Portable remote terminal in which its clock frequency is switched

Claim 2

A portable terminal in which its clock frequency is switched, comprising: a main controlling portion having a software processing portion using a microprocessor in said main controlling portion according to an interruption, said microprocessor including an operating system for driving software in said software processing portion and generating an interrupt signal, a clock supply portion for supplying to said main controlling portion a clock signal which causes said microprocessor to operate, and a state monitoring portion for monitoring, via the interrupt signal received from the operating system, an operating state of said software processing portion, wherein said state monitoring portion sends a clock switching signal to said clock supply portion so that said clock supply portion sets a frequency of said clock signal to a high frequency when said software processing is being conducted and sets a frequency of said clock signal to a low frequency when said processing is not being conducted and when no processing is conducted by said microprocessor for said software processing portion, the clock supply portion sets the clock frequency to a minimum, said minimum being below the operating frequency of the software processing portion but high enough for said state monitoring portion to operate.

Claim 3

The portable terminal according to claim 1 wherein said state monitoring portion changes said clock frequency up and down according to respective software operating load caused by said software processing portion.

Claim 4

The portable terminal according to claim 1 wherein said state monitoring portion shares a microprocessor with said software processing portion.

Claim 5

The portable terminal according to claim 1, wherein said minimum clock frequency is below 1 MHz.

Claim 6

The portable terminal according to claim 1, wherein said minimum clock frequency is 0.3 MHz.

Claim 7

The portable terminal according to claim 2 wherein said state monitoring portion shares a microprocessor with said software processing portion, and when no processing are conducted by said microprocessor for said software processing portion, the clock supply portion sets the minimum clock frequency which is enough for said state monitoring portion to operate.

Claim 8

A portable terminal in which its clock frequency is switched, comprising: a main controlling portion having a software processing portion using a microprocessor in said main controlling portion according to an interruption, said microprocessor including an operating system for driving software in said software processing portion and generating an interrupt signal, a clock supply portion for supplying to said main controlling portion a clock signal which causes said microprocessor to operate, and a state monitoring portion for monitoring, via the interrupt signal received from the operating system, whether the microprocessor accesses an external memory, wherein said state monitoring portion sends a clock switching signal to said clock supply portion so that said clock supply portion sets a frequency of said clock signal to a high frequency when the microprocessor accesses an external memory and sets a frequency of said clock signal to a low frequency when said microprocessor does not access the external memory and when no memory accesses or software processing is conducted by said microprocessor for said software processing portion, the clock supply portion sets the clock frequency to a minimum, said minimum being below the operating frequency of the software processing portion but high enough for said state monitoring portion to operate.

Claim 9

A portable terminal in which its clock frequency is switched, comprising: a main controlling portion having a software processing portion using a microprocessor in said main controlling portion according to an interruption, said microprocessor including an operating system for driving software in said software processing portion and generating an interrupt signal, a clock supply portion for supplying to said main controlling portion a clock signal which causes said microprocessor to operate, and a state monitoring portion for monitoring, via the interrupt signal received from the operating system, whether the microprocessor accesses an external memory, wherein said state monitoring portion sends a clock switching signal to said clock supply portion so that said clock supply portion sets a frequency of said clock signal to a high frequency when the microprocessor accesses an external memory and sets a frequency of said clock signal to a low frequency when said microprocessor does not access the external memory and when no memory accesses or software processing is conducted by said microprocessor for said software processing portion, the clock supply portion sets the clock frequency to a minimum, said minimum being below the operating frequency of the software processing portion but high enough for said state monitoring portion to operate.

Claim 10

The portable terminal according to claim 7 wherein said clock supply portion sets the minimum clock frequency which is enough for said state monitoring portion to operate, when the microprocessor does not access the external memory.

Claim 11

A power saving portable telephone having a communication state and a non-communication state comprising: a main controlling portion having a software processing portion using a microprocessor in said main controlling portion according to an interruption, said microprocessor including an operating system for driving software in said software processing portion and generating an interrupt signal; a clock supply portion for supplying to said main controlling portion a clock signal which causes said microprocessor to operate wherein said clock signal frequency is adjustable; and a state monitoring portion for monitoring, via the interrupt signal received from the operating system, an operating state of said software processing portion, said state monitoring portion sends a clock switching signal to said clock supply portion so that said clock supply portion sets a frequency of said clock signal to high when said software processing is being conducted and sets a frequency of said clock signal to minimum when said processing is not being conducted, wherein the setting of said clock frequency to high or minimum is independent of whether the telephone is in the communication state or non-communication state.

Claim 12

A power saving portable telephone having a communication state and a non-communication state comprising: a main controlling portion having a software processing portion using a microprocessor in said main controlling portion according to an interruption, said microprocessor including an operating system for driving software in said software processing portion and generating an interrupt signal; a clock supply portion for supplying to said main controlling portion a clock signal which causes said microprocessor to operate wherein said clock signal frequency is adjustable; and a state monitoring portion for monitoring, via the interrupt signal received from the operating system, an operating state of said software processing portion, said state monitoring portion sends a clock switching signal to said clock supply portion so that said clock supply portion sets a frequency of said clock signal to high when said software processing is being conducted and sets a frequency of said clock signal to minimum when said processing is not being conducted, wherein the setting of said clock frequency to high or minimum is independent of whether the telephone is in the communication state or non-communication state.

Claim 13

The portable telephone according to claim 9, wherein said minimum clock frequency is below 1 MHz.

Claim 14

The portable telephone according to claim 9, wherein said minimum clock frequency is 0.3 MHz.