JP2001142838A - Electronic equipment - Google Patents

Abstract

PROBLEM TO BE SOLVED: To provide an electronic equipment, in which the software can discrimi nate the kind of hardware such as substrate and machine using an input signal from the input pin of an ASIC without utilizing an A/D converting function. SOLUTION: Inside an ASIC 1, there is a processing part (a circuit 2 for hardware class discrimination) for detecting the temporal change of a signal inputted from an input pin 4 and a data value is generated corresponding to the timewise change of a signal voltage. When the temporal change of a signal generated by a signal generating circuit 3 is specified for each class of hardware, the signal generating circuit 3 for generating the specified signal is packaged and only one input pin 4 is prepared, the temporal change of the inputted signal voltage is converted to the data value and that data value is processed by software to be operated on a CPU 5 so that plural hardware can be mutually discriminated.

Description

DETAILED DESCRIPTION OF THE INVENTION

[0001]

BACKGROUND OF THE INVENTION 1. Field of the Invention The present invention relates to an electronic device, and more particularly, to a method for determining the hardware type of a control circuit in software of the electronic device. The present invention relates to an electronic device applicable to a computer.

[0002]

2. Description of the Related Art In recent years, miniaturization of various electronic devices has progressed, and application-specific integrated circuits (ASICs) in which most of the main functions of the devices are integrated into one integrated circuit have been frequently used. Therefore, it is common to use one type of ASIC for a plurality of different electronic devices in order to reduce the cost of the electronic device.

In the prior art, the software for controlling these electronic devices is based on the type of the board on which the ASIC is mounted, based on the version number of the ASIC itself. The type could not be determined. Therefore, exactly the same AS
Despite the use of ICs, separate software had to be created for each board or model.
Therefore, a large number of similar control software must be managed, and the productivity and maintainability of the software have been significantly impaired.

On the other hand, there is a method disclosed in Japanese Patent Application Laid-Open No. Hei 10-21102, for example, as a method of determining the hardware version by software and sharing the software. This publication uses the ASIC
By inputting an analog signal specified for each version number to an input pin of an integrated circuit such as an MPU (Micro Processing)
Unit) and the input voltage is set to A inside the MPU.
The version of the board is determined using the data value obtained by the / D conversion.

[0005]

However, the method disclosed in Japanese Patent Application Laid-Open No. Hei 10-21102 has a disadvantage that an A / D conversion function is essential inside the integrated circuit. Recent ASICs have very high integration, and ASICs
If an analog processing unit is provided inside, a part usable for digital processing is lost. In addition, the method disclosed in Japanese Patent Application Laid-Open No. H10-21102 cannot be applied to an ASIC having no A / D converter.

Further, in the method disclosed in Japanese Patent Application Laid-Open No. H10-21102, the accuracy of version number determination is determined by the accuracy of the A / D converter, and therefore the number of input pins for version number determination is reduced. If the number is reduced, the accuracy of the A / D conversion unit is increased, the complexity of the analog processing unit is further increased, and a delicate reference voltage generator is mounted on the substrate. It may not lead to cost reduction.

[0007] The present invention has been made in consideration of the above-described circumstances, and uses an A / D conversion function without using an A / D conversion function.
It is an object of the present invention to provide an electronic device capable of determining the type of hardware such as a board and a model using software by using an input signal from an input pin of an SIC.

[0008]

According to a first aspect of the present invention, there is provided an electronic apparatus having a controller for determining a type of hardware, wherein the controller is an input signal input to the controller. A change gradient numerical value conversion means for converting the change gradient into a numerical value from an input signal having a voltage change gradient with respect to time for each predetermined hardware type, and hardware for the input signal based on the converted numerical value. And a hardware type determining means for determining the type of hardware, wherein the type of hardware is determined by detecting a change gradient of a voltage of a signal applied to an input pin of the ASIC. is there.

According to a second aspect of the present invention, in the first aspect of the present invention, the change gradient numerical value conversion means detects that the input signal has exceeded a predetermined reference voltage, Reference voltage excess time measuring means for measuring a time until an input signal exceeds a predetermined reference voltage, wherein the measured time is used as the numerical value, and a voltage change gradient is detected. As a means for performing this, a time until the voltage of the input signal exceeds a predetermined reference voltage is measured, and the time is used as a data value representing a change gradient.

