JPH10143291A - Information processor - Google Patents

Abstract

PROBLEM TO BE SOLVED: To improve the use convenience of a suspending function by executing a suspending RAM when the frequency of use exceeds a fixed value and a user tries to use the suspending function and executing a suspending disk in the other time. SOLUTION: A keyboard operation monitoring device 1 always monitors the operating conditions of a keyboard 3 and investigates how much the keyboard 3 is used within a fixed time. Besides, a timer is provided for measuring the value of a counter within the fixed time. When the counter value is more than a predetermined threshold value, it is judged the frequency of use of the keyboard 3 is high, and the suspending RAM is started for speedily executing the processing of suspending and resuming. When the counter value is less than the threshold value, it is judged the frequency of use of the keyboard 3 is low, and the suspending disk is started for reducing power consumption during suspending although it takes long time for suspending and resuming processing.

Description

DETAILED DESCRIPTION OF THE INVENTION

[0001]

The present invention relates to an information processing apparatus such as a personal computer having a suspend function.

[0002]

2. Description of the Related Art In recent years, information processing apparatuses such as personal computers often have a power saving function for prolonging an operation time when a battery is driven or for environmental protection.

Among the power saving functions, as a method of suspending the system when the computer is not used for a relatively long time, Japanese Patent Laid-Open Publication No. Hei 7-44469 entitled "Desktop Computer System with Zero Volt System Suspend" A method is described in which almost all system states such as the state of registers of ICs and LSIs including a CPU and the contents of a RAM and the like are stored in a hard disk to reduce power consumption to almost zero (hereinafter, a suspend disk).

Further, a method of saving the state of the system in a RAM (hereinafter referred to as a suspend RAM) has been put to practical use.

The suspend disk stores the system state in a hard disk which is a non-volatile storage device. Therefore, a power supply of almost all devices except a power supply to a RAM (usually a CMOS RAM) for storing a system timer and system settings is used. Supply can be eliminated. In the state of the suspended disk, the power consumption is very small, almost the same as the power off state,
High power saving effect.

However, it takes time to save a large amount of information on the hard disk in order to shift to the suspend disk state to save the state of the system on the hard disk or to recover from the state (hereinafter, resume).

On the other hand, the suspend RAM stores the state of the system in the RAM. Normally, in this system, some devices in the system completely turn off the power, but in many cases, the operating frequency is lowered or the device shifts to a power saving mode. In addition, R
The information on the AM is kept as it is, and the information of each device to be in the power saving mode is stored in an empty area if necessary. As can be seen from the above description, the suspend RAM requires more power than the suspend disk, but has the advantage that the transition to the suspend state and the resume are much faster than the suspend disk because information is stored on the RAM. ing.

Computers that place importance on portability and have a suspend function include suspend disks,
Many suspend RAMs are equipped with both methods to take advantage of the advantages and disadvantages of each. Computers that use this method have a switch that shifts the system state to the suspend RAM or a switch that shifts to the suspend disk, and the user determines whether to shift to the suspend RAM or the suspend disk, and Press the appropriate switch to shift to the suspend state.

Further, a suspend disk, a suspend R
Instead of having a dedicated switch for AM, it has one suspend switch, and the user can set which suspend method to perform, so that when the suspend switch is pressed, the suspend function of the method set by the user works. There is something that is.

FIG. 17 is a schematic block diagram of a personal computer in a format in which the user can set the suspend mode.

This computer has a CPU 104 and an RO
M106, RAM 105, nonvolatile RAM 114, bus 1
13, a chipset 107 including a controller for controlling other peripheral devices 108, a hard disk controller 109 connected to a bus 113, a hard disk 110 connected thereto, a communication port controller 111, a communication port 112, a keyboard controller 102, a keyboard 103, a suspend It is composed of keys 101 and the like. The RAM 106 stores a program for a suspend process.

A RAM 105 is a RAM serving as a main memory for executing programs, and a non-volatile RAM 114 is used for storing system settings. The settings are normally stored even if the power of the computer is turned off by a backup battery. Information on whether the user has selected a disk or a suspend RAM as the suspend method is stored in the nonvolatile RAM.
114 is stored at a specific address.

