TW201351113A - Computer system and method for filtering reset signal - Google Patents

Abstract

A computer device and a method for filtering a reset signal are provided. The computer device includes operating units, a platform controller and a reset signal masking unit. The platform controller provides reset signals corresponding to operating units in a power-saving mode of the computer device. The reset signal masking unit couples to the platform controller and the operating units. The reset signal masking unit sets whether the operating units are operated normally in the power-saving mode, and masks the reset signals corresponding to the operating units which are set to operated normally in the power-saving mode. Thus, after the computer device sends a global reset signal, the problem is avoided that parts of the operating units are reset which the parts of operating units are suppose to operate continuously in the power-saving mode.

Description

Computer device and reset signal filtering method

The present invention relates to a computer technology, and more particularly to a computer device and a reset signal filtering method.

To save power, computer devices typically have multiple power management modes (eg, normal operating mode, power saving/sleep mode). In general, today's computer devices typically support the Advanced Configuration and Power Interface (ACPI) specification. When the computer device does not receive the input signal for a period of time, it will stop supplying power to some internal units (for example, central processing unit, CD player, etc.) to enter the sleep mode of the ACPI interface (for example, S3 mode). ), the data required to execute the program is temporarily stored in the main volatile memory, that is, "suspend to RAM". The user can press the power button or any button on the keyboard to return the computer device to a normal operating state (ie, S0 mode).

Some hardware manufacturers have added many power-saving technologies to the central processing unit or the motherboard chipset in order to make the computer device more power efficient. For example, Intel's rapid storage technology (iRST), developed by Intel (INTEL), allows the computer device to gradually move the data needed to execute the program to non-volatile memory when it is in sleep mode (S3 mode). Body (for example, a hard disk), the computer device can spend a period of time in sleep (S3) mode, and let the data be completely stored in the hard disk. After that, it enters a more power-saving sleep mode (for example, S4 mode), that is, "suspend to HDD", thereby stopping the power supply to the memory.

The above-mentioned power-saving technologies are all achieved by hardware devices, but the operating system (OS) or related application software for power management has no knowledge that the power management of the computer device has been converted, and some internal units may be reset. Not working properly. If the operating system wants the computer device to be continuously connected to the network server while in the sleep (S3) mode, the above fast storage technology will cause the network card or related communication module to be reset and the connection to be disconnected. At this time, the operating system cannot prevent the network card from being reset, nor can it immediately assist the network card to set the relevant network agreement.

The invention provides a computer device and a reset signal filtering method. When the computer device issues a global reset signal in the power saving mode, the operation unit that needs to be continuously operated in the power saving mode is also avoided. The problem of resetting and losing utility.

The invention provides a computer device comprising at least one operating unit, a platform control unit and a reset signal shielding unit. The platform control unit provides corresponding at least one reset signal to the operating unit in the power saving mode of the computer device. The reset signal shielding unit is coupled to the platform control unit and the operating unit. The reset signal shielding unit sets whether the operating unit operates normally in the power saving mode and shields the reset signal corresponding to the operating unit that has been set to operate normally.

In an embodiment of the invention, the platform management unit provides the reset signal to the operating unit when the computer device transitions from the first power saving mode to the second power saving mode.

In an embodiment of the invention, the first power saving mode is a sleep mode, and the second power saving mode is a sleep mode. The computer device moves the required data from the volatile memory in the computer device to the volatile memory in the sleep mode, and after the required data is moved, the computer device transitions from the sleep mode to the sleep mode via the normal operating mode. The platform management unit provides the reset signal to the operating unit when the computer device transitions to the normal operating mode.

In another aspect, the present invention provides a reset signal filtering method suitable for use with a computer device having at least one operational unit. The reset signal filtering method includes the following steps. Set whether the operating unit operates normally in the power saving mode. In the power saving mode of the computer device, the operating unit is respectively provided with a corresponding at least one reset signal. And masking the reset signal corresponding to the operating unit that has been set to operate normally. Please refer to the above description for the remaining implementation details of the reset signal filtering method, and will not be described here.

Based on the above, the computer device of the embodiment of the present invention still hopes that some operating units (for example, wireless communication modules, wired network cards, etc.) can continue to operate in the power saving mode, if these operating units are reset. , you need to reset the parameters through the operating system or related applications. Since the computer device transitions from the sleep (S3) mode to the sleep (S4) mode via the normal (S0) mode, the operating system may not be connected to the hardware device. It is known that the operating system cannot assist the operation unit to reset. In this way, the reset signal shielding unit pre-sets the operation of each operating unit in the power saving mode, and when the computer device issues a reset signal to all operating units in the power saving mode, resetting the signal shielding unit to determine whether to shield the need The reset signal of the normally functioning operating unit allows these operating units to be reset and can continue to operate in the power saving mode.

