SYSTEM AND METHOD FOR EXTENDING THE BATTERY LIFE OF A MOBILE DEVICE
The present invention provides a system and method for extending the battery life of a mobile device. The method of extending the battery life of a mobile device can be broadly summarized by the following steps of determining if at least one component on the mobile device can be placed in a hibernation state for a predetermined time, setting a remote clock to a current time and powering off the at least one component on the mobile device that can be placed in the hibernation state. The method further includes waiting a predetermined interval selected by a user, wherein the time interval can be selected from a factory preset or an environmental setting, re-activating the at least one component on the mobile device that was placed in the hibernation state and synchronizing a system clock with the remote clock.
1 . A method for extending the battery life of a mobile device, comprising the steps of:
determining if at least one component on the mobile device can be placed in a hibernation state for a predetermined time;
setting a remote clock to a current time;
powering off the at least one component on the mobile device that can be placed in the hibernation state;
waiting a predetermined interval selected by a user, wherein the time interval can be selected from a factory preset or an environmental setting;
re-activating the at least one component on the mobile device that was placed in the hibernation state; and
synchronizing a system clock with the remote clock.
2 . The method of claim 1 , wherein the mobile device is a GPS tracking device.
3 . The method of claim 2 , wherein the step of powering off of the at least one component is performed after determining that the GPS tracking device is unable to obtain a GPS position for the GPS tracking device.
4 . The method of claim 2 , wherein the step of powering off of the at least one component is performed after determining that the GPS tracking device is unable to establish a communication link to transmit GPS position data.
5 . The method of claim 1 , wherein the mobile device is a smart phone.
6 . The method of claim 5 , wherein the communication device is a wireless telephone.
7 . The method of claim 1 , wherein the mobile device is a mobile computing device.
8 . The method of claim 1 , wherein the mobile device detects entering an intrinsically safe controlled environment, and then sets the predetermined interval to zero.
9 . A system that provides for extending the battery life of a mobile device, comprising:
a priority determination module that determines if at least one component on the mobile device can be placed in a hibernation state for a predetermined time selected by a user, wherein the time interval can be selected from a factory preset or an environmental setting;
a remote clock that is set to a current time of a system clock;
a deactivate module that powers off the at least one component on the mobile device that can be placed in the hibernation state; and
an interrupt routine that reactivates the at least one component on the mobile device that was placed in the hibernation state after waiting a predetermined interval and synchronizes the system clock with the remote clock.
10 . The system of claim 9 , wherein the mobile device is a GPS tracking device.
11 . The system of claim 10 , wherein the priority determination module further determines if the GPS tracking device is unable to obtain a GPS position for the GPS tracking device.
12 . The system of claim 10 , wherein the priority determination module further determines if the GPS tracking device is unable to establish a communication link to transmit GPS position data.
13 . The system of claim 9 , wherein the mobile device is a smart phone.
14 . The system of claim 13 , wherein the communication device is a wireless telephone.
15 . The system of claim 9 , wherein the mobile device is a mobile computing device.
16 . The system of claim 9 , wherein the mobile device further includes;
an environment detection module that detects entering an intrinsically safe controlled environment, and then sets the predetermined interval to zero.
17 . A computer program product for extending the battery life of a mobile device, the computer program product comprising:
a tangible storage medium readable by the mobile device and storing instructions for execution by the mobile device for performing a method comprising:
determining if at least one component on the mobile device can be placed in a hibernation state for a predetermined time;
setting a remote clock to a current time;
powering off the at least one component on the mobile device that can be placed in the hibernation state;
waiting a predetermined interval selected by a user, wherein the predetermined time can be selected from a factory preset or an environmental setting;
re-activating the at least one component on the mobile device that was placed in the hibernation state; and
synchronizing a system clock with the remote clock.
18 . The computer program product of claim 17 , wherein the mobile device is a GPS tracking device, and wherein the powering off of the at least one component is performed after determining that the GPS tracking device is unable to obtain a GPS position for the GPS tracking device.
19 . The computer program product of claim 17 , wherein the mobile device is a GPS tracking device, and wherein the step of powering off of the at least one component is performed after determining that the GPS tracking device is unable to establish a communication link to transmit GPS position data.
20 . The computer program product of claim 17 , wherein the mobile device is a smart phone.
21 . The computer program product of claim 17 , wherein the mobile device is a mobile computing device.
22 . The computer program product of claim 17 , wherein the mobile device detects entering an intrinsically safe controlled environment, and then sets the predetermined interval to zero.