FIG. 18 is a flow chart showing a transition to the suspend state. The user can select a suspend disk or a suspend R before performing the suspend operation.
Set whether to use AM. The setting contents are stored in the nonvolatile RAM (114 in FIG. 17) as described above. When the computer is in the normal operation state (S180
When the user presses the suspend key in 1) (S180)
2), a ROM (a program for suspend processing stored in 106 in FIG. 17) is activated, and the operation of the program for suspend processing will be described below.

First, a suspend setting portion in the nonvolatile RAM (114 in FIG. 17) is read to determine whether to execute the suspend disk or the suspend RAM (S1803).

If the suspend disk is set, the process of the suspend disk is executed (S1804).

That is, the state of each device is sequentially written to the hard disk (110 in FIG. 17), and the nonvolatile RA
The fact that the suspended disk has been inserted is recorded in M (114 in FIG. 17) (S1805).

This information is information for determining whether to resume from the suspended disk state when the power is turned on or to turn on the power normally. Turn off the power after finishing those processes. On the other hand, if the suspend RAM has been set, the process of the suspend RAM is executed (S1806). That is, each device is set to the power saving mode and enters the suspend state (S1807).

FIG. 19 shows a flowchart of the operation at the time of resuming from the suspend disk.

In the suspend state, the power is turned off (S
1901), the system starts to be activated by the power switch (S1902).

During boot, the boot program is non-volatile R
By reading the AM (114 in FIG. 17), it is determined whether the resume from the suspend disk is normal power ON (S19).
03).

If the resume is from the suspend, the resume processing program in the ROM (106 in FIG. 17) operates.

Each device is initialized, information at the time of suspend is read out from the hard disk, set, and resume processing is performed (S1904).

If the power is on normally, normal initialization processing is performed and the computer is started (S1906).

In this way, the operation returns to the normal operation state (S
1905).

As shown in the flow chart of FIG. 20, when the user presses the resume switch in the suspend RAM state (S2001) as shown in the flowchart of FIG. 20, the resume program in the ROM (106 in FIG. 17) operates (S2002). Each device is returned to the normal operation state, the necessary devices are subjected to initialization processing (S2003), and then returned to the normal operation state (S200).
4).

[0026]

As a method of suspending, the system does not have a function of automatically switching between the suspend RAM and the suspend disk, so that the user can understand the advantages and disadvantages of the suspend RAM and the suspend disk and use the keyboard. It is necessary to comprehensively determine the usage status, the display status of the display, and the access status of the communication port, and explicitly switch between the two methods.

However, in the conventional example, no measures have been taken for the above problem at present.

[0028]

According to a first aspect of the present invention, there is provided an information processing apparatus having a suspend function of shifting to a standby state for power saving when an instruction is not executed within a predetermined period. The suspend function includes both suspend RAM means for saving the state of the system on a RAM and suspend disk means for saving the state of the system on a hard disk. Switching means for switching the two means during system operation, a keyboard, etc. An information processing apparatus, comprising: an input unit of (1), and a unit for monitoring an operation state of the input unit.

[0029] The information processing apparatus according to the second aspect is the first aspect.
An information processing apparatus according to any one of claims 1 to 3, further comprising a display output unit such as an LCD display, and a unit for monitoring an operation state of the output unit.

[0030] The information processing apparatus according to the third aspect is the first aspect.
An information processing apparatus according to claim 1, further comprising input / output means such as a communication port, and means for monitoring an operation state of said input / output means.

[0031]

DETAILED DESCRIPTION OF THE PREFERRED EMBODIMENTS An embodiment of the present invention will be described below in detail with reference to FIGS.

(Embodiment 1) FIG. 1 is a schematic diagram of a computer system for realizing the present invention.

This computer has a CPU 4 and a ROM
6, a RAM 5, a non-volatile RAM 15, a bus 13, a chip set 7 including a controller for controlling other peripheral devices 8, a hard disk controller 9 connected to the bus 13, a hard disk 10 connected thereto, a communication port controller 11, and a communication port 12. , A keyboard controller 2, a keyboard 3, a keyboard operation monitoring device 1 characteristic of the present invention, a suspend key 14, and the like.

The keyboard operation monitoring device 1 includes a keyboard 3
Is constantly monitoring the operating status of the keyboard to determine how much the keyboard is being used within a certain amount of time.

The keyboard operation monitoring device 1 includes a keyboard 3
Is a device that constantly monitors the usage status of

Access to the keyboard 3 is controlled by the keyboard controller 2.