The above described features and advantages of the present invention will be more apparent from the following description.

DETAILED DESCRIPTION OF THE INVENTION Reference will now be made in detail to the exemplary embodiments embodiments In addition, wherever possible, the elements and/

Today's manufacturers have adopted many power-saving technologies in hardware devices, operating systems, or applications to reduce power consumption in computer devices. However, the hardware device and the operating system in the computer device may not be the same manufacturer, and various power saving technologies will have many problems in the mutual matching. For example, many users will want computer devices (eg, servers, personal computers) to be connected to the network in power-saving mode, allowing users to remotely control and transmit data, that is, users. It is hoped that some of the operating units (eg, network cards, communication modules) will still operate normally in the power saving mode.

However, if the hardware device issues a full reset signal to the operating unit within the computer device in a power saving mode (eg, sleep (S3) mode, hibernation (S4) mode, or shutdown (S5) mode), The operating system may not be notified or unable to operate in the power saving mode.

For example, Intel Rapid Storage Technology may cause computer device 100 to store the required data of computer device 100 from volatile memory in computer device 100 in a first power saving mode (eg, sleep (S3) mode) (eg, random The access memory is slowly moved to a non-volatile memory (for example, a hard disk), and after the above-mentioned required data is completely moved, the computer device 100 is normally operated (S0) from the sleep (S3) mode. Mode transitions to sleep (S4) mode for more power savings. Moreover, when the computer device 100 is switched to the normal operation (S0) mode, since the normal operation (S0) mode is entered, a reset signal is provided to all the operating units in the computer device for resetting, that is, "all" Reset (Global reset), so the platform management unit (or Southbridge) will provide reset signals for all operating units.

In this way, some of the operating units (eg, network cards, communication modules) that are originally controlled by the operating system in the sleep (S3) mode and can function normally will be cleared by the above-mentioned additional reset action. The network configuration of the unit (network card, communication module) causes the operating unit to not function properly or is shut down.

In this embodiment, the embodiment of the present invention additionally provides a reset signal shielding unit, which communicates with the operating system of the computer device, thereby pre-setting the operation of each operating unit in the power saving mode, that is, presetting each Whether the operating unit needs to operate normally or can accept the reset signal. When the computer device issues a reset signal to all operating units in the power saving mode, the reset signal of the operating unit that needs to operate normally is shielded through a preset operation condition, so that these operating units can be saved without being reset. Continuous operation in mode. Therefore, in the embodiment of the present invention, the reset signal shielding unit is additionally provided, and the action of resetting the entire reset signal is separated to avoid losing the operation unit that needs to be continuously operated in the power saving mode. The problem of function.

1 is a schematic diagram of a computer device 100 in accordance with a first embodiment of the present invention. The computer device 100 includes at least one operating unit, a platform control unit 130, and a reset signal shielding unit 140. In this embodiment, a wireless network communication card 110 and/or a wired network communication card 120 conforming to a peripheral device connection express (PCIe) specification are used as an operation unit, and both of them have a reset signal receiving end RERST to receive a corresponding one. Reset the signal. However, the embodiments of the present invention are not limited to the above examples. The application of the embodiment may select other devices inside the computer device 100 according to the design requirements (for example, the external image processing card and the motherboard of the computer device 100). The network communication module and the audio module are built as the operation unit exemplified in the embodiment of the present invention, and the other devices inside the computer device 100 are not limited to the related devices that meet the express specifications of the peripheral device.

In this embodiment, the platform control unit 130 may be a platform controller hub (PCH), and two peripheral devices are respectively connected to the PCIe reset signal output terminals PCIE1_RST and PCIE2_RST. In other words, the platform control unit 130 can be implemented in the calculation The chip set of the machine device 100 or the south bridge chip controls the information transmission of various communication protocols and platforms, and also provides the reset signals 153, 154 to the corresponding operation unit. Therefore, when the computer device 100 is in the power saving mode and needs to reset the operating unit, the platform control unit 130 passes the reset signal output terminals PCIE1_RST and PCIE2_RST, the wireless network communication card 110, and the wired network communication card. 120 provides corresponding reset signals 153, 154, respectively. In this embodiment, the reset signals 153, 154 are reset signals that comply with the peripheral device connection express (PCIe) specifications.

