Method for managing the power distributed to a disk drive in a laptop computer
US5481733A · kind A · utility
Assignee
Inventors
Key dates
| Filing date | Jun 15, 1994 |
| Grant date | Jan 2, 1996 |
| Priority date | — |
| Expiry date | Jun 15, 2014 |
Classification
- Technology area (CPC Y)Emerging Cross-Sectional Technologies
- CPC primaryY02D10/00
- WIPO fieldComputer technology
- WIPO sectorElectrical engineering
Abstract
A method for managing the power consumed by a disk drive in a portable laptop computer which includes quantizing predetermined periods of disk inactivity into states which are stored in a state table in memory. Based upon a history of disk accesses by a user, the number of transitions between each pair of states is counted and stored in memory. In view of this history, a future period of disk inactivity can be predicted and said prediction is compared with a threshold value. If the predicted period of disk inactivity is greater than the threshold value, the computer is automatically placed in a low power mode by spinning down the disk. If not, the disk continues to spin.
Source: USPTO / EPO open patent data. Objective bibliographic and citation counts.