JP2011103164A - Information processing apparatus and display device - Google Patents

Abstract

<P>PROBLEM TO BE SOLVED: To provide an information processing apparatus, along with a display device, capable of performing power saving of an IC according to an IC processing load. <P>SOLUTION: The information processing apparatus having the IC connected to a plurality of interfaces or source circuits and performing signal processing of data supplied from the interfaces or the source circuits includes a regulator circuit supplying driving voltage for driving the IC and having a function for adjusting the value of the driving voltage according to adjustment voltage inputted via an external terminal, a setting resistance constituted by combining a plurality of resistances and connected between the external terminal and the interfaces or the source circuits and a switching circuit changing combination of resistances which constitute the setting resistance when data from the interfaces or the source circuits are received to alter the value of adjustment voltage supplied to the external terminal. <P>COPYRIGHT: (C)2011,JPO&INPIT

Description

  The present invention relates to an information processing apparatus that performs predetermined signal processing, and more particularly to an information processing apparatus that includes an IC for performing signal processing, and a display device.

  2. Description of the Related Art Conventionally, there has been known an information processing apparatus that mounts an interface such as an HDMI or an IC that performs signal processing on data supplied via a source circuit. For example, an information processing apparatus and an external device are connected via an HDMI standard interface, and data exchanged is processed through an IC (see, for example, Patent Documents 1-3).

  In recent years, power saving has been proposed for products in order to effectively utilize limited resources. In the information processing apparatus in which the above-described IC is mounted, when data is not input to the IC for a predetermined time, the IC is changed to a standby mode that saves power and the power saving is executed (for example, patents). Reference 4).

  In addition, the IC includes therein a semiconductor element that performs a switching operation, and performs signal processing using the semiconductor element. Here, the IC can accept the supplied driving voltage with a certain width. For example, when the received driving voltage is high, the operation of the semiconductor element becomes faster and stable driving can be performed. On the other hand, when the value of the driving voltage is low, the IC operates at a low speed because the semiconductor device operates at a low speed.

JP 2009-140365 A JP 2009-123284 A JP 2008-277951 A JP 2007-306097 A

  In the information processing apparatus in which the above-described IC is mounted, some data processed by the IC does not require the driving speed of the IC so much. However, even when such data is input, the information processing apparatus does not shift to the standby mode, and thus cannot contribute to power saving.

  The present invention has been made in view of the above problems, and provides an information processing apparatus and a display apparatus that can save power in an IC according to a processing load processed by the IC.

  In order to solve the above problems, in the present invention, an IC is driven in an information processing apparatus including an IC that is connected to a plurality of interfaces or source circuits and performs signal processing on data supplied from the interfaces or source circuits. And a regulator circuit having a function of adjusting the value of the drive voltage according to the value of the adjustment voltage input through the external terminal, and a plurality of resistors, and the external terminal And the external resistor by changing the combination of the resistors constituting the setting resistor when receiving data from the interface or the source circuit and the setting resistor connected between the interface and the source circuit And a switching circuit that changes the value of the adjustment voltage supplied to the circuit.

In the invention configured as described above, the regulator circuit supplies a drive voltage for driving the IC and adjusts the value of the drive voltage according to the value of the adjustment voltage input via the external terminal. The setting resistor is configured by combining a plurality of resistors, and is connected between the external terminal and the interface and source circuit. The switching circuit receives data from the interface or source circuit. And a switching circuit that changes the value of the adjustment voltage supplied to the external terminal by changing the combination of the resistors constituting the set resistor.
Therefore, when data is supplied from the interface or the source circuit, the driving voltage supplied from the regulator circuit is changed by changing the resistance value of the setting resistor. It becomes possible to change power consumption.

As an example of processing executed by the switching circuit, the switching circuit supplies a high driving voltage to the IC when data with a large amount of information is supplied from the interface or the source circuit. , Combine the resistors.
In the invention configured as described above, when the IC processes data with a large amount of information, the operation amount of the IC is increased and the processing is appropriately executed.

As an example of a specific configuration of the switching circuit, the switching circuit includes a switch element connected to each resistor constituting the setting resistor, and a signal indicating that the interface or the source circuit is selected and output. The combination of the resistors may be changed by switching on / off accordingly.
In the invention configured as described above, the switching circuit can be realized with a simple configuration using the switching element.

