Wireless LAN Chip Power Management for Fast Startup
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Solution Overview
Problem
Existing information processing apparatuses face significant startup delays due to the need for initialization and wireless connection procedures every time they are turned on or off, especially for wireless LAN components.
Innovation Solution
The information processing apparatus continues to supply power to the wireless LAN chip even when the device is off, maintaining a wireless connection. This allows the apparatus to skip the initialization of the wireless LAN chip during startup and restore the wireless connection state from a snapshot or stored information, thereby accelerating the startup process.
Engineering Contradictions & Design Principles
Engineering Contradiction Analysis
1Loss of energy
If the information processing apparatus turns off the power supply to the wireless LAN chip to save energy, then energy consumption is reduced, but the wireless connection must be re-established during startup, increasing startup time
Solution Approach 1:
The wireless LAN chip is kept in a standby state with minimal power supply before the main apparatus starts up, allowing the wireless connection to be maintained or quickly re-established. This preliminary preparation eliminates the need for full initialization during startup, resolving the contradiction between energy saving and startup speed.
Solution Approach 2:
The power supply to the wireless LAN chip is dynamically controlled based on the operational state of the apparatus. During normal operation, full power is supplied; during shutdown, minimal power is maintained to preserve connection state. This dynamic adjustment optimizes both energy consumption and startup performance.
2Reliability
If the wireless LAN chip is fully initialized during startup, then connection reliability is ensured, but startup time increases significantly
Solution Approach 1:
The wireless LAN chip performs initialization and connection establishment before the main apparatus is fully powered on. Connection parameters and state information are stored in memory, allowing the chip to skip redundant initialization steps during subsequent startups while maintaining connection reliability.
Solution Approach 2:
The startup process is segmented into phases: the wireless LAN chip initializes and establishes connection in advance, while the main apparatus completes its boot sequence. This segmentation allows critical wireless connection tasks to be completed independently, reducing overall startup time without compromising reliability.
3Loss of energy
If the power supply is completely cut off to the wireless LAN chip during shutdown, then energy consumption is minimized, but the connection state is lost requiring re-initialization
Solution Approach 1:
Before complete shutdown, the wireless LAN chip saves its connection state and configuration information to non-volatile memory. This preliminary action ensures that upon next startup, the chip can restore its state without full re-initialization, balancing energy savings with reduced complexity.
Solution Approach 2:
The connection state and configuration data are copied to non-volatile memory before shutdown. This creates a persistent copy that can be quickly restored without requiring the original connection context, simplifying the restart process while minimizing energy consumption during shutdown.
Data Source
AI summary
An information processing apparatus includes an information processor, a wireless communication processor to perform wireless communication based on control by the information processor, and a power supply device to supply power to the information processor and the wireless communication processor. The power supply device supplies electric power to the wireless communication processor to keep the wireless communication processor in a startup state before the information processor starts up.