Energy-efficient media equipment device
View Patent ↗Method and systems for operating a media equipment device having at least a full-power mode and an off-power mode are provided. A voltage supply to the media equipment device may be controlled by the media equipment device itself or by an external power management unit to automatically power-off the media equipment device, and power the device back on a future time. Prior to powering off the media equipment device, a portion of program schedule information stored in the volatile memory of the media equipment device may be mirrored to nonvolatile memory and may be restored on a priority basis after the media equipment device is powered back up. An external power management unit for controlling the media equipment device may also automatically detect and identify devices in the home based on a power signature of the device and manage the operation of the device based on the identification.
1. A method of operating a media equipment device having at least a full-power mode and an off-power mode of operation, the method comprising:
receiving by a power supply interface in the media equipment device a voltage supply from a computer-controlled voltage source electrically coupled to the power supply interface of the media equipment device;
receiving a user-programmable schedule of intended use of the media equipment device;
detecting that a first threshold condition for automatically transitioning the media equipment device into the off-power mode is met based on the user-programmable schedule indicating that the media equipment device will be unused for at least a threshold duration;
determining an amount of time for restoring at least a portion of program schedule information to the media equipment device when the voltage supply is reconnected to the media equipment device;
calculating a scheduled power-up time to be a time at which a next scheduled use of the media equipment device occurs, offset by the amount of time for restoring the portion of the program schedule information;
storing the scheduled power-up time for automatically restoring power to the media equipment device in the future;
sending a power-off notification to disconnect the voltage supply to the power supply interface of the media equipment device; and
automatically disconnecting the voltage supply to the power supply interface of the media equipment device by the computer-controlled power source, thereby transitioning the media equipment device into the off-power mode such that the media equipment device receives substantially no external voltage.
2. The method of claim 1 , wherein the media equipment device further includes a standby mode of operation in which the power supply interface receives a voltage supply level between that of the full-power mode and the off-power mode,
the method further comprising: automatically transitioning the media equipment device from the full-power mode or the off-power mode to the standby mode when a second threshold condition is met.
3. The method of claim 1 , further comprising
scheduling a recording of a program on the media equipment device;
storing a start time of the recording; and
sending the start time of the recording as the scheduled power-up time of the media equipment device in the power-off notification.
4. The method of claim 1 , wherein the media equipment device is a set-top box.
5. The method of claim 1 , wherein the media equipment device further includes a standby mode of operation, the method further comprising triggering said detecting only while the media equipment device is operating in the standby mode.
6. The method of claim 1 , wherein said detecting is performed by the media equipment device.
7. The method of claim 1 , wherein the computer-controlled power source is controlled by an external power management unit (PMU) communicatively coupled to the computer-controlled power source and the media equipment device, the method further comprising:
receiving by the PMU the power-off notification from the media equipment device;
storing by the PMU the scheduled power-up time for the media device; and
transmitting by the PMU a second message to the computer controlled power source to disconnect voltage from the power supply interface of the media equipment device.
8. The method of claim 7 , wherein said detecting is performed by the PMU.
9. The method of claim 1 , further comprising:
monitoring by a timer circuitry the scheduled power-up time; and
sending a power-on notification to the computer-controlled power source to reconnect the voltage supply to the media equipment device at the scheduled power-up time.
10. The method of claim 9 , wherein said timer circuitry is located within the media equipment device.
11. The method of claim 9 , wherein said timer circuitry is located within an external power management unit that controls the computer-controlled power source.
12. The method of claim 1 , wherein the media equipment device includes externally-generated program schedule information received via a broadcast stream, the method further comprising:
in response to detecting that the first threshold condition is met, mirroring the externally-generated program schedule information from volatile memory into a nonvolatile memory unit associated with the media equipment device.
13. The method of claim 12 , further comprising:
at the scheduled power-up time, retrieving the program schedule information from the nonvolatile memory based on a plurality of priority levels assigned to the program schedule information.
14. The method of claim 1 , wherein detecting whether the first threshold condition is met comprises determining whether an energy-saving system parameter associated with the device is set.
15. The method of claim 1 , wherein detecting whether the first threshold condition is met comprises:
deriving a usage pattern for the media equipment device based at least in part on a plurality of user profiles associated with the media equipment device; and
predicting based on the usage pattern whether the device will remain unused for a predetermined amount of time.
16. The method of claim 1 , wherein the media equipment device further includes a standby mode of operation, and wherein detecting whether the first threshold condition is met comprises determining whether the media equipment device is transitioned from the full-power mode the standby mode after a predetermined time of day.
17. The method of claim 1 , wherein the media equipment device further includes a standby mode of operation, and wherein detecting whether the first threshold condition is met comprises determining whether the media equipment device is transitioned from the full-power mode the standby mode before a predetermined time of day.
18. The method of claim 1 , wherein detecting whether the first threshold condition is met comprises determining whether a real-time action is scheduled to be performed by the device during a predefined duration.
19. The method of claim 18 , wherein the real-time action is a program recording or a reminder for a program.
20. The method of claim 1 , wherein detecting that the first threshold condition is met comprises predicting, based on a user profile information associated with the device, that the device will remain unused for at least a predefined duration.
21. The method of claim 1 , wherein detecting that the first threshold condition is met comprises receiving an indication from a presence-detecting circuitry in response to the presence-detecting circuitry detecting that the device has been unused for at least a predetermined duration.
