JPH06161624A - Interruption controlling method - Google Patents

Abstract

PURPOSE:To make it possible to execute the interruption processing by a special key operation as it is by discriminating the interruption by a normal key operation and the interruption by the special key operation and outputting the interruption signal according to the kind to an interruption control part. CONSTITUTION:When the interruption by a normal key operation is executed by operating a keyboard 9, the key code is stored in a normal key code output register 22 and an interruption signal control part 26 outputs the interruption signal by this normal key operation to an interruption control part 12. Thus, a processor 11 executes the interruption processing by the normal key operation. When the special key code by the special key operation of the keyboard 9 is stored in a special key code output register 23, the interruption signal control part 26 outputs the keyboard interruption signal by the special key operation. Thus, the processor 11 reads the special key code from the special key code output register 23 and executes the interruption of the setting of a hardware operation mode, etc.

Description

Detailed Description of the Invention

[0001]

BACKGROUND OF THE INVENTION 1. Field of the Invention The present invention relates to an interrupt control method for generating a key input interrupt for setting an operation mode of hardware in an information processing apparatus.

[0002]

2. Description of the Related Art Conventionally, in an information processing apparatus such as a personal computer, a predetermined special key operation is performed when changing the clock frequency of a CPU or performing processing for displaying the state of the apparatus itself. this is,
The process can be started by pressing a preset special key on the keyboard. For example, on some personal computers, the control key (Ctr
The frequency of the CPU can be changed by simultaneously pressing l), the alternate key (Alt) and the arrow key.

FIG. 2 shows a block diagram of a conventional general information processing apparatus. The above operation is executed for the device shown in this figure. In the figure, a processor 2 is connected to a bus line 1 to control the operation of this device. In addition to the above, a clock controller 3, a memory 4, a display controller 5, an interrupt controller 6, and a keyboard controller 7 are connected to the bus line 1. The bus line 1 is composed of an address bus, a data bus, a control bus and the like. The clock control unit 3 is a circuit for generating an operation clock of the processor 2. For example, in this example, two types of clock frequencies can be selected and output by setting the internal register. The memory 4 has a key input interrupt processing program 4
-1 is stored. The memory 4 is composed of a random access memory or the like. The display control unit 5 is a circuit for performing display control of the display 8 or the like, for example.

A keyboard 9 is connected to the keyboard control unit 7, and when a predetermined key of the keyboard 9 is pressed, the key code is read by the processor 2 and a certain process is advanced. The keyboard control unit 7 detects when any key of the keyboard 9 is pressed,
This is a circuit for turning on the keyboard interrupt signal 7-1. The keyboard control unit 7 has a function of storing the type of pressed key, that is, a key code in an internal register (not shown) and holding it so that the processor 2 can read it. When the processor 2 reads the key code from the keyboard controller 7, the keyboard interrupt signal 7-1 output by the keyboard controller 7 is turned off. The keyboard control unit 7 is configured as described above. The interrupt control unit 6 notifies the processor 2 of C when a key input interrupt described below occurs.
It is a circuit for outputting a PU interrupt signal.

The device as described above handles the key input interrupt as follows. FIG. 3 shows an explanatory diagram of the clock frequency change processing operation. When changing the clock frequency of the information processing apparatus, a key input interrupt is executed by the method shown in this figure. That is, first, the control key 13
And the alternate key 14 and the arrow key 15 are pressed down at the same time. In this case, the key code of each key is read by the processor. Further, it is detected that these keys are simultaneously pressed. Based on such information, the processor recognizes that an interrupt due to a predetermined special key operation has occurred, and executes, for example, CPU clock frequency changing processing.

More specifically, when the operator presses the control key of the keyboard 9 shown in FIG. 2, the keyboard control section 7 detects this and stores the key code in the internal register. Further, the keyboard control unit 7 turns on the keyboard interrupt signal 7-1. Interrupt control unit 6
In response to this, turns on the CPU interrupt signal 6-1. The processor 2 recognizes the CPU interrupt signal 6-1 and performs a predetermined interrupt process to read the key code corresponding to the control key from the keyboard control unit 7. The operation when the alternate key or the arrow key is pressed is exactly the same. The processor 2 accepts the key code corresponding to each of these keys, recognizes that they are pressed simultaneously, and passes the information to the key input interrupt processing program 4-1. Clock control unit 3
Switches the clock frequency from high to low, for example, by executing this program.