Therefore, the keyboard operation monitoring device 1 constantly monitors the keyboard controller 2 to know the operation status of the keyboard 3, and is connected to the keyboard controller 2 so that when a key is accessed, the counter held by itself can be incremented. Have been.

Further, it has a timer for measuring the number of counters in a certain time, and a counter register for holding the number of counts in a certain time.

FIG. 2 is a flowchart of the operation of the keyboard operation monitoring device 1.

The keyboard operation monitoring device resets the value of a counter for counting the number of times of keyboard access to 0 first (S201) after the system is started (S202). Also, the value of the timer is reset to 0 (S203).

Next, the apparatus is in a state of waiting for access to the keyboard controller in a steady state where the keyboard is not used.

When there is no access to the keyboard controller, that is, when the keyboard is not used, this state is maintained, and only the timer is advanced (S204).

When an access to the keyboard controller occurs (S205), the counter is incremented by one, and the fact that the access has been performed once is recorded in the counter (S206).

Thereafter, it is checked whether a certain measurement time has elapsed (S207). If the measurement time has not yet come, the process returns to the keyboard controller access waiting state and waits for the keyboard controller access again (S20).
4).

Until a certain measurement time elapses, (S
The loop between steps 204) and (S207) is continuously looped and the number of accesses made is sequentially recorded in the counter.

If the measurement time has elapsed in (S207), it is written into the counter value counter register (S207).
208).

After that, the counter and the timer are reset (S202, S203), and the counting is started again (S204).

In this way, the latest value of the counter value indicating how much access has been made from the keyboard in a certain period of time is always written in the counter register. Even after the computer resumes from the suspended state, counting is performed in exactly the same flow. Also, when the value of the counter register is read before a certain measurement time elapses after the power is turned on or after the resume, the value of the counter register is set to 0, and the same value as when there is no keyboard access is returned.

Next, the operation state of the system in which the computer shifts to the suspend state is shown in the flowchart of FIG.

In a normal operation state (S301),
When the user presses the suspend key (14 in FIG. 1) to shift to the suspend state (S302), a program for suspend processing stored in the ROM (6 in FIG. 1) is activated.

The operation of the suspend processing program will be described below.

The suspend processing program determines whether to execute the suspend processing on a suspend disk or a suspend RAM, and then executes the suspend processing according to the determination.

First, the processing for determining the suspending method will be described.

First, the value of the counter register of the keyboard operation monitoring device is read (S303).

At this time, as described in the above description of the operation of the keyboard operation monitoring device, the register stores the current frequency of use of the keyboard within a certain period of time.

The suspending method is determined by regarding this as the use state of the keyboard when the suspend key is pressed.

After reading this value, the operation of the keyboard operation monitoring device becomes unnecessary, so that the power supply of this device is turned off (S304).

Since this device is reset at the time of resume (FIG. 2 (S201 to S203), there is no need to save information in particular at the time of suspending.
You just need to F. Next, the operation counter value of the keyboard read in (S303) is evaluated to determine a suspending method (S305).

That is, if the counter value is larger than a predetermined threshold value, it is determined that the keyboard is frequently used, and a transition is made to a suspend RAM in which suspend and resume processing can be performed quickly.

If the counter value is smaller than the threshold value, it is determined that the keyboard is infrequently used, and it takes time to perform the suspend and resume processes, but shifts to a suspend disk that consumes very little power during the suspend. To decide.

When the suspend setting is determined to be the suspend disk, the suspend processing program sets the suspend setting information stored in the nonvolatile RAM (15 in FIG. 1) so as to represent the suspend disk (S309). .

On the other hand, if the suspend setting is determined to be RAM, the suspend setting information is similarly stored in the suspend RA.
M is set so as to represent M (S306).

After performing the above processing, the normal suspend processing is performed. When the suspend processing is performed, the type of the suspend is determined based on the information in the nonvolatile RAM.
The computer executes the suspend disk or the suspend RAM (S307), and executes the suspend disk or the suspend RAM (S307).
The computer system enters the suspend state (S30).
8).

The processing at the time of resume will be briefly described.

FIG. 4 shows a flowchart of the processing.

From the suspend state (suspend disk or suspend RAM) (S401), normal resume processing similar to the prior art is performed (S402).

That is, when in the suspended disk state, the system is started from the power-off state, and it is determined whether the process is from the suspend disk or normal power-on processing, and the resume processing is performed. In the suspend RAM state, each device returns from the standby state to the normal state and is initialized. After the keyboard controller (2 in FIG. 1) and the keyboard (3 in FIG. 1) operate normally when resuming from the suspend state of either method, the power of the keyboard operation monitoring device (1 in FIG. 1) is turned on. (S403).

