JPH08101725A - Computer - Google Patents

Abstract

PURPOSE: To continuously use a system by storing the state of the system when a request to interrupt a processing is made in an external storage device, and reading it out and continuing the process when it is judged that the processing can be restarted. CONSTITUTION: When a saving processing start detecting means 11 detects the request to interrupt the processing of the computer, a system state saving means 12 interrupts the processing and outputs the system state required to continue the processing to an external nonvolatile storage device. When the restart of the processing is requested, a system state restoring means 15 reads the state of the system out of the external storage device and restores the computer to the state at the time of the interruption of the processing and a restoration postprocessing means 16 continues the processing through the processing of a storage means 16-1 previously stored with the processing after the restoration to the state at the time of the interruption. Therefore, the need to back up a program and data on the memory by a battery is eliminated and the processing after the restoration can be performed according to a previously stored desired procedure.

Description

Detailed Description of the Invention

[0001]

BACKGROUND OF THE INVENTION 1. Field of the Invention The present invention relates to a computer which brings a personal computer into a state when the power was turned off last time or before, and continues processing immediately before turning off the power.

[0002]

2. Description of the Related Art Continuation of a personal computer is a power on / off function that restores the system state when the power is turned on to the state when the power was turned off last time, and continues the processing being executed when the power was turned off the last time. Is the method.

Due to the miniaturization and battery operation of computers, it has become possible to make portable computers that can be used at any place and at any time. For example, waiting time for trains and planes, a little time before a meeting, etc.
It is difficult to finish all the processes within such a limited time. In such a case, if the power can be turned off for the time being and the time can be continued, the computer becomes easier to use.

On the other hand, the battery voltage drops (LOW BATTE) during use or when the user forgets to turn off the power due to carelessness of the user.
RY) occurs, under the condition that charging cannot be performed, the current process is interrupted and the process is restarted after charging again, or in the worst case, the power is cut off during the process and the data up to now is saved. You will lose everything. Even in such a case, the power is turned off after saving the current state and LOW BATTERY
It is convenient if processing can be continued after the state is recovered.

As can be seen from the above examples, computer continuation is one of the important ways to improve usability, especially in a portable computer.

In order to realize the continuation, it is essential to maintain the state of the system when the power was turned off last time. The system status includes the contents of main memory, I / O setting status, CPU status, and the like. I /
The setting status (status) of O defines the status of the hardware at that time. Since the hardware status can be stored in the main memory as information, we will consider saving data in the memory here.

In the conventional continue system, the retention of data on the main memory is basically realized by backing up the power of the main memory. That is, the SRAM is used as the main memory, power is supplied even when the power is off, and the contents of the SRAM are retained. When the DRAM is used, the contents are refreshed even when the power is off so that the contents are not damaged.

[0008]

However, in such a method, The cost of the system increases due to the complicated circuit configuration or specialized devices. 2. It is impossible to store data only with batteries for a long period of time. However, although it is an expensive system, it was not possible to realize complete continuation. The present invention solves such a problem and provides an inexpensive and reliable continue method, and at the same time, the system can be used not only to continue to the state when the power was turned off last time, but also to return the system to the state before that. The present invention provides a continuous device.

That is, the state of the system when the power is turned off or specified by the user is recorded in an external storage device, and the previous state is restored by turning on the power or specified by the user and continuing. The purpose of the present invention is to provide an inexpensive and reliable continue method that can effectively use the system.

[0010]

Means for Solving the Problem and Its Action / Effect The structure of the present invention for achieving the above object will be described with reference to FIG.

In FIG. 1, reference numeral 11 is a saving process start detecting means, which manages and determines the timing of saving the state of the system. Power switch off, LOW BATT
The ERY state or designation by the user is a trigger for the start. Reference numeral 12 denotes a system state saving means, which outputs the system state to an external storage device which does not lose its contents even when the power of the system is turned off when the saving is decided.

Reference numeral 13 denotes a post-evacuation processing means, which performs processing after the system state is saved. Powering off, continuous processing, initialization, etc. can be considered, but powering off is common.

Reference numeral 14 is a recovery processing start means, which is started after the system is started up or by a user's designation.
The system recovery processing means of is started.

Reference numeral 15 is a system state recovery means which reads the previous system state stored in the external storage device and sets it in the system to restore the system state to the previous state.

Reference numeral 16 is a post-recovery processing means, which restarts the previously interrupted processing in the restored system state. It can be interrupted by the user.

[0016]

DESCRIPTION OF THE PREFERRED EMBODIMENTS In the present invention, since there are considerable variations in the realization of each means, each means will be described with reference to an embodiment, and then a typical example of a combination thereof will be described. <Examples of Each Means> A. Evacuation process start detection means 11 (1) Evacuation process start detection means 11a An embodiment of this means will be described with reference to FIG. In FIG. 2, 21 is a power switch, 22 is a power switch state detection device, 23 is an interrupt controller, and 24 is a power-off detection processing program.

When the power switch 21 is turned off by the user, the power switch state detection device 22 detects that the power switch 21 is off, and the interrupt controller 23
A signal requesting the generation of an interrupt when the power is turned off is output to. The interrupt controller 23 that receives this signal
Generates an interrupt indicating that the power has been turned off when interrupts can be generated. In response to this interrupt request, the power-off processing program 24 is activated and the fact that the power switch 21 is turned off is detected as software,
After performing necessary processing, the system state saving means described later is activated.

(2) Evacuation process start detecting means 11b An embodiment of this means will be described with reference to FIG. In FIG. 3, 31 is a power switch, 32 is a switch state port, 33 is a system timer, 34 is an interrupt controller, 35 is a timer routine, and 36 is a power-off detection processing program.

