JPH08190440A - Method for constructing computer system - Google Patents

Abstract

PURPOSE: To give flexibility to the construction of computer system while the computer system is made portable and to facilitate the construction of the system. CONSTITUTION: A computer system is unitized in functional units, the respective units 1-5, 7, and 10 are connected to each other by using a communication function provided in respective units to construct this system. The respective units are formed out of standardized cards and then mechanically and electrically connected to make the system compact and portable. Further, the respective units are supplied with electric power from a common power unit 6. Further, application software 10 is a card type and registered in and deleted from the system only by being attached to and detached from other units.

Description

Detailed Description of the Invention

[0001]

BACKGROUND OF THE INVENTION 1. Field of the Invention The present invention relates to a method of constructing a computer system which is a combination of a computer main body and its peripheral devices.

[0002]

2. Description of the Related Art Generally, there are portable computers such as palmtops, handhelds, notebooks and books, and disctop computers.

The portable type has a computer body, a storage medium such as a floppy disk, a keyboard, a mouse, a touch panel as an input device, a liquid crystal panel as a display device, and a hard disk device as an external storage device, which are integrated. .

Recently, there are notebook personal computers having a built-in printer mechanism. Various terminals are prepared for expansion to the outside, and it is possible to increase the number of external devices through these terminals.

On the other hand, the disk top type is a box in which an external storage device, a floppy disk drive, etc. are incorporated in the computer main body, an input device such as a CRT display device, a keyboard and a mouse, and a slot in which a board is incorporated as an external expansion. And various terminals.

The workstation has almost the same structure as the personal computer, but the mainstream at present is the desktop type, and there are several portable types.

[0007]

Conventional computer systems usually purchase one set at an early stage. For example, in the desktop type, the main body and CRT
And a keyboard and mouse. After selection of the main body, there is room for selection such as the amount of additional memory, the amount of external storage device, the CRT size and the resolution.
Therefore, there are the following inconveniences.

(1) Inconvenience seen from the user side of the computer system.

(1-a) Expansion of the system is restricted by the computer itself, and peripheral devices cannot be added freely.

(1-b) Advances in technology for speeding up CPUs are rapid, and obsolescence centered on the main body is fast. On the other hand, it is difficult to constantly update expensive equipment.

(1-c) Many expansion methods depend on the manufacturer, and it is not possible to construct an ideal system in terms of performance and price.

(1-d) The entire system is mainly composed of the CPU main unit, the system is obsolete quickly, and it is difficult to take measures corresponding to the appearance of high-performance software. (1-e) If the system is introduced step by step, there will be a difference in function between the previous model and the latter model. Naturally, the latest models try to use new functions, but sharing information becomes difficult.

(2) Inconvenience seen from the hardware vendor.

(2-a) In the configuration centering on the CPU main body device, the manufacturer of the main body device has the initiative, and the peripheral device manufacturer is forced to always follow the trend.

(2-b) Peripheral equipment manufacturers cannot start development until the extended specifications of the main unit are clarified.

(3) Inconvenience seen from the software vendor.

Software centering on GUI (Graphical User Interface) is a system that is very easy to use from the viewpoint of the user, but the software (driver) depends on the specifications of the main body device, especially the graphic processing portion for the graphic processing portion. Differently, standard software construction is not possible. That is, software is required for each piece of hardware.

It is an object of the present invention to provide a method for constructing a computer system which is portable and has flexibility in constructing the system and facilitates system construction.

[0019]

SUMMARY OF THE INVENTION In order to solve the above-mentioned problems, the present invention is a system in which a computer system is unitized into a card shape for each functional unit and a communication function provided in each unit is used to obtain a connection between the units. It is characterized by building.

Further, according to the present invention, each unit is formed into a card shape having a standardized size, each unit is physically bound by a mechanical coupling means, power is connected by a pin jack, and communication between units is performed by an optical cable. It is characterized by performing a connection for.

Further, the present invention is characterized in that a software card unit is provided as one of the units, and the application software is mounted / erased on / from the system by connecting / disconnecting the application software as another software card unit from / to another unit. To do.

In the present invention, the CP among the units is
The U unit is configured to be connectable to the shared memory unit, and the shared memory unit is capable of mounting a plurality of CPU cards and has a multi-CPU configuration as the CPU unit and the shared memory of the CPU cards.

