Communication apparatus and control method for reducing power consumption

Abstract

The invention relates to a communication apparatus and a control method for reducing power consumption. The communication device comprises a crystal oscillator, an auxiliary circuit and a control circuit. The crystal oscillator can provide a clock in a second mode for operation of the communication device. The auxiliary circuit comprises an accumulator and a comparator. The accumulator can calculate a number according to a medium-dependent interface signal. The comparator can compare the number with a critical value. If the number is greater than or equal to the critical value, the comparator can output a wake-up signal. The control circuit can respond to a control signal to switch from the second mode to a first mode, and can respond to the wake-up signal to switch from the first mode to the second mode. In the first mode, the control circuit can disable the crystal oscillator and can enable the auxiliary circuit. In the second mode, the control circuit can enable the crystal oscillator.

Description

Technical Field

[0001] The present invention relates to a communication device, and in particular to a communication device capable of reducing power consumption. Background Art

[0002] Especially with the rapid growth of Internet applications, power consumption has become an important issue. The related circuits based on traditional design methods consume too much power, which is mainly caused by the use of always-on crystal oscillators. In view of this, it is necessary to propose a new solution to overcome the problems faced by the existing technology. Summary of the invention

[0003] In a preferred embodiment, the present invention proposes a communication device, comprising: a crystal oscillator, which provides a clock in a second mode for the communication device to operate; an auxiliary circuit, comprising: an accumulator, which calculates a number based on a medium dependent interface (MDI) signal; and a comparator, which compares the number with a critical value, wherein if the number is greater than or equal to the critical value, the comparator will output a wake-up signal; and a control circuit, which responds to a control signal to switch from the second mode to a first mode, and responds to the wake-up signal to switch from the first mode to the second mode; wherein in the first mode, the control circuit will disable the crystal oscillator and enable the auxiliary circuit; wherein in the second mode, the control circuit will enable the crystal oscillator.

[0004] In some embodiments, in response to the control signal indicating a disconnected state, the control circuit enters the first mode.

[0005] In some embodiments, in response to the wake-up signal having a high logic level, the control circuit will leave the first mode and enter the second mode.

[0006] In some embodiments, in the second mode, the control circuit disables the auxiliary circuit.

[0007] In some embodiments, the accumulator includes an adder and a register, and the number is stored in the register.

[0008] In some embodiments, in the second mode, the control circuit will reset the number stored in the register.

[0009] In some embodiments, the medium-dependent interface signal is a normal link pulse (NLP) signal or a non-return-to-zero (NRZ) signal.

[0010] In some embodiments, once the accumulator receives the medium dependent interface signal, the accumulator increases the number by 1.

[0011] In some embodiments, the threshold is adjustable.

[0012] In some embodiments, the comparator has a positive input terminal, a negative input terminal, and an output terminal, the positive input terminal of the comparator is used to receive the digital number, the negative input terminal of the comparator is used to receive the critical value, and the output terminal of the comparator is used to selectively output the wake-up signal.

[0013] In another preferred embodiment, the present invention proposes a communication device, comprising: a crystal oscillator, wherein in a first mode, the crystal oscillator is powered off and does not provide a clock for the communication device to operate, and in a second mode, the crystal oscillator is powered on and can provide the clock; and an auxiliary circuit, responding to a medium-dependent interface signal to provide a wake-up signal; wherein the crystal oscillator responds to the wake-up signal to switch from the first mode to the second mode.

[0014] In some embodiments, the auxiliary circuit includes: an accumulator to calculate a number according to the medium-dependent interface signal; and a comparator to compare the number with a threshold value, wherein if the number is greater than or equal to the threshold value, the comparator will output the wake-up signal.

[0015] In another preferred embodiment, the present invention proposes a control method suitable for a communication device and includes the following steps: calculating a number based on a medium-dependent interface signal; comparing the number with a critical value; if the number is greater than or equal to the critical value, outputting a wake-up signal; and powering on a crystal oscillator that has been powered off to provide a clock for the communication device to operate.

