Sensor-based display power control systems and methods

Abstract

This disclosure describes systems and methods associated with selectively powering an electronic display in response to sensing data indicating that the electronic display is invisible. By selectively enabling the electronic display between power states based on whether the electronic display is visible, a perceptibly always-on electronic display can be provided without the need for the electronic display to be always on, consumer interests are thus balanced with the technical requirements of relatively long battery life and corresponding low power consumption.

Description

Background Art

[0001] The present disclosure relates generally to electronic device operations, and more particularly to power management operations of electronic devices.

[0002] Electronic devices typically use one or more electronic displays to present visual representations of information, such as text, static images, and / or video, by displaying one or more images (e.g., image frames). For example, such electronic devices may include computers, mobile phones, portable media devices, tablet computers, televisions, virtual reality headsets, and vehicle dashboards, among many other types of devices. In any case, to display an image, an electronic display may control the light emission (e.g., brightness, luminance, color) of its display pixels based, at least in part, on corresponding image data.

[0003] In some cases, when an electronic device is powered on, its electronic display may have the ability to be selectively powered on or off. When powered on (i.e., in a powered-on state), the electronic display may display an image. However, the electronic display generally consumes more power when powered on than when the electronic display is powered off (i.e., in a powered-off state). Therefore, extending the duration that the electronic display is powered on may extend the time that a person may view an image on the display, but doing so may consume more power. This may be a particular concern for wearable and / or portable electronic devices having batteries that store limited electrical energy.

[0004] In order to reduce power consumption, the electronic device may operate in an always-on display operation mode, during which the electronic display may be operated to always present image frames. In practice, the image frames may be pre-rendered by an image data source (i.e., an image source) and stored in a memory. The electronic device may enter the always-on display operation mode based on the pre-rendering of the image frames. Once the image frames are pre-rendered, the electronic device may power off the image source to reduce the total amount of power consumed by the electronic device, and the pre-rendered image frames may be read from the memory at a later time, regardless of whether the image source is powered on. The always-on display operation mode may improve the user experience of the electronic device, and therefore it may be desirable for the electronic device to have an always-on display. However, doing so may result in relatively high power costs, because the electronic display may always be presenting image data even when the user is not visible. Summary of the invention

[0005] The following describes a summary of certain embodiments disclosed herein. It should be understood that these aspects are presented only to provide the reader with a concise summary of these specific embodiments, and these aspects are not intended to limit the scope of the present disclosure. In fact, the present disclosure may encompass a number of aspects that may not be described below.

[0006] In one embodiment, a system may include an electronic display that can be powered off. The system may include a condition preprocessor that, when the electronic display is powered off, may generate a first signal indicating that one or more sensors generated sensed data corresponding to the electronic display being visible at a future time. The system may also include processing circuitry that receives the first signal from the condition preprocessor and returns power to the electronic display based on the first signal before the future time.

[0007] In effect, the electronic display may render an image corresponding to a de-contexted image frame associated with the always-on display operating mode before a future time.

[0008] The conditional pre-processor may generate the first signal based on a second signal from an associated electronic device.

[0009] The one or more sensors may include an accelerometer, wherein the condition pre-processor may generate the first signal based on the accelerometer detecting a change in a motion pattern.

[0010] The condition pre-processor may generate the first signal based on the ambient light sensor sensing an ambient light level below a threshold.

[0011] The condition pre-processor may generate a third signal based on the accelerometer sensing motion corresponding to the electronic display being hidden.

[0012] The processing circuit may generate a first control signal to cut power to the electronic display and may generate a second control signal to power on the electronic display before the predicted future time.

[0013] In some cases, the system includes a sensor. When the system includes the sensor, the condition preprocessor may receive a second signal from the sensor indicating the surrounding environment. The condition preprocessor may determine that the second signal indicates a first condition associated with the electronic display being visible at the future time. The condition preprocessor may verify the first condition based on one or more additional signals, and may generate the first signal in response to verifying the first condition.

[0014] Sometimes, the conditional pre-processor generates the first signal based on a motion signature that indicates one or more sensed signals corresponding to a motion pattern.

[0015] In another embodiment, a method may include: receiving a first signal from a conditional preprocessor indicating that an electronic display is not in use; generating a first control signal based on the first signal to cut off power to the electronic display; receiving a second signal from one or more sensors from the conditional preprocessor, the second signal corresponding to the electronic display being visible at a future time; and generating a second control signal based on the second signal to power the electronic display before the future time.

[0016] The method may further include pausing the flip book based on the first signal.Then, the method may further include discarding the remaining portion of the paused flip book based on the second signal and the predicted future time.

[0017] The method may include determining to enter an inhibit mode based on the first signal. In response to determining to enter the inhibit mode, the method may include generating the first control signal based on the first signal.

[0018] The one or more sensors may include an accelerometer, wherein the second signal is generated based on the accelerometer generating sensed data corresponding to a change in the motion pattern.

[0019] In some cases, the first signal is generated based on the one or more sensors detecting a period of non-use of the electronic display.

[0020] The one or more sensors may be an inertial measurement unit (IMU), a proximity sensor, a radio frequency (RF) sensor, a pressure sensor, a temperature sensor, an ultrasonic sensor, an infrared sensor, a motion detection sensor, a gyroscope, a humidity sensor, an audio sensor, or any combination thereof.

[0021] In yet another embodiment, a tangible, non-transitory computer-readable medium includes instructions that, when executed by one or more processors, may cause an electronic device to perform operations including receiving a first signal. The first signal may instruct a sensor to generate sensing data corresponding to an electronic display of the electronic device being visible at a future time. The operations may include generating a first control signal based on the first signal to power the electronic display before the future time, and sending the first control signal to a power supply of the electronic display.

[0022] In some cases, the first signal is generated based on motion data. In some cases, the first signal is generated based on detecting an associated electronic device. In some cases, the first signal is generated based on signals generated by multiple sensors.

[0023] In some embodiments, the operations include receiving a second signal indicating to cut off the power of the electronic display. The operations may also include generating a second control signal based on the second signal to cut off the power of the electronic display before receiving the first signal.

[0024] In yet another embodiment, a system may include an electronic display that may be powered off as part of an inhibition operation. The system may include a conditional preprocessor that, when the electronic display is powered off, generates a first signal indicating that the electronic display is predicted to be visible at a future time. The system may also include a processing circuit that determines to inhibit the electronic display. The processing circuit may generate a first control signal to power off the electronic display based on the determination to inhibit the electronic display, and the first control signal may cause a power supply to remove a first amount of power from the electronic display. The processing circuit may send the first control signal to the power supply and may receive the first signal from the conditional preprocessor. The processing circuit may return the first amount of power to the electronic display based on the first signal before the predicted future time.

[0025] In some cases, the conditional preprocessor may also generate the first signal based on a machine learning engine predicting an unused period of the electronic display. In these cases, the processing circuit may also receive a second signal from the conditional preprocessor, and may return a second amount of power to the electronic display based on the first signal and the second signal before the predicted future time. The second amount of power may be different from the first amount of power. In addition, in these cases, the electronic display may render an image corresponding to a de-contented image frame associated with an always-on display operation mode after the second amount of power is returned. In addition, in these cases, the processing circuit may also receive a third signal from the conditional preprocessor, and may generate a second control signal based on the third signal to power off the electronic display. The second control signal may cause the power supply device to remove the second amount of power. The processing circuit may also generate a third control signal based on the first signal, the second signal, the third signal, or a combination thereof before the predicted future time to return the first amount of power to the electronic display. Additionally, in these cases, the conditional preprocessor may also generate the second signal based on determining whether the electronic display has been suppressed in the past threshold amount of time, determining whether the electronic display is expected to not be suppressed within a first threshold amount of time from the predicted future time, determining whether the electronic display was unlocked for a second threshold amount of time when suppressed, determining whether the electronic display was unlocked a threshold number of times when suppressed, or any combination thereof. Additionally, in these cases, the conditional preprocessor may also generate the second control signal based on determining that the electronic display has not been suppressed in the past threshold amount of time, determining that the electronic display is expected to be suppressed within a first threshold amount of time from the predicted future time, determining that the electronic display was not unlocked for a second threshold amount of time when suppressed, and determining that the electronic display was not unlocked a threshold number of times when suppressed.

[0026] In some cases, the conditional preprocessor may generate the first signal based on a motion signature indicating one or more sensed signals corresponding to a motion pattern. In some cases, the processing circuit may determine to suppress the electronic display based on receiving a first indication of entering a low-power mode, a second indication that an associated electronic display is no longer a threshold distance from a sensor, a third indication that the electronic display is obscured, a fourth indication of inactivity, or any combination thereof.

[0027] In another embodiment, a method may include receiving a first signal from a condition preprocessor indicating that an electronic display is not being used. The method may include generating a first control signal based on the first signal to cut off power to the electronic display. The method may also include receiving a second signal from the condition preprocessor indicating that the electronic display is predicted to be visible at a first future time. The method may also include generating a second control signal based on the second signal to power the electronic display before the first future time.

[0028] In some cases, the method may include pausing the flip book based on the first signal, and discarding a remaining portion of the paused flip book based on the second signal and the first future time.

[0029] In some cases, the method may include determining to enter an inhibit mode based on the first signal, and in response to determining to enter the inhibit mode, generating the first control signal based on the first signal.

[0030] In some cases, the second signal is generated based on projected user activity data including calendar event data, alarm data, or both.In some cases, the first signal is generated based on a period of non-use of the electronic display.

[0031] In some cases, the method may include receiving a third signal from the condition preprocessor indicating that the electronic display is predicted to be visible at a second future time before the first future time. The method may include generating a third control signal based on the third signal to partially power the electronic display before the second future time. After the second future time, the method may include generating a fourth control signal to cut off power to the electronic display.

[0032] In yet another embodiment, a tangible, non-transitory computer-readable medium may include instructions that, when executed by one or more processors, cause an electronic device to perform operations. The operations may include receiving a first signal from a condition preprocessor indicating that an electronic display of the electronic device is predicted to be visible at a first future time. The operations may include generating a first control signal based on the first signal to power the electronic display before the first future time, and sending the first control signal to a power supply of the electronic display.

[0033] In some cases, the first signal may be generated based on a calendar entry.

[0034] In some cases, the operations may include receiving a second signal from the condition preprocessor indicating that the electronic display is predicted to be visible at a second future time before the first future time. The operations may include generating a third control signal based on the second signal to partially power the electronic display before the second future time. After the second future time, the operations may include generating a fourth control signal to cut off power to the electronic display.

[0035] In some cases, the operations may include generating the third control signal based on one or more sensing signals. The operations may include generating the fourth control signal based on: determining that the electronic display has not been inhibited in the past threshold amount of time, determining that the electronic display is expected to be inhibited within a first threshold amount of time from the first future time, determining that the electronic display has not been unlocked for a second threshold amount of time while inhibited, and determining that the electronic display has not been unlocked a threshold number of times while inhibited.

[0036] In some cases, these operations may include generating the first control signal based on: determining that the electronic display was suppressed for a past threshold amount of time, determining that the electronic display is expected to not be suppressed within a first threshold amount of time from the first future time, determining that the electronic display was unlocked for a second threshold amount of time when suppressed, determining that the electronic display was unlocked a threshold number of times when suppressed, or any combination thereof.

[0037] With respect to various aspects of the present disclosure, there may be various improvements to the above-mentioned features. Other features may also be incorporated into these various aspects. These improvements and additional features may exist individually or in any combination. For example, the various features discussed below with respect to one or more embodiments in the illustrated embodiments may be incorporated into any of the above-mentioned aspects of the present disclosure individually or in any combination. The brief summary presented above is intended only to familiarize the reader with certain aspects and contexts of the embodiments of the present disclosure, without limiting the claimed subject matter. BRIEF DESCRIPTION OF THE DRAWINGS

[0038] Various aspects of the present disclosure may be better understood upon reading the following detailed description and upon reference to the drawings described below, in which like reference numerals refer to like parts.

[0039] Figure 1 is a schematic block diagram of an electronic device according to an embodiment;

[0040] Figure 2 is a representation according to the implementation scheme Figure 1 A front view of a mobile phone as an example of an electronic device;

[0041] Figure 3 is a representation according to the implementation scheme Figure 1 A front view of an example tablet device of an electronic device;

[0042] Figure 4 is a representation according to the implementation scheme Figure 1 An example of an electronic device is a front view of a laptop computer;

[0043] Figure 5 is a representation according to the implementation scheme Figure 1 A front view and a side view of a watch of an example of an electronic device;

[0044] Figure 6 According to the implementation plan Figure 1 A graphical representation of example power states of an electronic device;

[0045] Figure 7 According to the implementation plan Figure 1 a block diagram of a portion of an electronic device;

[0046] Figure 8 According to the implementation plan, Figure 7 A flow chart of a method used by a suppression management system in determining entry and / or exit of a suppression mode of operation;

[0047] Fig. 9 According to the implementation plan, Figure 7 A flow chart of a method used by a suppression management system in determining to exit a suppression mode of operation;

[0048] Fig.10 According to the implementation plan, Figure 7 A flowchart of a first example method used by a conditional preprocessor of a processor when generating a conditional indication;

[0049] Fig.11 According to the implementation plan, Figure 7 A flowchart of a second example method used by a conditional preprocessor of when generating a conditional indication;

[0050] Fig.12 According to the implementation plan, Figure 7 A flowchart of a third example method used by a conditional preprocessor of when generating a conditional indication;

[0051] Fig.13 According to the implementation plan Figure 6 a block diagram of another example portion of an electronic device;

[0052] Fig.14 is a block diagram of a suppression management architecture according to an embodiment of the present invention, which can be combined with Figure 7 system, relative to Fig.13 Flipbook operation, always-on display operation, Figures 10 to 12 The conditions described indicate examples or any combination thereof;

[0053] Fig.15 According to the implementation plan, Figure 1 A flowchart of a method used by an electronic device when determining to enter and / or exit an inhibited operating mode based on an inhibit instruction and / or a condition indication;

[0054] Fig.16 According to the implementation plan Figure 1 A diagrammatic schematic diagram of how two or more condition sensors may interact when an electronic device of the invention is determining to enter an inhibited operating mode;

[0055] Fig.17 According to the implementation plan, Figure 1 A flowchart of a method used by an electronic device when determining to enter and / or exit an inhibited operating mode based on an inhibit instruction and / or a condition indication; and

[0056] Fig.18 According to the implementation plan, Figure 1 Flowchart of a method used by an electronic device in determining to re-enter an inhibition mode from an intermediate inhibition mode (e.g., a soft exit). DETAILED DESCRIPTION

[0057] One or more specific embodiments will be described below. In order to provide a brief description of these embodiments, not all features of an actual implementation are described in this specification. It should be understood that in the development of any such actual implementation, as in any engineering or design project, decisions specific to many implementations must be made to achieve the developer's specific goals, such as compliance with system-related and business-related constraints that may vary from one implementation to another. In addition, it should be understood that such development work may be complex and time-consuming, but it will still be a routine task of design, processing and manufacturing for those of ordinary skill in the art who benefit from this disclosure.

