JP2009170983A - Power supply device, power supply method and power supply control program - Google Patents

Abstract

<P>PROBLEM TO BE SOLVED: To obtain a power supply system which can control power supply from a communication cable to a device depending on the situation of a packet transmitted on the communication cable, and to obtain a power supply method and a power supply control program. <P>SOLUTION: A power supply system 103 is arranged to supply power to a power receiving apparatus 101 connected with an LAN cable 102 by using a power supply LSI 116. Upon detecting a fact that a predetermined packet has not been transferred on the LAN cable 102 for a predetermined time, a physical layer LSI 114 makes a controller 118 stop power supply by the power supply LSI 116. Then, power supply is resumed when a specific packet is detected or a timer 117 finishes clocking. <P>COPYRIGHT: (C)2009,JPO&INPIT

Description

  The present invention relates to a power supply apparatus, a power supply method, and a power supply control program for controlling power supply to various devices. For example, a power supply apparatus, a power supply method, and a power supply apparatus suitable for supplying power to these devices via a local area network. The present invention relates to a power supply control program.

  As a typical network constituting a LAN (Local Area Network), there is Ethernet (registered trademark). In Ethernet (registered trademark), various devices constituting the same are connected by a LAN cable, and packet signals can be transmitted and received between these devices.

  In such Ethernet (registered trademark), PoE (Power over Ethernet (registered trademark)) power supply that not only transmits / receives packet signals but also supplies power to each device constituting the network is based on the present invention. It is put into practical use as the first related technology (see, for example, Patent Document 1). The PoE power supply is standardized in 802.3af related to power supply via an IEEE (Institute of Electrical and Electronic Engineers) LAN cable. This PoE power supply eliminates the need for each device to independently arrange a power supply line with the power supply. Therefore, the PoE power feeding has an advantage that it enables easy wiring and facilitates the addition and removal of devices.

  However, when this PoE power feeding is adopted, power is always supplied to each device from a LAN cable regardless of whether or not they are used. For example, when an IP (Internet Protocol) telephone is used as a device, the LAN switch consumes wasted power outside the working hours of a company employee such as at night. Accepting the generation of such wasteful power consumption by giving priority to convenience is considered to be contrary to the trend of global technology that attempts to save energy consumption and prevent global warming.

  Therefore, in order to solve such a problem related to power consumption, the first related technique transmits a predetermined packet to the power receiving terminal that is supplying power and requests a response. When the response packet is not returned from the power receiving terminal, the predetermined packet is retransmitted, and when the response packet is not returned, the power receiving terminal is hung up. Then, the power supply to this is stopped for a certain period. In this way, wasteful power consumption for the power receiving terminal in which a failure has occurred is prevented. It has also been proposed that the power receiving terminal records the on / off time of power feeding as a schedule, and the power feeding apparatus side turns the power on and off according to this schedule.

  Further, as a second related technique of the present invention, it has been proposed that a main CPU (Central Processing Unit) and a sub CPU are arranged in a device to save power by controlling these (for example, see Patent Document 2). ).

  In the second related technique, the sub CPU performs power on / off control of the main CPU in the energy saving mode. Further, in this energy saving mode, the sub CPU performs processing for work that can be processed without using the main CPU. Further, in the normal mode in which the main CPU operates, the sub CPU is set in an energy saving state to save power consumption.

