WO2016029717A1

WO2016029717A1 - Set top box and power consumption reduction method therefor and computer storage medium

Info

Publication number: WO2016029717A1
Application number: PCT/CN2015/078921
Authority: WO
Inventors: 全君林
Original assignee: 深圳市中兴微电子技术有限公司
Priority date: 2014-08-25
Filing date: 2015-05-14
Publication date: 2016-03-03
Also published as: CN105376645A

Abstract

Disclosed are a power consumption reduction method for a set top box and a set top box and a computer storage medium. The method comprises: when a set top box is in a normal working mode, detecting whether a light sleep signal is received; when it is detected that the light sleep signal is received, closing a processing module corresponding to pre-set N external devices so that the set top box is in a light sleep working mode, wherein N ≥ 1; when the set top box is in the light sleep working mode, detecting whether a rapid wakeup signal is received; and when it is detected that the rapid wakeup signal is received, opening the processing module corresponding to the pre-set N external devices so that the set top box is in the normal working mode.

Description

Set top box and method for reducing power consumption thereof, computer storage medium

Technical field

The present invention relates to a set top box technology, a dynamic management technology for power consumption of a set top box, and more particularly to a set top box and a method for reducing power consumption thereof, and a computer storage medium.

Background technique

Reducing the power consumption of STBs (Set Top Box) is difficult in many service devices, not because the set-top box itself cannot achieve energy efficiency through proper power supply design and power management technology, but because the set-top box service provider provides To meet the customer's business needs, for example, instant play of on-demand movies, timely update of electronic program guides, boot-on-time viewing, etc., resulting in the same power consumption of the set-top box, whether it is turned on or off.

Under normal circumstances, the dynamic power management strategy of the set-top box's central processing unit (CPU) is mainly implemented in the following two ways:

1) Reduce power consumption by changing the clock frequency of the system;

2) The power consumption is reduced by controlling the external device controller, referred to as the switch of the peripheral controller.

Many embedded CPUs have a power-mode that reduces power consumption, the most common being the idle mode of operation. At this point, the CPU core instruction execution is partially turned off, and all external devices, referred to as peripherals and interrupt signals, are still active. Since the idle mode is much smaller than the power consumption when the CPU executes the instruction, the CPU can be placed in the idle mode at any time as long as the system detects that all threads are blocked, such as waiting for an interrupt, event, or timing. . Any interrupt, such as a touch screen event, a button press event, etc., can wake the CPU from idle mode and continue executing code. If the event cannot be directly connected to an external interrupt, the CPU can be periodically woken up by the system timer, for example waiting for an event and knowing that as long as the event occurs after 10ms The internal energy detection can start the I/O ms timer and put the CPU in idle mode. The state of the event is checked each time a timed interrupt is processed, and if the state of the event has not changed, it is immediately returned to the idle mode.

Although a number of voluntary performance specifications have been developed and implemented, they have not successfully solved the problem of high power consumption of set-top boxes.

Summary of the invention

To solve the above technical problem, an embodiment of the present invention provides a set top box and a method for reducing power consumption thereof, and a computer storage medium, which can effectively reduce the power consumption of the set top box and meet the basic service requirements of the set top box.

The technical solution of the embodiment of the present invention is implemented as follows:

A method for reducing power consumption of a set top box, the method comprising:

When the set top box is in the normal working mode, detecting whether a light sleep signal is received;

When it is detected that the light sleep signal is received, the processing module corresponding to the preset N external devices is turned off, so that the set top box is in a light sleep working mode; wherein, N≥1;

Detecting whether a fast wake-up signal is received when the set top box is in a light sleep mode of operation;

When it is detected that the fast wake-up signal is received, the processing module corresponding to the preset N external devices is turned on, so that the set top box is in a normal working mode.

Preferably, the method further includes:

Detecting whether a shutdown signal is received when the set top box is in the normal working mode or the light sleep working mode;

When it is detected that the shutdown signal is received, the processing module corresponding to each external device of the set top box is turned off, so that the set top box is in a shutdown mode.