When the power switch 31 is turned off by the user, a switch status port 32 connected to the power switch 31 and capable of reading the status of the power switch by a program indicates that the power switch 31 is turned off. Like On the other hand, the system timer 33 sends an interrupt generation request signal to the interrupt controller 34 at regular intervals, and the interrupt controller 34 generates a timer interrupt when the interrupt can be generated. In response to this interrupt request, the timer routine 35
Is started and after performing necessary processing such as updating the counter, the power-off detection program 36 is called. The power-off detection program 36 detects the state of the power switch 31 and reads the switch state port 32 when the processing is allowed to continue, and when the power switch 31 is turned off, it will be described later. The system state saving means is activated, and when it is turned on, the control is returned to the timer routine 35 to end the timer interrupt processing.

While the save processing start detecting means 11a is activated by generating an interrupt when the power is turned off, the save processing start detecting means 11b detects the power off in a timer interrupt that occurs every certain period of time.

(3) Evacuation process start detecting means 11C An embodiment of this means will be described with reference to FIG. In FIG. 4, 41 is a power switch, 42 is a switch status port, 43 is a keyboard, 44 is a keyboard data receiving device, 45 is an interrupt controller, 46 is a keyboard interrupt routine, 47 is a keyboard data read routine, and 48 is a power off detection. A processing program, 49 is a keyboard data buffer.

In FIG. 4, when the power switch 41 is turned off by the user, the power switch 41 is connected to the power switch 41 so that the on / off state of the power can be read by a program. Is turned off. On the other hand, keyboard 4
When a certain key 3 is pressed, keyboard data indicating that the key has been pressed is sent from the keyboard 43 to the keyboard data receiving device 44, and the keyboard data receiving device 44 sends a keyboard data reception interrupt generation request signal. Sending to the interrupt controller 45, the interrupt controller 45 generates a keyboard input interrupt, the keyboard interrupt routine 46 is activated, the keyboard data is read from the keyboard data receiving device 44, and the keyboard data is put in the keyboard data buffer 49. The keyboard data stored in the keyboard data buffer 49 is read by the keyboard data reading routine 47 in response to a request from the user program. The keyboard data read routine 47 and the keyboard data buffer 49
If there is keyboard data, the keyboard data is read and the keyboard data is returned to the user program. When the keyboard data buffer 49 is empty,
That is, when there is no key input, the user program is notified that there is no key input, or key input is performed and the keyboard data buffer 49
Wait for keyboard data to enter. Returns an empty state,
Whether to wait for the keyboard data to be input depends on the function of the keyboard data read routine 47 or the designation of the user program. The keyboard data read routine 47 turns off the power after reading the keyboard data, immediately before returning to the user program that the keyboard data buffer 49 is empty, or while waiting for the next keyboard data to enter the keyboard data buffer 49. The detection processing program 48 is called, the power-off detection processing program 48 reads the power switch state port 42, and when the power switch 41 is off, activates the system state saving means described later.

While the evacuation process start detection means 11b detects the power-off by a timer interrupt prepared in the system, the evacuation process start detection means 11b
c is characterized by detecting the power-off in the keypad data reading program most often called by the user program.

(4) Evacuation process start detection means 11d An embodiment of this means will be described with reference to FIG. In FIG. 5, reference numeral 51 is a keyboard, 52 is a keyboard data receiving device, 53 is an interrupt controller, 54 is a keyboard interrupt routine, 55 is a save start instruction detection processing program, and 56 is a keyboard data buffer.

In FIG. 5, when a certain key on the keyboard 51 is pressed, keyboard data indicating that the key has been pressed is sent from the keyboard 51 to the keyboard data receiving device 52, and the keyboard data receiving device 52. Sends a keyboard data reception interrupt generation request signal to the interrupt controller 53, and the interrupt controller 53 generates a keyboard input interrupt,
The keyboard interrupt routine 54 is activated, the keyboard data is read from the keyboard data receiving device 52, the keyboard data is put in the keyboard data buffer 56, and the save start instruction detection processing program 55 is called. The save start command detection processing program 55 monitors information related to the keyboard such as the keyboard buffer or the keyboard status, and calls the system state save means described later when the specified state is reached.

A method for detecting the designated state of the save start instruction detection processing program 55 will be described with reference to FIG. In FIG. 6, 61 is the keyboard status byte, 62 is the first bit of the 61 keyboard status byte, which is the shift key status bit, 63 is the second bit of the keyboard status byte 61, which is the control key status bit, 64 is the keyboard buffer, and 65 is This is the buffer top pointer.

In the keyboard interrupt routine 54, when a character such as'A 'is pressed by the keyboard and received as input data, the received character data is put into the keyboard buffer 64 and the last input character is input. The position in the keyboard buffer 64 is indicated by the buffer top pointer 65. Further, when the next received data is the data indicating the pressing (ON) of the shift key, this data is not stored in the keyboard buffer 64 and the shift key status bit 62 which is the first bit in the keyboard status byte 61 is set to 1. The shift key status bit 62 is set to 0 when data indicating that the shift key has been released is received. That is, the shift key status bit 62 is 1 when the shift key is pressed and 0 when the shift key is pressed. Similarly, the status of the control key is indicated by the control status bit 63. If the instruction for starting the evacuation process by the user is "when the shift key and the control key are pressed at the same time and further the letter'A 'is pressed", the evacuation start command detection processing program 55 causes the shift status bit 62 and the control Check that both status bits 63 are 1 (on), and further check the buffer top pointer 65.
The data in the keyboard buffer 64 indicated by is “A”.
Find out. When all the above conditions are satisfied, the system state saving means described below is called.

