KR20050123348A - Computer system and its control method - Google Patents

Abstract

BACKGROUND OF THE INVENTION 1. Field of the Invention The present invention relates to a computer system and a method of controlling the same in which a specific multimedia player can be played simultaneously with a instant on function using a remote controller.

A computer system control method according to the present invention includes: receiving a remote control signal transmitted from a remote control means selected by a user at a remote location; Analyzing the remote control signal and requesting a hardware initialization to the corresponding BIOS to operate a specific application under a specific operating system; Performing hardware initialization in the BIOS and transferring information related to the remote control signal to a current operating system; And after the booting of the operating system is completed, driving a specific application program according to the remote control signal to play the media.

Description

Computer system and its control method

BACKGROUND OF THE INVENTION 1. Field of the Invention The present invention relates to an apparatus and method for controlling an instant on function of a computer using a remote controller, in particular, enabling a specific multimedia player to be played simultaneously with the instant on function using a remote controller.

In general, computer systems are information handling systems used in many individuals and offices today, such as central processing units, volatile memory, non-volatile memory, Display monitors, keyboards, pointing input devices, compact disc-read only memory drives, modems, hard disk storage devices , And printers. The main board of the computer system is used to electrically connect these configurations. This motherboard is a printed circuit board known as a motherboard.

A conventional general computer system is as shown in FIG.

As shown in FIG. 1, a CPU 10, a video controller 11, a north bridge 12, a main memory 13, and an I / O controller ( An I / O controller 14, a south bridge 15, a hard disk (HDD) 16, and a keyboard controller 17.

Recently, such computer systems have an instant-on function that performs relatively simple operations such as DVD playback or MP3 playback while a normal operating system (O / S) is not booting and running. (Instant On Function) is mounted. In addition, a hot key, that is, an instant on function key is additionally provided on the keyboard to select and specify the instant on function so that the user can select and designate the instant on function.

Accordingly, when the user selects the Instant On Function Key while the computer system is off, the user can quickly perform instant on functions such as DVD playback or MP3 playback without a normal operating system (O / S). It can be done.

Specifically, the instant on function will be described. 2 is a flowchart illustrating a method of executing an instant on function in a general personal computer.

First, when a user selects and inputs an instant on function key while the system of the computer is off (S10), the keyboard controller 17 generates a corresponding key value and outputs it to the BIOS.

In the BIOS, after uploading a specific program, for example, a Linux program, required to perform an instant on function among a plurality of operating systems previously stored in the hard disk 16, an uploading operation of storing the program in the main memory 13. It is performed (S11).

In addition, after booting the Linux program loaded in the main memory 13, an Instant On Player is executed (S12) to perform a DVD playback operation or an MP3 playback operation.

When the instant on function is terminated at the request of the user while executing the instant on player as described above (S13), it is checked whether the system off and reset operations are required (S14). If the off and reset operations are not required, the instant on function is terminated (S15).

On the other hand, when the system off and reset operations are required, a series of normal OSs (eg, Windows programs) stored in the hard disk are read, uploaded to the main memory 13, and booted up. The system boot operation is performed (S16).

When the system is normally booted through the above process, the normal operating system is executed to perform various corresponding operations desired by the user (S17).

However, in order to perform the instant on function, it is inconvenient to select an instant on function key on the keyboard.

A first object of the present invention is to provide a computer system and a method of controlling the same that enable remote control of the instant-on function of the computer system using a remote controller.

A second object of the present invention is to provide a computer system and a method of controlling the same, which enable the remote controller to select the instant-on function of the computer system and the playback of the multimedia with one key.

A third object of the present invention is to provide a computer system capable of booting to a specific operating system selected from a plurality of operating systems and executing an application program after completion of booting using a remote controller, and a control method thereof.

Computer system according to the present invention for achieving the above object,

Remote control means for transmitting a remote control signal for multimedia play in a specific operating system and a specific operating system environment according to a button selected by a user at a remote location;

Remote control signal receiving means for receiving the remote control signal;

A microcontroller requesting booting of a specific operating system from among a plurality of operating systems according to a signal received by the remote control signal receiving means, and generating a signal corresponding to the remote control signal;

Means for performing a hardware booting process and a software booting process by the BIOS, and executing an application program corresponding to the remote control signal under a specific operating system.

Preferably, the remote control means includes an instant on button for an instant on function, a Windows button for booting Windows, and multimedia buttons for controlling the play of the instant on function and the multimedia.