At this time, the keyboard operation monitoring device is initialized as described above. The above operation returns to the normal operation state (S404).

(Embodiment 2) FIG. 5 is a schematic diagram of a computer system for realizing the present invention.

This computer has a CPU 4 and a ROM
6, a RAM 5, a non-volatile RAM 15, a bus 13, a chip set 7 including a controller for controlling other peripheral devices 8, a hard disk controller 9 connected to the bus 13, a hard disk 10 connected thereto, a communication port controller 11, and a communication port 12. , A keyboard controller 2, a keyboard 3, a VRAM 16, a display controller 17, a display 18, a display operation monitoring device 1 characteristic of the present invention, a suspend key 14, and the like.

The display operation monitoring device 1 constantly monitors the operation status of the VRAM 16 and checks how much the VRAM is accessed within a predetermined time.

Since the display operation is performed by the procedure in which the display controller 17 reads out the result of writing the display data from the CPU 4 to the VRAM 16 and outputs a signal to the display 18, the display operation monitoring device 1 always accesses the VRAM 16. It is connected to the VRAM 16 so that it can monitor and increment its own counter when there is access to the VRAM 16. It also has a timer for measuring the number of counters in a certain time, and a counter register for holding the number of counts in a certain time.

FIG. 6 is a flowchart of the operation of the display operation monitoring device 1.

The display operation monitoring apparatus first resets the value of a counter for counting the number of accesses to the VRAM to 0 (S602) after the system is started.

The timer value is also reset to 0 (S6).
03).

Next, the apparatus is in a state of waiting for access to the VRAM, which is a steady state without access to the VRAM.
When there is no access to the VRAM, that is, when the display is stationary, this state is maintained, and only the timer is advanced (S604).

When an access to the VRAM occurs (S6
05), the counter is incremented by one, and the fact that there has been one access is recorded in the counter (S60).
4).

Thereafter, it is checked whether a certain measurement time has elapsed (S607). If the measurement time has not yet arrived, the process returns to the VRAM access waiting state and waits for the access to the VRAM again (S604).

Until a certain measurement time elapses, (S
The loop between 604 and S607) is continuously recorded in the counter as to how many times the access has been made.

If the measurement time has elapsed after (S607), the counter value is written to the counter register (S608).

Thereafter, the counter and the timer are reset (S602, S603), and the state is again started to count (S604).

In this way, the latest value of the counter value indicating how many times the VRAM has been accessed in a given time is always written in the counter register.

Even after the computer resumes from the suspended state, counting is performed in exactly the same flow.

When the value of the counter register is read out until a certain measurement time elapses after the power is turned on or after the resume, the value of the counter register is set to 0, and the same value as when the VRAM is not accessed is returned.

Next, the operation state of the system in which the computer shifts to the suspend state is shown in the flowchart of FIG.

In the normal operation state (S701),
When the user presses the suspend key (14 in FIG. 5) to shift to the suspend state (S702), a program for the suspend process stored in the ROM (6 in FIG. 5) is activated.

The operation of the suspend processing program will be described below.

The suspend processing program determines whether to perform the suspend processing on a suspend disk or a suspend RAM, and then executes the suspend processing according to the determination. First, a process for determining a suspend method will be described.

First, the value of the counter register of the display operation monitoring device is read (S703).

At this time, as described in the description of the operation of the display operation monitoring apparatus, the access frequency to the VRAM within a certain period of time at this time is stored in this register.

When the suspend key is pressed, the VRA
The suspending method is determined by regarding the use state of M.

After the reading of this value, the operation of the display operation monitoring device is no longer necessary.
FF is performed (S704).

Since this device is reset at the time of resuming ((S601 to S603 in FIG. 6), there is no need to save any information at the time of suspending.
All you have to do is flip-flop.

Next, the VRAM access counter value read in (S103) is evaluated to determine a suspending method (S105).

That is, if the counter value is larger than a predetermined threshold value, it is determined that the frequency of access to the VRAM is high, and it is determined to shift to the suspend RAM in which the suspend and resume processing can be performed quickly.

If the counter value is smaller than the threshold value, it is determined that the frequency of access to the VRAM is low, and it is determined that a transition is made to a suspend disk which requires a long time for suspend and resume processing but consumes very little power during suspension. .

