JPH0327414A - Personal computer - Google Patents

Abstract

PURPOSE:To always precisely display the state of power supply and a device by driving and controlling plural display elements including display elements displaying the specified power supply state of the device regardless of the on/off state of the power supply of the device. CONSTITUTION:Power control PC-CPU 30 which is always in an operation state even if device power supply is in the on/off-state, a circuit transmitting power supply state information of the device to PC-CPU 30, a circuit 28 controlling operation power in the device in accordance with output information of PC-CPU 30 and a circuit driving and controlling plural display elements including the display elements displaying the specified power supply state of the device even if the device power supply is in the on/off states in accordance with output information of PC-CPU 30 are provided. Thus, the supply state of operation power supply and the state of the device can always be recognized when the device is used by an AC adapter 29 and when the device is used by an internal battery. Thus, the stable power supply state is always maintained, and the state of power supply and the device can securely be displayed and recognized for an operator even if the power supply of the device is in the on/off state.

Description

[Detailed Description of the Invention] [Object of the Invention] (Industrial Application Field) The present invention relates to a personal computer that is easy to carry and can be operated by an internal battery, and particularly relates to a power supply control mechanism that centrally manages power supply. This article relates to a personal computer with the following characteristics.

(Prior Art) In recent years, various types of personal computers have been developed that are easy to carry and can be operated using internal batteries. This type of personal computer constantly recognizes the operating power supply status and device status, whether it is being used with an AC adapter or internal battery, and can prevent any failures caused by power supply abnormalities. Although it is necessary to eliminate this problem, conventionally there has been no effective centralized management mechanism for power sources in devices that can operate with such various power sources.

(Problems to be Solved by the Invention) As mentioned above, in a personal computer that is easy to carry and can be operated with an internal battery,
Whether using the C adapter or the internal battery, it is necessary to constantly recognize the operating power supply status and device status, and eliminate all failures due to power supply abnormalities. There is no effective centralized control mechanism for power supplies in devices that can operate from various power sources, and there is no way to accurately display the power supply and device status to the operator regardless of whether the device is powered on or off. There was no way to recognize it.

The present invention has been made in view of the above circumstances, and is a personal computer that is easy to carry and can be operated with an internal battery, and can operate both when using an AC adapter and when using an internal battery. To constantly recognize the power supply status and equipment status, maintain a stable power supply status at all times, and accurately display and recognize the status of the power supply and equipment to the operator regardless of whether the equipment is powered on or off. The purpose is to provide a personal computer that can perform the following functions.

[Structure of the Invention] (Means and Effects for Solving the Problems) The present invention provides a personal computer that is easy to carry and can be operated by an internal battery, which is always in operation regardless of whether the device power is on or off. The power control CPU located in
A circuit that sends power status information of the device to the power control CPU, a circuit that controls the operating power source in the device according to the output information of the power control CPU, and a circuit that turns on/off the device power according to the output information of the power control CPU. The device has a configuration that includes a circuit that drives and controls multiple display elements, including a display element that displays a specific power state of the device regardless of the off state. It is possible to constantly recognize the operating power supply status and device status at any time, maintain a stable power supply status, and monitor the power supply and device status regardless of whether the device is powered on or off. This allows the operator to accurately recognize the display.

(Example) An embodiment of the present invention will be described below with reference to the drawings.

FIG. 1 is a block diagram showing the system configuration in an embodiment of the present invention, and FIG. 2 is a block diagram showing the configuration of the power supply circuit in FIG. 1.

In FIG. 1, IO is a system bus, and 11 to 27 are components connected to the system bus 10. In FIG. Of these components, l
1 is a CPU that controls the entire system; 12 is a ROM that stores fixed programs; 11 is a RAM that stores programs and data to be processed; and 14 is a DMA controller (D) that performs direct memory access control. M A C ; Di
rectMemory Access Control
ler), 15 is an interrupt controller (PIC.Programmab) that can be set by a program.
le Interrupt Controller)
, 1B is an interval timer (PIT) that can be set by a program.
Interval Timer), 17 is a clock module (RTC) with its own operating battery.
Real-Time Clock). 18 is a large capacity expansion R that can be inserted into and removed from the dedicated card slot of the main unit.
AM, and backup power (VBK) is supplied. A backup RAM 19 serves as a data storage area for implementing the resume function, and is supplied with backup power (VBK). 20 is a hard disk pack that can be inserted into and removed from the dedicated storage section of the main unit, and here it is a 2.5-inch hard disk drive (HDD) 2O
A and a hard disk controller (HDC) 20B that controls access to the same drive. 20F is a floppy disk controller (FDC), 21 is a printer controller 6 (PRT-CONT), and 22 is an input/output interface (UART; Universal Asylum).
nchronousl? ecejver/Transm
itter) S28 is a keyboard controller (K
BC) 24 is a display controller (DISP-
CONT), 25 is the backup power supply (V BK)
a video RAM (VRAM) supplied with
Reference numeral 7 denotes a dictionary ROM that implements a kana/hakuji conversion dictionary and the like. 28 is a power supply control interface (PS-IF) for connecting a power supply circuit (see FIG. 2), which will be described later, to the CPU II via the system bus IO. A power adapter 29 (hereinafter referred to as an AC adapter) rectifies and smoothes a commercial alternating current power source (AC) to obtain a DC working power source of a predetermined potential, and is plug-in connected to the main body of the personal computer. 30 is a power control CPU (PC-CPU
), and the configuration of this power supply circuit 30 will be described later with reference to FIG. 2. The 31A is a pack-type detachable main battery consisting of a rechargeable battery (
M-BATT), 31B is a built-in sub-battery (S-BA
TT).