As is apparent from the above embodiment, the evacuation process start detecting means 11a, 11b and 11c detect that the power switch is off, whereas the evacuation process start detecting means 11d is the user. Detects input instructions from the keyboard.

(5) Evacuation process start detection means 11a, 11
Expansion of b and 11c Regarding the evacuation process start detection means 11a, 11b and 11c, when the system voltage of the power switch 21, the power switch 31 and the power switch 41 falls below a certain reference, a voltage drop is detected electrically. If the system voltage detection instruction switch operates similarly to the power switch (21, 31, 41), the system state saving means described later can be activated when the system voltage falls below a certain reference value. it can. The system voltage detection instruction switch is realized in consideration of the characteristics of the battery, the state of the system, and the time change of the voltage drop. The purpose of this is to reduce the charging capacity and stop the system in a battery-powered system. The state is previously detected by the evacuation process start detection means.

B. System status saving means 12 Information on the system status is stored in the main memory, I /
I / O related to O port settings and devices in the system
There are O status and CPU status. The I / O status is information related to I / O and devices, and it is necessary to clarify the setting method and its value in some way. However, the information can be handled in the same manner as the information indicating the states of the main memory and the CPU. In the following embodiment of the system state saving means, a method of outputting these pieces of information to an external storage device will be described.

(1) System state saving means 12a An embodiment of this means will be described with reference to FIG. In FIG. 7, 71 is a system save program, 72 is a hard disk drive, 73 is a system state storage area which is a specific area in the hard disk drive 72,
74 is main memory, 75 is CPU status, 76
Is the I / O status.

In FIG. 7, when the system save program 71 is started, the system save program stores the main memory 74, the CPU status 75, and the I / O status 76 in the hard disk drive 7 which is an external storage device.
2 to the system state storage area 73. When this output work is completed, control is passed to the post-evacuation source processing means described later. The main memory 74 basically only needs to have sufficient information for realizing the system continue. Generally, it is necessary to save the memory information that is not managed by the continue system (mechanism) in the state before the saving process start detecting means is activated. The CPU status 75 is information that can be returned to the state of the CPU when the power is turned on next time or specified by the user next time, or when the power is turned off the previous time or before or when the user specifies it. Generally, since the CPU status is in the stack of the main memory 74, the main memory 7
It is performed at the same time as the evacuation of 4. Information such as special registers in the CPU is saved separately. I / O status 7
Reference numeral 6 is information about the system I / O and device, and when the power is turned on next time or the system state is restored by the user's designation, the I / O and the device are set, and the I / O is set to the state just before the activation of the save processing start detecting means. And information that can only be returned to the device. In the I / O information,
It is not necessary to save the information for those that retain the state even when the power is turned on / off. The system state storage area 73 in the hard disk 72 has a capacity for storing the main memory 74, the CPU status 75, the I / O status 76, and additional information for controlling and completely saving. It is a reserved area for logical formatting and is a separate area from the DOS, programs and data running under it. Therefore, the system state storage area 73 is the hard disk 7
Since it is fixedly secured inside 2, it is read by the system state recovery means described later and used for system recovery.

(2) System state saving means 12b An embodiment of this means will be described with reference to FIG. In FIG. 8, 81 is a system save program, 82 is a hard disk drive, 83 is a file in the hard disk drive 82, which is a system state storage file,
84 is main memory, 85 is CPU status, 86
Is the I / O status.

Referring to FIG. 8, when the system save program 81 is started, the system save program 81 causes the main memory 84, the CPU status 85 and the I / O.
The status 86 is output as one file to the hard disk drive 82 which is an external storage device. This file is the system state storage file 83. The main memory 84, CPU status 85 and I /
The O status 86 is the same as that described in the system status saving means 12a, but the system status saving means 83 uses the system status storage file 83 instead of the system status storage area 73 as its storage area. This is a feature of 12b.

By storing the system state as a file, the number of states to be stored logically can be increased. This not only allows the system to be restored to the state when it was last turned off or specified by the user, but the previous power off can restore the system to the state when specified by the user. Also, since it can be handled as a file, deletion, modification, etc. can be performed relatively easily. However, when the system is restored to the state before the last time, there is a possibility that the contents of the external storage are particularly changed. Therefore, it is necessary to perform processing so that the system state restoration means described later does not have a contradiction.

(3) System state saving means 12c An embodiment of this means will be described with reference to FIG. In FIG. 9, 91 is a system save program, 92 is a floppy diskette, 93 is a system state storage area which is a specific area in the floppy diskette 92,
94 is main memory, 95 is CPU status, 96
Is the I / O status.

In this embodiment, the system state saving means 12 is used.
In a, the hard disk drive 72 is replaced with a floppy diskette 92. The method of saving information such as the main memory 94, the CPU status 95, the I / O status 96, etc. is the same as that of the system status saving means 12a.

While the hard disk drive 72 is fixed to the computer body, the floppy diskette 92 can be replaced as a recording block without being fixed to the computer body. In the present embodiment, the system state storage area 93 is fixed in one floppy diskette, but the system state can be recorded and held by using a plurality of floppy disks. The same attention as the state saving means 12b is required.

C. Post-evacuation processing means 13 (1) Post-evacuation processing means 13a An embodiment of this means will be described with reference to FIG. First
In FIG. 0, 101 is a power supply unit, 102 is an electric power switch, and 103 is a power-off program.

