DATA PROCESSING APPARATUS AND POWER SAVING CONTROL METHOD OF THE SAME

• US 20120216061A1
• Filed: 02/08/2012
• Published: 08/23/2012
• Est. Priority Date: 02/17/2011
• Status: Active Grant

• Current Assignee: Canon Kabushiki Kaisha (Canon Inc.)
• Original Assignee: Canon Kabushiki Kaisha (Canon Inc.)
• Inventors: SHOUNO, Hiroki
• Granted Patent: US 9,377,838 B2
• Time in Patent Office: Days
• US Class Current: 713/323
• CPC Class Codes: G06F 1/26 Power supply means, e.g. regulation thereof for memories G11C
• CPC Class Codes: G06F 1/3203 Power management, i.e. event-based initiation of a power-saving mode
• CPC Class Codes: G06F 1/3209 Monitoring remote activity, e.g. over telephone lines or network connections
• CPC Class Codes: G06F 1/3215 Monitoring of peripheral devices
• CPC Class Codes: G06F 1/3278 Power saving in modem or I/O interface
• CPC Class Codes: G06F 1/3284 Power saving in printer
• CPC Class Codes: Y02D 10/00 Energy efficient computing, e.g. low power processors, power management or thermal management

Abstract

Reception of data by an operating system via a network is monitored outside of the operating system. When reception of a packet to which the operating system of a data processing apparatus should respond is detected, transition to a power saving state is deferred.

Claims

1. A data processing apparatus comprising:

a monitoring unit configured to monitor reception of data by an operating system via a network, the monitoring unit being outside of the operating system; and

a power saving unit configured to control transition to a power saving state in which the operating system is disabled to respond to data received via the network, the power saving unit being outside of the operating system,

wherein when the monitoring unit detects reception of data to which the operating system should respond, the power saving unit defers transition to the power saving state.

2. The apparatus according to claim 1, wherein the monitoring unit monitors a transmission/reception status of an ICMP packet.

3. The apparatus according to claim 1, wherein the monitoring unit monitors reception of data by the operating system using a packet socket.

4. The apparatus according to claim 1, wherein the monitoring unit transmits to the power saving unit, upon detecting reception of data, by the operating system, information indicating a state in which it is impossible to transit to the power saving state, transmits to the power saving unit, upon determining that the received data is not data to which the operating system should respond, information for cancelling the state in which it is impossible to transit to the power saving state, and transmits to the power saving unit, upon determining that the received data is a packet to which the operating system should respond, information for cancelling the state in which it is impossible to transit to the power saving state, after waiting for a predetermined period of time.

5. A power saving control method for a data processing apparatus, comprising:

a monitoring step of, outside of an operating system, monitoring reception of data by the operating system via a network;

a power saving control step of, outside of the operating system, controlling transition to a power saving state in which the operating system is disabled to respond to data received via the network; and

a control step of deferring, when reception of a packet to which the operating system should respond is detected in the monitoring step, transition to the power saving state.