JPH10187290A - Modulator-demodulator device, pc card and portable electronic equipment - Google Patents

Abstract

PROBLEM TO BE SOLVED: To provide a modulator-demodulator(MODEM) capable of suitably receiving data in accordance with data transmission from the opposite side even when a power supply for an information processor is not always ON. SOLUTION: The MODEM 1 for executing data conversion when a computer body 7 executes data communication is provided with a modular jack 4 to be connected to a telephone line, a cellular jack 5 to be connected to a cellular telephone set, a switching control part 18 for switching the data communication mode of the body 7 to a 1st mode through the modular jack 4 or a 2nd mode through the cellular jack 5, and a ring detection part 19 allowed to be driven by a backup power supply 20 when the body 7 is in a suspended state and capable of transmitting a return signal to a power supply controller 15 in the body 7 at the time of receiving ring data through the jack 5 in the 2nd mode.

Description

DETAILED DESCRIPTION OF THE INVENTION

[0001]

BACKGROUND OF THE INVENTION 1. Field of the Invention The present invention relates to a modem, a PC card, and a portable electronic device for performing data communication using a telephone line.

[0002]

2. Description of the Related Art In recent years, various personal computers such as a desktop type, a notebook type, and a palmtop type have been developed, and these personal computers use telephone lines with the advancement of communication technology. Those having a data communication function are increasing.

Data communication using a telephone line by a personal computer is generally performed using a modem (hereinafter, referred to as a modem), and the modem is usually provided with a DTE (Data Terminal Equipment) / DC.
It is connected to a personal computer by an E (Data Circuit-terminating Equipment) interface.

A modem includes a line control device (DAA: Data Access Arrangement) for controlling an interface with a telephone line.
) Is provided, and the RJ-
11 is connected to a telephone line via a connector or the like.
Data communication via the telephone line is realized by the control of the AA.

Recently, digital mobile communication networks such as cellular phones and PHS (Personal Handyphone System) have been developed.
The development of wireless communication technologies such as stems) has become active. Therefore, it is conceivable that an interface connector for a cellular telephone (portable telephone) is further provided in the DAA of the modem, and the cellular phone is used to connect to the telephone line.

However, the interface connector in this case satisfies only the function of performing data communication using a cellular telephone instead of a normal telephone line, and has a control function that can be performed with a normal telephone line by itself. I cannot be satisfied enough.

For example, a recent personal computer enters a suspend state in which power supply to the entire apparatus is suppressed when no operation is performed for a certain period of time, and power supply to the entire apparatus is resumed as necessary to return from the suspend state. Although many devices have a function to perform the above functions, simply providing the cellular interface connector as described above does not allow the personal computer to resume from the suspended state when data is received by the cellular telephone. I have to put it. As a result, especially in a notebook computer driven by a battery or the like, data communication by a cellular telephone cannot be effectively performed.

[0008]

As described above, when a conventional modem is provided with a cellular jack, in order to perform data reception by a cellular telephone, the information processing apparatus to which the modem is connected must always be turned on. There was a problem that I had to put it.

The present invention provides a modem, a PC card, and a portable card which can appropriately receive data in accordance with data transmission from a partner even when the power of a connected information processing apparatus is not always turned on. An object is to provide an electronic device.

[0010]

SUMMARY OF THE INVENTION In order to solve the above-mentioned problems, a modem device according to the present invention performs data conversion at the time of data communication of an information processing device having a power control unit for controlling suppression and restart of power supply. In the device, a first terminal for connecting to a telephone line, a second terminal for connecting to a portable telephone, and a data communication mode of the information processing device are set in a first mode via the first terminal. Switching means for switching to any one of the second modes via the second terminal; and, in a state in which the data communication mode has been switched to the second mode by the switching means, a predetermined data arrival via the second terminal. When a call signal is received, there are provided an incoming call detecting means for transmitting a signal for instructing the power control unit to restart the power supply, and a power supplying means for supplying operating power to the incoming call detecting means. Here, the first terminal is, for example, a modular jack, and the second terminal is, for example, a cellular jack when a cellular telephone is used as a portable telephone. Note that the above-described modulation / demodulation device may be built in a portable electronic device.

