Author: claimsbot

1. A method for managing energy consumption, comprising:
identifying a set of objects whose energy consumption will be managed;
accessing a set of meta data for the set of objects, the set of meta data corresponding to communication and energy conservation properties, wherein the energy conservation properties include throttling capabilities for the set of objects;
initiating an energy conservation request;
communicating instructions pertaining to the energy conservation request to at least one of the set of objects, wherein, based on the throttling capabilities, the instructions comprise: a notification to the at least one of the set of objects to modulate its own energy usage in the case that the at least one of the set of objects is capable of lowering its own energy usage, and a signal to a separate energy management device to lower an amount of energy to the at least one of the set of objects in the case that the at least one of the set of objects is not configured to lower its own energy usage;
determining whether an acknowledgement is received from the at least one of the set of objects; and
monitoring the at least one of the set of objects to ensure compliance with the instructions.
2. The method of claim 1, further comprising enrolling the set of objects with an energy control manager.
3. The method of claim 2, the enrolling comprising auto-discovering the set of objects within a system whose energy consumption is being managed by the energy control manager.
4. The method of claim 2, the enrolling comprising manually enrolling the set of devices.
5. The method of claim 2, further comprising an interface for enabling communications between the energy control manager and the set of objects.
6. The method of claim 1, further comprising:
communicating a quiesce command requiring the set of objects to stop energy consumption traffic; and
communicating signaling to the objects to modulate energy consumption.
7. The method of claim 1, the instructions indicating how much energy throttling is required and a time duration for the energy throttling.
8. The method of claim 1, the set of objects being selected from a group consisting of a device and an entity having at least one device.
9. A system for managing energy consumption, comprising:
a module for identifying a set of objects whose energy consumption will be managed;
a module for accessing a set of meta data for the set of objects, the set of meta data corresponding to communication and energy conservation properties, wherein the energy conservation properties include throttling capabilities for the set of objects;
a module for initiating an energy conservation request;
a module for communicating instructions pertaining to the energy conservation request to at least one of the set of objects, wherein, based on the throttling capabilities, the instructions comprise: a notification to the at least one of the set of objects to modulate its own energy usage in the case that the at least one of the set of objects is capable of lowering its own energy usage, and a signal to a separate energy management device to lower an amount of energy to the at least one of the set of objects in the case that the at least one of the set of objects is not configured to lower its own energy usage;
a module for determining whether an acknowledgement is received from the at least one of the set of objects; and
a module for monitoring the at least one of the set of objects to ensure compliance with the instructions.
10. The system of claim 9, the system comprising an energy control manager that further comprises a module for enrolling the set of objects.
11. The system of claim 10, the module for enrolling being configured to auto-discover the set of objects within a system whose energy consumption is being managed by the energy control manager.
12. The system of claim 10, the module for enrolling being configured to accept manual enrollment of the set of devices.
13. The system of claim 10, further comprising an interface for enabling communications between the energy control manager and the set of objects.
14. The system of claim 9, further comprising:
a module for communicating a quiesce command requiring the set of objects to stop energy consumption traffic; and
a module for communicating signaling to the objects to modulate energy consumption.
15. A computer readable medium containing a program product for managing energy consumption, the computer readable medium comprising a set of program instructions for causing a computer system to:
identify a set of objects whose energy consumption will be managed;
access a set of meta data for the set of objects, the set of meta data corresponding to communication and energy conservation properties, wherein the energy conservation properties include throttling capabilities for the set of objects;
initiate an energy conservation request;
communicate instructions pertaining to the energy conservation request to at least one of the set of objects, wherein, based on the throttling capabilities, the instructions comprise: a notification to the at least one of the set of objects to modulate its own energy usage in the case that the at least one of the set of objects is capable of lowering its own energy usage, and a signal to a separate energy management device to lower an amount of energy to the at least one of the set of objects in the case that the at least one of the set of objects is not configured to lower its own energy usage;
determine whether an acknowledgement is received from the at least one of the set of objects; and
monitor the at least one of the set of objects to ensure compliance with the instructions.