[0016] In some embodiments, the control method further comprises: increasing the number by 1 upon receiving the medium dependent interface signal. BRIEF DESCRIPTION OF THE DRAWINGS

[0017] Figure 1 is a schematic diagram showing a communication device according to an embodiment of the present invention.

[0018] Figure 2 is a signal waveform diagram showing an auxiliary circuit according to an embodiment of the present invention

[0019] Figure 3 is a flow chart showing a control method according to an embodiment of the present invention.

[0020] Figure 4 is a schematic diagram showing a communication device according to another embodiment of the present invention.

[0021] Explanation of symbols

[0022] 100,400: Communication equipment

[0023] 110: Transceiver

[0024] 120,420: Crystal oscillator

[0025] 130: Auxiliary circuit

[0026] 132: Accumulator

[0027] 133: Adder

[0028] 134: Register

[0029] 136: Comparator

[0030] 137: Positive input of comparator

[0031] 138: Negative input of the comparator

[0032] 139: Output of the comparator

[0033] BN: Number

[0034] CLK: Clock

[0035] MD1: Link-disconnect power saving mode

[0036] MD2: Normal mode

[0037] S310, S320, S330, S340, S350: Steps

[0038] SC: Control signal

[0039] SN: Medium Dependent Interface Signal

[0040] SR: Reset signal

[0041] SW: wake-up signal

[0042] TH: Threshold

[0043] TS: Specific time point

[0044] VH: Reference potential DETAILED DESCRIPTION

[0045] In order to make the purpose, features and advantages of the present invention more obvious and easy to understand, specific embodiments of the present invention are given below and described in detail with reference to the accompanying drawings.

[0046] Certain words are used in the specification and claims to refer to specific components. It should be understood by those skilled in the art that hardware manufacturers may use different terms to refer to the same component. The specification and claims do not use differences in names as a way to distinguish components, but use differences in the functions of components as the criteria for distinction. The words "including" and "comprising" mentioned throughout the specification and claims are open-ended terms and should be interpreted as "including but not limited to". The word "substantially" means that within an acceptable error range, those skilled in the art can solve the technical problem within a certain error range and achieve the basic technical effect. In addition, the word "coupled" in this specification includes any direct and indirect electrical connection means. Therefore, if the text describes a first device coupled to a second device, it means that the first device can be directly electrically connected to the second device, or indirectly electrically connected to the second device via other devices or connection means.

[0047] The following disclosure provides many different embodiments or examples to implement the different features of the present disclosure. The following disclosure describes specific examples of various components and their arrangements to simplify the description. Of course, these specific examples are not intended to be limiting. For example, if the present disclosure describes a first feature formed on or above a second feature, it means that it may include an embodiment in which the first feature and the second feature are in direct contact, and may also include an embodiment in which an additional feature is formed between the first feature and the second feature, so that the first feature and the second feature may not be in direct contact. In addition, the same reference symbols or (and) marks may be reused in different examples of the following disclosure. These repetitions are for the purpose of simplicity and clarity, and are not intended to limit the specific relationship between the different embodiments or (and) structures discussed.

[0048] In addition, spatially related terms such as "below", "below", "lower", "above", "upper" and similar terms are used to facilitate description of the relationship between one element or feature and another element or features in the figure. In addition to the orientation shown in the drawings, these spatially related terms are intended to encompass different orientations of the device in use or operation. The device may be rotated to different orientations (rotated 90 degrees or other orientations), and the spatially related terms used herein should be interpreted accordingly.

[0049] Figure 11 is a schematic diagram showing a communication device 100 according to an embodiment of the present invention. The communication device 100 may be applied to a network, such as the Internet. For example, the communication device 100 may be used to process communications within a physical layer of an Open System Interconnection Model (OSI Model). Figure 1 In the embodiment of the present invention, the communication device 100 includes a transceiver 110, a crystal oscillator 120, an auxiliary circuit 130, and a control circuit 150. It should be understood that although not shown in FIG. Figure 1 However, the communication device 100 may also include other components, such as a cable or a hub.

