Power control device, data recording device equipped therewith, power control program, and power control method

Abstract

This invention provides a power control device, a data recording device equipped with the same, a power control program, and a power control method that enable practical operation in environments without commercial power by appropriately controlling the power supply to a data recording device equipped with an advanced operating system. [Solution] A power control device 1 for controlling the power supply to a data recording device 10 equipped with an OS 10a, comprising: a startup instruction acquisition unit 31 that acquires a startup instruction for the OS 10a; an OS state monitoring unit 32 that continuously monitors the OS state held by the OS state holding terminal 4; and a power control unit 33 that turns on an electronic switch 12 when a startup instruction is acquired and turns off the electronic switch 12 when the OS state changes from the startup state to the standby state.

Description

Technical Field

[0001] The present invention relates to a technique for controlling power supply to a data recording device, and more particularly to a power control device for a data recording device equipped with an advanced operating system, a data recording device equipped with the same, a power control program, and a power control method.

Background Art

[0002] Conventionally, data recording devices such as data loggers that record various data measured by sensors and the like are known. For example, Japanese Unexamined Patent Application Publication No. 2017-101974 discloses a data logger driven by a battery for use in an environment where charging is not possible (Patent Document 1).

Prior Art Documents

Patent Documents

[0003]

Patent Document 1

Summary of the Invention

Problems to be Solved by the Invention

[0004] However, in recent years, data recording devices have introduced advanced operating systems (hereinafter sometimes referred to as OS) in order to support the latest sensors and various communication standards, and power consumption has been on the increase trend. Also, even when the operating system is shut down (hereinafter sometimes referred to as SD) while no data is being recorded, the power-on state with the power supply is maintained, so standby power is constantly consumed.

[0005] On the other hand, in environments without commercial power, such as mountainous areas and construction sites, power is secured by batteries or solar panels. However, such power sources are insufficient to meet the standby power requirements of operating systems, which have seen increased power consumption in recent years. Therefore, in practical terms, there is a problem in that data recording devices equipped with current advanced operating systems cannot be used in environments without commercial power, such as mountainous areas and construction sites.

[0006] The present invention has been made to solve these problems and aims to provide a power control device, a data recording device equipped with the same, a power control program, and a power control method that can conserve power by appropriately controlling the power supply to a data recording device equipped with an advanced operating system, thereby enabling practical operation in environments without commercial power. [Means for solving the problem]

[0007] As a result of diligent research to solve the above-mentioned problems, the inventors conceived of a way to reduce power consumption by providing a power control device that operates at extremely low power, separate from the data recording device equipped with an operating system, and appropriately controlling the power supply to the data recording device with this power control device.

[0008] However, the operating system's shutdown process must be completed before cutting off power to the data recording device. If power is cut off before the shutdown process is complete, data may not be saved and may be lost, or inconsistencies may occur within the system, potentially preventing it from starting up correctly. On the other hand, conventional operating systems do not output signals or anything similar to indicate that the shutdown process is complete. Based on this knowledge, the present invention was completed.

[0009] The power control device according to the present invention solves the problem of saving power by appropriately controlling the power supply to a data recording device equipped with an advanced operating system, thereby enabling practical operation in environments without commercial power, and is a power control device that controls the power supply to a data recording device equipped with an operating system, wherein an electronic switch capable of turning on and off the power supply from the power supply to the data recording device is provided between the data recording device and the power supply, and the data recording device is provided with an OS state holding terminal that holds an OS state indicating whether the operating system is in a running state or a standby state, and comprises a startup instruction acquisition unit that acquires a startup instruction to start the operating system, an OS state monitoring unit that continuously monitors the OS state held in the OS state holding terminal, and a power control unit that turns on the electronic switch when the startup instruction acquisition unit acquires the startup instruction, and turns off the electronic switch when the OS state monitoring unit detects that the OS state has changed from a running state to a standby state.

[0010] The data recording device according to the present invention is equipped with the above-described power control device in order to solve the problem of saving power by appropriately controlling the power supply to the data recording device equipped with an advanced operating system, thereby enabling practical operation in environments without commercial power.

[0011] Furthermore, in one aspect of the present invention, in order to solve the problem of setting the OS state held in the OS state holding terminal to the startup state in conjunction with the startup of the operating system, the data recording device may have an OS state management unit that sets the OS state held in the OS state holding terminal to the startup state when the operating system is started.

[0012] Furthermore, in one aspect of the present invention, in order to solve the problem of easily and reliably detecting when the operating system shutdown process is complete, the OS state holding terminal may automatically set the OS state to a standby state when the operating system shutdown process is complete.

