JP2010123181A - Device and method for processing information - Google Patents

Abstract

<P>PROBLEM TO BE SOLVED: To reduce current consumption so as to prevent the delay of an operation accompanying a state change after a command is received from becoming a problem when SATA is used for an interface between an optical disk drive (ODD) and a PC and a DIPM standard as an optional standard for reducing current consumption is used. <P>SOLUTION: A period of time for a change from an Active stage managed by the ODD to a Slumber state is switched depending on a type of a command. Alternatively, the period of time is switched depending on a volume of data processed according to a command. <P>COPYRIGHT: (C)2010,JPO&INPIT

Description

  The present invention relates to an information processing apparatus and an information processing method, and more particularly to an information processing apparatus and an information processing method capable of reducing current consumption.

  In an interface (hereinafter abbreviated as IF) system between a control unit including a CPU (Central Processing Unit) and an optical disc device (hereinafter abbreviated as ODD) in a PC (Personal Computer), the processing speed is increased. In order to save space, PATA (Parallel Advanced Technology Attachment) that sends data in parallel has shifted to SATA (Serial Advanced Technology Attachment) that sends data in series.

  Since SATA has a higher transmission speed than PATA, reduction of current consumption is an important issue. This is an important issue particularly when applied to a portable notebook PC using a battery as a power source. For this reason, the logic level is changed from the conventional 5V / 0V to 0.5V / 0V.

  In addition, a method for reducing current consumption without affecting the basic operation has been proposed by devising a circuit control method related to IF. Japanese Patent Application Laid-Open No. 2004-228561 discloses a technique for monitoring a time interval of commands issued from a host device and performing power saving at an appropriate timing. Patent Document 2 discloses a technique for changing a time for which a servo control circuit is turned off when a command is not received from a host computer for a certain period of time.

JP-A-8-335357 JP-A-8-212679

In the SATA standard, there is an option standard called DIPM (Device Initiated Power Management) for reducing the current consumption of the circuit related to the IF. This will be described with reference to FIG.
FIG. 1 is an explanatory diagram of a state of current consumption control in the DIPM standard. There are three current consumption control states called Active, Partial, and Slumber. In FIG. 1, the contents, recovery time, and current consumption are described for each state.

In the active state, a logic circuit that generates a physical logic signal and a PLL (Phase Lock Loop) circuit that generates an operation clock are operating, and data can be transmitted and received. The current consumption is the largest among the three states.
In the partial state, power is supplied to the logic circuit, but at least the logic circuit has stopped operating and data cannot be transmitted / received. The time required to return to Active is as short as 10 microseconds or less. The current consumption is intermediate among the three states.
In the Slumber state, power is supplied to the logic circuit, but the operation of both the logic circuit and the PLL circuit is stopped, and data cannot be transmitted / received. The time required to return to Active is as long as 10 milliseconds or less. Current consumption is the lowest among the three.

  Note that the operation of the circuit in the above-described Partial and Slumber is an example. An essential item in these states is the return time to the active state, and if this is satisfied, the operation of the circuit different from the above may be used.

  Next, an example of the state transition between these three states will be described with reference to FIG. FIG. 2 is a transition diagram of current consumption showing an example using the DIPM standard. The horizontal axis represents elapsed time, and the vertical axis represents current consumption. White arrows in the figure indicate the timing when the ODD receives a command from the control unit of the PC.

  First, assume that the state is Slumber. The operation during the period indicated by a in the figure is as follows. First, when the command A is received, the state changes from Slumber to Active within 10 milliseconds, and the ODD performs operations such as recording, reproduction, and stop. For example, after 50 milliseconds, the state transits to the Partial state in order to reduce current consumption. Since commands for ODD may be generated concentrated in a short period of time, immediately after receiving command A, wait for 50 milliseconds in the partial state so that it can immediately return to the active state (within 10 microseconds). . If no command is received during this time, the state transitions to the Slumber state, further reducing current consumption.

Next, the operation during the period indicated by b in the figure is as follows. First, when the command B is received, the state changes from Slumber to Active within 10 milliseconds, and the ODD IF unit performs the above-described operation. For example, after 50 milliseconds, the state transits to the Partial state in order to reduce current consumption. Thereafter, for example, when the next command C is received before 50 milliseconds have elapsed, the state immediately returns to the active state (within 10 microseconds), and the ODD IF section performs the operation as described above. For example, after 50 milliseconds, the state transits to the Partial state in order to reduce current consumption, and waits, for example, 50 milliseconds. If no command is received during this time, the state transitions to the Slumber state, further reducing current consumption.
As described above, a partial state is provided between Active and Slumber to reduce current consumption without delaying the operation for the command. Note that the ODD has a timer for measuring the passage of time, and the firmware defines a predetermined time such as 50 milliseconds, for example.