The reset signal shielding unit 140 is coupled to the platform control unit 130, the wireless network communication card 110, and the wired network communication card 120. In the past, if the computer device 100 is not provided with the reset signal shielding unit 140, the wireless network communication card 110 and the wired network communication card 120 will perform a reset operation, the wireless network communication card 110 and the wired network communication card. The network configuration and status in 120 will be cleared. If the operating system in the computer device 100 knows that the wireless network communication card 110 and the wired network communication card 120 are reset, the network configuration is usually automatically reset to resume operation.

However, if the computer device 100 supports the Intel Express Storage (iRST) function or the related power saving function, the hardware device in the computer device 100 will not notify the operating system of the computer device 100 of the switching of the power saving mode, or When the operating system does not assist the operating unit to resume its function in the power saving mode, the embodiment of the present invention must mask the reset signals corresponding to the operating units that should be in the power saving mode or the normal operation, that is, This problem can be avoided by directly avoiding the fact that these operating units are reset.

Therefore, in the embodiment of the present invention, the reset signal shielding unit 140 is added to the path that the platform control unit 130 transmits the reset signal to the corresponding operating unit. The reset signal shielding unit 140 can set the operating conditions of the operating unit in the power saving mode through the operating system or the related application software, by the user's needs or the system preset manner, thereby setting the operating units to save power. Is it necessary to operate normally in the mode? Moreover, when the platform control unit 130 transmits the reset signal, the reset signal shielding unit 140 can mask the reset signal corresponding to the operating unit that has been set to operate normally by a preset operation condition.

In detail, the reset signal shielding unit 140 of the first embodiment (FIG. 1) of the present invention includes a setting module 150 and a logic circuit 160. The setting module 150 sets the general-purpose output terminals GPIO1 and GPIO2, and each of the general-purpose output terminals GPIO1 and GPIO2 corresponds to different operating units (for example, the wireless network communication card 110 and the wired network communication card 120). In this embodiment, the setting module 150 can be implemented by using an embedded controller (EC) or a super IO (super IO) chip, but the embodiment is not limited thereto. In this embodiment, the setting module 150 communicates with the platform control unit 130, and the setting module 150 can thereby know when to enter the power saving mode of the computer device 100. In actual implementation, one of the setting module 150 or the platform control unit 130 needs to set a timer to synchronize signals with each other to know the power management situation of the computer device 100.

The setting module 150 allows the user to set the operating system or the related application of the computer device 100, or set and store the data in a preset manner. The operation of the unit in the power saving mode. For example, the setting module 150 is provided with a plurality of reset mask flags, and each reset mask flag corresponds to a different operating unit. The setting module 150 sets these reset masking flags through the operating system as a flag record of the operation of the operating unit in the power saving mode. Thereby, the setting module 150 can generate the corresponding reset masking signals 151, 152 through the general-purpose output terminals GPIO1, GPIO2 according to the reset mask flag (that is, the operation of the operating unit in the power saving mode).

The two logic circuits 160 are respectively coupled to the output terminals GPIO1, GPIO2 and receive the reset signals 151, 152, and the logic circuit 160 determines whether to mask the reset signals 153, 154 according to the reset mask signals GPIO1, GPIO2. In this embodiment, AND gates 170 and 171 are used as the implementation of the logic circuit 160, and the gates 170 and 171 respectively correspond to different operation units (the wireless network communication card 110 and the wired network communication card 120). The first input terminals of the AND gates 170, 171 are respectively coupled to the output terminals GPIO1, GPIO2 for receiving the reset mask signals 151, 152. The second input terminals of the gates 170 and 171 respectively receive the reset signals 153 and 154, and the outputs of the gates 170 and 171 are respectively coupled to the operation unit (the wireless network communication card 110 and the wired network communication card 120). The reset receiver RERST is used to transmit the filtered reset signals 181, 182.

2 is a waveform diagram of the reset signal 153, the reset mask signal 151, and the filtered reset signal 181 in the first embodiment of the present invention. Referring to FIG. 1 and FIG. 2 simultaneously, when the computer device 100 transitions from the normal operation (S0) mode to the sleep (S3) mode (time T1), the reset signal 153 and the filtered signal are filtered. The reset signal 181 is converted from the enable (logic 1) to the disable (logic 0), and the setting module 150 at this time generates a disable mask (logic 0) by its internal reset mask flag. Signal 151.