Further, when the router connected to the LAN does not handle both the transmission packet and the reception packet, the power consumption can be reduced by disconnecting the line on the ISDN (Integrated Services Digital Network) switching network. 3 is proposed as a related technique (see, for example, Patent Document 3). In the third related technology, a device that notifies that the own device is not down and transmits / receives a keep-alive packet or a keep-alive response packet for confirming that the counterpart device is not down is erroneously connected to the LAN. In this case, it is not possible to cut power consumption by cutting the line. Therefore, in the third related technique, a keep alive packet filtering means for discarding a keep alive packet transmitted from a device connected to the LAN is provided. Then, it is possible to disconnect the line while only such keep-alive packets are being transmitted.
Japanese Patent Laying-Open No. 2006-135849 (paragraphs 0002, 0017, 0019, 0023, FIG. 1 and FIG. 2) Japanese Patent Laying-Open No. 2005-267099 (paragraph 0053, FIG. 7) JP-A-8-298532 (paragraphs 0008 and 0009, FIG. 1)

  Among these, in the first related technology of the present invention, the power supply to the power receiving terminal in which the failure actually occurred or the power receiving terminal in the time zone in which power supply is not required by the schedule is merely stopped. As a result, for example, taking the above-described IP telephone as an example, power is always supplied to a telephone that has not failed, including at night, as long as the telephone system is functioning normally. Unnecessary power consumption cannot be eliminated.

  Of course, it is possible to stop power supply at night, for example, by scheduling a time period when power supply is not required for each IP telephone. However, in this case, when an attempt is made to make a call using an IP telephone corresponding to an unscheduled time zone, or when another person calls the corresponding IP telephone, it becomes impossible to make a call together. Further, in order to prevent such a situation, it is necessary to change the schedule slightly according to various situations, and there is a problem that much labor is required for that purpose.

  In the second related technology, it is necessary to adopt a structure in which a main CPU and a sub CPU are arranged in each device, and it is necessary to define the roles of these CPUs in a fine and detailed manner. For this reason, not only the setting of the role of each CPU is complicated, but there is a problem that it is not possible to quickly cope with the addition of devices and the change of roles. Further, since it is assumed that a main CPU and a sub CPU are arranged in each device, there is a problem that it is difficult to apply to a simple device.

  Furthermore, in the third related technique, there is a possibility that keep-alive packets and keep-alive response packets that are not related to the original communication are repeatedly transmitted between devices on the LAN cable. Therefore, there is a problem that efficient communication cannot be performed between devices connected to the LAN cable.

  The problem of power supply to the device connected to the LAN cable has been described above, but there is a similar problem in a communication environment that is generally connected to a communication cable other than the LAN cable and receives power supply via the communication cable.

  SUMMARY OF THE INVENTION An object of the present invention is to provide a power supply apparatus, a power supply method, and a power supply control program that can control power supply from a communication cable to a device in accordance with the status of a packet transmitted through the communication cable.

  In the present invention, (a) a power supply means for supplying power to a specific device that communicates with another device via a communication cable used for this communication, and (b) the specific device described above A power supply stop means for stopping power supply to the specific device by the power supply means when communication using a predetermined packet is not performed for at least a predetermined time; and (c) the power supply stop means described above. After the supply of power to a specific device is stopped, the power supply apparatus includes power supply restarting means for restarting the power supply at a predetermined timing.

  In the present invention, (a) when a specific device does not perform communication using a predetermined packet via a communication cable for at least a predetermined time, power supply to the specific device via the communication cable is performed. A power supply method comprising: a power supply stop step for stopping; and (b) a power supply restart step for restarting the power supply at a predetermined timing after the power supply to the specific device is stopped in the power supply stop step. To provide.

  Further, according to the present invention, as a power supply control program, a computer of a power supply apparatus including a power supply unit that supplies power to a specific device that communicates with another device via a communication cable used for this communication. (A) a power supply stop process for stopping power supply to the specific device by the power supply means when the specific device does not perform communication using a predetermined packet for at least a predetermined time; (B) After the power supply to the specific device is stopped by the power supply stop process, the power supply restart process for restarting the power supply at a predetermined timing is executed.

  As described above, according to the present invention, when a specific device does not perform communication using a predetermined packet for at least a predetermined time, supply of power to the specific device by the power supply unit is stopped. Thereby, for example, a packet output from a device erroneously connected to the communication cable, such as a keep alive packet, can be excluded from a predetermined packet. As a result, line disconnection can be controlled without being affected by such unnecessary packets, which can contribute to the reduction of power consumption.