If the suspend setting is determined to be the suspend disk, the suspend processing program sets the suspend setting information stored in the nonvolatile RAM (15 in FIG. 5) so as to represent the suspend disk (S709). .

On the other hand, if the suspend setting is determined to be RAM, the suspend setting information is similarly transferred to the suspend RA.
M is set to represent M (S706).

After the above processing is executed, the normal suspend processing is performed. When the suspend processing is performed, the above-described nonvolatile RAM is executed. When the suspend processing is performed, the above-described nonvolatile RAM is executed.
The type of the suspend is determined based on the information of the suspend disk, and the suspend disk or the suspend RAM is executed (S70).
7), the computer system enters a suspend state (S708).

The processing at the time of resume will be briefly described.

FIG. 8 shows a flowchart of the processing.

In the suspend state (from the suspend disk or the suspend RAM (S801), a normal resume process similar to the conventional technique is performed (S802).

That is, in the suspended disk state, the system is activated from the power-off state, and determines whether to resume from the suspend disk or to perform normal power-on processing to perform the resume processing.

In the suspend RAM state, each device returns from the standby state to the normal state and is initialized. After the display controller (17 in FIG. 5) and the VRAM (16 in FIG. 5) operate normally even when resuming from either of the suspend states, the power of the display operation monitoring device (1 in FIG. 5) is turned on. (S803).

At this time, the display operation monitoring device is initialized as described above. The above operation returns to the normal operation state (S804).

(Embodiment 3) FIG. 9 is a schematic diagram of a computer system for realizing the present invention.

This computer has a CPU 4 and a ROM
6, a RAM 5, a non-volatile RAM 15, a bus 13, a chip set 7 including a controller for controlling other peripheral devices 8, a hard disk controller 9 connected to the bus 13, a hard disk 10 connected thereto, a communication port controller 11, and a communication port 12. , A keyboard controller 2, a keyboard 3, a VRAM 16, a display controller 17, a display 18, a communication port operation monitoring device 1 characteristic of the present invention, a suspend key 14, and the like.

The communication port operation monitoring device 1 constantly monitors the operation status of the communication port controller 11 and checks how constantly the port 12 is accessed within a certain period of time. Since the communication operation is performed by the setting operation of the port controller 11 and the data transfer to the register in the communication of the CPU 4, the communication port operation monitoring device 1 constantly monitors the access to the communication port controller 11 and Is connected to the communication port controller 11 so that the own counter can be incremented. It also has a timer for measuring the number of counters in a certain time, and a counter register for holding the number of counts in a certain time.

FIG. 10 is a flowchart of the operation of the communication port operation monitoring device 1.

The communication port operation monitoring apparatus resets the value of the counter for counting the number of times of access to the communication port to 0 first (S1001) after the system is started (S1001).
2).

The timer value is also reset to 0 (S1).
003).

Next, the apparatus enters a steady state in which there is no access to the communication port, and waits for access to the communication port.

This state is maintained when there is no access to the communication port, that is, when the communication is stationary.
Only the timer is advanced (S1004).

When an access to the communication port occurs (S
1005) The counter is incremented by one and the fact that there has been one access is recorded in the counter (S10).
06). Thereafter, it is checked whether a certain measurement time has elapsed (S1007). If the measurement time has not yet arrived, the process returns to a state of waiting for access to the communication port (S100).
4).

Until a certain measurement time elapses, (S
1004 to S1007), the number of accesses made while continuing the loop is sequentially recorded in the counter.

If the measurement time has elapsed after (S1007), the counter value is written to the counter register (S1008).

After that, the counter and the timer are reset (S1002, S1003), and the counting is started again (S1004).

In this way, the latest value of the counter value indicating how many times the communication port has been accessed in a given time is always written in the counter register.

After the computer resumes from the suspend state, counting is performed in exactly the same flow.

When the value of the count register is read out until a certain measurement time elapses after the power is turned on or after the resume, the value is set to 0 and returns the same value as when there was no access to the communication port.

Next, the operation state of the system in which the computer shifts to the suspend state is shown in the flowchart of FIG.

When in a normal operation state (S1101)
When the user presses the suspend key (14 in FIG. 9) to shift to the suspend state (S1102), the ROM
A program for suspend processing stored in (6 in FIG. 9) starts.

The operation of the suspend processing program will be described below.

