JP2000111675A - Clock mode controlling method and electronic apparatus with clock function - Google Patents

Abstract

PROBLEM TO BE SOLVED: To improve power saving effect by a method wherein, when a clock stop mode is chosen and a main power supply is turned off, an oscillation circuit in a microcomputer for apparatus control is stopped and transition to a power saving mode is done, and when the main power supply is turned on, the oscillation circuit is started and the microcomputer is automatically returned to operation. SOLUTION: When a clock stop mode is chosen in a clock menu picture, a clock stop flag is set. As a result, when transition to a power saving mode is done by turning off a main power switch 38, an oscillation circuit in a microcomputer 24 is controlled to be stopped, and the microcomputer 24 goes into a stop mode. If the microcomputer is in a waiting mode or in a low speed mode, because operation of a main clock and operation of a low speed clock are stopped, operation of the internal oscillation circuit is also stopped. Thus, power consumption of the microcomputer 24 is minimized. When the main power switch 38 is turned on in this stop made, the microcomputer 24 is supplied with an interrupting signal, is returned to an operating state, goes into a normal operation mode, and a TV goes into an on state.

Description

DETAILED DESCRIPTION OF THE INVENTION

[0001]

BACKGROUND OF THE INVENTION 1. Field of the Invention The present invention relates to an electronic device having a clock function applicable to a television receiver, a mini component, and the like, and a clock mode control method. More specifically, even after the clock function is once set, the clock function can be stopped by software so that unnecessary power consumption can be avoided.

[0002]

2. Description of the Related Art In a home or office, a plurality of electronic devices are often installed. For example, in a living room of a home, a large number of electronic devices such as a television receiver, a mini-component, a radio cassette tape recorder, and a digital video disk are installed together with interior furniture.

[0003] Most of these electronic devices are often configured so that their operation modes are managed by a microcomputer. When a microcomputer is mounted, a clock or a timer is often operated using a clock used for the microcomputer. When a clock function is provided, the time is digitally displayed on a display unit (also used as a video display unit or dedicatedly used) of the device body. Therefore, the user can confirm the current time or activate the reservation timer while watching this display.

[0004]

Since the clock function described above is mounted on almost all electronic devices, if the clock function provided on all electronic devices is set to operate, In other words, the same time is simultaneously displayed on each display unit. This is very wasteful.

[0005] In order to reduce such waste of power and to save power of electronic equipment, it is only necessary to cancel the setting of the clock function which has been set once. It is necessary to press the reset button for canceling the malfunction, which is provided in case of a runaway of the vehicle. If you unplug the power plug, you need to reset the other operation menu once set,
The setting work is troublesome.

A power supply (battery power supply) for the microcomputer
Once the power supply is connected, the clock oscillation circuit for the microcomputer operates even when the main power switch of the electronic device is turned off. Even if it is a microcomputer, the clock function is still operating, and power is wasted accordingly.

That is, when the main power supply switch is turned on with the drive battery connected to the microcomputer, the oscillation circuit for the main clock operates to bring the microcomputer into an operating state. At this time, the clock function operates by setting the current time in the menu mode. If the clock function is not set at this stage, the clock will of course not function and there will be no power consumption.

When the main power switch is turned off in this state, the microcomputer enters a power saving mode. When the microcomputer is of the wait mode type, the oscillation circuit of the main clock is operating but the CPU is controlled to be in the operation halt state. However, as long as the oscillation circuit for the main clock is operating, the clock function is also active.

In the case of a low-speed operation mode microcomputer, a low-speed clock oscillation circuit for oscillating a clock having a lower frequency (about 32 KHz) is provided in addition to the main clock oscillation circuit. When the main power switch is turned off, only the low-speed clock oscillation circuit is controlled to operate. Therefore, the CPU enters an operation halt state. However, since this low-speed clock oscillation circuit is operating,
The clock function is still operating.

As described above, even if the microcomputer is of a power saving type, once the clock function is set,
Unless you unplug the power plug or reset the microcomputer,
The clock function cannot be controlled to the sleep state (stop state). As a result, the power saving effect is not perfect.

