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AssigneeDell USA, L.P.
InventorLAVAUGHN F. WATTS JR.
Estimating the term…
In order to overcome the relatively short battery life and the relatively long delay between the activation and the actual functioning of a typical portable data processing system or notebook having an industry standard personal computer architecture (ISPCA), the portable system is provided with both an ISPCA processing section, a non-standard personal computer architecture (NSPCA) processing section and a common section including apparatus common to both processing sections. The NSPCA processing section operates under an operating system such as the Windows CE operating system, having reduced functionality, but being capable of “instant-on” operation. The data processing system includes controllable reduced power (and reduced functionality) mode wherein only the NSPCA processing is activated. The data processing system can controllably be transferred to a higher power (and full functionality) mode operating by activating the ISPCA processing section. In addition to the power supply/battery units, control signals can determine to which processing section other apparatus in a common component section, such as the display unit and the user input control device, is coupled. According to another embodiment of the present invention, the data processing unit includes either an ISPCA processing section or a NSPCA processing section, the common section and a connector. In this manner, the processing section that is not an integral part of the data processing system can be detachably coupled thereto.
A portable data processing system, comprising;
A portable computer system, comprising:
A portable computer system, comprising:
A method of providing an instant-on capability and increased battery-operated lifetime in an industry standard (ISPCA) portable processing system, the method comprising:
Dependencies are inferred from the claim text.
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From the US filing history. Foreign family members aren’t listed.
Backward citations are indexed for grants only.
Power saving characterised by the action undertaken: by switching off individual functional units in the computer system
Constructional details or arrangements: for portable computers
Means for saving power: power management, i.e. event-based initiation of a power-saving mode
Power saving characterised by the action undertaken: by switching to a less power-consuming processor, e.g. sub-CPU
Term end not estimated
USPTO file history isn’t available for this patent, so only indexed dates are shown.
1. Field of the Invention
This invention relates generally to data processing systems and, more particularly, to portable data processing systems. In general, portable data processing systems provide either specialized functionality and relatively long interval between battery charges, or the portable devices provide a full range functionality with relatively short battery charge lifetime. In addition, the portable data processing systems with specialized functionality are available for user interaction immediately upon activation of the system.
2. Description of the Related Art
The present invention may be better understood, and its numerous objects, features, and advantages made apparent to those skilled in the art by referencing the accompanying drawings.
FIG. 1 is block diagram of the major divisions of the data processing system according to the present invention.
FIG. 2 is a block diagram of the components for energizing the data processing system according to the present invention.
The use of the same reference symbols in different drawings indicates similar or identical items.
1. Detailed Description of the Drawings
Referring to FIG. 1, a block diagram of the major areas of the data processing system 10 according to the present invention. The common unit 17 includes the apparatus that is common to the two other portions of the data processing system. As will be seen, the common unit typically includes the display unit and the power supply. The industry standard personal computer architecture (ISPCA) unit 11 includes a ISPCA central processing unit and the input/output devices that normally control the interchange of signals with the central processing unit. For example, a disk drive system is normally included in the ISPCA section. For the NSPCA architecture, a memory unit, such as flash memory unit or read-only memory (ROM) unit is coupled to the central processing unit.