[0050] The transceiver 110 may include a transmitter (TX) and a receiver (RX) (not shown). The crystal oscillator 120 is coupled to the transceiver 110. For example, the crystal oscillator 120 may provide a clock of an oscillation signal to the transceiver 110. If the oscillation signal is missing, the communication device 100 will not operate normally. For example, a digital circuit of the communication device 100, such as a latch, requires a clock to sample the signal.

[0051] The auxiliary circuit 130 includes an accumulator 132 and a comparator 136. In detail, the functions of the aforementioned components of the auxiliary circuit 130 can be described as follows.

[0052] The accumulator 132 can calculate a digital BN based on a medium dependent interface (MDI) signal SN. In some embodiments, once the accumulator 132 receives a pulse of the medium dependent interface signal SN, the accumulator 132 increases the digital BN by 1, but is not limited to this. For example, the medium dependent interface signal SN can be used as a clock of the accumulator 132, but is not limited to this. It should be noted that the medium dependent interface signal SN applied to the accumulator 132 does not come from the crystal oscillator 120. Therefore, even if the crystal oscillator 120 has been disabled, the accumulator 132 can still operate normally. The aforementioned digital BN can be an integer.

[0053] In some embodiments, the medium-dependent interface signal SN may be a normal link pulse (NLP) signal or a non-return-to-zero (NRZ) signal. For example, the normal link pulse signal may be sent by a link partner (Link Partner) (not shown), and the link partner may be another network device that is different from and independent of the communication device 100. The link partner may also be connected to the communication device 100 in a wired manner. The normal link pulse signal may be used to confirm whether the link between the two communication devices is connected (Link Up) or disconnected (Link Down). That is, whenever the communication device 100 is in a disconnected state, the link partner will continuously send a normal link pulse signal to request to restore the link state.

[0054] In some embodiments, the accumulator 132 includes an adder 133 and a register 134, but is not limited thereto. The adder 133 can receive a reference potential VH, which can be regarded as a digital number "1". The register 134 is coupled to the adder 133. The register 134 can store the aforementioned digital BN. For example, if the accumulator 132 receives a high logic pulse (High Logic Pulse) of the medium-dependent interface signal SN, the adder 133 will increase and update the digital BN stored in the register 134. In more detail, in response to the pulse of the medium-dependent interface signal SN, the register 134 will output the stored digital BN to the adder 133. Then, the adder 133 can update the digital BN stored by the register 134 by adding the digital number "1" to the stored digital BN.

[0055] The comparator 136 is coupled to the register 134. The comparator 136 compares the number BN from the adder 133 with a threshold value TH. In some embodiments, the threshold value TH is adjustable and can be stored in another register (not shown). For example, the threshold value TH can be any integer selected from 16 to 256 according to different design requirements, but is not limited thereto.

[0056] It should be noted that if the digital BN is greater than or equal to the threshold value TH, the comparator 136 will output a wake-up signal SW with a high logic level (e.g., logic "1"). On the contrary, if the digital BN is less than the threshold value TH, the comparator 136 will not output any wake-up signal SW, or maintain the wake-up signal SW at a low logic level (e.g., logic "0"). In detail, the comparator 136 has a positive input terminal 137, a negative input terminal 138, and an output terminal 139, wherein the positive input terminal 137 of the comparator 136 can be used to receive the digital BN from the register 134, the negative input terminal 138 of the comparator 136 can be used to receive the threshold value TH, and the output terminal 139 of the comparator 136 can be used to selectively output the wake-up signal SW.

[0057] Figure 2 1 is a signal waveform diagram of the auxiliary circuit 130 according to an embodiment of the present invention, wherein the horizontal axis represents time and each vertical axis represents a potential level or a value. Figure 2 In the embodiment of the present invention, the medium dependent interface signal SN is an external normal connection pulse signal, which can be defined in the IEEE (Institute of Electrical and Electronics Engineers) 802.3 standard. For example, the aforementioned threshold value TH can be set to 3.