In this way, even when the power supply of the information processing apparatus is suppressed, if the data communication mode is switched to the second mode, the incoming state of data by the portable telephone is monitored. The power supply to the information processing apparatus is restarted in response to the incoming data.

Therefore, even when the power of the information processing apparatus is not always turned on, it is possible to receive data by turning on the power as needed every time data is transmitted from the second terminal. Data communication using a telephone can be effectively performed.

If power is supplied to the incoming call detection means only when power supply to the entire information processing apparatus is suppressed, for example, when the power supply means is constituted by a button battery or the like, The button battery can be used for a long time. Furthermore, if power is supplied from the power control unit of the information processing apparatus to the incoming call detection means, there is no need to provide a power supply means.

Here, the switching of the data communication mode by the switching means determines whether or not there is a connection to the second terminal,
When the determination result indicates that the connection is established, the data communication mode can be switched to the second mode, and when the determination result indicates that the connection is not established, the data communication mode can be switched to the first mode. In this case, the communication mode is automatically switched in accordance with the connection state of the second terminal, so that the user can perform data communication in the desired communication mode only by attaching a connection cable or the like without any special setting. It becomes possible.

Further, if the modem of the present invention is configured as a PC card, even an information processing apparatus such as a notebook-type computer, which is driven by a battery and has a limited operation time, can use a portable telephone. Communication can be performed effectively.

[0016]

BEST MODE FOR CARRYING OUT THE INVENTION

(First Embodiment) FIG. 1 is a block diagram showing a configuration of a modem according to a first embodiment of the present invention. The modem 1 is roughly divided into a modem main body 2 for performing analog / digital conversion accompanying data communication, a line controller (hereinafter, referred to as DAA) 3 for controlling an interface with a line, and a connector 8 for connecting the modem main body 2 and the DAA 3. , A modular jack 4 for connecting to a telephone line, and a cellular jack 5 for connecting to a cellular telephone, and are connected to the computer main body 7 via a modem interface 6 such as an expansion slot in the computer main body 7. Note that the modem 1 may be configured to be built in the computer main body 7 or may be configured to be externally attached to the computer main body 7. Hereinafter, a case where the modem 1 is built in the computer main body 7 will be described.

Here, the computer main body 7 includes communication software 13 such as facsimile software for performing data communication and a communication driver 14, and a power supply for supplying power to the modem 1 and each device (not shown) in the computer main body 7. And a controller 15. The power supply controller 15 puts the computer main body 7 into a suspend state by suppressing power supply other than necessary parts when the computer main body 7 has not been operated for a certain period of time, and resumes power supply when an event occurs. It has a function to return from the suspend state. Further, it is assumed that the computer main body 7 has a resume function of restoring a work state immediately before the power supply is cut off when the power supply is restarted by the power supply controller 15.

Hereinafter, each component of the modem 1 will be described in detail. First, the modem body 2 includes a modem section 9 and a modem control section 10. The modem section 9 converts a digital signal received from the computer body 7 via the modem interface 6 into an analog signal, and And a function of converting the analog signal received from the DAA 3 into a digital signal and delivering the digital signal to the computer main body 7 via the modem interface 6.

On the other hand, the modem control section 10 controls the drive of the modem section 9 when receiving analog data via the modular jack 4 and when receiving digital data via the cellular jack 5, Is transmitted directly to the computer 7.

The modem control unit 10 is issued by communication software 13 operating on the computer body 7,
A predetermined control command such as an AT command indicating a standard desired by the user transmitted by the communication driver 14 is received, and the DAA 3 is notified of that. The type of the standard transmitted by the communication driver 14 is stored in a predetermined register of the modem control unit 10, and when the modem 1 is initialized, initialization is performed based on the contents of this register.