Furthermore, as another example executed by the switching circuit, the switching circuit stops the IC by supplying a low driving voltage to the IC when the information processing apparatus enters a standby state. As described above, the resistors may be combined.
In the standby state, the IC only performs processing such as monitoring of input of an external signal, and thus the processing load is low. Therefore, in the invention configured as described above, it is possible to achieve further power saving by combining the power saving according to the present invention with the standby state with a small processing load.

The switching circuit further includes a determination unit that determines an operating state of the IC, and the switching circuit supplies a high drive voltage to the IC when the determination unit determines that the IC is malfunctioning. Therefore, a configuration may be adopted in which the resistors are combined.
In the invention configured as described above, the drive voltage to be supplied can be changed according to the actual operation state of the IC.

As an example of the interface according to the present invention, the interface may be an HDMI interface.
In the invention configured as described above, the present invention can be applied to products including an HDMI input as an input mode.

Furthermore, as an example of the source circuit according to the present invention, the source circuit may be a receiving unit that receives and outputs a high-definition broadcast.
In the invention configured as described above, the present invention can be applied to a product that supports high-definition broadcasting as an input mode.

  As another example of the present invention, in a display device including an IC that is connected to a plurality of interfaces or source circuits and performs signal processing on data supplied from the interfaces or source circuits, the interface is an HDMI interface, The source circuit is a receiving means for receiving and outputting a high-definition broadcast. The source circuit supplies a driving voltage for driving the IC, and the driving according to a value of an adjustment voltage input via an external terminal. A regulator circuit having a function of adjusting a voltage value, a combination of a plurality of resistors, a setting resistor connected between the external terminal, the interface and the source circuit, and the interface or the source circuit When the data is supplied, the regulator circuit When the combination of the resistors is changed so that a high driving voltage is supplied to the IC, and the information processing apparatus enters a standby state, the regulator circuit supplies the IC with a low driving voltage. It is good also as a structure which has the switching circuit which changes the value of the adjustment voltage supplied to the said external terminal by changing the combination of the said resistor so that it may stop.

As described above, according to the present invention, the IC can save power according to the processing load (mode) processed by the IC.
According to the second aspect of the present invention, when the IC processes data with a large amount of information, the operation amount of the IC is increased and the processing is appropriately executed.
According to the invention of claim 3, it is possible to realize a switching circuit with a simple configuration using a switching element.
Further, according to the invention of claim 4, it is possible to achieve further power saving by combining with a standby state in which the processing load of the IC is small.
According to the fifth aspect of the present invention, it is possible to change the drive voltage to be supplied in accordance with the actual operation status of the IC.
According to the sixth aspect of the present invention, the present invention can be applied to products including an HDMI input as an input mode.
According to the invention of claim 7, the present invention can be applied to a product that supports high-definition broadcasting as an input mode.

3 is a block diagram illustrating a display device 100. FIG. 4 is a diagram for explaining functions of the display device 100. FIG. 3 is a block diagram showing a configuration of an IC power supply circuit 80. FIG. It is a figure explaining the structure of the power supply circuit 80 for ICs concerning 2nd Embodiment. It is a flowchart explaining the process for confirming the operation state of the back end part 98 concerning 3rd Embodiment.

Embodiments of the present invention will be described below in the following order with reference to the drawings.
(1) First embodiment:
(2) Second embodiment:
(3) Third embodiment:
(4) Other embodiments:

(1) First embodiment:
Hereinafter, a display device 100 will be described as an example of a first embodiment that embodies an information processing apparatus according to the present invention with reference to the drawings.
FIG. 1 is a block diagram illustrating the display device 100. The display device 100 includes the following main parts. Reference numeral 99 denotes a front end unit (source circuit) that demodulates broadcast signals received by various antennas (not shown). Reference numeral 98 denotes a back-end unit which performs descrambling of demodulated data and decoding processing of compressed video / audio data. Reference numeral 97 denotes a display, which displays a video based on the decoded video data. Reference numeral 96 denotes a main controller that controls driving of the display device 100. Reference numeral 95 denotes an HDMI interface, which receives a video signal and an audio signal from an external device compatible with HDMI through the HDMI cable 70. Reference numeral 94 denotes a power supply circuit which supplies power for driving the display device 100. Reference numeral 93 denotes a selection circuit, which switches input from the front end unit 99 or input from the HDMI interface 95 in accordance with a switching command from a remote controller (not shown).

