JPH07248865A - Activity detection system of device controller - Google Patents

Abstract

PURPOSE:To prevent the processing of a device controller from being interrupted even if an interruption request with high priority is generated by generating the activity signal of a first level when a command is received from a CPU and inhibiting the output of an interruption signal to a CPU at the time of the first level. CONSTITUTION:A device controller 3 is provided with an activity signal generation part 30 generating an activity signal of a first level according to the reception of a command from a CPU 5 and making the signal into a second level according to the termination of a processing. Further, the controller is provided with an activity monitoring part 7 monitoring an interruption request and the activity signal, inhibiting the output of an interruption signal to the CPU 5 when the activity signal becomes the first level when the activity signal becomes the first level and outputting the signal when the activity signal becomes a second level. Therefore, while a device controller 3 executes the processing for the received command, the interruption signal is not inputted in the CPU 5.

Description

Detailed Description of the Invention

[0001]

BACKGROUND OF THE INVENTION 1. Field of the Invention The present invention relates to a detection method for detecting that a device controller such as a keyboard controller is in an operating state (hereinafter referred to as activity) in an information processing apparatus such as a personal computer.

[0002]

2. Description of the Related Art In information processing devices such as personal computers,
A device controller called a keyboard controller is used to control peripheral devices such as a keyboard and a mouse. The keyboard controller is connected to the CPU via a bus, receives commands from the CPU, and executes corresponding processing.

Normally, the processing of the keyboard controller is
Since the interrupt processing has a relatively high priority, even if another interrupt occurs during the processing by the keyboard controller, it has no effect.

By the way, in recent years, in a battery-operated device such as a notebook computer, a suspend switch is pressed in order to suppress power consumption as much as possible, or
When there is no input from the keyboard for a certain period of time, power supply to the HDD, backlight, etc. is cut off, and a transition to the suspend state has been performed. Then, in this process, SMI (SYSTEM MA
An interrupt with the highest priority called NAGEMENT INTERRUPT) has come to be used.

That is, the CPU is provided with an SMI terminal dedicated to SNI in addition to the normal interrupt terminal, and the system controller determines whether the suspend switch is pressed or whether there is no input from the keyboard for a certain period of time. When any one of the conditions is satisfied, an SMI signal is output to the CPU, and the CPU that receives this SMI signal interrupts the process being executed and executes a predetermined process according to software called an SMI handler. Therefore,
If the SMI is input while the keyboard controller is performing processing, the processing of this keyboard controller will be interrupted.

Therefore, conventionally, when the suspend switch is pressed, or when an SMI request such as no input from the keyboard for a predetermined time occurs, the system controller outputs the SMI request to the keyboard controller. The specified I / O address indicates the specified I / O address indicating the keyboard controller or keyboard.
When the address is an O address, the SMI handler process waits until the keyboard controller process is completed when the I / O address is a predetermined I / O address.

[0007]

As described above, the countermeasure against the SMI occurring during the processing of the keyboard controller has conventionally been taken for some time. However, among the commands executed by the keyboard controller, Some of them have data as a parameter, and this command and data are output by the CPU in independent I / O processing. Therefore, a certain time interval occurs between the I / O processing. I will end up. SMI within this time interval
Occurs, only the command will be input to the keyboard controller and the corresponding parameter will not be input, and the next different command may be input here.In such a case, the previous command is not correct. It will stop working.

[0008]

The present invention provides an information processing apparatus including a peripheral device, a CPU, and a device controller connected to the peripheral device and the CPU for controlling the peripheral device in response to a command from the CPU. In the device controller, an activity signal generating means for generating a first level activity signal in response to receiving a command from the CPU and setting the activity signal to a second level in response to the end of processing of the command. Further, the interrupt request and the activity signal are monitored, and when the interrupt request occurs, when the activity signal is at the first level, the output of the interrupt signal to the CPU is prohibited, and the activity signal is Outputs an interrupt signal to the CPU when the level becomes 2 The provided activity monitoring unit that solves the above problems.

Further, in a preferred embodiment, the device controller is a keyboard controller, and the interrupt signal to the CPU is an interrupt signal having the highest priority.

