KR101624178B1 - Portable computer system and method to switch operating system using hotkey - Google Patents

Abstract

The present invention relates to a portable computer system of switchable operating system using a hotkey and a method thereof. The portable computer system supports an advanced configuration and power interface (ACPI) protocol. The portable computer system comprises: a processor which supports a maximum power saving mode of the ACPI protocol; a system chip set; a bios; and an operating system. The portable computer system installs a bootable first and second operating system on a storage apparatus, reads a system status for an operation system being operated from a main memory and stores the system status on the storage apparatus. The portable computer system processes such that a quick switching to selected operating system is available using the maximum power saving mode of the ACPI protocol, when a switching key for an operating system is pressed. In accordance with the present invention, a normal booting process is not progressed, when a different operating system is switched from the maximum power saving mode to a normal mode by switching an operating system being operated using a hotkey, and a system status for a corresponding operating system, stored on a storage apparatus loads on a main memory, thereby a desired operating system is capable of being switched quickly.

Description

BACKGROUND OF THE INVENTION 1. Field of the Invention The present invention relates to a portable computer system capable of switching an operating system using a hotkey,

More particularly, the present invention relates to a portable computer system, in which first and second operating systems are installed, and when a hot key is input after a first operating system is booted, driving information of a currently booted first operating system is stored The power management state of the system is switched to the hibernation mode so that the drive information of the second operating system stored in the storage device is loaded into the memory to load the second operating system and the power management state of the system is switched to the normal mode A portable computer system capable of switching an operating system using a hot key, and a dual boot method thereof.

Mobile software platforms installed in a portable computer system include middleware and applications capable of providing various services to a user based on a general-purpose operating system (OS). An operating system program is a set of programs that control and adjust the overall operation of a computer system. These programs act as an interface between hardware and applications and manage computer resources.

Mobile software platforms can be broadly classified into open type that provides application programming interface (API) to developers and open source type that opens source code. Open mobile software platforms include Windows, iPhone OS, and open source, including Android.

In the mobile market, development of an open source software platform that exposes the source code has been strengthened recently. The Android operating system, a leading open source software platform, is a mobile software platform announced by Google. The Android operating system includes a variety of applications. Google has opened the majority of Android sources, allowing anyone to create Android-based mobile devices without restrictions using Android.

Most portable computer systems, such as smart phones, tablet phones, and tablet PCs, install and use one operating system. Such a portable computer system can only be used by using a dual boot method in which another operating system is to be shut down and the other operating system to be booted through the boot loader is newly booted.

This dual boot method incurs inconvenience to users because it takes a long time to switch the operating system. In addition, the dual boot method has a problem in that it can not maintain the existing working environment due to the booting of the operating system when the operating system is switched.

Particularly, since the tablet PC has a large-sized display panel compared to a smart phone, it is often used as a business function or a multimedia reproduction device of various functions. However, the mobile software platform according to the use of the Android operating system in the case of using the tablet PC currently has a lot of restrictions in order to use various function business programs as compared with the Windows operating system.

Korean Patent Publication No. 10-2013-0022095 (published March 06, 2013) Korean Patent Registration No. 10-1505209 (Published on Mar. 23, 2015) Korean Patent Registration No. 10-1365904 (Published on Feb. 21, 2014) Korean Patent Registration No. 10-1530104 (Published date June 18, 2015)

SUMMARY OF THE INVENTION It is an object of the present invention to provide an apparatus and method for rapidly switching between different operating systems using a hot key in a portable computer system having a plurality of operating systems.

It is another object of the present invention to provide a portable computer system that supports a power saving mode in a system power management mode and can quickly switch an operating system using a hot key and a method thereof.

It is still another object of the present invention to provide a portable computer system and a method thereof that are easy to switch between a Windows operating system and an Android operating system by using a hot key.

