JPH1049257A - Information processor - Google Patents

Abstract

PROBLEM TO BE SOLVED: To automatically select a source voltage according to the specifications of an inserted PC card by controlling a voltage control circuit according to internal attribute information of the inserted PC card and controlling a source voltage supplied to the control circuit. SOLUTION: When the PC card 5 is inserted into a PC card slot 4, the information processor detects that by interruption, polling, etc. The information processor reads attribute information out of the inserted PC card 5 and judges which of '3.3V' and '5V' specifications the inserted PC card 5 has. When the PC card 5 has the '3.3V' specifications, control signals 104 and 105 are held at 'high level' and 'low level'. In this state, a source voltage selecting circuit 6 selects a 3.3V power source 102 and supplies '3.3V' to the power terminals of a slot interface(I/F) circuit 3 and the PC card slot 4.

Description

DETAILED DESCRIPTION OF THE INVENTION

[0001]

The present invention relates to PCMCIA2.
The present invention relates to an information processing apparatus having a PC card slot conforming to 1 / JEIDA 4.2 (hereinafter, simply referred to as a PC card slot), and particularly to an information processing apparatus capable of automatically selecting a power supply voltage according to the specifications of a PC card. Related to the device.

[0002]

2. Description of the Related Art A PC card is inserted into a PC card slot, and is controlled by an information processing apparatus.
Various functions such as storage and communication of the card can be utilized.

FIG. 3 is a block diagram showing an example of an information processing apparatus having such a conventional PC card slot. 3, reference numeral 1 denotes an internal bus interface circuit (hereinafter, referred to as an internal bus I / F circuit), 2 denotes a control circuit, 3 denotes a slot interface circuit (hereinafter, referred to as a slot I / F circuit), and 4 denotes a slot interface circuit. PC card slot,
5 is a PC card.

Further, reference numeral 100 denotes an internal bus, 101 denotes a 5V power supply, and 1 to 3 constitute a PC card control IC 50.

The internal bus 100 is connected to the internal bus I / F circuit 1, and the input / output of the internal bus I / F circuit 1
And the input / output of the control circuit 2 is connected to the slot I / F circuit 3.

The input / output of the slot I / F circuit 3 is connected to a PC card slot 4, into which a PC card 5 is inserted.

The 5V power supply 101 is connected to the internal bus I / F circuit 1, the control circuit 2, the slot I / F circuit 3, and the power supply terminal of the PC slot 4.

Here, the operation of the conventional example shown in FIG. 3 will be described. When the PC card 5 is inserted into the PC card slot 4, the PC card control IC 50 detects this and detects the slot I.
The PC card 5 is controlled via the / F circuit 3.

An information processing device (not shown in its entirety) controls a PC card control IC 50 via an internal bus 100 to utilize various functions of the PC card 5. At this time, a 5 V power supply 101 is supplied via the PC card slot 4 as a power supply voltage of the PC card 5.

Generally, the operating power supply voltage of the PC card 5 is often "5 V", but "3.3 V" is allowed in the standard. However, in the conventional example shown in FIG.
The power supply voltage supplied from the C card slot 4 is “5V”
However, there is a problem that a PC card of "3.3 V" specification cannot be used because the PC card is fixed to the PC card.

For example, a PC card 5 of "3.3V" specification
When the power supply voltage of the control circuit 2 and the PC card slot 4 is "
If it is used at 5 V ", it means that current consumption increases and normal operation is not performed.

On the other hand, the PC card 5 of the "3.3 V" specification is supplied with the power supply voltage of the control circuit 2 of 5 V and the PC card slot 4.
The operation cannot be guaranteed if the power supply voltage is 3.3 V.

FIG. 4 is a configuration block diagram showing an example of an information processing apparatus having a conventional PC card slot in which a PC card of "3.3V" specification can be used.

In FIG. 4, 1 to 5, 50, 100 and 1
Reference numeral 01 denotes the same reference numerals as in FIG. 3, reference numeral 6 denotes a power supply voltage selection circuit, reference numeral 7 denotes a switch circuit, reference numeral 102 denotes a 3.3V power supply,
3 is a power supply for the internal bus, and 104 and 105 are control signals.

The internal bus 100 is connected to the internal bus I / F circuit 1, and the input / output of the internal bus I / F circuit 1
And the input / output of the control circuit 2 is connected to the slot I / F circuit 3.

The input / output of the slot I / F circuit 3 is connected to a PC card slot 4, into which a PC card 5 is inserted.

