JP3037312B1 - State evaluation method of one-chip microcomputer - Google Patents

Abstract

Abstract: PROBLEM TO BE SOLVED: To evaluate and evaluate a failure of a one-chip microcomputer without connecting a debugger such as an ICE when a failure occurs in an evaluation stage of a prototype of the one-chip microcomputer. I will provide a. SOLUTION: In a state evaluation method for a one-chip microcomputer which evaluates a state of a one-chip microcomputer equipped with a flash ROM 14, a memory state of a power supply controller 10 which is a one-chip microcomputer at the time of state evaluation is determined by a flash ROM 1.
4 to save the operating state of the power supply controller 10 at the time of state evaluation.

Description

DETAILED DESCRIPTION OF THE INVENTION

[0001]

The present invention relates to a method for evaluating the state of a one-chip microcomputer, and more particularly to a method for evaluating the state of a one-chip microcomputer in a notebook personal computer system.

[0002]

2. Description of the Related Art Conventionally, in a notebook personal computer (hereinafter abbreviated as notebook PC) system, a one-chip microprocessor is used as a power supply controller.

When the state of the power supply controller is evaluated at the stage of trial manufacture or evaluation, an in-circuit emulator (in-circuit emulator) is used.
r: ICE) and the like, and the operation is checked. To check the operation, it is necessary to attach a socket or the like to a place where the one-chip microprocessor is mounted.

[0004]

However, in order to mount a socket or the like, it is necessary to secure a mounting space for the socket. In mounting the device, the device may return to its original state by contacting other components or the like. It may not be possible to assemble, or it may not be possible to reproduce the occurrence of a defect due to a change from the actual evaluation environment.

Further, every time a defect occurs, an IC is
In order to allow E to be connected, it is necessary to disassemble the device and replace it with a socket, and the time required for starting the analysis becomes long.

SUMMARY OF THE INVENTION An object of the present invention is to provide a one-chip microcomputer which can investigate and evaluate a defect without connecting a debugger such as an ICE when a defect or the like occurs in an evaluation stage of a prototype of the one-chip microcomputer. It is to provide a condition evaluation method.

[0007]

In order to achieve the above object, a method for evaluating the state of a one-chip microcomputer according to the present invention comprises the step of evaluating the state of a one-chip microcomputer equipped with a ROM. The memory state of the one-chip microcomputer at the time of state evaluation is stored in the RO
M to save the operating state of the one-chip microcomputer at the time of state evaluation ,
After the operation of the microcomputer, the ROM
Judge whether it is a rewrite operation or not, and rewrite or
Controls the power supply, etc.
Is the setting signal input to the microcomputer?
And if the setting signal is input,
All the memory states are transferred to the ROM and stored .

[0008] Ri due to having the above-described configuration, the memory state of a one-chip micro computer at the time of the state evaluation is RO
M, the operating state of the one-chip microcomputer at the time of state evaluation is saved, and the one-chip microcomputer
After the computer is started, it is determined whether or not the
And rewrite of ROM or control of power supply etc. is performed.
To control the power supply, etc.
It is determined whether a setting signal has been input to the
If the signal is an input, all of the current memory states are
M and stored . Thus, when a defect or the like occurs in the evaluation stage of the one-chip microcomputer prototype, the defect can be investigated and evaluated without connecting a debugger such as an ICE.

Further, the method for evaluating the state of the one-chip microcomputer can be realized by a computer-readable recording medium on which the program according to the present invention is recorded. A state evaluation method of a power supply controller which is a computer can be realized.

[0010]

Embodiments of the present invention will be described below with reference to the drawings.

FIG. 1 is a block diagram showing a configuration of a notebook PC having a one-chip microcomputer according to an embodiment of the present invention. As shown in FIG. 1, a one-chip microcomputer 10 is provided in a notebook PC 11.

The power supply controller 10 is a one-chip microcomputer, and is an MPU (microcontroller).
processing unit) 12 and RAM (r
random access memory) 13 and flash ROM (read only memory) 1
4 and I / O (input / output) port 15
have.

The I / O port 15 has an AC adapter 1
6, Battery A17, Battery B18, Keyboard 1
9, DC / DC converter 20, CPU (centra
1 processing unit) 21, a power switch 22, and the like. The CPU 21 includes a liquid crystal display (liquid crystal di).
spray: LCD) 23 is connected.

The power supply controller 10 detects the AC adapter 16 and controls charging / discharging of the battery A 17 and the battery B 18 and a remaining amount alarm. Notebook PC1
1 detects the power switch 22 of the system 1 and detects DC / DC
The converter 20 is controlled to control the power supply of the system. Further, it detects a pressed state based on a key operation of the keyboard 19 and sends the detected state of the pressed down key to the CPU 21.