In FIG. 10, the power supply unit 101 supplies electric power to the system, and the electric power switch 1
Reference numeral 02 denotes a power switch connected to the power supply unit 101 and capable of turning off the power supply unit 101 by software. When the power-off program 103 turns off the electric power supply switch 102, the power supply unit 101 is turned off. Power supply is cut off and the system is turned off. This means allows the system to be powered off by software.

(2) Post-evacuation processing means 13b An embodiment of this means will be described with reference to FIG. First
In FIG. 1, 111 is a process selection program, 112 is a process determination program, 113 is a continuation program, 114 is a system initialization program, 115 is a power-off program, 116 is a power supply unit, 117 is an electric power switch.

The present embodiment shows a post-saving processing means for executing the processing selected by the user after saving the system state in the external storage device. In this embodiment, three selection branches are provided as types of selection. The process selection program 111 displays to the user what kind of process is to be performed after the system is saved, and asks the user to select which process to perform from the selection branch. If the instructions are appropriate,
The processing determination program 112 executes the designated processing program. In this embodiment, the previous processing is continued even after the evacuation.

Initialize the system and start the system from the beginning. Turn off the power. Is prepared. By the selection, the continuation program 113, the system initialization program 114, and the power-off program 115 are executed, respectively.

The continuation program 113 processes so that the processing executed before the evacuation processing start detecting means is started can be continued. In this case, it is necessary to eliminate the cause of activation of the evacuation process start detection means or prevent the evacuation process start detection means from immediately operating again.

The system initialization program 114 initializes the system. Actually, control is passed to the already prepared initialization routine. The power-off program 115 turns off the power of the system similarly to the post-evacuation processing means 13a.

D. Recovery Process Starting Means 14 This means is for executing the system state recovering means described later, and may be one in which the power of the system is turned on or an instruction from the user.

(1) Recovery Process Starting Means 14a An embodiment of this means will be described with reference to FIG. First
In FIG. 2, 121 is a power-on processing program, 122
Is a bootstrap loader, and 123 is a processing start determination program.

In FIG. 12, when the power of the system is turned on, the power-on processing program 121 starts to operate, and the basic check of the system, confirmation and confirmation of the configuration, I / O and RAM, etc. Initialize the devices to be configured. If necessary, output a message etc. to report the system status. The bootstrap loader 122 is then activated to load the operating system. Normally, when this loading is finished, control is passed to the loaded operating system or the loader therein to start up the operating system, but in this means, the control is transferred to the processing start determination program 123 and the continuation is continued. It is confirmed whether or not the system is in a possible state, and if it is possible, the system state recovery means described later is started after receiving the instruction of the user and confirming it. In order to determine whether the processing start determination program 123 can continue, it is examined whether the system state is saved by the system state saving means. As a method of activating the system state recovery means described later, there is a case of performing after confirming the user,
There is a way to start unconditionally. The former is a method to let the user decide whether to execute continue,
The latter is a way to always perform continue.

(2) Recovery Process Starting Means 14b An embodiment of this means will be described with reference to FIG. First
In FIG. 3, 131 is a processing start program, and DO
If the system status is saved by the system status saving means provided as one of the commands of S, the system status restoring means described later is executed. If the system status has not been saved, a message etc. informs the user that the system cannot be recovered.

E. System State Recovery Means 15 (1) System State Recovery Means 15a An embodiment of this means will be described with reference to FIG. First
In FIG. 4, 141 is a system recovery program, 142
Is a hard disk drive, 143 is a system state storage area that is a specific area in the hard disk drive 142, 144 is a main memory, 145 is a CPU status, and 146 is an I / O status.

The system state recovery means 15a of this embodiment operates in pair with the system state saving means 12a. When the system recovery program 141 is started in FIG. 14, the system recovery program is executed by the system state storage area 1 in the hard disk drive 142.
The system status saved by the system status saving means 12a is read out from the main memory 43, and the main memory 1
44, CPU status 145, I / O status 14
Restore the state of the system such as 6 to the previous state. The C
The PU status 145 is finally completely returned to the original state at the final stage of the post-recovery recovery processing means described later, but the state at that time is held as the CPU status 145. Most of the I / O status 146 is also recovered, but it may be changed before the post-recovery processing means described later is finished. The condition is restored.

(2) System State Recovery Means 15b An embodiment of this means will be described with reference to FIG. First
In FIG. 5, 151 is a system recovery program, 15
2 is a hard disk drive, 153 is a file in the hard disk drive 152, a system state storage file, 154 is a main memory, 155 is a CPU
Status 156 is an I / O status.

The system state recovery means 15b of this embodiment operates in pair with the system state saving means 12b. In FIG. 15, when the system recovery program 151 is activated, the system recovery program 151 reads the system status saved by the system status saving means 12b from the system status storage file 153 in the hard disk drive 152. , Main memory 154, CPU status 15
5. Restore system status such as I / O status 156 to previous status. The recovery method is the same as that of the system state recovery means 15a. The system state saving means 12
As described in b), there may be multiple system state storage files. In such a case, it is necessary for the system recovery program 151 to recover the system state that was saved most recently, or to display a list of files to the user and allow the user to select from the list.

(3) System state recovery means 15c An embodiment of this means will be described with reference to FIG. First
In FIG. 6, 161 is a system recovery program, 162
Is a floppy diskette, 163 is a system state storage area which is a specific area in the floppy diskette 162, 164 is main memory, 165 is CPU status, and 166 is I / O status.

The system state recovery means 15c of this embodiment operates in pair with the system state saving means 12c. In FIG. 16, when the system recovery program 161 is activated, the system recovery program is stored in the system state storage area 163 in the floppy diskette 162 and saved in the system state saving means 12
The state of the system saved by c is read, and the main memory 164, CPU status 165, I / O
Restore system states such as status 166 to previous states. The recovery method is the same as that of the system state recovery means 15a.