Further, when ring data indicating an incoming call of data is inputted from either the modular jack 4 or the cellular jack 5, the modem control section 10 transmits a signal indicating the fact to the computer main body 15. .

On the other hand, the DAA 3 comprises a line controller 16, a state switching circuit 17, a switching controller 18, a ring detector 19, and a backup power supply 20. The line control unit 16 controls transmission and reception of a line signal, and selectively selects a plurality of types of standards different for each country, for example, so that the user does not have to select a modem conforming to a standard of a certain country. It is configured to be compliant. These switching operations are performed by switching of the state switching circuit 17, and the switching of the state switching circuit 17 is performed in synchronization with the contents of the register in the modem control unit 9 described above.

The switching control unit 18 is for switching between a data communication mode of the computer main unit and a first mode via the modular jack 4 or a second mode via the cellular jack 5. .

This switching is performed by, for example, the cellular jack 5
The switching control unit 18 detects whether or not the connector of the connection cable of the portable telephone is attached to the mobile phone. When the connector is attached, the data communication mode is switched to the second mode, and If is not installed, the data communication mode is switched to the first mode. Also, the data reception status of the modular jack 4 and the cellular jack 5 is monitored,
The data communication mode may be switched according to the side on which the data has been received first.

The ring detecting section 19 is provided in the computer main body 7.
Is operated by the power supplied from the backup power supply 20 when the power supply controller 15 is in the suspend state, and when ring data is input from the cellular jack 5, a signal indicating that is input to the computer main body. 7 to the power supply controller 15. In response to the signal from the ring detection unit 19, the power supply controller 15 performs processing for returning the computer main body 7 from the suspended state.

Here, it is conceivable that a button battery or the like is used as the backup power supply 20 for supplying power to the ring detection unit 19, but an independent backup power supply 20 is provided in the modem 1 as shown in FIG. Instead, power may be supplied to the ring detection unit 19 from, for example, a clock battery provided in the computer main body 7 and operating even in the suspended state.

Next, data communication by the modem 1 via a cellular telephone will be described. In the following description, it is assumed that a cellular telephone is connected to the cellular jack 5, the data communication mode is switched to the second mode by the switching control unit 18, and the computer main body 7 is in the suspend state by the power supply controller 15. I do.

In this case, since the computer main body 15 is in the suspended state, power is supplied from the backup power supply 20 to the ring detector 19, and the ring detector 19 monitors the reception state of data via the cellular jack 5. .

In this state, when data is transmitted to the cellular telephone from an appropriate partner, the ring data received by the cellular telephone is input via the cellular jack 5. The ring detector 19 detects this ring data,
A return signal (Wake up signal) for urging the power supply controller 15 of the computer main body 7 to resume from the suspended state is output.

The ring data and the received data following the ring data are transmitted to the modem control unit 10 via the switching control unit 18, and the modem control unit 10 performs predetermined data processing. At this time, a signal is directly output from the ring detection unit 19 to the switching control unit 18 so that the switching control unit 1
8 may be prompted.

On the other hand, the power supply controller 15 restarts power supply to the entire computer 7 in response to the return signal input from the ring detector 19 via the modem interface 6, and returns the computer 7 from the suspended state. .

The computer main body 7 restores the work state immediately before the power supply is cut off by the resume function and activates predetermined communication software 13. The started communication software 13 processes data input from the modem control unit 10 via the modem interface 6.

As described above, in the modem of the present embodiment, when the computer main body 1 is in the suspend state, the ring detector 19 is operated by the backup power supply 20 to monitor data reception via the cellular jack 5,
When ring data is input from the cellular jack 5, the ring detector 19 prompts the computer 7 to return. Therefore, even if the power of the computer main body 7 is not always turned on, the power can be turned on appropriately to receive the data every time data is received by the cellular phone.

