Power controller

• US 7,058,458 B2
• Filed: 03/22/2002
• Issued: 06/06/2006
• Est. Priority Date: 03/26/2001
• Status: Expired due to Term

• Current Assignee: Matsushita Electric Industrial Company Limited (Panasonic Holdings Corporation)
• Original Assignee: Matsushita Electric Industrial Company Limited (Panasonic Holdings Corporation)
• Inventors: Munezane, Toshikazu
• Primary Examiner(s): Knight, Anthony
• Assistant Examiner(s): Pham, Thomas
• Application Number:
  US10/296,398
• Publication Number:
  US 20030149492A1
• Time in Patent Office: 1,537 Days
• Field of Search: 700/12, 700/22, 700/110, 700/286, 700/297, 714/21, 714/22, 323/350, 323/351, 323/319
• US Class Current: 700/12
• CPC Class Codes: H04L 12/12 Arrangements for remote connection or disconnection of substations or of equipment thereof
• CPC Class Codes: H04L 12/2803 Home automation networks
• CPC Class Codes: H04L 12/282 based on user interaction within the home receiver circuitry for displaying additional information being controlled by a remote control apparatus H04N21/42204
• CPC Class Codes: H04L 2012/2849 Audio/video appliances
• CPC Class Codes: H04N 21/4263 involving specific tuning arrangements, e.g. two tuners
• CPC Class Codes: H04N 21/4334 Recording operations recording of a television signal H04N5/76; arrangements for recording or accumulating broadcast information or broadcast-related information H04H60/27
• CPC Class Codes: H04N 21/43615 Interfacing a Home Network, e.g. for connecting the client to a plurality of peripherals home Audio Video Interoperability [HAVI] data switching networks H04L12/2805
• CPC Class Codes: H04N 21/43632 involving a wired protocol, e.g. IEEE 1394 high-speed IEEE 1394 serial bus H04L12/40052
• CPC Class Codes: H04N 21/4432 Powering on the client, e.g. bootstrap loading using setup parameters being stored locally or received from the server resetting in general G06F1/14; program loading or initiating in general G06F9/445; bootstrapping in general G06F9/4401; secure boots of computer platforms G06F21/57
• CPC Class Codes: Y02D 30/50 in wire-line communication networks, e.g. low power modes or reduced link rate

Abstract

A command transmission/reception section (4R), a power-control determination section (8) and a power control section (9) are provided in a controlled device (3) which is connected to a network (1) and which performs power control in response to a command transmitted from a control device (2). Upon receipt of a power control command from the control device (2), the power-control determination section (8) determines as to power-on/power-off in units of a block, and performs power control on the basis of a result of the determination. Consequently, unnecessary power-on in, for example, video reservation can be prevented.

Claims

1. A power controller for use in a local device having a plurality of functional blocks and that is connected to a bus connection network, the power controller performing power control in accordance with a power control command transmitted from an external device connected to the bus connection network, the power controller comprising:

a command transmitting/receiving section which receives the power control command from the external device and which transmits a response from the local device;

a power control section which independently performs power-on/power-off of one of the functional blocks of the local device; and

a power-control determination section which performs a determination as to power-on/power-off of the functional blocks on the basis of a power control command supplied via said command transmitting/receiving section and which outputs a result of the determination for each of the functional blocks to said power control section.

2. The power controller according to claim 1, further comprising:

a determination-information recording section which preliminarily stores determination information of each of the functional blocks of the local device used to perform a determination as to whether to validate or invalidate a power control command transmitted from the external device, wherein

said power-control determination section performs a determination as to whether to validate or invalidate execution of said power control command on the basis of information in said determination-information recording section upon receipt of the power control command from the external device, performs a determination as to individual block power-on/power-off only for a valid block on the basis of the power control command, and outputs a result of the determination to said power control section.

3. The power controller according to claim 2, wherein

said determination-information recording section includes a flag which performs a determination as to whether to validate each of the functional blocks of the local device and a flag for performing a determination as to whether to validate or invalidate a control command in each of the functional blocks.

