JP6016274B2 - Communication device, power consumption suppression method, and power consumption suppression program - Google Patents

Description

  The present invention relates to a communication device, a power consumption suppression method, and a power consumption suppression program for suppressing power consumption in a communication device.

  IP (Internet Protocol) telephone devices are widely used in offices and general homes. In this regard, the IP telephone apparatus performs communication using a network compliant with Ethernet (registered trademark). For this reason, the IP telephone apparatus can be linked in the same network as a general information processing terminal (for example, Personal Computer) that also uses Ethernet.

  Based on such a situation, in addition to a LAN (Local Area Network) port used by the IP telephone apparatus to connect to the network and the main apparatus, the IP telephone apparatus is used to connect to an information processing terminal or the like. An IP telephone device having a PC port has already been developed.

  In this way, by having a PC port in addition to a LAN port, the IP telephone apparatus also functions as a HUB that relays between the network and the information processing terminal. This makes it possible to prepare a single LAN cable for accessing the network at each desk in the office, connect it to the LAN port of the IP telephone device, and connect the information processing terminal to the PC port of the IP telephone device. The network can be accessed not only by the telephone device but also by the information processing terminal. Therefore, there is an advantage that it is not necessary to prepare two LAN cables for each desk.

  In recent years, there has been a demand for suppressing power consumption. There is also a technique for reducing power consumption in an apparatus having a plurality of ports such as the IP telephone apparatus.

  For example, Patent Document 1 describes a technique for suppressing power consumption according to the connection status of ports. Specifically, the link pulse detection circuit detects a port to which a network device (external device) is not connected, that is, an unused network device is connected, and the port is determined according to the output of the link pulse detection circuit. By providing a circuit that reduces the power consumption of the concentrator, the power consumption of the concentrator can be reduced.

  Further, as in the technique described in Patent Document 1, power supply is not stopped for an unconnected port, but power is supplied when data communication is not performed even if a cable is connected to the communication port. The technique of suppressing is described in Patent Document 2.

  Specifically, Patent Document 2 describes an invention for providing a router device capable of suppressing power consumption of the entire device. In the invention described in Patent Document 2, a WAN-side module control circuit that controls power supply to the WAN-side module by controlling a switch circuit according to an access request to the exchange, a plurality of terminal devices, and a router device And a link pulse detection circuit for detecting link pulses exchanged between them. Then, when it can be determined that data communication is not performed based on the detection result of the link pulse detection circuit, the supply of power is stopped. Thereby, it becomes possible to suppress the power consumption of the whole apparatus which can supply electric power only to the site | part required for operation | movement in a router apparatus.

JP 2000-252425 A JP 2001-320415 A JP 2000-134216 A JP 2008-148034 A

  As described above, by providing a plurality of ports in the IP telephone apparatus, a function as a HUB can be added to the IP telephone apparatus. Further, by using the technique described in Patent Document 1, it is possible to suppress power consumption for unconnected ports. Furthermore, by using the technique described in Patent Document 2, the power can be suppressed when data communication is not performed even when the LAN cable is connected to the communication port.

  However, even if these technologies are used in combination, there is a problem that power consumption cannot be sufficiently suppressed in an IP telephone device having a function as a HUB. The reason will be described below.

  For example, when a technology that stops supplying power to a port that is not connected to a cable and an IP telephone device that has a function as a HUB are combined, if the information processing terminal is not connected, the power of the PC port Can be suppressed, but the power of the LAN port cannot be suppressed. This is because, as long as it functions as an IP telephone device, it is necessary to wait for an incoming call or the like, and it is necessary to always connect a LAN cable to the LAN port.

  Similarly, the power of the PC port can be suppressed even when the technology for suppressing the power when data communication is not performed even when the LAN cable is connected to the communication port as in Patent Document 2, the power of the LAN port can be suppressed. It cannot be suppressed. This is because the IP telephone device always performs communication such as health check with the main device and the like, and therefore does not stop communicating at all.

  As described above, even if a function for suppressing power of an unused port or a general technique for suppressing power at the time of non-communication is used, a LAN port of an IP telephone apparatus that needs to always be able to communicate Had no effect.

  Further, regarding the suppression of power consumption, there is a further problem associated with the increase in communication speed. This point will be described.

  In recent years, for information processing terminals that require high-speed communication, IP telephone devices that have communication ports compliant with the Gigabit Ethernet standard that achieves a throughput of 1 Gbps (Gigabit Per Second) have appeared.

  By complying with the standard of Gigabit Ethernet, there is an advantage that high-throughput communication can be realized as compared with 100 megabit Ethernet (Fast Ethernet) which has been generally used so far. However, the power consumption of Ethernet is characterized by the fact that it greatly depends on the throughput of the device. Therefore, the operation clock of the device is increased in Gigabit Ethernet compared to 100 Megabit Ethernet, and the power consumption is greatly reduced. is there.

  When the IP telephone device itself performs voice communication, a high speed such as 1 Gbps by Gigabit Ethernet is not necessary. For example, 10 Mbps is sufficient, so that the IP telephone device alone does not originally need Gigabit Ethernet. Can be used.