Although the above embodiment uses a cellular telephone, another portable telephone such as a PHS may be used. (Second Embodiment) FIG. 2 is a block diagram showing a configuration of a modem card according to a second embodiment of the present invention. In the present embodiment, parts corresponding to those in FIG. 1 are denoted by the same reference numerals, and the description will focus on differences from the first embodiment.

In the present embodiment, the modem shown in the first embodiment is connected to JEIDA / PIMCIA (Japan Electronic I
ndustry Development Association / Personal Computer
Memory Card International Association) compliant PC
The modem card 11 has a PC interface 21 for connecting to a PC card slot 22 of the computer body 7 in addition to the components shown in FIG.
It has.

Unlike the first embodiment, an independent backup power supply is not provided inside the modem card 11, and power is supplied from the computer main body 7 to the ring detection unit 19 via the PC interface 21 by the power supply controller 15. Supplied.

On the other hand, the computer main body 7 is provided with a PC card controller 23 which controls data processing with the modem card 11 connected to the PC card slot 22. Here, the computer body 7 and the modem card 1
3 is mounted on a PC card slot 22 provided on a side surface of the computer main body 7 as shown in FIG.
This is performed by inserting the modem card 11 into the device.

By doing so, even a portable computer driven by a battery such as a notebook personal computer can effectively perform data communication using a cellular telephone without wasting the power of the battery. Can be.

[0039]

As described above, according to the present invention, the information processing apparatus can be returned from the suspended state in response to the data call by the portable telephone.
Even if the power of the entire information processing apparatus is not always turned on, it is possible to appropriately turn on the power and receive data each time data is transmitted.

Further, if the modem is configured as a PC card, data communication using a portable telephone can be effectively performed even in an information processing apparatus such as a notebook type computer which is driven by a battery and has a limited operation time. Can be done.

[Brief description of the drawings]

FIG. 1 is a block diagram showing a configuration of a modem according to a first embodiment of the present invention.

FIG. 2 is a block diagram showing a configuration of a modem card according to a second embodiment of the present invention.

FIG. 3 is an exemplary view for explaining a state of inserting a modem card in the embodiment;

[Explanation of symbols]

DESCRIPTION OF SYMBOLS 1 ... Modem, 2 ... Modem body, 3 ... DAA, 4 ... Modular jack, 5 ... Cellular jack, 6 ... Modem interface, 7 ... Computer body, 8 ... Connector, 9 ... Modem section, 10 ... Modem control section, 11 ... Modem card, 1
3 Communication software, 14 Communication driver, 15 Power supply controller, 16 Line control unit, 17 State switching unit, 18 Switching control unit, 19 Ring detection unit, 20 Backup power supply, 21 PC interface, 22 … P
C card slot, 23 ... PC card controller

Claims (9)