In order to achieve the above objects, a portable computer system of the present invention supports a hibernation mode of an advanced power management function and switches an operating system in operation using a hot key. In the portable computer system of the present invention, the general booting process does not proceed in the wake-up operation in which different operating systems are switched from the hibernation mode to the normal mode, and the contents stored in the main memory are called to start the desired operating system , You can quickly switch operating systems.

A portable computer system according to this aspect of the present invention includes: a processor supporting an advanced power management standard; A main memory for receiving data and instructions from the processor and writing or reading the data and the command; A storage device that supports the advanced power management standard and includes bootable first and second operating systems, and stores driving information of the second operating system that has been booted; A nonvolatile memory storing a BIOS that supports the advanced power management standard; A system chipset supporting the advanced power management standard and recognizing and operating a peripheral device of the portable computer system in cooperation with the BIOS; And an operating system switching input device for generating an input signal to switch from the first operating system to the second operating system while the first operating system is in operation; The portable computer system comprising: When the input signal is generated from the operating system switching input device, the processor, the BIOS, the system chipset and the first or second operating system interoperate to store driving information of the first operating system currently being operated on the storage device And controls the system chipset to switch to the hibernation mode of the advanced power management standard, and when the portable computer system is switched to the hibernation mode, the drive information of the second operating system stored in the storage device And loads the system memory into the system memory so as to switch to the second operating system.

In one embodiment of this aspect, the operating system switching input device comprises: A unique key, and a unique button, which are predetermined by at least one keypad of a keyboard device having a plurality of keypads.

In another embodiment, the portable computer system comprises: An input signal is generated from the operating system switching input device, and if the driving information of the second operating system previously activated in the storage device is not stored, the booting is started in the second operating system.

In another embodiment, the storage device comprises: And further stores first and second drivers for recognizing and operating peripheral devices of the portable computer system corresponding to the first and second operating systems, respectively.

According to another aspect of the present invention, there is provided a method of switching an operating system using a hotkey in a portable computer system supporting an advanced power management standard.

According to another aspect of the present invention, there is provided a method for switching an operating system of a portable computer system, comprising the steps of: when a power button of the portable computer system is pressed, supplying power and processing a start-up routine of the BIOS; If the system abnormality does not occur during the start-up routine of the BIOS, the portable computer system reads the boot loader and selects an operating system to be operated on the touch panel; Loading a partition table of a first operating system selected from the storage device through the boot loader when the first operating system is selected, activating the first operating system in the loaded party table and loading the first operating system into the main memory; Reading the first information on the system state of the currently activated first operating system from the main memory and storing the read first information into the storage device when the operating system switching key is pressed during operation of the first operating system; Switching the power management mode of the portable computer system to a hibernation mode of an advanced power management standard; Determining whether the second operating system is in a previously booted state in the portable computer system; If it is determined that the second operating system has been booted previously and the second information about the system state of the second operating system is stored in the storage device, the second information is read from the storage device and loaded into the main memory ≪ / RTI > And switching the power management mode of the portable computer system to the normal mode of the advanced power management standard.

In one embodiment of this aspect, the operating system switching method comprises: As a result of the determination, if the second operating system has not been previously booted, the portable computer system further includes booting the second operating system to boot.

As described above, the portable computer system of the present invention supports the hibernation mode of the advanced power management function, and by switching the operating system in operation using the hotkey, it is possible to switch different operating systems from the hibernation mode to the wake- - During normal operation, the normal boot process does not proceed, and the contents stored in the main memory are called to quickly switch the desired operating system.

In addition, since the portable computer system of the present invention installs different operating systems and activates a desired operating system according to need, various application programs according to the operating system can be easily used.

1 is a perspective view showing a configuration of a portable computer system of the present invention;
FIG. 2 is a block diagram showing the configuration of the portable computer system shown in FIG. 1; FIG.
FIG. 3 is a block diagram showing a part of the configuration for operating system switching shown in FIG. 2; FIG.
4 is a diagram illustrating a configuration of a memory and a storage device when an operating system is switched according to the present invention; And
5 is a flowchart illustrating an operating system switching procedure using a hot key of the portable computer system of the present invention.