Preferably, the method further includes:

When the set top box is in a light sleep working mode, for the N external parts after the shutdown The processing module corresponding to the device acquires a wake lock;

When the wake-up lock is released and it is detected that a deep sleep signal is received, the set top box is controlled to be in a deep sleep state.

Preferably, the method further includes:

When it is detected that the light sleep signal is received, the processing module corresponding to the preset M external devices is turned on; wherein, M≥1;

The power consumption of the processing module corresponding to the M external devices is smaller than the power consumption of the processing module corresponding to the N external devices.

Preferably, the processing module corresponding to the N external devices includes at least one of the following: a high definition multimedia interface HDMI module, a component module, a composite video broadcast signal CVBS module, a serial advanced technology accessory SATA module, a universal serial bus USB module;

The processing module corresponding to the M external devices includes at least one of the following: a scanning security digital SD card module, a broadcast playing module, a local music playing module, and an electronic program guide updating module.

A set top box, the set top box comprising:

a first detecting unit configured to detect whether a light sleep signal is received when the set top box is in a normal working mode;

a first closing unit, configured to: when detecting the light sleep signal, turn off a processing module corresponding to the preset N external devices, so that the set top box is in a light sleep working mode; wherein, N≥1 ;

a second detecting unit configured to detect whether a fast wake-up signal is received when the set top box is in a light sleep working mode;

And the awake unit is configured to: when it is detected that the fast wake-up signal is received, turn on a processing module corresponding to the preset N external devices, so that the set top box is in a normal working mode.

Preferably, the set top box further includes:

a third detecting unit, configured to detect whether a shutdown signal is received when the set top box is in the normal working mode or the light sleep working mode;

The second closing unit is configured to: when detecting the receiving the shutdown signal, turn off a processing module corresponding to each external device of the set top box, so that the set top box is in a shutdown mode.

Preferably, the set top box further includes:

An acquiring unit, configured to acquire a wake-up lock for a processing module corresponding to the N external devices after the shutdown, when the set-top box is in a light sleep working mode;

And a control unit configured to control the set top box to be in a deep sleep state when the wake lock is released and detecting that a deep sleep signal is received.

Preferably, the set top box further includes:

The opening unit is configured to: when it is detected that the light sleep signal is received, turn on a processing module corresponding to the preset M external devices; wherein, M≥1;

The computer storage medium provided by the embodiment of the present invention stores a computer program for executing the method for reducing power consumption of the set top box.

The technical solution of the embodiment of the present invention proposes a new set-top box sleep mechanism, that is, a light sleep working mode is introduced in a normal working mode and a sleep working mode, that is, a deep sleep working mode. When the set-top box is in the light sleep mode, several high-power peripheral processing modules preset by the user are turned off, such as modules related to the display output of the television, but the set-top box is reserved. The operating state of his necessary peripherals. In this way, the user can effectively solve the part of the set-top box business, such as listening to music or radio programs, updating the electronic program guide (EPG, Electronic Program Guide), downloading the TV program, reducing the power consumption of the system, and also solving the set-top box You can't listen to music and broadcast problems in deep sleep mode.

Moreover, when the set-top box is in the light sleep mode, if a fast wake-up signal is received, the high-power peripheral module in the off state can be immediately turned on, so that the set-top box is in the normal working mode, and the system does not need to be restarted and initialized. The speed of waking up to normal working mode will also be accelerated, which will enhance the user experience.

DRAWINGS

1 is a schematic flowchart of a method for reducing power consumption of a set top box according to Embodiment 1 of the present invention;

2 is a schematic flowchart of a method for reducing power consumption of a set top box according to Embodiment 2 of the present invention;

3 is a schematic flowchart of a method for reducing power consumption of a set top box according to Embodiment 3 of the present invention;

FIG. 4 is a schematic structural diagram of a set top box according to an embodiment of the present invention.

detailed description

The embodiments of the present invention are described in detail below with reference to the accompanying drawings.