A method for further reducing current consumption has also been proposed. This will be described with reference to FIG.
FIG. 3 is a transition diagram of current consumption showing another example using the DIPM standard. Here, the case where there is a time of 100 milliseconds or more after the ODD receives one command and then receives the next command. FIG. 3A shows the same case as FIG. 2. When command A is received, the state transitions from Slumber to Active within 10 milliseconds, and after 50 milliseconds, for example, the partial Transition to the state. If, for example, 50 milliseconds is waited in the Partial state and no command is received during this period, the state transitions to the Slumber state to further reduce the current consumption. The operation for the command B is naturally the same.

  FIG. 3B shows an example in which the current consumption is further reduced by shortening the Active and Partial times. The broken line is a copy of FIG. 3A for reference. When command A is received, the state changes from Slumber to Active within 10 milliseconds. For example, in order to reduce the current consumption after 2 milliseconds, the state transits to the Partial state, and waits for, for example, 20 milliseconds. If no command is received during this time, the state transitions to the Slumber state, further reducing current consumption. This is based on the premise that transmission / reception of data can be completed within 2 milliseconds after entering the Active state, and that there is no problem even if the standby time in the Partial state is short in terms of usage.

  FIG. 3C shows what is called APS (Automatic Partial to Slumber). Immediate transition is made from Active to Slumber so that the Slumber state with the least current consumption is used quickly. This is based on the premise that there is no problem even if there is no waiting time in the Partial state from the viewpoint of usage.

  Furthermore, if the time of the Active state is shortened as shown in FIG. 3B and then the transition is made from Active to Slumber using APS as shown in FIG. Can be reduced. However, there is a problem depending on the time interval at which the command is generated. This will be described with reference to FIG.

  FIG. 4 is a current consumption transition diagram showing still another example using the DIPM standard. Here, as an example, an example in which the Active time is 10 milliseconds will be described. FIG. 4A shows a case where the command time interval is relatively long. As described above, it takes a maximum recovery time of 10 milliseconds for the ODD to receive a command and make a transition from Slumber to Active, but a command that is received in this manner requires a long processing time. Even in this case, since the process can be completed before the next command comes, the return time has little influence on the operation of the apparatus.

  On the other hand, FIG. 4B shows a case where the time interval of the command is as short as 20 milliseconds and the order is close to the return time. Since the return time is close to the command time interval, there may be cases where necessary processing cannot be completed before the next command arrives. Time delay is a problem. Since commands such as recording and playback related to the basic operation of the ODD are frequently generated and repeated at a short time interval, this may be a problem related to the basic performance.

  An object of the present invention is to provide an information processing apparatus and an information processing method capable of reducing current consumption after solving this problem.

  In order to achieve the above object, the present invention has a control unit including a CPU, a first operation mode that is controlled by a command generated by the control unit, and performs information processing, and consumes less current than the first operation mode. An information processing apparatus having an optical disc apparatus having at least two operation modes, including a second operation mode, and sets a time until the first operation mode transitions to the other operation mode A timer; and an optical disc control circuit that selects the first operation mode when the command is received and switches a time set by the timer according to the type of the received command.

  Further, the present invention includes a first operation mode that is controlled by a command generated by a control unit outside the apparatus and performs information processing, and a second operation mode that consumes less current than the first operation mode. Is an information processing apparatus including an optical disk apparatus having two operation modes, and when a timer for setting a time until the first operation mode transitions to the other operation mode and the command is received And an optical disc control circuit for selecting the first operation mode and switching a time set by the timer according to the type of the received command.

  Further, the present invention has at least two operation modes including a first operation mode that is controlled by a command and performs information processing and a second operation mode that consumes less current than the first operation mode. An information processing method for recording or reproducing information, wherein the determination step determines whether or not the command is a command for instructing recording or reproduction of information, and another operation mode from the first operation mode. And a setting step for setting a plurality of times for transitioning to, and if the result of determination in the determination step is a command for recording or reproduction, the setting step includes the setting of the plurality of times It is characterized by setting the longest time.

