JP2011221910A - Information processor corresponding to low power consumption and information processing system corresponding to low power consumption - Google Patents

Abstract

An information communication apparatus capable of preventing unnecessary wake-up and corresponding to low power consumption is provided.
An information processing apparatus for low power consumption according to an embodiment of the present invention includes a calculation unit that performs various types of information processing, and an operation state and a pause for the calculation unit to reduce power consumption. The state control unit 12 that performs state control of the state, the communication control unit 14 that performs communication control between the calculation unit 11 and the local area network 2, and the frame received from the local area network 2 are control frames for information communication. Or a frame identification unit 13 for identifying whether the calculation unit 11 is a wake-up frame for switching the calculation unit 11 from the dormant state to the active state. When the calculation unit 11 is in the dormant state, the communication control unit 14 The frame identified by the frame identifying means 13 as the control frame is discarded.
[Selection] Figure 1

Description

  The present invention relates to a low power consumption information processing apparatus and a low power consumption information processing system.

  2. Description of the Related Art It is known that an information processing system such as a local area network (hereinafter referred to as “LAN”) system has a sleep (pause) / wake-up (operation or activation) function in order to reduce power consumption. Patent Document 1 discloses this type of information processing system.

  According to Patent Document 1, in this type of information processing system, it is not possible to turn off the power of the comparator, which is a reception circuit, in the information processing apparatus in order to monitor a wake-up request even after going to sleep. There is a problem that electric power cannot be used. Regarding this problem, the information processing apparatus disclosed in Patent Document 1 further includes an edge detection circuit, stops the comparator that is the reception circuit after the transition to sleep, and detects the edge of the wakeup request signal by the edge detection circuit. That is, a signal change in the LAN line is detected. As a result, low power consumption can be realized.

JP-A-6-303242

  By the way, an information processing apparatus that does not support low power consumption, that is, an information processing apparatus that does not have a sleep / wake-up function may be connected to the information processing system. Thus, when the information processing apparatus disclosed in Patent Document 1 and the information processing apparatus not compatible with low power consumption coexist in the information processing system, the following problems are expected. That is, when the information processing system does not perform communication for a while and the information processing apparatus compatible with low power consumption is in a sleep state, the control frame for normal communication to communicate with the information processing apparatus not compatible with low power consumption Is transmitted to the LAN line, the information processing apparatus compatible with low power consumption disclosed in Patent Document 1 detects an edge of a control frame that is not a wakeup request frame, and performs unnecessary wakeup. Is expected.

  SUMMARY An advantage of some aspects of the invention is that it provides an information communication apparatus compatible with low power consumption and an information processing system compatible with low power consumption that can prevent unnecessary wake-up.

  An information processing apparatus for low power consumption according to the present invention includes a calculation unit that performs various types of information processing, a state control unit that performs state control of an operation state and a hibernation state for the calculation unit in order to reduce power consumption, Communication control means for controlling communication between the computing means and the local area network, and the frame received from the local area network is a control frame for information communication, or for switching the computing means from the sleep state to the operating state. Frame identifying means for identifying whether the frame is a wake-up frame, and when the computing means is in a dormant state, the communication control means discards the frame identified as the control frame by the frame identifying means.

  According to this low power consumption information processing apparatus, for example, an information processing apparatus compatible with low power consumption and an information processing apparatus not compatible with low power consumption coexist on a LAN line, and communication is not performed for a while and low power consumption is achieved. Even when a control frame for normal communication is transmitted to a LAN line to communicate with an information processing device that does not support low power consumption when the power compatible information processing device is in a sleep state (sleep state), it is low. In the information processing apparatus that supports power consumption, the control frame is identified by the frame identifying means, and the control frame is discarded by the communication control means, so that the control frame is not led to the computing means and the state control means. Therefore, when the information processing apparatus corresponding to low power consumption is in a dormant state, unnecessary wakeup due to factors other than the wakeup frame can be prevented by the calculation means and the state control means.

  When the frame identifying means identifies that the frame received from the local area network is a wake-up frame, the state control means preferably switches the computing means to the operating state.

