JP4239025B2 - COMMUNICATION TERMINAL DEVICE, ITS START-UP METHOD, AND COMMUNICATION SYSTEM - Google Patents

Description

  The present invention relates to a communication terminal device that transmits / receives data, an activation method thereof, and a communication system, and more particularly to a technique for shifting from a power saving state to an activated state.

  According to the conventional technique, a specific information packet called a Magic Packet (registered trademark) frame is sent to a network node and executed by a function for remotely starting a sleeping personal computer on a network. When the personal computer that can receive the specific frame enters a sleep state, the Magic Packet (registered trademark) mode of the LAN controller is enabled, and when the Magic Packet (registered trademark) frame is received, the system is activated (see Non-Patent Document 1).

Japanese Patent Laying-Open No. 2003-101459 (Claim 1) JP 2003-250187 A (Claim 1) AMD White Paper “Magic Packet Technology” Publication # 20213 Rev: A Amendment / 0 Issue Date: November 1995

A conventional communication terminal device has a large configuration scale and low cost for a device for shifting a remote communication terminal device from a power saving state (hereinafter referred to as sleep) to an activated state (hereinafter referred to as wake up). It was difficult.
The present invention has been made to solve such a problem, and provides a communication terminal device that can wake up a remote communication terminal device at low cost.

A communication device terminal according to the present invention includes: a receiving unit that receives a pulse signal transmitted from another communication terminal device; a beacon receiving unit that outputs an interrupt signal based on the pulse signal received by the receiving unit; A beacon receiving unit that detects a beacon signal that is a pulse signal having a predetermined period from the received pulse signal. A low-pass filter that counts, a counter that counts the number of detected beacon signals, a charging circuit that outputs a latch signal when a beacon signal is not detected, a count value of the counter and a latch signal that is output from the charging circuit. The latch unit that outputs the count value when the latch signal is input and the identification value of the communication terminal device are set. A DIP switch unit that is, the count value output by the latch unit, when the same identification number, is obtained and a comparison unit for outputting an interrupt signal.

The present invention reduces the configuration scale of a communication terminal device by receiving a pulse signal transmitted from another communication terminal device by a receiving unit and outputting a wake-up interrupt signal from the beacon receiving unit based on the pulse signal. This can reduce the cost.

Embodiment 1 FIG.
FIG. 1 is a diagram showing a configuration of a communication terminal apparatus according to Embodiment 1 of the present invention, and FIG. 2 is a diagram showing a configuration of a beacon receiving unit according to Embodiment 1 of the present invention.
In FIG. 1, the main body 1 includes a device control unit 2, a beacon transmission unit 3, a data transmission / reception unit 4, and an RF unit 5, and the remote controller 6 includes a data transmission / reception unit 4, an RF unit 5, a terminal control unit 7, and a beacon reception. Part 8 is configured.
The main body 1 is a communication terminal device that transmits / receives data to / from other communication terminal devices and transmits a wake-up command. The device control unit 2 controls the entire device of the main body 1. The beacon transmission unit 3 generates a beacon signal that is a pulse signal having a predetermined period, and the data transmission / reception unit 4 transmits and receives data for operations such as operation and stop of the device. The RF unit 5 which is a receiving unit transmits and receives beacon signals and data as radio waves. The remote controller 6 is a communication terminal device that receives data transmission / reception and wake-up commands with other communication terminal devices, and the terminal control unit 7 controls the entire device of the remote controller 6 and shifts to a sleep state as necessary. The beacon receiving unit 8 outputs an interrupt signal that causes the terminal control unit 7 to wake up.
In FIG. 2, a beacon receiving unit 8 includes a filter 9 that is a low-pass filter that extracts only a beacon signal from the received signals received by the RF unit 5, and a timer 10 that outputs an interrupt signal when a predetermined timer value is set and time is up. It is comprised by.

  FIG. 3 shows waveforms of a wake-up beacon signal and a data signal according to Embodiment 1 of the present invention. As shown in FIG. 3, the wake-up beacon signal transmitted from the main body 1 is a pulse signal having a fixed period that is predetermined in a longer cycle than the data communication signal.

