Semiconductor device and portable terminal equipment

• US 6,803,810 B2
• Filed: 11/21/2002
• Issued: 10/12/2004
• Est. Priority Date: 01/15/2002
• Status: Expired due to Term

• Current Assignee: Socionext Inc.
• Original Assignee: Fujitsu Limited
• Inventors: Kashiwagi, Takanobu, Taniguchi, Shoji, Yamada, Yoshikazu, Kuroiwa, Koichi
• Primary Examiner(s): Zweizig, Jeffrey
• Application Number:
  US10/300,592
• Publication Number:
  US 20030133337A1
• Time in Patent Office: 691 Days
• Field of Search: 327/530, 327/534, 327/535, 327/537, 327/544, 327/545, 327/546
• US Class Current: 327/544
• CPC Class Codes: H04B 1/40 Circuits
• CPC Class Codes: H04W 52/028 switching on or off only a part of the equipment circuit blocks
• CPC Class Codes: Y02D 30/70 in wireless communication networks

Abstract

A proposed semiconductor device is directed to making unnecessary circuit operation inactive to reduce power consumption because of leakage current. The device is functionally divided into blocks. The power supply systems of the blocks are divided into a non-controlled power supply group in which power is always on and controlled power supply groups in each of which groups a supply of power can be turned on/off independently. When a power supply system control part of the non-controlled power supply group outputs a control signal for power on, a power switch part turns on to release the controlled power supply group from the sleep mode, so that the first processing part starts intermittent operation. Only when it is determined that a first next-processing necessity determining part determines necessity of the next processing, a control signal is generated to activate the next power supply group. The blocks unnecessary for processing are not supplied with power, so that no leakage current flows and power consumption because thereof can be reduced.

Claims

1. A semiconductor device equipped with a plurality of blocks that are sequentially processed step by step, comprising:

power supply systems respectively provided in the plurality of blocks, the power supply systems being divided into a non-controlled power supply group in which power is always on and controlled power supply groups in each of which groups a supply of power can be turned on/off independently,

the non-controlled power supply group comprising power system control means for controlling a timing for turning on/off a power supply system of at least one of the controlled power supply groups,

each of the controlled power supply groups except a final stage thereof comprising next-processing necessity determining means for determining whether processing at a next stage is needed on the basis of a result of determination processed in its own controlled power supply group.

2. The semiconductor device according to claim 1, further comprising first power switch means for turning on/off the power supply system of said at least one of the controlled power supply groups in accordance with a control signal from said power supply system control means.

3. The semiconductor device according to claim 1, further comprising a plurality of second power switch means for turning on/off the power supply system of the controlled power supply group of a next stage in accordance with a control signal from the next-processing necessity determining means of the controlled power supply group of the next stage.

4. The semiconductor device according to claim 1, further comprising:

first power switch means for turning on/off the power supply system of said at least one of the controlled power supply groups in accordance with a control signal from said power supply system control means; and

a plurality of second power switch means for turning on/off the power supply system of the controlled power supply group of a next stage in accordance with a control signal from the next-processing necessity determining means of the controlled power supply group of the next stage.

5. The semiconductor device according to claim 4, wherein the first and second power switch means have a MT-CMOS structure.

6. A portable terminal wherein a supply of power to a block unnecessary for intermittent receive control processing during a time other than intermittent receiving in a standby mode, the portable terminal equipment comprising:

timer means, belonging to a non-controlled power supply group in which power is always on, for generating a first control signal that turns on a supply of power to a first controlled power supply group including a first block necessary for determination of in-group incoming call and turns off the supply of power during a time other than the intermittent receiving;

first power switch means for turning on/off a supply of power to the first controlled power supply group in accordance with the first control signal from the timer means;

incoming call determining means, belonging to the first controlled power supply group, for generating a second control signal that turns on/off a power supply to a second controlled power supply group including a second block necessary for processing an incoming call on the basis of determination of an in-group incoming call by the first block; and

second power switch means for turning of/off power supply to the second controlled power supply group in response to the second control signal from the incoming call determining means.

7. The portable terminal according to claim 6, wherein the non-controlled power supply group, the first controlled power supply group, the second controlled power supply group, the first power switch means and the second power switch means are included in a baseband LSI for W-CDMA.

8. The portable terminal according to claim 6, wherein the first block is a modem that demodulates received data.

9. The portable terminal according to claim 8, wherein the second block is a channel codec part that data demodulated by the modem.

10. The portable terminal according to claim 9, wherein the second block includes a processor that collaborates with the channel codec part.

11. The portable terminal according to claim 10, wherein the channel codec part comprises parameter selecting means for referring to a parameter for data receiving prepared in the modem during boot processing of the processor after the power supply to the second controlled power supply group, and switching over to a parameter from the processor after completion of the boot processing.

12. The portable terminal according to claim 11, wherein the parameter selecting means comprises a parameter setting register storing the parameter from the processor necessary for processing in the channel codec part, a selector selecting either the parameter from the modem or that in he parameter setting register, and a parameter address-for-reference setting part controlling an address for reference in the selector.