  FIG. 1 shows an outline of a power feeding system according to an embodiment of the present invention. A power receiving device 101 constituting the power feeding system 100 is connected to a power feeding device 103 via a LAN cable 102. The power supply apparatus 103 is connected to the network 105 via the LAN cable 104.

  FIG. 2 specifically shows a main part of the configuration of the power receiving device and the power feeding device shown in FIG. 1. The power receiving apparatus 101 includes a physical layer LSI (Large Scale Integration) 111 connected to the LAN cable 102 and a power receiving LSI 112 connected to the physical layer LSI 111. Here, the power receiving apparatus 101 corresponds to various devices (not shown) such as an IP telephone, a wireless LAN access point, and a network camera. The power receiving LSI 112 receives power necessary for the operation of the power receiving apparatus 101 from the power supply apparatus 103 via the physical layer LSI 111. For example, power obtained from the power receiving LSI 112 is supplied to a device such as an IP telephone configuring the power receiving apparatus 101.

  In the power supply apparatus 103, a physical layer LSI 114 having one end connected to the LAN cable 102 is arranged. The physical layer LSI 114 is connected to the packet monitor 115 and the power feeding LSI 116. The packet monitor 115, power feeding LSI 116, and timer 117 are controlled by a controller 118.

  Here, the physical layer LSI 114 is connected to the physical layer LSI 111 via the LAN cable 102 and physically connects the power receiving apparatus 101 and the power feeding apparatus 103, and an Ethernet (registered trademark) frame is connected between them. Send and receive. The power feeding LSI 116 supplies power to the power receiving apparatus 101 via the LAN cable 102. The packet monitor 115 monitors packets transmitted and received by the power supply apparatus 103. Based on the information obtained from the packet monitor 115 and the timer 117, the controller 118 is configured to stop power supply to the power supply LSI 116 or to instruct to resume power supply.

  The operation unit 119 is connected to the packet monitor 115 and the timer 117, and sets monitoring data such as specifying the type of packet to be monitored and setting the monitoring time. The operation unit 119 may directly operate the power supply apparatus 103, or the power supply apparatus 103 receives monitoring data transmitted from a monitoring apparatus (not shown) on the network 105 illustrated in FIG. 1. Also good. In the latter case, the operation unit 119 receives monitoring data addressed to its own device, and based on this, sets the type of packet for the power receiving device 101 under its own device and the monitoring time. Become. In the operation unit 119, a memory (not shown) for storing operation contents is arranged. Further, a display for visually displaying the operation content may be provided.

  Note that each of the power receiving apparatus 101 and the power feeding apparatus 103 includes a CPU (Central Processing Unit) (not shown), and stores a control program in a memory (not shown). Then, the power receiving apparatus 101 or the power feeding apparatus 103 is controlled by the CPU executing the control program. For example, in the case of the power supply apparatus 103, the power consumption when the power receiving apparatus 101 is not used is reduced by executing a control program. In addition, by executing a control program by the CPU, predetermined components such as the packet monitor 115 in the power supply apparatus 103 may be functionally realized by software instead of hardware.

  Next, the operation of the power receiving apparatus 101 configured as described above will be described.

  FIG. 3 shows a state of processing relating to setting and release of monitoring data by the operation unit. The above-described CPU in the power supply apparatus 103 illustrated in FIG. 2 executes such processing by executing a control program. An example in which the administrator directly operates the power supply apparatus 103 will be described with reference to FIG.

  The administrator operates the operation unit 119 to set a packet designation mode (step S201) for designating packet conditions relating to power supply stop and start, and a stop time until restart when a condition for starting power supply is not satisfied. It is possible to select one of a stop time designation mode (step S202) designated by the setting and a designation release mode (step S203) for releasing some or all of these designations.