[0007]

By the way, the key input interrupt processing as described above is executed by the BIOS directly connected to the hardware or by the key input interrupt processing program provided in the general-purpose application program. It has become. FIG. 4 is an explanatory diagram comparing the operation mode setting methods at this time. FIG. 7A is a hardware corresponding process explanatory diagram, and FIG. 7B is a general-purpose program process explanatory diagram. For example, as shown in (a), the application program 16-1 is usually connected to the hardware 19 via an OS (operation system) 17, a BIOS (basic input / output system) 18, and the like. That is, the processing of the application program 16-1 is normally executed via the OS 17 and the BIOS 18.
On the other hand, the key input interrupt corresponding to the hardware is directly executed to the BIOS 18.

On the other hand, for example, some general-purpose application programs include an OS and a BIOS and have a unique operation interrupt processing program.
In this case, the application program receives the key input interrupt and executes the processing. That is, as shown in (b), the key input interrupt is input to the application program 16-1, and the processing of this application program 16-2 is directly transmitted to the hardware 19. However, the key input interrupt process by the general-purpose application program as described above does not accept any interrupt other than the key input interrupt in the range set in advance in the application program. Therefore, with respect to the interruption by the special key operation such as the operation mode setting originally provided in the hardware, the conventional information processing apparatus does not have a procedure for delivering this to the BIOS 18, and this kind of processing is executed. There was a problem that could not be solved.

The present invention has been made in view of the above points. Even if a key input interrupt processing program or the like is set in a general-purpose application program, an interrupt by a special key operation is executed in addition to these key input interrupts. It is an object of the present invention to provide an interrupt control method that can be performed.

[0010]

According to a first aspect of the present invention, a keyboard control section detects a keyboard operation and generates a key input interrupt to the interrupt control section, so that the processor performs a predetermined interrupt process. When executing, the keyboard control unit holds a key code corresponding to a key pressed by the keyboard operation so as to be output to the processor, while interrupting by a normal key operation and an interrupt by a special key operation And outputs an interrupt signal according to the type of the interrupt to the interrupt controller, and the processor processes the interrupt by the normal key operation and the special key operation according to the type of the interrupt. Interrupt control characterized by executing either one of the processes for the interrupt by A method for.

In this case, the second invention lists up the key code indicating the special key in the key code table, and the key code corresponding to the key pressed by the keyboard operation and the key in the key code table. It is characterized in that an interrupt is generated by a special key operation when the code matches. According to a third aspect of the present invention, in this case, a key code corresponding to a key pressed by a plurality of keyboard operations is collectively stored in the storage means, and a key for instructing interruption by a special key operation including a plurality of key codes is provided. A key input interrupt is generated by referring to a code table.

[0012]

When the keyboard is operated to interrupt the normal key operation, the key code is stored in the normal key code output register. The interrupt signal control unit outputs to the interrupt control unit a keyboard interrupt signal indicating an interrupt due to this normal key operation. This allows
The processor normally executes interrupt processing by key operation. When the special key code is stored in the special key code output register by the special key operation of the keyboard, the interrupt signal control unit outputs a keyboard interrupt signal instructing an interrupt by the special key operation. As a result, the processor reads the special key code from the special key code output register and executes interrupt processing such as hardware operation mode setting. Therefore, the interruption by the key operation is executed by the key input interruption processing program of the general-purpose application program, while the interruption by the special key operation is executed by the interruption processing program by the special key operation provided in the apparatus.

[0013]

The present invention will be described in detail below with reference to the embodiments shown in the drawings. FIG. 1 is a block diagram of an information processing apparatus that implements the method of the present invention. The apparatus shown in the figure is such that a new function is added to the keyboard controller 20 of the conventional apparatus shown in FIG. Other configurations of the clock control unit 3, the memory 4, the display control unit 5 and the like connected to the bus line 1 are the same as those of the conventional ones, and the duplicated description will be omitted. The keyboard controller 20 includes an internal bus 21
Normal key code output register 22, special key code output register 23, command input register 2 connected to
4, data input register 25, microcomputer 2
7, a read only memory (ROM) 28 and a random access memory (RAM) 29 are provided.

An interrupt signal control unit 26 is connected to the normal key code output register 22 and the special key code output register 23. This interrupt signal control unit 2
6 is an interrupt control unit 1 for interrupting a normal key operation.
2 and a keyboard interrupt signal 26-2 for notifying an interrupt due to a special key operation. The interrupt controller 12 is configured to output the CPU interrupt signal 12-1 to the processor 11 according to the keyboard interrupt signals 26-1 and 26-2 received from the interrupt signal controller 26.