[0058] In terms of operation, initially, the auxiliary circuit 130 may be disabled, and the digital BN stored in the register 134 may be reset to 0. Then, the auxiliary circuit 130 may be enabled, and once the accumulator 132 receives a pulse of the medium-dependent interface signal SN, the accumulator 132 may update and increase the digital BN stored in the register 134 by 1. At a specific time point TS, when the digital BN is equal to the threshold value TH, the comparator 136 may switch the wake-up signal SW from a low logic level to a high logic level (because three high logic pulses of the medium-dependent interface signal SN have been received). The wake-up signal SW may be used to wake up another component, which will be described in detail in the following embodiments. It should be noted that the threshold value TH is adjustable. By setting a higher threshold value TH, false alarms can be effectively avoided because noise signals usually also have pulses. In other embodiments, the auxiliary circuit 130 may also be used alone, and the auxiliary circuit 130 may not necessarily be a part of the communication device 100.

[0059] Please refer again Figure 1The control circuit 150 is coupled to the transceiver 110, the crystal oscillator 120, and the auxiliary circuit 130. In addition, the control circuit 150 can selectively operate in a link down power saving mode (Link Down Power Saving Mode, LDPS Mode) MD1 or a normal mode (Normal Mode) MD2 according to a control signal SC and a wake-up signal SW. For example, the link down power saving mode MD1 can also be called a first mode, and the normal mode MD2 can also be called a second mode, but it is not limited thereto.

[0060] The control signal SC may be an internal signal or an external signal. In detail, the control signal SC may be used to indicate whether the communication device 100 enters a disconnected state. For example, if the communication device 100 is connected to another communication device, it may be considered that the communication device 100 enters a Link Up State; conversely, if the communication device 100 is disconnected from all other communication devices, it may be considered that the communication device 100 enters a Link Down State. Based on the disconnected state, the communication device 100 must reduce its overall power consumption. In some embodiments, if the control signal SC has a low logic level, it will indicate that the communication device 100 enters a disconnected state, and if the control signal SC has a high logic level, it will indicate that the communication device 100 leaves the disconnected state, but is not limited thereto.

[0061] Initially, the control circuit 150 may operate in the normal state MD2. Then, in response to the control signal SC indicating the aforementioned disconnected state, the control circuit 150 may leave the normal mode MD2 and enter the disconnected power saving mode MD1. In the disconnected power saving mode MD1, the control circuit 150 may simultaneously disable the transceiver 110 and the crystal oscillator 120, and may enable the auxiliary circuit 130. At this time, the control circuit 150 will stop sending any reset signal SR to the accumulator 132, and the accumulator 132 may start to calculate the number BN according to the medium-dependent interface signal SN. It should be noted that the accumulator 132 does not need to receive any clock from the crystal oscillator 120. Therefore, during the disconnected power saving mode MD1, the crystal oscillator 120 can be completely turned off to further reduce power consumption.

[0062] Finally, when the digital BN stored in the register 134 and updated by the adder 133 reaches the threshold value TH, the comparator 136 can output the wake-up signal SW with a high logic level. In response to the wake-up signal SW with a high logic level, the control circuit 150 can leave the disconnection power saving mode MD1 and enter the normal mode MD2. In the normal mode MD2, the control circuit 150 can simultaneously enable the transceiver 110 and the crystal oscillator 120, and can disable the auxiliary circuit 130. At this time, the control circuit 150 can send a reset signal SR to the accumulator 132 to reset the digital BN stored in the register 134. That is, during the normal mode MD2, the digital BN can be constantly maintained at 0.

[0063] In some embodiments, the control circuit 150 may switch from the normal mode MD2 to the link-off power saving mode MD1 in response to the control signal SC, and may switch from the link-off power saving mode MD1 to the normal mode MD2 in response to the wake-up signal SW.