[0058] When introducing the elements of various embodiments of the present disclosure, the articles "one", "an" and "the" are intended to mean one or more elements present in the elements. The terms "include", "comprise" and "have" are intended to be inclusive, and mean that there may be additional elements other than the listed elements. Additionally, it should be understood that the reference to "one embodiment" or "embodiment" of the present disclosure is not intended to be interpreted as excluding the existence of additional embodiments that also incorporate the described features. In addition, specific features, structures or characteristics can be combined in any appropriate manner in one or more embodiments. The use of the terms "roughly", "close to", "about", "close to" and / or "substantially" should be understood to mean including close to a target (e.g., design, value and amount), such as within the limits of any suitable or conceivable error (e.g., within 0.1% of a target, within 1% of a target, within 5% of a target, within 10% of a target, within 25% of a target, etc.). Furthermore, it should be understood that any exact value, number, measurement, etc. provided herein is contemplated to include approximations of such exact value, number, measurement, etc. (eg, within a suitable or conceivable margin of error).

[0059] The present disclosure relates to controlling an electronic display of an electronic device operating in an always-on display mode to reduce the total power consumed by the electronic device. In detail, the electronic device may be configured as an always-on display mode. When turned on and operated in the always-on display mode, the electronic device may continuously display image frames. The presented image frames may be de-contented image frames. For example, instead of fully displaying a welcome screen of a normal configuration, the electronic display may only present a slowly updated clock, a widget with a reduced number relative to the normal mode, one or two digital content items, three or more digital content items, and the like. This operation may improve the user experience, but at the expense of battery consumption. In fact, an electronic device operating in an always-on display mode displays one or more image frames, while the electronic device may originally be in an idle or closed state. Although this may be desirable when the display is visible to the user, it may be undesirable for the always-on display to present image frames when it is not visible to the user due to the power cost associated with the operation. Therefore, it may be desirable to maximize the amount of time that the electronic display can be perceived by the user as always-on, while minimizing the total amount of power consumed by doing so.

[0060] The embodiments herein provide various devices and techniques to reduce the power consumed by an electronic device operating in an always-on display operation mode while maintaining the perception that the electronic display continues to operate in an always-on display mode. To this end, the embodiments disclosed herein use a suppression management system and a conditional preprocessor to control when the electronic display is powered on and when the electronic display is powered off. The suppression management system may receive a conditional indication from the conditional preprocessor. If the conditional indication indicates that the electronic display cannot be seen by the user, the suppression management system may instruct the display power supply device to remove power from the electronic display, thereby reducing the amount of power consumed by the electronic display when the electronic display is operating in the always-on display operation mode and cannot be seen by the user. In some cases, the suppression management system and / or the conditional preprocessor may predict when the electronic display will not be visible to the user. The prediction may be based on motion features, user habits learned via machine learning operations, calendar data, etc. In addition, these operations may be used in conjunction with a flip book operation mode to further reduce the power consumed by the electronic device when operating in the always-on display operation mode.

[0061] In some systems, the re-suppression mode can be used in combination with the suppression mode, both of which are implemented via the suppression management system and / or the condition preprocessor. The re-suppression mode can achieve an intermediate power state between a low power state and an on power state, and the electronic device can use fewer resources and more conveniently return from the on power state to the suppression mode than returning from the on power state to the suppression mode. In the case where the user interacts with the electronic device to a minimum, the re-suppression mode may be better than completely exiting the suppression mode. For example, when the user wakes up in the middle of sleeping to confirm the time, the re-suppression mode can be used. This use case may not guarantee full restoration of power because the electronic device can present a de-contented image frame. There may be an existing time prediction window for when the user is expected to wake up. Within this existing time prediction, if an interaction with the electronic device is detected, the electronic device can be operated into a re-suppression mode to present a de-contented image frame and determine whether to fully power on the electronic display or return to the suppression mode. Certain interactions can be monitored as conditions based on which the re-suppression or exit determination is based. For example, the following items may be used to determine whether to re-inhibit the electronic device or fully power on the electronic device: the occurrence or number of interactions with the electronic device, whether the time of the interaction falls within a specific time period from the start time or end time of the existing time prediction, the type of interaction with the electronic device, the detection of unpredicted sensory data (e.g., detection of burst audio, ambient light, and / or motion input), etc. These determinations may be made using one or more sensors of the electronic device and / or using one or more predictions made by processing circuitry of the electronic device.

[0062] In view of the foregoing and for ease of explanation, Figure 1An electronic device 10 is shown that includes an electronic display 12. As described in detail below, the electronic device 10 may be any suitable electronic device, such as a computer, a mobile phone, a portable media device, a tablet computer, a television, a virtual reality headset, a wearable device (such as a watch), a vehicle dashboard, etc. Therefore, it should be noted that Figure 1 It is merely one example of a particular implementation and is intended to illustrate the types of components that may be present in electronic device 10 .

[0063] The electronic device 10 includes an electronic display 12, one or more input devices 14, one or more input / output (I / O) ports 16, a processor core complex 18 having one or more processing circuits or processing circuit cores, a local memory 20, a main memory storage device 22, a network interface 24, a power source 26 (e.g., a power supply), and image processing circuitry 28. Figure 1 The various components described in the drawings may include hardware elements (e.g., circuits), software elements (e.g., tangible, non-transitory computer-readable media storing executable instructions), or a combination of both hardware elements and software elements. It should be noted that the various depicted components may be combined into fewer components or separated into additional components. For example, local memory 20 and main memory storage device 22 may be included in a single component. It is noted that image processing circuitry 28 (e.g., a graphics processing unit) may sometimes be included in processor core complex 18.

[0064] The processor core complex 18 is operably coupled to the local memory 20 and the main memory storage device 22. Thus, the processor core complex 18 may execute instructions stored in the local memory 20 or the main memory storage device 22 to perform operations such as generating and / or transmitting image data for display on the electronic display 12. As such, the processor core complex 18 may include one or more general purpose microprocessors, one or more application specific integrated circuits (ASICs), one or more field programmable logic arrays (FPGAs), or any combination thereof.

[0065] In addition to program instructions, the local memory 20 or the main memory storage device 22 may store data to be processed by the processor core complex 18. Thus, the local memory 20 and / or the main memory storage device 22 may include one or more tangible, non-transitory computer-readable media. For example, the local memory 20 may include a random access memory (RAM), and the main memory storage device 22 may include a read-only memory (ROM), a rewritable non-volatile memory such as a flash memory, a hard drive, an optical disk, etc.

[0066] The network interface 24 may communicate data with another electronic device 10 or a network. The network interface 24 may include, for example, one or more interfaces for a personal area network (PAN) such as ultra-wideband (UWB) or Network; Local Area Network (LAN) or Wireless Local Area Network (WLAN), such as one of the IEEE 802.11x family of protocols (e.g. ) networks; and / or wide area networks (WANs), such as any standards associated with the 3rd Generation Partnership Project (3GPP), including, for example, 3rd Generation (3G) cellular networks, Universal Mobile Telecommunications System (UMTS), 4th Generation (4G) cellular networks, Long Term Evolution (LET), and / or 4G cellular networks. cellular network, Long Term Evolution Licensed Assisted Access (LTE-LAA) cellular network, 5th Generation (5G) cellular network and / or New Radio (NR) cellular network, 6th Generation (6G) or beyond 6G cellular network, satellite network, non-terrestrial network, etc. Specifically, the network interface 24 may include, for example, one or more interfaces for cellular communication standards using 5G specifications, the 5G specifications including a millimeter wave (mmWave) frequency range (e.g., 24.25 GHz to 300 GHz) that defines and / or implements a frequency range for wireless communication. The network interface 24 of the electronic device 10 may allow communication through the aforementioned networks (e.g., 5G, LTE-LAA, etc.) for communication. The network interface 24 may also include, for example, one or more interfaces for the following: a broadband fixed wireless access network (e.g., ), mobile broadband wireless network (mobile ), asynchronous digital subscriber line (e.g., ADSL, VDSL), digital video terrestrial broadcasting Network and its extension DVB Handheld Networks, ultra-wideband (UWB) networks, alternating current (AC) power lines, etc.

[0067] Power supply 26 may provide power to one or more components in electronic device 10, such as processor core complex 18 or electronic display 12. Thus, power supply 26 may include any suitable energy source, such as a rechargeable lithium polymer (Li-poly) battery or an alternating current (AC) power converter.

[0068] I / O ports 16 may enable electronic device 10 to interact with other electronic devices. For example, when a portable storage device is connected, I / O ports 16 may enable processor core complex 18 to communicate data with the portable storage device. In some embodiments, I / O ports 16 may implement a hardwired connection for charging and / or content manipulation using a standard connector and protocol such as the Lightning connector provided by Apple Inc. of Cupertino, California, a universal serial bus (USB), or other similar connectors and protocols.

[0069] Input device 14 may enable user interaction with electronic device 10, for example, by receiving user input via buttons, keyboard, mouse, touch pad, touch sensing, etc. Input device 14 may include touch sensing components (e.g., touch control circuitry, touch sensing circuitry) in electronic display 12. The touch sensing components may receive user input by detecting the incidence or location of an object touching the surface of electronic display 12.

[0070] In addition to implementing user input, the electronic display 12 can be a display panel having one or more display pixels. For example, the electronic display 12 may include a self-emitting pixel array having an array of one or more self-emitting pixels. The electronic display 12 may include any suitable circuit (e.g., a display driver circuit) to drive the self-emitting pixels, including, for example, a row driver and / or a column driver (e.g., a display driver). Each of the self-emitting pixels may include any suitable light-emitting element, such as an LED or a micro-LED, an example of which is an OLED. However, any other suitable type of pixel may also be used, including non-self-emitting pixels (e.g., liquid crystals used in liquid crystal displays (LCDs), digital micromirror devices (DMDs) used in DMD displays). The electronic display 12 may control the light emission from the display pixels to present a visual representation of information by displaying an image data frame, such as a graphical user interface (GUI) of an operating system, an application interface, a static image, or video content. In order to display an image, the electronic display 12 may include display pixels implemented on a display panel. The display pixels may represent sub-pixels, each of which controls the value of a color component (e.g., red, green, or blue for an RGB pixel arrangement, or red, green, blue, or white for an RGBW arrangement).

[0071] The electronic display 12 may display an image by controlling the emission of pulses (e.g., light emission) from its display pixels based on pixel or image data associated with corresponding image pixels (e.g., dots) in the image. In some embodiments, the pixel or image data may be generated by an image source (e.g., image data, digital code), such as a processor core complex 18, a graphics processing unit (GPU), or an image sensor. Additionally, in some embodiments, the image data may be received from another electronic device 10, for example, via a network interface 24 and / or an I / O port 16. Similarly, the electronic display 12 may display an image frame of content based on pixel or image data generated by the processor core complex 18, or the electronic display 12 may display a frame based on pixel or image data received via a network interface 24, an input device 14, or an I / O port 16.

[0072] The electronic display 12 may be operably coupled to the processor core complex 18 and image processing circuitry 28. The image processing circuitry 28 may include hardware, software, or both, and may process image data to prepare the image data for presentation via the electronic display 12. In some cases, the image processing circuitry 28 may be programmed by loading a pipeline configuration from a configuration register, where the pipeline configuration may include indications of register values, settings, image processing instructions, etc. The image processing circuitry 28, when applied, may be programmed to process the image data according to the parameters defined in the pipeline configuration.

[0073] Electronic device 10 may be any suitable electronic device. To aid illustration, Figure 2 An example of an electronic device 10 is shown: a handheld device 10A. The handheld device 10A may be a portable phone, a media player, a personal data organizer, a handheld gaming platform, etc. For purposes of illustration, the handheld device 10A may be a smart phone, such as any of the devices available from Apple Inc. model.

[0074] The handheld device 10A includes a housing 30 (e.g., a casing). The housing 30 may protect the internal components from physical damage or shield them from electromagnetic interference, such as by surrounding the electronic display 12. The electronic display 12 may display a graphical user interface (GUI) 32 having an array of icons. When an icon 34 is selected through the input device 14 or a touch-sensitive component of the electronic display 12, an application may be launched.

[0075] The input device 14 is accessible through an opening in the housing 30. The input device 14 may enable a user to interact with the handheld device 10A. For example, the input device 14 may enable a user to activate or deactivate the handheld device 10A, navigate the user interface to a home screen, navigate the user interface to a user-configurable application screen, activate a voice recognition feature, provide volume control, or toggle between a vibrate mode and a ring mode.

[0076] Figure 3 Another example of a suitable electronic device 10 is shown, specifically a tablet device 10B. The tablet device 10B may be any device commercially available from Apple Inc. model. Figure 4 Another example of a suitable electronic device 10 is shown, specifically a computer 10C. For purposes of illustration, the computer 10C may be any computer available from Apple Inc. or model. Figure 5 Another example of a suitable electronic device 10 is shown, specifically a watch 10D. For purposes of illustration, the watch 10D may be any APPLE As depicted, tablet device 10B, computer 10C, and watch 10D each also include an electronic display 12, an input device 14, an I / O port 16, and a housing 30. Electronic display 12 can display GUI 32. Here, GUI 32 displays a visualization of a clock. When a visualization is selected through input device 14 or a touch-sensitive component of electronic display 12, an application can be launched, such as to transform GUI 32 into a display that presents a clock. Figure 2 and Figure 3 Icon 34 discussed in .