The embodiments of the present invention can be modified into various forms and the scope of the present invention should not be interpreted as being limited by the embodiments described below. The present embodiments are provided to enable those skilled in the art to more fully understand the present invention. Therefore, the shapes and the like of the components in the drawings are exaggerated in order to emphasize a clearer explanation.

DETAILED DESCRIPTION OF THE PREFERRED EMBODIMENTS Hereinafter, embodiments of the present invention will be described in detail with reference to the accompanying drawings.

FIG. 2 is a block diagram showing the configuration of the portable computer system shown in FIG. 1. FIG. 3 is a block diagram showing a configuration of the portable computer system shown in FIG. And FIG. 4 is a diagram illustrating a configuration of a memory and a storage device when an operating system is switched according to the present invention.

Referring to FIGS. 1 to 4, the portable computer system of the present invention includes a plurality of different operating systems, and processes the operating system, which is operated using a hot key, to quickly switch to another operating system.

To this end, the portable computer system of the present invention has specifications that support the Advanced Configuration and Power Interface (ACPI) standard, which is an advanced power management function. That is, the portable computer system of the present invention includes a central processing unit (102 in FIG. 2) supporting the ACPI standard S3 sleeping state, a system chipset (104 in FIG. 3), a BIOS Output System (120 in FIG. 2) and an operating system (132 and 134 in FIG. 2).

The ACPI specification is a computer-based power management standard enacted by Intel, Microsoft, and Toshiba. It defines power settings and management functions between the central processing unit, the system chipset, the BIOS, and the operating system. The ACPI specification that is applied in the present invention is defined in " Advanced Configuration and Power Interface Specification Revision 5.0 [December 6, 2011] ".

According to the ACPI standard, the state is divided into the G0 state to the G3 state according to the power supply state of the computer system. The G1 state represents a sleeping state in which some functions of the computer system are suspended, and the G1 state is further subdivided into the S0 mode to the S5 mode. The S0 mode indicates a normal mode, and the S1 mode or the S4 mode indicates a state where the power consumption of the computer system is gradually decreased.

That is, the S1 mode waits while preserving all the states of the computer system, the S2 mode waits without saving the processor cache and the system cache memory in the S1 mode, the S3 mode is the SUSPEND TO RAM (STR) mode, S4 mode is a SUSPEND TO DISK (STD) mode in which all hardware is stopped, S5 mode is a SOFT OFF mode, and the computer A system reboot is required for system operation with the software turned off. Here, the portable computer system of the present invention uses the S3 mode of the ACPI standard for fast switching of the operating system.

Accordingly, the portable computer system of the present invention is configured such that the first and second operating systems 132 and 134 are installed in the storage device 130 and the hotkey (or button) for switching the operating system after the first operating system 132 is booted The information about the current operation state of the first operating system 132 that is currently activated from the main memory 110 is stored in the storage device 130 and the power management state of the portable computer system 160 To the S3 mode of the ACPI standard so as to load the driving information of the second operating system 134 previously stored in the storage device 130 into the main memory 110 to start the second operating system 134, The management state is switched to the normal mode, that is, the S0 mode.

Therefore, the portable computer system of the present invention calls the contents stored in the main memory 110 without performing a general booting process in a wake-up operation of switching from the S3 mode to the S0 mode, By starting up, the operating system can be switched quickly.

In this embodiment, the portable computer system of the present invention includes a main body 100 and a keyboard device 200 capable of being docked to the main body 100. The portable computer system of the present invention may further include a digitizer pen 230 for writing on the touch panel 110 of the main body 100 or for processing a pointing device function.

Specifically, the main body 100 includes a touch panel 140, a power button 106, and a keyboard connection connector 107, which support an ACPI standard and are capable of dual booting . The main body 100 is provided with a home button 108 disposed at one side of the front and returning to the main screen of the operating systems 132 and 134 and a dial 110 disposed at one side of the backside and having a digitizer pen 230 inserted therein, A digitizer pen insertion port 109 is provided.