In the above device, when the keyboard 9 is operated to press a predetermined key, the keyboard control unit 20
Is detected to output the keyboard interrupt signal 26-1 or 26-2 to the interrupt controller 12. The key code corresponding to the key pressed by the operation of the keyboard 9 is stored in the normal key code output register 22 when the key code is the normal key code. In the case of a special key code, it is stored in the special key code output register 23. When the processor 11 recognizes that the CPU interrupt signal 12-1 is input, the processor 11 reads the key code stored in the normal key code output register 22 or the special key code output register 23 and executes a predetermined key input interrupt process. Note that the key input interrupt processing program 4-1 of the general-purpose program stored in the memory 4 executes the interrupt processing by the normal key operation. Further, regarding the interrupt by the special key operation, the interrupt processing program 4-2 by the conventional special key operation executes this.

The general operation is as described above, and the specific operation of the method of the present invention will be described with reference to the following flow chart. FIG. 5 is an operation flowchart of the method of the first aspect of the present invention. First, in step S1, when it is detected that the keyboard 9 shown in FIG. 1 is pressed, step S2
At, it is determined whether the control key (Ctrl) is pressed. If the control key is pressed, the process proceeds to step S3 and the control flag is set. The control flag and the alternate flag used in the next step S5 are both stored in the storage area secured in the RAM 29 of the keyboard control unit 20 shown in FIG.

Next, in step S4, it is determined whether or not the alternate key (Alt) has been pressed. If the alternate key is pressed, the process proceeds to step S5, and the alternate flag is set. When the control key or the alternate key of the keyboard 9 shown in FIG. 1 is pressed, the microcomputer 27 detects this and sets a flag corresponding to the RAM 29.

Next, in step S6 of FIG. 5, it is determined whether the arrow key has been pressed. Here, if the arrow key is pressed, the process proceeds to step S7,
It is determined whether the control flag and the alternate flag are both on. That is, it is determined here whether or not these three keys are simultaneously pressed, and if they are simultaneously pressed, processing is executed as an interrupt by a special key operation, and if they are pressed separately, an interrupt by a normal key operation is performed. Will be executed as. When it is determined in step S7 that the three keys are simultaneously pressed, the process proceeds to step S8, and the key code of the arrow key is stored in the special key code output register 23. If it is determined in step S7 that the three keys are not simultaneously pressed, it is determined that the interrupt is caused by a normal key operation, and the key code is stored in the normal key code output register 22.

As described above, in the case of a normal key operation, when the keyboard 9 is operated and any key is pressed, the microcomputer 27 detects this and the normal key code output register 22 is instructed. , Write the relevant key code. The interrupt signal control unit 26 detects this and turns on the keyboard interrupt signal 26-1.
In this way, the interrupt controller 12 is notified that an interrupt due to a normal key operation has occurred. Interrupt control unit 12
Turns on the CPU interrupt signal 12-1 to notify the processor 11 of this. The processor 11 activates the key input interrupt processing program 4-1 of the general-purpose program stored in the memory 4, and the normal key code output register 2
The corresponding key code is read from 2 and a predetermined interrupt process is executed. When the key code is read, the keyboard interrupt signal 26-1 output by the interrupt signal controller 26 is turned off. The key code read by the processor 11 is passed to the key input interrupt processing program 4-1, and a predetermined interrupt processing is executed.

On the other hand, when the key code is stored in the special key code output register 23, the interrupt signal control section 26 detects it and turns on the keyboard interrupt signal 26-2. The interrupt controller 12 uses the CPU interrupt signal 1
Turn on 2-1. Upon receiving this interrupt, the processor 11 activates the interrupt processing program 4-2 by the special key operation in the memory 4. The interrupt processing program 4-2 by this special key operation reads the key code of the arrow key from the special key code output register 23 of the keyboard control unit 20. At this time, the interrupt processing program 4-2 by the special key operation recognizes that the control key, the alternate key, and the arrow key are simultaneously pressed to interrupt the special key operation. Instruct to switch the frequency. Thereby, the clock control unit 3 switches the clock frequency from high to low, for example.