When the power is turned off by the remote control, the reception state of the television signal can be turned on / off by the remote control, but the microcomputer does not transition to the power saving mode in a standby state in which the remote control operation is possible. Therefore, in the standby state of the remote controller, the microcomputer is also operating in the normal mode, so that power is consumed in the same manner as in the reception state.

In view of the above, the present invention has solved such a conventional problem. Even after a clock function is once set, a clock stop mode (stop mode) for suspending the clock function can be set by software. By doing so,
The present invention proposes an electronic device that can be expected to further save power.

[0013]

In order to solve the above-mentioned problems, in the clock mode control method according to the present invention, a clock stop mode or a clock non-setting mode is selected from a clock menu. Occasionally, when the main power is turned off, the oscillation circuit of the device control microcomputer is stopped to shift to the power saving mode, and when the main power is turned on, the oscillation circuit is started and the microcomputer operation is automatically restored. It is characterized by.

According to another aspect of the present invention, there is provided an electronic device having a clock function, a device control microcomputer, a main oscillation element for supplying a predetermined operation clock to the microcomputer, and an operation voltage for the microcomputer. When a clock stop mode for stopping the clock function is selected in the clock setting menu, and the main power supply to the device is not turned on, the oscillation circuit including the main oscillation element is provided. The oscillating state is stopped to save power.

In the present invention, after setting the clock function,
When the clock function is stopped, a clock stop mode is selected on the clock setting menu screen. Then, when the main power supply is off, the oscillation circuit of the microcomputer is stopped, and the clock function can be shifted to the sleep state, that is, the stop mode. To restore the clock function, turn on the main power switch and interrupt the microcomputer. As a result, the oscillation circuit of the microcomputer enters an operating state.

[0016]

DESCRIPTION OF THE PREFERRED EMBODIMENTS Next, an embodiment in which an electronic apparatus having a clock function according to the present invention is applied to a television receiver will be described in detail with reference to the drawings.

FIG. 1 is a conceptual diagram of a television receiver 10 having a clock function. A television signal received by an antenna 12 is selected by a tuner 14. The selected television signal is supplied to the video processing circuit 16 and the video signal is demodulated. The demodulated video signal is supplied to a cathode ray tube (CRT) 18 to display a television image. Similarly, the audio signal separated by the video processing circuit 16 is demodulated by the audio processing circuit 20 to reproduce the audio signal from the speaker 22.

A microcomputer (microcomputer) 24 is provided for controlling the reception state of the television receiver and setting various operation modes. The microcomputer 24 is connected to a crystal oscillation element 26 for a basic clock (main clock), and forms an oscillation circuit for the microcomputer 24 together with an internal oscillation circuit provided inside the microcomputer 24. In addition, a battery 28 is connected as a backup operating power supply for the microcomputer 24.

The microcomputer 24 is provided with a display unit 30 such as a liquid crystal element (LCD) as necessary, to display a setting menu of a clock mode, various settings for operating the television receiver, and the like. Is displayed.
The microcomputer 24 is further associated with input keys 32 such as a channel switching key and a key for adjusting a volume.

A power supply plug 34 is provided, and an AC voltage from the power supply 34 is supplied to a power supply circuit 36 and converted into a predetermined drive voltage, which is supplied to a tuner 14, a video processing circuit 16, an audio processing circuit 20, and the like. Is supplied via the main power switch 38. Although not shown in the figure, a predetermined drive voltage is also supplied to other circuit systems and electronic components.

An on / off signal relating to the on / off operation of the main power switch 38 is supplied to an interrupt terminal (IN) of the microcomputer 24.
T) to execute interrupt processing. Further, the microcomputer 24 is provided with a light receiving unit 40 such as a light receiving diode so that a remote control signal from the remote control 42 can be received. With this remote control signal, channel switching and volume adjustment can be performed, including on / off control of the main power switch 38, as is well known.

As the microcomputer 24, a power-saving microcomputer is used. In this example, a microcomputer of a wait mode type is used, but a microcomputer of a low-speed operation type may be used.