2 and 3, the main body 100 includes a central processing unit (CPU) 102, a main memory 110, a system chipset 104, a BIOS 120, A touch panel 140, a communication module 150, an operating system (OS) switching key (or button) 160, a battery 170, a peripheral device 180 and an interface device 190 ) And the like. A central processing unit 102, a system chipset 104, a main memory 110, a BIOS 120, a storage device 130, a communication module 150, an operating system switching key 160, The battery 170, the peripheral device 180, and the interface device 190 are interconnected through a system bus that transmits electrical signals and data.

The central processing unit 102 is, for example, a third-generation or higher processor of Intel Corporation that supports the ACPI standard, and controls the overall operation of the portable computer system. The central processing unit 102 processes the first and second operating systems 132 and 134 installed in the storage device 120 and various application programs. The central processing unit 102 writes or reads data and commands according to the processing of the first and second operating systems 132 and 134 and various application programs in the main memory 110. The central processing unit 102 also controls peripheral devices 180 of the portable computer system by transmitting data and signals with the system chipset 104.

The system chipset 104 supports the ACPI standard and transmits mutual data, signals, and the like to the central processing unit 102. When the first or second operating system 132 or 134 is booted, the system chipset 104 is connected to the input devices 200, 210 and 230 of the portable computer system, the storage device 130, the touch panel 140, the communication module 150, the peripheral device 180, and the interface device 190 are recognized and driven.

The main memory 110 is a volatile memory, which transmits and receives data to and from the central processing unit 102, and stores data and / or commands necessary for performing various applications such as the first and second operating systems 132 and 134.

The BIOS 120 is stored in a nonvolatile memory and supports the ACPI standard. The BIOS 120 interfaces between the system chipset 104 and the operating systems 132 and 134 to process most hardware operations related to input / output of the portable computer system. The BIOS 120 processes a power-on self test (POST) process, a system initialization process, and a boot process when power is supplied to the portable computer system. The BIOS 120 checks the activated operating systems 132 and 134 of the portable computer system and calls the drivers 122 and 124 corresponding to the operating systems 132 and 134 to control the peripheral devices 180 .

The storage device 130 is, for example, an SSD (Solid State Drive) type of auxiliary storage device, and supports the ACPI standard and has first and second bootable operating systems 132 and 134, respectively. The storage device 130 stores drivers 122 and 124 corresponding to the first and second operating systems 132 and 134, respectively. The storage device 130 stores the drive information (132a, 134a in Fig. 4) of the previously started operating system 132 or 134. The storage device 130 may further include various application programs (not shown) corresponding to the first and second operating systems 132 and 134, respectively. In this embodiment, each of the first and second operating systems 132 and 134 is provided by any one of Microsoft's Windows and Google's Android.

The touch panel 140 is an input / output device, for example, an electrostatic multi-touch type LED display panel. When power is supplied to the touch panel 140, a menu window for selecting an operating system 132 or 134 to be launched from the BIOS 120 is displayed. If the operating system switching key 160 is pressed, the touch panel 140 may display a menu window. The touch panel 140 can select one operating system by using an arrow key of the keyboard device 200, a volume control button provided at one side of the main body 100, or a digitizer pen 230 in a menu window.

The communication module 150 processes wired or wireless communication of the portable computer system. The communication module 150 is connected to a wired communication network such as a wired LAN and a wireless communication network such as mobile communication, Wi-Fi, and Bluetooth, and processes data to be transmitted to an external electronic device (not shown).

The operating system switch key (or button) 160 is set as a hot key for generating an input signal to switch an operating system by calling a menu window for operating system switching using at least one keypad of the keyboard device 200. Also, the operating system changeover key 160 may include a unique key for generating an input signal to process the same function as the hotkey, a home button 108, or a unique button.

The battery 170 is equipped with a rechargeable large-capacity secondary battery, and supplies power to the portable computer system when the power button 106 is pressed. The battery 170 is controlled by the system chipset 104 and supplies power to the portable computer system according to the ACPI standard.