16. The computer readable medium containing the program product of claim 15, the computer readable medium further comprising a set of program instructions for causing the computer system to enroll the set of objects with an energy control manager.
17. The computer readable medium containing the program product of claim 16, the computer readable medium further comprising a set of program instructions for causing the computer system to auto-discover the set of objects within a system whose energy consumption is being managed by the energy control manager.
18. The computer readable medium containing the program product of claim 16, the computer readable medium further comprising a set of program instructions for causing the computer system to manually enroll the set of devices.
19. The computer readable medium containing the program product of claim 16, further comprising an interface for enabling communications between the energy control manager and the set of objects.
20. The computer readable medium containing the program product of claim 15, the computer readable medium further comprising a set of program instructions for causing the computer system to:
communicate a quiesce command requiring the set of objects to stop energy consumption traffic; and
communicate signaling to the objects to modulate energy consumption.
21. The computer readable medium containing the program product of claim 15, the instructions indicating how much energy throttling is required and a time duration for the energy throttling.
22. A method for deploying a system for managing energy consumption, comprising:
deploying a computer infrastructure being operable to:
identify a set of objects whose energy consumption will be managed;
access a set of meta data for the set of objects, the set of meta data corresponding to communication and energy conservation properties, wherein the energy conservation properties include throttling capabilities for the set of objects;
initiate an energy conservation request;
communicate instructions pertaining to the energy conservation request to at least one of the set of objects, wherein, based on the throttling capabilities, the instructions comprise: a notification to the at least one of the set of objects to modulate its own energy usage in the case that the at least one of the set of objects is capable of lowering its own energy usage, and a signal to a separate energy management device to lower an amount of energy to the at least one of the set of objects in the case that the at least one of the set of objects is not configured to lower its own energy usage;
determine whether an acknowledgement is received from the at least one of the set of objects; and
monitor the at least one of the set of objects to ensure compliance with the instructions.
23. The method of claim 1, the computer infrastructure comprising an energy control manager.

The claims below are in addition to those above.
All refrences to claim(s) which appear below refer to the numbering after this setence.

1. A system comprising:
a first communication device, the first communication device disposed at and affixed to a site at which a deceased party resides, the first communication device comprising:
a communication interface to receive a communication signal transmitted from a user operating a second communication device at a remote location;
a resource to produce a perceptible output; and
a processor device to process the communication signal received from the second communication device and control the resource to produce and direct the perceptible output to the deceased party;

wherein the perceptible output is an audio communication originated by the user operating the second communication device; and
wherein the user operating the second communication device is knowledgeable that the deceased party resides at the site and that the audio communication is outputted to the deceased party;
wherein the second communication device is a phone device, the user inputting a unique identifier assigned to the first communication device into the second communication device to establish a call connection between the second communication device and the first communication device; and
wherein the first communication device automatically accepts an incoming call from the second communication device on behalf of the deceased party to establish the call connection on which to convey the communication signal.
2. The system as in claim 1, wherein the site is a gravesite, the perceptible output being a communication outputted from the resource and directed to the deceased party.
3. The system as in claim 2, wherein the user operating the second communication device is knowledgeable that the disabled party is in the state of unconsciousness and lacks an ability to respond to the perceptible output; and
wherein the perceptible output is sound initiated by the user operating the second communication device, the sound showing support to the disabled party.
4. The system as in claim 1, wherein the first communication device provides feedback to the second communication device subsequent to executing a command as specified by the communication signal, the feedback indicating that the command was executed by the first communication device.
5. The system as in claim 1, wherein the first communication device provides an acknowledgment to the second communication device to indicate an active communication session between the second communication device and the first communication device, the active communication session supporting conveyance of control information from the second communication device to the first communication device.
6. The system as in claim 5, wherein the acknowledgment causes the second communication device to initiate playback of an audible signal to the user, the audible signal indicating that the first communication device is connected with the second communication device via the communication session.