4. The power controller according to claim 1, further comprising:

a determination-information recording section which preliminarily stores determination information of each of the functional blocks of the local device used to perform a determination as to whether to validate or invalidate a power control command transmitted from the external device; and

an external-device identifying section which identifies at least one of a type and a function of the external device connected to the bus connection network, wherein

upon receipt of the power control command from the external device, in accordance with information of at least one of a type and a function of the external device identified by the external-device identifying section, said power-control determination section outputs the externally inputted power control command to said power control section as a valid command when the device has been determined to be able to permit an operation, determines the power control to each of the functional blocks corresponding to the power control command from the external device, and outputs a result of the decision to said power control section wherein the power control command is invalid on the basis of determination information received from said determination-information recording section when the device has been determined to be unable to permit an operation.

5. The power controller according to claim 4, wherein said external-device identifying section generates, an information table of each external device connected to the bus connection network, the information table has an area which stores a type and a function thereof, and a conditional-control area used to perform a determination as to whether or not to perform conditional control based on determination information in said determination-information recording section in response to a power control command inputted from the each external device.

6. The power controller according to claim 1, further comprising:

a determination-information recording section which preliminarily stores determination information of the functional blocks of the local device used to perform a determination as to whether to validate or invalidate a power control command transmitted from the external device; and

an external-device identifying section which identifies at least one of a type and a function of the external device connected to the bus connection network, wherein

upon receipt of the power control command from the external device, in accordance with information of at least one of a type and a function of the external device identified by said external-device identifying section, said power-control determination section outputs the externally inputted power control command to said power control section as a valid command when the device has been determined to be able to permit operation and has been determined to be in a user-operated state, and outputs determination information of each of the functional blocks corresponding to the power control command from the external device to said power control section, when the power control command is invalid, on the basis of determination information received from said determination-information recording section when the device has been determined to be unable to permit an operation and has been determined not to be in a user-operated state.

7. The power controller according to claim 6, wherein

said external-device identifying section generates an information table of each external device connected to the bus connection network, the information table has an area which stores a type and a function thereof, and a conditional-control area used to perform a determination as to whether or not to perform conditional control based on determination information in said determination-information recording section in response to a power control command inputted from the each external device.

8. The power controller according to claim 1, further comprising:

a determination-information recording section which preliminarily stores determination information of the functional blocks of the local device used to perform a determination as to whether to validate or invalidate a power control command transmitted from the external device; and

an external-device identifying section which identifies at least one of a type and a function of the external device connected to the bus connection network, wherein

upon receipt of the power control command from the external device, in accordance with information of at least one of a type and a function of the external device identified by the external-device identifying section, said power-control determination section outputs the externally inputted power control command to said power control section as a valid command when the device has been determined to be able to permit an operation, has been determined to be in a user-operated state, and has been determined to be a reservation-recording state, and outputs determination information of each the functional blocks corresponding to the power control command from the external device to said power control section, in the case the power control command is invalid, on the basis of determination information received from said determination-information recording section when the device has been determined to be unable to permit an operation, has been determined not to be in a user-operated state, or has been determined not to be in a reservation-recording state.

9. The power controller according to claim 8, wherein

said external-device identifying section generates an information table of each external device connected to the bus connection network, the information table has an area which stores a type and a function thereof, and a conditional-control area used to perform a determination as to whether or not to perform conditional control based on determination information in said determination-information recording section in response to a power control command inputted from the each external device.

10. A system for performing power control comprising:

an external device having a control section for issuing a power control command;

a local device having a plurality of functional blocks and a power controller for performing power control of each of the functional blocks;

a bus connection network connecting the external device and the local device;

wherein the power controller comprises a command transmitting/receiving section which receives the power control command from the external device and which transmits a response from the local device;

a power control section which independently performs power-on/power-off of one of the function blocks of the local device; and

a power-control determination section which performs a determination as to poweron/power-off of the functional blocks on the basis of a power control command supplied via said command transmitting/receiving section and which outputs a result of the determination for the functional blocks to said power control section.