  However, as described above, the general technology cannot suppress the power of the LAN port used by the IP telephone apparatus. For this reason, general technology cannot cope with this problem that power is wasted in spite of the fact that a device that requires gigabit communication such as an information processing terminal is not connected.

  And as the power consumption increases as in Gigabit Ethernet, it also leads to heat generation of the device, which can cause further adverse effects such as a higher device failure rate and a shorter device life. Conceivable.

  Therefore, the present invention has a plurality of ports, and a part of the ports, such as an IP telephone device that needs to be always communicable, can be used without changing the setting by the user. An object of the present invention is to provide a communication device, a power consumption suppression method, and a power consumption suppression program capable of suppressing power consumption for all ports.

According to a first aspect of the present invention, there is provided a communication device, a first connection unit for connecting a device in the network to the communication device via the first link, and a terminal connected to the second link. A second connection unit for connecting to the communication device via the communication, the communication performed by the terminal with the device via the first link and the second link, or the device Relay the communication performed with another device via the second connection unit, and when the terminal is connected to the second connection unit via the second link in a state where communication is possible, When the communication speed available for communication is inquired to the terminal, and the response to the inquiry includes a plurality of communication speeds as the first communication speed, the communication speed is higher than the other communication speeds. as a first communication speed also according to communication speed to the type of the terminal Serial first determines the baud rate to be set to the link, when the terminal via the second link to the second connecting part is not connected in a communicable state, the first A communication apparatus is provided that determines a communication speed to be set for the second link as a second communication speed lower than any of the plurality of different speeds included in the first communication speed.

According to a second aspect of the present invention, there is provided a power consumption suppression method performed by a communication device for connecting a device in a network to the communication device performing the power consumption suppression method via a first link. The communication device that performs the power consumption suppression method includes: a first connection unit; and a second connection unit that connects a terminal to the communication device that performs the power consumption suppression method via a second link. Relaying the communication performed with the device or the communication performed with the other device via the device via the first link and the second link by the terminal, and the second When the terminal is connected to the connection unit via the second link in a communicable state, the terminal inquires of the terminal about the communication speed available for communication, Multiple communication speeds are included as one communication speed If it has, the first of said first baud rate to be set to the link as the communication speed of the communication speed than other communication speed among the communication speed according to the type of the terminal of the plurality of If the terminal is not connected to the second connection unit via the second link in a communicable state, the communication speed set for the first link is set to the first link. A power consumption suppression method is provided, wherein the second communication speed is determined to be lower than any of the plurality of different speeds included in the communication speed.

According to a third aspect of the present invention, there is provided a communication device, a first connection unit for connecting a device in the network to the communication device via the first link, and a terminal connected to the second link. A second connection unit for connecting to the communication device via the communication, the communication performed by the terminal with the device via the first link and the second link, or the device Relay the communication performed with another device via the second connection unit, and when the terminal is connected to the second connection unit via the second link in a state where communication is possible, When the communication speed available for communication is inquired to the terminal, and the response to the inquiry includes a plurality of communication speeds as the first communication speed, the communication speed is higher than the other communication speeds. as a first communication speed also according to communication speed to the type of the terminal Serial first determines the baud rate to be set to the link, when the terminal via the second link to the second connecting part is not connected in a communicable state, the first A computer is caused to function as a communication device that determines a second communication speed that is lower than any of the plurality of different speeds included in the first communication speed as a communication speed set for the link of the first power transmission speed. A suppression program is provided.

  According to the present invention, in a device such as an IP telephone apparatus that has a plurality of ports and that needs to be in a state in which communication is possible for some ports at all times, the user does not change the setting without being aware of it. Thus, it is possible to suppress power consumption for all ports.

It is a block diagram showing the fundamental structure of the whole communication system which is embodiment of this invention. It is a functional block diagram showing the functional block contained in the power consumption suppression apparatus in embodiment of this invention. It is a figure showing the functional block for implement | achieving the power consumption control apparatus in embodiment of this invention with an IP telephone apparatus. It is an image figure showing the storage area in the memory | storage part contained in the IP telephone apparatus in embodiment of this invention. It is a flowchart showing the basic operation | movement of embodiment of this invention. It is a flowchart showing the detail of execution of the PHY transmission rate upper limit setting which notifies the upper limit of a transmission rate to PHY, and auto negotiation in embodiment of this invention.

  Next, embodiments of the present invention will be described in detail with reference to the drawings.

  First, the configuration of the embodiment of the present invention will be described with reference to FIGS. FIG. 1 is a diagram illustrating an entire communication system according to an embodiment of the present invention.

  Referring to FIG. 1, the communication system includes an IP telephone device 100, an information processing terminal 200, a hub device 300, and a main device 400.

  The IP telephone apparatus 100 is an apparatus that realizes a voice call by performing communication with the main apparatus in accordance with, for example, VoIP (Voice over Internet Protocol).