When a key code is stored in the normal key code output register 22 or the special key code output register 23 in FIG. 1, a signal indicating whether the key code is valid or invalid is input to the interrupt signal control unit 26. . For example, when the key code is stored in the special key code output register 23 and a signal indicating that the content is valid is input to the interrupt signal control unit 26, the interrupt signal control unit 26 outputs the interrupt signal 26-2 by the special key operation. Turn it on,
This is notified to the interrupt control unit 12. The interrupt control unit 12 controls the interrupt vector of the processor 11 according to this information, and the processor 11 starts the interrupt processing program 4-2 stored in the memory 4 by, for example, a special key operation. According to the method of the present invention,
By the above operation, the normal key input interrupt processing program provided in the general-purpose program and the interrupt processing program by the special key operation for setting the operation mode of each hardware can be selected and executed.

FIG. 6 shows the contents of the key table used in the second invention. When executing the interrupt processing program by the special key operation as described above, the microcomputer 27 of the keyboard control unit 20 must have a function of recognizing the special key operation in advance. However, for example, this kind of hardware operation mode setting function may be added or deleted when the hardware is newly developed. Here, recreating the control program for operating the microcomputer 27 each time is not a good idea in terms of development cost and the like.
In particular, when the keyboard control unit 20 is implemented as an LSI, the time and cost required for recreating the keyboard control unit 20 become great.

Therefore, in the second invention, the key table as shown in FIG. 6 is provided in the RAM 2 of the keyboard controller 20.
It is placed on the table 9 to determine whether it is a special operation interrupt. That is, according to the second aspect of the invention, when the key code stored in the key table and the key code detected by operating the keyboard match, the interrupt by the special key operation is executed. For this purpose, the contents of the key table are written in the RAM 29 specifically as follows.

First, this key table is stored in RAM 29
It shall be provided at addresses 01 to 110. First, R from the processor 11 to the command input register 24
The AM29 addressing command is written. Further, the address of the RAM 29 is written in the data input register 25. Thereby, the write start address is designated first. Next, the processor 11 inputs a write command to the RAM 29 to the command input register 24. Also, write data is input to the data input register 25. As a result, data is written to the designated address in the RAM 29. The write processing program in this case is stored in the ROM 28. The program for executing registration of the key table as described above is stored in the memory 4 shown in FIG. 1 and is executed when the power of the apparatus is turned on.

The key table thus created has key codes "OA", "OB",
"OC" is registered for interrupt processing by a special key operation. Therefore, in this embodiment, when the control key and the alternate key are depressed and the letter A, letter B, or letter C keys are simultaneously depressed, the interrupt processing by the special key operation is executed.

FIG. 7 is a detailed operation flowchart of the method of the second invention. Step S1 of this flowchart
The steps up to step S5 are exactly the same as the method of the first invention described with reference to FIG. That is, up to step S5, when the control key and the alternate key are pressed, the control flag and the alternate flag are set.

Further, in step S6, when the key for performing the special key operation is depressed, step S7
Then, the key table shown in FIG. 6 is referred to. That is, it is determined whether or not the special key is registered in the key table, and if it is registered, step S
Go to 8. Then, it is determined whether the control flag and the alternate flag are turned on at the same time. If the special key operation is recognized by these determinations, the process proceeds to step S9, and the key code for the special key operation is written in the special key output register. On the other hand, from step S6
If it is determined in step S8 that the key is not a special key, the process proceeds to step S10 and the key code is written in the normal key output register. The subsequent processing is the same as in the case of the first invention.

Next, the third invention will be described. The control method as described above is applicable only when the key code of the special key operation object is composed of 1 byte. However, in some systems, a few bytes may constitute a key code for interrupting such a special key operation. In such a case, the third invention is made so that the keyboard control unit can judge that the key operation is a special key operation.

FIG. 8 shows a hardware block diagram for implementing the third invention. As shown in the figure, when implementing the third invention, a storage area 31 as shown in the figure is secured in the RAM 29 of the keyboard controller. Here, the key code entered several times, for example, "E0", "1"
2 ”,“ E0 ”, and“ XX ”are stored in order.
These are collectively compared with the key code of the special key operation target stored in the key table 30. That is, in this case, the key table 30 stores data indicating that a special key operation of, for example, 4 bytes is registered. By collating with the key table 30, the keyboard control unit 20 recognizes that a special key having a structure of 1 byte or more has been input, and controls the operation of the interrupt signal control unit 26 and the like described above.

For example, in this embodiment, the extension code "E" is added to the 1-byte code "XX" representing the corresponding key.
0 "is added. X is an arbitrary hexadecimal display special key code. Further, in the case of the mode of numeral lock on, extended shift codes" E0 "and" 12 "are added. This is an example of a 4-byte code for a special key operation in a specific information processing device, and these are stored in the storage area 31 and compared with the key table 30. In this case, the numeral When the lock-on operation is performed, as shown in the figure, "E
The key codes “0”, “12”, “E0”, and “XX” are sequentially input, and the microcomputer 27 of the keyboard control unit 20 waits without limiting the pressed key until the last “XX” is detected. .