The peripheral device 180 includes, for example, a keyboard device 200 for docking, a digitizer pen 230, and the like. The peripheral device 180 may include various electronic devices such as a dual camera, an illuminance sensor, a built-in microphone, and a built-in speaker, not shown in the figure.

The interface device 190 may include, for example, a keyboard connector 107, a memory module socket, a plurality of PCI ports, a plurality of USB ports, a micro SD card terminal, a micro SIM card terminal, an SSD card terminal, High Definition Multimedia Interface) port. The interface device 190 handles mutual data and signal transmission with the corresponding electronic devices.

The power button 106 is pressed while the main body 100 is turned off to supply power to the portable computer system. In addition, when the portable computer system is used, the power button 106 may be turned off or switched to a power saving mode or a power saving mode according to the ACPI standard.

The keyboard device 200 has a plurality of keypads and is provided at one side thereof with a main body connector 220 docked to the keyboard connector 107 of the main body 100 and a touchpad 210 as a pointing device. The keyboard device 200 may be set to the operating system switching key 160 using at least one keypad.

As described above, the portable computer system of this embodiment has different operating systems, namely, Windows and Android. Windows and Android operating systems are installed and dual bootable.

When the power button 106 is pressed, the touch panel 140 displays a menu window for selecting an operating system. The user may press the volume control button provided on the side of the main body 100 up or down or press the direction key of the keyboard device 200 to select the first operating system 132 and then press the home button 108 or the keyboard device The first operating system 132 selected by the enter key of the second operating system 200 is booted. At this time, the main memory 110 stores the BIOS 112, the boot loader 114, and the first operating system drive information 116, as shown in FIG. 4A.

The portable computer system reads the currently operating first operating system drive information 116 from the main memory 110 and stores the first operating system drive information 116 in the storage device 130 when the operating system switching key 160 is pressed during operation of the first operating system 132 (132a), and switches the power management function of the portable computer system to the S3 mode of the ACPI standard.

The portable computer system determines whether the previously started second operating system drive information 134a is stored in the storage device 130 in advance. As a result of the determination, if there is a second operating system 134 previously activated, the operating system is switched by loading (118) the second operating system operating information 134a into the main memory 110 as shown in FIG. 4 (b) . Thereafter, the portable computer system switches the power management function to the normal mode of the ACPI standard. As a result of the determination, if the portable computer system does not have the second operating system 134 previously activated, the portable computer system boots the second operating system 134 to be activated.

5 is a flowchart illustrating an operating system switching procedure using a hot key of the portable computer system of the present invention. In this procedure, the components supporting the ACPI standard of the portable computer system, that is, the central processing unit, the BIOS, the system chipset, and the first and second operating systems are interrelated.

5, when the power button 106 is pressed in step S300, the portable computer system supplies power (ON) from the battery 170, and in step S302, the POST process of the BIOS 120, And a start-up routine such as an initialization process.

If the system abnormality does not occur during the start-up routine in step S304, the portable computer system reads the boot loader and displays a menu window for selecting an operating system to be operated on the touch panel 140. [ In this embodiment, the portable computer system selects the first operating system 132.

In step S306, the portable computer system loads the partition table of the selected first operating system 132 from the storage device 130 via the boot loader, activates the first operating system 132 in the partition table loaded in step S308 The first operating system 132 is loaded into the main memory 110 of the portable computer system.

If the operating system switching key (or button) 160 is input during operation of the first operating system 132 in step S310, the portable computer system displays the system status of the first operating system 132 currently activated in step S312, The drive information 116 is read from the main memory 110 and stored in the storage device 130. [

In step S314, the portable computer system switches the power management mode to the ACPI standard hibernation mode (S3 mode). In step S316, the portable computer system determines whether another operating system, that is, the second operating system 134 has been booted previously. This is determined by using whether the second operating system drive information 118 is stored in the storage device 130 or not.

