JPH08101736A - Information processing system - Google Patents

Abstract

PURPOSE: To reduce the power consumption by supplying electric power to some units in other devices from an information processor and making the units usable even if the main power source on the side where the electric power is supplied is OFF. CONSTITUTION: In the information processing system wherein devices A-C are connected by one interface, each device is equipped with a power circuit 5, which supplies electric power to the circuits in the device. Here, a unit 4 such as a magnetic recording device in the device C is supplied with the electric power not from the power source circuit 5 of the device C, but from the power line 1 on the interface, and consequently even if the power source of the device C turns OFF, the unit 4 in the device C is ready to operate, so that the devices A or B can access the unit 4 in the device C without monitoring the power source of the device C. Consequently, the internal unit of the connected device can be used with small power consumption.

Description

Detailed Description of the Invention

[0001]

BACKGROUND OF THE INVENTION 1. Field of the Invention The present invention relates to a power supply technology for an information processing system. Specifically, an information processing system in which an information processing device such as a word processor or a personal computer is connected to a peripheral device such as a printer device, a digital copying machine or a facsimile, an information processing device such as a word processor or a personal computer, and an information processing device such as a word processor or a personal computer. An information processing system connected to a device is the subject of the present invention. An information processing system including a relatively large information processing device such as a desktop computer and a relatively small information processing device such as a portable computer is also an object of the present invention.

[0002]

2. Description of the Related Art Japanese Unexamined Patent Application Publication No. 03-222555 provides a system for monitoring and controlling two systems by providing means for turning on / off the power of another device by recognizing the device as a main device. Techniques have been developed that allow devices to switch from one to the other.

[0003]

However, in this prior art, since the device itself turns on / off the power of the other device, when the unit in the other device is used, the power of the entire device must be turned on. Therefore, the power consumption of the entire system is large.

The present invention has been made in view of the above points, and an object of the present invention is to provide an information processing system capable of using an internal unit of a device connected with less power consumption.

Another object of the present invention is to provide an information processing system in which even if the main power supply of the device is turned off, the units in the device can be used by other devices and the power consumption can be reduced.

Also, by allowing the secondary battery to be charged from another device, the operating time of the battery can be extended, and the secondary battery and the device including the secondary battery can be used for a long time. The purpose is to provide an information processing system that enables

It is another object of the present invention to provide a low power consumption information processing system capable of further reducing power consumption by supplying power only when the internal unit is used.

[0008]

In order to achieve the above object, the present invention is an information processing system in which an information processing device and another device are connected by a cable, and the information processing device is part of another device. The main power supply on the power supply side is turned off by supplying power to some units in the information processing device from another unit or from another device.
Even if it is set, a unit to which power is supplied from the power supply side can be used.

Further, the power supply is used for the charging current of the secondary battery to which the power is supplied so that the battery can be used for a long time.

Further, the information processing system is such that a control circuit is provided so as not to supply power when a unit in another device is not used, and power is supplied only when the unit is used.

[0011]

According to the present invention, even when a part of the unit in another device is accessed from the information processing device or a part of the unit in the information processing device is used from another device, it is accessed. It can be performed with the main power supply on the side turned off.

[0012]

DETAILED DESCRIPTION OF THE PREFERRED EMBODIMENTS Embodiments of the present invention will be specifically described below with reference to the accompanying drawings. As shown in FIG. 1, the devices A, B,
In an information processing system in which C is connected by one interface, each device has a power supply circuit 5 and supplies power to the circuits in the device itself.

The interface connecting the respective devices is composed of a power supply line 1, a signal line 2 and a ground line 3 for data transfer between the devices. Here, the power of the unit 4 (for example, a magnetic recording device, an optical disk storage device, etc.) in the device C is not taken from the power circuit 5 of the device C, but is taken from the power line 1 on the interface. Even if the power is turned off, the device C
The inner unit 4 is in a ready state. Device A or B
Is a unit 4 in C without monitoring the power supply of device C.
Will be able to access.

That is, when the unit 4 is, for example, a magnetic recording device or an optical disk storage device, the device A or B is used.
Reads the data stored in the magnetic recording device, the optical disk storage device or the like via the signal line 2 without monitoring the power source of the device C, or sends the data to the magnetic recording device, the optical disk storage device or the like in the signal line 2 It can be sent and stored via. The device using the unit 4 is, of course, powered on, so that only the device used (eg A) can be used even if the other device (B or C) is off. become.

