JP5037553B2 - Power management method and power management apparatus for wireless network device - Google Patents

Description

  The present invention relates to a power management method and a power management device, and more particularly to a power management method and a power management device applied to a wireless network device.

  In recent years, with the spread of personal computers and network devices and the optimization of prices, the laying of LANs (local area networks) has advanced greatly, and significant growth is expected. The network connects terminals of various users at various locations, transmits digital data at high speed and efficiently, and enables sharing of various information, data, and knowledge among a plurality of users. In particular, the development of wireless LAN (WLAN) has released the network from cable restrictions and has realized a portable and mobile terminal. As a result, network resources can be accessed anytime and anywhere.

  Power consumption is an important issue for mobile devices. A factor that affects power consumption in a mobile workstation is a wireless network device (eg, a wireless network card) that includes a radio frequency (RF) circuit and a baseband circuit. However, commercially available mobile devices have to be manually operated for power saving, which is inconvenient and inefficient for the user.

  In view of the foregoing, one of the objects of the present invention is to provide a power management method and a power management device applied to a wireless network device that can dynamically adjust the power consumption of the wireless network device and solve the problems of the prior art. That is.

  As another object of the present invention, when a wireless network device is powered on but operates in an unconnected state, a power management method applied to the wireless network device that automatically adjusts its power consumption by firmware and It is to provide a power management device.

  As another object of the present invention, a power management method applied to a wireless network device that dynamically adjusts power consumption of the wireless network device using beacon information when the wireless network device operates in a connected state, and It is to provide a power management device.

  The present invention discloses a power management method applied to a wireless network device. The wireless network device operates in an unconnected state or a connected state. In the power management method, after the wireless network device is turned on, the detection unit periodically detects whether the wireless network device operates in an unconnected state, thereby determining whether to enter the first power saving mode. Determining and detecting that the wireless network device operates in an unconnected state, controlling the wireless network device to enter a first power saving mode, and when the wireless network device operates in a connected state, Determining whether the wireless network device enters the second power saving mode according to the beacon information received by the wireless network device.

  The present invention discloses a power management device that controls the power mode of a wireless network device. The wireless network device operates in an unconnected state or a connected state. The power management device is a detection unit that detects the operation state of the wireless network device and generates a detection result, and a power mode control unit that is coupled to the detection unit and controls the power mode of the wireless network device based on the detection result of the detection unit Including. When the detection result of the detection unit indicates that the wireless network device operates in an unconnected state, the power mode control unit controls the wireless network device to enter the first power saving mode. When the detection result of the detection unit indicates that the wireless network device operates in the connected state, the power mode control unit sets the wireless network device to enter the second power saving mode based on the beacon information received by the wireless network device. Control.

3 is a flowchart of a first embodiment of a power management method applied to a wireless network device according to the present invention; 2 is a flowchart illustrating detailed steps included in a step of entering an IPS mode and a step of leaving an IPS mode illustrated in FIG. 1. It is explanatory drawing which shows the entrance / exit time of the IPS mode shown in FIG. 6 is a flowchart of a second embodiment of a power management method applied to a wireless network device according to the present invention; It is explanatory drawing which shows the entrance / exit time of LPS mode shown in FIG. It is explanatory drawing which shows the Example of the power management apparatus applied to the radio | wireless network apparatus by this invention.

  The wireless network device taken up in the embodiments described below is applied to wireless communication products such as a wireless network card and a wireless base station. However, the wireless network device is not limited to this, and an electronic device that has a wireless network interface and can be connected to a wireless network. Applicable. The wireless network device is connected to a wireless LAN base station (WLAN AP) or a workstation in a wireless LAN, and transmits and receives wireless signals for data and message transmission.

  Please refer to FIG. FIG. 1 is a flowchart of a first embodiment of a power management method applied to a wireless network device according to the present invention. The first embodiment includes the following steps, but is not limited thereto. If substantially the same result is obtained, it is not necessary to perform the following steps in the order shown in FIG.

  Step 102: Power on the wireless network device.

  Step 104: The wireless network device is in an unconnected state.

  Step 106: Detect the operating state of the wireless network device and generate a detection result. When the detection result indicates that the operation state is the scan state, the process proceeds to step 110. If the detection result indicates that the operating state is a connected state, the process proceeds to step 120. Otherwise, go to step 130.

  Step 110: Perform a scanning process. Return to step 104.

  Step 120: Determine whether a matching SSID (service set identifier) is found. If a matching SSID is found, go to step 122. If not, return to step 104.

  Step 122: Perform the connection process.

  Step 124: Enter the connected state.

  Step 130: Perform a power saving mode entry process.

  Step 132: automatically control the power consumption mode of the wireless network device to enter an IPS (inactive power saving) mode.