FIG. 2 is a block diagram showing the internal configuration of the flash ROM and RAM provided in the power supply controller of FIG. As shown in FIG. 2, the power supply control program 24 and the flash ROM rewriting program 2
5 is incorporated as firmware, and RAM
The data transfer program 26 is incorporated and RA
An M transfer data area 27 is provided.

Flash ROM rewrite program 25
Rewrites the firmware via the CPU 21. The RAM data transfer program 26 stores the control data 28 of the RAM 13 in a flash RO
A process of transferring and storing the data in the RAM transfer data area 27 of M14 is performed. Further, the RAM transfer data area 27, causes retraction (saves) the RAM13 of the control data 28.

In the notebook PC 11 system having the above configuration, the power control controller 10 controls the operations of the AC adapter 16, battery A17, battery B18, keyboard 19, DC / DC converter 20, CPU 21, power switch 22, and the like. are doing.

The MPU 12 of the power supply controller 10
Is operated by the power supply control program 24 written in the flash ROM 14. Power control program 2
4 includes detecting whether the AC adapter 16 is attached or detached, the presence or absence of the battery A17 and the battery B18, and
7, a program for controlling the charge / discharge or remaining amount alarm of B18 is incorporated.

The power supply switch 22 of the system of the notebook PC 11 is detected, the DC / DC converter 20 is controlled, the power supply of the system is controlled, and the program for operating the CPU 21 and the depressed state of the keyboard 19 are detected.
A program for sending key detection information to the PU 21 is also incorporated.

When a problem occurs in the power supply control program 24 during evaluation or the like by the flash ROM rewrite program 25 incorporated in the flash ROM 14 of the power supply controller 10, the flash ROM rewrite program 25 is started, and The modified power control program can be read and written to the power control program area 24 to be updated with a new program.

Therefore, when a problem occurs in the operation of the power supply control program 24 at the time of trial manufacture or evaluation, the control data 28 of the RAM 13 in the operation state of the power supply control program 24 is analyzed to determine the cause of the problem. It is possible to determine.

However, the control data 2 in the RAM 13
8 changes each time due to the operation of the power supply control program 24, and it is difficult to grasp data at the time of occurrence of a failure. Therefore, the flash ROM 14 stores the RAM 13
And a RAM data transfer program 26 for transferring the control data 28 to the RAM transfer data area 27 of the flash ROM 14.

This RAM data transfer program 26 is
When the power supply control program 24 is activated when a malfunction occurs, the control data 28 of the RAM 13 can be stored in the RAM transfer data 27 of the flash ROM 14.

FIG. 3 is a flowchart showing the operation of the program in the flash ROM of the one-chip microcomputer of FIG. As shown in FIG. 3, first, the MPU 12 of the power supply controller 10
The operation starts with the code of M14 (step S101).

Next, it is checked whether or not the flash rewrite operation is performed (step S102). If the flash rewrite operation is performed (Yes), the rewrite program 25 of the flash ROM operates (step S103), and the rewrite of the power supply control program 24 is performed. Do. Then, step S1
Return to 01. On the other hand, it is not flash rewriting (No)
In this case, the power control program 24 operates (step S1).
04), battery charge / discharge control, system power supply, and the like are controlled.

Next, it is checked whether or not specific keys on the keyboard 19 are depressed (step S).
105) If not depressed (No), the power supply control program 24 operates repeatedly.

On the other hand, when a plurality of specific keys on the keyboard 19 are depressed (Yes), that is, when a trouble or the like occurs while the power supply control program 24 is operating, RA
The M transfer program 26 operates (step S106),
The RAM data state of the power control program 24 at that time is stored in the RAM transfer data area 2 of the flash ROM 14.
7 is written.

Thereafter, the flow returns to step S104, and the power supply control program 24 operates to control the power supply and the like. At this time, even if the RAM data changes, the state of the RAM data at the time of occurrence of a failure is determined by the RA in the flash ROM 14.
Since the data is stored in the M transfer data area 27, the state of the RAM data at the time of occurrence of the trouble can be known by reading the RAM transfer data area 27 later.

That is, when a problem occurs in the control of the power supply controller 10 or when the operation state of the power supply controller 10 is checked or evaluated, the simultaneous pressing of a plurality of specific keys on the keyboard 19 is triggered. Then, the RAM transfer program 26 is activated, and all the control data 28 in the control state of the power supply controller 10 in the RAM 13 at that time are stored in the flash ROM 1.
4 can be transferred to the RAM transfer data 27 and stored.

Therefore, the RAM is provided later via the CPU 21.
By analyzing the transfer data 27, it is possible to determine the cause of a problem in the power supply control program 24 and the like.

As described above, according to the present invention, note P
In the evaluation stage of the prototype C11, if a problem or the like occurs in the power supply controller 10 or the like constituted by a one-chip microcomputer (microcomputer), an IC is provided to the power supply controller 10 or the like in order to investigate the cause.
E without connecting a debugger such as E.
By transferring the M14, it is possible to the operating state of the power control controller 10 at the time of defect occurrence retracted (save).

