JPH04352017A - Peripheral device power control device - Google Patents

Abstract

(57) [Summary] This bulletin contains application data before electronic filing, so abstract data is not recorded.

Description

[Detailed description of the invention]

0001

BACKGROUND OF THE INVENTION 1. Field of the Invention The present invention relates to a power control device for peripheral devices in a computer.

0002

2. Description of the Related Art FIG. 4 shows, for example,
FIG. 1 is a block diagram showing the configuration of a conventional power supply control device disclosed in the above publication. What is shown in FIG. 4 relates to a power supply control device for a semiconductor disk control device. In the figure, 16 is a power supply control circuit incorporating a timer 17 that controls a power supply 18, and 15 is a disk control circuit.This disk control circuit 15 is connected to a channel interface control circuit 13 that controls an interface with a host device (not shown). It is comprised of a memory interface control circuit 14 that controls the interface between the memory and a semiconductor memory (not shown), and an MPU (microprocessor) 12 that controls these. Reference numeral 11 denotes a notification device that connects the power supply control circuit 16 and the MPU 12 of the disk control circuit 15.

In the power supply control device configured as described above, the power supply control circuit 16 receives the power-off signal or alarm signal of the power supply 18 from the host device, and then uses the power supply control circuit 16 to control the data when the power supply 18 is turned off. For the purpose of preventing destruction, it operates as follows. That is, before turning off the power supply 18, the power supply control circuit 16 notifies the MPU 12 of the disk control circuit 15 of the power-off signal or alarm signal via the notification device 11,
The timer 17 is activated to wait for the MPU 12 to disable the interface with the host device, and then the power supply control circuit 16 turns off the power supply 18.

FIG. 5 is a block diagram showing the configuration of a conventional power supply circuit disclosed in, for example, Japanese Patent Laid-Open No. 2-143947. What is shown in FIG. 5 relates to a power supply circuit for a magnetic disk device. In the figure, 2
3 is a power supply control circuit 19 that receives a power-on instruction signal from a host device (not shown) and outputs a power-on signal, and a main DC power supply circuit 20 that receives a power-on signal and supplies power to a magnetic disk device 22. This is a power supply circuit including a sub-DC power supply circuit 21.

In the power supply circuit 23 configured as described above, the power supply control circuit 19, which receives a power-on instruction signal from the host device, first outputs a power-on signal to the main DC power supply circuit 20; When some kind of abnormality occurs in the DC power supply circuit 20 and an abnormality signal is received from the main DC power supply circuit 20, the power supply control circuit 19 outputs a disconnection signal to the main DC power supply circuit 20, and changes the output destination of the input signal to the main DC power supply circuit 20. The power supply circuit 20 switches and outputs to the sub-DC power supply circuit 21, and the sub-DC power supply circuit 21 supplies power to the magnetic disk device 22.

[0006]

The conventional power supply control device shown in FIG. 4 and the conventional power supply circuit shown in FIG. Many techniques have been proposed as devices for controlling the power supply in such cases. However,
In both cases, the peripheral devices are subordinate to the higher-level device, so when the power is turned on again, the higher-level device that manages operation must output a power-on instruction signal to the peripheral device. There was a problem in that the peripheral device could not be restored without instructions, and the peripheral device could not be used from anything other than the host device.

[0007] This invention was made in order to solve the above-mentioned problems, and when the peripheral device is not accessed for a certain period of time or more, the power to the main part of the peripheral device is turned off and the power is turned off. The purpose of the present invention is to obtain a power control device for a peripheral device that can autonomously restore the peripheral device without an instruction signal from a specific host device when the peripheral device needs to be restored in response to an access request to the peripheral device when the device is off. .

[0008]

[Means for Solving the Problems] A power supply control device for a peripheral device according to the present invention monitors the peripheral device to be managed, and when a computer that manages the operation of the peripheral device is not accessed for a certain period of time or more. The system is equipped with a mechanism that sends a power-off signal to peripheral devices, and when the peripheral device receives a power-off signal, it turns off the power supply that supplies power to the main parts except the control unit, and when the power is turned off, the peripheral device It is equipped with a power control mechanism that notifies the computer to turn on the power again when access to the device is detected, and autonomously turns on the power to the main parts again.

[0009]

[Operation] The power supply control device for peripheral devices in this invention has the following features:
If the peripheral device is not accessed for a certain period of time, the power to the main parts of the peripheral device is turned off, and if the peripheral device is accessed while the power is off, the network interface control circuit performs power control. It outputs a power-on signal to the circuit and generates a return signal to the peripheral device operation management mechanism of the computer. In this way, when accessing a peripheral device when the power is turned off, there is no need to check the power status or request the host device to turn the power back on, so the peripheral device can be easily used by devices other than the host device. can.

0010

DESCRIPTION OF THE PREFERRED EMBODIMENTS An embodiment of the present invention will be described below with reference to the drawings. FIG. 1 is a block diagram showing the configuration of a power supply control device for a peripheral device according to an embodiment of the present invention. In the figure, 1
2 is a computer, 2 is a peripheral device, 4 is a peripheral device operation management mechanism that manages the operation of the peripheral device 2, 8 is a main power circuit, 3 is a power supply control circuit that turns off/on the main power circuit 8 according to a power off/on signal. , 6 is a network interface control circuit that buffers access to the peripheral device 2 when the power is turned off, outputs a return signal to the computer 1, and outputs a power-on signal to the power supply control circuit 3, and 7 is a network interface. A sub power supply circuit for the control circuit 6 and the power supply control circuit 3; 10 is the main part of the peripheral device 2; 9 is the network; 5 is a power off area; this power off area 5 is for the main part 10 and the main power supply circuit 8; This is the part surrounded by the broken line in FIG.