The suspend processing program determines whether to perform the suspend processing on the suspend disk or the suspend RAM, and then executes the suspend processing according to the determination.

First, the processing for determining the suspending method will be described.

First, the value of the count register of the communication port operation monitoring device is read (S1103).

At this time, as described in the description of the operation of the communication port operation monitoring device, the frequency of access to the communication port within a certain time at this time is stored in this register.

The suspending method is determined by regarding this as the state of use of the communication port when the suspend key is pressed. After reading this value, the operation of the communication port operation monitoring device becomes unnecessary, so the power supply of this device is turned off (S1104).

Since this device is reset at the time of resuming ((S1001 to S1003 in FIG. 10)), there is no need to save information particularly at the time of suspending, and it is only necessary to turn off the power.

Next, the suspending method is determined by evaluating the communication port access counter value read in (S1103) (S1105).

That is, if the counter value is larger than a predetermined threshold value, it is determined that the frequency of access to the communication port is high, and a transition is made to the suspend RAM in which the suspend and resume processing can be performed quickly.

If the counter value is smaller than the threshold value, it is determined that the frequency of access to the communication port is low, and it is determined to shift to a suspend disk that requires a long time for suspend and resume processing but consumes very little power during suspension. I do.

When the suspend setting is determined to be the suspend disk, the suspend processing program sets the suspend setting information stored in the nonvolatile RAM (15 in FIG. 9) so as to represent the suspend disk (S1109).

On the other hand, if the suspend setting is determined to be RAM, the suspend setting information is similarly transmitted to the suspend RA.
It is set to represent M (S1106).

After performing the above processing, the normal suspend processing is performed. When the suspend processing is performed, the type of the suspend is determined based on the information of the nonvolatile RAM, and the suspend disk or the suspend RAM is executed (S
1107), the computer system enters the suspend state (S1108).

The processing at the time of resume will be briefly described.

FIG. 12 shows a flowchart of the processing.

From the suspend state (suspend disk or suspend RAM) (S1201), normal resume processing similar to the prior art is performed (S120).
2).

That is, in the suspended disk state, the system is started from the power-off state, and it is determined whether the process is from the suspend disk or the normal power-on state, and the resume processing is performed.

In the suspend RAM state, each device returns from the standby state to the normal state and is initialized. The communication port controller (11 in FIG. 9) and the communication port (12 in FIG. 9) when resuming from the suspend state of either method.
Then, the power of the communication port operation monitoring device (1 in FIG. 9) is turned on (S1203).

At this time, the communication port operation monitoring device is initialized as described above.

The above operation returns to the normal operation state (S1204).

(Embodiment 4) FIG. 13 is a schematic diagram of a computer system for realizing the present invention.

This computer has a CPU 4 and a RAM.
5, a ROM 6, a non-volatile RAM 15, a bus 13, a chip set 7 including a controller for controlling other peripheral devices 8, a hard disk controller 9 connected to the bus 13, a hard disk 10 connected thereto, a communication port controller 11, a communication port 12 , A keyboard controller 2, a keyboard 3, a VRAM 16, a display controller 17, a display 18, and a keyboard operation monitoring device 1, a display operation monitoring device 19, a communication port operation monitoring device 20, and a suspend key 14, which are characteristic of the present invention. ing.

The operation of the keyboard operation monitoring device 1 (Example 1) and the operation of the display operation monitoring device 19 (Example 2)
The operation of the communication port operation monitoring device is as described in the third embodiment.

Next, the operation state of the system in which the computer shifts to the suspend state is shown in the flowcharts of FIGS.

In the normal operation state (S1401)
When the user presses the suspend key (14 in FIG. 13) to shift to the suspend state (S1402), the ROM
A program for suspend processing stored in (6 in FIG. 13) is activated.

The operation of the suspend processing program will be described below.

The suspend processing program determines whether to perform the suspend processing on the suspend disk or the suspend RAM, and then executes the suspend processing according to the determination.

First, the processing for determining the suspending method will be described.

First, the value of the counter register of the keyboard operation monitoring device is read (S1403).

At this time, as described in the above description of the operation of the keyboard operation monitoring device, the current usage frequency of the keyboard within a certain period of time is stored in this register.

The suspending method is determined by regarding this as the state of use of the keyboard when the suspend key is pressed. After reading this value, the operation of the keyboard operation monitoring device becomes unnecessary, so that the power supply of this device is turned off (S1404).