  When the various antennas receive the carrier wave, the front end unit 99 modulates and extracts the broadcast signal superimposed on the carrier wave. Here, the data modulated by the front end unit 99 is a broadcast signal corresponding to a high-definition broadcast or an NTSC broadcast signal, which is selected by the selection circuit 93 and output to the back end unit 98. Note that the broadcast signal corresponding to the high-definition broadcast has a larger data amount than the broadcast signal of the NTSC system. With the above configuration, the front end unit 99 realizes the receiving means of the present invention.

  The back end portion 98 is formed by an IC configured by a CMOS semiconductor. The back-end unit 98 includes a demultiplexing unit that de-scrambles the data demodulated by the front-end unit 99 and decodes video / audio data compressed by the MPEG method. Further, the back-end unit 98 includes a video signal processing unit that performs signal processing on the decoded video data.

  The display 97 displays a video based on the video data decoded by the back end unit 98 or the video data input through the HDMI interface 95. In the present embodiment, the display 97 is a liquid crystal display, and outputs light by transmitting light from a backlight (not shown).

  The main controller 96 includes a CPU, a ROM, and a RAM, and controls the driving of the display device 100 by various programs stored in the ROM. In addition, the main controller 96 outputs a mode switching signal for switching the input mode and a standby signal for shifting the display device 100 to the standby mode in response to a command signal output from the remote control device or the like. Here, the standby mode is a mode for reducing the power consumption of the display device 100.

  The power supply circuit 94 supplies power to each part constituting the display device 100. Further, the power supply circuit 94 includes an IC power supply circuit 80 for driving the back end unit 98, and drives the back end unit 98 with a drive voltage generated by the IC power supply circuit 80.

  The selection circuit 93 switches the input mode according to the mode switching signal from the main controller 96. That is, the selection circuit 93 selects either the data corresponding to various broadcasts (high-vision broadcast, NTSC) received by the front end unit 99 according to the mode switching signal or the data input through the HDMI interface 95 as the back end unit 98. Output to.

  With the above configuration, the display device 100 outputs an image corresponding to the input mode selected by the selection circuit 93 to the display 97. At this time, the display device 100 saves power in the back-end unit 98 according to the selected input mode. FIG. 2 is a diagram for explaining the function of the display device 100. As shown in FIG. 2, when an HDMI input other than the high-definition broadcast in the front end unit 99 is selected as the input mode, the IC power supply circuit 80 lowers the drive voltage supplied to the back end unit 98 ( Vout1). On the other hand, when HDMI input or high-definition broadcasting is selected as the input mode, the IC power supply circuit 80 increases the drive voltage supplied to the back-end unit 98 (Vout2). Here, the fluctuation range of the drive voltage supplied by the IC power supply circuit 80 is set in advance within a range in which the IC as the back-end unit 98 can be driven.

=== Configuration of IC Power Supply Circuit 80 ===
Hereinafter, the configuration of the IC power supply circuit 80 will be described. FIG. 3 is a block diagram showing a configuration of the IC power supply circuit 80. The IC power supply circuit 80 includes the following main parts. Reference numeral 81 denotes a regulator circuit, which changes the input voltage Vin supplied by a rectifier circuit (not shown) included in the power supply circuit 94 according to the value of the adjustment voltage ADJ and outputs it as a drive voltage. Reference numeral 82 denotes a setting resistor, which sets the value of the adjustment voltage ADJ. Reference numeral 83 denotes a switching circuit that changes the combined resistance value of the setting resistors in accordance with the input mode.

  The regulator circuit 81 adjusts and outputs the value of the drive voltage, which is the output voltage, according to the voltage value of the adjustment voltage ADJ supplied to the setting terminal 81a. As an example, when the value of the adjustment voltage ADJ is small, the drive voltage is lowered within a range in which the back-end unit 98 can be driven (Vout1 shown in FIG. 2), and when the value of the adjustment voltage ADJ is large, the back-end unit 98 The drive voltage is increased within the driveable range (Vout2 shown in FIG. 2).