Next, as shown in FIG. 2, when the main power source of the device is a secondary battery, the supply from the power supply line 1 on the interface is used to charge the secondary battery.
If even one of the devices connected by the interface is turned on, it will be charged, and the charging time will be extended and the secondary battery can be used for a long time.

Next, as shown in FIG. 3, by providing a control circuit 6 for turning on / off the power supply to the power supply line 1 on the interface, the power is turned on only when the unit 4 in another device is used. be able to. In the configuration of FIG. 1, when only the device A is powered on, the unit 4 in the device C is always powered on even when the device A is not used.
Therefore, the power is wasted. But,
By providing the control circuit 6 for turning on / off the power supply, the power of the unit can be turned on only when necessary.

As an example, let us consider the configuration of an information processing system including an apparatus A and an apparatus B as shown in FIG. here,
The device A is a notebook personal computer (personal computer) that is portable and used at the destination, and the device B is a medium-sized desktop personal computer (personal computer) used in the office. The device B used as the main has a large-capacity hard magnetic disk recording device (HDD) 7 and stores many databases. Devices A and B are
Power line 1, signal line 2, and ground line 3
It is connected by an interface with.

As an example of an interface composed of these lines, a scuzzy interface (SCS) is used.
I interface). However, the power supply line of the SCSI interface is for supplying power to the terminating resistor, and is not intended to supply power to the unit 4.

When both the devices A and B are powered on, each device can access the unit 4 of the other device. Further, according to the configuration shown in FIG. 1, even if the device B is OFF, the HDD 7 in the device B can be accessed from the device A, and necessary data can be stored in the HDD in the device A (non-volatile memory when there is no HDD). After storing to device A, device A and device B can be disconnected and device A can be carried. Then, when he returns to the office again, device A and device B
After connecting, the device A can be used without turning on the device B.
The updated data in the HDD can be transferred to the HDD 7 in the device B.

On the contrary, even if the power of the device A is not turned on, if the power of the device B is turned on, after copying the necessary data from the device B to the HDD 7 in the device A, the device is disconnected and held. After returning to the office again and connecting the devices A and B, the updated data in the HDD 7 of the device A can be retrieved from the device B without turning on the device A.

According to the configuration of FIG. 2, if the device B is turned on in the office, the device A is turned off even if the device A is turned off.
If the device A and the device B are connected to each other, the secondary battery in the device A will be charged, and the device A can be used for a long time even when the device A is used at the destination. HD from device A to device B
When accessing D7, the configuration of FIG. 1 allows access even if the device B is OFF. However, since power is supplied to the HDD 7 in the device B even when the device B is OFF, the power consumption of the device A increases. , When using a secondary battery, the usage time will be shortened.

However, according to the configuration of FIG. 3, the power supply can be controlled, the power can be supplied only when the HDD 7 in the device B is accessed, and the power consumption can be further reduced.

[0023]

As described above, according to the present invention, it is possible to provide an information processing system capable of using the internal unit of a connected device with less power consumption. Further, even if the main power supply of the device is turned off, the unit in the device can be used by another device, and an information processing system that can reduce power consumption can be supplied. It is possible to provide an information processing system capable of prolonging the usage time of the battery by enabling the device from the above, and enabling the long-term use of the secondary battery and the device including the secondary battery. I can. Furthermore, by supplying power only when the internal unit is used, it becomes possible to supply a low power consumption information processing system capable of further reducing power consumption.

[Brief description of drawings]

FIG. 1 is a schematic explanatory view showing one embodiment of the present invention.

FIG. 2 is a schematic explanatory view showing another embodiment of the present invention.

FIG. 3 is a schematic explanatory view showing another embodiment of the present invention.

FIG. 4 is a schematic explanatory view showing another embodiment of the present invention.

[Explanation of symbols]

 1 power supply line 2 signal line 3 ground line 4 unit 5 power supply circuit 6 control circuit 7 HDD

Claims (3)

[Claims] 1. In an information processing system in which an information processing apparatus and the information processing apparatus and another apparatus are connected by a cable, the information processing apparatus sends information to a part of another apparatus or information from another apparatus. By supplying power to some units in the processing device, even if the main power supply on the power supply side is turned off, it is possible to use the unit to which power is supplied from the power supply side. An information processing system characterized by the above. 2. The information processing system according to claim 1, wherein the battery is enabled to be used for a long time by using the power supply for the charging current of the secondary battery to which the power is supplied. 3. A control circuit for not supplying power when a unit in another device is not used, and power is supplied only when the unit is used.
Information processing system described.