The set-top box is a device that connects the TV to an external source. It converts the compressed digital signal into TV content and displays it on the TV. Here, the signals can come from cable, satellite antennas, broadband networks, and terrestrial broadcasts. The content received by the set top box can receive data content in addition to the images and sounds that the analog TV can provide, including electronic program guides, Internet web pages, subtitles, and the like.

The set-top box provides a variety of interface controllers for peripherals, such as two-wire serial bus (I2C, Inter Integrated Circuit), built-in audio bus (I2S, Inter IC Sound), high High Definition Multimedia Interface (HDMI), Flash, Timer, Universal Asynchronous Receiver/Transmitter (UART), Serial Peripheral (SPI) Interface), Universal Serial Bus (USB), Serial Advanced Technology Attachment (SATA), etc. Generally, these controllers are not used in one event, saving as much work as possible. In the case of consumption, the embodiment of the present invention turns off some peripheral controllers that are not related to the service required by the user to reduce the power consumption thereof.

The CPU of the set top box consumes much more power at full speed than during deep sleep. Therefore, embodiments of the present invention aim to make the normal working mode of the CPU much longer than the deep sleep working mode or the light sleep working mode. Less time. Based on this, the CPU can be set to be in the deep sleep working mode or the light sleep working mode as much as possible, and then the CPU is restored to the normal working mode by the corresponding interrupt to process the response event.

1 is a schematic flowchart of a method for reducing power consumption of a set top box according to Embodiment 1 of the present invention. The method for reducing power consumption of a set top box in this example is applied to a set top box device. As shown in FIG. 1 , the method for reducing power consumption of the set top box includes The following steps:

Step 101: When the set top box is in the normal working mode, it is detected whether a light sleep signal is received.

In the embodiment of the present invention, when the set-top box is in the normal working mode, the user can acquire services such as audio-visual entertainment, and the image output involves a large amount of data movement, and the CPU is in a full-load working mode. At this point, the CPU of the set-top box runs at full speed, and the various interface controllers provided for the peripherals are all turned on, and the power consumption of the set-top box is the largest. Since the embodiment of the present invention aims to reduce the working time of the CPU running at full speed, if the user is not interested in the video program but only interested in the video program, the set top box can be triggered to receive the light sleep signal by pressing the button or the timing control information.

Step 102: When it is detected that the light sleep signal is received, the processing module corresponding to the preset N external devices is turned off, so that the set top box is in a light sleep working mode.

Where N≥1.

In the embodiment of the present invention, when the set top box is in the light sleep working mode, the peripheral processing module with higher power consumption is turned off, for example, the peripheral module related to the display: HDMI output, component, CVBS, SATA, USB, etc. Set the module; at this time, the system is still in a low-power operation mode, in which the general task can be processed, such as scanning SD card files, playing radio stations and local music, and updating the electronic program guide in the background. Etc., to meet the basic entertainment business such as listening to audio data.

In the embodiment of the present invention, when the video output is not required, the user can trigger a light sleep signal, and after the set-top box receives the trigger of the light sleep signal, the processing module corresponding to the preset N peripherals is turned off. It can effectively improve the overall power consumption utilization level of the system, and has the promotion and application value for the green set-top box.

Preferably, the method further includes:

When the set top box is in the light sleep mode, the processing module corresponding to the N external devices after the shutdown is acquired;

Here, peripheral modules that enter the light sleep mode of operation must acquire a wake-up lock to prevent entering the deep sleep mode of operation. When such a peripheral module releases the wake-up lock, the system can enter the deep sleep mode of operation. Specifically, the set top box is in a light sleep mode, and all kernel modules in the light sleep mode acquire the kernel wake lock, and the system cannot enter the deep sleep mode, that is, the full standby mode, and must wait for all processes of the system. When the wake-up lock is released, the system can enter the deep sleep mode by using the standby control command, the deep sleep signal.

Preferably, the method further includes:

When it is detected that the light sleep signal is received, the preset M external devices are turned on Corresponding processing module; wherein, M≥1;

In the above solution, the processing module corresponding to the N external devices includes at least one of the following: an HDMI module, a component module, a CVBS module, a SATA module, and a USB module;

The processing module corresponding to the M external devices includes at least one of the following: a scan SD card module, a broadcast play module, a local music play module, and an electronic program guide update module.