  When the packet designation mode is selected (step S201: Y), the setting of the type of packet used when power supply is stopped, the minimum time during which the packet is not transmitted and received when power supply is stopped, and A packet type that is a condition for starting power supply is set (step S204). The type of packet that is the target of power supply stop and the type of packet that is the target of power supply start may be the same or different. Also, these packet types do not need to be set in a pair. For example, three types of packets A, B, and C for which power supply is to be stopped may be set, and the minimum time during which packets are not transmitted and received may be set with different values. Similarly, the number of types of packets that are the conditions for starting power supply after power supply is stopped is not limited to a single type, and may be a plurality of types.

  For example, a case where the above-described IP telephone is used for the power receiving apparatus 101 will be described as an example of packet type identification. In this case, in order to recognize RTP (Real-time Transport Protocol), which is a packet for voice communication, the UDP (User Datagram Protocol) port number used by RTP and the packet identification for priority control are specified. The value of TOS (Type of Service) or DSCP (DiffServe Code Point) set in the field of the above may be used. In addition, for the minimum time during which packets are not transmitted / received, the time at which the “voice” is interrupted when a call is made may be determined with reference to the actual measurement value, and may be set so as to add some margin to this. .

  As a packet that appears when power supply is started, for example, a SIP (Session Initiation Protocol) invite (INVITE) message, which is a protocol for preparing for voice communication, is started, and power supply is started when this is received. What should I do? Of course, it is also possible to detect a packet used for the voice call itself and start power feeding to the power receiving apparatus 101, while setting some delay to communicate voice data. This delay time is for preventing missing of the head portion of the audio data accompanying the start of power feeding.

  When the packet condition for stopping or starting the power supply is set as described above, the monitoring data indicating the content is registered in the memory in the operation unit 119 (step S205).

  On the other hand, even before the reception of the packet for starting the power supply set in step S204 is performed, if the power supply stop itself continues for a certain period of time, it is certain that power can be saved considerably. Therefore, in the present embodiment, when the set time set by the timer 117 has elapsed, power supply can be started for the time being. That is, when the stop time designation mode is selected by the administrator's operation (step S202: Y), the time from the power supply stop to the start can be set by the timer (step S206). Thus, for example, even when a failure occurs in the detection circuit portion of the packet for resuming power feeding, it is possible to prevent the situation where the power receiving apparatus 101 does not resume power feeding permanently.

  The administrator can correct the setting for stopping and starting the power supply of the power receiving apparatus 101, or can select the designation cancellation mode in order to perform the setting itself from the beginning (step S203: Y). In this case, the monitoring data registered in the memory is read out in step S205, and the setting is canceled by designating the type and time of the packet in the memory or for all of them (see FIG. 5). Step S207). In this case, the monitoring data in the memory is updated (step S205). The administrator may select the packet designation mode or stop time designation mode again as necessary (step S201: Y or step S202: Y) and perform the setting again. In this case, the monitoring data for the memory is updated.

  FIG. 4 illustrates a power supply stop process performed by the power supply apparatus with respect to the power reception apparatus. This will be described with reference to FIG. The controller 118 of the power supply apparatus 103 determines whether the physical layer LSI 114 has detected the type of packet set for stopping power supply (step S221).

  When the power supply stop packet is not detected (step S221: N), the counting of the time during which the power supply stop packet is not detected is started using a counter (not shown) (step S222). Then, whether the time during which no power supply stop packet is detected has reached the minimum time set in step S204 of FIG. 3 (step S223), or whether the corresponding packet is detected before this minimum time is reached. A determination is made (step S224).

  When the time during which the power supply stop packet is not continuously detected by the physical layer LSI 114 reaches the minimum time (step S223: Y), the controller 118 notifies the power supply LSI 116 of the stop of power supply (step S225). . As a result, the power supply LSI 116 stops power supply to the power receiving apparatus 101 (step S226). Thereafter, both the minimum time started in step S222 and the contents of the set time are reset (step S227). In this way, power supply to the power receiving apparatus 101 is stopped.