7. The system as in claim 1, wherein the resource is a speaker.
8. The system as in claim 1, wherein the communication signal is a prerecorded audio signal selected by the user of the second communication device for playback on the resource of the first communication device.
9. The system as in claim 1,
wherein the perceptible output is playback of a rendition of the audio signal at the site.
10. The system as in claim 1, wherein the user is a first party;
wherein the communication signal is a first communication signal;
wherein the communication interface supports an active communication session between the first communication device and the second communication device, the user of the second communication device generating the first communication signal to control the first communication device while the communication session is active;
wherein the first communication device, during the active communication session, receives a second communication signal from a second party and stores the second communication signal; and
wherein the first communication device produces the perceptible output in accordance with the second communication signal subsequent to termination of the active communication session.
11. The system as in claim 1, wherein the communication signal is a first communication signal;
wherein the user is a first party;
wherein the first communication device receives a second communication signal, the second communication signal initiated by a second party at a remote location with respect to the first communication device; and
wherein the processor device simultaneously controls the perceptible output of the first communication device in accordance with the first communication signal and the second communication signal.
12. The system as in claim 1, wherein the communication signal is an audio conference signal in which multiple parties including the user communicate with each other at a remote location with respect to the site; and
wherein the first communication device initiates playback of a rendition of the audio conference signal from the resource.
13. The system as in claim 1, wherein the first communication device:
processes the communication signal to identify a specified time at which to produce the perceptible output;
schedules generation of the perceptible output at the specified time; and
controls the first communication device to produce the perceptible output at the specified time.
14. The system as in claim 1, wherein the communication signal includes control information to control a camera disposed in the first communication device; and
wherein the second communication device controls the camera in a manner as specified by the control information in the communication signal received from the second communication device.
15. The system as in claim 14, wherein the resource is a display screen; and
wherein the perceptible output is a rendition of video displayed on a display screen of the first communication device, the second communication device transmitting the video to the first communication device.
16. The system as in claim 1 further comprising:
an RF transmitter, the RF transmitter transmitting the communication signal to a third communication device.
17. A method comprising:
receiving a communication signal at a first communication device, transmission of the communication signal initiated by a user operating a second communication device at a remote location with respect to the first communication device, the first communication device disposed at a site in which a called party resides, the user attempting to communicate with the first communication device;
processing the communication signal; and
controlling the first communication device to produce a perceptible output at the site, the perceptible output directed to the called party and produced in a manner as indicated by the communication signal received from the second communication device, the called party at the site being deceased and incapable of responding to the perceptible output, the first communication device affixed to the site at which the deceased party resides;
wherein the user is a first party;
wherein the communication signal is a first communication signal, the method further comprising:
establishing an active communication session between the first communication device and the second communication device, the user of the second communication device generating the first communication signal to control the first communication device while the communication session is active;
during the active communication session: i) receiving a second communication signal, the second communication signal received from a second party attempting to communicate with the first communication device, and ii) storing the second communication signal in a repository; and

subsequent to termination of the active communication session, controlling the perceptible output of the first communication device in accordance with the second communication signal.
18. The method as in claim 17,
wherein the site is a gravesite in which the deceased party resides.
19. The method as in claim 17 further comprising:
subsequent to executing a command as specified by the communication signal, providing feedback from the first communication device to the second communication device, the feedback indicating that the command was executed by the first communication device.
20. The method as in claim 17 further comprising:
providing an acknowledgment from the first communication device to the second communication device to indicate an active communication session between the first communication device and the second communication device, the active communication session enabling conveyance of control information from the second communication device to the first communication device.
21. The method as in claim 20, wherein the acknowledgment causes the second communication device to initiate playback of an audible signal to the user indicating that the first communication device is connected with the second communication device.
22. The method as in claim 17, wherein controlling the first communication device to produce the perceptible output includes: initiating playback of a video signal on a display screen of the first communication device.
23. The method as in claim 17 further comprising:
receiving the communication signal from a server resource, the communication signal being a prerecorded audio signal selected by the user of the second communication device for playback on the first communication device.
