Patent Publication Number: US-9892668-B2

Title: Screen resize for reducing power consumption

Description:
TECHNICAL BACKGROUND 
     Portable electronic devices, such as smartphones and tablets, are becoming very prevalent. Most of these devices include displays for presenting visual information, such as a graphical user interface and media content. Some displays are also touchscreens capable of receiving user input. A user may operate a device to view media, browse the Internet, check email, exchange messages, and execute applications. 
     Many of these devices are battery powered and are, therefore, limited to the amount of power stored in the batteries to operate. While processing circuitry in the device uses some of the power to operate the device, the displays for these devices also use a large portion of the power when in operation. Typically, a user can lower the brightness of the display in order to use less battery power. Even though lowering the brightness of a display can extend the battery life of an electronic device, lowering the brightness may not extend the battery life as long as a user desires. 
     Overview 
     Embodiments disclosed herein provide systems, methods, and software for dynamically managing power consumption of a device with a display. In particular, the size of the viewable area of the display may be dynamically controlled and portions of the display may be deactivated to reduce power consumption. The resizing of the viewable area of a screen may also reduce the number of applications running, thereby reducing power consumption. An indication of the amount of operation time, battery indicator, and/or energy left in the battery may be presented based at least in part on the dynamic resize of the display. 
    
    
     
       BRIEF DESCRIPTION OF THE DRAWINGS 
         FIG. 1  illustrates a user interface display according to an example. 
         FIG. 2  illustrates a method of operation of the computing device. 
         FIG. 3  illustrates a computing device according to an example. 
         FIG. 4  illustrates a user interface display resize according to an example. 
         FIG. 5  illustrates a user interface display resize according to an example. 
         FIG. 6  illustrates a user interface changing to a mobile view according to an example. 
         FIG. 7  illustrates a user interface with battery life indication according to an example. 
     
    
    