[0077] Considering the foregoing, the electronic device 10 can selectively power on and off different parts to reduce the overall power consumption. Figure 6 It is a graphical diagram comparing different power states 40 (power state 40A, power state 40B, power state 40C, power state 40D, power state 40E) of the electronic device 10, the relative power consumption levels 42 (level 42A, level 42B, level 42C, level 42D, level 42E) of the electronic device 10, and the transitions between the different power states 40 that can be achieved by the electronic device 10.

[0078] Power state 40A may correspond to an off state with a first power level 42A corresponding to a minimum power consumption level (e.g., 0). The electronic device 10 may be in power state 40A when powered off or disconnected from a power supply. In power state 40A, no sensors may be usable. In contrast, power state 40E may correspond to a full power on state with a fifth power level 42E, which is the highest power consumption level. In power state 40E, all sensors and systems may be usable. The electronic device 10 may be in power state 40E when powered on and actively render image frames when in normal operating mode and not operating in an always-on display mode.

[0079] To save power, the electronic device 10 may transition to an always-on display operating mode that may enable one or more systems of the electronic device 10 to be powered off and cause the electronic device 10 to transition to power state 40D. Power state 40D may correspond to a first intermediate power state having a fourth power level 42D corresponding to a second highest power consumption level. When in power state 40D, some sensors may be usable and some sensors may be turned off. For example, an accelerometer and an inertial measurement unit (IMU) may be operating, but some systems of the electronic device 10 as a whole may be turned off, such as an image source.

[0080] While an always-on display operating mode may be desirable, this may cause electronic device 10 to consume power even when electronic display 12 is not visible. Therefore, selectively controlling electronic display 12 to power off while electronic device 10 remains in the always-on display operating mode may reduce the power consumed. However, simply powering off electronic display 12 may be perceived by the user as electronic display 12 not being an always-on display. Therefore, the inhibited operating mode may be used to inhibit or allow electronic display 12 to present image frames based on a prediction or anticipation of when the user is viewing electronic display 12.

[0081] Therefore, to save even more power, the electronic device 10 may transition to a first suppressed operating mode when in the always-on display operating mode, which first suppressed operating mode may enable the electronic device 10 to also power off the electronic display 12 and cause the electronic device 10 to transition to power state 40C. Power state 40C may correspond to a second intermediate power state having a third power level 42C corresponding to a third lowest power consumption level. Power state 40C may correspond to an operating mode in which the electronic display 12 is turned off (e.g., suppressed) and an image frame queue (e.g., a flip book) is advancing corresponding image frames in a predetermined sequence. Upon exiting from this operating mode, the electronic display 12 may pick up the current or next image frame from the image frame queue and present the image frame. Additionally or alternatively, the electronic device 10 may transition to a second suppressed operating mode when in the always-on display operating mode, which second suppressed operating mode may enable the electronic device 10 to power off the electronic display 12 and the image source, thereby transitioning the electronic device 10 to power state 40B. Power state 40B may correspond to a second lowest power state having a second power level 42B corresponding to a second lowest power consumption level. When in the second suppressed operating mode, electronic device 10 may power off the image source in response to one or more image frames being pre-rendered and stored for access by image processing circuitry 28. Upon exiting from the second suppressed operating mode, electronic device 10 may discard queued image frames and resume presenting actively rendered image frames, and / or may continue presenting queued image frames if the content of the image frames remains relevant. In power state 40B, some sensors may be usable. For example, an accelerometer and an inertial measurement unit (IMU) may be operating, but electronic device 10 as a whole may be off.

[0082] Power state 40B and power state 40C may be entered, respectively, based on a predicted power-off time period—in other words, if electronic device 10 is predicted to be in one of the suppressed operating modes for a time longer than a duration threshold, the second suppressed operating mode may be used. In situations where electronic device 10 is predicted to be in one of the suppressed operating modes for a time shorter than or equal to the duration threshold, the first suppressed operating mode may be used.

[0083] Figure 71 is a block diagram of a portion of an electronic device 10 including an image processing circuit 28 and an electronic display 12. The image processing circuit 28 may be coupled to an application processor 50, a system controller 52, and the electronic display 12. The electronic display 12 may be powered by a display power supply 54, which may be powered by a larger system power supply (not illustrated), such as a power management integrated circuit (PMIC) and / or a battery that powers other circuits of the electronic device 10. The application processor 50 may include a suppression management system 56 that is communicatively coupled to a condition preprocessor 58. The application processor 50 may generate image data, and may send the image data to the image processing circuit 28 for processing before being sent to and presented via the electronic display 12. In some cases, the application processor may generate configuration data for programming the processing performed by the image processing circuit 28, including configuration data for changing the brightness or characteristics of the light according to which the image data is processed, for controlling the refresh rate of the electronic display 12, and the like. Because the application processor 50 generates image data, the application processor 50 may also generate the one or more image frames to be presented via the electronic display during the always-on display operating mode. The system controller 52 may control the image processing circuit 28, the display driver of the electronic display 12, Figure 1 The operation of the memory 20 and / or other parts of the electronic device 10. Note that the image processing circuit 28 and / or the processor core complex 18 may include the system controller 52, rather than the system controller 52 being external to both.

[0084] Suppression management system 56 may determine to enter a suppressed operating mode (e.g., a first suppressed operating mode, a second suppressed operating mode) based on suppression instructions 60, conditional indications 62, or both. Conditional indications 62 may be communicated to suppression management system 56 when conditions are appropriate to trigger a suppressed operating mode, such as when a user of electronic device 10 is detected to be away from electronic display 12, when electronic display 12 is not visible (face down, in a bag), or when a calendar entry or alarm indicates that a suppressed operating mode may be used. As another example, an accelerometer may be used to identify a motion pattern corresponding to electronic display 12 being in a bag, face down, or otherwise obscured. Thus, conditional indications 62 may be generated in response to an accelerometer detecting a change in a motion pattern, which may indicate that electronic display 12 is about to or is expected to be visible. Suppression instructions 60 may be used to verify whether a suppressed operating mode may be entered when conditions are appropriate (as indicated via sensed data). In some cases, the suppression instruction 60 is used to trigger the suppression mode of operation regardless of the condition indication 62, such as when an operator indicates the suppression mode of operation and / or when settings or parameters of the electronic device 10 correspond to entering the suppression mode of operation (for example, the electronic device 10 detects that it is in a vehicle and enters a do not disturb mode of operation in which notification and image presentation operations are temporarily suppressed).

[0085] The suppression management system 56 may determine to operate the electronic device 10 into the suppressed operating mode based on the condition indication 62 from the condition preprocessor 58. In response to determining to enter the suppressed operating mode, the suppression management system 56 may power off the electronic display 12. For example, the suppression management system 56 may generate a power off control signal 64 and send the power off control signal 64 to the display power supply 54, which may stop supplying power to the electronic display 12.

[0086] The system controller 52 may generate the suppression instructions 60 in response to a condition being met that allows the electronic display 12 to be powered off. For example, the system controller 52 may generate the suppression instructions 60 in response to receiving an input that instructs the electronic device 10 to enter a suppressed mode of operation. The input may be received via one or more of the input devices 14; via a tactile input to the electronic display 12 that indicates a focus mode, a sleep mode, a do not disturb mode; from an operating system associated with the processor core complex 18 that indicates that a low power mode is to be entered; and the like. In response to any of these situations, the system controller 52 may generate the suppression instructions 60 to instruct the suppression management system 56 to power off the electronic display 12 when conditions permit. Figures 8 to 9 Operations associated with entering and exiting the inhibit mode of operation are further described.

[0087] It should be understood that the condition preprocessor 58 can generate the condition indication 62 based on a variety of factors. To this end, the condition preprocessor 58 may include one or more condition sensors 66 (e.g., sensors, sensing devices) and a local control circuit 68. The local control circuit 68 may receive sensing data from one or more condition sensors 66, and may process the sensing data to determine to generate the condition indication 62. The local control circuit 68 may use a threshold value to determine what value the sensing data should be when the condition indication 62 is generated. Example condition sensors 66 include an inertial measurement unit (IMU), a proximity sensor, an ambient light sensor, a radio frequency (RF) sensor (e.g., an antenna that receives an RF signal for detecting the proximity of the second electronic device 10), a pressure sensor (e.g., a barometer), a temperature sensor, an ultrasonic sensor, an infrared sensor, a motion detection sensor, a gyroscope, a photodetector, an accelerometer, a humidity sensor, an audio sensor, etc. In some cases, one or more RF sensors may be used to perform direct proximity measurements by time of flight calculations, or may be used to perform signal strength sensing as a proxy for direct proximity sensing. Ultra-wideband (UWB) interfaces and RF sensors can be used to perform direct proximity sensing, while received signal strength indicator (RSSI) sensing interfaces (e.g., interface, An RSSI sensing interface) may be used to perform proximity sensing based on signal strength sensing. In some cases, the two methods may be combined. For example, an RSSI sensing interface may be used to determine whether an additional electronic device 10 is nearby, and then a UWB interface may be used to determine the precise distance between the electronic device 10 and the additional electronic device 10. Using an RSSI sensing interface may consume less power than using a UWB interface to perform a similar determination, and therefore may be preferred in some cases. In some cases, a sensor may enable a facial identifier (ID) or other biometric identifier sensor to generate a condition indication 62. The sensor may be included on one or more faces or sides of the electronic device 10, such as to detect ambient light on the front and rear of the electronic device 10.

[0088] Although the application processor 50 is described above as including the inhibition management system 56, it may be desirable to initiate a display power-off operation without the application processor 50. Doing so without the application processor 50 may save even more power when compared to generating the power-off control signal 64 based on the application processor 50. Therefore, sometimes the inhibition management system 56 may be included in the condition preprocessor 58, thereby enabling the application processor 50 to at least partially shut down when the inhibition management system 56 is determining to enter a display power-off operation and / or cause a display power-off operation via the power-off control signal 64. This option is Figure 7 In practice, the condition preprocessor 58 may transmit the power-off control signal 64 from the suppression management system 56 to the image processing circuit 28, which transmits the power-off control signal 64 to the display power supply device 54 to instruct the display power-off operation.

[0089] Considering the foregoing, Figure 8 8 is a flow chart of a method 80 for use by the suppression management system 56 in determining entry and exit of a suppression mode of operation. The method 80 may be performed by any suitable device (e.g., a controller) that may control one or more components of the electronic device 10 (such as the processor core complex 18). In some embodiments, the method 80 may be implemented by using the processor core complex 18 to execute instructions stored in a tangible, non-transitory computer-readable medium such as the memory 20 or the storage device 22. For example, the method 80 may be performed at least in part by one or more software components such as an operating system of the electronic device 10, one or more software applications of the electronic device 10, and the like. Although the method 80 is described using a particular order of steps, it should be understood that the present disclosure contemplates that the described steps may be performed in an order different from that shown, and that certain described steps may be skipped or not performed at all.

[0090] In process block 82, suppression management system 56 receives condition indication 62 from condition preprocessor 58. Condition indication 62 may be a signal indicating that electronic display 12 is not being used. Condition preprocessor 58 may generate condition indication 62 in response to determining a presence event based on sensed data from one or more condition sensors 66; in response to predicting that electronic display 12 will become visible relatively soon; and / or in response to determining a presence event based on identifying the identity of associated electronic device 10. Thus, suppression management system 56 may enter a suppression mode of operation in response to sensed data and sensed data crossing a threshold corresponding to the sensed data. Figures 10 to 12 These example operations are further described in detail. The suppression management system 56 may receive a condition indication 62 in response to accessing one or more registers or storage devices of the condition preprocessor 58. In some cases, the condition preprocessor 58 may monitor operating conditions of the electronic device 10 that may benefit from a suppression mode of operation. Different operating conditions may be detectable via sensed data. Examples of operating conditions include: the electronic display 12 is face down on a table or otherwise obscured from view; the electronic device 10 is in a pocket or bag; a user associated with the electronic device 10 (e.g., a user corresponding to a user profile associated with and / or logged into the electronic device 10) is sleeping, away from the electronic display 12, or otherwise expected not to view the electronic display 12; etc.

[0091] In process block 84, the suppression management system 56 receives the suppression instruction 60 from the image processing circuit 28. The image processing circuit 28 may generate the suppression instruction 60 in response to the completion of preparation operations, which may be expected to be completed before entering the suppressed operating mode. As part of the preparation operations, the image processing circuit 28 may queue image frames to be presented when exiting from the suppressed operating mode. In some cases, as part of the preparation operations, the image processing circuit 28 may confirm that entering the suppressed operating mode meets the duration condition before entering the suppressed operating mode. For example, the image processing circuit 28 may generate the suppression instruction 60 in response to determining that the suppressed operating mode is expected to be used for a duration exceeding a threshold amount of time. The threshold amount of time may correspond to the minimum amount of time for the following to occur: if the electronic device 10 is operating in the suppressed operating mode, the power saved due to entering the suppressed operating mode exceeds the amount of power consumed by the electronic device 10 entering the suppressed operating mode.

[0092] In process block 86, the suppression management system 56 determines to enter the suppressed operating mode based on the conditional indication 62, the suppression instruction 60, or both. The conditional indication 62 and / or the suppression instruction 60 may be assigned a higher priority than the other, and thus the suppression management system 56 may determine to enter the suppressed operating mode in response to receiving the higher priority indication of the conditional indication 62 and the suppression instruction 60. To enter the suppressed operating mode, in process block 88, the suppression management system 56 may generate a power-off control signal 64 and send the power-off control signal 64 to the display power supply 54. Sometimes, the suppression management system 56 may reduce or stop other operations of the electronic device 10 in response to entering the suppressed operating mode. For example, when in the suppressed operating mode, because the electronic display 12 is being powered off or has been powered off, the electronic device 10 may be operated to stop generating image frames.