32 is a floppy disk drive (FDD) connected to the floppy disk controller 20F, 33 is an external floppy disk drive connected to the floppy disk controller 30 as necessary, and 84 is a printer connected as necessary to the printer controller 2l. It is. 85 is an RS-2320 interface device connected to the human output interface 22 as necessary. 36 is a keyboard connected to the keyboard controller 23, 37 is an LCD display section connected to the display controller 24, and 3B is a CRT display section that is selectively connected to the display controller 24 as required. 40 is an expansion connector to which an expansion unit is selectively connected.

FIG. 2 is a block diagram showing the configuration of the power supply circuit 30. As shown in FIG.

In the figure, 30l is a power switch, 302 is a reset switch, 303 is a display switch, and 304 is a ready setting switch provided on the expansion unit. 305
are each of these switches 301, 302, 303
, 304, and the power control C described later.
This is a parallel I/O that holds setting information of the P U 30B.

306 is a power control CPU that centrally manages the power supply of the entire device, and inputs information on each part of the power supply circuit and instruction information from the host side CPU II via an internal bus 807, and receives instructions from the host side CPU II, internal status, etc. It controls the power supply to various parts within the device based on external operating conditions, etc., and has processing functions as shown in FIGS. 3 and 4.

A backlight control circuit 308 controls the backlight power (backlight intensity) of the LCD display section 37, and outputs a backlight drive power according to the setting state of a variable resistor (not shown) for adjusting the light intensity.

Under the control of the power control CPU 306, 309 displays an LED (fifth
Various LEDs including the low battery status table 9 LED (L2 in Figure 5(a)), AC adapter connection status LED (L3 in Figure 5(a)), etc. This is an LED driver that controls lighting drive. Here, each LED is capable of displaying two colors, red and green, and one or both of them is selectively drive-controlled to perform color-specific display. . That is, to give a specific example, when the power is turned on, the LED (LL) is driven to light up in green during high-speed clock operation, and is driven to light up in red during low-speed clock operation. Also, the LED (L2) is
It is driven to blink in red when the battery is low, lit in orange (red + green) when in the rapid charge state, and lit in green when the charge is complete. Further, the LED (L3) is driven to light up in red when the AC adapter 29 is in a valid connection state, and is driven to flash in red when the AC adapter 29 is in a valid connection state and when the power supply circuit 30 is in an abnormal state.

810 is a D/A converter that converts the digital charge control data output from the power control CPU 306 into an analog signal and supplies it to the charge unit 311 for the main battery 1"0 31A. 811 is power control CPU30B
This charge unit charges the main battery 31A in accordance with a charge control signal output from the D/A converter 310 under the control of the D/A converter 310.

A current detector 312 detects the total current within the device including the charging current of the main battery 31A.

3l4 is a current detector that detects the current (excluding backup current) flowing in the circuit within the device. Reference numeral 315 is a DC-DC converter that obtains power for operating various parts within the apparatus from the power supply of the AC adapter 29 via the current detector 814 or the power supply of the main battery 31A.

81B is an analog/digital converter for supplying each detected current value of the current detectors 312 and 314, the output voltage of the main battery 81A, the output voltage of the DC-DC converter 315, etc. as digital data to the power control CPU 30B. This is an A/D converter that performs 317 is power control C P IJ 30B
This is a serial I/O for transmitting and receiving information between the CPU II and the main CPU II. 318 is a charging unit that charges the sub-battery 1131B.

319 is main battery 31A and sub battery 31
This is a DC-DC converter that receives each power source of B and obtains a backup power source (VBK).

Figures 3 and 4 are power control c P
3 is a flowchart showing the processing flow of U aoe, in which FIG. 3 shows a processing routine when power is turned off, and FIG. 4 shows a processing routine when power is turned on.