Preferably, the microcontroller is characterized by instructing the boot to the instant on BIOS or system BIOS by analyzing the remote control signal.

And, the control method of the computer system according to the present invention,

Receiving a remote control signal transmitted from a remote control means selected by a user at a remote location;

Analyzing the remote control signal and requesting a hardware initialization to the corresponding BIOS to operate a specific application under a specific operating system;

Performing hardware initialization in the BIOS and transferring information related to the remote control signal to a current operating system;

And after the booting of the operating system is completed, driving a specific application program according to the remote control signal to play the media.

Preferably, if the remote control signal received from the remote control means is a media playback control signal, characterized in that the initialization of the hardware required for instant on and running the application program under the Linux operating system.

Preferably, the media playback control signal is any one of MP3, DVD, TV.

Referring to the accompanying drawings, a computer system and a control method thereof according to an exemplary embodiment of the present invention configured as described above are as follows.

3 is a block diagram for implementing a computer system of the present invention. The same parts as in the prior art are denoted by the same reference numerals and redundant descriptions thereof will be omitted.

Referring to FIG. 3, a computer system includes a CPU 10, a video controller 11, a north bridge 12 that controls a memory, and a main memory 13. , I / O controller (14), south bridge (15), hard disk (HDD) (16), keyboard controller 17, a remote control signal receiving unit 20, and a remote controller 30.

The remote control receiving unit 20 is a remote control signal receiving circuit 21 for receiving a remote control signal transmitted from the remote controller 30 and the instant on function or normal system booting function after analyzing the received remote control signal It consists of a microcontroller 22 for outputting the control signal according to the selection of.

The remote controller 30 transmits an infrared signal or an RF signal to a signal selected by the user, and the remote control receiving circuit 21 receives the infrared signal or the RF signal transmitted by the remote controller 30. .

In addition, the remote controller 30 is provided with keys for selecting a specific operating system and / or playing a specific media. Selecting a multimedia button under a specific operating system allows the remote controller 30 to boot to a predetermined operating system and execute an application program in each operating system environment. Can be.

The computer system performs a booting process to a specific operating system among a plurality of operating systems according to a button signal selected by the remote controller 30, and executes an application program selected by a user in a specific operating system environment.

Here, a plurality of operating systems are mounted on the hard disk (HDD) 16. As shown in FIG. 4, the first boot area 16a and the Windows operating system on which the Linux operating system (Linux O / S) necessary for the instant on function is mounted. and a second boot area 16b on which (windows O / S) is mounted, and a C drive 16c and a D drive 16d.

For example, when the computer system selects a media playback signal using the remote controller 30 in a power off state, the computer system is booted into a specific program required for instant on, for example, the Linux operating system, and the media playback is selected in the Linux operating system environment. The application program for is executed, and the media is played.

4 is an example of button configuration of a remote controller. As shown in FIG. 5, when the instant on button 31 is selected, the computer system performs booting on the instant on, and when the window on button 32 is selected, the Windows booting is performed. When one of the multimedia buttons 33, 34, and 35 is selected, booting is started by instant on, and an application program corresponding to the button signal is played.

The operation of the computer system using the remote controller will be described with reference to FIG. 3 as follows.

First, when a button for media playback is selected using the remote controller 30 in the power off state, a radio signal is sent to the computer main body. The transmitted signal is received by the remote control signal receiving circuit 21 of the remote control signal receiving unit 20, and the received signal is transmitted to the microcontroller 22.

The microcontroller 22 analyzes the received remote control signal and supplies power to the entire system.

In addition, when the analyzed signal is a multimedia playback signal, the microcontroller 22 requests to boot to instant on and generates and transmits a specific multimedia button signal to the keyboard controller 17.

The keyboard controller 17 controls the hardware to boot to Instant On and instructs to boot to Instant On BIOS.

The instant on BIOS performs an input / output check of each device, whether or not there is a problem with components necessary for instant on. Here, the BIOS is a program stored in the ROM BIOS, and is an instant on BIOS required for instant on booting.

The instant on BIOS performs a minimum hardware initialization required for instant on so that the system can be booted quickly. The hardware initializes chipsets for instant on with a video chip, an audio chip, and a main chip.

At this time, the instant on BIOS checks the boot record of the hard disk 16 if the parts and devices necessary for the instant on function are abnormal and reads out a specific operating system required for the instant on function, for example, the Linux program 16a, and then the main memory ( 13). In addition, the instant on BIOS transmits the information to the optimized operating system so that a function corresponding to each button signal can be operated.