  Further, the present invention has at least two operation modes including a first operation mode that is controlled by a command and performs information processing and a second operation mode that consumes less current than the first operation mode. An information processing method for recording or reproducing information, wherein a first determination step for determining whether or not the command is a command for instructing recording or reproduction of information, and a first determination step When the determination result is a command for instructing recording or reproduction, a second determination step for determining whether the capacity of data to be recorded or reproduced is smaller than a predetermined value, and another operation from the first operation mode. A setting step for setting a plurality of times for transition to the operation mode, and if the data capacity is larger than a predetermined value as a result of the determination in the second determination step, the setting Step is characterized by setting the longest time among the plurality of time the setting.

  According to the present invention, it is possible to provide an information processing apparatus and an information processing method that can reduce current consumption, and in particular, it is possible to realize an easy-to-use information processing apparatus and information processing method that extend battery life in a portable notebook PC There is.

Hereinafter, embodiments of the present invention will be described with reference to the drawings.
A timer (hereinafter referred to as a DIPM timer) provided in the ODD counts the time in the state including the above-described Active. As described above, the predetermined time is often defined by firmware. The present invention is characterized in that the predetermined time is switched according to the type of received command. For example, for commands that are often generated continuously, such as recording and playback, the Active state time is lengthened (for example, 50 milliseconds), and it is often generated only once, even if there is a delay before entering the operation. For commands with few problems, the time can be set short (for example, 5 milliseconds).

  Note that the method of switching according to the type of command as in the present invention has the advantage that the detection is simpler than the method of switching according to the command time interval. In other words, a certain time is required to check the command time interval, and an algorithm for detection is difficult. Compared to this, it is much easier to know the type of command, which has the effect of facilitating the design of the device.

FIG. 5 is a block diagram showing an embodiment of the present invention. The operation will be described based on this.
In FIG. 5, the control unit 51 of the entire PC includes a CPU, where a command is generated and transmitted to the ODD 52. In the ODD 52, this command is received by the SATA control circuit 521 that performs the power consumption control described above. When the SATA control circuit 521 receives a command for setting the ODD 52 to Active, the SATA control circuit 521 sets the ODD 52 to Active according to the command. Here, as will be described later, the time in the active state is set according to the type of the command received subsequently, and the predetermined time counted by the DIPM timer 522 is switched. In accordance with this time, the ODD 52 switches the current consumption of the IF unit according to the above-described state, and the current consumption is reduced. The recording / playback unit 523 performs operations such as data recording and playback in accordance with the command.

FIG. 6 is an operation flowchart showing one embodiment of the present invention. Based on this, a method for setting the time in the active state will be described.
In step S <b> 61, the SATA control circuit 521 of the ODD 52 receives a command from the control unit 51. In step S62, the SATA control circuit 521 determines whether this command is frequently generated continuously, time delay is likely to be a problem, for example, a recording or reproduction command. If it is a recording or reproduction command (Yes in the figure), the predetermined time of the DIPM timer 522 is set to, for example, 50 milliseconds in step S63, and if it is not a recording or reproduction command (No in the figure). In step S64, the predetermined time of the DIPM timer 522 is set to 5 milliseconds, for example, and the setting operation is terminated. As a result, the DIPM timer 522 can be set according to the command.

  FIG. 7 is a transition diagram of current consumption in one embodiment of the present invention. In the drawing, a white arrow indicates, for example, a timing at which a recording or playback command is generated, and a black arrow indicates a timing at which other commands are generated. When the ODD 52 receives a recording or reproduction command in the Slumber state, for example, after a time delay of a maximum of 10 milliseconds, the state becomes the Active state and an operation according to the command is started. At this time, the predetermined time of the DIPM timer 522 is set to, for example, 50 milliseconds by the step S63 in FIG. 6, so that when a recording or reproduction command is received continuously at intervals of about 10 milliseconds, for example, the Slumber The time delay of the operation as described above does not become a problem. When a command other than this is received, the predetermined time of the DIPM timer 522 is set to 5 milliseconds, for example, in step S64 of FIG. 6, so that the state of Slumber is 5 milliseconds after the state becomes active. Thus, current consumption can be reduced. In view of the type of command, it is not a command that is repeatedly generated at a short time interval, so there is no problem with the time delay until the operation after receiving the command.

  The command other than recording or reproduction is a command for checking whether or not a recording medium is mounted and its change, and corresponds to what is usually called a Get Event / Status Notification command.