[0093] In process block 90, the suppression management system 56 determines to exit the suppression mode of operation. To enter the suppression mode of operation, the suppression management system 56 determines that the electronic display 12 is not being viewed or is not visible based on satisfying one or more conditions. To exit the suppression mode of operation, the suppression management system 56 determines that the electronic display 12 is being viewed (or visible) or is predicted to be viewed (or visible) based on satisfying one or more conditions. When the condition indication 62 is generated and sent while in the suppression mode of operation, the condition indication may be a first signal indicating that the electronic display 12 is predicted to be visible at a future time. In some cases, for at least one condition that is satisfied to enter the suppression mode of operation, the opposite condition of the at least one condition may be monitored to determine when to exit the suppression mode of operation. For example, if the ambient light sensor of the condition preprocessor 58 is used to detect when the electronic display 12 is in a bag, box, container, etc., the suppression management system 56 may determine to exit the suppression mode of operation based on the sensed data generated via the ambient light sensor. Of course, other devices may also be used. For example, if an ambient light sensor of condition preprocessor 58 is used to detect when electronic display 12 is in a bag, suppression management system 56 may determine to exit the suppression mode of operation based on sensed data generated via a different sensor, such as an accelerometer or a gyroscope. In some cases, condition preprocessor 58 may generate another condition indication 62 in response to determining that the sensed data indicates that a condition exists to exit the suppression mode of operation.

[0094] In process block 92, the suppression management system 56 generates a power-on instruction and sends the power-on instruction to the display power supply 54. The suppression management system 56 may generate the power-on instruction in response to detecting a condition to exit the suppression mode of operation. In this way, the method 80 enables the electronic device 10 to reduce the total amount of power consumed by selectively powering off the electronic display 12.

[0095] Fig. 9 is provided for the suppression management system 56 in Figure 8 Flowchart of an example method 100 for use when determining to exit an inhibited operating mode at process block 90 of electronic device 10. Method 100 may be performed by any suitable device (e.g., a controller) that may control one or more components of electronic device 10 (such as processor core complex 18). In some embodiments, method 100 may be implemented by using processor core complex 18 to execute instructions stored in a tangible, non-transitory computer-readable medium such as memory 20 or storage device 22. For example, method 100 may be performed at least in part by one or more software components such as an operating system of electronic device 10, one or more software applications of electronic device 10, and the like. Although method 100 is described using a particular order of steps, it should be understood that the present disclosure contemplates that the described steps may be performed in an order different from that shown, and that certain described steps may be skipped or not performed at all.

[0096] In process block 102, suppression management system 56 receives condition indication 62 from condition preprocessor 58, which indicates that electronic display 12 is visible or predicted to be visible. The prediction of visibility can be based on the expected visible time. When the expected visible time is within a threshold amount of time, condition indication 62 can be generated. Condition preprocessor 58 can read the threshold amount of time from memory 20 or from storage device 22. Exit conditions associated with the prediction that electronic display 12 is expected to be viewed within a duration can be paired with various suitable entry conditions. In fact, suppression management system 56 may have operated electronic device 10 to enter suppression operation mode in response to sensory data indicating that electronic display 12 is not visible or blocked and / or in response to data stored in memory 20 or storage device 22 indicating that the user is sleeping, idle or otherwise away from electronic device 10.

[0097] In process block 104, the suppression management system 56 determines to exit the suppressed operating mode based on the conditional indication 62. These operations may be similar to the operations performed at process block 90, and therefore those operations are used here. It should be understood that when determining to exit based on the conditional indication 62, the suppression management system 56 may determine that the exit condition is satisfied based on the conditional indication 62, that is, the suppression management system 56 may determine that the user is predicted to view the display based on calendar data, alarm data, sensory data (e.g., which indicates ongoing motion; pressure changes indicating that a viewer is approaching; proximity sensor output changes indicating that a viewer is approaching), etc. In response to determining to exit the suppressed operating mode, in process block 106, the suppression management system 56 generates a power instruction based on the conditional indication 62 and sends the power instruction to the display power supply 54. These operations may be similar to the operations performed at process block 92, and therefore those operations are used here. In this way, the method 100 enables the electronic device 10 to exit the suppressed operating mode when the user is expected to view the electronic display 12 and / or in response to the electronic display 12 being predicted to be visible.

[0098] One example of method 100 may include that electronic device 10 that entered suppressed operating mode based on condition preprocessor 58 detecting that electronic display 12 is in a bag or face-down on a surface may exit suppressed operating mode in response to suppression management system 56 determining that a calendar entry indication stored in memory 20 or storage device 22 indicates that the user is expected to move electronic device 10 so that electronic display 12 is visible within a threshold amount of time from the current time. In this example, suppression management system 56 may generate a power-on instruction and send the power-on instruction to display power device 54 to cause electronic display 12 to turn on before the user will actually view electronic display 12, thereby causing electronic device 10 to be perceived as having an always-on display.

[0099] In practice, several methods may be used to enter and / or exit the inhibit mode of operation. Figures 10 to 12 Three examples of these methods are described. It should be noted that other methods may also be effective for selectively controlling electronic display 12 in response to whether electronic display 12 is visible, whether electronic display 12 is visible during an always-on display mode of operation, etc.

[0100] Fig.10 is a flow chart of a first example method 120 that may be used by the condition preprocessor 58 in generating the condition indication 62. The method may be used by the electronic device 10 in Figure 8 Example methods used when determining to enter and / or exit the inhibited operating mode at process block 84 and / or process block 90. ​​As described herein, Figure 7The conditional preprocessor 58 of the electronic device 10 performs the operations of the method 120. However, it should be noted that any suitable device (e.g., a controller) that can control one or more components of the electronic device 10 (such as the processor core complex 18) can perform the method 120. In some embodiments, the method 120 can be implemented by using the processor core complex 18 to execute instructions stored in a tangible, non-transitory computer-readable medium such as a memory 20 or a storage device 22. For example, the method 120 can be performed at least in part by one or more software components such as an operating system of the electronic device 10, one or more software applications of the electronic device 10, etc. Although the method 120 is described using a particular order of steps, it should be understood that the present disclosure contemplates that the described steps can be performed in an order different from the order shown, and that some of the described steps can be skipped or not performed at all.

[0101] In process block 122, condition preprocessor 58 receives sensed data from one or more condition sensors 66. One or more of condition sensors 66 may be located inside or outside condition preprocessor 58 and may sense conditions inside or outside electronic device 10. For example, electronic device 10 may include two temperature sensors: one temperature sensor for sensing the temperature inside electronic device 10 and another temperature sensor for sensing the temperature of the surrounding environment including electronic device 10. The description related to condition preprocessor 58 is described herein from at least Figure 7 Continue to use.

[0102] In process block 124, condition preprocessor 58 compares the sensed data to a threshold value, and in process block 126, determines whether the sensed data crosses the threshold value. The threshold value may be associated with an operating condition, placement, or orientation that, when satisfied, corresponds to a time or place at which the electronic display 12 may be powered off. For example, a threshold value may indicate an amount of ambient light corresponding to the electronic device 10 being in a bag. For the same type of sensed data, different threshold values ​​may be used. For example, a first threshold value may indicate a first amount of light corresponding to the electronic device 10 being in a bag, and a second threshold value may indicate a second amount of light corresponding to the electronic device 10 being in a pocket. Sometimes, a threshold value may be associated with a range, and thus a threshold value may represent an upper or lower condition and be paired with another threshold value. Threshold values ​​may also be paired across different sensors, where two or more threshold values ​​may be exceeded, or a range and a threshold value may be satisfied, for a particular operating condition, placement, or orientation to be identified. For example, the condition preprocessor 58 may determine that the electronic device 10 is facedown on a surface, and thus be able to power off the electronic display 12, in response to the first condition sensor 66 sensing ambient light below a first threshold (e.g., indicating darkness or lack of light) and the second condition sensor 66 sensing motion below a second threshold (e.g., indicating a motionless or stationary device).

[0103] In response to the sensed data crossing a threshold, or otherwise indicating the presence of an operating condition, placement, and / or orientation, in process block 128, the condition preprocessor 58 generates a condition indication 62. The condition indication 62 may indicate to the suppression management system 56 and / or the application processor 50 that the operating condition, placement, and / or orientation is satisfied and / or exists or otherwise occurs. In some cases, the condition indication 62 generated at process block 128 corresponds to a view occlusion indication, which may generally indicate to the electronic device 10 that a view of an image presenting side of a display panel of the electronic display 12 is obscured from view by a viewer. The condition preprocessor 58 may write the condition indication 62 to a memory 20, storage device 22, or register accessible by the suppression management system 56, such that the suppression management system 56 is able to read the condition indication 62. In some cases, the condition preprocessor 58 may transmit the condition indication 62 to the suppression management system 56 after generating the condition indication 62 or in response to a request from the suppression management system 56. Receiving the condition indication 62 may cause the suppression management system 56 to perform Figure 8 The method 80 is operated.

[0104] In response to the sensed data not crossing the threshold or otherwise indicating the presence of an operating condition, placement, and / or orientation, in process block 124, the condition preprocessor 58 may continue to repeat the operations of process block 122 and receive additional sensed data from one or more of the condition sensors 66. The condition preprocessor 58 may continue to repeat the operations of process block 122 and / or the operations of method 120 on an ongoing basis and / or on an interval or periodic basis (such as every 1, 2, 3, ... N minutes or according to another time periodicity definition). In this manner, method 120 enables electronic device 10 to generate condition indication 62 that is used to trigger entry into a suppressed operating mode in response to determining that electronic display 12 is not visible or not being viewed by a viewer, and / or to trigger exit from a suppressed operating mode in anticipation of a user viewing electronic display 12 and / or in response to electronic display 12 being predicted to be visible.

[0105] As another example, Fig.11 is a flow chart of a second example method 130 that may be used by the condition preprocessor 58 when generating the condition indication 62. The method may be a method for the electronic device 10 to Figure 8 Example methods used when determining to enter and / or exit the inhibited operating mode at process block 84 and / or process block 90. ​​As described herein, Figure 7The conditional preprocessor 58 of the electronic device 10 performs the operations of the method 130. However, it should be noted that any suitable device (e.g., a controller) that can control one or more components of the electronic device 10 (such as the processor core complex 18) can perform the method 130. In some embodiments, the method 130 can be implemented by using the processor core complex 18 to execute instructions stored in a tangible, non-transitory computer-readable medium such as a memory 20 or a storage device 22. For example, the method 130 can be performed at least in part by one or more software components such as an operating system of the electronic device 10, one or more software applications of the electronic device 10, etc. Although the method 130 is described using a particular order of steps, it should be understood that the present disclosure contemplates that the described steps may be performed in an order different from the order shown, and that some of the described steps may be skipped or not performed at all.

[0106] In process block 132, the condition preprocessor 58 receives sensory data from one or more condition sensors 66. For simplicity of description, these operations are similar to Fig.10 The operations of process block 122 are therefore used herein in the same manner.

[0107] In process block 134, the condition preprocessor 58 receives the predicted activity data from a memory, such as the memory 20 and / or the storage device 22. The predicted activity data may include calendar data, alarm data, and the like, such as a calendar entry indication or a programmed alarm indication indicating to the local control circuit 68 settings or input data associated with a future event (e.g., an event stored in association with a calendar; a future expected alarm output). The predicted activity data may correspond to an occurrence time, which may be a predetermined or indicated time at which a future event will occur, is expected to occur, and / or is scheduled to occur. The machine learning engine system may generate the predicted activity data based on a monitored usage pattern associated with the electronic device 10 and / or the electronic display 12. For example, a viewer may wake up a threshold number of times for a duration before a set alarm, and in response to the monitored pattern, the machine learning engine may recognize that the viewer wakes up for the duration before the set alarm and use the duration as the predicted activity data when determining to enter or exit the suppression mode of operation.

[0108] In process block 136, the condition preprocessor 58 may determine the wake-up time based on the expected activity data, the occurrence time, and / or the duration. In this way, the condition preprocessor 58 may identify the occurrence time corresponding to the expected activity data, and identify the latest time when the electronic display 12 should be powered on. In the case where the electronic display 12 is viewed before the expected occurrence time, the latest time may correspond to a time that is a duration before the occurrence time. Starting from the latest time, the condition preprocessor 58 may consider the configuration duration used when the electronic display 12 is powered on to determine the wake-up time. The configuration duration may correspond to the amount of time used to indicate that the display power supply device 54 connects power to the electronic display 12, the amount of time used to configure the electronic display 12 after returning power to the electronic display 12, and so on. In some cases, the indication of the configuration duration and / or the latest time may be stored in a memory (such as the memory 20 or the storage device 22) in association with the indication of the corresponding expected activity. When stored, the condition preprocessor 58 may read the indication of the configuration duration and / or the latest time from the memory and use this information when determining the wake-up time. By writing an indication of the configuration duration and / or the latest time to a memory for repeated reference, computing resources may be saved relative to repeating the processing operation for each indication of an expected activity.

[0109] In process block 138, condition preprocessor 58 receives an indication of the current time. Condition preprocessor 58 may poll a counter or a system that manages the time of electronic device 10. Any suitable method of receiving the current time may be used. In process block 140, condition preprocessor 58 determines the difference between the current time and the wake-up time. In process block 142, condition preprocessor 58 may compare the difference to a threshold value to determine whether the difference between the current time and the wake-up time is large enough to justify powering off electronic display 12.

[0110] In response to the difference being greater than the threshold, the condition preprocessor 58 decides to power off the electronic display 12, and therefore in process block 144, the condition preprocessor 58 may confirm the decision to power off the electronic display 12 based on the sensed data from the condition sensor 66. This operation may enable the electronic device 10 to avoid powering off the electronic display 12 when the sensed data or other data indicates that the electronic display 12 is being viewed by a viewer and / or is within the viewer's visible range. When the sensed data indicates that it is not appropriate to power off the electronic display 12, the condition preprocessor 58 may repeat the operation at process block 132, or may wait until the sensed data indicates that it is appropriate to power off the electronic display 12. When at process blocks 142 and 144, the sensed data indicates that it is appropriate to power off the electronic display 12, in process block 146, the condition preprocessor 58 generates an event notification as the condition indication 62 to instruct the suppression management system 56 to power off the electronic display 12. Receiving the condition indication 62 may cause the suppression management system 56 to perform Figure 8 Note that the condition indication 62 may be read by the suppression management system 56 from the condition preprocessor 58 and / or once generated, the condition preprocessor 58 transmits the condition indication to the suppression management system 56. In this manner, the method 130 enables the electronic device 10 to enter a suppressed mode of operation in response to calendar event data, alarm data, etc. indicating that the electronic device 10 is idle due to a sleep event or another predetermined event indicated via the calendar event data.