[0010]

In the present invention, the keyboard controller is the CPU
When receiving a command from, the activity signal is first
Since a predetermined interrupt signal is not input to the CPU while the keyboard controller is executing the processing for the received command, the activity signal becomes the second level when the processing by the keyboard controller is completed. , A predetermined interrupt signal is input to the CPU.

[0011]

1 shows the configuration of a notebook computer as an embodiment of the present invention, in which a keyboard 1 and a mouse 2 as input means are connected to a keyboard controller 3 which is connected via a bus 4. C
It is connected to PU5.

When performing keyboard processing, the keyboard controller 3 outputs a normal interrupt signal IRQ, and the interrupt controller 6 sends this interrupt signal IRQ to CP.
Input to the interrupt terminal P1 of U5. The keyboard controller 3 also has an activity signal output unit 30 and outputs an activity signal ACT to the activity monitoring unit 7.

The activity monitoring unit 7 monitors the input activity signal ACT, inputs a switch signal SW generated when a suspend switch (not shown) is pressed, and further, a period during which the keyboard key is not pressed. Has a counter 70 as a timer means for detecting whether or not the time exceeds a certain time. When the counter 70 reaches a predetermined value or the switch signal SW is input, an SMI request is generated. To judge. Then, this activity monitoring unit 7 is SM
The I signal is output to the SMI terminal P2 of the CPU 5.

Next, the operation of this embodiment will be described with reference to the flowchart of FIG. 2 showing the processing contents of the keyboard controller 3 and the flowchart of FIG. 3 showing the processing contents of the activity monitoring section 7.

In the following description, a specific command for replacing the contents of the register KCCB in the keyboard controller 3 with the contents of the parameter will be described as an example.

First, when this command is issued from the CPU 5, the keyboard controller 3 receives this command via the bus 4 and outputs an H-level activity signal ACT from the activity generator 30. Next, the keyboard controller 3 checks whether or not the data as the parameter has been sent via the bus 4, and if the data has been sent, receives it and executes the processing. When the processing is completed, the activity signal ACT is set to L level. That is, the activity signal ACT maintains the H level for the period from the reception of the command to the end of the processing of the command.

On the other hand, when the activity monitoring section 7 receives the SMI request from the switch signal SW or the counter 70, it determines whether the activity signal ACT from the keyboard controller 3 is at the H level or the L level at that time, and the L level is detected. If so, the level determination is repeated without outputting the SMI signal. When the L level changes to the H level, the SMI signal is output to the CPU 5 according to the change. Of course, when the SMI request is accepted, if the activity signal ACT from the keyboard controller 3 is already at the L level, the SMI signal is immediately output to the CPU 5.

Therefore, even if an SMI request is issued while the keyboard controller 3 is performing a process, the C
The SMI signal is not output to the PU 5, and the SMI signal is output to the CPU 5 after the processing of the keyboard controller 3 is completed.

[0019]

According to the present invention, it is ensured that the processing of the keyboard controller is interrupted even if an interrupt request having a higher priority occurs while the keyboard controller is executing the processing. It can be prevented, and then a high priority interrupt request can be processed.

[Brief description of drawings]

FIG. 1 is a block diagram showing a configuration of an exemplary embodiment of the present invention.

FIG. 2 is a flowchart showing the processing contents of the keyboard controller of the embodiment.

FIG. 3 is a flowchart showing processing contents of an activity monitoring unit of the embodiment.

[Explanation of symbols]

 1 keyboard 3 keyboard controller 5 CPU 7 activity monitor 30 activity signal generator 70 counter

Claims (2)

[Claims] 1. An information processing apparatus comprising a peripheral device, a CPU, and a device controller connected to the peripheral device and controlling the peripheral device in response to a command from the CPU, wherein the device controller includes: An activity signal generating means for generating an activity signal of a first level in response to receiving a command from the CPU and for setting the activity signal to a second level in response to the completion of processing of the command is provided, and further, an interrupt request. When the activity signal is at the first level when an interrupt request is generated, the output of the interrupt signal to the CPU is prohibited, and when the activity signal is at the second level, the CPU is monitored. Activity monitoring means to output interrupt signal to A device controller activity detection method characterized by being provided with. 2. The activity detection method of the device controller according to claim 1, wherein the device controller is a keyboard controller, and the interrupt signal to the CPU is an interrupt signal having the highest priority.