22. A system of operating a media equipment device having at least a full-power mode and an off-power mode of operation, the system comprising a computer processor configured to:
receive by a power supply interface in the media equipment device a voltage supply from a computer-controlled voltage source electrically coupled to the power supply interface of the media equipment device;
receive a user-programmable schedule of intended use of the media equipment device;
detect that a first threshold condition for automatically transitioning the media equipment device into the off-power mode is met based on the user-programmable schedule indicating that the media equipment device will be unused for at least a threshold duration;
determine an amount of time for restoring at least a portion of program schedule information to the media equipment device when the voltage supply is reconnected to the media equipment device;
calculate a scheduled power-up time to be a time at which a next scheduled use of the media equipment device occurs, offset by the amount of time for restoring the portion of the program schedule information;
store the scheduled power-up time for automatically restoring power to the media equipment device in the future;
send a power-off notification to disconnect the voltage supply to the power supply interface of the media equipment device; and
automatically disconnect the voltage supply to the power supply interface of the media equipment device by the computer-controlled power source, thereby transitioning the media equipment device into the off-power mode such that the media equipment device receives substantially no external voltage.
23. The system of claim 22 , wherein the media equipment device further includes a standby mode of operation in which the power supply interface receives a voltage supply level between that of the full-power mode and the off-power mode, and wherein the computer processor is further configured to:
automatically transition the media equipment device from the full-power mode or the off-power mode to the standby mode when a second threshold condition is met.
24. The system of claim 22 , wherein the computer processor is further configured to:
schedule a recording of a program on the media equipment device;
store a start time of the recording; and
send the start time of the recording as the scheduled power-up time of the media equipment device in the power-off notification.
25. The system of claim 22 , wherein the media equipment device is a set-top box.
26. The system of claim 22 , wherein the media equipment device further includes a standby mode of operation, and wherein the computer processor is configured to trigger said detecting only while the media equipment device is operating in the standby mode.
27. The system of claim 22 , wherein said computer processor comprises a first processor located in the media equipment device, and wherein the first processor is configured to detect whether the first threshold condition is met.
28. The system of claim 22 , further comprising an external power management unit (PMU) communicatively coupled to the computer-controlled power source and the media equipment device, wherein the PMU is configured to:
receive the power-off notification including the scheduled power-up time from the computer processor;
store the scheduled power-up time for the media equipment device on a storage unit associated with the PMU; and
transmit a second message to the computer controlled power source to disconnect voltage from the power supply interface of the media equipment device.
29. The system of claim 28 , wherein said computer processor comprises a first processor located in the PMU, and wherein the first processor is configured to detect whether the first threshold condition is met.
30. The system of claim 22 , wherein the computer processor in further configured to:
monitor by a timer circuitry the scheduled power-up time; and
send a power-on notification to the computer-controlled power source to reconnect the voltage supply to the media equipment device at the scheduled power-up time.
31. The system of claim 30 , wherein said timer circuitry is located within the media equipment device.
32. The system of claim 30 , wherein said timer circuitry is located within an external power management unit that controls the computer-controlled power source.
33. The system of claim 22 , wherein the media equipment device includes externally-generated program schedule information received via a broadcast stream, and wherein the computer processor is configured to:
in response to detecting that the first threshold condition is met, cause the media equipment device to mirror the externally-generated program schedule information from volatile memory into a nonvolatile memory unit associated with the media equipment device.
34. The system of claim 33 , wherein the computer processor is further configured to:
at the scheduled power-up time, cause the media equipment device to retrieve the program schedule information from the nonvolatile memory based on a plurality of priority levels assigned to the program schedule information.
35. The system of claim 22 , wherein the computer processor is configured to detect whether the first threshold condition is met by determining whether an energy-saving system parameter associated with the device is set.
36. The system of claim 22 , wherein the computer processor is configured to detect whether the first threshold condition is met by:
deriving a usage pattern for the media equipment device based at least in part on a plurality of user profiles associated with the media equipment device; and
predicting based on the usage pattern whether the device will remain unused for a predetermined amount of time.
37. The system of claim 22 , wherein the media equipment device further includes a standby mode of operation, and wherein the computer processor is configured to detect whether the first threshold condition is met by determining whether the media equipment device is transitioned from the full-power mode the standby mode after a predetermined time of day.
38. The system of claim 22 , wherein the media equipment device further includes a standby mode of operation, and wherein the computer processor is configured to detect whether the first threshold condition is met by determining whether the media equipment device is transitioned from the full-power mode the standby mode before a predetermined time of day.
39. The system of claim 22 , wherein the computer processor is configured to detect whether the first threshold condition is met by determining whether a real-time action is scheduled to be performed by the device during a predefined duration.
40. The system of claim 39 , wherein the real-time action is a program recording or a reminder for a program.
41. The system of claim 22 , wherein the computer processor is configured to detect that the first threshold condition is met by predicting, based on a user profile information associated with the device, that the device will remain unused for at least a predefined duration.
42. The system of claim 22 , wherein the computer processor is configured to detect that the first threshold condition is met by receiving an indication from a presence-detecting circuitry in response to the presence-detecting circuitry detecting that the device has been unused for at least a predetermined duration.
43. The system of claim 22 , wherein the computer processor comprises a first computer processor communicatively coupled to a second computer processor, and wherein (1) the first computer processor is configured to perform said detecting and said sending, and (2) the second computer processor is configured to perform said storing and to cause said disconnecting of the voltage supply.
44. The system of claim 43 , wherein said first and second computer processors are located in the media equipment device.