[0013] The power control program according to the present invention solves the problem of saving power by appropriately controlling the power supply to a data recording device equipped with an advanced operating system, thereby enabling practical operation in environments without commercial power. The power control program controls the power supply to a data recording device equipped with an operating system, wherein an electronic switch capable of turning power on and off from the power supply to the data recording device is provided between the data recording device and the power supply, and the data recording device is provided with an OS state holding terminal that holds an OS state indicating whether the operating system is in a running state or a standby state. The power control program causes a computer to execute a startup instruction acquisition step to acquire a startup instruction to start the operating system, an OS state monitoring step to continuously monitor the OS state held in the OS state holding terminal, and a power control step to turn on the electronic switch when the startup instruction is acquired in the startup instruction acquisition step, and turn off the electronic switch when it is detected in the OS state monitoring step that the OS state has changed from a running state to a standby state.

[0014] The power supply control method according to the present invention solves the problem of saving power by appropriately controlling the power supply to a data recording device equipped with an advanced operating system, thereby enabling practical operation in an environment without commercial power, and is a power supply control method for controlling the power supply to a data recording device equipped with an operating system, wherein an electronic switch capable of turning on and off the power supply from the power supply to the data recording device is provided between the data recording device and the power supply, and the data recording device is provided with an OS state holding terminal that holds an OS state indicating whether the operating system is in a running state or a standby state, and comprises a startup instruction acquisition step of acquiring a startup instruction to start the operating system, an OS state monitoring step of continuously monitoring the OS state held in the OS state holding terminal, and a power supply control step of turning on the electronic switch when the startup instruction is acquired in the startup instruction acquisition step, and turning off the electronic switch when it is detected in the OS state monitoring step that the OS state has changed from a running state to a standby state. [Effects of the Invention]

[0015] According to the present invention, power consumption can be reduced by appropriately controlling the power supply to a data recording device equipped with an advanced operating system, enabling practical operation in environments without commercial power. [Brief explanation of the drawing]

[0016] [Figure 1] This is a block diagram showing one embodiment of a power control device and a data recording device equipped therewith according to the present invention. [Figure 2] This flowchart shows a power control method performed by the power control device, power control program, and data recording device of this embodiment. [Modes for carrying out the invention]

[0017] Hereinafter, an embodiment of a power supply control device, a data recording device including the same, a power supply control program, and a power supply control method according to the present invention will be described with reference to the drawings.

[0018] In this embodiment, as shown in FIG. 1, an electronic switch 12 capable of turning on and off the power supply from the power supply 11 to the data recording device 10 is provided between the data recording device 10 and the power supply 11, and the electronic switch 12 is turned on and off by the power supply control device 1, thereby appropriately controlling the power supply. Hereinafter, each component will be described.

[0019] [1] Data recording device 10 The data recording device 10 records various data acquired by sensors, cameras, etc. In this embodiment, the data recording device 10 is constituted by a computer such as a single-board computer equipped with an advanced operating system (OS), and as shown in FIG. 1, mainly has an OS state holding terminal 4, a storage means 5, and an arithmetic processing means 6 etc. Hereinafter, each constituent means will be described in detail.

[0020] Examples of applications of the data recording device 10 include a data logger that records various measurement data measured by sensors etc., a surveillance camera that records video data, etc. Also, as the advanced operating system installed in the data recording device 10, all operating systems that require a shutdown process, such as Linux (registered trademark) and Windows (registered trademark), are included.

[0021] [[ID=*17]] The OS state holding terminal 4 holds the OS state indicating whether the operating system is in the startup state or the standby state. In this embodiment, the OS state holding terminal 4 is constituted by a general-purpose input / output (GPIO) port etc. that holds a voltage level (LOW level or HIGH level) by a digital value (0 or 1).

[0022] When the operating system is in the startup state, the OS state holding terminal 4 holds the state of outputting a voltage (HIGH level). On the other hand, the OS state holding terminal 4 is designed to be in a state of not outputting a voltage (LOW level) when the operating system is in the standby state.

[0023] In this embodiment, when the shutdown process of the operating system is completed, no current flows to the OS state holding terminal 4, so the voltage cannot be output and the LOW level is maintained. Therefore, the OS state is automatically set to the standby state. On the other hand, when the operating system is started, the digital value held by the OS state holding terminal 4 is rewritten from 0 (LOW level) to 1 (HIGH level) by the OS state management unit 62 described later, and the OS state is set to the startup state.

