Auxiliary Device Wake Mechanism for Main Computer Data Fetching
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Solution Overview
Problem
Auxiliary devices associated with main computers are limited to operating with cached data when the main computer is not fully powered, leading to stale data and insufficient resources for user tasks, while also consuming excessive power when the main computer is kept on for data access.
Innovation Solution
Implementing a system and method where the auxiliary device can temporarily wake the main computer to obtain necessary data using a control channel, allowing the main computer to return to a lower-power sleep state, thereby leveraging the main computer's full capabilities and reducing power consumption.
Engineering Contradictions & Design Principles
Engineering Contradiction Analysis
1Loss of information
If the main computer is kept fully powered to provide current data to the auxiliary device, then data freshness is improved, but power consumption increases
Solution Approach 1:
The main computer alternates between fully powered state and sleep state, periodically waking up to transfer data to the auxiliary device and then returning to sleep. This periodic cycling allows the system to maintain data freshness while minimizing overall power consumption by keeping the main computer in low-power mode most of the time.
Solution Approach 2:
The auxiliary device caches data in advance during periods when the main computer is powered on. This preliminary data caching allows the auxiliary device to operate with current data during subsequent periods without requiring the main computer to remain powered on, thereby reducing power consumption while maintaining data freshness.
2Use of energy by moving object
If the main computer is put into sleep state to conserve power, then power consumption is reduced, but data becomes stale
Solution Approach 1:
The auxiliary device acts as an intermediary that stores and manages data locally. When the main computer is in sleep mode, the auxiliary device can still provide current data to the user from its cache, eliminating the need for the main computer to remain powered on and thus conserving power while maintaining data freshness.
Solution Approach 2:
Data is preliminarily transferred from the main computer to the auxiliary device before the main computer enters sleep mode. This advance data preparation ensures that the auxiliary device has current data to provide during subsequent periods, allowing the main computer to remain in low-power state without compromising data freshness.
3Use of energy by moving object
If the auxiliary device uses only cached data when main computer is off, then power consumption is reduced, but data becomes insufficient for user tasks
Solution Approach 1:
The auxiliary device is designed to perform multiple functions: it can operate independently using cached data, and it can also receive data transfers from the main computer when powered on. This multi-functionality allows the system to conserve power during normal operation while still providing access to extensive data from the main computer when needed, thereby improving both power efficiency and data availability.
Data Source
AI summary
An auxiliary computing device wakes an associated main computer system to obtain data as needed, on-demand and/or in anticipation of demand. The wakeup operation is ordinarily temporary to fetch data, whereby only a small amount of power is consumed by the main computer system. In one implementation, a control channel between the auxiliary device and the main computer system is used to signal a wakeup. A main data channel is used to obtain the data, whereby the auxiliary device has access to a larger amount of data than it can cache. Moreover, the components of the main computer system may be leveraged, such as to use the main computer system's digital rights management mechanisms. Additional data may be intelligently requested by the auxiliary device while the main computer system is powered up, e.g., to buffer media, and/or request a synchronization of calendar data, email data, and so forth.