  IP telephone apparatus 100 also includes two ports, and functions as a hub using these two ports. Specifically, IP telephone apparatus 100 includes two ports, LAN port 110 and PC port 120. Here, the LAN port 110 is a port for connecting the IP telephone apparatus 100 to a network including the main apparatus 400 and the like. The PC port 120 is a port for the information processing terminal 200 to connect to the IP telephone device 100. The PC port 120 is also a port compliant with the LAN standard (that is, a LAN port). However, if the PC port 120 is referred to as the LAN port 120, it will be confused with the LAN port 110. ".

  Furthermore, the IP telephone apparatus 100 performs power consumption suppression processing as a function unique to this embodiment. Details of this processing will be described after the description of other devices in the communication system and the connection between the devices.

  The information processing terminal 200 is, for example, a personal computer, and communicates with other information processing apparatuses (for example, servers) in the communication system or an external network via the IP telephone apparatus 100 or the hub apparatus 300. In addition, illustration is abbreviate | omitted about the connection with another information processing apparatus and an external network.

  The hub device 300 does not have to be a hub specific to the present embodiment, and can be realized by, for example, a general-purpose switching hub.

  Main apparatus 400 is a private branch exchange for realizing a voice call by IP telephone apparatus 100. Main device 400 is realized by an IP telephone server. The main device 400 may be called by a name such as PBX (Private Branch exchange).

  Next, connection between devices will be described.

  IP telephone apparatus 100 is connected to hub apparatus 300 by a LAN cable inserted into LAN port 110. This connection is referred to as “first link 500” in the following description and drawings. Then, the IP telephone device 100 communicates with the main device 400 that is a host device via the first link 500 and the hub device 300. For this communication, a communication speed of 10 Mbps is sufficient, and the communication does not require a higher communication speed than that.

  On the other hand, IP telephone apparatus 100 is connected to information processing terminal 200 through a LAN cable inserted into PC port 120. This connection will be referred to as “second link 600” in the following description and drawings. The information processing terminal 200 communicates with another information processing apparatus in the communication system or an external network via the second link 600, the IP telephone apparatus 100, and the hub apparatus 300. This communication involves transmission / reception of a large-capacity file, etc., and is a communication requesting a high communication speed of 1 Gbps.

  Then, the outline of the power consumption suppression process peculiar to this embodiment is demonstrated.

  In the present embodiment, in a communication apparatus having a plurality of communication ports (for example, IP telephone apparatus 100), when communication in one communication port (for example, PC port 120) is not necessary, the other communication port (for example, LAN By changing the transmission speed of the port 110), the operation clock of the communication apparatus (for example, the IP telephone apparatus 100) is lowered, thereby suppressing power consumption. This is an outline of the power consumption suppression process unique to this embodiment.

  The power consumption suppression process (corresponding to the “power consumption suppression method” of the present invention) is performed by the power consumption suppression device 1000 (corresponding to the “communication device” of the present invention). Functional blocks of the power consumption suppression apparatus 1000 will be described with reference to FIG.

  Referring to FIG. 2A, the power consumption suppression apparatus 1000 includes a power consumption suppression unit 1001, a first connection unit 1002, and a second connection unit 1003.

  The first connection unit 1002 and the second connection unit 1003 correspond to the plurality of communication ports described above. Further, the power consumption suppression unit 1001 monitors the connection status of the first connection unit 1002 and the second connection unit 1003 and changes the transmission rate. In this description, these units are realized by functional blocks included in IP telephone apparatus 100. This point will be described with reference to FIG.

  FIG. 2B is a diagram illustrating functional blocks included in IP telephone apparatus 100, and particularly represents functional blocks for realizing power consumption suppression apparatus 1000.

  The IP telephone device 100 includes a LAN port 110, a PC port 120, a control unit 130, a storage unit 140, a first MAC (Media Access Controller) 150, a first PHY (Physical Layer) 160, a second MAC 170, a second MAC PHY 180 and bus 190. Devices corresponding to the functional blocks in these devices are connected to each other in the telephone device by a bus 190 that is a bus that physically connects the devices.

  The control unit 130 is a CPU (Central Processing Unit) that controls each device (hardware) by performing arithmetic processing based on a program (software) unique to the present embodiment.

  The storage unit 140 is a memory that stores data temporarily required for the control unit 130 to execute a program.

  The LAN port 110 and the PC port 120 are connectors for connecting LAN cables for forming the first link 500 and the second link 600, respectively.

  The first PHY 160 and the second PHY 180 are PHYs for connecting network devices, and convert electrical signals received by the LAN port 110 and the PC port 120 into logic signals. The first MAC 150 and the second MAC 170 analyze the MAC (Media Access Controller) frame of the logical signal converted by the first PHY 160 and the second PHY 180, respectively, so that each device in the apparatus handles the logical signal. Convert to format.

  As described above, in the present embodiment, the control unit 130 and the storage unit 140 illustrated in FIG. 2-2 correspond to the power consumption suppression unit 1001 illustrated in FIG.