[0024] The storage means 5 stores various data and functions as a working area when the arithmetic processing means 6 performs arithmetic processing. In this embodiment, the storage means 5 is composed of an SSD (Solid State Drive), a ROM (Read Only Memory), a RAM (Random Access Memory), a flash memory, a memory card, a USB memory, etc. As shown in FIG. 1, it has a program storage unit 51 and a recorded data storage unit 52.

[0025] An advanced operating system 10a (OS), an OS state management program 10b, and a data recording program 10c are installed in the program storage unit 51. Then, by the arithmetic processing means 6 executing each of the operating system 10a, the OS state management program 10b, and the data recording program 10c, the computer as the data recording device 10 functions as each of the components described later.

[0026] The recording data storage unit 52 stores various types of data acquired by the data recording device 10 as recorded data. Examples of recorded data include, but are not limited to, various measurement data measured by sensors (not shown) and video data captured by surveillance cameras (not shown).

[0027] The arithmetic processing unit 6 consists of a CPU (Central Processing Unit) and the like, and as shown in Figure 1, it functions as a startup processing execution unit 61 and a shutdown (SD) processing execution unit 64 by executing the operating system 10a installed in the program storage unit 51. Furthermore, the arithmetic processing unit 6 functions as an OS state management unit 62 by executing the OS state management program 10b installed in the program storage unit 51. In addition, the arithmetic processing unit 6 functions as a recording processing execution unit 63 by executing the data recording program 10c installed in the program storage unit 51. Each component will be described in more detail below.

[0028] The startup processing unit 61 executes the startup process for the operating system 10a. In this embodiment, the startup processing unit 61 automatically executes the startup process for the operating system 10a when the data recording device 10 is powered on by the power supply 11.

[0029] The OS state management unit 62 manages the OS state held in the OS state holding terminal 4. In this embodiment, when the operating system 10a starts up, the OS state management unit 62 sets the OS state to the startup state by rewriting the digital value held in the OS state holding terminal 4 from 0 to 1. Furthermore, when the data recording process by the recording process execution unit 63 is completed, the OS state management unit 62 instructs the shutdown process execution unit 64 to execute the shutdown process.

[0030] The recording processing execution unit 63 performs data recording processing. In this embodiment, each time the operating system 10a starts up, the recording processing execution unit 63 acquires predetermined data from sensors (not shown) and stores it in the recorded data storage unit 52. The recording processing execution unit 63 also transmits the recorded data to a server or the like via communication means (not shown).

[0031] The shutdown process execution unit 64 executes the shutdown process of the operating system 10a. In this embodiment, when the shutdown process execution unit 64 receives a shutdown instruction from the OS state management unit 62 to execute the shutdown process, it executes the shutdown process of the operating system 10a. Furthermore, once the shutdown process is complete, the operating system 10a maintains a standby state.

[0032] Note that shutdown instructions are not limited to those output by the OS state management unit 62. For example, the shutdown processing execution unit 64 may acquire a shutdown instruction when a button on the power control device 1 is pressed. Alternatively, a remote shutdown instruction may be acquired from a remote server or the like via communication means.

[0033] [2] Power control device 1 The power control device 1 appropriately controls the power supply to the data recording device 10. In this embodiment, the power control device 1 is composed of a computer such as a one-chip microcomputer with extremely low power consumption, and as shown in Figure 1, it mainly has a storage means 2 and an arithmetic processing means 3. Each component means will be described in detail below. In this embodiment, the power control device 1 is connected to the power supply 11 and is always on.

[0034] The storage means 2 stores various types of data and also functions as a working area when the arithmetic processing means 3 performs arithmetic processing. In this embodiment, the storage means 2 is composed of ROM (Read Only Memory), RAM (Random Access Memory), etc., and has a program storage unit 21 as shown in Figure 1.

[0035] The program storage unit 21 incorporates a power control program 1a as firmware. The arithmetic processing means 3 then executes the power control program 1a, causing the computer, which acts as the power control device 1, to function as one of the components described later.

[0036] The arithmetic processing unit 3 consists of a CPU (Central Processing Unit) and the like, and as shown in Figure 1, by executing the power control program 1a incorporated in the program storage unit 21, it functions as a startup instruction acquisition unit 31, an OS status monitoring unit 32, and a power control unit 33. Each component will be described in more detail below.

[0037] The startup instruction acquisition unit 31 acquires a startup instruction to start the operating system 10a. In this embodiment, an alarm is set in the real-time clock (RTC) mounted on the power control device 1 to output startup instructions at predetermined time intervals (for example, every hour). Therefore, the startup instruction acquisition unit 31 acquires startup instructions from the real-time clock at predetermined time intervals.