  Step 134: Detect the operating state of the wireless network device and generate a detection result. If the detection result indicates that the operation state is a scan state or a connection state, the process proceeds to step 136. Otherwise, return to step 132.

  Step 136: Execute the power saving mode leaving process.

  Step 138: Automatically control the wireless network device to leave the IPS mode. If the detection result indicates that the operation state is the scan state, the process returns to step 110. If the detection result indicates that the operating state is the connected state, the process returns to step 120.

  After powering on the wireless network device, the wireless network device is in an unconnected state (idling mode) (steps 102 to 104). At this time, the detection unit periodically detects the operation state of the wireless network device using the detection unit, and generates a detection result (step 106). Next, it will be described in three situations. In the first situation, if the detection result indicates that the operation state is the scan state, the scan process is executed (step 110). In the second situation, if the detection result indicates that the operation state is the connection state, the connection process is executed to enter the connection state (steps 120 to 124). In the third situation, if the operation state is not connected, the power mode control unit automatically / actively controls the power consumption mode of the wireless network device and enters the IPS mode (steps 130 to 132). The power mode control unit may be implemented in software, firmware (eg, basic input / output system (BIOS)) or hardware. Further, if an instruction to perform a scan or connection is received after entering the IPS mode, the wireless network device is automatically controlled to leave the IPS mode (steps 134 to 138).

  It should be noted that the unconnected state refers to a state in which the wireless network device does not perform scanning or connection, that is, an idling state, and the connected state includes the connection process and the connected state taken up in steps 120 to 124. Note that the operation state indicates not only the current operation state of the wireless network device but also the operation state at the next time point. For example, the operating state detected when the wireless network device receives a command to connect to a base station or a workstation is a connection state.

  The above embodiments are merely illustrative of the application of the present invention and should not be taken as limiting the present invention. As can be understood by those skilled in the art, other steps may be inserted between the steps in FIG. 1 or a plurality of steps may be combined as long as not departing from the spirit of the present invention. For example, steps 132 and 138 can include other detailed steps. Reference is made to FIG. 2 (FIGS. 2A and 2B). FIG. 2 is a flow chart showing the detailed steps included in entering the IPS mode (step 132) and leaving the IPS mode (step 138) shown in FIG.

  As shown in FIG. 2A, step 132 shown in FIG. 1 further includes the following steps.

  Step 210: Turn off at least one of a baseband circuit and an RF (radio frequency) circuit of the wireless network device.

  Step 212: Notify the host controller of the USB (Universal Serial Bus) device to turn off the pipeline and stop the polling mechanism.

  As shown in FIG. 2B, the step 138 shown in FIG. 1 further includes the following steps.

  Step 220: Restart at least one of the baseband circuit and the RF circuit of the wireless network device.

  Step 222: Notify the host controller of the USB device to turn on the pipeline and restart the polling mechanism.

  Steps 210-212 and steps 220-222 are merely illustrative of the application of the present invention and should not be taken as limiting the present invention. As will be appreciated by those skilled in the art, unless it is contrary to the spirit of the present invention, aiming at the same goal as the present invention, and entering the IPS mode (step 132) and from the IPS mode by other methods consistent with the spirit of the present invention. It is also possible to carry out the step of leaving (step 138). It should be noted that after the wireless network enters the IPS mode, elements with high power consumption such as baseband circuits and RF circuits must be turned off in order to reduce power consumption. In the case of a wireless network device arranged in a USB device, power consumption is also applied to the polling mechanism of the USB device. Therefore, in the present invention, after the wireless network device enters the IPS mode, a pipeline (for example, BulkIn Pipe) is connected. Notify the host controller to turn it off and stop the polling mechanism. Thereby, the power saving effect can be further improved.

  Please refer to FIG. FIG. 3 is an explanatory diagram showing entry / exit times in the IPS mode shown in FIG. In this embodiment, at the time of entering the IPS mode, after turning on the wireless network, the system (for example, BIOS (basic input / output system)) periodically detects whether the wireless network device operates in an unconnected state. Confirm whether or not to enter the IPS mode. In the present embodiment, detection is performed at a cycle of once every 2 seconds, but this should not be taken as limiting the present invention. If the wireless network device is not connected and has not received a command to connect or scan, the system automatically controls the power consumption mode of the wireless network device to enter the IPS mode. If the confirmation time is between executing the scan process and the connection process, the system does not start the IPS mode entry process. Note that after the wireless network device establishes a connection with the base station or the workstation (connection state), the system does not check every 2 seconds whether the system has entered the IPS mode. When the wireless network device is in the IPS mode and the detection result indicates that the operation state is the connection state or the scan state when the wireless network device leaves the IPS mode, the system automatically controls the wireless network device to leave the IPS mode. To do.