Now, an embodiment of a clock mode control method for realizing a power saving mode in an electronic device having a clock function configured as described above, that is, a television receiver, will be described with reference to the flowcharts of FIGS. This will be described in detail.

First, the normal power saving mode will be described.
Connect the power plug 34 to the AC outlet and
When the operation battery 28 is connected to the microcomputer 4, the microcomputer 2
4 is in an operating state, power is supplied to the television receiver by turning on the main power switch 38, and the receiving state (T
V on state) (step 51). In this state, when the menu is selected and the clock mode is set in the clock menu (step 52), a clock operation flag is set (the flag is turned on) (step 53).

When the setting of the clock mode is completed, a clock stop mode (stop mode) is selected in the clock menu (step 54). The stop mode will be described later.

When the stop mode is not set in step 54, that is, when the normal clock mode is set, the on / off state of the main power switch 38 is monitored (step 55), and the main power switch 38 is controlled to be turned off. When this happens, the TV is turned off (step 56).

When the main power switch 38 is turned off, the state of the clock stop flag is determined as shown in FIG. 3 (step 57). When the clock stop flag is off, that is, when the clock mode is set, it is checked whether an oscillation element for a low-speed clock is connected outside the microcomputer 24 (step 58).

When the low-speed clock oscillation element is not connected, the microcomputer 24 is a wait mode type microcomputer, and in this case, the internal oscillation circuit (not shown) of the microcomputer 24 is stopped (step). 5
9). As is well known, the internal oscillation circuit is a sub-oscillation circuit that operates by dividing the main clock, and is different from a main oscillation circuit that uses the main clock itself. Step 5
In 9, the operation of only the sub-oscillation circuit is controlled to a stopped state, so that the main oscillation circuit is in the oscillation state as in the normal operation mode.

On the other hand, when the low-speed clock oscillating element is connected, the sub-oscillation circuit using the internal clock of the microcomputer 24 is controlled to be in a stopped state, and is switched to the low-speed clock operation mode (step 60).
That is, the mode transits to the low-speed operation mode. Therefore, in this low-speed operation mode, the main oscillation circuit using the low-speed clock operates.

When the clock mode is set as described above, the mode transits to the power saving mode in any case, and thereafter, the ON state of the main power switch 38 is monitored (step 6).
1). When the main power switch 38 is turned on, the internal oscillating circuit of the microcomputer 24 is set in the operating state, the mode is changed to the normal mode, and the TV is turned on (steps 62 and 5).
1).

Here, the TV on / off state of the television receiver can be controlled by turning on / off the main power switch provided on the television receiver body, but it is provided on the remote controller 42. The power key (not shown) can be used to control its on / off.

Therefore, in step 55 of FIG. 2, when the remote control power key is operated while the main power switch 38 is on (step 70), the main power switch 38 remains on but the TV reception state is maintained. Transitions to the off state (step 71).

In this state, if the main power switch 38 is operated, the main power switch 38 is turned off (step 72), and it is natural that the reception state of the television receiver remains off (step 72). 56).

When the main power switch 38 remains on, the operation state of the power key of the remote controller is monitored (steps 72 and 73). When the power key is not operated, the process returns to step 72, and the state of the main power switch 72 is changed. To check. If the power key is operated, the state returns to the TV reception state (steps 73 and 51).

When the clock mode is not set in the clock menu in step 52 shown in FIG. 2, a clock stop flag is set (step 80). This is the same as the conventional mode in which the television receiver is used without setting the clock.

Then, in the next step 54, it is checked whether or not the clock stop mode, that is, the stop mode is selected in the same clock menu screen. When the stop mode is selected, the clock is stopped as in the case of step 80. The flag is set (step 81).

As a result, when the main power switch 38 is turned off to shift to the power saving mode as shown in step 56, it is checked in step 57 shown in FIG. 3 whether the clock stop flag is set. When the stop mode is set, the clock stop flag is set. In this case, the oscillation circuit (both the main and sub oscillation circuits) of the microcomputer 24 is controlled to be in a stopped state, and the microcomputer 24 The stop mode is set (step 82).