F. Post-Recovery Processing Means 16 (1) Post-Recovery Processing Means 16a An embodiment of this means will be described with reference to FIG. First
In FIG. 7, reference numeral 171 is a continuous processing program. After the system state recovery means restores the system state to the previous state, the system control is passed to the continuous processing program 171. If necessary, the continuous processing program 171 adjusts the system state change from the system state recovery means to a final state where continuous processing is possible, and controls the program immediately after the evacuation processing start detection means is executed. hand over. At this point the system has been restored to its previous state and the last running program will continue to run.

(2) Post-Recovery Processing Means 16b An embodiment of this means will be described with reference to FIG. First
In FIG. 8, 181 is a process selection program, 182 is a process determination program, 183 is a continuous process program, 18
4 is a continuous discontinuation program.

In the present embodiment, post-recovery processing means 16 for performing what processing is to be performed after the system status is recovered by the system status recovery means according to a user's instruction.
b will be described. In this embodiment, two selection branches are provided as selection types. In FIG. 18, the processing selection program 181 displays to the user what kind of processing is to be performed after the system is restored, and prompts the user to select which processing is to be performed from the selection branches. If the instruction is appropriate, the processing determination program 182 executes the designated processing program. In this embodiment, the system is returned to the previous state and the continue is realized. Cancels continue and returns to DOS command mode. Is prepared. By the selection, the continuous processing program 183 and the continuous stop program 184 are executed, respectively.

The continuous processing program 183 is the same as the continuous processing program 171, and realizes continuation. The continuation stop program 184 performs processing using a general DO.
Return to S command mode. Therefore, the continue process is interrupted.

Although the embodiments of the respective means have been described above, representative embodiments in which they are integrated will be described below.

An embodiment of the present invention will be described with reference to FIG. In FIG. 19, 191 is a power switch, and 19
2 is a switch status port, 193 is a system timer,
194 is an interrupt controller, 195 is a timer routine, 196 is a power-off detection processing program, 197.
Is a system save program, 198 is a hard disk drive, 199 is a system state storage area which is an area in the hard disk drive 198, 1910 is main memory, 1911 is CPU status, 1912 is I / O status, 1913 is a power supply unit, 1914
Is an electric power switch for turning off the power supply unit 1913 by software, 1915 is a power-off program, 1916 is a power-on processing program, 1917 is a bootstrap loader, 1918 is a processing start program, 1919 is a system recovery program, and 1920 is a continuation. It is a processing program.

The above configuration is based on a combination of the embodiments of the following means. Evacuation processing start detection means 11 System state evacuation means 12 Post evacuation processing means 13 Recovery processing means 14 System state recovery means 15 Recovery post processing means 16 The operation of this embodiment will be described below.

When the power switch 191 is turned off by the user, the switch status port 192, which is connected to the power switch and can read the status of the power switch by a program, indicates that the power switch 191 is turned off. Become. On the other hand, the system timer 193 sends an interrupt generation request signal to the interrupt controller 194 at regular intervals, and the interrupt controller 194 generates a timer interrupt when the interrupt can be generated. Timer routine 1 for this interrupt request
After 95 is started and necessary processing such as updating the counter is performed, the power off detection program 196 is called. The power-off detection program 196 reads the switch status port 192 when the power switch status is detected and the processing is allowed to continue.
When 91 is turned off, the system save program 197 is activated, and when it is turned on, control is returned to the timer routine 195, and the timer processing is ended.

The system save program 197 includes the main memory 1910, CPU status 1911, I / O
The O status 1912 is output to the system status storage area 199 in the hard disk drive 198 which is an external storage device. When this output work is completed, the power-off program 1915 is activated. Main memory 1910, C
The PU status 1911, the I / O status 1912, etc. are as described in the "system state saving means 12".

The power supply unit 1913 is supplying power to the system, and the electric power supply switch 1914 is a power supply switch connected to the power supply unit 1913 and capable of turning off the power supply unit 1913 by software. When the electric power switch 1914 is turned off by the program 1915, the power supply unit 1913 is turned off, power supply to the system is stopped, and the system is powered off.

Next, when the power of the system is turned on, the power-on processing program 1916 opens its operation to perform the basic check of the system, the confirmation and confirmation of the configuration, the I / O and the RAM, etc. Initialize the device. Next, the bootstrap loader 19
17 is activated and the operating system (DO
S) is loaded. Continued processing program 191
It is checked whether 8 is activated and can continue.
When possible, control is transferred to the system recovery program 1919.

The system recovery program 1919 stores the system save program 197 from the system state storage area 199 in the hard disk drive 198.
Read the system status saved by the main memory 1910, CPU status 1911, I / O
The system state such as the status 1912 is restored to the state before the previous power-off. The main memory 1916,
CPU status 1911, I / O status 1912
The points to note when recovering, etc. are as described in the system state recovery means.

The system recovery program 1919 determines that the system state is finalized by the continuation processing program 1920 in order to return control to the instruction immediately before the last power-off, that is, immediately after the timer routine 195 is interrupted. The system state is adjusted and control is returned to the instruction immediately after the timer routine 195 was interrupted.

As described above, it is possible to realize the continue processing in which the execution of the processing is continued even if the power is turned off.