24. The method as in claim 17 further comprising:
receiving the communication signal as an audio signal generated by the user speaking into the second communication device; and
wherein controlling the first communication device to produce the perceptible output includes initiating playback of a rendition of the audio signal at the first communication device, the first communication device outputting the rendition of the audio signal from the resource to the deceased party at the site.
25. The method as in claim 17, wherein the communication signal is a first communication signal;
wherein the user is a first party, the method further comprising:
receiving a second communication signal at the first communication device, transmission of the second communication signal initiated by a second party at a remote location with respect to the first communication device; and
simultaneously controlling the first communication device to produce the perceptible output of the first communication device in accordance with the first communication signal and the second communication signal.
26. The method as in claim 17 further comprising:
receiving the communication signal as an audio conference signal in which multiple parties including the user communicate with each other; and
initiating playback of a rendition of the audio conference signal at the first communication device.
27. The method as in claim 17, wherein processing the communication signal includes:
processing the communication signal to identify a specified time at which to produce the perceptible output;
scheduling generation of the perceptible output at the specified time; and
controlling the first communication device to produce the perceptible output at the specified time.
28. The method as in claim 27, wherein producing the perceptible output at the specified time includes: initiating playback of an audible signal from a speaker disposed in the first communication device.
29. The method as in claim 27, wherein producing the perceptible output at the specified time includes: initiating lighting of a light source disposed in the first communication device.
30. The method as in claim 17, wherein the communication signal includes control information to control a camera disposed in the first communication device; and
controlling the camera in the first communication device in a manner as specified by the control information in the communication signal.

1. A digital camera comprising:
a Central Processing Unit (CPU) that controls the digital camera after a start-up process is carried out;
a connection device connectable to a storage medium for storing information;
a monitoring circuit, including a register and a timer, that monitors a connection status of whether the storage medium is connected to or disconnected from the connection device; and
a communication device that enables said CPU to access a monitoring result stored in the register by the monitoring circuit when said CPU is turned ON in response to a user’s power-on instruction,
wherein said monitoring circuit monitors the connection status of the storage medium in response to a control signal at a predetermined time interval, which is determined by the timer, stores information of the disconnection in the register when the storage medium is disconnected from said connection device while said CPU is in the OFF state, and, until a user’s power-on instruction, maintains said CPU in the OFF state and maintains the register and the timer in the ON state,
wherein said communication device enables said CPU to acquire the information of the disconnection from the register by direct access to the register when said CPU is turned ON in response to the user’s power-on instruction, and
wherein said monitoring circuit continues monitoring the connection status of whether the storage medium is connected to or disconnected from the connection device, until the storage medium is disconnected from said connection device, and after the storage medium is disconnected from said connection device, said monitoring circuit stops monitoring the connection status of whether the storage medium is connected to or disconnected from the connection device and continues storing the information of the disconnection in the register to be acquired by direct access of the CPU when said CPU is turned ON.
2. The digital camera as claimed in claim 1, further comprising a time management device that manages time within the digital camera, and
wherein said monitoring circuit and said time management device are configured as a single device.
3. The digital camera as claimed in claim 1, further comprising a management information storage device that stores file management information from the storage medium, and
wherein when said CPU determines, based on the monitoring result stored in said register, that the storage medium has not been disconnected from the connection device, said CPU reads out the file management information from said management information storage device to carry out the start-up process, whereas when said CPU determines that the storage medium has been disconnected from the digital camera at least once, said CPU reads out the file management information from the storage medium to carry out the start-up process.
4. The digital camera as claimed in claim 1, wherein said CPU sets time intervals at which said monitoring circuit monitors the connection status of the storage medium, via said communication device.
5. The digital camera as claimed in claim 1, further comprising a determination device that determines time intervals at which said monitoring circuit monitors the connection status of the storage medium, based on the monitoring result stored in said register.
6. The digital camera as claimed in claim 1, further comprising a fixing device that fixes information stored in said register to information indicative of the storage medium being disconnected from the connecting device regardless of whether or not the storage medium is connected to or disconnected from the connecting device, when a predetermined condition is satisfied, and
wherein said CPU carries out the start-up process based on the fixed information.