[0111] In some cases, the condition preprocessor 58 may indicate the wake-up time to the inhibition management system 56 in association with the condition indication 62. The inhibition management system 56 may determine when to return power to the electronic display 12 based on the wake-up time. For example, the inhibition management system 56 may determine that the wake-up time indicates to the display power supply 54 to ensure that there is sufficient time to program the electronic display 12 after it is powered on. The indication of the wake-up time may be stored and referenced by the inhibition management system 56 when determining when to return power to the electronic display 12.

[0112] In some cases, Fig.11 The operation of may be performed according to a system based on machine learning. For example, the electronic device 10 may use machine learning to determine over time a usage schedule (e.g., predicted periods of activity and inactivity) that may be used when determining to power off the electronic display 12. As used herein, machine learning may refer to algorithms and statistical models used by computer systems (e.g., including the electronic device 10) to perform specific tasks with or without explicit instructions. For example, a machine learning process may generate a mathematical model based on data samples (referred to as "training data") to make predictions or decisions without being explicitly programmed to perform a task.

[0113] Depending on the inference to be made, the confidence verification logic may implement different forms of machine learning. For example, in some embodiments (e.g., when there are specific known examples related to future predictions or estimates that the machine learning engine may be delegated to generate), the machine learning engine may implement supervised machine learning. In supervised machine learning, a mathematical model of a set of data contains both inputs and expected outputs. This data is called "training data" and may include a set of training examples. Each training example may have one or more inputs and expected outputs, also referred to as a supervisory signal. In the mathematical model, each training example is represented by an array or vector (sometimes called a feature vector), and the training data is represented by a matrix. By iteratively optimizing the objective function, a supervised learning algorithm can learn a function that can be used to predict the output associated with a new input. The optimal function allows the algorithm to correctly determine the output for an input that is not part of the training data. An algorithm that improves the accuracy of its output or prediction over time is said to have learned to perform the task.

[0114] Supervised learning algorithms can include classification and regression techniques. Classification algorithms are used when the output is restricted to a finite set of values, while regression algorithms are used when the output has values ​​within a certain range. Similarity learning is a closely related area of ​​supervised machine learning that is related to regression and classification, but the goal is to learn from examples using a similarity function that measures how similar or related two objects are. Similarity learning has applications in ranking, recommendation systems, visual identity tracking, face verification, and speaker verification.

[0115] Additionally and / or alternatively, in some cases, it may be advantageous for a machine learning engine to utilize unsupervised learning (e.g., when a particular output type is unknown). An unsupervised learning algorithm takes a set of data containing only inputs and looks for structure in the data, such as groupings or clusters of data points. Thus, the algorithm learns from test data that has not yet been labeled, classified, or categorized. Instead of responding to feedback, an unsupervised learning algorithm identifies commonalities in the data and reacts based on the presence or absence of such commonalities in each new piece of data.

[0116] That is, the machine learning engine may implement cluster analysis, which is the assignment of a set of observations into subgroups (called clusters) such that observations within the same cluster are similar according to one or more predetermined criteria, while observations drawn from different clusters are dissimilar. Different clustering techniques make different assumptions about the structure of the data, which are typically defined by some similarity measure and evaluated, for example, by internal compactness (or similarity between members of the same cluster) and separability (difference between clusters). In additional or alternative embodiments, the machine learning engine may implement other machine learning techniques, such as those based on estimated density and graph connectivity. Note that relative to Fig.14 Details machine learning operations and machine learning engines.

[0117] With this in mind, machine learning operations may predict a usage schedule for the electronic device 10 based on learned operating patterns. For example, the local control circuitry 68, condition preprocessor 58, application processor 50, or other suitable processing circuitry of the processor core complex 18 may include a machine learning engine that identifies active time periods, inactive time periods, and one or more triggers for active time periods, and may correlate the usage patterns of the electronic device 10 with the sensed data, operating conditions, time, location, etc., to better predict when the electronic device 10 will be used or viewed, and therefore better predict when to power off or on the electronic display 12. In some cases, the machine learning engine may receive example active time periods and / or inactive time periods and / or triggers, and be trained based on them to enter active time periods and / or inactive time periods, thereby improving the analysis and identification of what combinations of sensed data exist for these situations, and what appropriate threshold ranges may be used to trigger powering off or on the electronic display 12.

[0118] As yet another example, Fig.12 is a flow chart of a third example method 160 that may be used by the condition preprocessor 58 when generating the condition indication 62. The method may be used by the electronic device 10 in Figure 8 Example methods used when determining to enter and / or exit the inhibited operating mode at process block 86 and / or process block 90. ​​As described herein, Figure 7 The conditional preprocessor 58 performs the operations of the method 160. However, it should be noted that any suitable device (e.g., a controller) that can control one or more components of the electronic device 10 (such as the processor core complex 18) can perform the method 160. In some embodiments, the method 160 can be implemented by using the processor core complex 18 to execute instructions stored in a tangible, non-transitory computer-readable medium such as a memory 20 or a storage device 22. For example, the method 160 may be performed at least in part by one or more software components such as an operating system of the electronic device 10, one or more software applications of the electronic device 10, and the like. Although the method 160 is described using a particular order of steps, it should be understood that the present disclosure contemplates that the described steps may be performed in an order different from the order shown, and that some of the described steps may be skipped or not performed at all.

[0119] In process block 162, the condition preprocessor 58 receives sensory data from one or more condition sensors 66. For simplicity of description, these operations are similar to Fig.10The sensing data may include or correspond to the sensing data received via an RF sensor (eg, an antenna and RF processing circuit) and / or The packets are received by the sensor (e.g., antenna and RF processing circuitry). The RF sensor may include one or more UWB interfaces and / or one or more RSSI sensing interfaces. In some cases, the sensed data is processed by the condition sensor 66 to generate the packets, such as when the RF signal carries the packets as part of a frequency modulated or amplitude modulated signal transmission.

[0120] In process block 164, the condition preprocessor 58 determines the identity of the associated electronic device based on the sensed data. The associated electronic device may correspond to the same user profile associated with the electronic device 10, and in this way may be considered as a device additionally attached to or used by the user. The associated electronic device may be an electronic wearable device, such as a watch, glasses or other suitable accessory electronic device, another mobile phone, another laptop computer, a computer, etc., or any electronic device 10. The associated electronic device may be arranged outside the visible range associated with the electronic display 12, while being arranged within the communication range of the electronic device 10, so as to enable predictive detection of a viewer associated with the associated electronic device. The sensed data may include an indication of the identity of the associated electronic device, such as when a radio frequency sensor (e.g., an antenna) receives a carrier signal indicating a matching user profile identifier to the electronic device 10. For example, a user associated with a user profile may be associated with a user profile of the associated electronic device. The user profile may correspond to a user identification code or sequence (e.g., an alphanumeric sequence). To identify the associated electronic device, the condition pre-processor 58 may separate the user identification code or sequence from the sensing data, such as by processing a radio frequency signal received via an RF sensing device (eg, UWB interface, RSSI sensing interface).

[0121] In process block 166, condition preprocessor 58 receives an expected identity associated with electronic device 10. The expected identity may correspond to a user profile associated with the associated electronic device. In some cases, the expected identity may correspond to a user profile database associated with the user profile of electronic device 10. In some cases, the operations of process blocks 164-168 may be modified and electronic display 12 may be powered off when no person is nearby and powered on when any detectable person is nearby.

[0122] In process block 168, condition preprocessor 58 determines whether the identity matches the expected identity from process block 166. This determination verifies whether the associated electronic device is associated with the same user profile as electronic device 10. When the identity is different than the expected identity, method 160 may proceed to process block 162 to repeat.

[0123] However, in response to the identity matching the expected identity, in process block 170, the condition preprocessor 58 generates a presence event notification as the condition indication 62. The presence event notification may indicate to the suppression management system 56 when a user is near or relatively close to the electronic device 10 based on a signal emitted by an associated electronic device, which may improve the suppression method because the emitted signal may be detected before the user can be detected via an audio-visual related sensor or other sensor that relies on more proximity sensor readings. In fact, detecting the presence of a viewer via method 160 may be detecting a person through a wall or other solid material. It is noted that the condition indication 62 may be read by the suppression management system 56 from the condition preprocessor 58 and / or once generated, the condition preprocessor 58 transmits the condition indication to the suppression management system 56. In addition, although the method 160 is described with respect to detecting a matching identity of a user profile, there may be situations where it is desirable to detect the presence of any person to increase the likelihood that the electronic display 12 is perceived as an always-on display. In this way, the method 160 enables the electronic device 10 to exit or enter a suppression mode of operation when an expected user is approaching the electronic device 10. For example, an electronic watch with communication capabilities (e.g., an associated electronic device) may remotely trigger the electronic display 12 on the user equipment to exit the display suppressed mode of operation by communicatively approaching the electronic display 12 before visually approaching the electronic display 12. In this way, when the electronic watch, and therefore the user wearing the electronic watch, is at a threshold distance (e.g., a threshold physical proximity) and / or is able to communicate with the electronic display 12, the electronic device 10 may predictively and proactively return power to the electronic display 12. Although described herein as looking for a match with a user identity, it is noted that in some cases, the mere presence of an associated electronic device may be sufficient for the electronic device 10 to return power to the electronic display 12, without necessarily requiring a match with a user identity or profile.

[0124] With the foregoing in mind, the suppressed mode of operation may be used in conjunction with the flipbook presentation mode. When operating in the always-on display mode, portions of the electronic device 10 may be selectively powered down while presenting one or more pre-rendered image frames without active rendering by the application processor 50. In practice, after pre-rendering the image frames, the application processor 50 and / or the image processing circuitry 28 (e.g., the display pipeline) may be shut down to reduce the overall amount of power consumed by the electronic device 10. Furthermore, once combined with the suppressed operation, even more power may be saved by powering down the electronic display 12 while the electronic device 10 is presenting a flipbook when the electronic display 12 is not visible.

[0125] In detail, Fig.13 is a block diagram of image processing circuitry 28 including display pipeline 180, which may be implemented in electronic device 10. As depicted, image processing circuitry 28 also includes application processor 50, memory 20 (or storage device 22), system controller 52, and display driver 182, which may be implemented in electronic display 12 and is used to generate control and data signals for presenting image frames via electronic display 12. In some embodiments, system controller 52 may control the operation of display pipeline 180, external memory 184, display driver 182, and / or other portions of electronic device 10.

[0126] The system controller 52 may include a controller processor 186 and a controller memory 188. The controller processor 186 may execute instructions stored in the controller memory 188. Thus, the controller processor 186 may be included in the processor core complex 18, the image processing circuit 28, a timing controller in the electronic display 12, a separate processing module, or any combination thereof. Additionally, in some embodiments, the controller memory 188 may be included in the local memory 20, the main memory storage device 22, the external memory 184, the internal memory of the display pipeline 180, a separate tangible non-transitory computer readable medium, or any combination thereof. Although depicted as a single system controller 52, in other embodiments, one or more separate controllers may be implemented to control the operation of the electronic device 10.

[0127] In any case, the display pipeline 180 is operable to process image data retrieved (e.g., acquired) from the external memory 184, for example, to facilitate improved perceived image quality through such processing. The display pipeline 180 may be implemented via circuitry, such as packaged as a system on a chip (SoC). Additionally or alternatively, the display pipeline 180 may be included in the processor core complex 18, the image processing circuitry 28, a timing controller (TCON) in the electronic display 12, other one or more other processing units, other processing circuitry, or any combination thereof.

[0128] The display pipeline 180 may include a direct memory access (DMA) block 190, a configuration buffer 192, an output buffer 194, one or more image data processing blocks 196 (including an acquisition block 198), and a timestamp queue 200. The display pipeline 180 may be operable to retrieve image data generated by the application processor 50 and stored in the external memory 184 from the external memory 184, and upon retrieval of the image data, the display pipeline 180 may also process the image data and then transmit the image data to the display driver 182.

[0129] As previously described, the application processor 50 operates to generate image data and store the image data in the external memory 184, and operates to generate a timestamp queue 200 entry corresponding to the image data stored in the external memory 184. Each timestamp queue 200 entry may include a timestamp and a pointer. The entries of the timestamp queue 200 may each correspond to a different image frame. Each image frame may therefore be associated with a corresponding timestamp and a corresponding pointer. The timestamp may indicate a target presentation time for the image frame, and the pointer may indicate where the pipeline configuration corresponding to the corresponding image frame is stored. The pipeline configuration may be retrieved and applied to the display pipeline 180 before processing the image data corresponding to the current image frame. After storing the image data, the pipeline configuration, and the presentation time, the application processor 50 may determine whether the most recently stored image data corresponds to the last image of the flip book. Therefore, the application processor 50 performs this check to determine whether the most recently rendered image frame is the last image frame to be pre-rendered. If the most recently rendered image frame is not the last image frame of the flip book, the application processor 50 may repeat the process and continue to generate additional image frames corresponding to the flip book.

[0130] However, when the most recently rendered image frame is the last flipbook image, the application processor 50 may continue to generate a pipeline power-on configuration. The application processor 50 may store the pipeline power-on configuration in the external memory 184. The pipeline power-on configuration may correspond to configuration data for reconfiguring (e.g., reprogramming) the display pipeline 180 after powering on from a power-off state. For example, the pipeline power-on configuration may indicate where to obtain image data for display after powering on, processor interaction commands, pipeline configurations to be applied to the display pipeline 180, clock and / or timing instructions, etc. The application processor 50 may generate code, instructions, settings, values, or any combination thereof for packaging and / or grouping into the pipeline power-on configuration. The application processor 50 may store the pipeline power-on configuration at the same or different memory location as the image data, presentation time, pipeline configuration, or any combination thereof.