In the embodiment of the present invention, the processing module corresponding to the N external devices can be set by the user according to the specific power consumption condition of each module in the set top box, and can also be set to be turned on when the set top box is in the light sleep working mode. Processing modules corresponding to M external devices to meet basic entertainment needs, such as music playback, listening to broadcast and other applications.

Preferably, the method further includes:

Here, the shutdown signal can be triggered by the user; when the set-top box receives the shutdown signal or the system is powered off, the power of the system is completely turned off, and the power of each peripheral processing module is at this time, the set-top box is in the shutdown mode.

When the shutdown signal is not detected, the set top box continues to be in the original normal operating mode or the mild sleep mode of operation.

Step 103: When the set top box is in the light sleep working mode, it is detected whether a fast wakeup signal is received.

In the embodiment of the present invention, when a user wakes up a specific application, such as browsing a webpage or playing an Internet Protocol (IPTV) program, a quick call is generated. Wake up the signal and trigger the set-top box to switch from the light sleep mode to the normal mode of operation, see step 104 below.

Step 104: When it is detected that the fast wake-up signal is received, the processing module corresponding to the preset N external devices is turned on, so that the set top box is in a normal working mode.

In the embodiment of the present invention, the normal working mode corresponds to the light sleep working mode. When the system is in the light sleep working mode, when the fast wake-up signal is received, the power partition associated with the video output is quickly turned on, and then gradually wakes up in the light. External output devices that are turned off in sleep mode, such as HDMI, component, and SD output, and the system does not need to be restarted and initialized to speed up the wake-up to normal operating mode.

The technical solution of the embodiment of the present invention satisfies the basic entertainment requirements of the set-top box on the premise of reducing the power consumption of the set-top box, and proposes a more humanized set-top box low-power management control strategy.

2 is a schematic flowchart of a method for reducing power consumption of a set top box according to Embodiment 2 of the present invention. As shown in FIG. 2, the method for reducing power consumption of the set top box includes the following steps:

Step 201: The set top box is in a normal working mode.

Step 202: Detect whether a light sleep signal is received. If yes, go to step 203; otherwise, go to step 206.

Here, the light sleep signal emitted by the user is detected based on the user's button or timing control information.

Step 203: Turn off the TV output processing module.

Here, when a light sleep signal is detected, the power consumption processing module such as a television or a display is turned off.

In the embodiment of the present invention, the power consumption processing module can be set by the user according to the specific power consumption condition of each processing module, and the power consumption is balanced with the user selection. When the set top box is in the light sleep working mode, the basic setting can be set. For entertainment applications such as music playback, listening to broadcasts, etc., the power consumption level of the system is related to low-power applications set by the user.

In the embodiment of the present invention, the selection of the light sleep working mode and the processing module corresponding to the external device is controlled by the software system, and in the light sleep working mode, if there is no need for CPU intervention The hardware processing unit can be completed independently, the CPU only retains the necessary network and communication part detection, and the CPU can be further reduced in power consumption.

Step 204: The set top box is in a light sleep mode of operation.

Step 205: Detect whether a fast wake-up signal is received. If yes, go to step 206; otherwise, go to step 204.

Step 206: Turn on the TV output processing module, and the set top box is in the normal working mode.

3 is a schematic flowchart of a method for reducing power consumption of a set top box according to Embodiment 3 of the present invention. As shown in FIG. 3, the method for reducing power consumption of the set top box includes the following steps:

Step 301: The set top box is in a normal working mode or a light sleep working mode.

Step 302: Detect whether the set top box is powered off or powered off. If yes, go to step 303; otherwise, go to step 304.

Step 303: Turn off the power of the system and the power of each processing module of the set top box, and the set top box is in the shutdown mode.

Step 304: The set top box continues to be in the working mode or the light sleep working mode.