[0038] Note that the startup instruction is not limited to one output from the real-time clock. For example, the startup instruction acquisition unit 31 may acquire the press of a button on the power control device 1 as a startup instruction. Alternatively, the power control device 1 may acquire a startup instruction via communication means from a remote server or the like using its Wake On LAN (WOL) or Wake On Ring (WOR) function.

[0039] The OS state monitoring unit 32 monitors the OS state held in the OS state holding terminal 4. In this embodiment, when a startup instruction is acquired by the startup instruction acquisition unit 31, the OS state monitoring unit 32 starts monitoring the OS state by reading the digital value (0 (LOW level) or 1 (HIGH level)) held in the OS state holding terminal 4. Thereafter, it continuously monitors the OS state and detects whether the OS state has changed from the startup state to the standby state.

[0040] The power control unit 33 controls the on / off supply of power from the power supply 11 to the data recording device 10 using an electronic switch 12. In this embodiment, the power control unit 33 turns on the electronic switch 12 when a startup instruction is received by the startup instruction acquisition unit 31. On the other hand, the power control unit 33 turns off the electronic switch 12 when the OS state monitoring unit 32 detects that the OS state has changed from the startup state to the standby state.

[0041] As shown in Figure 1, the electronic switch 12 is located between the data recording device 10 and the power supply 11. In this embodiment, the electronic switch 12 is composed of a relay consisting of a coil (electromagnet) wound around an iron core and a contact (switch) that switches electricity on and off. When electricity flows through the coil, the movable contact comes into contact with the fixed contact due to the action of the electromagnet, causing current to flow. However, the electronic switch 12 is not limited to a relay; any device that can switch the power on and off using an electrical signal is acceptable.

[0042] Furthermore, as the power source 11, any power source used in environments without commercial power, such as batteries or solar panels, can be used.

[0043] Next, the operation of the power control device 1, the data recording device 10 equipped therewith, the power control program 1a, and the power control method of this embodiment will be described.

[0044] First, when starting to supply power to the data recording device 10 using the power control device 1, power control program 1a, and power control method of this embodiment, as shown in Figure 2, the power control device 1's startup instruction acquisition unit 31 waits for a startup instruction to be acquired from a real-time clock or the like (Step S1: Startup instruction acquisition step). Next, when the startup instruction acquisition unit 31 acquires a startup instruction (Step S1: YES), the OS state monitoring unit 32 starts monitoring the OS state held in the OS state holding terminal 4 (Step S2: OS state monitoring step), and the power control unit 33 turns on the electronic switch 12 (Step S3: Power control step).

[0045] As a result, the power supply 11 and the data recording device 10 are energized (step S4), and power is supplied from the power supply 11 to the data recording device 10. When power is supplied to the data recording device 10, the startup processing execution unit 61 executes the startup process of the operating system 10a (step S5).

[0046] When the operating system 10a starts up, the OS state management unit 62 sets the OS state held in the OS state holding terminal 4 to the startup state (step S6). As a result, the OS state held in the OS state holding terminal 4 is set to the startup state in conjunction with the startup of the operating system 10a (step S7). Meanwhile, when the operating system 10a starts up, the recording processing execution unit 63 performs data recording processing (step S8). As a result, various measurement data are accumulated in the recording data storage unit 52.

[0047] Next, once the data recording process by the recording processing execution unit 63 is completed (step S9), in this embodiment, the OS state management unit 62 instructs the shutdown processing execution unit 64 to execute the shutdown process (step S10). Upon receiving this shutdown instruction (step S11:YES), the shutdown processing execution unit 64 executes the shutdown process for the operating system 10a (step S12). Once the shutdown process is completed (step S13:YES), the operating system 10a enters a standby state (step S14).

[0048] When the operating system 10a enters a standby state, the OS state held in the OS state holding terminal 4 is automatically set to the standby state (step S15). As a result, the OS state monitoring unit 32, which has been continuously monitoring the OS state, detects that the OS state has changed from the startup state to the standby state (step S16: YES). Upon receiving this detection, the power control unit 33 turns off the electronic switch 12 (step S17: power control step).

[0049] As a result, the power supply between the power supply 11 and the data recording device 10 is turned off, completely cutting off the power supply from the power supply 11 to the data recording device 10 (step S18). Therefore, no standby power is consumed in the data recording device 10 while data recording is not being performed, resulting in power savings.

