Patent Application
20100079378
This application claims the benefit of Taiwan application Serial No. 97137257, filed Sep. 26, 2008, the subject matter of which is incorporated herein by reference.
1. Field of the Invention
The invention relates in general to a keyboard module, and more particularly to a light emitting keyboard module and a power saving method thereof.
2. Description of the Related Art
As the concept of reducing carbon dioxide emissions is widely advocated, how to reduce the consumption of energy or power in the household as well as in the office has become the focus of concern for many people.
When a user operates the keyboard, if the ambient light is too dim and the user cannot recognize the keys of the keyboard, other illumination device must be used for the user to operate the keyboard normally. Under such circumstance, extra power is consumed.
Currently, relevant products using light emitting keyboard are available in the market. The key feature is that the keyboard emits light and the user can use the keyboard even when the ambient light is not strong. Such light emitting keyboard which enables the user's operation when the ambient light is dim is indeed conformed to the concept of energy saving.
The invention is directed to a light emitting keyboard module and a power saving method thereof. Whether the light emitting keyboard is driven to enter a power saving mode is determined according to the state of an input device such as a mouse or a touch panel. Thus, the power consumption of the light emitting keyboard is reduced to a minimum, and the light emitting keyboard is more environmental friendly.
According to a first aspect of the present invention, a light emitting keyboard module including a light emitting keyboard and a control transmitting module is provided. The control transmitting module includes a transmitting unit, a timing unit, a comparing unit and a processing unit. The transmitting unit communicates with the light emitting keyboard by signals. The timing unit counts a stop time of the light emitting keyboard. The comparing unit compares the stop time with a predetermined time, and generates a comparing signal when the stop time is greater than the predetermined time. The processing unit drives the light emitting keyboard to enter a power saving mode after receiving the comparing signal.
According to a second aspect of the present invention, a power saving method of a light emitting keyboard is provided. The method includes the following steps. Firstly, the states of a light emitting keyboard and an input device are detected. Next, a stop time of the light emitting keyboard is counted before the light emitting keyboard outputs signals. Then, the stop time is compared with a predetermined time, and the light emitting keyboard is driven to enter a power saving mode according to the state of the input device when the stop time is greater than the predetermined time.
According to a third aspect of the present invention, a light emitting keyboard module including a light emitting keyboard and a processing unit is provided. The light emitting keyboard is coupled to a computer. The processing unit is used for determining whether a screen saver of the computer is activated: if yes, driving the light emitting keyboard to enter a power saving mode.
The invention will become apparent from the following detailed description of the preferred but non-limiting embodiments. The following description is made with reference to the accompanying drawings.
The input device 200 is a touch panel or a mouse for example. As indicated in
The determining unit 107 determines whether the transmitting unit 105 receives signals from the light emitting keyboard 101 and the input device 200. The timing unit 109 respectively counts the stop time of the light emitting keyboard 101 and the stop time of the input device 200 when the determining unit 107 determines that the transmitting unit 105 does not receive signals from the light emitting keyboard 101 and the input device 200. The comparing unit 111 compares the stop time with a predetermined time, and generates a comparing signal when the stop time is greater than the predetermined time. The processing unit 113 determines whether to drive the light emitting keyboard 101 to enter a power saving mode according to the state of the input device 200 after receiving the comparing signal. Also, the processing unit 113 can determine whether to drive the light emitting keyboard 101 to enter a power saving mode according to the state of according to the computer 300.
Referring to
Firstly, the method begins at step S11 that the states of the light emitting keyboard 101 and the input device 200 are detected. In the present step, the states of the light emitting keyboard 101 and the input device 200 are determined by detecting whether the light emitting keyboard 101 and the input device 200 transmit signals. The determining unit 107 determines whether the transmitting unit 105 receives signals from the light emitting keyboard 101 and the input device 200.
Next, the method proceeds to step S12, whether signals are received from the light emitting keyboard 101 is determined. If signals keep being received from the light emitting keyboard 101, then method returns to step S11. If no signal is received from the light emitting keyboard 101, then the method proceeds to step S13. That is, when the determining unit 107 determines that the transmitting unit 105 does not receive signals from the light emitting keyboard 101, the method proceeds to step S13 that the timing unit 109 begins to count a first stop time of the light emitting keyboard 101.
Then, the method proceeds to step S14, the first stop time is compared with a first predetermined time. The first predetermined time is a period of time within which the light emitting keyboard 101 is allowed to remain untouched. If the stop time is greater than the above period of time, this implies that the light emitting keyboard 101 has been left idle by the user over a period of time, and it is suggested that the light emitting keyboard 101 be driven to enter a power saving mode. For example, most of the light emitting keyboards have backlight illumination function, so the backlight function of the light emitting keyboard 101 can be turned off under the power saving mode.
In step S15, the comparing unit 111 determines whether the first stop time of the light emitting keyboard 101 is greater than the first predetermined time. If the comparing unit 111 determines that the first stop time of the light emitting keyboard 101 is smaller than the first predetermined time, then the method returns to step S11. If the comparing unit 111 determines that the first stop time of the light emitting keyboard 101 is greater than the first predetermined time, then the method proceeds to step S16.