  According to this, it is possible to appropriately wake up the arithmetic means by the factor of only the wakeup frame.

  An information processing system compatible with low power consumption according to the present invention is a low power consumption information processing system in which the information processing device compatible with low power consumption and the information processing device not compatible with low power consumption are mixed. The non-compliant information processing apparatus includes a computing unit that performs various types of information processing, a communication control unit that performs communication control between the computing unit and the local area network, and a frame received from the local area network is a wake-up frame. Filtering means for discarding reception of the frame.

  According to the information processing system that supports low power consumption, the information processing device that supports low power consumption described above is provided. Normal communication to communicate with information processing devices that do not support low power consumption when information processing devices that support low power consumption have been idle for a while and have been in a sleep state. Even when the control frame for the transmission is transmitted to the LAN line, unnecessary wakeup due to factors other than the wakeup frame can be prevented.

  In addition, according to the information processing system compatible with low power consumption, for example, an information processing device compatible with low power consumption and an information processing device not compatible with low power consumption coexist on a LAN line, and information not compatible with low power consumption is used. When a wakeup frame that cannot be received by the processing device is transmitted to the LAN line, the information processing device that does not support low power consumption discards the reception of the wakeup frame by the filtering means. It is possible to prevent unnecessary abnormal state detection by the wake-up frame for the processing device.

  According to the present invention, in an information processing system compatible with low power consumption in which an information processing device compatible with low power consumption and an information processing apparatus not compatible with low power consumption are mixed, the wake-up frame of the information processing apparatus compatible with low power consumption Unnecessary wakeup due to other factors can be prevented.

1 is a diagram illustrating a configuration of an information processing apparatus compatible with low power consumption according to an embodiment of the present invention and a configuration of an information processing system compatible with low power consumption according to an embodiment of the present invention. It is a figure which shows an example of the control frame and wakeup frame which are used with the information processing system corresponding to the low power consumption which concerns on embodiment of this invention. It is a figure which shows an example of the control frame and wakeup frame which are used with the information processing system corresponding to the low power consumption which concerns on the modification of this invention.

  DESCRIPTION OF EMBODIMENTS Hereinafter, preferred embodiments of the present invention will be described in detail with reference to the drawings. In the drawings, the same or corresponding parts are denoted by the same reference numerals.

  FIG. 1 is a diagram illustrating a configuration of an information processing apparatus that supports low power consumption according to an embodiment of the present invention, and a configuration of an information processing system that supports low power consumption according to an embodiment of the present invention. In the information processing system 1 shown in FIG. 1, a plurality of information processing devices (nodes) 10 that support low power consumption and a plurality of information processing devices (nodes) 20 that do not support low power consumption coexist to construct a network. It is connected to a local area network (hereinafter referred to as LAN) line (also referred to as BUS line) 2.

  In this information processing system 1, in addition to a control frame for normal information communication, a wake-up frame for wake-up (operation or activation) of the information processing apparatus 10 corresponding to low power consumption during sleep (pause) And propagate. The control frame is, for example, various control frames for information communication performed by the information processing apparatus 10 that supports low power consumption during wakeup and the information processing apparatus 20 that does not support low power consumption.

  FIG. 2 is a diagram illustrating an example of a control frame and a wake-up frame used in the information processing system 1. As shown in FIG. 2, for example, the control frame and the wake-up frame have different periods. In this embodiment, the cycle of the wakeup frame is longer than the cycle of the control frame.

  The information processing apparatus 10 compatible with low power consumption stores a CPU (Central Processing Unit) that performs calculations, a ROM (Read Only Memory) that stores programs for causing the CPU to execute each process, and various data such as calculation results. An electronic control unit (hereinafter referred to as ECU: Electronic Control Unit) composed of RAM (Random Access Memory) or the like. With this configuration, the information processing apparatus 10 includes the calculation unit 11, the state control unit 12, the frame identification unit 13, and the communication control unit 14.

  The computing unit 11 is a part that performs various types of information processing, and generates a transmission frame according to information generated by the information processing, or performs information processing using information of a received frame from another information processing device. To do.