  The setting resistor 82 is configured by combining resistors R1 to R4 that set the value of the adjustment voltage ADJ. The resistors R1 to R4 are connected to the switching circuit 83 so that the combined resistance value changes according to the switching operation of the switching circuit 83. The resistor R2 is connected to the output side of the regulator circuit 81, and uses the drive voltage output from the regulator circuit 81 as a power source.

  The switching circuit 83 includes a transistor Q1 connected to the resistor R4. The base of the transistor Q1 is connected in parallel to the HDMI input terminal 94a of the selection circuit 93 and the selection output unit 94b of the selection circuit 93 via a resistor R5. Here, the HDMI input terminal 93 a is a terminal that supplies 5 V power supplied through the HDMI cable 70 to the HDMI interface 95, and the selection output unit 93 b allows the selection circuit 93 to perform high-definition broadcasting to the main controller 96. This is a part where a selection signal is output to convey the selection. Therefore, when the HDMI input is selected according to the selection of the input mode, the base current is supplied to the base of the transistor Q1 by a 5-volt signal supplied through the HDMI cable 70. Similarly, when the selection circuit 93 selects high-definition broadcasting as the input mode, a base current is supplied to the base of the transistor Q1 by a signal output from the selection output unit 93b.

=== Operation of IC Power Supply Circuit 80 ===
The operation of the IC power supply circuit 80 configured as described above will be described. In the following display device 100, it is assumed that an external device is selected for the HDMI interface 95 through the HDMI cable 70. When neither HDMI input nor high-definition broadcasting is selected as the input mode via the remote control device, the transistor Q1 of the switching circuit 83 is off, and the resistance of the setting resistor 82 is set by the voltage dividing ratio of the resistors R1 and R2. Is done.

  In this state, the regulator circuit 81 outputs the drive voltage (Vout1) by the adjustment voltage ADJ set by the resistance value of the setting resistor 82. The drive voltage (Vout1) is set as a minimum voltage value that can drive the back-end unit 98. Therefore, since the back end unit 98 is driven with this driving voltage, power saving of the back end unit 98 is achieved.

  On the other hand, when HDMI input or high-definition broadcasting is selected as the input mode, the selection circuit 93 supplies a signal to the switching circuit 83. Therefore, the transistor Q1 of the switching circuit 83 is turned on, and the resistor R4 is switched from the open state to the ground state. Therefore, the resistance value of the setting resistor 82 is set by the resistors R1, R2, and R4, and the value of the adjustment voltage ADJ changes.

  In this state, the regulator circuit 81 outputs the drive voltage (Vout2) by the adjustment voltage ADJ set by the resistance value of the setting resistor 82. The drive voltage (Vout2) is set as a voltage value that can be driven optimally by the back-end unit 98. Therefore, the back-end unit 98 is driven by this drive voltage, and thus power saving is released. That is, the back end unit 98 is driven at high speed by the drive voltage (Vout2), and processes input data with a large amount of data such as HDMI input or high-definition broadcasting.

  As described above, in the first embodiment, the power saving of the back-end unit (IC) 98 is switched according to the selected input mode, so that the optimum power saving is achieved according to the input mode. It becomes possible to do.

(2) Second embodiment:
Hereinafter, the display device 100 according to the second embodiment will be described. In the second embodiment, in addition to the functions according to the first embodiment, the following configuration is different. That is, the display device 100 can shift to the standby mode, and the power saving of the display device 100 is realized by combining the standby mode and the power saving mode according to the first embodiment.

  Here, the standby mode is to realize power saving by stopping driving of main parts constituting the display device 100 when data is not input to the main controller 96 for a predetermined period. In this standby mode, the back end unit 98 only performs monitoring of the input signal.

  FIG. 4 is a diagram for explaining the configuration of an IC power supply circuit 80 according to the second embodiment. In the IC power supply circuit 80 shown in FIG. 4, in addition to the configuration of the first embodiment, the setting resistor 82 includes a resistor R6, and the switching circuit 83 includes a transistor Q2. The resistor R6 is connected to the resistors R1 to R4 and to the collector of the transistor Q2. The base of the transistor Q2 is connected to the main controller 96 through the resistor R7, and receives a P-ON-H signal for shifting the display device 100 to the standby mode from the main controller 96.