7. The digital camera as claimed in claim 6, wherein the predetermined condition includes at least one of a condition that a voltage supplied to said monitoring circuit has become equal to or lower than a set voltage or a condition that a reset signal has been externally input to said monitoring circuit.
8. The digital camera as claimed in claim 6, wherein said register stores the information indicative of the storage medium being disconnected from the connecting device as the monitoring result.
9. The digital camera as claimed in claim 1, further comprising:
a first conversion device that converts a voltage from a first power supply, capable of supplying electric power to components of the digital camera, to a first voltage;
a second conversion device that converts a voltage from a second power supply, capable of supplying electric power to said monitoring circuit, including to said register, to a second voltage; and
a switching device that selectively switches between the first voltage and the second voltage to supply a selected one of the first voltage or the second voltage to said monitoring circuit, including said register included in said monitoring circuit.
10. The digital camera as claimed in claim 9, wherein said switching device carries out at least one of a control operation for supplying a higher one of the first voltage or the second voltage, or a control operation for preferentially supplying the first voltage.
11. The digital camera as claimed in claim 9, further comprising a charging device that causes the first power supply to charge the second power supply.
12. The digital camera as claimed in claim 9, further comprising a time management device that manages time within the digital camera, and
wherein said monitoring circuit, including said register, and said time management device are operated by common electric power supplied from one of the first power supply or the second power supply.

The claims below are in addition to those above.
All refrences to claim(s) which appear below refer to the numbering after this setence.

1. A method for crest factor reduction of a multi-carrier signal comprising a plurality of single-carrier signals, each single-carrier signal of the plurality of single-carrier signals having signal-specific spectral properties, the method comprising:
identifying a peak in the multi-carrier signal and a time of occurrence of the peak;
generating a plurality of cancellation pulses depending on the time of occurrence of the peak, wherein a particular cancellation pulse of the plurality of cancellation pulses is associated with a particular single-carrier signal of the plurality of single-carrier signals and wherein cancellation pulse-specific spectral properties of the particular cancellation pulse substantially match the signal-specific spectral properties of the associated particular single-carrier signal;
combining the plurality of cancellation pulses to form a combined cancellation pulse;
applying the combined cancellation pulse to the multi-carrier signal to reduce the peak;
weighting the plurality of cancellation pulses with a plurality of weighting factors prior to combining the plurality of cancellation pulses; and
adjusting the weighting factors depending on a plurality of variable distortion thresholds for the plurality of single-carrier signals, each variable distortion threshold of the plurality of variable distortion thresholds defining an allowable range of operation for one of the plurality of single-carrier signals with respect to distortions.
2. The method of claim 1, wherein the adjusting comprises an optimization of the weighting factors based on evaluating and minimizing a crest factor reduction distortion of the multi-carrier signal caused by the crest factor reduction.
3. The method of claim 2, wherein the optimization is a convex optimisation.
4. The method of claim 1, wherein two or more successive ones of the combined cancellation pulses are generated by two or more different pulse generators of a crest factor reduction circuit performing the method for crest factor reduction.
5. The method of claim 1, wherein the identifying the peak also produces at least one of a value of a peak amplitude of the peak and a peak phase of the peak, and wherein the generating the plurality of cancellation pulses depends on at least one of the peak amplitude.
6. A crest factor reduction circuit for a multi-carrier signal comprising a plurality of single-carrier signals, each single-carrier signal of the plurality of single-carrier signals having signal-specific spectral properties, the crest factor reduction circuit comprising:
a peak detector for identifying a peak in the multi-carrier signal and a time of occurrence of the peak;
a multi-pulse generator for generating a plurality of cancellation pulses depending on the time of occurrence, the multi-pulse generator comprising a plurality of pulse generators and a cancellation pulse combiner connected to a pulse output of the plurality of pulse generators and adapted to form a combined cancellation pulse, wherein a particular pulse generator of the plurality of pulse generators is associated with a particular single-carrier signal of the plurality of single-carrier signals and wherein cancellation pulse-specific spectral properties of a cancellation pulse generated by the particular pulse generator substantially match the signal-specific spectral properties of the associated particular single-carrier signal;
a pulse injector for injecting the combined cancellation pulse to the multi-carrier signal;
a weighting unit interposed between the plurality of pulse generators and the cancellation pulse combiner, the weighting unit being adapted to weight the plurality of cancellation pulses with a plurality of weighing factors prior to the combining the plurality of cancellation pulses; and
an adaptive adjuster adapted to adjust the weighting factors depending on a plurality of variable distortion thresholds for the plurality of single-carrier signals.
