Patent Abstract:
An electronic device includes a power managing unit configured to supply power to the electronic device. A receiver adapted to receive program signals, wherein the program signals comprises at least one composite video signal. A processor configured for obtaining the composite video signal from the program signals according to a selected program/channel, and processing the composite video signal to directly output the composite video signal. An automatic turnoff unit electrically connected to the processor and the power managing unit, configured to detect whether the composite video signal has been interrupted for a predetermined time interval and control the power managing unit to power off the electronic device if the composite video signal has been interrupted for the predetermined time interval. A related automatic turnoff method for automatically turning off an electronic device is also disclosed.

Full Description:
BACKGROUND  
       [0001]    1. Technical Field 
         [0002]    The present disclosure generally relates to electronic devices, and particularly to automatic turnoff methods used by electronic devices. 
         [0003]    2. Description of Related Art 
         [0004]    Electronic devices such as televisions, computers, audio and video players, and mobile phones, are now very commonly used. People often like to watch television, download large files on a computer, or listen to music when they are going to sleep. However, they may fall asleep while the device is still playing. The electronic device may continue operating even when the program has finished playing this can waste power/energy. 
         [0005]    Therefore, an electronic device and an automatic turnoff method for the electronic device are needed in the industry to address the aforementioned problem. 
     
    
     
       BRIEF DESCRIPTION OF THE DRAWINGS  
         [0006]    Many aspects of the present electronic device and the present automatic turnoff method can be better understood with reference to following drawings. Components in the drawings are not necessarily to scale, emphasis instead being placed upon clearly illustrating the principles of the present device. Moreover, in the drawings, like reference numerals designate corresponding parts throughout the two views. 
           [0007]      FIG. 1  is a block diagram of an electronic device in accordance with an exemplary embodiment. 
           [0008]      FIG. 2  is a flowchart illustrating an automatic turnoff method in accordance with an exemplary embodiment. 
       
    
    