The 5V power supply 101 is connected to one input terminal of the power supply voltage selection circuit 6 and one input terminal of the switch circuit 7,
The 3.3 V power supply 102 is connected to the other input terminals of the power supply voltage selection circuit 6 and the switch circuit 7.

The internal bus power supply 103 is connected to the power supply terminal of the internal bus I / F circuit 1, and the output of the switch circuit 7 is connected to the power supply terminal of the control circuit 2.

The output of the power supply voltage selection circuit 6 is connected to the slot I / F circuit 3 and the power supply terminals of the PC card slot 4. Further, the control signals 104 and 105 of the slot I / F circuit 3 are connected to control terminals of the power supply voltage selection circuit 6, respectively.

Here, the operation of the conventional example shown in FIG. 4 will be described. However, detailed operations have already been described with reference to FIG.

First, a PC card 5 of "5V" specification
Is used, the 5V power supply 101 is selected by the switch circuit 7 and supplied to the power supply terminal of the control circuit 2.

When the PC card 5 is inserted into the PC card slot 4, the PC card control IC 50 detects this, and the slot I / F circuit 3 controls the power supply voltage selection circuit 6 by the control signal 104 to control the 5V power supply. 101 is selected.

Thus, the slot I / F circuit 3 and P
A 5V power supply 101 is supplied to a power supply terminal of the C card slot 4.

Second, when a PC card 5 of "3.3V" specification is used, a 3.3V power supply 102
And supplies it to the power supply terminal of the control circuit 2.

Then, when the PC card 5 is inserted into the PC card slot 4, the PC card control IC 50 detects this, and the slot I / F circuit 3 controls the power supply voltage selection circuit 6 by the control signal 105, and The 3V power supply 102 is selected.

Thus, the slot I / F circuit 3 and P
The power supply terminal of the C card slot 4 has a 3.3V power supply 102
Is supplied.

As a result, the "3.3 V" specification and the "5 V"
It becomes possible to use both of the PC cards of the specification.

[0028]

However, even in the conventional example shown in FIG. 4, the P of the "3.3V" specification and the "5V" specification
When switching the C card, there is a problem that it is necessary to select the power supply voltage of the control circuit 2 by the switch circuit 7 in advance. Therefore, an object of the present invention is to realize an information processing apparatus capable of automatically selecting a power supply voltage according to the specification of an inserted PC card.

[0029]

According to the present invention, there is provided an information processing apparatus having a PC card slot, wherein the PC card into which the PC card is inserted is provided.
A card slot; a PC card control IC for controlling the PC card via the PC card slot;
A first power supply voltage selection circuit for selecting a power supply voltage based on a control signal from the C card control IC and supplying the selected power supply voltage to the PC card slot and a slot interface circuit in the PC card control IC; A second power supply voltage selection circuit for selecting a power supply voltage based on a control signal from the PC card control IC and supplying the selected power supply voltage to a control circuit in the PC card control IC. Is what you do.

[0030]

DETAILED DESCRIPTION OF THE PREFERRED EMBODIMENTS The present invention will be described below in detail with reference to the drawings. FIG. 1 is a configuration block diagram showing one embodiment of an information processing apparatus according to the present invention.

In FIG. 1, 1 to 6, 50 and 100 to 1
05 has the same reference numerals as in FIG.
Is a transistor, 9, 10, 13, 15 and 16 are resistors, 11 is a diode, and 8 to 16 constitute a power supply voltage selection circuit 51.

The internal bus 100 is connected to the internal bus I / F circuit 1, and the input / output of the internal bus I / F circuit 1 is
And the input / output of the control circuit 2 is connected to the slot I / F circuit 3.

The input / output of the slot I / F circuit 3 is connected to a PC card slot 4, into which a PC card 5 is inserted.

The control signal 104 of the slot I / F circuit 3 is connected to the control terminal of the
The control signal 105 of the / F circuit 3 is connected to the control terminal of the power supply voltage selection circuit 6, the cathode of the diode 11, and one end of the resistor 16.

The anode of the diode 11 is connected to one end of the resistor 10, and the other end of the resistor 10 is connected to one end of the resistor 9 and the base of the transistor 8. The collector of the transistor 8 is connected to the power supply terminal of the control circuit 2 and the collector of the transistor 12.

The base of the transistor 12 is connected to one end of the resistor 13, the other end of the resistor 13 is connected to the collector of the transistor 14, and the base of the transistor 14 is connected to the resistor 1
5 and one end of the resistor 16.