  The state control unit 12 performs switching control between the operation state (wake-up) and the hibernation state (sleep) of the calculation unit 11. For example, when communication is not performed for a while and a sleep request is permitted, the state control unit 12 switches the arithmetic unit 11 that performs main information processing in the information processing apparatus 10 from the operating state to the dormant state. Reduce power consumption. Further, the state control unit 12 switches the calculation unit 11 from the dormant state to the operating state in response to a notification that a received frame from the frame identification unit 13 described later is a wake-up frame. The state control unit 12 notifies the frame identification unit 13 and the communication control unit 14 of the state of the calculation unit 11.

  Based on the notification from the state control unit 12, the frame identification unit 13 is stopped when the calculation unit 11 is in the operating state, and is activated only when the calculation unit 11 is in the dormant state. When the computing unit 11 is in a dormant state, the frame identifying unit 13 identifies whether the received frame is a control frame or a wake-up frame. The frame identification unit 13 notifies the identification result to the state control unit 12 and the communication control unit 14.

  The communication control unit 14 controls frame transmission / reception between the calculation unit 11 and the LAN line 2 when the calculation unit 11 is in an operating state. On the other hand, when the calculation unit 11 is in the dormant state, the communication control unit 14 discards the frame identified as the control frame by the frame identification unit 13 and receives the frame identified as the wake-up frame by the frame identification unit 13. .

  Next, the information processing device 20 that does not support low power consumption includes a CPU (Central Processing Unit) that performs calculations, a ROM (Read Only Memory) that stores programs for causing the CPU to execute each process, and various calculation results. An electronic control unit (hereinafter referred to as an ECU: Electronic Control Unit) composed of a RAM (Random Access Memory) that stores data. With this configuration, the information processing apparatus 20 includes a calculation unit 21, a filtering unit 22, and a communication control unit 23.

  The calculation unit 21 is a part that performs various types of information processing, similar to the calculation unit 11 described above. The calculation unit 21 generates a transmission frame according to information generated by information processing, or receives frames received from other information processing apparatuses. Information processing is performed using information.

  The filtering unit 22 receives the control frame and discards the reception of the wakeup frame. For example, the filtering unit 22 is a software filter, determines whether the received frame is a control frame or a wake-up frame based on the period of the received frame, and cannot accept reception when it is a wake-up frame. A calculation unit 21 that receives a wake-up frame and determines that the reception is abnormal is notified to ignore the reception abnormality determination.

  The communication control unit 23 controls frame transmission / reception between the calculation unit 11 and the LAN line 2.

  By the way, when information processing apparatuses compatible with low power consumption and information processing apparatuses not compatible with low power consumption coexist on a LAN line, the following problems are expected. In other words, when communication processing is not performed for a while and an information processing device compatible with low power consumption is in a sleep state, a control frame for normal communication is placed on the LAN line in order to communicate with the information processing device not compatible with low power consumption. When transmitted, the information processing apparatus that supports low power consumption is expected to detect a control frame that is not a wakeup request frame and perform unnecessary wakeup.

  In addition, when the wakeup frame is transmitted to the LAN line, it is expected that an information processing apparatus that does not support low power consumption will perform unnecessary abnormal state detection using a wakeup frame that cannot be received.

  However, according to the information processing apparatus 10 compatible with low power consumption of this embodiment and the information processing system 1 compatible with low power consumption of this embodiment, the information processing apparatus 10 compatible with low power consumption and the low power consumption of the LAN line 2 are low. When the information processing apparatus 20 that does not support power consumption coexists and communication is not performed for a while and the information processing apparatus 10 that supports low power consumption is in a sleep state, the information processing apparatus 20 that does not support low power consumption communicates Even when a control frame for normal communication is transmitted to the LAN line 2 in order to perform communication, in the information processing apparatus 10 compatible with low power consumption, the control frame is identified by the frame identification unit 13 and the control frame is identified by the communication control unit 14. Therefore, the control frame is not guided to the calculation unit 11 and the state control unit 12. Therefore, when the information processing apparatus 10 that supports low power consumption is in a dormant state, the calculation unit 11 and the state control unit 12 can prevent unnecessary wake-up due to factors other than the wake-up frame. it can.