  The above embodiments are merely illustrative of the application of the present invention and should not be taken as limiting the present invention. As can be understood by those skilled in the art, various changes to the entry / exit times of the IPS mode are possible without departing from the spirit of the present invention.

  However, the IPS mode is only one embodiment of the present invention. As another embodiment, more power saving mechanisms can be implemented in the wireless network device in order to improve the power saving effect. Please refer to FIG. FIG. 4 is a flowchart of a second embodiment of the power management method applied to the wireless network device according to the present invention. The second embodiment includes (but is not limited to) the following steps.

  Step 402: The wireless network device is in a connected state.

  Step 404: Detect the operating state of the wireless network device and generate a detection result. If the wireless network device is in the connected state and the detection result indicates that the operating state is the data non-transmission state, the process proceeds to step 410. Otherwise, go to step 420.

  Step 410: Perform a power saving mode entry process.

  Step 412: The wireless network device is automatically controlled to enter LPS (like leisure power saving) mode. Return to step 404.

  Step 420: Perform a power saving mode leaving process.

  Step 422: The wireless network device is automatically controlled to leave the LPS mode. Return to step 404.

  Please refer to FIG. FIG. 5 is an explanatory diagram showing entry / exit times in the LPS mode shown in FIG. In this embodiment, after the wireless network device establishes a connection with a base station or a workstation, the entry / exit time of the LPS mode is determined based on the information element in the beacon. The beacon information element includes a traffic information message (TIM). The TIM is divided into a TIM element and a DTIM (Delivery Traffic Information Message) element, and only the DTIM element includes a data message. Therefore, the point of entry / exit in the LPS mode can be determined by the quantity of DTIM included in the TIM information field or the DTIM period. For example, the wireless network device receives a beacon after an operation such as data transmission / reception is completed. In this case, since there is no data to be transmitted, the system automatically controls the power consumption mode of the wireless network device to enter the LPS mode. Based on the number of DTIMs or the DTIM period in the beacon, the time at which the wireless network device “wakes up” and receives broadcast and multicast packets (which refers to leaving the LPS mode) can be determined. When the wireless network device is used as the receiving end (Rx) or the transmitting end (Tx), there is data to be transmitted / received, and therefore the system automatically controls the wireless network device so as to leave the LPS mode.

  It should be noted that the above steps are not necessarily performed in the order shown in the above embodiment. The order can be changed by those skilled in the art without departing from the spirit of the present invention.

  Please refer to FIG. FIG. 6 is an explanatory diagram showing an embodiment of the power management device 650 applied to the wireless network device 610 according to the present invention. In this embodiment, the wireless network device 610 and the power management device 650 are arranged in the mobile device 600 (for example, a notebook personal computer). It is. As shown in FIG. 6, the wireless network device 610 includes a baseband circuit 620 and an RF circuit 630, and the power management device 650 includes a detection unit 660 and a power mode control unit 670. The detection unit 660 detects the operation state S1 of the wireless network device 610 and generates a detection result DR1. The power mode control unit 670 is coupled to the detection unit 660 and automatically controls the wireless network device 610 to enter and leave the power saving mode (for example, the IPS mode or the LPS mode) according to the detection result DR1 of the detection unit 660. . The power consumption of the wireless network device 610 that has entered the power saving mode is smaller than the power consumption of the wireless network device 610 that has left the power saving mode. The power mode control unit 670 turns off the power signal and the clock signal of the baseband circuit 620 and / or the RF circuit 630 of the wireless network device 610 when the wireless network device 610 enters the IPS mode or the LPS mode. When the wireless network device 610 leaves the IPS mode or the LPS mode, the power signal and the clock signal of the baseband circuit 620 and / or the RF circuit 630 of the wireless network device 610 are restarted. When placing the wireless network device 610 in the USB device, the power mode control unit 670 further instructs the host controller 690 of the USB device to turn off the pipeline when the wireless network device 610 enters the IPS mode or the LPS mode. Notify, stop the polling mechanism, and when the wireless network device 610 leaves the IPS mode or LPS mode, notify the USB device host controller 690 to turn on the pipeline and restart the polling mechanism.

  In this embodiment, the power management apparatus 650 and the host controller 690 can be implemented not only by hardware but also by firmware (for example, BIOS). The power mode control unit 670 includes a low noise amplifier (LNA), a power amplifier (PA), a mixer, and a variable gain amplifier in the baseband circuit 620 when the wireless network device 610 enters the IPS mode or the LPS mode. (VGA) and the power signal or clock signal of some or all of the filters are turned off, or the power signal or clock signal of the modulation circuit in the baseband circuit 620 is turned off.