After that, even if the system of the notebook PC 11 is reset, the state of the power supply controller 10 at the time of occurrence of the trouble is stored in the flash ROM 14. By looking at the 10 memory states, it is possible to investigate and evaluate the cause of the occurrence of the failure.

In the above-described method for evaluating the state of the power supply controller 10 which is a one-chip microcomputer, the power supply control processing, the flash ROM rewriting processing for rewriting the firmware, and the control data of the RAM are transferred to the RAM transfer data area. Each process such as a RAM data transfer process to be stored and stored is recorded on a computer-readable recording medium as a program to be executed by a computer.

In the above-described embodiment, the case of the power supply controller 10 has been described. However, if the power supply controller 10 is constituted by a one-chip microcomputer having a flash ROM 14, the power supply controller 10 may be used. However, the present invention is not limited to this, and can be similarly applied to other controllers.

The condition of the trigger for the RAM transfer program 26 to operate, that is, the input of the setting signal for starting the transfer of the memory state has been described when a plurality of specific keys on the keyboard 19 are pressed. I / O port 1
The setting condition of the input port of No. 5 may be replaced.

[0036]

As described in the foregoing, according to the present invention, state memory state evaluation when the one-chip microcomputer is transferred to the ROM, the operating state of the one-chip microcomputer when the state evaluation is saved , Wanchi
After operating the microcomputer, rewrite the ROM
It is determined whether or not the operation is in progress, and ROM rewriting or power supply etc.
Control is performed, and one-chip
Determines whether a setting signal has been input to the microcomputer.
If the setting signal is input, the current memory status
Are transferred to and stored in the ROM, so that if a failure or the like occurs in the evaluation stage of the prototype of the one-chip microcomputer, the failure can be investigated and evaluated without connecting a debugger such as an ICE.

Further, the method for evaluating the state of the one-chip microcomputer can be realized by a computer-readable recording medium on which the program according to the present invention is recorded. A state evaluation method of a power supply controller which is a computer can be realized.

[Brief description of the drawings]

FIG. 1 is a block diagram showing a configuration of a notebook PC including a one-chip microcomputer according to an embodiment of the present invention.

FIG. 2 is a block diagram showing an internal configuration of a flash ROM and a RAM provided in the power supply controller of FIG. 1;

FIG. 3 is a flowchart showing an operation of a program in a flash ROM of the one-chip microcomputer of FIG. 1;

[Explanation of symbols]

 DESCRIPTION OF SYMBOLS 10 Power supply controller 11 Notebook PC 12 MPU 13 RAM 14 Flash ROM 15 I / O port 16 AC adapter 17 Battery A 18 Battery B 19 Keyboard 20 DC / DC converter 21 CPU 22 Power switch 23 Liquid crystal display 24 Power supply control program 25 Flash ROM rewrite program 26 RAM data transfer program 27 RAM transfer data area 28 control data

Continued on the front page (58) Fields surveyed (Int.Cl. ⁷ , DB name) G06F 11/22-11/26 G06F 15/78

Claims (6)

(57) [Claims] 1. A state evaluation method for a one-chip microcomputer which evaluates a state of a one-chip microcomputer equipped with a ROM, wherein a state of the memory of the one-chip microcomputer at the time of state evaluation is transferred to the ROM, thereby The operating state of the one-chip microcomputer at the time of evaluation
After the evacuation and the operation of the one-chip microcomputer, the R
It is determined whether or not an OM rewrite operation is performed, and the ROM write is performed.
Replacement or control of the power supply, etc.
Judge whether a setting signal has been input to the
When a constant signal is input, all the current memory states are
A state evaluation method for a one-chip microcomputer, wherein the state is transferred to and stored in a ROM . 2. The method according to claim 1, wherein the transfer of the memory state is started by input of a setting signal to the one-chip microcomputer. 3. The RO after the memory state has been transferred.
3. The state evaluation method for a one-chip microcomputer according to claim 1, wherein an operation state of the one-chip microcomputer at the time of state evaluation is evaluated by reading the transfer area of M. 4. The one-chip microcomputer comprises:
State evaluation method for one-chip microcomputer according to any one of claims 1 to 3, wherein the power is controlled for the controller. 5. A flash ROM for performing power supply control processing and rewriting firmware in the method for evaluating a state of a one-chip microcomputer according to claim 3 or 4.
Rewriting processing, RAM data transfer processing for transferring and storing the RAM control data to a RAM transfer data area,
Computer-readable recording medium that stores a program for causing a computer to execute the program. 6. A flash ROM and a RAM, wherein a power supply control program, a flash ROM rewriting program for rewriting firmware, and control data of the RAM are transferred to a RAM transfer data area and stored in the flash ROM. claim, characterized in that the RAM data transfer program is incorporated 4
A power supply controller used in the method for evaluating a state of a one-chip microcomputer according to the above.