Another embodiment of the present invention will be described with reference to FIG. In FIG. 20, 201 is a power switch,
202 is a power switch state detection device, 203 is an interrupt controller, 204 is a power-off detection program, 2
Reference numeral 05 is a system save program, 206 is a hard disk drive, and 207 is the hard disk drive 20.
A system state storage file, which is an area within 6;
Is main memory, 209 is CPU status, 201
0 is the I / O status, 2011 is the process selection program, 2012 is the process determination program, 2013 is the system initialization program, 2014 is the power off program,
2015 is a power supply unit, 2016 is an electrical power switch that can be turned off by software,
Reference numeral 2017 is a processing start program, 2018 is a system recovery program, and 2019 is a continuous processing program.

The above configuration is based on a combination of the embodiments of the following means.

Save processing start detecting means 11 System state saving means 12 Post save processing means 13 Recovery processing means 14 System state recovering means 15 Recovery post processing means 16 The operation of this embodiment will be described below. Power switch 201
When the power switch is turned off, the power switch state detection device 202 detects that the power switch is off, and outputs a signal requesting the interrupt controller 203 to generate an interrupt due to the power off. When the interrupt controller 203 receives this signal, if the interrupt can be generated, the interrupt controller 203 generates an interrupt indicating that the power is turned off. In response to this interrupt request, the power-off detection program 204 is activated and further the system save program 205 is activated.

The system save program 205 outputs the main memory 208, the CPU status 209, and the I / O status 2010 to the hard disk drive 206, which is an external storage device, as a single file. This file is the system state storage file 207. When this output work is completed, the process selection program 2
011 is activated. The main memory 208, the CPU status 209, and the I / O status 2010 are as described in the "system state saving means 12". The points to be noted when handling as a file are as described in the "system state saving means 12".

The process selection program 2011 displays a selection branch to the user and waits for the user's instruction in order to allow the user to select the process after saving the system state. In this embodiment, two options are provided. They initialize the system and bring it up from the beginning. Turn off the power. Is. When one of these is selected by the user, the process determination program 2012 causes the system initialization program 2013 and the power-off program 201, respectively.
4 is activated. The system initialization program 2013 initializes the system. Actually, control is passed to the already prepared initialization routine.

The power-off program 2014 operates the electric power switch 2016 to turn off the power supply unit 2015 and cut off the power supply to the system, as in the above embodiment.

Next, when the power of the system is turned on, the system is started up, and the processing start program 2017 is started as a command of the operating system, the processing start program 2017 is the system recovery program 20.
Start up 18.

The system recovery program 2018 reads out the system state saved by the system save program 205 from the system state storage file 207 in the hard disk drive 206, and reads the main memory 208 and the CPU status 20.
9. The system state such as I / O status 2010 is restored to the state before the last power-off. Main memory 2
08, CPU status 209, I / O status 20
Points to be noted when recovering 10 etc. are "system state recovery means 1
5 ". Also, points to be noted when there are a plurality of system state storage files are as described in" System state recovery means 15 ".

In order for the system state by the system recovery program 2018 to return control to the instruction immediately before the previous power-off, that is, immediately after the power-off detection program 204 is interrupted, the continuation processing program 2019 is used. Control is returned to the instruction immediately after the final system state adjustment is made and the power off detection program 204 is interrupted.

The various embodiments of the present invention have been described above.
It will be easily understood that there are many other embodiments according to the intention of the present invention in consideration of the method of implementing each means and the combination thereof. For example, the external storage device is not limited to a hard disk drive and a floppy disk drive, but various IC cards, compact disk drives, tapes, etc., and it is possible to eliminate the amount by determining the state of the system to be saved as necessary. is there.

The present invention provides a continue device for a computer, which is necessary in order to make full use of its portability in a small-sized battery-operated computer, which is expected to increase in the future. And the effect is great in terms of improving ease of use.

[Brief description of drawings]

FIG. 1 is a diagram illustrating an outline of the present invention.

FIG. 2 is a diagram illustrating a save process start detection unit 11a.

FIG. 3 is a diagram illustrating a save process start detection unit 11b.

FIG. 4 is a diagram illustrating a save process start detection unit 11c.

FIG. 5 is a diagram illustrating a save process start detection unit 11d.

FIG. 6 is a diagram illustrating a method for detecting a designated state by a save start command detection processing program 55.

FIG. 7 is a diagram illustrating a system state saving means 12a.

FIG. 8 is a diagram illustrating a system state saving means 12b.

FIG. 9 is a diagram illustrating a system state saving means 12c.

FIG. 10 is a diagram illustrating post-evacuation processing means 13a.

FIG. 11 is a diagram illustrating post-evacuation processing means 13b.

FIG. 12 is a diagram illustrating a recovery processing start unit 14a.

FIG. 13 is a diagram illustrating a recovery processing start unit 14b.

FIG. 14 is a diagram illustrating a system state recovery unit 15a.

FIG. 15 is a diagram illustrating a system state recovery unit 15b.

FIG. 16 is a diagram illustrating a system state recovery unit 15c.

FIG. 17 is a diagram illustrating a post-recovery processing unit 16a.

FIG. 18 is a diagram illustrating a post-recovery processing unit 16b.

FIG. 19 is a diagram showing an example of the present invention.

FIG. 20 is a diagram showing another embodiment of the present invention.