  In this embodiment, the LAN port 110, the first PHY 160, and the first MAC 150 shown in FIG. 2-2 correspond to the first connection unit 1002 shown in FIG.

  In this embodiment, the PC port 120, the second PHY 180, and the second MAC 170 shown in FIG. 2-2 correspond to the second connection unit 1003 shown in FIG.

  In addition, the IP telephone device 100 according to the present embodiment has not only a plurality of Ethernet ports such as the LAN port 110 and the PC port 120, but further, according to the capability of the opposing device and the setting of the opposing device under the control of the control unit 130. It has an auto-negotiation function that automatically sets the transmission rate and duplex. Here, the opposite device is a device connected to the IP telephone device 100, for example, an information processing terminal connected via the hub device 300 or the second link 600 connected via the first link 500. It means 200.

  This auto-negotiation function conforms to the Ethernet standard, and FLP (Fast link pulse) burst, which is a signal for detecting the communication speed and communication mode supported by the opposite device between the connected devices. This is done by exchanging signals called. Then, the communication speed and communication mode supported by the opposite device are detected by analyzing the FLP burst from the opposite device, and the communication speed and communication mode supported by the detected opposite device are supported by itself. The communication speed and the communication mode to be used in communication are determined by comparing the communication speed and the communication mode.

  Specifically, the fastest communication speed and communication mode supported by both parties are selected, and communication is started according to the selected communication speed and communication mode. This auto-negotiation function is described in Patent Document 3, for example. Also, duplex automatic setting, which is one of the techniques for realizing the auto-negotiation function, can be realized by using, for example, the technique described in Patent Document 4.

  The IP telephone apparatus 100 uses these technologies to reset the transmission speed of the LAN port 110 according to the link status of the PC port 120 and perform auto-negotiation.

  Specifically, when the PC port 120 is linked up, the communication speed and communication mode supported by the IP telephone apparatus 100 are not only 10BaseT / Full duplex and 10BaseT / Half duplex, for example, but 1000BaseT / Full The FLP burst indicating that duplex and 1000BaseT / Half duplex are also supported is notified to the hub device 300 and the information processing terminal 200 which are opposing devices. As a result, if the hub device 300 and the information processing terminal 200 also support, for example, 1000BaseT / Full duplex or 1000BaseT / Half duplex, 1000BaseT / Full duplex or 1000BaseT / Half duplex is preferentially selected. Communication is performed at a communication speed of 1 Gbps on the link 500 and the second link 600.

  On the other hand, when the PC port 120 is not linked up, the communication speed and communication mode supported by the IP telephone apparatus 100 are, for example, 10BaseT / Full duplex and 10BaseT / Half duplex, and 1000BaseT / Full duplex or 1000BaseT / Half duplex Notifying the hub device 300 which is the opposite device of the FLP burst indicating that it is not supported. As a result, communication is performed at a communication speed of 10 Mbps on the first link 500, and power consumption can be suppressed.

  IP telephone apparatus 100 further includes a general functional block for functioning as an IP telephone apparatus. However, a general functional block for functioning as the IP telephone device is not the gist of the present embodiment, and thus illustration thereof is omitted in FIG. In addition, devices related to input / output, audio control, and the like for realizing these general functional blocks are well known to those skilled in the art, and a description thereof will be omitted.

  Next, the content of information stored in the storage unit 140 of the IP telephone device 100 will be described with reference to FIG.

  Referring to FIG. 3, the storage unit 140 includes a LAN port state information storage area 141, an auto negotiation setting information storage area 142, a PC port state information storage area 143, and a PHY transmission upper limit information storage area 144.

  Here, the LAN port state information storage area 141 is an area for storing information indicating the link state of the LAN port 110 of the IP telephone apparatus 100.

  Specifically, information indicating whether the LAN port 110 was linked up or not when the LAN port 110 was linked up last time is stored. That is, at the time of the previous confirmation, information indicating a connection state indicating whether or not the opposite device is connected to the LAN port 110 via the first link 500 is stored.

  The auto-negotiation setting information storage area 142 is an area for storing information representing auto-negotiation settings. This setting can be changed from the setting menu of the IP telephone apparatus 100 and is stored in this area.

  Examples of information representing the auto-negotiation setting include the first set that the communication speed and communication mode supported by the IP telephone apparatus 100 are “10BaseT / Full duplex and 10BaseT / Half duplex”, and the IP telephone apparatus. Information indicating two sets of the second set that the communication speed and communication mode supported by 100 are “10BaseT / Full duplex, 10BaseT / Half duplex, 1000BaseT / Full duplex and 1000BaseT / Half duplex”. Can be considered. And the control part 130 produces | generates a FLP burst based on either of these two sets according to whether the PC port 120 is link-up, and transmits to an opposing apparatus.

  In addition, information indicating whether the auto negotiation function is enabled or disabled is stored as information indicating the auto negotiation setting.

  The PC port state information storage area 143 is an area for storing information indicating the link state of the PC port 120 of the IP telephone apparatus 100.