FIG. 5 shows the external configuration of a device according to an embodiment of the present invention; FIG. 5(a) is a perspective view showing a state in which the display housing is open, and FIG. FIG. 2 is a perspective view showing a state in which the display unit (display) housing is closed.

In FIG. 5, ■ is the main body of the device, and la is the main body l surrounding the operation button 301a of the push-button power switch 301.
This is a barrier portion formed protrudingly from the side surface of the This barrier part 1a
This avoids an inconvenient situation in which the power switch 301 is accidentally operated while carrying the device, and is structured so that the switch can be operated only when the switch is pressed intentionally. Also, 12 Ll, L2. L3 is each power control C P
The display is driven by the LED driver 309 under the control of U 30B, where LL is an LED for displaying the power-on state and operating speed, L2 is an LED for displaying low battery status, and SL3 is an LED for displaying AC adapter connection status.
D, each having an inverted L-shape arranged over the front wall and the top wall on the ridge formed by the front wall and top wall of the rectangular parallelepiped projection tb formed on the device main body l. Provided inside the display window.

Therefore, the display state of each of the LEDs can be easily identified from the outside not only when the display housing is open but also when the display housing is closed.

FIG. 6 is a diagram showing an example of the status display of the LED in the above embodiment.

Here, the operation in one embodiment of the present invention will be explained with reference to the above figures.

Power control CPU30tl of power supply circuit 80
i constantly monitors the operating state of the power switch 301.

That is, the power control CPU 30B executes a processing routine as shown in FIG. 313 when the device is in a power-off state, and executes a processing routine as shown in FIG. The operating state of the power switch 301 and the state of the power source and device are constantly monitored by executing a processing routine as shown in the figure.

When the device is in the power off state, the power switch 301
When the switch is operated, the state of the switch operation changes to parallel I.
/ 0 305, and its state is controlled by power control at a predetermined processing timing. The information is read into the CPU 306, and the operation of the power switch 301 is recognized (step A13 in FIG. 3).

At this time, each time it is recognized that the power switch 301 has been operated, a predetermined counter (CTR) for recognizing the operation time of the power switch 301 is updated (+1).
Step Al4) in FIG. 3, steps A1 to A1 shown in FIG. 3 until the updated count value reaches the set value (N).
The process of A15 is repeatedly executed.

That is, in step A1, it is determined whether the main battery 31A maintains a normal voltage, in step A4, it is determined whether the output power of the AC adapter 29 is normal, and in step A6, it is determined whether or not the main battery 31A maintains a normal voltage. It is determined whether the charging current is normal or not, and in step A8 it is determined whether the output voltage of the charging unit 311 is within the normal range. Here, if an abnormality in the power status is detected,
The abnormal state is externally displayed by driving the LED (L2) to flash in red (step A2 in FIG. 3). Also, AC
When the adapter 29 is in a valid connection state, the LED (L
3) is driven to light up in red (Step A5 in Figure 3), and when the charging current is normal and the LED is in the charging state.
(L2) is driven to light up in orange (red and green), and is driven to light up in green if charging is completed (Step A7 in Figure 3).
). Also, at this time, if the charging current is normal, the power control CPU is set so that the charging voltage is always appropriate.
Charge unit all is controlled under the control of 80B (steps A8 to A11 in FIG. 3).

When the power switch 301 is continuously operated while the above-described processing steps are repeatedly executed and the value of the counter (CTR) reaches the set value (N), the power switch 301 is turned on as shown in FIG. The power-on processing routine is entered, and the power-on processing is executed (step B in Figure 4).
2).

In this way, the power control CPU 30B controls the third CPU when the device is in the power-off state.
A processing routine as shown in the figure is executed to constantly monitor the operation status of the power switch 301 and the status of the power source and the device, and externally display the status of the power source and the device.

Also, when the device is in the power-on state, the power switch 8
01 is operated, the state of the switch operation is read into the power control CPU 30B in the same way as in the power-off processing routine described above, and the operation of the power switch 301 is recognized. (Step B22 in FIG. 3), and each time it is recognized that the power switch 301 has been operated, the counter (CTR) is
is updated (+1) (step B2+ in FIG. 3), and the processes of steps 83 to B24 shown in FIG. 4 are repeatedly executed until the updated count value reaches the set value (M).

That is, in the power-on processing routine, the expansion connector 4
0 with no expansion unit connected,
Alternatively, after confirming that the expansion unit connected to the expansion connector 40 is in the ready state, execute the power-on process (steps B1 and B2 in FIG. 4), and then turn on the power in the same way as the power-off process routine described above. The system determines the status of each part of the device, and when the above-mentioned counter (CTR) value reaches the set value (M) during the repetition of the process, or it is recognized that an abnormality has occurred in the power supply. (Step B15 in FIG. 4), or when it is recognized that the reset switch 302 has been operated (Step B19 in FIG. 4), information to turn off the power is sent to the main CPU 1l, and then power-off processing is performed. is executed (step 82 in FIG. 4).
6). In this power-off process (step B26 in FIG. 4), each power supply inside the device is shut off in a predetermined order except for the backup power supply (VBK) after waiting for a response from the main CPU II, and then the above-mentioned power supply Move to the off processing routine.

