GB patent no:GB2452352
Motion triggered power saving mode for a camera display
We can all remember our first mobile phone and digital camera.It goes without saying that whilst the functionality of these devices has come on leaps and bounds in recent years,the physical attribute that has changed most is that today's devices are so much smaller and lighter than their predecessors.
But is it me,or has the pace of miniaturisation slowed down recently?Compared to where they were a few years ago,our phones and cameras are certainly tiny,but can this size reduction be maintained,or have device sizes reached a plateau?
I was reading recently that a limiting factor in the size of these devices is their batteries,whose power capacity must be maintained or even increased,particularly to accommodate more sophisticated and often more power-hungry display screens.
What is evidenced by this situation is that whilst many components can be miniaturised,it may not be possible to continue this trend with power supplies.The fact is you still need to store battery charge somewhere,and if you reduce the size of a battery you reduce its capacity to some degree.
So,if it isn't possible to keep shrinking batteries,what else can be done?
One answer to this conundrum is provided in GB patent no.2452352,granted on 11 April 2012 to Samsung Electronics Co.Ltd and entitled,"Motion triggered power saving mode for a camera display".This patent addresses the power issue by identifying those components which have the largest drain on the battery and attempting to make them more efficient.
The invention achieves this aim by turning off the display screen when it is not needed.Whilst'standby after a period of inactivity'is a widespread feature of many electronic devices,Samsung's invention goes a step further by making a more informed decision about turning off the power-draining display screen of the camera.
The decision to cut power to the display is based on feedback from a motion sensor incorporated in the camera.For example,after a'session'of photos have been taken,the photographer may make their way to a new location and continue to shoot photos there.By incorporating a movement sensor in the camera,the camera's controller can determine if it is being moved(and not used)after a photograph has been taken and,if so,the display screen is put in power-saving mode.
If the display screen is an LCD,then the backlight may be turned off whilst the image may is maintained in the liquid crystals,or that may also be turned off.Alternatively,the motion sensing may be undertaken by analysing an image received on the image detector to see if it is changing.
A simple and neat idea indeed,but have any readers come across this feature in their cameras?
Michael Jaeger is a patent attorney at leading UK patent and trade mark attorneys,Withers&Rogers LLP.www.withersrogers.com
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