  Specifically, information is stored as to whether the PC port 120 was linked up or not when the PC port 120 was linked up last time. That is, at the time of the previous confirmation, information indicating a connection state indicating whether or not the opposite device is connected to the PC port 120 via the second link 600 is stored.

  The PHY transmission upper limit information storage area 144 is an area for storing information indicating the upper limits of the transmission speeds of the first PHY 160 and the second PHY 180, and the upper limit of the transmission speed notified to the first PHY 160 and the second PHY 180. Saved. The first PHY 160 and the second PHY 180 communicate at a transmission rate within the notified upper limit range.

  Next, the operation of this embodiment will be described in detail with reference to the flowcharts of FIGS.

  FIG. 4 shows a series of processing of this embodiment in which the link state of the LAN port 110 and the PC port 120 is monitored, and the PHY transmission rate upper limit setting and auto-negotiation are executed when there is a change in each port. It is an example of the flowchart to represent. Details of the PHY transmission rate upper limit setting and the execution of auto negotiation will be described later with reference to FIG.

  First, the control unit 130 reads information related to the auto-negotiation setting from the auto-negotiation setting information storage area 142 of the storage unit 140, and determines whether the auto-negotiation function is enabled or disabled (step S11). .

  Here, when the auto-negotiation function is disabled (No in step S11), that is, when the transmission rate is fixed, the present embodiment for changing the transmission rate does not function effectively, and therefore, this embodiment is unique. The process ends without performing it.

  On the other hand, when the auto-negotiation is valid (Yes in step S11), the control unit 130 determines from the LAN port state information storage area 141 and the PC port state information storage area 143 the connection state and PC port of the LAN port 110 confirmed last time. 120 connection state is read. Further, the control unit 130 acquires the current connection state of each of the LAN port 110 and the PC port 120 from the LAN port 110 and the PC port 120 via the MAC 150 and MAC 170 and the PHY 160 and PHY 180. Then, the control unit 130 compares the previous connection state of the LAN port 110 and the PC port 120 with the current connection state of the LAN port 110 and the PC port 120 acquired this time. Since the connection state of the LAN port 110 and the connection state of the PC port 120 confirmed last time are not stored in the first place for some reason, such as whether the connection state has changed or the step S12 is performed for the first time, the LAN It is determined whether the connection state of the port 110 and the connection state of the PC port 120 are initial values (step S12).

  If there is no change in the LAN port 110 or the PC port 120 (No in step S12), the monitoring of the LAN port and PC port status is continued at a regular cycle (step S12).

  On the other hand, if there is a change in the connection state of either or both of the LAN port 110 and the PC port 120, or if the previous state is not stored (Yes in step S12), the process proceeds to step S13.

  In step S13, the control unit 130 saves the current LAN port connection state in the LAN port state information storage area 141 and the current PC port connection state in the PC port state information storage area 143 (step S13).

  Then, PHY transmission speed upper limit setting and auto negotiation execution processing are performed (step S14). Note that the monitoring of the LAN port and PC port status continues at regular intervals even after step S14 ends (step S12).

  Next, step S14 described above will be described in more detail with reference to FIG. FIG. 5 is a flowchart showing details of the PHY transmission rate upper limit setting and the auto negotiation performed to notify the PHY of the upper limit of the transmission rate according to the link state of the LAN port 110 and the PC port 120 performed in step S14 described above.

  First, the control unit 130 reads information representing the connection state of the LAN port 110 stored in the LAN port state information storage area 141 of the storage unit 140, and determines whether or not the LAN port 110 is linked up ( Step S14-1). If the LAN port 110 is not linked up (No in step S14-1), the present embodiment for changing the transmission rate does not function effectively, and the process unique to this embodiment is terminated.

  On the other hand, if the LAN port 110 is linked up (Yes in step S14-1), the control unit 130 then displays information indicating the connection state of the PC port 120 stored in the PC port state information storage area 143. It is read and it is determined whether or not the PC port 120 is linked up (step S14-2).

  Here, when the PC port 120 is linked up (Yes in step S14-2), gigabit communication with a transmission rate of 1 Gbps is performed so that the transmission rate requested by the information processing terminal 200 can be satisfied. Therefore, the control unit 130 first reads the PHY transmission upper limit information storage area 144 and determines the upper limits of the current transmission rates of the first PHY 160 and the second PHY 180 (step S14-3).

  If the upper limit of the current transmission rate of the first PHY 160 and the second PHY 180 is already gigabit (Yes in step S14-3), the process is terminated without doing anything.

  On the other hand, if the upper limit of the current transmission rate of the first PHY 160 and the second PHY 180 is, for example, 10 megabits at a transmission rate of 10 Mbps and is not gigabit (No in step S14-3), through the first MAC 150, Gigabit is set as the upper limit of the transmission speed to the first PHY 160. Similarly, gigabit is set as the upper limit of the transmission rate to the second PHY 180 through the second MAC 170 (step S14-4).

  Then, the fact that the upper limit of the transmission speed of the first PHY 160 and the second PHY 180 is gigabit is stored in the PHY transmission upper limit information storage area 144 (step S14-5).