FIG. 8 is an operation flowchart showing another embodiment of the present invention. Here, it is further characterized in that the setting of the DIPM timer 522 is switched according to the volume of data transmitted and received between the control unit 51 and the ODD 52. Since the processing time is short when the data capacity is small, the next command is often generated at short time intervals, but the opposite is often the case when the data capacity is large. It is a thing.
In step S <b> 81, the SATA control circuit 521 of the ODD 52 receives a command from the control unit 51. In step S82, the SATA control circuit 521 determines whether this command is frequently generated continuously, time delay is likely to be a problem, for example, a recording or reproduction command. If it is not a recording or playback command (No in the figure), in step S84, the predetermined time of the DIPM timer 522 is set to 5 milliseconds, for example, and the setting operation is terminated. To reduce current consumption. If the command is a recording or playback command in step S82 (Yes in the figure), the capacity of data transmitted and received in step S83 is, for example, 32 blocks (in the case of ODD, one block is generally 2048 bytes) or less. Determine if it exists. If the data capacity is as small as 32 blocks or less (Yes in the figure), the predetermined time of the DIPM timer 522 is set to 50 milliseconds, for example, in step S85, the setting operation is terminated, and the command continues at short time intervals. In case it is generated. In step S83, if the data capacity is as large as 32 blocks or more (No in the figure), the predetermined operation of the DIPM timer is set to 5 milliseconds, for example, in step S86, and the setting operation is terminated. Transition to the Slumber state to reduce current consumption.

  The embodiment of the present invention has been described above, but this is an example and does not limit the present invention. Although the time setting of the DIPM timer 522 is 50 milliseconds, 5 milliseconds, etc., the numerical value is not limited to this, and the setting value is not limited to two. More commands may be divided into three or more setting values. In addition to the DIPM standard described in the present embodiment, various modifications and other standards can be considered as a method for reducing the current consumption so as not to affect the operation. It is in.

It is explanatory drawing of the state of the consumption current control in a DIPM specification. It is a transition diagram of consumption current which shows an example using a DIPM standard. It is a transition diagram of the consumption current which shows another example using a DIPM standard. It is a transition diagram of consumption current which shows another example using a DIPM standard. It is a block diagram which shows one Example of this invention. It is an operation | movement flowchart which shows one Example of this invention. It is a transition diagram of the consumption current in one Example of this invention. It is an operation | movement flowchart which shows another one Example of this invention.

Explanation of symbols

51: Control unit 52: ODD
521... SATA control circuit 522... DIPM timer 523.

Claims (6)

A control unit including a CPU;
It has at least two operation modes including a first operation mode that is controlled by a command generated by the control unit and performs information processing and a second operation mode that consumes less current than the first operation mode. An information processing apparatus having an optical disk device,
A timer for setting a time until the first operation mode transits to the other operation mode;
An information processing apparatus comprising: an optical disc control circuit that selects the first operation mode when the command is received and switches a time set by the timer according to the type of the received command.   2. The information processing apparatus according to claim 1, wherein when the optical disc control circuit receives a command for instructing a recording or reproducing operation, a time set by the timer is the longest time among the plurality of times to be set. Information processing apparatus characterized by switching to   2. The information processing apparatus according to claim 1, wherein the optical disk control circuit receives a command for instructing a recording or reproducing operation for a time set by the timer, and a capacity of data to be recorded or reproduced is larger than a predetermined value. In this case, the information processing apparatus is switched to the longest time among the plurality of set times. At least two operation modes including a first operation mode that is controlled by a command generated by a control unit outside the apparatus and performs information processing, and a second operation mode that consumes less current than the first operation mode An information processing apparatus including an optical disk device having
A timer for setting a time until the first operation mode transits to the other operation mode;
An information processing apparatus comprising: an optical disc control circuit that selects the first operation mode when the command is received and switches a time set by the timer according to the type of the received command. Recording or reproducing information having at least two operation modes including a first operation mode that is controlled by a command and performs information processing and a second operation mode that consumes less current than the first operation mode An information processing method for performing
A determination step of determining whether or not the command is a command for instructing recording or reproduction of information;
Setting a plurality of times for transition from the first operation mode to another operation mode,
As a result of determination in the determination step, if the command is an instruction to record or reproduce, the setting step sets the longest time among the plurality of times to be set. Recording or reproducing information having at least two operation modes including a first operation mode that is controlled by a command and performs information processing and a second operation mode that consumes less current than the first operation mode An information processing method for performing
A first determination step of determining whether or not the command is a command for instructing recording or reproduction of information;
A second determination step for determining whether the capacity of data to be recorded or reproduced is smaller than a predetermined value when the determination result in the first determination step is a command for recording or reproduction;
Setting a plurality of times for transition from the first operation mode to another operation mode,
As a result of determination in the second determination step, when the data capacity is larger than a predetermined value, the setting step sets the longest time among the plurality of times to be set. Processing method.

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