  On the other hand, if the power supply stop packet is detected by the physical layer LSI 114 before the minimum time is exceeded (step S224: Y), the packet monitor 115 notifies the controller 118 of this. As a result, the process proceeds to step S227, and the time count of the minimum time started in step S222 is reset. Then, the process returns to step S221 again (return), and the timing at which none of the power supply stop packets is detected is monitored.

  FIG. 5 shows a state of processing when power supply is resumed after power supply is stopped. This will be described with reference to FIG.

  After the power supply is stopped, when the packet monitor 115 detects any of the packets set for resuming the power supply (step S241: Y), the controller 118 is notified to that effect, and the power supply LSI 116 receives the power receiving device. The power supply to 101 is resumed (step S242). Even before any of the packets set for resumption of power supply is detected (step S241: N), if the timer 117 is counted up (step S243: Y), the timer 117 starts the controller. A notification to that effect is sent to 118, and power supply is resumed in the same manner (step S242).

  As described above, according to the present embodiment, the power feeding apparatus 103 can check whether the power receiving apparatus 101 has been unused for a certain period of time, and can stop power feeding. Therefore, wasteful power consumption can be reduced by stopping power supply to the power receiving apparatus 101 not only at night but also in a time zone when the power receiving apparatus 101 is not used.

  Further, according to the present embodiment, when the power supply to the power receiving apparatus 101 is stopped, the power supply apparatus 103 can restart the power supply when a condition for restarting the power supply is satisfied. For this reason, the power supply can be resumed without human intervention. Furthermore, since the condition is relaxed by setting a time set by the timer 117 as one of the conditions for restarting the power supply, it is possible to improve the reliability when the power supply to the power receiving apparatus 101 as the corresponding device is restarted. Moreover, even when there is no information obtained from the outside, power feeding can be autonomously resumed.

  <Deformability of invention>

  FIG. 6 shows an embodiment as a modification of the present invention. In this modification, a power feeding device 103A connected to the power receiving device 101 via the LAN cable 102 includes a clock circuit 120 instead of the timer 117 shown in FIG. The operation unit 119A can set the clock circuit 120 in addition to the packet monitor 115. The packet monitor 115, the power feeding LSI 116, and the clock circuit 120 are controlled by the controller 118A.

  FIG. 7 corresponds to FIG. 3 and shows a state of processing relating to setting and release of monitoring data by the operation unit in the embodiment of this modification. An example in which the administrator directly operates the power supply apparatus 103A will be described with reference to FIG.

  By operating the operation unit 119A, the administrator designates a packet designation mode (step S201) for designating packet conditions relating to power supply stop and start, and resumption for designating a restart time when the conditions for starting power supply are not satisfied. Mode selection can be performed between the time designation mode (step S202A) and the designation cancellation mode (step S203) for canceling part or all of these designations.

  The process when the packet designation mode is selected (step S201: Y) has been described with reference to FIG. When the restart time designation mode is selected by the administrator's operation (step S202A: Y), the clock circuit 120 can set the time at which the power feeding is resumed (step S206A). Thus, for example, even when a failure occurs in the detection circuit portion of the packet for resuming power feeding, it is possible to prevent the situation where the power receiving apparatus 101 does not resume power feeding permanently.

  The administrator can correct the setting for stopping and starting the power supply of the power receiving apparatus 101, or can select the designation cancellation mode in order to perform the setting itself from the beginning (step S203: Y). In this case, the monitoring data registered in the memory is read out in step S205, and the setting is canceled by designating the type and time of the packet in the memory or for all of them (see FIG. 5). Step S207A). In this case, the monitoring data in the memory is updated. The administrator may select the packet designation mode or the restart time designation mode again as necessary (step S201: Y or step S202A: Y) and perform the setting again. In this case, the monitoring data for the memory is updated.