Since this device is reset at the time of resuming ((S201 to S203 in FIG. 2), there is no need to save any information at the time of suspending.
All you have to do is flip-flop.

Next, the value of the counter register of the display operation monitoring device is read (S1405).

At this time, as described in the description of the operation of the display operation monitoring apparatus, the frequency of access to the VRAM within a certain period of time at this time is stored in this register.

When the suspend key is pressed, the VRA
The suspending method is determined by regarding the use state of M.

After the reading of this value, the operation of the display operation monitoring device is no longer necessary.
FF is performed (S1406).

Since this device is reset at the time of resuming ((S601 to S603 in FIG. 6)), there is no need to save any information at the time of suspending, and it is only necessary to turn off the power.

Further, the value of the counter register of the communication port operation monitoring device is read (S1407). At this time, as described in the description of the operation of the communication port operation monitoring device, the frequency of access to the communication port within a predetermined time at this time is stored in this register.

The suspending method is determined by regarding this as the state of use of the communication port when the suspend key is pressed. After reading this value, the operation of the communication port operation monitoring device becomes unnecessary, so the power supply of this device is turned off (S1408).

Since this device is reset at the time of resuming (FIG. 10 (S1001 to S1003)), there is no need to save any information at the time of suspending, and it is only necessary to turn off the power.

Next, the keyboard operation counter value read in (S1403) and the VR value read in (S1405)
The suspend access method is determined by evaluating the AM access counter value and the communication port access counter value read in (S1407).

If any of the keyboard operation, the VRAM access, and the communication port operation is operating, the system is operating. Therefore, these are sequentially compared with the respective thresholds, and any one of them is compared. If any of the devices is operating above the threshold value, a suspend RAM is used. If none of the devices operate above the threshold value, a suspend disk is used.

That is, as shown in the flowchart of FIG. 15, the counter values of the keyboard are compared (S1409).
If higher than the threshold, suspend setting is suspended RA
M is set to M (S1413), and if lower, the counter value of the display operation is compared next (S1410).

In this case as well, if it is higher than the threshold value, the suspended RAM is set (S1413), and if it is lower than the threshold value, the counter value of the communication port is compared (S1411).

Similarly, if the value is higher than the threshold value, the counter value is set to the suspend RAM (S1413). If the value is lower than the threshold value, the counter value is low for all the devices, and the suspend setting is set to the suspend disk (S1412).

The processing for setting the suspend setting as the suspend disk is specifically described in the nonvolatile RAM (FIG. 13).
The suspend setting information stored in 15 is set so as to represent the suspend disk.
Similarly, the process of setting the suspend setting to RAM is to set the suspend setting information so as to represent the suspend RAM.

After the above processing is performed, the normal suspend processing is performed. When the suspend processing is performed, the type of the suspend is determined based on the information in the nonvolatile RAM.
The suspend disk or the suspend RAM is executed (S1414), and the computer system enters the suspend state (S1415).

The processing at the time of resume will be briefly described.

FIG. 16 is a flowchart of the process.

From the suspend state (suspend disk or suspend RAM) (S1601), normal resume processing similar to the prior art is performed (S160).
2). That is, when the disk is in the suspended state, the power is turned off.
F is started, and it is determined whether the resume from the suspend disk is the normal power-on process and the resume process is performed.

In the suspend RAM state, each device returns from the standby state to the normal state and is initialized.

When resuming from the suspend state of either system, the communication port controller (11 in FIG. 13), the communication port (12 in FIG. 13), and the display controller (FIG. 1)
3-17), VRAM (16 in FIG. 13), keyboard controller (2 in FIG. 13) and keyboard (3 in FIG. 13)
After the normal operation of the communication port, the communication port operation monitoring device (20 in FIG. 13) and the display operation monitoring device (1 in FIG. 13)
9), the power of the keyboard operation monitoring device (1 in FIG. 13) is turned on (S1603 to S1605).

At this time, the communication port operation monitoring device, the display operation monitoring device, and the keyboard operation monitoring device are initialized as described above.

The above operation returns to the normal operation state (S1606).

[0177]

According to the first aspect of the present invention, a device for monitoring the operation status of an input device such as a keyboard measures the frequency of use of the keyboard within a predetermined time.

If the frequency of use is high, there is a high possibility that the computer resumes using the computer immediately after suspending. Therefore, as a result of the measurement, if the frequency of use exceeds a certain value, the user can use the suspend function. The suspend RAM is executed when trying to use, and the suspend disk is executed otherwise.