[0064] Figure 3 is a flow chart showing a control method according to an embodiment of the present invention. The aforementioned control method may include the following steps. First, in step S310, a number is calculated based on a medium-dependent interface signal. For example, this medium-dependent interface signal can be used as a clock, but is not limited to this. In step S320, the number is compared with a critical value. In step S330, it is determined whether the number is greater than or equal to the critical value. If not, the process will return to step S310. If so, in step S340, a wake-up signal is output. Then, in step S350, a crystal oscillator that has been powered off is powered on to provide a clock for a communication device to operate. It must be understood that the above steps do not need to be performed in sequence, but Figure 1 , Figure 2 All features of the embodiments of the present invention can be applied to Figure 3 of the control methods.

[0065] Figure 4 is a schematic diagram showing a communication device 400 according to another embodiment of the present invention. Figure 4 is with Figure 1 However, in Figure 4In the embodiment of the present invention, the communication device 400 only includes a crystal oscillator 420 and the auxiliary circuit 130 as described above. The crystal oscillator 420 can be integrated with the control circuit described above, so that it can selectively operate in the disconnection power saving mode MD1 or the normal mode MD2. In the disconnection power saving mode MD1, the crystal oscillator 420 can be powered off (Powered Down), wherein the crystal oscillator 420 does not provide a clock CLK for the communication device 400 to operate. Alternatively, in the normal mode MD2, the crystal oscillator 420 can be powered on (Powered Up), wherein the crystal oscillator 420 can provide the aforementioned clock CLK. The auxiliary circuit 130 can respond to the medium dependent interface signal SN to provide the wake-up signal SW. In more detail, when the digital BN based on the medium dependent interface signal SN reaches the threshold value TH, the wake-up signal SW is output. The crystal oscillator 420 can respond to the wake-up signal SW to switch from the disconnection power saving mode MD1 to the normal mode MD2. Figure 4 The remaining features of the communication device 400 are the same as Figure 1 The communication device 100 is similar to the embodiment, so the two embodiments can achieve similar operating effects.

[0066] The present invention provides a novel communication device and control method. Compared with the conventional design, the present invention at least has the advantage of effectively reducing the overall power consumption, so it is very suitable for application in various devices.

[0067] In some existing communication devices, in the link-off power saving mode, most of the components of the communication device (e.g., the transmitter) are turned off to save power. However, the crystal oscillator must remain activated to provide a clock signal to ensure that the digital circuit of the communication device can process the normal link pulse signal. If the crystal oscillator is turned off, the normal link pulse signal will not be detected. Therefore, the power consumption of these existing communication devices is often difficult to further reduce. In the present invention, with the help of the auxiliary circuit 130, the crystal oscillator 120 can be turned off. Although the auxiliary circuit 130 may also consume some power, compared with the crystal oscillator 120, the power consumption of the auxiliary circuit 130 will become negligible. Therefore, the power consumption of the communication device 100 equipped with the auxiliary circuit 130 will still be relatively low.

[0068] It is worth noting that the above-mentioned component parameters are not limiting conditions of the present invention. Designers can adjust these setting values ​​according to different needs. The communication device and control method of the present invention are not limited to Figure 1-Figure 4 The present invention may only include Figure 1-Figure 4In other words, not all the features shown in the figures need to be implemented in the communication device and control method of the present invention at the same time.

[0069] The method of the present invention, or a specific form or part thereof, may exist in the form of program code. The program code may be contained in a physical medium, such as a floppy disk, a CD, a hard disk, or any other machine-readable (such as computer-readable) storage medium, or a computer program product not limited to an external form, wherein when the program code is loaded and executed by a machine, such as a computer, the machine becomes a device for participating in the present invention. The program code may also be transmitted through some transmission media, such as wires or cables, optical fibers, or any transmission form, wherein when the program code is received, loaded and executed by a machine, such as a computer, the machine becomes a device for participating in the present invention. When implemented in a general-purpose processing unit, the program code combines with the processing unit to provide a unique device that operates similarly to an application-specific logic circuit.

[0070] Ordinal numbers in this specification and claims, such as "first", "second", "third", etc., have no sequential relationship with each other and are only used to distinguish two different elements with the same name.