Next, the operation of the first embodiment will be described.
When it is not necessary for the main body 1 and the remote controller 6 to communicate, the device control unit 2 of the main body 1 causes the beacon signal to be generated by the beacon transmission unit 3 and is continuously transmitted from the RF unit 5 to the remote control 6.
On the other hand, the terminal control unit 7 of the remote controller 6 shifts the terminal control unit 7 and the data transmission / reception unit 4 to the sleep state in order to reduce power consumption as necessary when there is no particular processing. However, the RF unit 5 and the beacon receiving unit 8 for receiving radio waves are always activated.
The RF unit 5 of the remote controller 6 receives the pulse signal transmitted from the main body 1, and the filter 9 of the beacon receiving unit 8 is a beacon signal that is a pulse signal having a predetermined cycle among the pulse signals received by the RF unit 5. And the detected beacon signal is input to the timer 10. The timer 10 resets the timer count value and starts the timer count every time a beacon signal pulse is input. Note that the timer value of the timer 10 is longer than the pulse interval of the beacon signal.
For example, when it is necessary to perform communication between the main body 1 and the remote controller 6 such as notifying the remote controller 6 of the state of the main body 1, the device control unit 2 of the main body 1 stops the transmission of the beacon signal. The timer 10 of the remote controller 6 stops the input of the beacon signal pulse, the timer count value is not reset, the time is up, and an interrupt signal for wakeup is output to the terminal control unit 7. When the interrupt signal is input, the terminal control unit 7 wakes up the terminal control unit 7 and the data transmission / reception unit 4.

As described above, in the first embodiment, the RF unit 5 that receives the pulse signal transmitted from the main body 1 and the filter 9 that detects a beacon signal that is a pulse signal having a predetermined period among the received pulse signals. And a timer 10 that outputs an interrupt signal when the beacon signal is not detected for a predetermined time, and the terminal control unit 7 wakes up the terminal control unit 7 and the data transmission / reception unit 4 with the interrupt signal. The equipment required for upgrading can be made inexpensively, and the cost can be reduced.
In addition, since it is possible to wake up without operating the data transmitter / receiver 4, it is possible to suppress power consumption during sleep.
Furthermore, sleep is performed while receiving a beacon signal, and wakeup is performed when no beacon signal is received. Therefore, in the case of wireless communication, when the radio wave cannot be received, the wakeup is performed. It is possible to shift to the operation of searching for
Moreover, the household appliance network terminal which can start a remote communication terminal device at low cost can be obtained.

  In the first embodiment, the case where the remote controller 6 sleeping from the main body 1 is woken up has been described. However, the present invention is not limited to this, and other communication terminal devices may be used. The communication terminal device may be used.

Embodiment 2. FIG.
FIG. 4 is a diagram showing a configuration of a beacon receiving unit according to Embodiment 2 of the present invention.
In the first embodiment, the beacon receiving unit 8 includes the filter 9 and the timer 10, but in the second embodiment, as shown in FIG. 4, the beacon receiving unit 8 includes the LPF 11, the counter 12, the charging circuit 13, and the latch. The unit 14, the DIPSW unit 15, and the comparison unit 16 are included.
The LPF 11 is a low-pass filter that detects a beacon signal that is a pulse signal having a predetermined period, and the counter 12 is a counter that counts the number of pulses of the beacon signal and outputs a count value. The charging circuit 13 smoothes the pulse signal of the beacon signal, and outputs a Hi level latch signal when the beacon signal is input and a Low level latch signal when the beacon signal is not input. The latch unit 14 receives the count value of the counter 12 and the latch signal, and outputs the pulse count value of the beacon signal when the latch signal is at a low level. In the DIPSW unit 15, a unique value of the remote controller 6 is set as the own terminal ID by the DIP switch, and the comparison unit 16 uses the own terminal ID value of the DIPSW unit 15 and the counter value input from the latch unit 14. If they are equal, an interrupt signal is output if they are equal.

