Power management system with adaptive control parameters for portable computer

摘要

A system for automatically adapting the power conservation functions of a personal computer (PC) to the work patterns of any user. A power control system of the PC monitors activity of I/O devices and if upon the elapse of a first time interval a particular I/O device or combination of devices has not been accessed, one or more I/O devices are powered-down. Following power-down, the first time interval is incrementally increased if I/O activity immediately occurs thereafter, prior to elapse of a second time interval. This process may repeat itself several times until the first time interval reaches a maximum value. Alternatively, if, following power-down, I/O activity does not occur until after elapse of a third time interval, the first time interval is incrementally decreased until the first time interval reaches a minimum value. The system thereby automatically adapts to maximize power conservation during periods of low activity while preventing user disruption during periods of increased activity.