If it is determined that the system state of the second operating system 134, that is, the second operating system drive information 118 stored in the storage device 130, is stored in the storage device 130, The portable computer system reads another operating system, that is, the second operating system drive information 118, from the storage device 130 and loads it into the main memory 110 in step S318. Subsequently, in step S320, the portable computer system switches the power management mode to the normal mode (S0) of the ACPI standard.

If it is determined in step S316 that the second operating system 134 has not been previously booted into the portable computer system, the procedure proceeds to step S306, where the portable computer system boots the second operating system 134 to be booted.

While the present invention has been particularly shown and described with reference to exemplary embodiments thereof, it will be understood by those skilled in the art that various changes and modifications may be made without departing from the spirit and scope of the invention as defined in the appended claims. It is possible.

100: portable computer system 102: processor
104: System chipset 106: Power button
107: Keyboard connector 108: Operating system home key
109: Digitizer pen slot 110: Memory
120: BIOS ROM 130: Storage device
140: touch panel 150: communication module
160: operating system switching key 170: battery
180: peripheral device 190: interface device
200: keyboard device 210: touch pad
220: main body connection connector 230: digitizer pen

Claims (6)

A portable computer system comprising:
A processor that supports Advanced Power Management (ACPI) specifications;
A main memory for receiving data and instructions from the processor and writing or reading the data and the command;
A storage device that supports the Advanced Power Management (ACPI) standard and has bootable first and second operating systems installed therein and stores drive information of the previously booted second operating system;
A nonvolatile memory for storing a basic input output system (BIOS) supporting the advanced power management standard;
A system chipset that supports the advanced power management standard and recognizes and drives a peripheral device of the portable computer system in cooperation with the BIOS;
And an operating system switching input device for generating an input signal to switch from the first operating system to the second operating system while the first operating system is in operation;
The portable computer system comprising:
Wherein when the input signal is generated from the operating system switching input device, the processor, the BIOS, the system chipset, and the first or second operating system interoperate to read driving information of the first operating system currently in operation from the main memory And controls the system chipset to switch to the hibernation mode of the advanced power management standard, and when the portable computer system is switched to the hibernation mode, 2) loading the operating information of the operating system into the main memory and processing the second operating system to switch to the second operating system;
Wherein when the input signal is generated from the operating system switching input device and the driving information of the second operating system previously activated in the storage device is not stored, the portable computer system is booted to be started by the second operating system.
The method according to claim 1,
Wherein the operating system switching input device comprises:
Wherein the portable terminal is provided with one of a predetermined keypad, a unique key and a unique button using at least one keypad of a keyboard device having a plurality of keypads.
delete 3. The method according to claim 1 or 2,
The storage device comprising:
Further comprising first and second drivers for recognizing and operating peripheral devices of the portable computer system corresponding to the first and second operating systems, respectively.
A method for switching an operating system of a portable computer system comprising:
When the power button of the portable computer system is pressed, supplying power and processing a start-up routine of the BIOS;
If the system abnormality does not occur during the start-up routine of the BIOS, the portable computer system reads the boot loader and selects an operating system to be operated on the touch panel;
Loading a partition table of a first operating system selected from the storage device through the boot loader when the first operating system is selected, activating the first operating system in the loaded party table and loading the first operating system into the main memory;
Reading the first information on the system state of the currently activated first operating system from the main memory and storing the read first information into the storage device when the operating system switching key is pressed during operation of the first operating system;
Switching the power management mode of the portable computer system to a hibernation mode of an Advanced Power Management (ACPI) standard;
Determining whether the second operating system is in a previously booted state in the portable computer system;
As a result of the determination, if the second operating system is previously booted and second information on the system state of the second operating system is stored in the storage device, the second information is read from the storage device and loaded into the main memory Booting the portable computer system to activate the second operating system if the second information is not stored in the storage device;
And switching the power management mode of the portable computer system to the normal mode of the Advanced Power Management (ACPI) standard when the second information is loaded into the main memory. . delete

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