[0071] Although the present invention is disclosed as above in terms of preferred embodiments, it is not intended to limit the scope of the present invention. Any person skilled in the art may make some changes and modifications without departing from the concept and scope of the present invention. Therefore, the scope of protection of the present invention shall be determined by the claims.

Claims

1. A communication device, comprising: a crystal oscillator providing a clock in a second mode for the communication device to operate; An auxiliary circuit, comprising: an accumulator for calculating a number according to a medium-dependent interface signal; as well as a comparator, comparing the number with a threshold value, wherein if the number is greater than or equal to the threshold value, the comparator will output a wake-up signal; and a control circuit, responding to a control signal to switch from the second mode to a first mode, and responding to the wake-up signal to switch from the first mode to the second mode; wherein in the first mode, the control circuit disables the crystal oscillator and enables the auxiliary circuit; In the second mode, the control circuit enables the crystal oscillator.

2. The communication device of claim 1, wherein in response to the control signal indicating a disconnected state, the control circuit enters the first mode. 3 . The communication device of claim 1 , wherein in response to the wake-up signal having a high logic level, the control circuit will leave the first mode and enter the second mode. 4 . The communication device as claimed in claim 1 , wherein in the second mode, the control circuit disables the auxiliary circuit. 5 . The communication device as claimed in claim 1 , wherein the accumulator comprises an adder and a register, and the number is stored in the register.

6. The communication device of claim 5, wherein in the second mode, the control circuit resets the number stored in the register. 7 . The communication device as claimed in claim 1 , wherein the medium dependent interface signal is a normal link pulse signal or a non-return-to-zero signal.

8. The communication device of claim 1, wherein once the accumulator receives the MDIS signal, the accumulator increases the number by 1.

9. The communication device as claimed in claim 1, wherein the threshold is adjustable.

10. The communication device as claimed in claim 1, wherein the comparator has a positive input terminal, a negative input terminal, and an output terminal, the positive input terminal of the comparator is used to receive the digital number, the negative input terminal of the comparator is used to receive the critical value, and the output terminal of the comparator is used to selectively output the wake-up signal.

11. A communication device, comprising: a crystal oscillator, wherein in a first mode, the crystal oscillator is powered off and does not provide a clock for the communication device to operate, and in a second mode, the crystal oscillator is powered on and can provide the clock; and An auxiliary circuit, responding to a dielectric dependent interface signal to provide a wake-up signal; The crystal oscillator switches from the first mode to the second mode in response to the wake-up signal.

12. The communication device as claimed in claim 11, wherein the auxiliary circuit comprises: an accumulator that calculates a number based on the medium-dependent interface signal; and A comparator compares the number with a critical value, wherein if the number is greater than or equal to the critical value, the comparator will output the wake-up signal. 13 . The communication device as claimed in claim 11 , wherein the medium dependent interface signal is a normal link pulse signal or a non-return-to-zero signal.

14. The communication device of claim 12, wherein once the accumulator receives the MDIS signal, the accumulator increases the number by 1.

15. The communication device as claimed in claim 12, wherein the accumulator comprises an adder and a register, and the number is stored in the register.

16. The communication device as claimed in claim 12, wherein the comparator has a positive input terminal, a negative input terminal, and an output terminal, the positive input terminal of the comparator is used to receive the digital number, the negative input terminal of the comparator is used to receive the critical value, and the output terminal of the comparator is used to selectively output the wake-up signal.

17. A control method, applicable to a communication device, comprising the following steps: Calculating a number based on a medium-dependent interface signal; comparing the number with a critical value; If the number is greater than or equal to the critical value, outputting a wake-up signal; and A crystal oscillator which has been powered off is powered on to provide a clock for the communication device to operate. 18 . The control method as claimed in claim 17 , wherein the dielectric dependent interface signal is a normal link pulse signal or a non-return-to-zero signal.

19. The control method according to claim 17, further comprising: Once the medium dependent interface signal is received, the number is increased by 1.

20. The control method as claimed in claim 17, wherein the threshold value is adjustable.

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