Further, according to the present invention, the shared memory unit performs program analysis corresponding to multiple CPUs, and
It is characterized in that a scheduling function for dividing the unit and the CPU card is provided.

Further, the present invention is characterized in that the shared memory unit stores the contents of program analysis in an external storage device.

[0025]

[Function] The system is constructed by forming a card-shaped unit into functional units including various functions of the computer main body and providing a communication function between the units. As a result, it is possible to obtain an arbitrary one by combining the units in the system construction, and at the same time, it is possible to develop hardware and software in units.

Further, by adopting a standardized card shape, the units can be connected to each other for system construction, and a portable compact structure can be obtained.

Also, the application supply form is a card that is standardized in the same manner as each unit, and it can be used in the system by simply connecting it to another unit, and can be deleted from the system only by disconnecting it from the unit. To enable.

C which can be combined with the shared memory unit
By using the PU unit, a computer system compatible with a multi-CPU configuration is realized.

Further, the shared memory unit can use the conventional software as it is by analyzing the program and dividing the program into each CPU.

Further, the shared memory unit saves the analyzed program in an external storage device to reduce the system overhead.

[0031]

FIG. 1 is a system configuration diagram showing an embodiment of the present invention. The system according to the present embodiment is unitized into a card shape for each functional unit, and by combining them, a free system configuration can be obtained.

In the system configuration shown in the figure, the CPU unit 1, the multi-input driver 2, the floppy disk driver 3, the hard disk driver 4, and the display driver 5 are combined by a binder, and the liquid crystal display 7 is also combined. A power supply unit 6 and an optical communication unit 11 required for each unit are coupled to the back.

In the figure, the liquid crystal display 7 is shown in a state in which the binder is unwound and opened in the direction indicated by the arrow for its use. The liquid crystal display 7 and its display driver 5 are electrically coupled by a cable 7A composed of an optical fiber and a power line.

Further, the keyboard 8 and the mouse 9 are cable-connected to the multi-input driver 2. Further, the software card unit 10 is combined with a binder as a unit for incorporating the application software into the system.

Each of the units 1 to 5 and 10 has a power supply interface and a communication interface of standardized specifications, and has an intelligence function of providing its own service in response to a request from another unit.

FIG. 2 shows a standardized common card structure of each unit. A perspective view of the unit is shown in (a) of the same figure, and a rear view is shown in (b).

In FIG. 2, the height H and width W of the unit are set to the same value standardized to the size of A4 plate and B5 plate, and the thickness DEP is determined to be about 5 mm to 15 mm from the mountability of each unit. To be done. However, the size of the unit is limited to two or at most three to standardize the unit.

Further, the front plate of the unit is subjected to box processing for mounting components such as an indicator IND and setting switches SW for each unit. Also,
The floppy disk driver 3 has an insertion opening for inserting and removing a floppy disk.

The side plate of the unit is provided with four holes H for binding the binder. In addition, in order to obtain mechanical coupling with other units that are adjacent to each other in the system configuration, the male member of the coupler may be provided on the right side plate, and the female members may be provided on the left side plate at four positions on the left, right, top and bottom.

Further, the back plate is provided with an optical communication port C for communicating with other units and a power supply pin PS. Further, an optional opening lid may be provided. The power supply pin PS is coupled to the power supply unit 6 by a pin jack method. Further, the optical communication port C is connected to another unit in the optical communication unit 11.

With such a card-shaped unit configuration, each unit is arranged in parallel according to the system configuration, but mechanical coupling is obtained by binder coupling and the like, and communication functions such as data transfer are obtained by optical communication.

Further, the power source required by each unit can be obtained by coupling the power source unit with the power source pin PC. Furthermore, electrical connection with the keyboard 8 and the like is obtained by cable connection via a connector.

Next, the function of each unit shown in FIG. 1 will be described in detail.

(1) CPU unit: A CPU (including an optional CPU mounted), an internal memory and an external communication port are provided, and each unit is controlled in accordance with an application request and data processing is performed.

(2) Display driver: CRT type display, liquid crystal type display, and further ELD (Electro Luminescence)
Controlling data transfer to a plurality of displays such as Display), multi-screen and multi-display correspondence can be obtained regardless of the CPU unit 1.