According to a third aspect of the present invention, in the second aspect of the present invention, the reference voltage excess time measuring means measures using a counter, and uses the measured count value as the numerical value. The change gradient is quantified by measuring the time until the reference voltage is exceeded using a counter.

According to a fourth aspect of the present invention, in the second aspect of the present invention, the measurement time is counted by a CPU, and the counted value is used as the data value. The change gradient is quantified by measuring the time until the voltage is exceeded.

[0012]

FIG. 1 is a view for explaining an embodiment of an electronic apparatus according to the present invention. FIG. 1 (A) is a block diagram of a main part, and FIG. 1 (B) is an output of a signal generation circuit. Is a diagram showing signals for hardware determination, wherein 1 is an application specific integrated circuit (ASIC), 2 is a hardware type determination circuit, 3 is a signal generation circuit, 4 is an input port, and 5 is a CPU. It is. The ASIC 1 is connected to the CPU 5 via a bus, and control software for the ASIC 1 is executed by the CPU 5. Outside the ASIC 1, there is a signal generation circuit 3 that generates a signal for determining the type of hardware,
The signal output from the signal generation circuit 3 is the ASIC 1
And input to the hardware type determination circuit 2 inside the ASIC 1.

In the embodiment shown in FIG.
Is a hardware power supply voltage, and GND is a hardware ground voltage. The signal generation circuit 3 takes a certain time (t) at the same time when the power is
A signal is generated such that the voltage changes between Vcc and Vcc. A signal having a shape as shown in FIG. 1B is generally known as a signal for resetting a CPU or the like immediately after power-on of hardware, and a circuit for generating such a signal includes a reset signal. It is marketed in the form of a module as an IC for use with capacitors, resistors,
If a component such as a diode is used, it can be easily and inexpensively mounted.

The time (t) required for the signal voltage to change from GND to Vcc can be set to various times in advance by using a plurality of components such as the type of reset IC and the capacitor and resistance. I can put it. Inside the ASIC 1, there is a processing unit (hardware type determination circuit 2) for detecting a time change of the signal input from the input pin 4, and generates a data value according to the time change of the signal voltage. With such a circuit configuration, the time change of the signal generated by the signal generation circuit 3 is
If the signal generation circuit 3 that generates the specified signal is mounted and only one input pin 4 is prepared, the change over time of the input signal voltage is converted into a data value. Then, by processing the data value by software operating on the CPU 5, it becomes possible to determine a plurality of hardware.

FIG. 2 is a diagram for explaining an embodiment of the operation of the electronic device according to the present invention. In general, if a voltage value that changes from GND to Vcc is to be strictly measured, a precise A / D conversion process is required. Therefore, as shown in FIG. 2A, a reference voltage value (Vref: reference voltage) is set between GND and Vcc.
By measuring the time (Δt) required for the signal voltage to exceed the reference voltage (Vref), the time change of the voltage is converted into a data value. As a result, it is possible to convert the time change of the voltage into a data value without using a precise A / D conversion process.

The embodiment shown in FIG. 2B is an example in which a threshold voltage (Vth) of a transistor in an ASIC is used as a reference voltage. The threshold voltage (Vth) is a voltage that serves as a boundary between electrical processing at logic level 1 and logical level 0 at the time of digital processing inside the ASIC. Reference voltage (Vre
When the threshold voltage (Vth) is used as f), a register for reading the state of the input port 4 may be simply mounted as the determination circuit 2, and no circuit such as a voltage comparison is required.

FIG. 3 is a diagram for explaining another embodiment of the operation of the electronic apparatus according to the present invention. The determination circuit 2 determines the time (Δt) until the input signal exceeds the reference voltage (Vref).
It is an example of a method for measuring. A counter is prepared inside the determination circuit 2 or the ASIC 1, and the counter is advanced using a clock until the input signal reaches the reference voltage (Vref), and the input signal exceeds the reference voltage (Vref). The counter is stopped at the time when this is detected. The count value when the counter is stopped is a value obtained by converting the time (Δt) required until the input signal exceeds the reference voltage (Vref) into a data value.

The counter may be provided in the determination circuit 2 or may be provided in the ASIC 1 instead of the determination circuit 2. Further, it is also easy to use a counter dedicated to the determination circuit 2 or to temporarily use another counter for the determination circuit 2 and use the counter for its intended purpose after the determination. Can be implemented. In the case of the embodiment shown in FIG. 3, since the accuracy of the determination depends on the speed of the counter clock, a counter clock such that the required accuracy including an error can be obtained according to the number of hardware types to be determined. Must be used.