     DETAILED DESCRIPTION  
       [0009]    Reference will now be made to the drawings to describe an exemplary embodiment of the present electronic device and an exemplary embodiment of the present automatic turnoff method for automatically turning off the electronic device. 
         [0010]    Referring to  FIG. 1 , a block diagram of an electronic device  100  in accordance with an exemplary embodiment is shown. The electronic device  100  includes a receiver  10 , a processor  20 , a memory  30 , an output unit  40 , a power managing unit  50  and an automatic turnoff unit  60 . 
         [0011]    The memory  30  stores an operating system, a plurality of applications, a predetermined time interval, and a plurality of default parameters, such as a predetermined luminance value. The operating system (e.g., LINUX®, UNIX®, or an embedded operating system such as VxWorks®) includes various procedures, sets of instructions, software components and/or drivers for controlling and managing general system tasks (e.g., memory management, storage device control, and power management, etc.) and facilitating communication between various hardware and software components. 
         [0012]    The electronic device  100  may be a television apparatus, a computer, an audio or video player. In this embodiment, the electronic device  100  is a television apparatus (hereinafter, TV). The receiver  10  is used for receiving TV signals, which may be transmitted in a wired or wireless manner. The TV signals include a composite video signal and an audio signal. The composite video signal includes sync, luminance, black and white, and color information. 
         [0013]    The processor  20  is used to obtain the composite video signal and the audio signal from the received TV signals corresponding to a selected program or channel, and to process the composite video signal and the audio signal such that the composite video signal and the audio signal are capable of being directly output by the output unit  40 . When the receiver  10  receives no TV signal for a predetermined time interval, such as 60 seconds, the processor  20  obtains no composite video signal and no audio signal for 60 seconds, the processor  20  can conclude the TV may need to be turned off. 
         [0014]    The output unit  40  is used to output the composite video signal and audio signal that is processed by the processor  20 . In the embodiment, the output unit  30  includes a display  410  and a loudspeaker  420 . The display  410  is configured to display the processed composite video signal, and the loudspeaker  420  is configured to output the audio signal synchronously. 
         [0015]    The power managing module  50  is configured to obtain voltage from a power supply (not shown) and power the voltage to the TV  100 . 
         [0016]    The automatic turnoff module  60  is electrically coupled to the processor  20  and the power managing unit  50 , includes a detecting module  620 , a timer  640 , and a control module  660 . 
         [0017]    The detecting module  420  is configured to detect whether a composite video signal has been interrupted, and generate a detecting signal if the composite video has been interrupted. In the embodiment, when the receiver  10  receives no TV signal, the processor  20  obtains no composite video signals, and an interrupt of the composite video signal is said to have occurred. It is noteworthy that when the luminance value of the composite video signal is lower than a predetermined value, the composite video signal is also read as interrupted. 
         [0018]    The timer  440  is configured to time and signal the end of the predetermined time interval by outputting a time end signal to the control module  460 . 
         [0019]    The control module  460  is configured to generate a turnoff signal in response to the time end signal, and control the power managing module  50  to power off the TV  100  according to turnoff signal. In detail, when the detecting module  720  detects that the composite video signal has been interrupted, the timer  740  times the time interval and sends the time end signal to the control module  660 , and the control module  660  generates a turnoff signal to turn-off the power managing module  50 , thereby automatically turning off the TV  100 . If the composite video signal has been interrupted for the predetermined time interval. 
         [0020]    Furthermore, the automatic turnoff unit  60  further comprises a warning module  680 , the memory  30  further stores a warning file. The warning file includes various instructions being executed by the processor  20  of the TV  100  to warn a user that a special situation occurs. The warning module  680  is used for generating a warning signal and sending the warning signal to the processor  20  based on the warning file when the composite video signal has been interrupted. The warning signal may be an audible signal sound or an indication query “Are you falling asleep?” The processor  20  controls the loudspeaker  440  set in the TV  100  to output the audio signal to warn the sleeping user that the composite video signal has been interrupted. In additional, the volume of the audible sound should be low enough that a sleeping user is not awakened. It is noteworthy that the warning signal can also be a visible signal. For example, the warning signal may be a cartoon or some other pleasing image asking “Are you falling asleep?”, and the processor  20  may control the display  410  to output the visible signal. If the user is not asleep or has not left, he or she may follow a direction or directions displayed on the display unit  410  to respond to the warning signal via an input unit (not shown), such as a remote controller. 
         [0021]    Referring to  FIG. 2 , a flow chart for an automatic turnoff method is shown in accordance with an exemplary embodiment. The automatic turnoff method is for automatically turning off the TV  100 . The automatic turnoff method includes the following steps. 
         [0022]    At step S 210 , the receiver  10  receives a TV signal, the TV signal includes a composite video signal and an audio signal. 
         [0023]    At step S 220 , the processor  20  obtains the corresponding audio signal and the composite video signal from the received TV signal according to a selected program or channel. 
         [0024]    At step S 230 , the processor  20  processes the audio signal and composite video signal such that the output unit  40  is capable of directly outputting the audio signal and composite video signal. 
         [0025]    At step S 240 , the processor  20  further controls the output unit  40  and synchronously outputs the audio signal and the composite video signal that has been processed by the processor  20 . 
         [0026]    At step S 250 , the detecting module  620  detects whether the composite video signal has been interrupted, if no, the procedure returns to S 250 , and if yes, the detecting module  620  further generates a detecting signal to the control module  660 , and the procedure goes to step S 260 . 
         [0027]    At step S 260 , if there is a detecting signal generated, the control module  660  controls the timer  640 , to time and signal the end of the predetermined time interval by outputting a time end signal. 
         [0028]    At step S 270 , the control module  660  judges whether the time end signal is received, if no, the procedure returns to step S 250 , and if yes, the composite video signal has been interrupted for the predetermined time interval, the procedure goes to step S 280 . 
         [0029]    At step S 280 , the control module  660  generates a turnoff signal to control the power managing unit  50  power off the TV  100 . 
         [0030]    As described above, by virtue of the TV  100  and the automatic turnoff method applied thereon, when the composite video signal has been interrupted for a predetermined time interval, the TV  100  is automatically turned off even if a the user is sleeping or not, to save electrical power. 
         [0031]    It should be noted that the various steps in the method illustrated in  FIG. 2  may be performed in the order presented, or may be performed in a different order. Furthermore, in some embodiments, some steps can be added to the method, for example, when the detecting module  620  generates a detecting signal to the control module  660 , the control module  660  controls the warning module  680  to generate a warning signal to the processor  20 . The processor  20  controls the display  420  and/or the loudspeaker  440  to output a warning signal, such as a visual signal, an audio signal, or a combination of the visual signal and audio signal, to warn the user that the composite video signal has been interrupted. 
         [0032]    It should be emphasized that the above-described preferred embodiment, is merely a possible example of implementation of the principles of the disclosure, and is merely set forth for a clear understanding of the principles of the disclosure. Many variations and modifications may be made to the above-described embodiment of the invention without departing substantially from the spirit and principles of the disclosure. All such modifications and variations are intended to be included herein within the scope of this disclosure and be protected by the following claims.

Technology Classification (CPC): 7