(3) Multi-input driver ... A keyboard interface, a keyboard interface, etc.
It is composed of an input device interface such as a mouse interface and a touch panel interface and an external communication port, and the data acquired by the input device interface is transferred to the CPU unit and the like using the communication port.

(4) External storage unit: Each unit 3 or 4 such as a floppy disk is provided with a storage device unique to the unit and an external communication port, and the storage device itself is controlled and input / output of stored data according to the instruction of the communication port. To do.

(5) Software card: An interface for software and an external communication port are provided, and the bound software is combined with the system to supply application software.

(7) Power supply unit: A commercial power supply distributes and supplies necessary power (5V system, 12V system, 15V system, etc.) to each unit. This power supply unit is added by connector connection according to the number of unit connections and the like.

In the above system configuration, the system is activated by the following procedure.

When the power is turned on, the CPU of the CPU unit 1
And each device driver unit 2 to be connected
~ 5 performs self-check and communication check.

After that, the CPU receives the check result of each driver and performs a summary. Then, the CPU determines the minimum device start-up required for operation and the defective portion, and when it is operable, notifies the display device that it is normal.

Next, the CPU searches for a boot device (startup device) and notifies the device of program provision. Then, the boot device transfers the necessary program to the memory device according to the instruction of the CPU.

The CPU executes a program (basically OS) installed in the memory. The following executes a normal application according to the user's instructions (keyboard, mouse, etc.).

Here, the software card unit 10
When the application software is bound and bound, the CPU confirms its existence, registers it in the system, and prepares its use condition.

Then, the CPU notifies the user in the form of a menu or icon that the application can be used. Further, when the software card unit is removed from the bind connection, the CPU deletes the menu or icon of the application software registered until then, and releases the application from the usable state.

As a result, the user can register and use the application software in the system simply by binding and binding the software card unit containing the application software, and the installation procedure becomes unnecessary. Conversely, erasing application software
This is done automatically by disconnecting the software card unit from the binding. Also, the vendor side is freed from the preparation of manuals and inquiries regarding installation.

Although not shown in the system configuration of the embodiment shown in FIG. 1, the unit of the extended memory driver is connected to the other unit by a communication port (an extended memory connector) different from the CPU unit. The communication port for the connection of the
It is configured to be used in A).

Similarly, a unit having a function of a modem or ISDN is also configured as an external communication unit to enable communication between computer systems.

Further, in the embodiment, the case where the multi-input driver 2 and the drivers 4 and 5 of the external storage device are provided has been described, but this may be a system configuration in which each device and a unit including the driver are individually prepared. it can.

For example, a keyboard and its driver and an external communication port make up one unit, or a floppy disk drive and a communication port make up one unit, and each unit is made into a standardized box configuration to realize a system configuration in which they are connected to each other. can do.

Further, by providing a caching memory in each unit, it is possible to handle communication between each unit in the same way as access to a memory device through the memory.

FIG. 3 shows another embodiment of the present invention, in which a memory unit and a CPU for supporting a multi-CPU configuration are provided.
The structure of a unit is shown by a perspective view.

In FIG. 3, since the CPU unit 1 in FIG. 1 corresponds to the multi-CPU configuration, it has a structure in which the memory unit 12 can be electrically and mechanically coupled at the side (or back).

The memory unit 12 is provided with a CPU card mounting slot 12A into which a plurality of (three in the figure) CPU cards can be mounted. This memory unit 1
The reference numeral 2 is used as a shared memory of the CPU unit 1 and the attached CPU card.

In order to establish the function as the shared memory, the memory unit 12 has the following functions.

(A) A common interface with the outside is provided.

(B) Similar to the other units 1 to 5, a function of exchanging information with the outside is provided.

(C) CPU card and CPU unit 1
And have a common power supply, and signals are exchanged in parallel by a bus.

(D) A program or data is received or transmitted from the outside, but it has a scheduling function of analyzing the received program or data and determining which CPU card or CPU unit should process it.

Therefore, when the program is loaded from the outside, the program is placed in the memory unit 12 and analyzed (interpreted) for executing the program. The content of the analysis is C
Whether or not division into PU cards is possible, or division is predominant.

(E) When it is determined that the division is superior, the general portion of the program is distributed to the CPU unit 1 and the other portion is distributed to each CPU card.