When the computer device 100 supporting the Intel fast storage function has stored the data required to start the computer device 100 on the hard disk (time T2), a reset signal is issued, that is, the reset signal 153 generates a time at time T2. The pulse 210 is enabled. At this time, since the reset mask signal 151 received by the first input terminal of the gate 170 is disabled (logic 0), it indicates that the wireless network communication card 110 in the power saving mode is still operating normally and cannot be reset, so The enable pulse 210 will be masked, as the filtered reset signal 181 is normal at time T2. Thereafter, if the user wishes to convert the computer device 100 from the power saving mode (ie, the time T2 to the sleep (S4) mode of the time T3) to the normal operation (S0) mode (time T3), the keyboard button can be pressed. Or the power button to achieve the above functions. Thereby, the wireless network communication card 110 can be operated normally in the power saving mode (whether in the sleep (S3) mode or the sleep (S4) mode) without being disturbed by the reset signal. The wired network communication card 120 and related signals may also operate similarly to the wireless network communication card 110, and will not be described herein.

3 is a schematic diagram of a computer device 300 in accordance with a second embodiment of the present invention. The second embodiment is similar to the first embodiment described above, except that the computer device 300 implements the reset signal masking unit 140 by a setting module 350, and only takes a single operating unit 310 as an example. The setting module 350 can be implemented by using an embedded controller (EC) or a super input/output chip, but the embodiment is not limited thereto.

The setting module 350 internally sets a general-purpose input 埠 GPIO3 and its general-purpose output terminal GPIO4. The universal input port GPIO3 and the general purpose output terminal GPIO4 correspond to the platform control unit 130 and the operating unit 310, respectively. The setting module 350 can pre-set and store the operation state of the operating unit 310 in the power saving mode through the operating system, and according to the operation condition, through the general-purpose output terminal GPIO4, determine whether to mask the reset signal 353, and generate filtered The reset signal 381 is transmitted to the operation unit 310. Other detailed steps are known from the first embodiment and will not be described herein.

The above embodiments can also be integrated into a reset signal filtering method suitable for a computer device, the computer device comprising at least one operating unit. 4 is a flow chart showing a reset signal filtering method according to a first embodiment of the present invention. Referring to FIG. 4 and FIG. 1 , in step S410 , the user can use the operating system of the computer device 100 to set the operating unit (the wireless network communication card 110 and the wired network communication card 120 ) in the power saving mode. Operational conditions to set whether it is functioning properly. In step S420, in the power saving mode of the computer device 100, the platform control unit 130 provides corresponding reset signals 153, 154 to the operating units (the wireless network communication card 110 and the wired network communication card 120). In step S430, the reset signal shielding unit 140 masks the reset signals 153 and 154 corresponding to the operating units (the wireless network communication card 110 and the wired network communication card 120) that have been set to operate normally to form a filtered weight. Signals 181, 182. For the remaining implementation details of the reset signal filtering method, please refer to the above embodiments and related disclosures, and no further details are provided herein.

In summary, the computer device of the embodiment of the present invention still hopes that some operating units (for example, wireless communication modules, wired network cards, etc.) can continue to operate in the power saving mode, if these operating units are heavily If so, you need to reset the parameters through the operating system or related applications. Since the computer device transitions from the sleep (S3) mode to the sleep (S4) mode via the normal (S0) mode, the operating system may not be notified by the hardware device, so that the operating system cannot assist the operating unit to reset. In this way, the reset signal shielding unit pre-sets the operation of each operating unit in the power saving mode, and when the computer device issues a reset signal to all operating units in the power saving mode, resetting the signal shielding unit to determine whether to shield the need The reset signal of the normally functioning operating unit allows these operating units to be reset and can continue to operate in the power saving mode.

Although the present invention has been disclosed in the above embodiments, it is not intended to limit the invention, and any one of ordinary skill in the art can make some modifications and refinements without departing from the spirit and scope of the invention. The scope of the invention is defined by the scope of the appended claims.

