Waking a main computer system to pre-fetch data for an auxiliary computing device
US7711868B2 · kind B2 · utility
Assignee
Inventors
Key dates
| Filing date | Nov 23, 2004 |
| Grant date | May 4, 2010 |
| Priority date | — |
| Expiry date | Sep 8, 2028 |
Classification
- Technology area (CPC G)Physics
- CPC primaryG06F1/3203
- WIPO fieldComputer technology
- WIPO sectorElectrical engineering
Abstract
An auxiliary computing device wakes an associated main computer system to obtain data as needed, on-demand and/or in anticipation of demand. The wakeup operation is ordinarily temporary to fetch data, whereby only a small amount of power is consumed by the main computer system. In one implementation, a control channel between the auxiliary device and the main computer system is used to signal a wakeup. A main data channel is used to obtain the data, whereby the auxiliary device has access to a larger amount of data than it can cache. Moreover, the components of the main computer system may be leveraged, such as to use the main computer system's digital rights management mechanisms. Additional data may be intelligently requested by the auxiliary device while the main computer system is powered up, e.g., to buffer media, and/or request a synchronization of calendar data, email data, and so forth.
Source: USPTO / EPO open patent data. Objective bibliographic and citation counts.