  Further, according to the information processing apparatus 20 that does not support low power consumption according to the present embodiment and the information processing system 1 that supports low power consumption according to the present embodiment, for example, the information processing apparatus compatible with low power consumption on the LAN line 2. 10 and an information processing device 20 that does not support low power consumption, and the information processing device 20 that does not support low power consumption transmits a wake-up frame that cannot be received to the LAN line 2, the low power consumption In the corresponding information processing apparatus 20, since the filtering unit 22 discards reception of the wakeup frame, unnecessary abnormal state detection by the wakeup frame for the information processing apparatus 10 compatible with low power consumption is prevented. can do.

  As described above, according to the information processing system 1 of the present embodiment, the information processing apparatus 10 that supports low power consumption and the low power consumption non-supporting function are divided into logical hierarchies that divide domains into fields with large differences in requirements. In a network in which the information processing apparatus 20 is mixed, a bus wakeup function can be realized without being influenced by each other.

  The present invention is not limited to the above-described embodiment, and various modifications can be made. For example, in the present embodiment, in the information processing apparatus 10 compatible with low power consumption, the frame identification unit 13 and the communication control unit 14 are realized by an ECU. It can be realized by such as. Similarly, in the present embodiment, in the information processing apparatus 20 that does not support low power consumption, the filtering unit 22 is realized by an ECU. However, the filtering unit 22 can be realized by an electronic circuit or the like separately from the ECU.

  In this embodiment, the cycle of the wakeup frame is made longer than the cycle of the control frame. However, as shown in FIG. 3, the cycle of the wakeup frame may be made shorter than the cycle of the control frame. In this case, the filtering unit 22 in the information processing apparatus 20 that does not support low power consumption can use a low-pass filter instead of the software filter. For example, a low-pass filter realized by an electronic circuit is interposed in the signal transmission line between the arithmetic unit 21 and the LAN line 2. As a result, only the control frame composed of low frequencies is guided to the arithmetic unit 11, and the wakeup frame composed of high frequencies is not guided to the arithmetic unit 11 and discarded, so that the information processing apparatus that does not support low power consumption 20, it is possible to prevent unnecessary abnormal state detection by the wake-up frame for the information processing apparatus 10 that supports low power consumption.

  DESCRIPTION OF SYMBOLS 1 ... Information processing system, 2 ... Local area network line (LAN line), 10 ... Information processing apparatus corresponding to low power consumption, 11 ... Calculation part (calculation means), 12 ... State control part (state control means), 13 ... Frame identifying unit (frame identifying unit), 14 ... communication control unit (communication control unit), 20 ... information processing device not compatible with low power consumption, 21 ... computing unit (calculating unit), 22 ... filtering unit (filtering unit), 23: Communication control unit (communication control means).

Claims (3)

Arithmetic means for performing various information processing;
In order to reduce power consumption, state control means for performing state control of the operation state and the hibernation state for the arithmetic means;
Communication control means for performing communication control between the arithmetic means and the local area network;
Frame identifying means for identifying whether a frame received from the local area network is a control frame for information communication or a wakeup frame for switching the computing means from a sleep state to an active state;
With
When the computing means is in a dormant state, the communication control means discards the frame identified as the control frame by the frame identifying means;
An information processing device that supports low power consumption. When the frame identifying means identifies that the frame received from the local area network is a wake-up frame, the state control means switches the computing means to an operating state.
The information processing apparatus corresponding to low power consumption according to claim 1. In the information processing system for low power consumption in which the information processing device for low power consumption according to claim 1 or 2 and the information processing device for non-low power consumption are mixed,
The information processing apparatus that does not support low power consumption is:
Arithmetic means for performing various information processing;
Communication control means for performing communication control between the arithmetic means and the local area network;
Filtering means for discarding reception of the frame when the frame received from the local area network is a wake-up frame;
An information processing system compatible with low power consumption.

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