At this time, the overall CPU unit 1 is
The processing contents distributed to the PU card and the progress of the processing are managed together, the processing result is transmitted to the shared memory, and the shared memory stores the processing result.

(G) The shared memory unit saves the analysis contents of the once-analyzed program in an external storage device such as a hard disk, and speeds up the analysis from the next time or makes the analysis unnecessary.

Therefore, according to the configuration of the CPU unit and the memory unit according to the present embodiment, a multi-CPU configuration can be adopted in addition to the effects of the above-described embodiment.

Further, since the shared memory unit 12 processes the program corresponding to the multi CPU without generating it by the compiler or the like, the conventional software can be used as it is.

Further, since the program analysis is performed only once for one program, the system overhead can be reduced.

[0078]

As described above, according to the present invention, since the computer system is configured by coupling the card-shaped units of the functional units, it is portable and has flexibility in constructing the computer system. It is possible and makes system construction easy. Specifically, there are the following effects.

(1) Effects seen from the user.

(1a) To facilitate the system configuration according to the required scale and function.

(1b) Resources can be effectively utilized.

(1c) A plurality of CPUs can be used to perform sophisticated processing.

(1d) A company-level LAN system can be created on an individual basis.

(1e) In the future, it will be possible to easily cope with this by introducing a home electric appliance interface at the time of turning the computer into a home.

(1f) Registration of application software /
For erasing, the software card unit can be attached and detached, the installation procedure that requires specialized knowledge is unnecessary, and the application is extremely easy to use.

(2) Effects seen from the hardware vendor.

(2a) In particular, a third party can realize the development of a component that fully utilizes his or her own technology.

(2b) Since the unit development emphasizes performance, it is easy to clarify sales points.

(2c) The market is liberalized.

(3) Effects seen from the software vendor.

(3a) Software that does not depend on hardware can be manufactured.

(3b) Since the control of the hardware unit is open to the public, more efficient software can be manufactured.

(3c) By converting the application into an IC card, it is freed from the preparation and inquiry of a manual related to its installation.

Further, according to the present invention, the shared memory unit to which the CPU card can be attached is coupled to the CPU unit, and the shared memory unit analyzes the multi-CPU-compatible program and divides it into each CPU. Has the effect of.

(4) A portable computer system compatible with a multi-CPU configuration can be constructed.

(5) It is possible to realize a system configuration in which conventional software can be used as it is.

(6) By saving the contents of program analysis in an external storage device, a shared memory unit with reduced system overhead can be obtained.

[Brief description of drawings]

FIG. 1 is a system configuration diagram showing an embodiment of the present invention.

FIG. 2 is a configuration diagram of each unit in the embodiment.

FIG. 3 is a configuration diagram of a memory unit and a CPU unit showing another embodiment of the present invention.

[Explanation of symbols]

 1 ... CPU unit 2 ... Multi-input driver 3 ... Floppy disk driver 4 ... Hard disk driver 5 ... Display driver 6 ... Power supply unit 7 ... Liquid crystal display 10 ... Software card unit 11 ... Optical communication unit 12 ... Shared memory unit 12A ... CPU card installation slot

Claims (6)

[Claims] 1. A method of constructing a computer system, comprising: constructing a computer system into a card-shaped unit for each functional unit, and connecting the units by using a communication function provided in each unit to construct the system. 2. Each unit is formed into a card having a standardized size, each unit is physically bound by a mechanical coupling means, a power supply is connected by a pin jack, and an optical cable is coupled for unit-to-unit communication. The method for constructing a computer system according to claim 1, wherein the method is performed. 3. A software card unit is provided as one of the units, and application software is mounted / erased from / to the system by coupling / disconnecting the application software as another software card unit from / to another unit. Alternatively, the method of constructing the computer system according to the item 2. 4. The CPU unit of the units is
The shared memory unit can be connected to the shared memory unit, and a plurality of CPU cards can be mounted in the shared memory unit.
4. The method for constructing a computer system according to claim 1, wherein the shared memory of the PU unit and the CPU card has a multi-CPU configuration. 5. The shared memory unit is a multi-CP.
Performs program analysis corresponding to U, CPU unit and C
5. The method for constructing a computer system according to claim 4, further comprising a scheduling function for dividing into PU cards. 6. The method for constructing a computer system according to claim 4, wherein the shared memory unit stores the contents of the program analysis in an external storage device.