[Claims] 1. A modem for performing data conversion during data communication of an information processing apparatus having a power control section for controlling suppression and restart of power supply, a first terminal for connecting to a telephone line, A second terminal for connecting to a mobile phone; and a data communication mode of the information processing device, which is one of a first mode via the first terminal and a second mode via the second terminal. Switching means for switching to the power control unit, when a predetermined data call signal is received via the second terminal in a state where the data communication mode is switched to the second mode by the switching means, And a power supply means for supplying operating power to the incoming call detection means. 2. The modem according to claim 2, wherein said power supply means supplies power to said incoming call detection means only when power supply is suppressed by said power control unit. 3. A modem for performing data conversion at the time of data communication of an information processing apparatus having a power control unit for controlling suppression and restart of power supply, wherein a first terminal for connecting to a telephone line; A second terminal for connecting to a mobile phone; and a data communication mode of the information processing device, which is one of a first mode via the first terminal and a second mode via the second terminal. Switching means for switching to a state in which the power control unit operates with power supplied from the power control unit when power supply is suppressed, and the switching unit switches the data communication mode to a second mode. And receiving a predetermined data call signal via the second terminal, and a call detection means for transmitting a signal instructing the power control unit to restart power supply. A modulation / demodulation device characterized by the above-mentioned. 4. The switching means determines whether or not there is a connection to the second terminal. If the result of the determination is that there is a connection, the data communication mode is switched to the second mode. 4. The modulation / demodulation device according to claim 1, wherein the data communication mode is switched to the first mode when the condition is satisfied. 5. A PC card having a modulation / demodulation function for data conversion at the time of data communication of an information processing apparatus having a power control unit for controlling suppression and restart of power supply. A second terminal for connecting to a portable telephone; and a data communication mode of the information processing apparatus, a first mode via the first terminal and a second mode via the second terminal. Switching means for switching to any one of the modes; and when the data communication mode is switched to the second mode by the switching means, when a predetermined data call signal is received via the second terminal, P includes: an incoming call detecting means for transmitting a signal for instructing the power control unit to resume power supply; and a power supply means for supplying operating power to the incoming call detecting means. Card. 6. A PC card having a modulation / demodulation function for data conversion at the time of data communication of an information processing apparatus having a power control unit for controlling suppression and restart of power supply. A second terminal for connecting to a portable telephone; and a data communication mode of the information processing apparatus, a first mode via the first terminal and a second mode via the second terminal. Switching means for switching to any one of the modes; and operating with power supplied from the power control section when power supply is suppressed by the power control section, and the data communication mode is switched to the second mode by the switching means. Receiving a predetermined data call signal via the second terminal in a state in which the power control unit is switched to a call detection signal for transmitting a signal instructing the power control unit to restart power supply. PC card comprising: 7. A modem for performing data conversion at the time of data communication of an information processing apparatus having a power control unit for controlling suppression of power supply to the entire apparatus and restarting from the suppression, for connecting to a telephone line. A modular jack, a cellular jack for connecting to a cellular telephone, and a determination as to whether or not there is a connection to the cellular jack. If the result of this determination is that there is a connection, the data communication mode of the information processing apparatus is set to the cellular jack. Switching means for switching to the first communication mode, and when the determination result indicates no connection, switching means for switching the data communication mode to the second communication mode via the modular jack. When predetermined ring data is received via the cellular jack in a state where the mode is switched to mode 2, An incoming call detection unit that transmits a signal instructing a power control unit to restart power supply; and the incoming call detection unit only when power supply to the entire information processing apparatus is suppressed by the power control unit. A modem, comprising: a backup power supply for supplying power. 8. A modular jack for connecting to a telephone line in a PC card having a modulation / demodulation function for data conversion during data communication of an information processing apparatus having a power control unit for controlling suppression and restart of power supply. And, a cellular jack for connecting to a cellular telephone, and judging whether or not there is a connection to the cellular jack, and when the judgment result indicates that there is a connection, the data communication mode of the information processing apparatus is changed to the second through the cellular jack. A switching mode for switching to the second communication mode via the modular jack when the determination result indicates that there is no connection, and the switching means switches the data communication mode to the second mode. When predetermined ring data is received via the cellular jack in a state switched to An incoming call detecting means for transmitting a signal for instructing a control unit to restart power supply, and a call detecting means. 9. A portable electronic device comprising a power control unit for controlling suppression and restart of power supply and having a built-in modem for data conversion during data communication, wherein the modem is connected to a telephone line. A first terminal for connecting to a portable telephone, a first terminal via the first terminal, and a second terminal for changing a data communication mode of the information processing apparatus. Switching means for switching to any one of a second mode via the second terminal, and a predetermined data incoming signal via the second terminal in a state where the data communication mode is switched to the second mode by the switching means. An incoming call detection means for transmitting a signal for instructing the power control unit to resume power supply when received; and a power supply means for supplying operating power to the incoming call detection means. A portable electronic device which is characterized.