4 is a schematic structural diagram of a set top box according to an embodiment of the present invention. As shown in FIG. 4, the set top box includes:

The first detecting unit 41 is configured to detect whether a light sleep signal is received when the set top box is in a normal working mode;

The first closing unit 42 is configured to: when detecting the receiving the light sleep signal, turn off a processing module corresponding to the preset N external devices, so that the set top box is in a light sleep working mode; wherein, N≥ 1;

The second detecting unit 43 is configured to detect whether a fast wake-up signal is received when the set top box is in a light sleep working mode;

The waking unit 44 is configured to: when detecting the fast wake-up signal, turn on a processing module corresponding to the preset N external devices, so that the set-top box is working normally mode.

Preferably, the set top box further includes:

The third detecting unit 45 is configured to detect whether the shutdown signal is received when the set top box is in the normal working mode or the light sleep working mode;

The second closing unit 46 is configured to: when detecting the receiving the shutdown signal, turn off a processing module corresponding to each external device of the set top box, so that the set top box is in a shutdown mode.

Preferably, the set top box further includes:

The obtaining unit 47 is configured to acquire, when the set top box is in the light sleep working mode, the wakeup lock for the processing module corresponding to the N external devices after the shutdown;

Control unit 48 is configured to control the set top box to be in a deep sleep state when the wake lock is released and a deep sleep signal is detected.

Preferably, the set top box further includes:

The opening unit 49 is configured to: when it is detected that the light sleep signal is received, turn on a processing module corresponding to the preset M external devices; wherein, M≥1;

In a practical application, the first detecting unit 41, the first closing unit 42, the second detecting unit 43, the waking unit 44, and the third detecting unit 45, the second closing unit 46, the obtaining unit 47, and the control unit in the set top box 48. The opening unit 49 can be implemented by a central processing unit (CPU) in a set top box, or a digital signal processor (DSP), or a Field-Programmable Gate Array (FPGA).

Those skilled in the art should understand that the implementation functions of the units in the set top box shown in FIG. 4 can be understood by referring to the related description of the method for reducing power consumption of the set top box. The functions of the units in the set top box shown in FIG. 4 can be implemented by a program running on the processor, or can be realized by a specific logic circuit.

The apparatus for tracking the service signaling according to the embodiment of the present invention may also be stored in a computer readable storage medium if it is implemented in the form of a software function module and sold or used as a separate product. Based on such understanding, the technical solution of the embodiments of the present invention may be embodied in the form of a software product in essence or in the form of a software product stored in a storage medium, including a plurality of instructions. A computer device (which may be a personal computer, server, or network device, etc.) is caused to perform all or part of the methods described in various embodiments of the present invention. The foregoing storage medium includes various media that can store program codes, such as a USB flash drive, a mobile hard disk, a read only memory (ROM), a magnetic disk, or an optical disk. Thus, embodiments of the invention are not limited to any specific combination of hardware and software.

Correspondingly, an embodiment of the present invention further provides a computer storage medium, wherein a computer program for executing a method for reducing power consumption of a set top box according to an embodiment of the present invention is stored.

The technical solutions described in the embodiments of the present invention can be arbitrarily combined without conflict.

In the several embodiments provided by the present invention, it should be understood that the disclosed method and smart device may be implemented in other manners. The device embodiments described above are merely illustrative. For example, the division of the unit is only a logical function division. In actual implementation, there may be another division manner, such as: multiple units or components may be combined, or Can be integrated into another system, or some features can be ignored or not executed. In addition, the coupling, or direct coupling, or communication connection of the components shown or discussed may be indirect coupling or communication connection through some interfaces, devices or units, and may be electrical, mechanical or other forms. of.

The units described above as separate components may or may not be physically separated. The components displayed as the unit may be, or may not be, physical units, that is, may be located in one place, or may be distributed to multiple network units; some or all of the units may be selected according to actual needs to implement the solution of the embodiment. purpose.

In addition, each functional unit in each embodiment of the present invention may be integrated into one second processing unit, or each unit may be separately used as one unit, or two or more units may be integrated into one unit; The above integrated unit can be implemented in the form of hardware or in the form of hardware plus software functional units.