  On the other hand, if the LAN port 110 is linked up but the PC port 120 is not linked up (No in step S14-2), the information processing terminal 200 is not connected. For this reason, low-speed 10 megabit communication, which is a transmission rate that sufficiently satisfies the requirements of the IP telephone device 100, is performed. Therefore, the control unit 130 first reads the PHY transmission upper limit information storage area 144 and determines the upper limits of the current transmission rates of the first PHY 160 and the second PHY 180 (step S14-6).

  If the upper limit PHY transmission rate of the current first PHY 160 and second PHY 180 is already 10 megabits (Yes in step S14-6), the process is terminated without doing anything.

  On the other hand, when the upper limit of the current transmission rate of the first PHY 160 and the second PHY 180 is, for example, a gigabit bit having a transmission rate of 1 Gbps and not 10 megabits (No in step S14-6), the first MAC 150 passes through the first MAC 150. Then, 10 megabits is set to the first PHY 160 as the upper limit of the transmission rate. Similarly, 10 megabits is set as the upper limit of the transmission rate to the second PHY 180 through the second MAC 170 (step S14-7).

  Then, the fact that the upper limit of the transmission rate is 10 megabits is stored in the PHY transmission upper limit information storage area 144 (step S14-8).

  Thereafter, the control unit 142 sends an auto-negotiation command to the first PHY 160, and the first PHY 160 executes auto-negotiation at the upper limit set above (step S14-9).

  As a result, the transmission speed of communication performed via the first link 500 can be suppressed to 10 Mbps. As a result, the consumption is not only in the PC port 120 that is not linked up but also in the LAN port 110 that is linked up. It becomes possible to suppress electric power.

  As a result, in a device such as an IP telephone device that has a plurality of ports and that needs to be in a state where communication is always possible with respect to some of the ports, all the settings are made without the user having to change the settings. It is possible to solve the problem of reducing power consumption for the other ports.

  Although the present embodiment described above is a preferred embodiment of the present invention, the scope of the present invention is not limited only to the above-described embodiment, and various modifications are made without departing from the gist of the present invention. Implementation in the form is possible. As an example, three modified examples will be described below. In addition, although the deformation | transformation in these three modifications is materialized independently, it is also possible to combine the deformation | transformation in three modifications.

  First, a first modification will be described.

  In the embodiment described above, the upper limit of the transmission rate stored in the PHY transmission upper limit information storage area 144 is common to the first PHY 160 and the second PHY 180. However, the upper limit of the transmission rate stored in the PHY transmission upper limit information storage area 144 may be made different between the first PHY 160 and the second PHY 180. For example, for the first PHY 160, the upper limit of the transmission rate of the first PHY 160 stored in the PHY transmission upper limit information storage area 144 is variable in gigabits or 10 megabits according to the link-up status of the PC port 120.

  On the other hand, for the second PHY 180, the upper limit of the transmission rate of the second PHY 180 stored in the PHY transmission upper limit information storage area 144 is fixed to gigabit regardless of the link-up status of the PC port 120. For the PC port 120, for example, the technique described in Patent Document 1 is used, and the supply of power is stopped in the unconnected state. This also has the effect that the power consumption can be suppressed at both the LAN port 110 and the PC port 120 as in the above-described embodiment.

  Next, a second modification will be described.

  In the present modification, when the PC port 120 is linked up, the transmission rates in the first link 500 and the second link 600 can be set in a plurality of stages.

  In the above description, the first set that the communication speed and communication mode supported by the IP telephone apparatus 100 are “10BaseT / Full duplex and 10BaseT / Half duplex” in the auto negotiation setting information storage area 102-2. And a second set in which the communication speed and communication mode supported by the IP telephone apparatus 100 are “10BaseT / Full duplex, 10BaseT / Half duplex, 1000BaseT / Full duplex, and 1000BaseT / Half duplex”. An example of storing information representing one set is shown.

  In this modification, instead of the second set, the communication speed and communication mode supported by the IP telephone apparatus 100 are “10BaseT / Full duplex, 10BaseT / Half duplex, 100BaseT2 / Full duplex, 100BaseT2 / Half duplex”. , 1000BaseT / Full duplex and 1000BaseT / Half duplex ”, and the communication speed and communication mode supported by the IP telephone apparatus 100 are“ 10BaseT / Full duplex, 10BaseT / Half duplex, 100BaseT2 / Full ”. Stores information representing a fourth set of “duplex, 100BaseT2 / Half duplex”.

  When the PC port 120 is linked up, the control unit 130 first generates an FLP burst based on the third set and transmits the FLP burst to the information processing terminal 200 that is the opposite device.

  If the information processing terminal 200 supports gigabit communication, an FLP burst indicating that gigabit communication is supported is transmitted from the information processing terminal 200. Therefore, transmission on the second link 600 is performed by the auto-negotiation function. The speed is 1 Gbps. In this case, the control unit 130 generates an FLP burst based on the third set, and transmits the FLP burst to the hub device 300 that is the opposite device. As a result, the transmission speed of the first link 500 is also 1 Gbps.