FIG. 4 is a flow chart for explaining another embodiment of the operation of the electronic apparatus according to the present invention. The time (Δt) until the input signal exceeds the reference voltage (Vref) is shown in FIG.
It is a flowchart of the method of CPU5 counting by software without using a hardware counter. First, the area for storing the count value is initialized to 0 (S
1). Next, 1 is added to the count value (S2), and the state of the input port 4 is checked (S3). In this state inspection process, a value obtained by converting the input signal to a reference voltage (Vref) into a data value is obtained by reading the value of the register of the determination circuit 2 or the like. For example,
When the method shown in FIG. 2B is implemented, whether the input signal has exceeded the reference voltage (Vref) may be determined by simply reading the value of the register of the input port 4.

As a result of checking the state, if the input signal has not yet exceeded the reference voltage (NO in S4), the process returns to the process of adding 1 to the count value (S2). If the method shown in FIG. 2B is implemented,
The determination as to whether the input signal has exceeded the reference voltage may be made simply based on whether the register value of the input port 4 is 0 or 1 (if it is 0, it has not exceeded). Finally, the type of hardware can be determined from the count value when the input signal exceeds the reference voltage (S5).

In the case of the embodiment shown in FIG. 4, since the accuracy of the determination depends on the instruction execution speed of the CPU, the required accuracy including the error is obtained in accordance with the number of types of hardware to be determined. It is necessary to ensure the processing performance of the CPU as described above.

[0022]

According to the first aspect of the present invention, by inputting a signal having a voltage change gradient according to the type of hardware to one input pin, the type of hardware is determined by software. Therefore, the type of hardware can be determined without having to use a plurality of input pins as in the related art.

(2) Effect of the invention of claim 2 Since the change gradient of the voltage of the input signal is digitized by detecting it as the time required to exceed a predetermined reference voltage, the A / D conversion function , And it is possible to convert the voltage change gradient of the input signal into a data value without having to provide a plurality of reference voltages.

(3) Effect of the invention of claim 3 By providing a counter inside the ASIC, the time required for the input signal to exceed the reference voltage is measured using the counter, and the count value is calculated by the input signal. It can be used as a data value representing the voltage change gradient.

(4) Effect of the invention of claim 4 Since the CPU executes the instruction and counts the number of loops, there is no need to prepare a hardware counter, and the time required for the input signal to exceed the reference voltage. Is measured as the number of loops, and the value can be used as a data value representing the change gradient of the input signal.

[Brief description of the drawings]

FIG. 1 is a diagram for explaining an embodiment of an electronic device according to the present invention.

FIG. 2 is a diagram for explaining an embodiment of the operation of the electronic device according to the present invention.

FIG. 3 is a diagram for explaining another embodiment of the operation of the electronic device according to the present invention.

FIG. 4 is a flowchart illustrating another embodiment of the operation of the electronic apparatus according to the present invention.

[Explanation of symbols]

DESCRIPTION OF SYMBOLS 1 ... Application specific integrated circuit (ASIC), 2 ... Hardware type determination circuit, 3 ... Signal generation circuit, 4 ... Input port, 5 ... CPU.

Claims (4)

[Claims] 1. An electronic apparatus comprising a control unit for determining a type of hardware, wherein the control unit is configured to control an input signal input to the control unit and to determine a time for each predetermined hardware type. A change gradient numerical value converting means for converting the change gradient into a numerical value from an input signal having a voltage change gradient with respect to the input signal, and a hardware type determining means for determining a type of hardware for the input signal based on the converted numerical value. An electronic device comprising: 2. An electronic apparatus according to claim 1, wherein said change gradient numerical value conversion means detects that said input signal exceeds a predetermined reference voltage, and said input signal excess detection means. And a reference voltage excess time measuring means for measuring a time until the reference voltage exceeds a predetermined reference voltage, wherein the measured time is used as the numerical value. 3. The electronic apparatus according to claim 2, wherein the reference voltage excess time measuring means measures using a counter, and uses the measured count value as the numerical value. machine. 4. The electronic device according to claim 2, wherein the measurement time is counted by a CPU, and the count value is used as the numerical value.