100, 300‧‧‧ computer equipment

110‧‧‧Wireless network communication card

120‧‧‧Wired network communication card

130‧‧‧ Platform Control Unit

140‧‧‧Reset signal shielding unit

150‧‧‧Setting module

151, 152‧‧‧ Reset masking signal

153, 154, 353‧‧‧Reset signal

160‧‧‧Logical Circuit

170, 171‧‧‧ and gate

181, 182, 381‧‧‧ filtered reset signals

210‧‧‧Enable pulse

310‧‧‧Operating unit

S410~S430‧‧‧Steps

GPIO1, GPIO2, GPIO4‧‧‧ general output

GPIO3‧‧‧ universal input

PCIE1_RST, PCIE2_RST‧‧‧Reset signal output

RERST‧‧‧Reset receiver

S0‧‧‧ normal working mode

S3‧‧‧ sleep mode

S4‧‧‧ sleep mode

T1~T3‧‧‧Time

1 is a schematic diagram of a computer device in accordance with a first embodiment of the present invention.

2 is a waveform diagram of a reset signal, a reset mask signal, and a filtered reset signal in the first embodiment of the present invention.

3 is a schematic diagram of a computer device in accordance with a second embodiment of the present invention.

4 is a flow chart showing a reset signal filtering method according to a first embodiment of the present invention.

100‧‧‧Computer equipment

110‧‧‧Wireless network communication card

120‧‧‧Wired network communication card

130‧‧‧ Platform Control Unit

140‧‧‧Reset signal shielding unit

150‧‧‧Setting module

151, 152‧‧‧ Reset masking signal

153, 154‧‧‧Reset signal

160‧‧‧Logical Circuit

170, 171‧‧‧ and gate

181, 182‧‧‧ filtered reset signal

GPIO1, GPIO2‧‧‧ general output

PCIE1_RST, PCIE2_RST‧‧‧Reset signal output

RERST‧‧‧Reset receiver

Claims (10)

A computer device comprising: at least one operating unit; a platform control unit, respectively providing at least one reset signal to the at least one operating unit in a power saving mode of the computer device; and a reset signal shielding unit coupled And the at least one operating unit is configured to operate normally in the power saving mode and to block the at least one reset signal corresponding to the at least one operating unit that has been set to operate normally. The computer device of claim 1, wherein the platform control unit provides the at least one operating unit with the at least one operating unit when the computer device transitions from the first power saving mode to the second power saving mode A reset signal. The computer device of claim 2, wherein the first power saving mode is a sleep mode, and the second power saving mode is a sleep mode, wherein the computer device uses the required data from the computer device in the sleep mode. The volatile memory in the mobile device moves to the non-volatile memory, and after the required data is moved, the computer device switches from the sleep mode to the sleep mode via the normal working mode, and the platform control unit is in the computer device The at least one reset signal is provided to the operating units when the normal operating mode is converted. The computer device of claim 2, wherein the platform control unit supports an Intel Express Storage (iRST) function. The computer device of claim 1, wherein the reset signal shielding unit comprises: a setting module, which is configured with at least one universal output, each of the universal output terminals respectively corresponding to at least one operating unit, wherein the Setting a module to set and store the operation of the at least one operating unit in the power saving mode, according to the operating condition and through the at least one universal output terminal to generate a corresponding at least one reset masking signal; and a logic circuit coupled The at least one general-purpose output receives the at least one reset signal, and determines whether to mask the at least one reset signal according to the reset mask signal. The computer device of claim 5, wherein the logic circuit comprises at least one gate, each gate corresponding to at least one operating unit, wherein the at least one first input of the gate is coupled to the The at least one general-purpose output terminal receives the at least one reset masking signal, and the second input end of the at least one gate receives the at least one reset signal, and the output end of the at least one gate is coupled to the at least one operation At least one of the units resets the receiving end. The computer device of claim 1, wherein the reset signal shielding unit comprises: a setting module, which is provided with at least one universal input port and at least one universal output terminal, each universal input port and each general purpose The output terminal respectively corresponds to the platform control unit and the at least one operation unit, wherein the setting module sets and stores the operation of the at least one operation unit in the power saving mode, according to the The operation is performed through the at least one general purpose output to determine whether to mask the at least one reset signal. The computer device of claim 1, wherein the operating units comprise a wireless network communication module and/or a wired network communication module. The computer device of claim 1, wherein the at least one operating unit conforms to a peripheral device connection express (PCIe) specification, and the at least one reset signal is a plurality of peripheral devices connected to the courier reset signal. A reset signal filtering method is applicable to a computer device having at least one operating unit, wherein the reset signal filtering method includes: setting whether the at least one operating unit operates normally in the power saving mode; and the power saving mode of the computer device And correspondingly providing at least one reset signal to the at least one operating unit; and shielding the at least one reset signal corresponding to the at least one operating unit that has been set to operate normally.