  Up to this point, it is almost the same as the above-described embodiment. However, there may be a case where the information processing terminal 200 does not support gigabit communication and only supports up to 100 megabit communication.

  In this case, since the FLP burst indicating that only 100 megabit communication is supported is transmitted from the information processing terminal 200, the transmission speed in the second link 600 is 100 Mbps by the auto-negotiation function. Therefore, in this case, the transmission speed on the first link 500 does not need to be 1 Gbps, and the transmission speed is 100 Mbps. Therefore, the control unit 130 generates an FLP burst based on the fourth set and transmits it to the hub device 300 that is the opposite device. As a result, the transmission speed in the first link 500 is also 100 Mbps.

  As described above, in the present modification, when the PC port 120 is linked up, the information processing terminal 200 supports the transmission rate in the first link 500 and the second link 600 without being determined uniformly. The transmission speed can be determined according to the communication speed. As a result, it is possible to prevent the occurrence of an inappropriate state in which the transmission rate in the first link 500 is 1 Gbps despite the transmission rate in the second link 600 being 100 Mbps. There is an effect.

  In addition, in the first link 500 and the second link 600, the number of communication speeds and communication modes supported by the stored IP telephone apparatus 100 is further increased in the auto negotiation setting information storage area 102-2. It is also possible to increase the settable transmission rate to many more stages.

  Next, a third modification will be described.

  In the embodiment described above, the IP telephone apparatus 100 includes one PC port 120. In this modification, this may be modified so that the IP telephone apparatus 100 is provided with a plurality of PC ports 120. If it is determined in step S14-2 that at least one of the PC ports 120 is linked up, YES is determined in step S14-2. If all the PC ports 120 are not linked up, step S14- 2 may be determined as No. In this way, only one LAN cable is connected to the IP telephone apparatus 100 at one desk, and two personal computers, such as a desktop type and a notebook type, can be simultaneously connected to the network on the one desk. There is an effect that becomes possible.

  In addition, said power consumption suppression apparatus is realizable with hardware, software, or these combination. The power consumption suppression method performed by the above power consumption suppression device can also be realized by hardware, software, or a combination thereof. Here, “realized by software” means realized by a computer reading and executing a program.

  The program may be stored using various types of non-transitory computer readable media and supplied to the computer. Non-transitory computer readable media include various types of tangible storage media. Examples of non-transitory computer readable media include magnetic recording media (for example, flexible disks, magnetic tapes, hard disk drives), magneto-optical recording media (for example, magneto-optical disks), CD-ROMs (Read Only Memory), CD- R, CD-R / W, and semiconductor memory (for example, mask ROM, PROM (Programmable ROM), EPROM (Erasable PROM), flash ROM, RAM (random access memory)). The program may also be supplied to the computer by various types of transitory computer readable media. Examples of transitory computer readable media include electrical signals, optical signals, and electromagnetic waves. The temporary computer-readable medium can supply the program to the computer via a wired communication path such as an electric wire and an optical fiber, or a wireless communication path.

  A part or all of the above-described embodiment can be described as in the following supplementary notes, but is not limited thereto.

(Additional remark 1) It is a communication apparatus, Comprising: The 1st connection part for connecting the apparatus in a network with the said communication apparatus via a 1st link, A terminal is connected with the said communication apparatus via a 2nd link A second connection for connecting,
Relaying communication with the device or communication with another device via the device via the first link and the second link by the terminal, and the second connection A communication speed set for the first link according to whether or not the terminal is connected to the communication unit via the second link in a communicable state.

(Supplementary note 2) The communication device according to supplementary note 1, wherein
When the terminal is connected to the second connection section via the second link, the communication speed set for the first link is set as the first communication speed, and the second connection section is connected to the second connection section. When the terminal is not connected in a communicable state via the second link, the communication speed set for the first link is set to a second communication speed lower than the first communication speed. A communication device characterized by:

(Supplementary note 3) The communication device according to supplementary note 1 or 2, wherein
Communication via the first link by the communication device, whether or not the communication via the second connection unit and the second link is performed with the terminal. The communication device is characterized by continuing communication with the device or communication with another device via the device.

(Supplementary note 4) The communication device according to supplementary note 3, wherein
The terminal is a terminal that performs communication with the device that requires the first communication speed or communication with another device through the device, and the communication device includes the second communication device. It is a communication device that does not need to the first communication speed in order to perform communication with the device that requires a communication speed or communication with another device through the device. Communication device.

(Supplementary note 5) The communication device according to any one of supplementary notes 2 to 4,
The first communication speed includes a plurality of communication speeds higher than the second communication speed, and the plurality of communication speeds are different from each other, and the second connection portion includes the second communication speed. A communication speed characterized in that any one of a plurality of communication speeds included in the first communication speed is set in the first link in accordance with a type of a terminal connected via the link. apparatus.

(Supplementary note 6) The communication device according to any one of supplementary notes 1 to 5,
The communication apparatus is an IP (Internet Protocol) telephone, and the first link is used for a purpose in which at least the communication apparatus, which is an IP telephone, communicates with the main apparatus.