  It should be noted that the wireless network device 610 is, for example, a wireless network card, but other types of wireless network devices are possible. Further, details and operations of the internal elements of the wireless network device 610 and the power management device 650 shown in FIG. 6 can be understood by referring to the above-described embodiments, and thus description thereof is omitted here.

  The above examples are merely illustrative of the technical features of the present invention and should not be taken as limiting the scope of the present invention. As described above, the present invention provides a power management method and a power management device that are applied to a wireless network device, and the wireless network operates in a power saving mode (the IPS or LPS mode) by detecting an operation state of the wireless network device. ) Automatically control to enter and leave. Therefore, when the wireless network device does not perform connection or scan, the wireless network device enters the IPS mode to turn off the baseband circuit and the RF circuit of the wireless network device, thereby reducing power consumption. When connected but not performing data transmission, it enters LPS mode to save power consumption. When the wireless network device is installed in the USB device, the host controller is notified to stop the polling mechanism after entering the power saving mode, thereby further reducing power consumption. It is convenient and efficient for the user to continuously detect the operation state for power saving.

  The above are preferred embodiments of the present invention, and do not limit the scope of the present invention. Accordingly, any modifications or changes that can be made by those skilled in the art, which are made within the spirit of the present invention and have an equivalent effect on the present invention, shall belong to the scope of the claims of the present invention. To do.

600 Mobile device 610 Wireless network device 620 Baseband circuit 630 RF circuit 650 Power management device 660 Detection unit 670 Power mode detection unit 690 Host controller

Claims (13)

Unconnected to a power managing method applied to a wireless network devices operating in scan state or connected state, when the wireless network apparatus is detected to the operating in unconnected state, the first Controlling the wireless network device to enter a power saving mode, and if a command to execute a scan is received after entering the first power saving mode, the first power saving mode a step of entering the scan status away from the radio when the network device is operating in the connected state, the information of the beacon received by the wireless network device, the wireless network device is a second power saving Determining whether to enter a mode, and a power management method comprising:
After the wireless network device is powered on, the detection unit periodically detects whether the wireless network device is operating in the unconnected state in which scanning or connection is not performed , whereby the first saving Decide whether to enter power mode ,
When the wireless network device operates in the connected state, it is not periodically checked whether the first power saving mode has been entered .   Controlling the wireless network device to enter the first power saving mode further includes turning off a baseband circuit or an RF (radio frequency) circuit of the wireless network device. The power management method according to claim 1.   The power management method according to claim 1, wherein the wireless network device is installed in a USB (Universal Serial Bus) device.   The power management method according to claim 3, wherein the host controller is notified to stop the polling mechanism.   The power management method according to claim 1, wherein the information is a DTIM (Delivery Traffic Information Message), the number of DTIMs, or a DTIM period.   2. The power according to claim 1, wherein the first power saving mode is an IPS (inactive power saving) mode, and the second power saving mode is an LPS (link leisure power saving) mode. Management method.   The power management method according to claim 1, wherein the detection unit is implemented by firmware. A power management device that controls a power mode of a wireless network device that operates in an unconnected state , a scan state, or a connected state,
A detection unit that detects an operating state of the wireless network device and generates a detection result;
A power mode control unit coupled to the detection unit and controlling a power mode of the wireless network device according to a detection result of the detection unit;
If the detection result by the radio network device detection unit is shown to operate in the unconnected state, the power mode control unit controls the wireless network apparatus to enter a first power saving mode,
If a command to execute a scan is received after entering the first power saving mode, the wireless network device is controlled to leave the first power saving mode and enter the scan state;
When the detection result by the radio network device of the detection unit is shown to operate in the connected state, the power mode control unit by information of the beacon received by the wireless network device, to enter a second power saving mode In the power management device for controlling the wireless network device,
After the wireless network device is powered on, the detection unit periodically detects whether the wireless network device is operating in the unconnected state where scanning or connection is not performed , thereby Decide whether to enter power saving mode ,
When the wireless network device operates in the connected state, the power management device does not periodically check whether the first power saving mode has been entered . Wherein when the wireless network apparatus enters the first power saving mode, the power mode control unit turns off the baseband circuit or the RF circuit of the wireless network device, the power of claim 8, wherein the Management device   The power management apparatus according to claim 8, wherein the wireless network device is disposed in a USB device.   The power management apparatus according to claim 10, wherein when the wireless network apparatus enters the first power saving mode, the power mode control unit notifies the host controller to stop the polling mechanism.   The power management apparatus according to claim 8, wherein the information is DTIM, the number of DTIM, or a cycle of DTIM.   The power management apparatus according to claim 8, wherein the first power saving mode is an IPS mode, and the second power saving mode is an LPS mode.

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