At this time, the main CPU II controls the power control CPU via the power control interface 28.
When it receives information to turn off the power from 80B, it recognizes the setting state of the resume function, and when it is in the resume setting state, after completing the resume process using the backup RAM 19, the response information is sent to the power control. Power control CPU 3 via interface 28
Return to H.

In this way, the power control CPU 306 controls the third
The processing routine shown in the figure is executed, and when the device is in the power-on state, the processing routine shown in Fig. 4 is executed and each power switch 3 (1
1, and the status of the power supply and equipment are constantly monitored, and the status of the power supply and equipment is displayed externally.

The power supply control means according to the present invention is not limited to the system configuration shown in FIG. 1, but can be easily applied to other system configurations.

[Effects of the Invention] As described in detail above, according to the present invention, a personal computer that is easy to carry and can be operated by an internal battery is always in operation regardless of whether the device/equipment power is on or off. A power control CPU, a circuit 5 that sends power status information of the device to the power control CPU, a circuit that controls the operating power source in the device according to the output information of the power control CPU, and output information of the power control CPU. Turn on/off the device according to the
The configuration includes a circuit that drives and controls a plurality of display elements, including a display element that displays a specific power state of the device regardless of the off state, so that it can be used with an AC adapter, an internal battery, etc. In any case, the operating power supply status and equipment status can be constantly recognized, and a stable power supply status can be maintained at all times, and the status of the power supply and equipment can be accurately monitored regardless of whether the equipment is powered on or off. can be displayed and recognized by the operator.

19

[Brief explanation of drawings]

FIG. 1 is a block diagram showing the system configuration in one embodiment of the present invention, FIG. 2 is a block diagram showing the configuration of the power supply circuit in the above embodiment, and FIGS. 3 and 4 are respectively shown in the above embodiment. FIG. 5 is a flowchart showing the processing flow of the power control CPU in the example, and shows the external structure of the device in one embodiment of the present invention, and FIG. FIG. 6 is a perspective view showing a state in which the body is opened, FIG. 6B is a perspective view showing a state in which the display housing is closed, and FIG. E
It is a figure which shows the example of a state display of D. l...device body, la...barrier section, 1o...system bus, 11.CPU (host CPU), 1
2-ROMS13-...RAM, L4-DMA > Tora (DMAC; Direct Memory A
access controller) l5-...
Interrupt controller (PIC; Progra
mmableInterrupt Control
r), 1B--Interval timer (PI
T ; Programmable Interval
Timer), 17-...Clock module (R
TC; Real-TiIIIle Clock),
2 0 l8...Expansion RAM, 19...Backup RAM
, 20...Hard disk back, 2OA...Hard disk drive (HDD), 20B...Hard disk controller (HDC) 20B. 20F
...Floppy disk controller (FDC), 2
1... Printer controller (PRT-CONT)
, 22-Person Output Interface (UART
; Universal Asynchronous R
receiver/transmitter), 23
−゜゛Keyboard controller (KBC), 24...
Display controller (DISP-CON'L)
2.5--Video RAM (VRAM), 2G...
・Kanji ROM, 27-・Dictionary ROM, 28・
・・Power control interface (PS-IF), 29・
...Power adapter (AC adapter), 30...Intelligent power supply (power supply circuit), 31A...
・Main battery (M-BATT), 81B... Sub battery (S-BATT), 32... Floppy disk drive (FDD), H... External floppy disk drive, 34... Printer, 35・
...RS-212C interface device, 3B...
Keyboard, 37・L C D display section, 3B・C R
T display section, 21

Claims (3)

[Claims] (1). A power control CPU that is always in operation regardless of whether the device power is on or off, a circuit that sends information on the power status of the device to the power control CPU, and a power supply for operating the device in accordance with the output information of the power control CPU. and a circuit that drives and controls a plurality of display elements including a display element that displays a specific power state of the device regardless of whether the power source of the device is on or off, according to the output information of the power control CPU. A personal computer characterized by: (2). 2. A personal computer according to claim 1, further comprising display driving means for displaying three types of power supply states using a single LED. (3). In a laptop-type personal computer in which the display housing opens and closes within a predetermined rotation range on a main body provided with a keyboard, when the display housing is in a closed state, a rectangular protrusion having a front wall facing the bottom surface of the casing and an upper wall corresponding to the back surface of the casing; , wherein display windows are arranged on the front wall portion and the upper wall portion, and a display element is provided inside the display windows (
1) The personal computer described above.