[0131] After generating the flip book and power-on configuration, the application processor 50 may indicate that the flip book mode of operation is ready. The application processor 50 may indicate to the system controller 52 that the flip book is ready. The application processor 50 may transmit an indication in the form of a bit, a flag, a signal, etc. to other components in the electronic device 10, such as the system controller 52. The system controller 52 and / or the display pipeline 180 may perform an action in response to receiving the indication. For example, the system controller 52 may power off at least a portion of the application processor 50 and / or the display pipeline 180 to reduce the power consumed by the electronic device 10.

[0132] Over time, the display pipeline 180 may be operable to retrieve stored image data and entries in preparation for output. The display pipeline 180 may "pop" corresponding entries from the timestamp queue 200 for processing. The entry may be "popped" a sufficient time (e.g., a threshold amount of time such as between 1.0 microseconds (μs) and 5.0 μs) before the target presentation time indicated by the timestamp. After the entry is popped, the display pipeline 180 may reference the pointer, retrieve the corresponding pipeline configuration from the external memory 184, and use the retrieved pipeline configuration to prepare itself to process the image data associated with the image frame. The display pipeline 180 may use the DMA block 190 to retrieve the pipeline configuration from the memory 184 and may apply these pipeline configurations to itself via the configuration buffer 192.

[0133] After popping the timestamp queue 200, the display pipeline 180 may refer to the timestamp to determine the next target presentation time corresponding to the next image frame. The display pipeline 180 may determine the configuration time associated with the image frame based on the target presentation time of the image frame. The configuration time is the time when the display pipeline 180 starts to retrieve and load the pipeline configuration, and is therefore at least equal to the processing duration and configuration duration before the target presentation time. Therefore, after popping the timestamp queue, the display pipeline 180 may determine the next configuration time of the next image frame to be displayed, so that at the next configuration time, the display pipeline 180 pops the corresponding entry and retrieves the pipeline configuration from the external memory 184. After applying the corresponding pipeline configuration to the processing of the next image frame, the display pipeline 180 may process and complete the preparation associated with displaying the image frame before the timestamp. The display pipeline 180 may use the image data processing block 196 to prepare image data for transmission to the display driver 182. Upon completion of processing, the display pipeline 180 may transmit the image data to the display driver 182 to enable the corresponding image frame to be displayed on the electronic display 12. Based at least in part on the image data transmitted by the display pipeline 180, the display driver 182 may generate analog and / or digital electrical signals and supply the analog and / or digital electrical signals to the display pixels of the electronic display 12 to display the image frame. The display driver 182 may refresh the electronic display 12 according to various predetermined refresh frequencies (e.g., 240 Hz, 120 Hz, 60 Hz, 50 Hz, 40 Hz, 30 Hz, 20 Hz, 10 Hz) to reduce the appearance of visual artifacts on the electronic display 12.

[0134] Image data retrieved from external memory 184 may be processed in image data processing block 196. Figure 6196, but it should be understood that the image data processing block 196 may include multiple processing components including any suitable combination of hardware-based and / or software-based processing functions. In fact, when the image data processing block 196 includes two or more blocks, each processing operation block may output processed data to another processing block or output buffer 194. This allows image data (e.g., image data from the DMA block 190) to be processed sequentially. Sequentially processing image data by corresponding processing operations or blocks of the image data processing block 196 may involve transferring individual data bits, portions of data, portions of image frames (e.g., subsets of image data that define image frames), entire image frames, entire partial image frames, etc. to another processing operation or block of the image data processing block 196. In this way, any suitable amount of data can be transferred from one block to another block to process the image data via the image data processing block 196. Some blocks in the image data processing block 196 may process data in parallel. For example, some blocks may involve graphics processing units that are capable of processing subsets of input data in parallel. Note also that parallel processing can occur between data being processed by a block and data being processed outside of the block. Explained differently using an example, data A processed by block A can be processed in parallel by block A, and data B processed by block B can be processed in parallel with block A processing data A; however, sometimes data A cannot be processed in parallel by blocks A and B. This can happen because block A passes data A to block B for further processing. Note that in this example, data A and data B can be different subsets of image data of the same image frame; however, other combinations can also be applied.

[0135] The image data processing block 196 may process the image data to improve the perceived image quality of an image frame generated from the image data. For example, the image data processing block 196 may include a color management block that converts the image data from a source space to a display space of the electronic display 12. The image data processing block 196 may include a pixel contrast control block that applies tone mapping to the image data to control perceived contrast or perceived white point based at least in part on environmental conditions, such as ambient light. The image data processing block 196 may also include an acquisition block 70 that uses the DMA block 190 to retrieve image data for processing.

[0136] In view of the foregoing, image processing circuitry 28 may be involved in the suppression operations described above, and the image processing circuitry is typically associated with Figure 7 The suppression management system 56 and / or condition preprocessor 58 are combined. In detail, Fig.14 is a block diagram illustrating a suppression management architecture 210 that combines Figure 7 system, Fig.13 flipbook operation, the always-on display operation described earlier, Figures 10 to 12The described condition indicates 62 examples or any combination thereof. The flip book mode may sometimes use an opportunity generation technique that compares the current time to the presentation time of the image frames of the flip book to determine whether to return to the active normal operating mode or whether to return to the flip book mode to consume less power. Figure 7 The suppression management system 56 may correspond to Fig.14 The suppression management and power control system 212 and / or Fig.14 The always-on suppression management system 214. At a high level, the suppression management and power control system 212 can control the power supplied to the electronic display 12 via the display power supply 54 based on the suppression instructions 60, the sleep event indications 216, the presence event indications 218 and / or the condition indications 62.

[0137] The suppression instructions 60 may correspond to inputs received via one or more of the input devices 14 and / or via tactile input to the electronic display 12. The suppression instructions 60 may instruct the suppression management and power control system 212 to suppress the presentation of image frames from the electronic display 12 immediately, suppress the presentation of image frames from the electronic display 12 when conditions are appropriate, and so on. In practice, in response to receiving the suppression instructions 60 from another portion of the electronic device 10 (e.g., the input device 14), the suppression management and power control system 212 may generate a power-off control signal 64 and send the power-off control signal to the display power supply 54. In some cases, the suppression management and power control system 212 may delay sending the power-off control signal 64 to the display power supply 54 until another condition occurs (e.g., a presence event, a sleep event, receipt of a condition indication 62).

[0138] When the suppression instructions 60 instruct the suppression management and power control system 212 to suppress the presentation of image frames from the electronic display 12 when conditions are appropriate, the suppression management and power control system 212 can transmit the presence / sleep event indication 217 to the always-on suppression management system 214. The always-on suppression management system 214 can receive the presence / sleep event indication 217 and can verify the appropriate conditions for turning off the electronic display 12 based on the sensor data 222, which verification operation is similar to Figures 10 to 12 Once the always-on suppression management system 214 verifies that it is allowed to suppress image presentation, the always-on suppression management system 214 generates a condition indication 62 and sends the condition indication to the suppression management and power control system 212.

[0139] The presence detection system 224 may execute Fig.12 The machine learning engine 226 can perform operations related to Fig.11 Corresponding operations and / or the view occlusion detection system 228 may perform Fig.10 operation. Any of these systems may use the sensed data 222 from the condition sensor 66. Note that the condition sensor 66 may be partially disposed in the always-on domain 230 and partially disposed outside of the always-on 230. In this manner, some condition sensors 66 may remain always-on even during power gating operations, while some condition sensors may not remain always-on. The condition sensors 66 that remain on may be operated into a reduced power consumption mode, such as using a slower sensing frequency. The always-on domain 230 may also include an always-on suppression management system 214.

[0140] The machine learning engine 226 may generate a sleep event indication 216 based on the expected activity data 223, which may include any suitable data indicating an expected viewing pattern, such as calendar data, alarm data, behavioral patterns of users or other viewers of the electronic device 10, motion characteristics, etc. The machine learning engine 226 may include a machine learning classifier that can be configured to predict the upcoming non-use duration of the electronic display 12. The prediction may be based on the usage pattern on which the machine learning engine 226 is trained. The motion characteristics may indicate an expected set of sensory data corresponding to a motion pattern associated with the way a viewer or user interacts with or views the electronic device 10. The motion pattern may not be limited to the way the electronic device 10 moves. In fact, the motion pattern may include audible sound detection, pressure differential detection, ultrasonic motion detection and / or monitoring, etc., to estimate a motion characteristic corresponding to the way of interaction with the electronic device 10, which may be related to the possibility or duration of visibility. Controlling the brightness (or another visual characteristic) or power of the electronic display 12 based on the motion characteristics can improve the power control operation by enabling the power control operation to be customized for the motion characteristics corresponding to the electronic device 10. In some systems, such motion characteristics may be used in one or more electronic devices 10. Presence detection system 224 and / or machine learning engine 226 may be a framework implemented by application processor 50. View occlusion detection system 228 may generate view occlusion event indication 220 that indicates when electronic display 12 is hidden from or otherwise inaccessible to view.

[0141] In one example, the view occlusion detection system 228 may be operated in the always-on domain 230 to generate the view occlusion event indication 220. The always-on suppression management system 214 may be a relatively uncomplicated processing system that controls when to wake up the application processor 50 to resume image generation operations after it has been powered off. Some suppression operations may occur when the application processor 50 is operated to be off (e.g., flip book mode), such as may occur in power state 40B to stop generation of image frames and / or stop advancement in a flip book. When the electronic device 10 is operating in the flip book mode of operation, the application processor 50 may be powered off after generating the flip book.

[0142] When the electronic device 10 is operating in both the suppressed operating mode and the flip book operating mode, at the end of a flip book, if the electronic display 12 is suppressed, the always-on suppression management system 214 may delay waking up the application processor 50 and delay returning power to the application processor until the electronic display 12 will be powered on again (upon exiting the suppressed operating mode), rather than returning power to the application processor 50 in preparation for another flip book. In addition, when in both the suppressed operating mode and the flip book operating mode, if the electronic display 12 is suppressed, when determining when to return power to the application processor 50, the always-on suppression management system 214 may take into account the configuration time for waking up and reprogramming the display pipeline 180 for subsequent processing operations, and the configuration time for initializing and programming the electronic display 12 when power is returned to the display. Although the always-on domain 230 includes the always-on suppression management system 214, in some cases, the application processor 50 may include the always-on suppression management system 214.

[0143] In some cases, condition sensor 66 includes a proximity sensor that operates at least in part using circuitry disposed in electronic display 12. Thus, the timing of sensing and display operations may be considered. In fact, a buffer may be extended and / or included in electronic display 12 to enable suppression of display operations without interrupting proximity sensing operations.

[0144] Further details Fig.14 Systems and methods, Fig.15 1 is a flow chart of a method 250 used by the electronic device 10 in determining to enter and / or exit the inhibited operating mode based on the inhibit instruction 60 and the conditional indication 62. As described herein, Fig.14The inhibition management and power control system 212 performs the operations of method 250. However, it should be noted that any suitable device (e.g., a controller) that can control one or more components of the electronic device 10 (such as the processor core complex 18) can perform method 250. In some embodiments, method 250 can be implemented by using the processor core complex 18 to execute instructions stored in a tangible, non-transitory computer-readable medium such as a memory 20 or a storage device 22. For example, method 250 may be performed at least in part by one or more software components such as an operating system of the electronic device 10, one or more software applications of the electronic device 10, and the like. Although method 250 is described using a particular order of steps, it should be understood that the present disclosure contemplates that the steps may be performed in an order different from that shown, and that some of the steps may be skipped or not performed at all. Note that the above description relative to Fig.14 Many of these operations are described, so those descriptions are followed throughout this article.

[0145] In process block 252, the suppression management and power control system 212 receives suppression instructions 60 from the input device 14, tactile input to the electronic display 12, the image processing circuit 28, etc. In process block 254, the suppression management and power control system 212 receives a presence event indication 218 from the presence detection system 224 and / or a sleep event indication 216 from the machine learning engine 226. The presence event indication 218 may indicate that the electronic display 12 is not visible to the viewer at this time because the viewer is physically away from the electronic device 10 or at a distance from the electronic device (e.g., a past viewer of the electronic display 12 is no longer viewing the electronic display 12). The presence event indication 218 may use the step data to determine whether the viewer is near the electronic device 10 (within a threshold distance of the electronic device). The sleep event indication 216 may indicate that the electronic display 12 is not visible to the viewer at this time because the viewer is sleeping. As noted above, sleep event indications 216 may be summarized as event indications, where the events indicated may be events in which the user was sleeping or in a meeting and / or otherwise not viewing electronic display 12 .

[0146] In process block 256, suppression management and power control system 212 transmits presence event indication 218 and / or sleep event indication 216 to always-on suppression management system 214. Here, always-on suppression management system 214 receives presence event indication 218 and / or sleep event indication 216 and verifies whether the conditions are suitable for entering suppression mode of operation. Always-on suppression management system 214 may perform verification based at least in part on sensing data 222. For example, when calendar data used to generate sleep event indication 216 corresponds to an event, always-on suppression management system 214 may verify whether electronic device 10 is indeed not moving. Once verified, always-on suppression management system 214 may generate first condition indication 62 and send the first condition indication to suppression management and power control system 212.

[0147] In process block 258, the inhibition management and power control system 212 may receive the first condition indication 62, and in response to the first condition indication 62, in process block 260, the inhibition management and power control system 212 generates a power-off control signal (e.g., a power-off instruction) and sends the power-off control signal to the display power supply 54. Once the electronic display 12 is powered off, the electronic device 10 may be in an inhibited operating mode (e.g., similar to Figure 8 operation).