Therefore, in either case of the microcomputer in the wait mode or the microcomputer in the low-speed operation mode, the main clock operation and the low-speed clock operation are stopped in any case, so that the internal oscillation circuits (main and sub oscillation circuits) are used. ) Also stops. As a result, the power consumption of the microcomputer 24 is minimized.

When the main power switch 38 is turned on in the stop mode, an interrupt signal is supplied to the microcomputer 24 as shown in FIG. With this interrupt signal, the oscillation circuit in the microcomputer 24 returns to the operating state again,
The normal operation mode is set and the TV is turned on (steps 62 and 51).

By selecting the power saving mode having the above-described stop mode, it is possible to provide an electronic device having a higher power saving effect than before. An example is shown below.

As an example, when the microcomputer 24 is driven at 5.5 volts as the operating power supply, when the operating current during normal operation is 45 mA, the operating mode is reduced to 4 mA in the wait mode. When used, drop to 100 μA. However, these are all the power consumptions when the clock function is working.

On the other hand, when the stop mode of the clock function is selected, the current consumption can be drastically reduced to 10 μA in both the wait mode and the low-speed operation mode. As a result, it can be seen that a further power saving effect can be expected as compared with the related art.

In the present invention, the microcomputer 24 can be returned to the normal mode by the interrupt processing of the main power switch 38 after the transition to the stop mode as described above.
There is no need to perform processing such as resetting the microcomputer 24. For this reason, there is an advantage that menu resetting processing is not required.

In the above-described embodiment, the present invention is applied to a television receiver. However, other electronic devices (such as a mini component, a radio cassette tape recorder, and a digital video disk) also include a microcomputer. If so, it is clear that the present invention can be applied.

[0045]

As described above, according to the present invention, even if the clock function is once set, if it is desired to stop the operation of the clock function, this can be realized by software.

According to this, by stopping the clock function, waste of display can be reduced, and further power saving effect can be realized in combination with the power saving mode of the microcomputer.

Therefore, the present invention is extremely suitable for application to electronic equipment such as a television receiver having a clock function.

[Brief description of the drawings]

FIG. 1 shows an electronic device having a clock function according to the present invention.
It is a systematic diagram of an important section showing one embodiment when applied to a television receiver.

FIG. 2 is a flowchart showing one embodiment for realizing a power saving mode according to the present invention (part 1).

FIG. 3 is a flowchart showing an embodiment for realizing a power saving mode according to the present invention (part 2).

[Explanation of symbols]

 DESCRIPTION OF SYMBOLS 10 Television receiver 24 Microcomputer 26 Oscillator of main clock 28 Microcomputer operating power supply 30 Display unit 36 Power supply circuit 38 Main power switch

 ──────────────────────────────────────────────────続 き Continued on the front page F term (reference) 2F002 AA07 AD07 AE01 BA25 BA26 BB05 BD04 CA01 CB02 CB06 CB11 EA01 EE01 GA07 GA08 GA17 5C026 EA07 5G065 AA01 DA02 DA06 EA02 EA06 GA06 GA07 JA07 KA02 KA05 LA07 MA10

Claims (3)

[Claims] When a clock stop mode or a clock non-setting mode is selected in a clock menu, an oscillation circuit of a device control microcomputer is stopped when a main power supply is turned off, and a transition is made to a power saving mode, and the main power supply is turned on. A clock mode control method, wherein the microcomputer circuit is automatically returned by activating the oscillation circuit when the operation is performed. 2. An electronic device having a clock function, comprising a device control microcomputer, a main oscillation element for supplying a predetermined operation clock to the microcomputer, and a drive power supply for supplying an operation voltage to the microcomputer. In the clock setting menu, when the clock stop mode for stopping the clock function is selected and the main power supply to the device is not turned on, the oscillation state of the oscillation circuit including the main oscillation element is stopped. An electronic device having a clock function characterized by saving power by setting a state. 3. A main power switch is provided. When the main power switch is controlled to be turned on in a state where the clock stop mode is selected, an interrupt process for the microcomputer is performed, and the microcomputer is activated. 3. The electronic device having a clock function according to claim 2, wherein the electronic device returns to a normal operation state.