In step S16, the light emitting keyboard 101 is driven to enter a power saving mode according to the state of the input device 200. The detailed procedure of the present step is disclosed in
As indicated in step S161, whether signals are received from the input device 200 is determined when the first stop time is greater than the first predetermined time. As indicated in step S162, the determining unit 107 determines whether the transmitting unit 105 still receives signals from the input device 200 after the first stop time. If the transmitting unit 105 still receives signals from the input device 200 after the first stop time, the method returns to step S11 (referring to
In step S162, whether signals are received from the input device 200 is determined. If no signal from the input device 200 is detected, then the method proceeds to step S163, the timing unit 109 starts to count a second stop time of the input device 200.
Next, the method proceeds to step S164, the second stop time is compared with a second predetermined time. Similarly, the second predetermined time is an estimated period of time that the user does not use the input device 200. Let the mouse be taken for example. When browsing webpage or editing documents, the user normally operates the computer by clicking or dragging with a mouse. If the mouse does not generate any signal within a period of time, this implies that the user is no more in front of the computer or has finished using the computer, and it is suggested that the light emitting keyboard 101 be driven to enter a power saving mode.
As indicated in step S165, whether the second stop time is greater than the second predetermined time is determined. If the second stop time is smaller than the second predetermined time, then the method returns to step S11 (referring to
In the above embodiment, the signal generated by the light emitting keyboard 101 is detected first, and if the light emitting keyboard 101 does not generate signals for a period of time, whether to drive the light emitting keyboard 101 to enter a power saving mode is determined according to the state of the input device 200 (such as the mouse or the touch panel). However, the light emitting keyboard module 100 of the present embodiment of the invention can detect the light emitting keyboard 101 and the state of the input device 200 at the same time so as to determine whether to drive the light emitting keyboard 101 to enter a power saving mode.
Referring to
Then, the method proceeds to step S25, whether both the first stop time and the second stop time are greater than the predetermined time is determined. If no, then the method returns to step S21. To the contrary, if both are greater than the predetermined time, then the method proceeds to step S26, the light emitting keyboard 101 is driven to enter a power saving mode. That the first stop time and the second stop time are greater than the predetermined time implies that the user has left the light emitting keyboard 101 and the input device 200 over a period of time.
As the light emitting keyboard module 100 and the computer 300 are connected, whether the light emitting keyboard 101 is driven to enter a power saving mode can be determined according to the state of the computer 300, and the procedures are illustrated in
As shown in step S37, if the screen saver of the computer 300 is detected to be activated, then the method proceeds to step S38, the light emitting keyboard 101 is driven to enter a power saving mode, otherwise the method returns to step S31. That the screen saver of the computer 300 is detected to be activated implies that the user does not use the computer 300 temporarily or has not used it over a period of time. The way of determining whether to drive the light emitting keyboard 101 to enter a power saving mode according to whether the screen saver is detected can be applied to the procedure of
According to the light emitting keyboard module and the power saving method thereof disclosed in the above embodiments of the invention, whether to drive the light emitting keyboard to enter a power saving mode is determined according to the states of the light emitting keyboard and the input device (such as the mouse or the touch panel). After the light emitting keyboard has been left idle over a period of time, if the input device is also idle, then it is suggested that the light emitting keyboard be driven to enter a power saving mode. Besides, the light emitting keyboard module can also drive the light emitting keyboard to enter a power saving mode according to the state of the computer to which the light emitting keyboard module is connected, such as the state of the screen saver of the computer. Under the power saving mode, the backlight function of the light emitting keyboard is turned off, so that the light emitting keyboard stops emitting the light when not in use, or the power supply of the light emitting keyboard is cut off, largely reducing the power consumption of the light emitting keyboard. The light emitting keyboard module and the power saving method thereof when used in the desktop computer are really capable of reducing carbon dioxide emissions.
Despite the above embodiments are exemplified by desktop computer, the light emitting keyboard module and the power saving method thereof disclosed in the above embodiments of the invention can also be used in electronic devices especially in various hand-held electronic devices such as notebook computer, mobile phone, personal digital assistant (PDA), translation machine, game boy, and so on. As the light emitting keyboard is timely driven to enter a power saving mode to reduce power consumption, the light emitting keyboard does not consume too much power of these hand-held electronic devices. Therefore, the hand-held electronic devices do not need to be re-charged or replace battery frequently, hence greatly increasing the utility efficiency of these hand-held electronic devices.
While the invention has been described by way of example and in terms of a preferred embodiment, it is to be understood that the invention is not limited thereto. On the contrary, it is intended to cover various modifications and similar arrangements and procedures, and the scope of the appended claims therefore should be accorded the broadest interpretation so as to encompass all such modifications and similar arrangements and procedures.
| Number | Date | Country | Kind |
|---|---|---|---|
| 97137257 | Sep 2008 | TW | national |
