Digital Television Decoder Power Saving Context Management
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Solution Overview
Problem
Digital TV decoders lose downloaded applications and data when entering standby mode due to shutdown of memory, requiring lengthy reloads and lacking cost-effective mass storage solutions.
Innovation Solution
A method to maintain power to the decoder's memory, suspend onboard software execution, update and save the execution context, and resume execution using the saved context when returning to run mode, allowing for rapid data retrieval and reboot management without data loss.
Engineering Contradictions & Design Principles
Engineering Contradiction Analysis
1Use of energy by moving object
If the decoder enters standby mode by shutting down memory and hardware components, then power consumption is reduced, but data is lost and reload time increases
Solution Approach 1:
The system performs preliminary actions by saving the execution context to persistent storage before entering standby mode. When resuming, the context is restored immediately, avoiding the need to reload applications and data from scratch. This preliminary preparation of context information resolves the contradiction by enabling fast recovery without requiring continuous power to memory.
Solution Approach 2:
The execution context is copied from volatile memory to non-volatile storage before standby mode. This copying mechanism preserves the system state without requiring the original volatile memory to remain powered, thus reducing power consumption while enabling rapid restoration of the system state upon wake-up.
2Use of energy by moving object
If the decoder shuts down all hardware components in standby mode, then power saving is achieved, but data integrity is lost
Solution Approach 1:
Before entering standby mode, the system performs a preliminary save of the execution context to non-volatile storage. This ensures data integrity is preserved without requiring continuous power to hardware components. The context includes all necessary information to restore the system state, thus preventing information loss while achieving power savings.
Solution Approach 2:
Non-volatile storage acts as an intermediary between volatile memory and the standby state. It temporarily holds the execution context, allowing the system to shut down all hardware components for power saving while ensuring data integrity through the intermediary storage mechanism that preserves the system state.
3Reliability
If mass storage systems are used to backup downloaded data, then data persistence is improved, but system cost increases
Solution Approach 1:
The invention extracts only the essential execution context information from the full system state and stores it in non-volatile storage. This selective extraction avoids the need for expensive mass storage systems while maintaining data persistence for the critical information needed to resume operation. Only the necessary context is preserved, not entire applications or large data sets.
Solution Approach 2:
The system uses inexpensive non-volatile storage (such as EEPROM or flash memory) instead of expensive mass storage systems. This cheap storage medium is sufficient for preserving the execution context, eliminating the need for costly hard drives or other mass storage solutions while maintaining data persistence across power cycles.
Data Source
AI summary
A method of operating a digital television decoder is disclosed. The decoder includes a memory, the memory storing onboard software, and the decoder is operable in a run mode to execute the onboard software. The method comprises: activating a power saving mode on the decoder; and upon activating the power saving mode: maintaining power to the memory; suspending execution of the onboard software; acquiring an execution context of the onboard software; updating the execution context of the onboard software to form an updated execution context; and saving the updated execution context in the memory.