The power supply 103 for the internal bus is connected to the power supply terminal of the internal bus I / F circuit 1, and the output of the power supply voltage selection circuit 6 is connected to the power supply terminals of the slot I / F circuit 3 and the PC card slot 4.

The 5V power supply 101 is connected to one input terminal of the power supply voltage selection circuit 6 and the emitter of the transistor 12, and the 3.3V power supply 102 is connected to the other input terminal of the power supply voltage selection circuit 6, the emitter of the transistor 8 and Resistance 9
Is connected to the other end. Further, the emitter of the transistor 14 and the other end of the resistor 15 are grounded.

The operation of the embodiment shown in FIG. 1 will be described with reference to FIG. FIG. 2 is a flowchart illustrating the operation of the embodiment.

First, as shown in FIG. 2A, when the PC card 5 is inserted into the PC card slot 4, the information processing apparatus detects this by interruption or polling.

Second, as shown in FIG. 2 (b), the information processing apparatus is provided with control signals 104 and 105 for the slot I / F circuit 3.
To “low level” and “high level”. In this state, the power supply voltage selection circuit 6 selects the 5V power supply 101 and sets "5"
V "to the slot I / F circuit 3 and the PC card slot 4
Power supply terminal.

Further, since the control signal 105 is "high level", the transistor 8 and the diode 11 are "OFF",
The transistor 14 is turned “ON” and the transistor 12
Also becomes “ON”. Therefore, the 5V power supply 101 is supplied to the power supply terminal of the control circuit 2 via the transistor 12.

Third, as shown in FIG. 2C, the information processing apparatus reads internal attribute information from the inserted PC card 5. Then, the PC inserted as shown in FIG.
It is determined whether the card 5 has the "3.3V" specification.

If the inserted PC card 5 is "5V"
If it is the specification, the PC card 5 operates in this state, and the process is terminated.

If the inserted PC card 5 is "3.3
In the case of the "V" specification, the control signals 104 and 105 are set to "high level" and "low level" as shown in (e) and (f) in FIG.
Select 3V power supply 102 and set "3.3V" to slot I /
The power is supplied to the power supply terminals of the F circuit 3 and the PC card slot 4.

Further, since the control signal 105 is "low level", the transistor 8 and the diode 11 are turned "ON", the transistor 14 is turned "OFF", and the transistor 12
Also becomes "OFF". Therefore, the 3.3 V power supply 101 is supplied to the power supply terminal of the control circuit 2 via the transistor 8.

As a result, by controlling the voltage control circuit 51 based on the internal attribute information of the inserted PC card 5 to control the power supply voltage supplied to the control circuit 2, it is possible to comply with the specification of the inserted PC card 5. Thus, the power supply voltage can be automatically selected.

[0048]

As is apparent from the above description,
According to the present invention, the following effects can be obtained. PC inserted
By controlling the voltage control circuit based on the internal attribute information of the card and controlling the power supply voltage supplied to the control circuit,
An information processing apparatus capable of automatically selecting the power supply voltage according to the specification of the inserted PC card can be realized.

[Brief description of the drawings]

FIG. 1 is a configuration block diagram illustrating an embodiment of an information processing apparatus according to the present invention.

FIG. 2 is a flowchart illustrating the operation of the embodiment.

FIG. 3 is a configuration block diagram illustrating an example of an information processing apparatus having a conventional PC card slot.

FIG. 4 is a configuration block diagram illustrating an example of an information processing apparatus having a conventional PC card slot that can use a PC card of “3.3V” specification.

[Explanation of symbols]

 DESCRIPTION OF SYMBOLS 1 Internal bus interface circuit 2 Control circuit 3 Slot interface circuit 4 PC card slot 5 PC card 6,51 Power supply voltage selection circuit 7 Switch circuit 8,12,14 Transistor 9,10,13,15,16 Resistance 11 Diode 50 PC card control IC 100 Internal bus 101 5V power supply 102 3.3V power supply 103 Internal bus power supply 104, 105 Control signal

Claims (1)

[Claims] 1. An information processing apparatus having a PC card slot, a PC card slot into which the PC card is inserted, a PC card control IC for controlling the PC card via the PC card slot, and a PC card control. A first power supply voltage selection circuit for selecting a power supply voltage based on a control signal from an IC and supplying the selected power supply voltage to the PC card slot and a slot interface circuit in the PC card control IC; And a second power supply voltage selection circuit for selecting a power supply voltage based on a control signal from the control IC and supplying the selected power supply voltage to a control circuit in the PC card control IC. apparatus.