Next, the operation of the second embodiment will be described.
In the second embodiment, when the remote controller 6 in the sleep mode is woken up, the device control unit 2 of the main body 1 has the same number of beacon signal pulses as the own terminal ID value of the remote controller 6 to be waked up by the beacon transmission unit 3. And the RF unit 5 transmits a beacon signal. On the other hand, in the sleeping remote controller 6, the terminal control unit 7 and the data transmitting / receiving unit 4 are sleeping, and the RF unit 5 and the beacon receiving unit 8 for receiving radio waves are always activated. The RF unit 5 of the remote controller 6 receives the pulse signal transmitted from the main body 1, and the LPF 11 of the beacon receiving unit 8 receives a beacon signal that is a pulse signal having a predetermined cycle among the pulse signals received by the RF unit 5. The detected beacon signal is output to the counter 12 and the charging circuit 13. The counter 12 counts the number of pulses of the input beacon signal, outputs the count value to the latch unit 14, and the charging circuit 13 outputs the Hi level latch signal to the latch unit 14.
When the input of the beacon signal is stopped, the charging circuit 13 outputs a low level latch signal to the latch unit 14, and when the low level latch signal is input, that is, the reception of the beacon signal is completed. The count value of the number of pulses at the time is latched and output to the comparison unit 16. The comparison unit 16 compares the terminal ID setting value of the DIPSW unit 15 with the counter value input from the latch unit 14 and outputs an interrupt signal for wakeup to the terminal control unit 7 if they are equal. When the interrupt signal is input, the terminal control unit 7 wakes up the terminal control unit 7 and the data transmission / reception unit 4.

As described above, in the second embodiment, when the number of pulses of the beacon signal and the own terminal ID value of the communication terminal apparatus are equal, a plurality of communication terminal apparatuses in sleep can be obtained by waking up the communication terminal apparatus. Even when there is a device, a specific communication terminal device can be woken up.
In addition, since it is possible to wake up without operating the data transmitter / receiver 4, it is possible to suppress power consumption during sleep.

  In the first embodiment and the second embodiment, the case of wireless communication has been described. However, the present invention is not limited to this, and other communication media such as wired or infrared may be used.

It is the figure which showed the structure of the communication terminal device in Embodiment 1 of this invention. It is a figure which shows the structure of the beacon receiving part in Embodiment 1 of this invention. It is a waveform of the beacon signal for a wakeup and the data signal in Embodiment 1 of this invention. It is a figure which shows the structure of the beacon receiving part in Embodiment 2 of this invention.

Explanation of symbols

  DESCRIPTION OF SYMBOLS 1 Main body, 2 Device control part, 3 Beacon transmission part, 4 Data transmission / reception part, 5 RF part, 6 Remote control, 7 Terminal control part, 8 Beacon reception part, 9 Filter, 10 Timer, 11 LPF, 12 Counter, 13 Charging circuit , 14 Latch unit, 15 DIPSW unit, 16 Comparison unit.

Claims (4)

A receiving unit for receiving a pulse signal transmitted from another communication terminal device;
Based on the pulse signal received by the receiver, a beacon receiver that outputs an interrupt signal;
With the interrupt signal output from the beacon receiver, a terminal controller that shifts from a power saving state to an activated state, and
The beacon receiving unit
Among the received pulse signals, a low-pass filter that detects a beacon signal that is a pulse signal of a predetermined period;
A counter that counts the number of pulses of the detected beacon signal;
A charging circuit that outputs a latch signal when the beacon signal is not detected;
A latch unit that receives a count value of the counter and a latch signal output from the charging circuit, and outputs the count value when the latch signal is input;
A dip switch unit in which an identification value of the communication terminal device is set;
A comparator that outputs the interrupt signal when the count value output by the latch unit is equal to the identification value;
Communication terminal apparatus comprising the. The receiving unit and the beacon reception unit, also the terminal control unit is a power saving state, claim 1 Symbol placement of the communication terminal device characterized in that it is a constantly activated state. A communication system for performing communication between a plurality of communication terminal devices,
When one of the plurality of communication terminal apparatuses shifts the other communication terminal apparatus from the power saving state to the activated state, the same number of pulses of the beacon signal as the identification value set in the other communication terminal apparatus are used. Send
Said other communication terminal device communication system comprising a communication terminal apparatus according to claim 1 or 2, wherein. Receive pulse signals transmitted from other communication terminal devices,
A beacon signal that is a pulse signal of a predetermined period among the received pulse signals is detected by a low-pass filter,
The detected beacon signal is input to a counter and a charging circuit,
The number of pulses of the beacon signal is counted by the counter,
A communication terminal device that obtains a count value of the counter when the beacon signal is not input to the charging circuit, and shifts from a power saving state to an activated state when the count value is equal to an identification value set in the communication terminal device How to start.

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