[0148] While in the suppressed operating mode, in process block 262, the suppression management and power control system 212 receives a second condition indication 62. The second condition indication 62 may correspond to a wake-up condition being satisfied. Examples of a wake-up condition being satisfied include the suppression management system 214, which is always on, determining that the electronic device 10 will exit the suppressed operating mode, such as in response to a predicted wake-up time, a response to an incoming viewer, etc. Based on the second condition indication 62, in process block 264, the suppression management and power control system 212 determines to operate the electronic device 10 to exit the suppressed operating mode by powering on the electronic display 12. To this end, in process block 266, the suppression management and power control system 212 generates a power control signal and sends the power control signal to the power supply 54 to return power to the electronic display 12. In this way, the method 250 enables the electronic device 10 to exit or enter the suppressed operating mode based on different condition indications 62 generated by different subsystems. In addition, the method 250 enables the electronic device 10 to enter the suppressed operating mode after receiving the suppression instruction 60 from the first portion of the electronic device 10 and verifying the suppression instruction 60 via the second portion of the electronic device 10.

[0149] Fig.16 Another example operation is shown in . Fig.16is a diagrammatic illustration of how two or more condition sensors 66 may interact when the electronic device 10 determines to enter the inhibited operating mode 280 . Fig.16 Generally, it is shown how a threshold duration (e.g., a minimum amount of time) may be used to slow entry into the inhibited operating mode 280, but how the same duration parameter may be ignored when exiting from the inhibited operating mode 280. Using a threshold duration for entering but not exiting the inhibited operating mode may have the following additional benefits: it causes the electronic device 10 to not enter the inhibited operating mode prematurely, but to respond to changes in environmental and / or operating conditions while in the inhibited operating mode. Prior to a first time (t1), while in the always-on display (AOD) operating mode 282 of the display subsystem and the active mode 284 of the touch subsystem, the condition sensor 66A and the condition sensor 66B may sense environmental conditions. Around t1, the condition sensor 66A may generate sensed data that the condition preprocessor 58 determines corresponds to a condition being satisfied for entering the inhibited operating mode 280. The transition from the AOD operating mode 282 to the inhibited operating mode 280 may be delayed until the duration has passed and still indicates that the condition is satisfied because new sensed data is generated by the condition sensor 66A and processed by the condition preprocessor 58. At a second time (t2), condition sensor 66A and / or condition sensor 66 may generate sensing data for condition preprocessor 58 to confirm that the condition for entering the inhibited operation mode is still satisfied. For example, at t1, condition sensor 66A may detect that electronic device 10 is at a threshold distance from the viewer, and by t2, condition sensor 66B may detect that electronic device 10 is stationary, thereby confirming that the viewer is no longer viewing or using electronic device 10, enabling electronic device 10 to enter the inhibited operation mode. By a third time (t3), electronic device 10 is operated into inhibited operation mode 280, and touch operation is operated into shutdown via disabling touch mode 286.

[0150] When in the suppression mode of operation 280 (between t3 and the seventh time (t7)), the condition sensor 66B may generate sensing data used by the condition preprocessor 58 to confirm that the conditions for entering the suppression mode of operation 280 are now changing, such as at the fourth time (t4). In response to the sensing data and subsequent determination, the electronic device 10 operates to increase the sensing frequency of the condition sensor 66A. Increasing the sensing frequency may increase the likelihood that the transition from the suppression mode of operation 280 occurs substantially simultaneously with the change in the sensed condition, thereby improving the operation of the electronic device 10 by reducing the delay associated with exiting the suppression mode of operation 280. By the fifth time (t5), the electronic device 10 has achieved the increased sensing frequency. It should be noted that sometimes the electronic device 10 may increase or adjust the sensing frequency based on which other sensor indicates the changed condition. For example, a proximity sensor that detects a changed condition may produce a faster refresh rate than a temperature sensor that detects a changed condition.

[0151] By the sixth time (t6), condition sensor 66A may have detected the changed condition that condition sensor 66B has detected. In response to condition sensor 66A detecting the changed condition, electronic device 10 may exit suppression mode of operation 280. By t7, electronic device 10 may begin to transition to AOD mode of operation 282 again. By the eighth time (t8), electronic device 10 may enter AOD mode of operation 282. With the transition to AOD mode of operation 282, the sensing frequency may be reduced again to the original rate before entering suppression mode of operation 280. These systems and methods may trade off between increasing and reducing the power consumed via condition sensor 66 by changing the sensing frequency in response to satisfying a condition that increases or decreases the likelihood or relative importance of detecting a value change.

[0152] Here, the electronic device 10 may have been operating in an always-on display (AOD) operating mode as an AOD operating mode 282, so the mode entered is the AOD suppression operating mode 280. The AOD suppression operating mode may correspond to the second power state 40B or the second lowest power state. In the AOD suppression operating mode, the advancement of the image frame of the flip book may be paused or stopped and touch is disabled (e.g., mode 286). Once the flip book is paused or stopped in the suppression operating mode, the electronic device 10 may exit the suppression operating mode and enter the AOD operating mode 282. Exiting the suppression operating mode when the flip book is stopped may cause the electronic device 10 to transition from power state 40B to power state 40E. Exiting the suppression operating mode when the flip book is paused may cause the electronic device 10 to transition from power state 40B to power state 40D because the electronic device 10 is resuming the presentation of the next image frame queued in the flip book. Here, since the electronic device 10 exits from the suppression operating mode to the AOD operating mode, the flip book is paused when in the suppression operating mode. Upon exiting from the suppressed mode of operation, the electronic device 10 may "pop" the timestamp queue 200 to reveal and process a subsequent image frame, or the electronic device 10 may repeatedly present a previous frame.

[0153] About Fig.17 Describes the operations associated with entering and exiting the AOD mode of operation. Fig.17 1 is a flow chart of a method 300 used by the electronic device 10 in determining to enter and / or exit the inhibited operating mode based on the inhibit instruction 60 and the conditional indication 62. As described herein, Fig.15 The inhibition management and power control system 212 performs the operations of method 300. However, it should be noted that any suitable device (e.g., a controller) that can control one or more components of the electronic device 10 (such as the processor core complex 18) can perform method 300. In some embodiments, method 300 can be implemented by using the processor core complex 18 to execute instructions stored in a tangible, non-transitory computer-readable medium such as a memory 20 or a storage device 22. For example, method 300 may be performed at least in part by one or more software components such as an operating system of the electronic device 10, one or more software applications of the electronic device 10, and the like. Although method 300 is described using a particular order of steps, it should be understood that the present disclosure contemplates that the described steps may be performed in an order different from that shown, and that certain described steps may be skipped or not performed at all. Note that the above with respect to Fig.17 Many of these operations are described, so those descriptions are followed throughout this article.

[0154] In process block 302, the inhibition management and power control system 212 determines to enter the inhibited operating mode, and determines that the display pipeline system controller 52 is causing the flip book to be presented via the electronic display 12 when the application processor is in the always-on display (AOD) operating mode. In process block 304, the inhibition management and power control system 212 generates a control signal to cut off power to the electronic display 12, and in response to entering the inhibited operating mode and the AOD operating mode at the same time, in process block 304, the inhibition management and power control system 212 generates and sends an instruction to the system controller 52 to pause advancement in the flip book during the inhibited operating mode. In process block 306, while in the inhibited operating mode, the inhibition management and power control system 212 receives a second condition indication 62. In process block 308, the inhibition management and power control system 212 may determine to exit the inhibited operating mode based on the second condition indication 62. For example, the second condition indication 62 may convey to the inhibition management and power control system 212 that the viewer is predicted to view the electronic display 12 at a predicted future time from the current time that is less than a threshold.

[0155] In process block 310, the inhibition management and power control system 212 may determine whether to exit from the AOD operating mode. When the amount of power saved by returning to the AOD operating mode and operating in the AOD operating mode exceeds the amount of power expected to be used by returning to the normal operating mode and operating in the normal operating mode, the inhibition management and power control system 212 may exit the AOD operating mode instead of resuming the presentation of the flip book. Sometimes, the power saving may correspond to the number of queued frames remaining in the timestamp queue 200. For example, if the number of queued frames in the timestamp queue 200 is below a threshold, the inhibition management and power control system 212 may enter an active presentation mode (e.g., power state 40E) when exiting from the inhibition mode. In process block 312, the inhibition management and power control system 212 determines to exit the AOD operating mode, and generates and sends a control signal to the electronic display power supply 54 to power the electronic display 12. The electronic device 10 may therefore return to the full power operating mode, and in process block 314, the inhibition management and power control system 212 may generate and send a control signal to the application processor 50 to generate the next image frame. This operation may also involve discarding the remaining portion of the flipbook stored in the timestamp queue 200, such as to enable the application processor 50 to resume the active image frame rendering operation.

[0156] However, in response to determining at process block 310 not to exit the AOD mode of operation when the threshold number of queued frames remain in the timestamp queue 200, in process block 316 the inhibition management and power control system 212 may generate and send a control signal to power the electronic display 12. In process block 318, the inhibition management and power control system 212 generates and sends a control signal to cause the display pipeline system controller 52 to resume advancement in the flip book.

[0157] In some systems, the exit from the suppressed mode at block 264 of method 250 and / or at block 308 of method 300 is a soft exit or partial exit from the suppressed mode. In the case of a soft exit, returning the electronic device to the suppressed mode may be more efficient (e.g., consume fewer resources, consume a reduced amount of power) relative to returning to the suppressed mode from a fully on operation.

[0158] With this in mind, Fig.18 1 is a flow chart of a method 340 used by the electronic device 10 in determining to enter and / or exit the inhibited operating mode based on the inhibit instruction 60 and the conditional indication 62. As described herein, Fig.15 The inhibition management and power control system 212 performs the operations of method 340. However, it should be noted that any suitable device (e.g., a controller) that can control one or more components of the electronic device 10 (such as the processor core complex 18) can perform method 340. In some embodiments, method 340 can be implemented by using the processor core complex 18 to execute instructions stored in a tangible, non-transitory computer-readable medium such as a memory 20 or a storage device 22. For example, method 340 may be performed at least in part by one or more software components such as an operating system of the electronic device 10, one or more software applications of the electronic device 10, and the like. Although method 340 is described using a particular order of steps, it should be understood that the present disclosure contemplates that the described steps may be performed in an order different from that shown, and that certain described steps may be skipped or not performed at all. Note that the above with respect to Fig.17 Many of these operations are described, so those descriptions are followed throughout this article.

[0159] While in the suppression mode described above (e.g., the suppression modes of boxes 86-90, 102-104, 114, 260, 262, 304-308), the electronic device 10 and / or electronic display 12 can be moved, can sense input, can receive input, etc., which triggers a partial exit from the suppression mode (e.g., a soft exit) and the presentation of de-contented image frames to create the illusion that the electronic display 12 has been presenting image data while in the suppression mode.

[0160] In practice, in process block 342, the suppression management and power control system 212 may determine to soft exit from the suppression mode and present a de-contented image frame. This soft exit may be paired with a sleep suppression operation. In this way, the suppression management and power control system 212 may partially exit the suppression mode and enter a higher power state 40 that uses less power than the fifth power state 40E. By not fully powering on, the electronic device 10 may consume reduced computing resources and / or power when returning to the suppression mode when compared to the amount of computing resources and / or power consumed when entering the suppression mode from the fully on power state 40E. When in a soft exit,

[0161] At each of process blocks 344, 346, 348, and 350, the inhibition management and power control system 212 may check a condition, and when satisfied, may fully power on the electronic device 10 and the electronic display 12, and exit from a soft exit of the inhibition mode at process block 360. Here, four example conditions are described. However, it should be understood that other conditions may be used, including detection of ambient light, temperature detection, other sensor conditions, etc.

[0162] In more detail, in process block 344, inhibition management and power control system 212 may determine whether electronic device 10 has been inhibited within a threshold amount of time in the past. For example, inhibition management and power control system 212 may determine whether the electronic device has entered inhibit mode within the past hour. If inhibition management and power control system 212 determines that electronic device 10 has been inhibited within a threshold amount of time, then at process block 360, inhibition management and power control system 212 may exit from inhibit mode completely.

[0163] When the inhibition management and power control system 212 determines that the electronic device 10 has not been inhibited within the past threshold amount of time, the inhibition management and power control system 212 may determine whether the electronic device 10 is not expected to be inhibited within a future amount of time in process block 346. To determine this, the inhibition management and power control system 212 may reference calendar entries or other stored user data to identify when the associated user account is scheduled or predicted to access the electronic device 10. If the inhibition management and power control system 212 determines that the electronic device 10 is not expected to be inhibited within the future threshold amount of time, then at process block 360, the inhibition management and power control system 212 may exit the inhibition mode completely.

[0164] When the inhibition management and power control system 212 determines that the electronic device 10 is not expected to exit the suppressed mode within a future threshold amount of time, in process block 348, the inhibition management and power control system 212 may determine whether the electronic device 10 was unlocked a threshold number of times while suppressed before soft exiting the suppressed mode at process block 342. For example, the inhibition management and power control system 212 may determine whether the electronic device 10 was unlocked more than two times while suppressed. Repeated unlocking may be associated with a user waking up from sleep or otherwise resuming activity on the electronic device 10, and therefore the electronic device 10 will resume presenting images on the electronic display 12. If the inhibition management and power control system 212 determines that the electronic device 10 was unlocked a threshold number of times while suppressed, then at process block 360, the inhibition management and power control system 212 may exit the suppressed mode completely.

[0165] When the inhibition management and power control system 212 determines that the electronic device 10 was not unlocked a threshold number of times while inhibited before soft exiting the inhibited mode at process block 342, in process block 350, the inhibition management and power control system 212 may determine whether the electronic device 10 was unlocked for a threshold amount of time. For example, the inhibition management and power control system 212 may determine whether the electronic device 10 was unlocked for a time longer than the threshold amount of time. The electronic device 10 being unlocked and used for a time longer than the threshold amount of time (e.g., a few seconds (e.g., 10 seconds-20 seconds)) may indicate a resumption of user activity of the electronic device 10, and therefore, an indication that the electronic device 10 will resume presenting images on the electronic display 12. It is noted that the inhibition management and power control system 212 may cause the electronic device 10 to soft exit the inhibited mode when the electronic device 10 receives input (such as from a user) while in the inhibited mode. Therefore, being unlocked while being inhibited or while in the inhibited mode may sometimes be referred to as being in a soft exit from the inhibited mode. If the inhibition management and power control system 212 determines that the electronic device 10 was unlocked while inhibited for a threshold amount of time, then at process block 360 the inhibition management and power control system 212 may fully exit from the inhibition mode.