The above is only a specific embodiment of the present invention, but the scope of the present invention is not limited thereto, and any person skilled in the art can easily think of changes or substitutions within the technical scope of the present invention. It should be covered by the scope of the present invention.

Claims

A method for reducing power consumption of a set top box, the method comprising:

When the set top box is in the normal working mode, detecting whether a light sleep signal is received;

When it is detected that the light sleep signal is received, the processing module corresponding to the preset N external devices is turned off, so that the set top box is in a light sleep working mode; wherein, N≥1;

Detecting whether a fast wake-up signal is received when the set top box is in a light sleep mode of operation;

When it is detected that the fast wake-up signal is received, the processing module corresponding to the preset N external devices is turned on, so that the set top box is in a normal working mode.
The method of claim 1, wherein the method further comprises:

Detecting whether a shutdown signal is received when the set top box is in the normal working mode or the light sleep working mode;

When it is detected that the shutdown signal is received, the processing module corresponding to each external device of the set top box is turned off, so that the set top box is in a shutdown mode.
The method of claim 1, wherein the method further comprises:

When the set top box is in the light sleep mode, the processing module corresponding to the N external devices after the shutdown is acquired;

When the wake-up lock is released and it is detected that a deep sleep signal is received, the set top box is controlled to be in a deep sleep state.
The method of claim 1, wherein the method further comprises:

When it is detected that the light sleep signal is received, the processing module corresponding to the preset M external devices is turned on; wherein, M≥1;

The power consumption of the processing module corresponding to the M external devices is smaller than the power consumption of the processing module corresponding to the N external devices.
The method for reducing power consumption of a set top box according to claim 4, wherein

The processing module corresponding to the N external devices includes at least one of the following: a high-definition multimedia interface HDMI module, a component module, a composite video broadcast signal CVBS module, a serial advanced technology accessory SATA module, and a universal serial bus USB module;

The processing module corresponding to the M external devices includes at least one of the following: a scanning security digital SD card module, a broadcast playing module, a local music playing module, and an electronic program guide updating module.
A set top box, the set top box comprising:

a first detecting unit configured to detect whether a light sleep signal is received when the set top box is in a normal working mode;

a first closing unit, configured to: when detecting the light sleep signal, turn off a processing module corresponding to the preset N external devices, so that the set top box is in a light sleep working mode; wherein, N≥1 ;

a second detecting unit configured to detect whether a fast wake-up signal is received when the set top box is in a light sleep working mode;

And the awake unit is configured to: when it is detected that the fast wake-up signal is received, turn on a processing module corresponding to the preset N external devices, so that the set top box is in a normal working mode.
The set top box of claim 6, wherein the set top box further comprises:

a third detecting unit, configured to detect whether a shutdown signal is received when the set top box is in the normal working mode or the light sleep working mode;

The second closing unit is configured to: when detecting the receiving the shutdown signal, turn off a processing module corresponding to each external device of the set top box, so that the set top box is in a shutdown mode.
The set top box of claim 6, wherein the set top box further comprises:

An acquiring unit, configured to acquire a wake-up lock for a processing module corresponding to the N external devices after the shutdown, when the set-top box is in a light sleep working mode;

And a control unit configured to control the set top box to be in a deep sleep state when the wake lock is released and detecting that a deep sleep signal is received.
The set top box of claim 6, wherein the set top box further comprises:

The opening unit is configured to: when it is detected that the light sleep signal is received, turn on a processing module corresponding to the preset M external devices; wherein, M≥1;

The power consumption of the processing module corresponding to the M external devices is smaller than the power consumption of the processing module corresponding to the N external devices.
The set top box according to claim 9, wherein

The processing module corresponding to the N external devices includes at least one of the following: a high-definition multimedia interface HDMI module, a component module, a composite video broadcast signal CVBS module, a serial advanced technology accessory SATA module, and a universal serial bus USB module;

The processing module corresponding to the M external devices includes at least one of the following: a scanning security digital SD card module, a broadcast playing module, a local music playing module, and an electronic program guide updating module.
A computer storage medium having stored therein computer executable instructions configured to perform the method of reducing power consumption of a set top box of any of claims 1-5.