  The operation of the IC power supply circuit 80 according to the second embodiment will be described below. As in the first embodiment, when HDMI input or high-definition broadcasting is selected as the input mode, the value of the adjustment voltage ADJ is set by the resistors R1, R2, and R4 of the setting resistor 82 according to the switching operation of the switching circuit 83. Is done. Therefore, the regulator circuit 81 supplies a drive voltage (Vout2) corresponding to the adjustment voltage ADJ to the back end unit 98.

  On the other hand, when the HDMI input or the high-definition broadcast is not selected as the input mode and the display device 100 does not enter the standby state, the setting is made by the resistors R1 and R2 of the setting resistor 82 according to the switching operation of the switching circuit 83. The value of the adjustment voltage ADJ is set by the resistance value. Therefore, from the regulator circuit 81, a drive voltage (Vout1) corresponding to the adjustment voltage ADJ is supplied to the back end unit 98.

  Further, when the main controller 96 selects the transition to the standby mode under certain conditions, the P-ON-H signal is output from the main controller 96, so that the transistor Q2 is turned on and the resistor R6 is grounded. Therefore, the resistance value of the setting resistor 82 is set by a combination of the resistors R 1 to R 4 and R 6, and the adjustment voltage ADJ corresponding to the resistance value is input to the regulator circuit 81. When the adjustment voltage ADJ set in the above state is input to the regulator circuit 81, the regulator circuit 81 lowers the drive voltage. As described above, in the standby mode, the processing load of the back end unit 98 is low, so that there is no problem in driving the back end unit 98 even if the drive voltage (so-called standby power) is lowered.

  As described above, in the second embodiment, by combining the power saving of the back-end unit 98 with the standby mode of the display device 100, the standby power can be reduced and more power saving can be achieved. Is possible.

(3) Third embodiment:
In the first and second embodiments described above, a value set in advance is used as the value of the drive voltage for saving power in the back end unit 98 (IC). However, depending on the usage state of the back-end unit 98, it may occur that the drive is not properly performed with the set drive voltage. Therefore, in 3rd Embodiment, the display apparatus 100 is good also as a structure provided with the function which judges the operation condition of the back end part 98 for every fixed period. With the above-described configuration, it is possible to balance the power saving of the IC and the operation status according to the actual usage status.

  FIG. 5 is a flowchart for explaining processing for confirming the operating state of the back-end unit 98 according to the third embodiment. Here, the process shown in FIG. 5 is a process executed by the main controller 96, and is executed based on a program and data stored in a ROM (not shown). Therefore, the main controller 96 implements the determination means of the present invention.

  First, when power saving of the back end unit 98 is selected in step S1, the main controller 96 determines this power saving from the input mode or the like. In step S <b> 2, the main controller 96 outputs error detection data for confirming the operating state of the backend unit 98 to the backend unit 98. Here, the error detection data is data for causing the back end unit 98 to execute a predetermined process, for example.

  In step S3, the main controller 96 receives the output data processed by the back end unit 98 based on the error detection data, and determines the error rate. For example, the main controller 96 detects the error rate of the output data using a checksum provided in the error detection data.

  In step S4, the main controller 96 determines the driving state of the back end unit 98 according to the detected error rate. That is, when the error rate is higher than the predetermined threshold T (step S4: YES), the main controller 96 determines that the drive voltage (Vout2) output from the regulator circuit 81 is not optimal, and the resistance value of the setting resistor 82 The switching circuit 83 is controlled so as to change (step S5). As an example, the main controller 96 performs control to turn off the signal supplied to the transistor Q1 of the switching circuit 83. On the other hand, when the error rate is lower than the predetermined threshold T (step S4: NO), the main controller 96 determines that the drive voltage (Vout2) output from the regulator circuit 81 is optimal, and ends the process. The third embodiment has been described above.

(4) Other embodiments:
There are various modifications of the present invention.
The information processing apparatus is not limited to a display apparatus, and can be applied to any apparatus that processes data based on an IC.