  According to the embodiment of the modification described above, if there is a time zone in which the power receiving apparatus 101 as a certain device is always used, if the start time is set in time for the start time of the time zone, There is an effect that the power receiving apparatus 101 can be used reliably even when the power supply to the power receiving apparatus 101 is stopped in a time period before that.

  In the embodiment, the timer 117 is prepared, and in the modified example, the clock circuit 120 is prepared. However, the power supply may be resumed only when the phenomenon for resuming the power supply is detected without preparing them. . In addition, as a method of autonomously resuming power supply even when there is no information obtained from the outside, the clock circuit 120 may be used in combination with the timer 117 so as to ensure complete resumption of power supply. .

  In the embodiment and its modification, the timing at which the physical layer LSI 114 turns off the power supply depending on whether or not a specific packet is detected is set. However, the timing at which another circuit detects another event and the power supply is turned off. May be set. Further, although the LSI is used for power supply control in the embodiment and its modification, it is naturally not limited to the LSI and means equivalent to the circuit function may be used.

1 is a system configuration diagram showing an outline of a power feeding system according to an embodiment of the present invention. FIG. 3 is a block diagram specifically illustrating a main part of the configuration of a power receiving device and a power feeding device in the present embodiment. It is a flowchart showing the mode of the process regarding the setting and cancellation | release of the monitoring data by an operation part in this Embodiment. It is a flowchart showing the state of the electric power supply stop process which the electric power feeder side with respect to an electric power receiving apparatus performs in this Embodiment. It is a flowchart showing the mode of processing when electric power supply is restarted after electric power supply stops in this embodiment. It is a block diagram showing concretely the principal part of the composition of a power receiving device and power feeding device as a modification of the present invention. It is a flowchart showing the mode of the process regarding the setting and cancellation | release of the monitoring data by the operation part in this modification.

Explanation of symbols

DESCRIPTION OF SYMBOLS 100 Power feeding system 101 Power receiving apparatus 102, 104 LAN cable 103, 103A Power feeding apparatus 105 Network 111, 114 Physical layer LSI
115 Packet monitor 116 Power supply LSI
117 Timer 118, 118A Controller 119, 119A Operation unit 120 Clock circuit

Claims (7)

Power supply means for supplying power to a specific device that communicates with another device via a communication cable used for this communication;
A power supply stopping means for stopping power supply to the specific device by the power supply means when the specific device does not perform communication using a predetermined packet for at least a predetermined time;
A power supply apparatus comprising: a power supply restarting unit that restarts the power supply at a predetermined timing after the power supply to the specific device is stopped by the power supply stop unit.   The power supply apparatus according to claim 1, wherein the communication cable is a LAN (Local Area Network) cable.   The power supply apparatus according to claim 1, wherein the predetermined timing is when the specific device receives a specific packet via the communication cable.   2. The power supply apparatus according to claim 1, wherein the predetermined timing is a time point when a preset time has elapsed after the supply of power is stopped by the power supply stop unit.   2. The power supply apparatus according to claim 1, wherein the predetermined timing is a time point when a preset time has come after the supply of power is stopped by the power supply stop unit. A power supply stop step of stopping supply of power to the specific device via the communication cable when the specific device does not perform communication using a predetermined packet via the communication cable for at least a predetermined time;
A power supply method comprising: a power supply restarting step of restarting the power supply at a predetermined timing after the power supply to the specific device is stopped in the power supply stop step. To a computer of a power supply apparatus including a power supply unit that supplies power to a specific device that communicates with another device via a communication cable used in this communication,
A power supply stop process for stopping power supply to the specific device by the power supply means when the specific device does not perform communication using a predetermined packet for at least a predetermined time;
A power supply control program for executing a power supply restart process for restarting the power supply at a predetermined timing after the power supply to the specific device is stopped by the power supply stop process.

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