At this time, when the Linux program is executed, booting to the Linux operating system is completed, and the corresponding player is executed by executing a specific application program according to the button signal selected by the remote controller 30 in the Linux environment.

Then, the user executes another application program to play the media according to another button input of the remote controller 30. That is, if one of the MP3 and DVD playback and TV reception is selected by using the remote controller 30, the application program is executed to play the media.

Here, the media player is a player for MP3, DVD, and TV, and operates in a Linux environment. The MP3 player is an application program for MP3 playback, the DVD player is an application program for DVD playback and recording, and the TV player includes an application program for TV reception and recording.

On the other hand, when the Windows button is selected using the remote controller 30, the selected signal is received by the remote control receiving circuit 21 of the remote control signal receiving unit 20, and the remote control receiving circuit 21 is a microcontroller ( 22) to transmit the received signal. The microcontroller 22 analyzes the received signal and generates a control signal for booting Windows, instructs the system BIOS to initialize hardware, and supplies power to each part of the system.

At this time, the system BIOS reads a Windows program stored in the hard disk 16 and loads it into the main memory 13. The system BIOS is a program stored in the ROM BIOS. The system BIOS checks input / output of various devices including a graphics card, a keyboard, and the like in order to boot Windows. And if there is no problem with each part and device, it starts booting to Windows. That is, the boot record of the hard disk 16 is checked and the Windows program is loaded and loaded into the memory. It then transfers full control of the computer's operation and management to the Windows operating system.

When the Windows operating system is executed, the booting process is terminated. When the media playback signal is selected by using the remote controller 30, the player is executed by executing a specific application program under the Windows operating system environment.

In this case, the multimedia player is a player for MP3, DVD, and TV. The MP3 player is an application program for MP3 playback, the DVD player is an application program for DVD playback and recording, and the TV player includes an application program for TV reception and recording.

Here, when operating as the Windows operating system, the Linux operating system of the hard disk 16 is shown as a hidden area, and when operating as the Linux operating system, the Windows area of the hard disk is shown.

The remote controller is configured to select an instant on function, an instant on function, a player function of a double multimedia device, and a player function of a specific multimedia device under a Linux operating system. These three features apply equally under the Windows environment.

6 is a diagram illustrating a control example of a media player for each operation state of a system by a remote controller.

Referring to FIG. 6, when the remote control signal 50 for media playback is received from the remote controller, the microcontroller may grasp the on and off states 51 and 52 of the current system.

If the computer system is on and the remote control signal is received, the operating system that is currently operating, that is, the Linux operating system 53 or the Windows operating system 54, is checked. A play control signal of a media device (DVD, MP3, TV) or a switch to another multimedia (DVD, MP3, TV) is played (54).

When the remote control signal for media playback is received in the system off state, the microcontroller performs instant on booting when the button signal corresponds to instant on as a result of signal analysis (57), and plays a specific multimedia under the Linux operating system. (58). The microcontroller performs a Windows boot if the button signal corresponding to Windows On is analyzed as a result of the analysis of the received signal, and multimedia playback is performed under the Windows operating system.

7 is a flowchart showing an example of setting a media player under the Linux operating system.

Referring to FIG. 7, application programs for playing and recording each media are respectively set for an instant on function in a Linux operating system environment (S21 and S22). In addition, after setting an environment such as a reproduction and a recording path of each application program, it is stored (S23, S24). Here, the key input signal under the Linux operating system is configured for each path and environment by using a shortcut key such as a remote controller or a keyboard signal or a mouse.

8 is a flowchart illustrating a method of controlling a media player of a personal computer using a remote control signal.

Referring to FIG. 8, when the remote control signal is received from the remote controller in the system off state (S31), the received remote control signal is analyzed (S32). Here, the system is supplied with power to the entire system with the reception of the remote control signal.

It is checked whether the analyzed received signal is a media control signal (S33). If the result of the check is a media control signal, an instant on function is performed and a signal of a media player is generated to generate a corresponding button signal (S34). . In other words, the instant on function and the MP3, DVD, TV application program selection is checked.

Then, after controlling the hardware for the instant on booting (S35), the instant on BIOS initiates booting such as initializing the hardware and transmits a signal to the Linux operating system (O / S) (S36).

The Linux operating system executes an application program corresponding to the button signal to operate the media player selected by the user (S37).