[0166] However, when the inhibition management and power control system 212 determines that the electronic device 10 has not been unlocked for a threshold amount of time while inhibited, the inhibition management and power control system 212 may operate the electronic device 10 to return from the soft exit to the inhibit mode in process block 362. To return to the inhibit mode, the inhibition management and power control system 212 may perform the same process as described above. Figure 8 Operations similar to those described in block 88 of or other associated power-off operations described herein. While returning to the inhibit mode, the inhibit management and power control system 212 may update a maintenance count corresponding to the number of times the electronic device 10 has been operated into the inhibit mode.

[0167] In some embodiments, a combination of smaller thresholds and more conditions may be used to trigger a full exit from the inhibit mode at process block 360. For example, a relatively small threshold amount at process block 344 may be used in combination with a small future threshold amount of time at process block 346 to help superimpose conditions to trigger powering the electronic display 12. Any suitable combination of conditions may be used.

[0168] In some systems, the history log can be used to determine and predict which sensed data is expected data based on the history of user behavior and the recognized past patterns. The history log can be stored in a memory and / or implemented using a buffer circuit for temporarily storing past sensed data. The history log can be used for a variety of condition identifications. For example, it may not be desirable to suppress the electronic display 12 in response to a relatively short-lived shadow. The history log can help identify whether a change in ambient light is due to a shadow or a true occlusion.

[0169] Furthermore, in addition to the conditions described at process blocks 344, 346, 348, and 350, trigger thresholds based on lighting may be used. For example, the electronic display 12 may be inhibited in response to the lights being turned off, and not inhibited in response to the lights being turned on. Other qualifying conditions may include: the user setting an alarm and then motion stops being detected, inhibition or non-inhibition is determined according to an interaction model determined based on past interactions or sensory data, the electronic display 12 receives input or moves at all (e.g., sensitive motion detection vs. pattern-based motion detection), and the like.

[0170] In view of the foregoing, the technical effects of the present disclosure include systems and methods for improving the operation of electronic devices by selectively powering off an electronic display as part of an inhibited operating mode to save power consumed by the electronic device. The processing circuit described herein may determine to inhibit the electronic display and / or other systems of the electronic device based on receiving an indication of entering a low-power mode, an indication that the associated electronic display is no longer at a threshold distance from a sensor, an indication that the electronic display is blocked, an indication of inactivity, or any combination thereof. The electronic display may be powered off in response to an operating condition, in response to additional data (e.g., a calendar entry, alarm data), and / or in response to a prediction that the electronic display will not be viewed. These operations may be further based on machine learning operations that help associate one or more operations with entering an inhibited operating mode to achieve dynamic real-time behavioral learning of a dynamic user associated with the electronic device. In addition, the electronic device may determine that the electronic display will not be viewed and / or used, and is therefore suitable for entering an inhibited operating mode, based at least in part on sensed data from a condition sensor and / or a signal indicating a parameter (such as an instruction to enter an inhibited operating mode) generated via an input device. These systems and methods can additionally improve device operation based on predictive screen power off - by selectively enabling an electronic display to switch from a powered-off state to a powered-on state based on predictions of when a viewer is expected to view the display and / or use the electronic device, these systems and methods can achieve a perceptibly always-on display without operating the electronic display as always-on, thereby balancing consumer demands and benefits with technical requirements for relatively long battery life and corresponding low power consumption.

[0171] The specific embodiments described above have been shown by way of example, and it should be understood that these embodiments are susceptible to various modifications and alternative forms. It should also be understood that the claims are not intended to be limited to the specific forms disclosed, but are intended to cover all modifications, equivalents, and alternatives that fall within the spirit and scope of the present disclosure.

[0172] The technology presented and claimed herein is cited and applied to specific examples of a physical and practical nature that significantly improves the art and is therefore not abstract, intangible, or purely theoretical. In addition, if any claim appended at the end of this specification contains one or more elements designated as "means for [performing] [the function] ..." or "steps for [performing] [the function] ...", it is intended that such elements should be interpreted in accordance with 35 U.S.C. 112(f). However, for any claim containing elements designated in any other manner, it is intended that such elements should not be interpreted in accordance with 35 U.S.C. 112(f).

[0173] It is understood that the use of personally identifiable information should be subject to privacy policies and practices that are generally recognized to meet or exceed industry or government requirements for maintaining user privacy. In particular, personally identifiable information data should be managed and processed to minimize the risk of unintentional or unauthorized access or use, and the nature of the authorized use should be clearly stated to users.

Claims

1. A system comprising: an electronic display configured to be powered off; a condition preprocessor that, when the electronic display is powered off, generates a first signal instructing one or more sensors to generate sensed data corresponding to the electronic display being visible at a future time; and A processing circuit, wherein the processing circuit: receiving the first signal from the conditional preprocessor; as well as Power is returned to the electronic display based on the first signal before the future time.

2. The system of claim 1, wherein the electronic display renders an image corresponding to a de-contexted image frame associated with an always-on display operating mode before the future time. 3 . The system of claim 1 , wherein the conditional pre-processor generates the first signal further based on a second signal from an associated electronic device. 4 . The system of claim 1 , wherein the one or more sensors include an accelerometer, wherein the condition pre-processor generates the first signal further based on the accelerometer detecting a change in a motion pattern. 5 . The system of claim 1 , wherein the condition pre-processor generates the first signal further based on an ambient light sensor sensing an ambient light level below a threshold. 6 . The system of claim 1 , wherein the condition pre-processor generates a third signal further based on an accelerometer sensing motion corresponding to the electronic display being hidden.

7. The system of claim 1, wherein the processing circuit further: generating a first control signal to cut off power to the electronic display; and A second control signal is generated, the second control signal configured to provide power to the electronic display prior to a predicted future time.

8. The system of claim 1, comprising a sensor, wherein the condition preprocessor further: receiving a second signal indicative of the surrounding environment from the sensor; determining that the second signal indicates a first condition associated with the electronic display being visible at the future time; verifying the first condition based on one or more additional signals; as well as The first signal is generated in response to the first condition being verified.

9. The system of claim 1, wherein the conditional pre-processor generates the first signal based on a motion signature indicating one or more sensed signals corresponding to a motion pattern.

10. A method comprising: receiving a first signal from a condition preprocessor indicating that the electronic display is not in use; generating a first control signal based on the first signal to cut off power to the electronic display; receiving, from the condition preprocessor, a second signal from one or more sensors, the second signal corresponding to the electronic display being visible at a future time; as well as A second control signal is generated based on the second signal to provide power to the electronic display before the future time.

11. The method according to claim 10, comprising: pausing the flip book based on the first signal; as well as A remaining portion of the paused flipbook is discarded based on the second signal and the predicted future time.

12. The method according to claim 10, comprising: determining to enter an inhibit mode based on the first signal; as well as In response to determining to enter the inhibit mode, the first control signal is generated based on the first signal.

13. The method of claim 10, wherein the one or more sensors include an accelerometer, and wherein the second signal is generated based on the accelerometer generating sensed data corresponding to a change in the motion pattern.

14. The method of claim 10, wherein the first signal is generated based on the one or more sensors detecting a period of non-use of the electronic display.

15. The method of claim 10, wherein the one or more sensors include an inertial measurement unit (IMU), a proximity sensor, a radio frequency (RF) sensor, a pressure sensor, a temperature sensor, an ultrasonic sensor, an infrared sensor, a motion detection sensor, a gyroscope, a humidity sensor, an audio sensor, or any combination thereof.

16. A tangible, non-transitory computer-readable medium comprising instructions that, when executed by one or more processors, cause an electronic device to perform operations comprising: receiving a first signal from a condition preprocessor, the first signal instructing a sensor to generate sensed data corresponding to an electronic display of the electronic device being visible at a future time; generating a first control signal based on the first signal to provide power to the electronic display before the future time; as well as The first control signal is sent to a power supply device of the electronic display.

17. The tangible, non-transitory computer readable medium of claim 16, wherein the first signal is generated based on motion data.

18. The tangible, non-transitory computer readable medium of claim 16, wherein the first signal is generated based on detecting an associated electronic device.

19. The tangible, non-transitory computer readable medium of claim 16, wherein the first signal is generated based on signals generated by a plurality of sensors.

20. The tangible, non-transitory computer readable medium of claim 16, wherein the operations comprise: receiving a second signal instructing to cut off power to the electronic display; as well as A second control signal is generated based on the second signal to cut power to the electronic display before receiving the first signal.

21. A system comprising: an electronic display configured to be de-energized as part of the suppression operation; a conditional preprocessor that, when the electronic display is powered off, generates a first signal indicating that the electronic display is predicted to be visible at a future time; and A processing circuit, wherein the processing circuit: determining to inhibit the electronic display; generating a first control signal to power off the electronic display based on the determination to inhibit the electronic display, wherein the first control signal is configured to cause a power supply to remove a first amount of power from the electronic display; sending the first control signal to the power supply device; receiving the first signal from the conditional preprocessor; as well as The first amount of power is returned to the electronic display based on the first signal before a predicted future time.

22. The system of claim 21, wherein the condition pre-processor generates the first signal further based on a machine learning engine predicting a non-use period of the electronic display.

23. The system of claim 22, wherein the processing circuit further: receiving a second signal from the conditional preprocessor; and A second amount of power is returned to the electronic display before the predicted future time based on the first signal and the second signal, wherein the second amount of power is less than the first amount of power.

24. The system of claim 23, wherein the electronic display renders images corresponding to de-contexted image frames associated with an always-on display mode of operation after being returned the second amount of power.

25. The system of claim 23, wherein the processing circuit further: receiving a third signal from the conditional preprocessor; generating a second control signal based on the third signal to power off the electronic display, wherein the second control signal is configured to cause the power supply to remove the second amount of power; and A third control signal is generated before the predicted future time based on the first signal, the second signal, the third signal, or a combination thereof to return the first amount of power to the electronic display.

26. The system of claim 25, wherein the conditional preprocessor generates the second signal further based on: determining whether the electronic display has been inhibited for an elapsed threshold amount of time, determining whether the electronic display is expected to not be inhibited within a first threshold amount of time from the predicted future time, determining whether the electronic display is unlocked when inhibited for a second threshold amount of time, determining whether the electronic display is unlocked when inhibited a threshold number of times, or any combination thereof.

27. A system according to claim 25, wherein the processing circuit generates the second control signal further based on: determining that the electronic display has not been inhibited for a past threshold amount of time, determining that the electronic display is expected to be inhibited within a first threshold amount of time from the predicted future time, determining that the electronic display has not been unlocked for a second threshold amount of time when inhibited, and determining that the electronic display has not been unlocked a threshold number of times when inhibited.

28. The system of claim 21, wherein the conditional pre-processor generates the first signal further based on a motion signature indicating one or more sensed signals corresponding to a motion pattern.

29. A system according to claim 21, wherein the processing circuit determines to suppress the electronic display based on receiving a first indication of entering a low power mode, a second indication that the associated electronic display is no longer a threshold distance from a sensor, a third indication that the electronic display is obscured, a fourth indication of inactivity, or any combination thereof.

30. A method comprising: receiving a first signal from a condition preprocessor indicating that the electronic display is not in use; generating a first control signal based on the first signal to cut off power to the electronic display; receiving a second signal from the condition preprocessor, the second signal indicating that the electronic display is predicted to be visible at a first future time; as well as A second control signal is generated based on the second signal to provide power to the electronic display before the first future time.

31. The method according to claim 30, comprising: pausing the flip book based on the first signal; as well as A remaining portion of the paused flipbook is discarded based on the second signal and the first future time.

32. The method of claim 30, comprising: determining to enter an inhibit mode based on the first signal; as well as In response to determining to enter the inhibit mode, the first control signal is generated based on the first signal.

33. The method of claim 30, wherein the second signal is generated based on projected user activity data including calendar event data, alarm data, or both.

34. The method of claim 30, wherein the first signal is generated based on a period of non-use of the electronic display.

35. The method of claim 30, comprising: receiving a third signal from the condition preprocessor, the third signal indicating that the electronic display is predicted to be visible at a second future time before the first future time; generating a third control signal based on the third signal to partially power the electronic display before the second future time; as well as After the second future time, a fourth control signal is generated to cut power to the electronic display.

36. A tangible, non-transitory computer-readable medium comprising instructions that, when executed by one or more processors, cause an electronic device to perform operations comprising: receiving a first signal from a condition preprocessor, the first signal indicating that an electronic display of the electronic device is predicted to be visible at a first future time; generating a first control signal based on the first signal to provide power to the electronic display before the first future time; as well as The first control signal is sent to a power supply device of the electronic display.

37. The tangible, non-transitory computer readable medium of claim 36, wherein the first signal is generated based on a calendar entry.

38. The tangible, non-transitory computer readable medium of claim 36, wherein the operations comprise: receiving a second signal from the condition preprocessor, the second signal indicating that the electronic display is predicted to be visible at a second future time prior to the first future time; generating a third control signal based on the second signal to partially power the electronic display before the second future time; as well as After the second future time, a fourth control signal is generated to cut power to the electronic display.

39. The tangible, non-transitory computer readable medium of claim 38, wherein the operations comprise: generating the third control signal based on one or more sensing signals; as well as The fourth control signal is generated based on: determining that the electronic display has not been inhibited for a past threshold amount of time, determining that the electronic display is expected to be inhibited within a first threshold amount of time from the first future time, determining that the electronic display has not been unlocked for a second threshold amount of time while inhibited, and determining that the electronic display has not been unlocked a threshold number of times while inhibited.

40. The tangible, non-transitory computer readable medium of claim 36, wherein the operations comprise generating the first control signal based on: determining that the electronic display has been inhibited for a past threshold amount of time, determining that the electronic display is not expected to be inhibited within a first threshold amount of time from the first future time, determining that the electronic display is unlocked for a second threshold amount of time while inhibited, determining a threshold number of times the electronic display is unlocked while inhibited, or any combination thereof.

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