Touchpad Control Unit for Portable Terminal Power Management
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Solution Overview
Problem
Portable terminals with touchpads consume unnecessary battery power to maintain the user interface due to the embedded multimedia processor's polling method, and the interface is disrupted when the processor enters sleep mode, failing to recognize input signals from the touchpad.
Innovation Solution
A portable terminal design that includes a first control unit and a switching unit to manage interrupt signals, allowing the multimedia processor to enter sleep mode while still detecting touchpad inputs, thereby reducing power consumption and maintaining the user interface by activating the processor only when necessary.
Engineering Contradictions & Design Principles
Engineering Contradiction Analysis
1Reliability
If the multimedia processor uses polling method to control the touchpad, then the user interface can be maintained, but battery power is unnecessarily consumed
Solution Approach 1:
The patent extracts the touchpad control function from the multimedia processor by introducing a dedicated control unit that handles touchpad operations independently. This allows the multimedia processor to enter sleep mode while the control unit maintains touchpad functionality, thereby reducing power consumption while preserving user interface reliability.
Solution Approach 2:
The patent segments the control system into separate functional units: a control unit that manages the touchpad and a multimedia processor that handles media functions. This segmentation enables independent operation of each unit, allowing the multimedia processor to power down while the control unit maintains touchpad responsiveness, thus resolving the contradiction between interface maintenance and power consumption.
2Use of energy by moving object
If the multimedia processor enters sleep mode to save power, then power consumption is reduced, but it cannot recognize input signals from the touchpad
Solution Approach 1:
The patent introduces a control unit as an intermediary between the touchpad and the multimedia processor. When the multimedia processor is in sleep mode, this control unit acts as a mediator that receives touchpad input signals and forwards them to the multimedia processor when needed, ensuring continuous input recognition without requiring the multimedia processor to remain awake.
Solution Approach 2:
The patent implements preliminary action by having the control unit pre-positioned and ready to handle touchpad inputs even before the multimedia processor enters sleep mode. The control unit maintains the touchpad interface active in advance, so when the multimedia processor needs to be activated, input signals are already prepared and can be immediately processed without interruption.
3Reliability
If the multimedia processor remains active to recognize touchpad inputs, then input recognition is maintained, but power consumption increases unnecessarily
Solution Approach 1:
The patent extracts the touchpad control functionality from the multimedia processor and assigns it to a separate control unit. This extraction allows the multimedia processor to remain inactive while the control unit handles all touchpad input recognition, eliminating unnecessary power consumption while maintaining reliable input recognition.
Solution Approach 2:
The control unit performs self-service by independently managing the touchpad interface without requiring continuous support from the multimedia processor. It autonomously handles input signal reception and processing, enabling the system to maintain touchpad functionality while the multimedia processor conserves power.
Data Source
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AI summary
An apparatus for driving a touchpad of a portable terminal including a second control unit controlling the touchpad in an active mode is provided. The apparatus includes a sensor unit for generating interrupt signals when pressure on the touchpad is sensed, a first control unit for outputting activating signals to activate the second control unit when the interrupt signals are input and a switching unit for transmitting the interrupt signals generated from the sensor unit to the first control unit when the second control unit is in an inactive mode. Accordingly, even though the multimedia processor embedded in the portable terminal is in an inactive mode, the multimedia processor is activated when a user presses the touchpad, thereby making it possible to process signals input by touching the touchpad, particularly, to keep the user interface. Furthermore, the multimedia processor embedded in the portable terminal can reduce the consumption of battery power required to maintain the user interface, as compared with multimedia processors maintaining operating in a conventional polling method.