(Additional remark 7) It is the power consumption control method which a communication apparatus performs, Comprising: The 1st connection part for connecting the apparatus in a network with the said communication apparatus which performs the said power consumption control method via a 1st link, The communication device that performs the power consumption suppression method includes a second connection unit for connecting a terminal to the communication device that performs the power consumption suppression method via a second link,
Relaying communication with the device or communication with another device via the device via the first link and the second link by the terminal, and the second connection And determining a communication speed to be set for the first link according to whether or not the terminal is connected in a communicable state via the second link. .

(Additional remark 8) It is a communication apparatus, Comprising: The 1st connection part for connecting the apparatus in a network with the said communication apparatus via a 1st link, A terminal is connected with the said communication apparatus via a 2nd link A second connection for connecting,
Relaying communication with the device or communication with another device via the device via the first link and the second link by the terminal, and the second connection Causing the computer to function as a communication device that determines a communication speed to be set for the first link depending on whether the terminal is connected to the communication unit via the second link in a communicable state. A power consumption control program characterized by

  The application of the present invention is not limited to IP telephones, and in a communication device having a plurality of ports, the transmission rate is variable when it does not become a relay point for high-speed communication, thereby reducing power consumption. Widely suitable for use.

100 IP telephone apparatus 110 LAN port 120 PC port 130 Control unit 140 Storage unit 141 LAN port state information storage area 142 Auto-negotiation setting information storage area 143 PC port state information storage area 144 PHY transmission upper limit information storage area 150 First MAC
160 First PHY
170 Second MAC
180 Second PHY
190 Bus 200 Information processing terminal 300 Hub device 400 Main device 1000 Power consumption suppression device 1001 Power consumption suppression unit 1002 First connection unit 1003 Second connection unit

Claims (6)

A communication device, a first connection for the devices in the network via a first link connected with the communication device, for connecting with the communication device terminal via the second link A second connecting portion, and
Relaying communication with the device via the first link and the second link by the terminal or communication with another device via the device;
When the terminal is connected to the second connection unit through the second link in a communicable state, the terminal inquires the terminal about a communication speed that can be used for communication. When the response includes a plurality of communication speeds as the first communication speed , the first communication speed higher than the other communication speeds among the plurality of communication speeds is set according to the type of the terminal. determining the communication speed to be set in the as communication speed first link,
When the terminal is not connected to the second connection unit via the second link in a communicable state, the first communication speed includes a communication speed set for the first link. The communication apparatus determines a second communication speed that is lower than any of the plurality of different speeds . The communication device according to claim 1 ,
Communication via the first link by the communication device, whether or not the communication via the second connection unit and the second link is performed with the terminal. The communication device is characterized in that the communication performed with the device or the communication performed with another device via the device is continued. The communication device according to claim 1 or 2 ,
The terminal is a terminal that performs communication with the device that requires the first communication speed or communication with another device through the device, and the communication device includes the second communication device. It is a communication device that does not need to the first communication speed in order to perform communication with the device that requires a communication speed or communication with another device through the device. Communication device. The communication device according to any one of claims 1 to 3 ,
The communication apparatus is an IP (Internet Protocol) telephone, and the first link is used for a purpose in which at least the communication apparatus, which is an IP telephone, communicates with the main apparatus. A power consumption suppression method performed by a communication device, wherein a first connection unit for connecting a device in a network to the communication device performing the power consumption suppression method via a first link, and a terminal as a second The communication device performing the power consumption suppression method includes a second connection unit for connecting to the communication device performing the power consumption suppression method via the link.
Relaying communication with the device via the first link and the second link by the terminal or communication with another device via the device;
When the terminal is connected to the second connection unit through the second link in a communicable state, the terminal inquires the terminal about a communication speed that can be used for communication. When the response includes a plurality of communication speeds as the first communication speed, the first communication speed higher than the other communication speeds among the plurality of communication speeds is set according to the type of the terminal. determining the baud rate to be set to the first link as the communication speed,
When the terminal is not connected to the second connection unit via the second link in a communicable state, the first communication speed includes a communication speed set for the first link. A method for suppressing power consumption, wherein the second communication speed is determined to be lower than any of the plurality of different speeds. A communication device for connecting a device in a network to the communication device via a first link and a terminal for connecting the terminal to the communication device via a second link A second connection part,
Relaying communication with the device via the first link and the second link by the terminal or communication with another device via the device;
When the terminal is connected to the second connection unit through the second link in a communicable state, the terminal inquires the terminal about a communication speed that can be used for communication. When the response includes a plurality of communication speeds as the first communication speed, the first communication speed higher than the other communication speeds among the plurality of communication speeds is set according to the type of the terminal. determining the baud rate to be set to the first link as the communication speed,
When the terminal is not connected to the second connection unit via the second link in a communicable state, the first communication speed includes a communication speed set for the first link. A computer program for causing a computer to function as a communication device that determines a second communication speed lower than any of the plurality of different speeds.

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