FIG. 2 is a flowchart for explaining the operation of managing the operation of peripheral devices on the computer of FIG.
FIG. 3 is a flowchart for explaining the operation of the peripheral device shown in FIG.

Next, the operation of the power supply control device for a peripheral device according to the embodiment of the present invention will be explained. First, the algorithm for managing the operation of the peripheral device 2 on the computer 1 will be described below. A peripheral device operation management mechanism 4 on the computer 1 monitors access to the peripheral device 2 such as a display, printer, or disk over the network 9, and when no access is detected for a certain period of time, the power control circuit of the peripheral device 2 is activated. A power-off signal is sent to peripheral device 3 to set the status of peripheral device 2 to a power-off state. Furthermore, when the status of the peripheral device 2 is that the power is off, if the peripheral device operation management mechanism 4 on the computer 1 receives a return signal sent from the peripheral device 2,
Set the status of peripheral device 2 to operating state, and
Resume monitoring access to. An algorithm for the above operation is shown in the flowchart of FIG. Here, if there is an inquiry about the operating state of the peripheral device 2 from another device, etc., a response is sent regarding the status of the peripheral device 2.

Next, an algorithm for operation in the peripheral device 2 will be described below. When the power supply control circuit 3 of the peripheral device 2 receives a power-off signal via the network interface control circuit 6, it turns off the main power supply circuit 8 that supplies power to the main section 10. At this time, both the power supply control circuit 3 and the network interface control circuit 6 are connected to the sub power supply circuit 7.
More power is being supplied, so both continue to operate. Further, when the network interface control circuit 6 of the peripheral device 2 detects an access to the peripheral device 2 while the power is off, this access is buffered within the network interface control circuit 6,
Further, the network interface control circuit 6 sends a return signal to the computer 1 that manages the operation of the peripheral device 2, and also sends a power-on signal to the power supply control circuit 3. As a result, the main power circuit 8 is turned on, and after the main section 10 has started up and entered the operating state, the main section 1
0 can now accommodate buffered access to the network interface control circuit 6. An algorithm for the above operation is shown in the flowchart of FIG.

[0014] In the above embodiment, a case has been described in which access to the peripheral device 2 is buffered when the power is turned off. However, the access is not buffered, a return signal is sent to the access source, and the access source is kept for a certain period of time. The retransmission may be performed later.

Furthermore, although the above embodiment shows the case where the computer 1 manages the operation of the peripheral device 2, the computer 1 does not manage the operation of the peripheral device 2, and instead controls the network interface of the peripheral device 2. The circuit 6 may also be used.

[0016]

[Effects of the Invention] As described above, according to the power supply control device for a peripheral device of the present invention, a computer that manages the operation of a peripheral device monitors the peripheral device to be managed, and prevents access from exceeding a certain period of time. When the peripheral device receives the power-off signal, the peripheral device is equipped with a mechanism that sends a power-off signal to the peripheral device. When it detects access to the surrounding area, it notifies the computer to power it back on, and
The configuration is equipped with a power control mechanism that autonomously turns on the power to the main components again, reducing the power consumption of peripheral devices.Also, when turning on the power again, the host device can give instructions to turn on the power. In order to be able to do it autonomously without having to do it,
The workload of managing peripheral devices can be reduced, and since the status of peripheral devices is managed by the peripheral device operation management mechanism, when checking the status of peripheral devices, it is possible to directly access the peripheral devices. This is not necessary, and has excellent effects such as being able to prevent unnecessary power re-turning due to status confirmation access.

[Brief explanation of the drawing]

FIG. 1 is a block diagram showing the configuration of a power supply control device for a peripheral device according to an embodiment of the present invention.

FIG. 2 is a flowchart for explaining operations for managing the operation of peripheral devices on the computer of FIG. 1;

FIG. 3 is a flowchart for explaining the operation of the peripheral device in FIG. 1;

FIG. 4 is a block diagram showing the configuration of a conventional power supply control device.

FIG. 5 is a block diagram showing the configuration of a conventional power supply circuit.

[Explanation of symbols]

1 Computer 2 Peripheral device 3 Power control circuit 4 Peripheral device operation management mechanism 5 Power off area 6 Network interface control circuit 7
Sub-power supply circuit 8 Main power supply circuit 9 Network 10 Main part 11 Notification device 12 MPU (microprocessor) 13
Channel interface control circuit 14 Memory interface control circuit 15 Disk control circuit 16 Power supply control circuit 17 Timer 18 Power supply 19 Power supply control circuit 20 Main DC power supply circuit 21 Sub-DC power supply circuit 22 Magnetic disk drive 23 Power supply circuit

Claims (1)

[Claims] Claim 1: Peripheral device operation management that monitors the peripheral device and outputs a power-off signal to the peripheral device if no access is made for a certain period of time or more, on a computer that manages the operation of the peripheral device. A mechanism is provided, and on the above peripheral device,
a main power supply circuit, a power supply control circuit that turns off/on the main power supply circuit according to a power off/on signal, buffers access to the peripheral device when the power is off, and outputs a return signal to the computer; A network interface control circuit that outputs a power-on signal to the power supply control circuit, and a sub-power supply circuit for the network interface control circuit and the power supply control circuit, and can turn on the power without receiving an external power-on signal. A power supply control device for a peripheral device, characterized in that it enables.