     DETAILED DESCRIPTION 
     The following description and associated figures teach the best mode of the invention. For the purpose of teaching inventive principles, some conventional aspects of the best mode may be simplified or omitted. The following claims specify the scope of the invention. Note that some aspects of the best mode may not fall within the scope of the invention as specified by the claims. Thus, those skilled in the art will appreciate variations from the best mode that fall within the scope of the invention. Those skilled in the art will appreciate that the features described below can be combined in various ways to form multiple variations of the invention. As a result, the invention is not limited to the specific examples described below, but only by the claims and their equivalents. 
       FIG. 1  illustrates computing device  100 . Computing device  100  includes hardware processing circuitry for executing software instructions and memory for storing those software instructions. Computing device  100  may further include a display  110 , speaker, microphone, buttons, keyboard, network adaptor, wireless communication radio, GPS receiver, accelerometer, or any other hardware-computing element—including combinations thereof. Computing device  100  may be a telephone, personal computer, laptop, e-book reader, mobile Internet appliance, wireless network interface card, media player, game console, or some other computing apparatus—including combinations thereof. 
     Display  110  may include a viewable area  120 , which may include the entire display, or some portion of the display  110 . Viewable area  120  may include visual icons of applications, pictures, menus, or other depictions. 
     As shown, the viewable area may change to a different size viewable area  130 . The remainder of display  110  may be blank, black, and/or not energized, engaged, or off. By reducing the viewable area and not using the remainder of display  110 , the power consumption of computing device  100  may be reduced. 
     If computing device  100  is using battery power, the battery life may increase in response to the viewable area of the display being reduced. It will be appreciated that although a computing device is shown, the device with display  110  may be only a display, such as a portable DVD player screen or other device, which may not include a processor. 
       FIG. 2  illustrates the operation of computing device  100  in resizing the viewable area  120  to conserve power. Computing device  100  presents a first viewable area  120  on display  110  (step  200 ). Display  110  may be a liquid crystal display (LCD), light emitting diode (LED), organic LED (OLED), plasma, or some other type of display technology. Viewable area  120  may include the entire display  110  or a portion of the display  110 . Viewable area  120  may display a graphical user interface for computing device  100 , media playback, application information, or any other type of displayable information, including combinations thereof. 
     Next, computing device  100  resizes first viewable area  120  (step  210 ). Computing device  100  may resize first viewable area  120  in response to a user input indicating parameters to which the display should be resized. The user input may include indicating a desired viewable area size on a touch screen using a user&#39;s fingers or a stylus, entering viewable area parameters into a hardware or software keyboard, receiving parameters over a communication network, using preinstalled parameters, or any other method of receiving parameters into a computing device. In a particular example, a user may pinch first viewable area  120  to the desired viewable area size and/or location on display  110 . 
     In some embodiments, computing device  100  may resize first viewable area  120  automatically upon a trigger condition. For example, a battery life trigger may be set in computing device  100  that triggers computing device  100  to resize first viewable area  120  at a threshold level of battery life. The viewable area may be resized to parameters already stored in computing device  100  that were previously received from a user or elsewhere, or computing device  100  may prompt a user for resizing parameters upon activation of the trigger. 
     Thereafter, computing device  100  presents the resized second viewable area  130  (step  220 ). Second viewable area  130  is typically smaller than the first viewable area  120 . When the viewable area is resized  220 , size and location of the second viewable area  130  may be determined either from a received user input or as suggested by computing device  100 . In some embodiments, the display information being presented in first viewable area  120  may be scaled to fit in second viewable area  130 . Alternatively, the display information for applications in use on computing device  100  may be reformatted to more effectively display application information in second viewable area  130 . For example, one or more displayed applications may display less functionality in order to fit into second viewable area  130 . The displayed applications and their functionalities may be selected by a user or determined by computing device  100 . Execution of other applications may be terminated either automatically by computing device  100  or at the request of a user. 
     In another alternative, second viewable area  130  may display a portion of first viewable area  120 . Second viewable area  130  may then be moved around display  110  by a user in order for the user to view other portions of viewable area  120 . In further embodiments, first viewable area  120  may display a larger format version of an application, such as a tablet computer version, and then second viewable area  130  may display a smaller format version of the same application, such as a smartphone version. In those embodiments, the size of viewable areas  120  and  130  may be determined based on resolution requirements of the two different application formats. 
     In yet another example, computing device  100  may display selected applications in second viewable area  130 . Before or after providing parameters for second viewable area  130 , the user may select one or more applications from a list of applications available/installed computing device  100 . A user may use various methods to select the one or more applications. For example, the application selection may be performed by selecting applications from a list, checking a check box associated with each application, long pressing an application and then drag and drop the selected application in second viewable area  130 , or any other way that a user can indicate a selection on a computing device. In some cases, the user may predefine a set of applications that should be used when computing device  100  is operating with a reduced viewable area. Once the applications are selected, computing device  100  automatically force closes, switches off, or otherwise ends execution of any unselected applications. The selected applications are then viewed in the second viewable area  130 . 
     In a specific example, a user first selects second viewable area  130  and then selects essential applications like a dial/number pad application, a messaging application, and date/time application to be active and displayed in second viewable area  130 . All other applications, such as email, GPS, WiFi, or Data Packets exchanges, are then force closed or prevented from further executing on computing device  100 . Reducing the number of executing applications reduces the processing power required to execute those applications thereby further enhancing the remaining battery life of computing device  100 . 
     After presenting second viewable area  130 , computer device  100  deactivates the area of display  110  outside of second viewable area  130  (step  230 ). The method used to deactivate the area of display  110  may vary depending on the display technology  110 . For example, an OLED may be able to turn off pixels in the area outside of second viewable area  130 . Likewise, an LCD may turn off pixels in the area outside of second viewable area  130  and adjust the backlight of the LCD so that the backlight does not use power to illuminate disabled pixels. Deactivating pixels in display  110  allows display  110  to use less power than would be used if those pixels were functioning. 
     In some embodiments, a power level indication, such as battery life remaining, is indicated based at least in part on the second resized viewable area  130  and/or running applications on the device  100 . The power level indication may be displayed anywhere in a viewable area of display  110  or on an alternative display element of computing device  100 , such as a dedicated battery life LED. The power level indication may be provided after second viewable area  130  is displayed. Alternatively, the power indication may be displayed and adjusted as a user indicates parameters to resize first viewable area  120 . This allows a user to adjust the parameters for second viewable area  130  until the user is satisfied with the power level indication. For example, computing device  100  may display that battery life remaining is 15 minutes but a user needs 45 minutes worth of battery life to complete a task. The user may then enter resize parameters until the battery life is indicated as 45 minutes. Computing device  100  then displays second viewable area  130  based on those parameters. 