[Explanation of symbols]

11 ... Evacuation process start detection means 11a, 11b, 11c, 11d ... Evacuation process start detection means 12 ... System state evacuation means 12a, 12b, 12c ... System state evacuation means 13 ... Evacuation processing means 13a, 13b ... Evacuation processing means 14 ... Recovery processing starting means 14a, 14b ... Recovery processing starting means 15 ... System state recovery means 15a, 15b, 15c ... System state recovery means 16 ... Post-recovery processing means 16a, 16b ... Post-recovery processing means 21 ... Power switch 22 ... Power switch state detection device 23 ... Controller 24 ... Power off processing program 31 ... Power switch 32 ... Switch status port 33 ... System timer 34 ... Controller 35 ... Timer routine 36 ... Power off detection program 41 ... Power switch 42 ... Switch status port 42 … Source switch status port 43 ... Keyboard 44 ... Keyboard data receiving device 45 ... Controller 49 ... Keyboard data buffer 51 ... Keyboard 52 ... Keyboard data receiving device 53 ... Controller 56 ... Keyboard data buffer 61 ... Keyboard status byte 62 ... Shift key status bit 62 ... Shift status bit 63 ... Control status bit 64 ... Keyboard buffer 65 ... Buffer top pointer 71 ... System save program 72 ... Hard disk drive 73 ... System state storage area 74 ... Main memory 75 ... CPU status 76 ... I / O status 81 ... System save Program 82 ... Hard disk drive 83 ... System state storage file 84 ... Main memory 85 ... PU status 86 ... I / O status 92 ... Floppy diskette 93 ... System state storage area 94 ... Main memory 95 ... CPU status 96 ... I / O status 101 ... Power supply unit 102 ... Electrical power switch 103 ... Power off program 111 ... Processing Selection program 112 ... Process determination program 113 ... Continuation program 114 ... System initialization program 115 ... Power off program 121 ... Power on processing program 122 ... Bootstrap loader 123 ... Processing start determination program 141 ... System recovery program 142 ... Hard disk drive 143 ... System status storage area 144 ... Main memory 145 ... CPU status 146 ... I / O status 151 ... System recovery program 152 ... Disk drive 154 ... Main memory 155 ... CPU status 156 ... I / O status 161 ... System recovery program 162 ... Floppy diskette 163 ... System state storage area 164 ... Main memory 165 ... CPU status 166 ... I / O status 171 ... Continuous processing Program 181 ... Process selection program 182 ... Process determination program 183 ... Continuation processing program 184 ... Continuation stop program 191 ... Power switch 1910 ... Main memory 1911 ... CPU status 1912 ... I / O status 1913 ... Power supply unit 1914 ... Electrical power switch 1915 Power-off program 1916 ... Main memory 1916 ... Power-on processing program 1917 ... Bootstrap loader 1918 Processing opening program 1919 ... System recovery program 192 ... Switch state port 1920 ... Continuous processing program 193 ... System timer 194 ... Controller 195 ... Timer routine 196 ... Power off detection program 197 ... System save program 198 ... Hard disk drive 199 ... System state storage Area 201 ... Power switch 2010 ... I / O status 2011 ... Process selection program 2012 ... Process determination program 2013 ... System initialization program 2014 ... Power off program 2015 ... Power supply unit 2016 ... Electrical power switch 2017 ... Process start program 2018 ... System Recovery program 2019 ... Continuation processing program 202 ... Power switch state detection device 203 ... Controller 04 ... power off detection program 205 ... system saving program 206 ... hard disk drive 207 ... system state store file 208 ... main memory 209 ... CPU status

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[Procedure amendment]

[Submission date] October 6, 1995

[Procedure Amendment 1]

[Document name to be amended] Statement

[Name of item to be amended] Claims

[Correction method] Change

[Correction content]

[Claims]

[Procedure Amendment 2]

[Document name to be amended] Statement

[Correction target item name] 0001

[Correction method] Change

[Correction content]

[0001]

BACKGROUND OF THE INVENTION 1. Field of the Invention The present invention indicates the state of a personal computer, such as when the power was turned off last time or before .
Return to the state when the computer was interrupted
The present invention relates to a computer that continues processing immediately before disconnection .

[Procedure 3]

[Document name to be amended] Statement

[Name of item to be corrected] 0002

[Correction method] Change

[Correction content]

[0002]

In BACKGROUND ART Personal computers, Conte <br/> Inyu, i.e. return the state of the system during on of the power supply to the state of the previous power-off, so as to continue the process being executed when turned off last power A method of turning on / off a power supply is known.

[Procedure amendment 4]

[Document name to be amended] Statement

[Correction target item name] 0010

[Correction method] Change

[Correction content]

[0010]

Means for Solving the Problem and Its Action / Effect The structure of the present invention for achieving the above object will be described with reference to FIG. The computer of the present invention is shown in FIG.
As shown, interrupt the running process, then interrupt
Computer that can be restarted from the
Start evacuation processing that detects a request to interrupt the computer processing
The detection means 11 and the evacuation processing opening detection means are provided for the interruption.
When the request is detected, the processing of the computer is interrupted
The system conditions necessary for the computer to continue processing.
Status to a non-volatile storage external storage device.
When the system state saving means 12 and the restart of processing are requested
Contains the system status stored in the external storage device.
Read out the status of the computer when the process was interrupted.
System state recovery means 15 for recovering the state
Storage means 16-for storing in advance the processing after the state is restored
1 and the computer by the system state recovery means.
And that the recovery to the state in which the
Based on the processing previously stored in the storage means 16-1.
And post-recovery processing means 16 for continuing the processing.
Is the gist. This computer is a process interruption
When a request is detected, the system status required for processing to continue
The information is stored in an external storage device that stores the information in a nonvolatile manner. So
After that, if restart of processing is requested, the external storage device
Read the system status from and suspend the computer
Recover to the state of time. Processing after recovery to the state at the time of interruption
Is stored in the storage means 16-1 and the post-recovery processing
Processing continues with stage 16. Therefore, on the memory
No need to back up programs and data
Computer according to the desired procedure stored in advance.
Can execute the processing after it is restored to the state when the processing was interrupted.
Can be.

