Information processing apparatus and power saving apparatus

Abstract

An improved information processing apparatus, which accomplishes power-saving of an audio amplifier depending on the activity of each peripheral device having an audio signal output. This information processing apparatus includes one or more peripheral devices, each having an audio signal output and a mute signal output, the mute signal output indicating a mute state in which the targeted peripheral device does not output an audio signal, an audio amplifier for receiving the audio signal from each of the one or more peripheral device, a speaker for generating an audible output in accordance with an output of said audio amplifier; and an AND gate for receiving the mute signal from each of the one or more peripheral devices to perform a logical AND operation of the mute signals, the AND gate outputting a control signal for disabling the audio amplifier when all of the mute signals indicate the mute state. Thus, it is determined whether or not each of the peripheral devices for outputting an audio signal stays at the mute state, and the audio amplifier is disabled only when all of these peripheral devices are at the mute state.

Dependencies are inferred from the claim text.