On the other hand, as a result of the analysis of step S33, it is checked whether the media control signal is the Windows boot mode (S38), and if the Windows boot mode, Windows booting starts (S39). At this time, the system BIOS requests hardware initialization to the system operating system (S40), the system operating system starts hardware initialization and Windows booting (S41), and the Windows operating system executes each program according to the application (S42).

In this case, when an application for execution of another application program is selected under a specific operating system, the previously executed application program disappears and a new application program may be executed.

9 is a flowchart illustrating an mp3 playback control method according to an embodiment of the present invention.

Referring to FIG. 9, upon receiving a remote control signal for playing an MP3 (S51), the instant boot function is booted and the instant on player is executed under the Linux operating system (S52).

At this time, when the MP3 application program is executed, it is checked whether there is a music file in the CD driver (S53), and then sequentially searched to the C drive and another drive set as the next path (S54, S55), and the music file exists on a specific path When the MP3 file is played (S56).

So far, the present invention has been described with reference to the preferred embodiments, and those skilled in the art to which the present invention pertains to the detailed description of the present invention and other forms of embodiments within the essential technical scope of the present invention. Could be implemented. Here, the essential technical scope of the present invention is shown in the claims, and all differences within the equivalent range will be construed as being included in the present invention.

As described above, the computer system and the control method thereof according to the present invention can provide a convenience to the user by enabling the multimedia player to be driven with the instant on function by using a remote controller. .

In addition, it is possible to control booting and controlling the multimedia player of different operating systems using a remote controller.

1 is a block diagram of a general personal computer.

2 is a flowchart illustrating a method of executing an instant on function in a general personal computer.

3 is a block diagram showing a computer system using a remote controller according to an embodiment of the present invention.

4 is a diagram illustrating an example of a boot area of a hard disk according to an embodiment of the present invention.

5 is a view showing a configuration example of a remote controller according to an embodiment of the present invention.

6 is a view classifying the operating state of the system according to the remote control signal according to an embodiment of the present invention.

7 is a flowchart illustrating an example of environment configuration in a Linux operating system according to an embodiment of the present invention.

8 is a flowchart illustrating a system control method using a remote controller according to an exemplary embodiment of the present invention.

9 is a flowchart illustrating an mp3 player playback using a remote controller according to an exemplary embodiment of the present invention.

<Description of the symbols for the main parts of the drawings>

10 ... CPU 11 ... Video Controller

12 ... North Bridge 13 ... Main memory

14 I / O controller 15 ... South bridge

16.Hard Disk 17 ... Keyboard Controller

20 ... Remote control signal receiving unit 21 ... Remote control signal receiving circuit

22 ... microcontroller 30 ... remote controller

31 ... Instant On Button 32 ... Window Button

33 ... MP3 button 34 ... DVD button

35 ... TV button

Claims (6)

Remote control means for transmitting a remote control signal for multimedia play in a specific operating system and a specific operating system environment according to a button selected by a user at a remote place; Remote control signal receiving means for receiving the remote control signal; A microcontroller requesting booting of a specific operating system from a plurality of operating systems according to a signal received by the remote control signal receiving means, and generating a signal corresponding to the remote control signal; Means for performing hardware booting and software booting by the BIOS and executing an application program corresponding to the remote control signal under a specific operating system. The method of claim 1, And the remote control means includes an instant on button for an instant on function, a windows button for booting Windows, and multimedia buttons for controlling the play of the instant on function and the multimedia. The method of claim 1, And the microcontroller analyzes a remote control signal to instruct booting into an instant on BIOS or a system BIOS and generates a multimedia playback signal corresponding to the remote control signal. Receiving a remote control signal transmitted from a remote control means selected by a user at a remote location; Analyzing the remote control signal and requesting the BIOS to perform hardware initialization necessary for a specific application to operate under a specific operating system selected according to a result of the remote control signal; Performing hardware initialization in the BIOS and transferring information related to the remote control signal to a current operating system; And after the booting of the operating system is completed, driving a specific application program according to the remote control signal to play the media. The method of claim 4, wherein If the remote control signal received from the remote control means is a media playback control signal to run the instant on BIOS and operating in the Linux operating system, if the signal for Windows booting the computer system control, characterized in that by initializing the window by running the system BIOS Way. The method of claim 4, wherein The media playback signal is any one of a signal required for MP3 playback, DVD playback, TV playback.