11. The system for performing power control according to claim 10, wherein the power controller further comprises a determination-information recording section which preliminarily stores determination information of each of the functional blocks of the local device used to perform a determination as to whether to validate or invalidate a power control command transmitted from the external device, wherein

said power-control determination section performs a determination as to whether to validate or invalidate execution of the power control command on the basis of information in said determination-information recording section upon receipt of the power control command from the external device, performs a determination as to individual block power-on/power-off only for a valid block on the basis of the power control command, and outputs a result of the determination to said power control section.

12. The system for performing power control according to claim 11, wherein said determination-information recording section includes a flag which performs a determination as to whether to validate each of the functional blocks of the local device and a flag for performing a determination as to whether to validate or invalidate a control command in each of the functional blocks.

13. The system for performing power control according to claim 10, wherein the power controller further comprises a determination-information recording section which preliminarily stores determination information of each of the functional blocks of the local device used to perform a determination as to whether to validate or invalidate a power control command transmitted from the external device;

and

an external-device identifying section which identifies at least one of a type and a function of the external device connected to the bus connection network, wherein

upon receipt of the power control command from the external device, in accordance with information of at least one of a type and a function of the external device identified by the external-device identifying section, said power-control determination section outputs the externally inputted power control command to said power control section as a valid command when the device has been determined to be able to permit an operation, determines the power control to each of the functional blocks corresponding to the power control command from the external device, and outputs a result of the decision to said power control section wherein the power control command is invalid on the basis of determination information received from said determination-information recording section when the device has been determined to be unable to permit an operation.

14. The system for performing a power control power controller according to claim 13, wherein said external-device identifying section generates an information table of each external device connected to the bus connection network, the information table has an area which stores a type and a function thereof, and a conditional-control area used to perform a determination as to whether or not to perform conditional control based on determination information in said determination-information recording section in response to a power control command inputted from the each external device.

15. The system for performing a power control according to claim 10, wherein said power controller further comprises a determination-information recording section which preliminarily stores determination information of the functional blocks of the local device used to perform a determination as to whether to validate or invalidate a power control command transmitted from the external device;

and

an external-device identifying section which identifies at least one of a type and a function of the external device connected to the bus connection network, wherein

upon receipt of the power control command from the external device, in accordance with information of at least one of a type and a function of the external device identified by said external-device identifying section, said power-control determination section outputs the externally inputted power control command to said power control section as a valid command when the device has been determined to be able to permit and operation and has been determined to be in a user-operated state, and outputs determination information of each of the functional blocks corresponding to the power control command from the external device to said power control section, when the power control command is invalid, on the basis of determination information received from said determination-information recording section when the device has been determined to be unable to permit an operation and has been determined not to be in a user-operated state.

16. The system for performing a power control according to claim 15, wherein said external-device identifying section generates an information table of each of the external device connected to the bus connection network, the information table has an area which stores a type and a function thereof, and a conditional-control area used to perform a determination as to whether or not to perform conditional control based on determination information in said determination-information recording section.

17. A system for performing a power control according to claim 10, wherein the power controller further comprises a determination-information recording section which preliminarily stores determination information of the functional blocks of the local device used to perform a determination as to whether to validate or invalidate a power control command transmitted from the external device;

and

an external-device identifying section which identifies at least one of a type and a function of the external device connected to the bus connection network, wherein

upon receipt of the power control command from the external device, in accordance with information of at least one of a type and a function of the external device identified by said external-device identifying section, said power-control determination section outputs the externally inputted power control command to said power control section as a valid command when the device has been determined to be able to permit an operation, has been determined to be in a user-operated state, and has been determined to be a reservation-recording state, and outputs determination information of each of the functional blocks corresponding to the power control command from the external device to said power control section, when the power control command is invalid, on the basis of determination information received from said determination-information recording section when the device has been determined to be unable to permit an operation, has been determined not to be in a user-operated state, or has been determined not to be in a reservation-recording state.

18. The system for performing a power control according to claim 17, wherein said external-device identifying section generates an information table of each of the external device connected to the bus connection network, the information table has an area which stores a type and a function thereof, and a conditional-control area used to perform a determination as to whether or not to perform conditional control based on determination information in said determination-information recording section.