FIG. 9 shows a specific operational flowchart of the method of the third invention. First, when the keyboard is pressed in step S1, a key code is received from the keyboard in step S2. The keyboard controller 20 determines in step S4 whether all the key codes have been received. This judgment is made based on whether or not the above "XX" is input. If the key code is still input, the process proceeds to step S3, and the received key code is stored in the storage area 31 shown in FIG. When all the key codes have been received, the process proceeds to step S5. In step S5, the key code is transferred to the processor byte by byte. Here, when it is determined that the key is the special key operation target key by referring to the key table, the key code is the special key code output register 23.
Is read by the processor 11 via. In other cases, it is read by the processor 11 via the normal key code output register 22. Other processing is first
It is the same as the invention and the second invention.

The present invention is not limited to the above embodiments. The block configuration of the keyboard control unit may be freely changed. For example, if the interrupt signal control unit 26 is notified of a special key interrupt or a normal key interrupt by another method, one output register is provided. But it doesn't matter. The interrupt signal control unit may have any configuration as long as it notifies the interrupt control unit 12 of an interrupt by a normal key operation or an interrupt by a special key operation. For example, the interrupt signal control unit 26 may be composed of a register or the like that holds this interrupt signal.

[0033]

According to the interrupt control method of the present invention described above, the key code corresponding to the key pressed by the keyboard operation is held to be output to the processor, while the interrupt by the normal key operation and the interrupt by the special key operation are performed. By distinguishing between and, an interrupt signal according to the type is output to the interrupt control unit, and the processor executes either one of the processing for the interrupt by the normal key operation and the processing for the interrupt by the special key operation. Even if a general-purpose application program is provided with a key input interrupt processing program, it is possible to directly execute the interrupt processing by the special key operation such as the operation mode setting of normal hardware. .

Further, a key code for instructing an interrupt by a special key operation is listed, and an interrupt by a special key operation is generated when the key code corresponding to the pressed key matches the contents of this key code table. Thus, when the key code for the special key operation is added or deleted due to the hardware design change or the like, it is possible to easily cope with the change without changing the program of the keyboard control unit. Further, if the key codes for the keys pressed by a plurality of keyboard operations are collectively stored in the storage means, it becomes possible to execute an interrupt process by a special key operation of 2 bytes or more.

[Brief description of drawings]

FIG. 1 is a block diagram of an information processing device that implements a method of the present invention.

FIG. 2 is a block diagram of a conventional general information processing apparatus.

FIG. 3 is an explanatory diagram of a block frequency change processing operation.

FIG. 4 is an explanatory diagram comparing operation mode setting methods.

FIG. 5 is an operational flowchart of the method of the first invention.

FIG. 6 is an explanatory diagram of key table contents.

FIG. 7 is an operation flowchart of the method of the second invention.

FIG. 8 is a hardware block diagram for carrying out a third invention.

FIG. 9 is an operational flowchart of the method of the third invention.

[Explanation of symbols]

 1 bus line 3 clock control unit 4 memory 9 keyboard 11 processor 12 interrupt control unit 20 keyboard control unit

Claims (3)

[Claims] 1. When the keyboard control unit detects a keyboard operation and generates a key input interrupt to the interrupt control unit so that the processor executes a predetermined interrupt process, the keyboard control unit may: While holding the key code corresponding to the key pressed by the keyboard operation so as to be output to the processor, it distinguishes between the interrupt by the normal key operation and the interrupt by the special key operation, depending on the type of the interrupt. An interrupt signal is output to the interrupt control unit, and the processor executes one of a process for an interrupt by the normal key operation and a process for an interrupt by the special key operation, depending on the type of the interrupt. Interrupt control method characterized by. 2. A key code table for indicating a special key is listed in the key code table, and when the key code corresponding to the key pressed by the keyboard operation matches the key code in the key code table, 2. The interrupt control method according to claim 1, wherein an interrupt is generated by operating a special key. 3. A key code table for storing a key code corresponding to a key pressed by a plurality of keyboard operations collectively in a storage means and instructing interruption by a special key operation consisting of a plurality of key codes. 3. The interrupt control method according to claim 2, wherein the key input interrupt is generated.