INFORMATION PROCESSING APPARATUS, METHOD FOR CONTROLLING THE SAME, AND STORAGE MEDIUM

• US 20130091366A1
• Filed: 11/28/2012
• Published: 04/11/2013
• Est. Priority Date: 03/30/2009
• Status: Active Grant

• Current Assignee: Canon Kabushiki Kaisha (Canon Inc.)
• Original Assignee: Canon Kabushiki Kaisha (Canon Inc.)
• Inventors: Nakamura, Tadahiro
• Granted Patent: US 9,811,131 B2
• Time in Patent Office: Days
• US Class Current: 713/300
• CPC Class Codes: G06F 1/26 Power supply means, e.g. regulation thereof for memories G11C
• CPC Class Codes: G06F 1/3209 Monitoring remote activity, e.g. over telephone lines or network connections
• CPC Class Codes: H04N 1/00885 Power supply means, e.g. arrangements for the control of power supply to the apparatus or components thereof
• CPC Class Codes: H04N 1/00891 Switching on or off, e.g. for saving power when not in use H04N1/00896 takes precedence
• CPC Class Codes: H04N 1/00896 using a low-power mode, e.g. standby
• CPC Class Codes: H04N 1/00973 from a remote device, e.g. receiving via the internet instructions input to a computer terminal

Abstract

An apparatus determines, when receiving a packet transited via a network in a power saving mode, whether or not the packet is a packet according to a predetermined protocol. If the packet is determined to be the packet according to a predetermined protocol, the apparatus analyzes the data of a succeeding packet described in a data description language, and instructs the apparatus to return from the power saving mode to a normal power mode depending on an analysis result.

Claims

1. An information processing apparatus capable of communicating with an external apparatus, comprising:

a main control unit;

a sub-control unit; and

a power control unit configured to supply power to both the main control unit and the sub-control unit in a case where the information processing apparatus is in a first power mode and to supply power to the sub-control unit without supplying power to the main control unit in a case where the information processing apparatus is in a second power mode,

wherein the sub-control unit comprises;

a receiving unit configured to receive a packet transmitted from the external apparatus in a case where the information processing apparatus is in the second power mode;

a determining unit configured to determine whether or not the packet received by the receiving unit matches a predetermined packet pattern;

an analyzing unit configured to analyze data described in a data description language of the packet received by the receiving unit in a case where the determining unit determines that the packet received by the receiving unit matches the predetermined packet pattern; and

an instructing unit configured to instruct, in accordance with a result of the analysis performed by the analyzing unit, the power control unit to cause the information processing apparatus to shift from the second power mode to the first power mode.

2. The information processing apparatus according to claim 1, wherein the predetermined packet pattern is a pattern of a WS-Discovery packet and the data described in the data description language is XML data.

3. The information processing apparatus according to claim 1, wherein, in a case where the determining unit determines that the packet received by the receiving unit matches a first packet pattern, the analyzing unit analyzes the data described in the data description language of the packet received by the receiving unit and, in a case where the determining unit determines that the packet received by the receiving unit matches a second packet pattern, the analyzing unit does not analyze the data described in the data description language of the packet received by the receiving unit and the instructing unit instructs the power control unit to cause the information processing apparatus to shift from the second power mode to the first power mode.

4. The information processing apparatus according to claim 3, wherein, in a case where the determining unit determine that the packet received by the receiving unit does not match the first packet pattern and a second packet pattern, the instructing unit does not instruct the power control unit to cause the information processing apparatus to shift from the second power mode to the first power mode.

5. The information processing apparatus according to claim 3, wherein, in a case where the determining unit determine that the packet received by the receiving unit does not match the first packet pattern and a second packet pattern, the information processing apparatus maintains the second power mode.

6. The information processing apparatus according to claim 1,

wherein the main control unit comprises a notification unit configured to notify the sub-control unit of the predetermined packet pattern, and

wherein the determining unit determines whether or not the packet received by the receiving unit matches the predetermined packet pattern notified by the notification unit.

7. The information processing apparatus according to claim 6,

wherein the main control unit further comprises a detection unit configured to detect that the information processing unit has satisfied a condition for shifting from the first power mode to the second power mode in a case where the information processing apparatus is in the first power mode;

and

wherein the notification unit notifies the sub-control unit of the predetermined packet pattern in a case where the detection unit detects that the information processing unit has satisfied the condition.

8. The information processing apparatus according to claim 1,

wherein, in a case where the result of the analysis performed by the analyzing unit shows that the packet received by the receiving unit is a packet for searching the information processing apparatus, the instructing unit instructs the power control unit to cause the information processing apparatus to shift from the second power mode to the first power mode, and

wherein, in a case where the result of the analysis performed by the analyzing unit shows that the packet received by the receiving unit is not a packet for searching the information processing apparatus, the instructing unit does not instruct the power control unit to cause the information processing apparatus to shift from the second power mode to the first power mode.

9. The information processing apparatus according to claim 1, wherein the sub-control unit is a Network Interface Card (NIC).

10. A method for an information processing apparatus having a main control unit and a sub-control unit, the method comprising:

supplying power to both the main control unit and the sub-control unit in a case where the information processing apparatus is in a first power mode and supplying power to the sub-control unit without supplying power to the main control unit in a case where the information processing apparatus is in a second power mode,

receiving a packet transmitted from an external apparatus in a case where the information processing apparatus is in the second power mode;

determining whether or not the received packet matches a predetermined packet pattern;

analyzing data described in a data description language of the received packet received in a case where the received packet matches the predetermined packet pattern; and

instructing, in accordance with a result of an analysis performed by the analyzing, to cause the information processing apparatus to shift from the second power mode to the first power mode.

11. The method according to claim 10, wherein the predetermined packet pattern is a pattern of a WS-Discovery packet and the data described in the data description language is XML data.

12. The method according to claim 10, wherein, in a case where the received packet matches a first packet pattern, the analyzing analyzes the data described in the data description language of the received packet and, in a case where the received packet matches a second packet pattern, the analyzing does not analyze the data described in the data description language of the received packet and the instructing instructs the power controlling to cause the information processing apparatus to shift from the second power mode to the first power mode.

13. The method according to claim 10, further comprising:

notifying the sub-control unit of the predetermined packet pattern; and

determining whether or not the received packet matches the notified predetermined packet pattern.

14. The method according to claim 10, further comprising:

causing, in a case where a result of an analysis performed by the analyzing shows that the received packet is a packet for searching the information processing apparatus, the information processing apparatus to shift from the second power mode to the first power mode.

15. The method according to claim 10, wherein the sub-control unit is a Network Interface Card (NIC).

16. A computer readable storage medium storing a computer-executable program of instructions for causing a computer to perform the method according to claim 10.

17. The computer readable storage medium according to claim 16, wherein the predetermined packet pattern is a pattern of a WS-Discovery packet and the data described in the data description language is XML data.

18. The computer readable storage medium according to claim 16, wherein, in a case where the received packet matches a first packet pattern, the analyzing analyzes the data described in the data description language of the received packet and, in a case where the received packet matches a second packet pattern, the analyzing does not analyze the data described in the data description language of the received packet and the instructing instructs the power controlling to cause the information processing apparatus to shift from the second power mode to the first power mode.

19. The computer readable storage medium according to claim 16, further comprising:

notifying the sub-control unit of the predetermined packet pattern; and

determining whether or not the received packet matches the notified predetermined packet pattern.

20. The computer readable storage medium according to claim 16, further comprising:

causing, in a case where a result of an analysis performed by the analyzing shows that the received packet is a packet for searching the information processing apparatus, the information processing apparatus to shift from the second power mode to the first power mode.