[0050] Furthermore, power supply to the data recording device 10 is reliably guaranteed until the shutdown process is completely finished. This ensures that the operating system 10a can always complete the shutdown process successfully. As a result, data is not lost due to not being saved, and no inconsistencies occur within the system, allowing the operating system 10a to start up correctly.

[0051] According to this embodiment, the following effects are achieved. 1. Power can be reduced by appropriately controlling the power supply to the data recording device 10 equipped with an advanced operating system 10a. 2. Even in environments without commercial power supply 11, such as mountainous areas or construction sites, the data recording device 10 equipped with an advanced operating system 10a can be practically operated. 3. It prevents data loss and inconsistencies within the operating system, allowing the operating system to start correctly. 4. In conjunction with the startup of the operating system 10a, the OS state held in the OS state retention terminal 4 can be set to the startup state. 5. It is possible to easily and reliably detect when the shutdown process of operating system 10a has been completed.

[0052] Furthermore, the power control device 1, the data recording device 10 equipped therewith, the power control program 1a, and the power control method according to the present invention are not limited to the embodiments described above and can be modified as appropriate.

[0053] For example, in the embodiment described above, the power consumption of the power control device 1 is extremely low, so the power supply 11 of the data recording device 10 is used in conjunction with it. However, the configuration is not limited to this, and a separate power supply may be provided for the power control device 1. [Explanation of Symbols]

[0054] 1 Power supply control device 1a Power control program 2. Storage means (power control device side) 21 Program storage unit (power control device side) 3. Calculation processing means (power control device side) 31 Startup instruction acquisition unit 32 OS Status Monitoring Unit 33 Power Control Unit 10 Data recording device 10a Operating System 10b OS State Management Program 10c Data Recording Program 4 OS state retention terminal 5. Storage means (data recording device side) 51 Program storage unit (data recording device side) 52 Recording data storage unit 6. Calculation processing means (data recording device side) 61 Startup Processing Execution Unit 62 OS State Management Unit 63 Record Processing Execution Unit 64 Shutdown Processing Execution Unit 11 Power supply 12 Electronic switches

Claims

1. A power control device that controls the power supply to a data recording device equipped with an operating system, An electronic switch is provided between the data recording device and the power supply, which can turn the power supply to the data recording device on and off. The data recording device is provided with an OS state holding terminal that holds the OS state, which indicates whether the operating system is in a running state or a standby state. A startup instruction acquisition unit that acquires a startup instruction to start the aforementioned operating system, An OS state monitoring unit that continuously monitors the OS state held in the OS state holding terminal, A power control unit that, when the startup instruction is acquired by the startup instruction acquisition unit, turns on the electronic switch, and when the OS state monitoring unit detects that the OS state has changed from the startup state to the standby state, turns off the electronic switch. A power control device having the following features.

2. A data recording device equipped with the power control device described in claim 1.

3. The data recording device according to claim 2, further comprising an OS state management unit that sets the OS state held in the OS state holding terminal to the startup state when the operating system is started.

4. The data recording device according to claim 2, wherein the OS state holding terminal automatically sets the OS state to a standby state when the shutdown process of the operating system is completed.

5. A power control program that controls the power supply to a data recording device equipped with an operating system, An electronic switch is provided between the data recording device and the power supply, which can turn the power supply to the data recording device on and off. The data recording device is provided with an OS state holding terminal that holds the OS state, which indicates whether the operating system is in a running state or a standby state. A startup instruction acquisition step to obtain a startup instruction to start the aforementioned operating system, An OS state monitoring step that continuously monitors the OS state held in the OS state holding terminal, A power control step which, when the startup instruction is acquired in the startup instruction acquisition step, turns on the electronic switch, and when it is detected in the OS state monitoring step that the OS state has changed from the startup state to the standby state, turns off the electronic switch. A power control program that causes a computer to execute a command.

6. A power supply control method for controlling the power supply to a data recording device equipped with an operating system, An electronic switch is provided between the data recording device and the power supply, which can turn the power supply to the data recording device on and off. The data recording device is provided with an OS state holding terminal that holds the OS state, which indicates whether the operating system is in a running state or a standby state. A startup instruction acquisition step to obtain a startup instruction to start the aforementioned operating system, An OS state monitoring step that continuously monitors the OS state held in the OS state holding terminal, A power control step which, when the startup instruction is acquired in the startup instruction acquisition step, turns on the electronic switch, and when it is detected in the OS state monitoring step that the OS state has changed from the startup state to the standby state, turns off the electronic switch. A power control method having the following features.

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