[Procedure Amendment 5]

[Document name to be amended] Statement

[Correction target item name] 0011

[Correction method] Change

[Correction content]

In FIG. 1, reference numeral 11 is a saving process start detecting means, which manages and determines the timing of saving the state of the system. Power switch off, LOW BATT
Computer status such as ERY status or user designation
A request to interrupt the process triggers the start. Reference numeral 12 is a system state saving means, and when the saving decision is made,
Stores information in a non-volatile manner as an external storage device that does not lose the contents of the system state even when the system power is turned off .
Things such as hard disks and floppy disks,
Output to IC card, compact disc drive, tape, etc.

[Procedure correction 6]

[Document name to be amended] Statement

[Correction target item name] 0012

[Correction method] Change

[Correction content]

System by system state saving means 12
Post-saving processing means 1 for performing a predetermined process after saving the state
It is also possible to provide 3. The post-evacuation processing means performs processing after the system state is saved. Power off, continued processing, initialization, etc. it is thought.

[Procedure Amendment 7]

[Document name to be amended] Statement

[Correction target item name] 0013

[Correction method] Change

[Correction content]

Further, the system state saving means 12 and the system
Between the state recovery means 15 and the recovery processing start means 14,
As a part of the system state recovery means 15 or separately
It is also possible to provide. Recovery process start means 14, after the start-up of the system, or the user that by the specified start-up such as,
Immediately after the process that was executed at the time of interruption at the specified timing
Processing it is determined whether the possible resumption from, 15 of the system state times
Start the recovery method .

[Procedure Amendment 8]

[Document name to be amended] Statement

[Name of item to be corrected] 0015

[Correction method] Change

[Correction content]

Reference numeral 16-1 denotes a storage unit, which is a status at the time of interruption.
The process after the computer is restored to the state
Things. ROM and system
An external storage device or the like that stores the system state is conceivable. 1
No. 6 can be restarted to recover.

[Procedure Amendment 9]

[Document name to be amended] Statement

[Correction target item name] 0062

[Correction method] Change

[Correction content]

The above configuration is based on a combination of the embodiments of the following means. Evacuation processing start detection means 11 System state evacuation means 12 Post evacuation processing means 13 Recovery processing means 14 System state recovery means 15 Storage means 16-1 and post-recovery processing means 16 The operation of this embodiment will be described below, but as an invention. Minimum of
The configuration includes post-evacuation processing means 13 and recovery processing starting means.
No. 14 is not essential, and is adopted here as an embodiment.
It is.

[Procedure Amendment 10]

[Document name to be amended] Statement

[Correction target item name] 0071

[Correction method] Change

[Correction content]

The above configuration is based on a combination of the embodiments of the following means. In addition, the minimum configuration of the invention includes post-evacuation processing.
The means 13 and the recovery processing start means 14 are not essential,
Here, it is adopted as an example.

[Procedure Amendment 11]

[Document name to be amended] Statement

[Correction target item name] 0080

[Correction method] Change

[Correction content]

The present invention allows the computer processing to continue.
An external device that stores the required system status in a nonvolatile manner
Store in the storage device, and interrupt the computer
Since the processing after recovery to the
After recovering the computer to its original state,
Can be done. In addition,
There is no need to back up data in memory,
Interrupt the computer at the desired time
You can restart from the point you did. Therefore, in particular, by providing inexpensive and surely the continue device of the computer which is necessary to fully utilize the portability of the small and battery-powered computer which will increase in the future , the performance and usability of this type of computer will be improved. The effect is great in terms of improving.

[Procedure Amendment 12]

[Document name to be corrected] Drawing

[Name of item to be corrected] Figure 1

[Correction method] Change

[Correction content]

FIG.

Claims (5)

[Claims] 1. An evacuation process opening detection means for detecting a request to interrupt the process of the computer, which is a computer which can resume the process being executed and then resume from the point of interruption, and the evacuation process opening When the detection means detects the interruption request, the processing of the computer is interrupted, and the system status necessary for continuing the processing of the computer is output to an external storage device that stores in a non-volatile manner. Post evacuation processing means for starting execution of predetermined processing after the system status saving means outputs the system status to the external storage device, and the processing can be restarted immediately after the processing that was being executed when the processing was interrupted. Recovery processing start means for determining whether or not the recovery processing start means stores the data in the external storage device when the recovery processing start means determines that the processing can be restarted. System state recovery means for reading out the state of the system and restoring the computer to the state at the time of the interruption of the processing, and the processing after the restoration to the state at the time of the interruption is stored in advance. A computer provided with post-recovery processing means for continuing processing based on previously stored processing. 2. The computer according to claim 1, further comprising a CPU for performing arithmetic logic operation processing, wherein the post-recovery processing means restores the computer to a state at the time of interruption and then executes a pre-stored process. And the CP
And means for returning the internal state of U to the state at the time of interruption, and means for transferring control of the program immediately after the instruction executed at the end of the interrupted processing after the internal state of the CPU is restored. Computer. 3. The computer according to claim 1, wherein the post-recovery processing unit displays an option of processing after reading the system state and recovering the computer to the state at the time of interruption, A computer provided with a selection receiving means for receiving a selection for the option and a processing continuing means for continuing the processing according to the selected option. 4. The computer according to claim 3, wherein at least one of the options is to continue the interrupted processing immediately after that. 5. The computer according to claim 3, wherein at least one of the options is to start execution of a predetermined operating system stored in the external storage device.