     This system and method reduces user input to close the running applications in order to save battery drainage and thus increase efficiency of the system. This system and method also provides the user to select multiple screen sizes and set a screen size based on the user desired power savings and/or remaining battery life. It should be understood that the above method can apply to any type of device that is able to resize a viewable area of a display. Thus, while many of the embodiments below pertain to wireless communication devices, such as smartphones, the method also applies to desktop computers, gaming systems, and other display devices. 
       FIG. 3  illustrates computing device  300 . Computing device  300  is an example of computing device  100  or wireless devices, portable devices, and/or display devices, and/or combinations thereof, although alternative configurations are also included. Computing device  300  comprises communication interface  301 , user interface  302 , and processing system  303 . Processing system  303  is linked to communication interface  301  and user interface  302 . Processing system  303  includes processing circuitry  305  and memory device  306  that stores operating software  307 . Computing device  300  may include other well-known components such as a battery and enclosure that are not shown for clarity. Computing device  300  may be a telephone, computer, e-book reader, mobile Internet appliance, media player, game console, wireless network interface card, or some other device with a display, including combinations thereof. 
     Communication interface  301  comprises components that communicate over communication links, such as network cards, ports, RF transceivers, processing circuitry and software, or some other communication devices. Communication interface  301  may be configured to communicate over metallic, wireless, or optical links. Communication interface  301  may be configured to use TDM, IP, Ethernet, optical networking, wireless protocols, communication signaling, or some other communication format, including combinations thereof. 
     User interface  302  comprises components that interact with a user to receive user inputs and to present media and/or information. User interface  302  may include a speaker, microphone, buttons, lights, display screen, touch screen, touch pad, scroll wheel, communication port, or some other user input/output apparatus, including combinations thereof. User interface  302  may be omitted in some examples. 
     Processing circuitry  305  comprises microprocessor and other circuitry that retrieves and executes operating software  307  from memory device  306 . Memory device  306  comprises a non-transitory storage medium, such as a disk drive, flash drive, data storage circuitry, or some other memory apparatus. Processing circuitry  305  is typically mounted on a circuit board that may also hold memory device  306  and portions of communication interface  301  and user interface  302 . Operating software  307  comprises computer programs, firmware, or some other form of machine-readable processing instructions. 
     Operating software  307  includes display control module  308  and power control module  309 . Operating software  307  may further include an operating system, utilities, drivers, network interfaces, applications, or some other type of software. When executed by processing circuitry  305 , operating software  307  directs processing system  303  to operate computing device  300  as described herein. 
     In particular, display control module  308  directs processing system  303  to receive a condition, the occurrence of which indicates the viewable area on a display on computing device  300  has been resized and power control module  309  should indicate a change in power/battery life based on the change. 
     Display control module  308  may be part of the operating system of computing device  300 , the application installed on computing device  300 , a different application on computing device  300 , or some other independent software component. Though shown separately, power control module  309  may be incorporated into display control module  308 . 
       FIG. 4  is an illustration of a display resize according to an example. Display  400  may have a first viewable area  410 . Display  400  may also show an application  415  which is entirely viewable within first viewable area  410 , and can be currently executing on the device. 
     The viewable area may be resized to a smaller, second viewable area  420 . One method of achieving the resize may include resizing the viewable area such that the application  415  is still viewable and running, but maybe smaller than in first viewable area  410 . In this example, everything viewable within first viewable area  410  may also be viewable within second viewable area  420 . 
     The energy saving in this example may be only from the reduced area of display  400  which may not be illuminated or energized. Other methods may also be employable, such as the example in  FIG. 5 . 
       FIG. 5  is an illustration of another method of resizing a display according to another example. In this example display  500  may include a first viewable area  510 , which shows an icon for an application  515 . When the viewable area is resized to a second viewable area  520 , only a portion of the application icon  515  may be viewable. 
     Other applications that are not now visible within the second viewable area  520  may also be turned off or otherwise shutdown to further save power. In this example, power may be saved by shutting down previously viewable and running applications, and by powering only a portion of the display  500 . The status of the applications may be changed to indicate they should be deactivated or any other change to the applications&#39; status. This may be included in the resizing of the viewable area. 
     In this example only viewable applications in the second viewable area may remain running. In this example, the user may select the screen size and the application to remain running on the device. This may save the user time and make it easier for the user to save power on the device. 
       FIG. 6  illustrates another example in which a display  600  may be resized to save power. Display  600  may include a first viewable area  610 , which may be a viewable area and display configured generally for a tablet computer. Within viewable area  610  may be an application icon  615  and a menu bar  616 . In this example menu bar  616  includes 5 menu choices. 
     When the viewable area  610  is resized, the second viewable area  620  may be generally configured for a mobile telephone or other device with a generally smaller display area. As shown, the icon for application  615  may be resized smaller, and menu bar  619  only includes 3 menu choices instead of 5. 
     The second viewable area will include menus, applications, and other characteristics of a device with a generally smaller display. This may be one manner in which power is conserved, along with reducing the amount of display used and/or powered. This may also reduce the number of applications running on the device. 
       FIG. 7  shows another example of a method for resizing a display, according to an example. Display  700  includes a first viewable area  710 . Viewable within first viewable area  710  may be an application  715 , and a power, and/or battery life indicator  712 . Battery life indicator  712  may indicate time remaining of battery life based at least in part on the first viewable area  710  being energized, powered, activated, and/or viewable. In this example, battery life indicator  712  indicates 20 minutes of battery life remaining. 
     The viewable area may be resized to a second viewable area  720 . As shown, application  715  may still be viewable within second viewable area  720 , as well as a battery life indicator  722 . Once resized, battery life indicator  720  may indicate that a greater amount of battery life time is remaining based at least in part on the second viewable area, and any application(s), menus, or other items being shut down. In this example, battery life indicator  720  indicates that there are now 50 minutes of battery life remaining. 
     With this system and method, a user may be able to use the battery life indicator to decide how much to resize the viewable area to achieve a percentage of battery remaining, or a time until the battery will no longer be able to power the display  700 . This may provide the user with indications of the battery life change based on the display resize. This provides the user with flexibility in that the user may choose the display size wanted, or the battery life remaining, to achieve the desired result. 
     There are many methods for resizing a display and conserving power. These examples are only a few of the many ways to achieve these results. All methods and system for resizing a display and conserving power are intended to be encompassed by this disclosure. 
     The above description and associated figures teach the best mode of the invention. The following claims specify the scope of the invention. Note that some aspects of the best mode may not fall within the scope of the invention as specified by the claims. Those skilled in the art will appreciate that the features described above can be combined in various ways to form multiple variations of the invention. As a result, the invention is not limited to the specific embodiments described above, but only by the following claims and their equivalents.