According to the second aspect of the present invention, a device for monitoring the operation status of a display output device such as an LCD display measures the frequency of use of the output device within a predetermined time.

If the frequency of use is high, there is a high possibility that the computer resumes using the computer immediately after suspending. Therefore, as a result of the measurement, if the frequency of use exceeds a certain value, the user can use the suspend function. The suspend RAM is executed when trying to use, and the suspend disk is executed otherwise.

According to the third aspect of the present invention, a device for monitoring the operation status of an input / output device such as a communication port measures the frequency of use of the input / output device within a predetermined time.

If the frequency of use is high, there is a high possibility that the computer resumes using the computer immediately after suspending. Therefore, as a result of the measurement, if the frequency of use exceeds a certain value, the user can use the suspend function. The suspend RAM is executed when trying to use, and the suspend disk is executed otherwise.

[Brief description of the drawings]

FIG. 1 is a block diagram of a computer system that implements a first embodiment.

FIG. 2 is a flowchart of an operation of the keyboard operation monitoring device.

FIG. 3 is a flowchart of a process in which a computer according to the first embodiment shifts to a suspended state.

FIG. 4 is a flowchart of processing when the computer resumes according to the first embodiment.

FIG. 5 is a block diagram of a computer system that implements a second embodiment.

FIG. 6 is a flowchart of an operation of the display operation monitoring device.

FIG. 7 is a flowchart of a process in which the computer according to the second embodiment shifts to a suspend state.

FIG. 8 is a flowchart of processing when the computer resumes according to the second embodiment.

FIG. 9 is a block diagram of a computer system for realizing (Embodiment 3).

FIG. 10 is a flowchart of an operation of the communication port operation monitoring device.

FIG. 11 is a flowchart of a process in which a computer according to a third embodiment shifts to a suspended state.

FIG. 12 is a flowchart of processing when the computer resumes according to a third embodiment.

FIG. 13 is a block diagram of a computer system for realizing (Embodiment 4).

FIG. 14 is a flowchart 1 of a process in which the computer according to the fourth embodiment shifts to a suspend state.

FIG. 15 is a flowchart 2 of a process in which the computer according to the fourth embodiment shifts to a suspend state.

FIG. 16 is a flowchart of processing when the computer resumes according to a fourth embodiment.

FIG. 17 is a schematic block diagram of a conventional personal computer.

And FIG. 18 is a flowchart of a process in which a computer of the related art shifts to a suspend state.

FIG. 19 is a flowchart of an operation at the time of resuming from a suspend disk.

FIG. 20 is a flowchart of an operation at the time of resuming from a suspend RAM.

[Explanation of symbols]

Reference Signs List 1 Keyboard operation monitoring device (measuring the frequency of use of keyboard) 2 Keyboard controller 3 Keyboard 4 CPU: (Central Processing)
(Unit) 5 RAM: (Random Access Memory)
ry) 6 ROM: (Read Only Memory)
(The suspend processing program is stored.) 7 Chipset (various controllers) (controller such as floppy disk, printer, etc.) 8 Other peripheral equipment (floppy disk, printer, etc.) 9 Hard disk controller 10 Hard disk 11 Communication port controller 12 Communication port 13 Bus 14 Suspend key (suspend processing program is executed by pressing this key) 15 Non-volatile RAM (stores suspend mode and stores various computer settings) 16 VRAM (Video RAM) 17 Display controller 18 Display 19 Display operation monitoring device (measures VRAM access frequency) 20 Communication port operation monitoring device (measures communication port usage frequency)

Claims (3)

[Claims] 1. An information processing apparatus having a suspend function for transitioning to a standby state for power saving when an instruction is not executed within a predetermined period of time, wherein the suspend function stores a system state in a RAM. R
The system includes both an AM unit and a suspend disk unit for saving the state of the system on a hard disk. The switching unit switches between the two units during system operation, an input unit such as a keyboard, and the operation status of the input unit is monitored. And an information processing apparatus. 2. The information processing apparatus according to claim 1, wherein
An information processing apparatus comprising: a display output unit such as an LCD display; and a unit that monitors an operation state of the output unit. 3. The information processing apparatus according to claim 1, wherein
An information processing apparatus comprising: input / output means such as a communication port; and means for monitoring an operation state of the input / output means.