Mutually Exclusive Device Power-State Control for Auto Standby
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Solution Overview
Problem
Existing methods for managing electric power supply to devices that can be used separately, such as household audio-visual devices, do not facilitate automatic standby activation, leading to inefficient power consumption and user inconvenience.
Innovation Solution
A method that groups devices capable of being used simultaneously, detects changes in device states, and manages power supply states to ensure only one device is active at a time, allowing for automatic standby or power-off of unused devices via a communication link, with implementations ranging from centralized to decentralized architectures.
Engineering Contradictions & Design Principles
Engineering Contradiction Analysis
1Loss of energy
If devices are left in standby mode manually, then power consumption is reduced, but user effort and complexity increase
Solution Approach 1:
The system automatically manages power states of devices without requiring user intervention. When one device in a mutually exclusive group becomes active, the system automatically detects this state change and transitions other devices in the same group to standby mode, making the power management self-serving and eliminating manual user effort
Solution Approach 2:
The system continuously monitors the operational state of devices and uses this feedback to automatically adjust power states. When a device transitions from standby to active state, the system detects this change and responds by transitioning other mutually exclusive devices to standby, creating a closed-loop feedback mechanism that optimizes power consumption automatically
2Ease of operation
If automatic standby management is implemented, then user effort is reduced, but device complexity increases
Solution Approach 1:
The system applies a universal power management approach across multiple devices by grouping them into mutually exclusive sets. The same control logic and state transition rules are applied uniformly to all devices in a group, allowing the system to manage complex multi-device scenarios using a standardized, scalable framework rather than device-specific complex logic
Solution Approach 2:
The system introduces an intermediary control mechanism that coordinates power states between devices. This intermediary layer manages the mutual exclusion relationships and state transitions, shielding individual devices from the complexity of coordinating with multiple other devices while maintaining systematic power management across the entire group
3Ease of operation
If multiple devices remain active simultaneously, then ease of operation is improved, but energy consumption increases
Solution Approach 1:
The system dynamically adjusts the operational state of devices based on real-time conditions. Instead of maintaining a fixed power state configuration, the system continuously adapts device states according to which device is currently active, allowing devices to transition between active and standby states as needed while ensuring that mutually exclusive devices are not simultaneously active, thus optimizing energy consumption without compromising accessibility
Data Source
AI summary
A method for managing the electrical supply of electrical appliances connected to one another via a communication connection and capable of assuming a plurality of electrical power states. The method includes: a) a phase for grouping electrical appliances according to the criterion that only one of the appliances can be used at any given time; b) a phase for detecting a change in the electrical state of one of the appliances in the group obtained after the grouping phase, the new state being representative of a desire to use the appliance; and, c) a phase for managing the electrical supply states of other appliances in the group according to the criterion that only one of the appliances in the group can be used at any given time.