  The IC for performing power saving according to the present invention is not limited to the back end unit 98. For example, the present invention can be applied to any part as long as the processing load varies depending on the input mode. For example, the main controller 96 may be used as an IC that performs power saving. Further, in the case where the main controller 96 and the back end unit 98 are configured by a single IC, both the main controller 96 and the back end unit 98 may be configured to save power.

  In the second embodiment, the determination of the standby mode based on the P-ON-H signal is an example, and the present invention is not limited to this. For example, in the standby mode, the transistor of the switching circuit may be switched using the voltage state of the circuit that stops driving.

Needless to say, the present invention is not limited to the above embodiments. It goes without saying for those skilled in the art,
・ Applying mutually interchangeable members and configurations disclosed in the above embodiments by appropriately changing the combination thereof.− Although not disclosed in the above embodiments, it is a publicly known technique and the above embodiments. The members and configurations that can be mutually replaced with the members and configurations disclosed in the above are appropriately replaced, and the combination is changed and applied. It is an embodiment of the present invention that a person skilled in the art can appropriately replace the members and configurations that can be assumed as substitutes for the members and configurations disclosed in the above-described embodiments, and change the combinations and apply them. It is disclosed as.

  DESCRIPTION OF SYMBOLS 70 ... HDMI cable, 80 ... IC power supply circuit, 81 ... Regulator circuit, 81a ... Setting terminal, 82 ... Setting resistor, 83 ... Switching circuit, 93 ... Selection circuit, 94 ... Power supply circuit, 94a ... HDMI input terminal, 94b ... Selection output unit, 95 ... HDMI interface, 96 ... Main controller, 97 ... Display, 98 ... Back end unit, 99 ... Front end unit, 100 ... Display device

Claims (8)

In an information processing apparatus including an IC that is connected to a plurality of interfaces or source circuits and performs signal processing on data supplied from the interfaces or source circuits.
A regulator circuit having a function of supplying a driving voltage for driving the IC and adjusting the value of the driving voltage in accordance with the value of the adjusting voltage input via an external terminal;
A combination of a plurality of resistors, and a set resistor connected between the external terminal and the interface and source circuit;
A switching circuit for changing a value of an adjustment voltage supplied to the external terminal by changing a combination of resistors constituting the setting resistor when data is supplied from the interface or the source circuit. An information processing apparatus characterized by the above.   The switching circuit combines the resistors so that the regulator circuit supplies a high driving voltage to the IC when a large amount of data is supplied from the interface or source circuit. The information processing apparatus according to 1.   The switching circuit includes a switching element connected to each of the resistors constituting the setting resistor, and is switched on / off according to a signal indicating that the interface or the source circuit is selected, whereby the combination of the resistors The information processing apparatus according to claim 1, wherein the information processing apparatus is changed.   The switching circuit combines the resistors so that the regulator circuit supplies a low drive voltage to the IC and stops the IC when the information processing apparatus enters a standby state. The information processing apparatus according to any one of claims 1 to 3. Comprising a judging means for judging the operating status of the IC;
2. The switching circuit according to claim 1, wherein when the determination unit determines that the IC is malfunctioning, the switching circuit combines the resistors so that the regulator circuit supplies a high drive voltage to the IC. The information processing apparatus according to claim 4.   The information processing apparatus according to claim 1, wherein the interface is an HDMI interface.   The information processing apparatus according to claim 1, wherein the source circuit is a receiving unit that receives and outputs a high-definition broadcast. In a display device including an IC that is connected to a plurality of interfaces or source circuits and performs signal processing on data supplied from the interfaces or source circuits.
The interface is an HDMI interface,
The source circuit is a receiving means for receiving and outputting a high-definition broadcast,
A regulator circuit having a function of supplying a driving voltage for driving the IC and adjusting the value of the driving voltage in accordance with the value of the adjusting voltage input via an external terminal;
A combination of a plurality of resistors, and a set resistor connected between the external terminal and the interface and source circuit;
When the data is supplied from the interface or the source circuit, the combination of the resistors is changed so that the regulator circuit supplies a high driving voltage to the IC, and the information processing apparatus enters a standby state. A switching circuit that changes a combination of the resistors and changes a value of an adjustment voltage supplied to the external terminal so that the regulator circuit supplies a low driving voltage to the IC and stops the IC. A display device comprising:

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