COMMUNICATION APPARATUS, COMMUNICATION SYSTEM, AND SLAVE STATION APPARATUS

• US 20110267974A1
• Filed: 02/13/2009
• Published: 11/03/2011
• Est. Priority Date: 02/13/2009
• Status: Abandoned Application

• Current Assignee: Mitsubishi Electric Corporation
• Original Assignee: Mitsubishi Electric Corporation
• Inventors: Tsuji, Akihiro, Nakura, Kenichi, Kozaki, Seiji
• Application Number:
  US13/142,862
• Publication Number:
  US 20110267974A1
• Time in Patent Office: Days
• US Class Current: 370/252
• CPC Class Codes: H04W 52/0235 where the received signal is a power saving command
• CPC Class Codes: Y02D 30/70 in wireless communication networks

Abstract

A communication apparatus includes a main-data processing unit that performs predetermined data processing on input data, and operates by switching two states of a sleep state as a state where an operation of the main-data processing unit is stopped and a normal state as a state where the main-data processing unit is operating. The communication apparatus includes a filtering unit that extracts communication state information for indicating a communication state from the input data, and a signal processing unit of a sub-data processing unit that shifts the main-data processing unit to a sleep state or a normal state based on the communication state information.

Claims

1. A communication apparatus that comprises a data processing unit that performs predetermined data processing on input data, and operates by switching two states of a sleep state as a state where an operation of the data processing unit is stopped and a normal state as a state where the data processing unit is operating, the communication apparatus comprising:

a filtering unit that extracts communication state information for indicating a communication state from the input data; and

a signal processing unit that shifts the data processing unit to a sleep state or a normal state based on the communication state information, wherein it is individually controlled that shifting of the data processing unit to a sleep state in an upstream direction and a downstream direction, based on the communication state information.

2. The communication apparatus according to claim 1, further comprising a storage unit that stores the communication state information, wherein

the filtering unit stores extracted communication state information in the storage unit, and

the signal processing unit shifts the data processing unit to a sleep state or a normal state based on communication state information that is stored in the storage unit, and also performs a transferring process of communication state information that is stored in the storage unit.

3. The communication apparatus according to claim 2, wherein the communication apparatus multiplexes communication state information to which the transferring process is to be performed, with transmission data, and transmits multiplexed information.

4. The communication apparatus according to claim 1, wherein the communication state information is a control signal based on a protocol that performs a communication control.

5. The communication apparatus according to claim 4, wherein the signal processing unit counts number of arrivals of the control signal per unit time, and shifts the data processing unit to a sleep state or a normal state based on the number of arrivals.

6. A communication system that is configured by a master station apparatus and a plurality of slave station apparatuses, each of the slave station apparatuses including a data processing unit that processes input data, and operates by switching two states of a sleep state as a state where an operation of the data processing unit is stopped and a normal state as a state where the data processing unit is operating, wherein

the master station apparatus includes:

a first filtering unit that extracts communication state information for indicating a communication state from reception data that is sent from the slave station apparatus;

a second filtering unit that extracts communication state information for indicating a communication state from transmission data that is destined to the slave station apparatus;

a master-station-signal processing unit that determines whether to instruct shifting to a sleep state or shifting to a normal state based on the communication state information, for each of slave station apparatuses;

a master-station-control-signal generating unit that generates a control signal for instructing shifting to a sleep state or shifting to a normal state to a slave station apparatus, based on the determination result; and

a multiplexing unit that multiplexes transmission data that is destined to the slave station apparatus with the control signal that is destined to the slave station apparatus, and transmits multiplexed data, and

the slave station apparatus includes;

a slave-station filtering unit that extracts the control signal from reception data that is sent from the master station apparatus; and

a slave-station-signal processing unit that shifts to a sleep state or a normal state based on an extracted control signal, wherein it is individually controlled that shifting of the data processing unit to a sleep state in an upstream direction and a downstream direction, based on the communication state information.

7. The communication system according to claim 6, wherein

the slave station apparatus further includes a slave-station-control-signal generating unit that generates a control signal that is destined to the master station apparatus, and

when the slave-station-signal processing unit performs shifting to a sleep state or shifting to a normal state, the slave-station-signal processing unit notifies this shifting to the slave-station-control-signal generating unit, and

the slave-station-control-signal generating unit generates a control signal that is destined to the master station apparatus based on a notification from the slave-station-signal processing unit.

8. A slave station apparatus in a communication system that includes a master station apparatus and a plurality of slave station apparatuses that receive downstream data from the master station apparatus and also receive upstream data from an apparatus other than the master station apparatus, the slave station apparatus comprising:

a first filtering unit that extracts first communication state information indicating a communication state from the downstream data;

a second filtering unit that extracts second communication state information indicating a communication state from the upstream data;

a first data processing unit that performs data processing on the downstream data;

a second data processing unit that performs data processing on the upstream data; and

a signal processing unit that individually controls stop and start of an operation of the first data processing unit and stop and start of an operation of the second data processing unit, based on the first communication state information and the second communication state information.

9. The slave station apparatus according to claim 8, further comprising a control-signal generating unit that generates a control signal that is destined to the master station apparatus, wherein

the signal processing unit notifies to the control-signal generating unit a state of an operation of the first data processing unit and a state of an operation of the second data processing unit, and

the control-signal generating unit generates a control signal that is destined to the master station apparatus based on a notification from the signal processing unit.