7. The crest factor reduction circuit of claim 6, wherein the adaptive adjuster is adapted to perform an optimization of the weighting factors based on evaluating and minimizing a crest factor reduction distortion of the multi-carrier signal caused by the crest factor reduction.
8. The crest factor reduction circuit of claim 6, comprising a plurality of the multi-pulse generators, the plurality of the multi-pulse generators being adapted to generate a plurality of combined cancellation pulses in a staggered succession.
9. The crest factor reduction circuit of claim 6, wherein the identifying the peak detector produces at least one of a value of a peak amplitude of the peak and a peak phase of the peak, and wherein the multi-pulse generator is adapted to generate the plurality of cancellation pulses depending on at least one of the peak amplitude and the peak phase.
10. A mobile communications transmitter comprising a crest factor reduction circuit according to claim 6.
11. A mobile communications base station comprising a crest factor reduction circuit according to claim 6.
12. A computer program product comprising a non-transitory computer-usable medium having control logic stored therein for causing processor to execute a method for crest factor reduction of a multi-carrier signal comprising a plurality of single-carrier signals, each single-carrier signal of the plurality of single-carrier signals having signal-specific spectral properties, the method comprising:
identifying a peak in the multi-carrier signal and a time of occurrence of the peak;
generating a plurality of cancellation pulses depending on the time of occurrence of the peak, wherein a particular cancellation pulse of the plurality of cancellation pulses is associated with a particular single-carrier signal of the plurality of single-carrier signals and wherein cancellation pulse-specific spectral properties of the particular cancellation pulse substantially match the signal-specific spectral properties of the associated particular single-carrier signal;
combining the plurality of cancellation pulses to form a combined cancellation pulse;
applying the combined cancellation pulse to the multi-carrier signal to reduce the peak; and
weighting the plurality of cancellation pulses with a plurality of weighting factors prior to combining the plurality of cancellation pulses; and
adjusting the weighting factors depending on a plurality of variable distortion thresholds for the plurality of single-carrier signals, each variable distortion threshold of the plurality of variable distortion thresholds defining an allowable range of operation for one of the plurality of single-carrier signals with respect to distortions.
13. A computer program product comprising a non-transitory computer-usable medium having control logic stored therein for causing a computer to manufacture a crest factor reduction circuit comprising:
a peak detector for identifying a peak in the multi-carrier signal and a time of occurrence of the peak;
a multi-pulse generator for generating a plurality of cancellation pulses depending on the time of occurrence, the multi-pulse generator comprising a plurality of pulse generators and a cancellation pulse combiner connected to a pulse output of the plurality of pulse generators and adapted to form a combined cancellation pulse, wherein a particular pulse generator of the plurality of pulse generators is associated with a particular single-carrier signal of the plurality of single-carrier signals and wherein cancellation pulse-specific spectral properties of a cancellation pulse generated by the particular pulse generator substantially match the signal-specific spectral properties of the associated particular single-carrier signal;
a pulse injector for injecting the combined cancellation pulse to the multi-carrier signal;
a weighting unit interposed between the plurality of pulse generators and the cancellation pulse combiner, the weighting unit being adapted to weight the plurality of cancellation pulses with a plurality of weighing factors prior to the combining the plurality of cancellation pulses; and
an adaptive adjuster adapted to adjust the weighting factors depending on a plurality of variable distortion thresholds for the plurality of single-carrier signals.