherein the control unit stores a default value for determining power consumption of each control target in an initial operation of the personal computer. 4. The control unit according to claim 3, wherein the control unit stores the power consumption of each control target when the user does not give an instruction input to the input unit for a predetermined time, and uses the power consumption as a next default value. Power management device. 5. The control unit according to claim 1, wherein the control unit stores a priority list for determining a priority order of a control target for reducing power consumption in response to an operation time extension instruction to the input unit. Power management device. 6. The power management according to claim 5, wherein the control unit changes the order of the priority list when the user inputs an instruction to shorten the operation time or an instruction to change the control target because the user feels the processing capacity is insufficient. apparatus. 7. The control unit according to claim 5, wherein the control unit lowers the order of the priority list of the control target that has received the operation time reduction instruction input instruction or the control target change instruction input to the input unit in a short time after the power consumption is reduced. Power management device. 8. The control unit according to claim 6, wherein, after the power consumption is reduced, the priority list of the control target having a large number of times of receiving the instruction to shorten the operation time or the instruction to change the control target to the input unit is lowered. Power management device. 9. The control unit according to claim 1, wherein the control unit gradually reduces the power consumption of the control target, and when the user inputs an instruction to shorten the operation time or an instruction to change the control target to the input unit. 2. The power consumption is controlled by detecting and storing a processing capacity and using the detected processing capacity as a lower limit of power reduction of the control target.
Or the power management device according to claim 2. 10. The power management device according to claim 1, wherein the control unit also uses the microcontroller as a microcontroller for controlling charging and discharging of a power supply.