Predictive Energy Source Availability Control for Mobile Devices
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Solution Overview
Problem
Existing solutions for managing energy consumption in electronic devices often degrade user experience by reducing application activity, disabling features, and shifting computing tasks to servers when battery levels are low, which is unacceptable for devices requiring advanced applications and features, especially in devices with size and profile constraints.
Innovation Solution
The method involves determining the availability of an energy source using GPS, charging history, and user activity to control energy consumption proactively, allowing devices to maintain or increase performance when an energy source is readily available, and managing energy sharing among devices.
Engineering Contradictions & Design Principles
Engineering Contradiction Analysis
1Use of energy by moving object
If existing solutions reduce application activity and disable features when battery level is low, then energy consumption is reduced, but user experience deteriorates
Solution Approach 1:
The system proactively determines energy source availability before the device actually needs energy, using GPS location, charging history, and user activity patterns to predict when energy will be available. This allows the device to maintain high performance during the prediction period without worrying about battery constraints, eliminating the need for reactive performance throttling that degrades user experience.
Solution Approach 2:
The device dynamically adjusts its performance state based on predicted energy availability rather than static battery level thresholds. When energy availability is predicted, the device operates at full performance; when not predicted, it conserves energy. This dynamic approach allows seamless transitions between performance states without user-perceptible degradation.
2Productivity
If battery size is increased to maintain performance at low battery levels, then device performance is maintained, but device size increases
Solution Approach 1:
Instead of increasing battery capacity, the system uses preliminary determination of energy source availability to predict when external power will be accessible. This allows the device to maintain current battery size while ensuring performance is only constrained when truly necessary, based on predictive rather than reactive logic.
3Use of energy by moving object
If computing functions are shifted to server, then energy consumption is reduced, but device complexity and loss of information increase
Solution Approach 1:
The system determines energy availability in advance, allowing the device to maintain local processing capabilities when energy is predicted to be available. This eliminates the need to shift computing functions to the server, preserving local information processing while still enabling energy conservation when prediction indicates energy scarcity.
4Ease of operation
If device controls energy consumption proactively based on energy source availability, then user experience is enhanced, but device complexity increases
Solution Approach 1:
The complexity is managed by performing energy source availability determination in advance using existing device components (GPS, charging history database, user activity trackers). The prediction logic integrates these existing data sources without requiring new hardware or complex real-time monitoring systems, thus enhancing user experience while controlling the increase in device complexity.
Data Source
AI summary
An apparatus and methods for controlling energy consumption of an electronic device determine an availability of an energy source to provide energy to the electronic device. The apparatus and methods control, by power management control logic of the electronic device, energy consumption of the electronic device in response to determining the availability of the energy source.