TW201928697A - Computing system and main board thereof - Google Patents

Abstract

The instant disclosure provides a computing system and main board thereof. The computing system includes a main board and an expansion board. The expansion board includes a connection interface, at least one I/O port, at least one conversion circuit and a memory unit. The main board includes an expansion interface, a storage unit and a processing unit. Each of the conversion circuits converts messages receiving through the connection interface to a message with a protocol of the corresponding I/O port. The memory unit records a type information of each conversion circuits. The storage unit stores a plurality of firmwares. The processing unit receives the type information through the expansion interface, and selects one, which is meet with the type information, of the firmwares as a driving firmware. The processing unit executes the driving firmware to control the expansion board so as to perform a communication through the at least one I/O port.

Description

Computer system and its motherboard

The present invention relates to a computer system, and more particularly to a computer system capable of detecting a type of connection expansion board and a motherboard thereof.

At present, in order to meet the needs of most users, the general manufacturers will plan several commonly used fixed-number ports (such as USB ports, network ports, etc.) when manufacturing the host, but if other users need to use other types of ports埠Or a larger number of ports, you need to expand the interface by connecting the expansion board. However, there are various types of expansion boards. To use different expansion boards, it is necessary to install the corresponding firmware on the host, so that the user often does not know where to obtain the correct firmware, and how to install the firmware.

In view of this, an embodiment of the present invention provides a computer system and a motherboard thereof. The computer system includes an expansion board and a motherboard.

The expansion board includes a connection interface, at least one input port, at least one conversion circuit, and a memory unit. The conversion circuit is connected between the connection interface and the input port. The memory unit is connected to the connection interface. Each conversion circuit converts the message received from the connection interface into a communication protocol conforming to the input port. The memory unit records a type of information corresponding to the conversion circuit.

The motherboard includes an extension interface, a storage unit, and a processing unit. The processing unit connects the storage unit and the extension interface. The extension interface is provided for the connection interface of the expansion board. The storage unit stores a plurality of preparatory firmware. The processing unit receives the type information from the extended interface, and obtains a match in the prepared firmware according to the type information as a driving firmware. The processing unit executes the driving firmware to control the expansion board, and communicates with the outside via the at least one input port.

The computer system and the main board of the embodiment of the invention can automatically detect and execute a suitable firmware when the expansion board is connected, so as to correctly communicate with the peripheral device via the expansion board without requiring the user to additionally install the firmware.

Please refer to FIG. 1, which is a schematic structural diagram of a computer system 100 according to an embodiment of the present invention. Computer system 100 can be, for example, an industrial computer, a personal computer, a notebook computer, an embedded system, and the like. Computer system 100 includes expansion board 200 and motherboard 300. The main board 300 is a motherboard of the computer system 100, and includes a processing unit 310, a storage unit 320, and an extension interface 330. The processing unit 310 is connected between the storage unit 320 and the extension interface 330. The expansion board 200 includes a connection interface 210, at least one input/output port 220, at least one conversion circuit 230, and a memory unit 240. The conversion circuit 230 is connected between the connection interface 210 and the input/output port 220. The memory unit 240 is connected to the connection interface 210. The storage unit 320 and the memory unit 240 are non-volatile memory, for example, an electronic erasable rewritable read-only memory (EEPROM). Processing unit 310 can be a microprocessor, microcontroller, or the like. The input/output port 220 can be, for example, a USB port, an HDMI port, a COM port, a UART port, a network port, or a memory card.

The extension interface 330 of the main board 300 is connected to the connection interface 210 of the expansion board 200. The conversion circuit 230 converts the message received from the connection interface 210 into a communication protocol conforming to the input port 220, whereby the motherboard 300 can be expanded with more or less of the communication protocol input port 220. A peripheral device 400 that is not supported by the motherboard 300 can be connected via the input port 220. The connection interface 210 and the extension interface 330 include a system management bus (SMBus) and other transmission interfaces, but the invention is not limited thereto. The transmission interface can be, for example, a Fast Peripheral Component Interconnect (PCI Express) or/and a Low Pin Count (LPC) or the like.

The memory unit 240 of the expansion board 200 records type information of the corresponding conversion circuit 230. Here, the type information may include a manufacturer, a version, a chip model, and the like of the conversion circuit 230, but the present invention is not limited thereto. The storage unit 320 of the main board 300 stores a plurality of preliminary firmware 321 . Each type of information corresponds to a provisioning firmware 321 . The provisioning firmware 321 includes a definition of a register, a pin, and the like corresponding to the wafer in the conversion circuit 230.

After the motherboard 300 detects that the expansion board 200 is connected, the processor 310 reads the type information stored in the memory unit 240 through the extension interface 330 and the connection interface 210. Then, after receiving the type information from the extension interface 330, the processing unit 310 can obtain the matching person in the preparation firmware 321 according to the type information as the driving firmware 322. After the processing unit 310 executes the driving firmware 322, the expansion board 200 can be controlled, and the connected peripheral device 400 can be communicated via the input port 220. Therefore, the user can connect and use the peripheral device 400 after the expansion board 200 is connected to the main board 300 without additionally finding and installing a suitable firmware.

In an embodiment, as shown in FIG. 1, each type of information includes a common information 242 and a different information 241. The common information 242 is a common part of a plurality of types of information, and the different information 241 is a different part of the plurality of types of information. This saves memory space. The common information 242 may include a recognition number, a version number of the type information, a product number of the expansion board 200, and a physical setting of the memory unit 240. The physical setting of the memory unit 240 may be, for example, whether to change a controlled address according to the pin connection manner of the memory unit 240. For example, if the value of the physical setting is zero, it means that the controlled address is not changed. Conversely, if the value of the physical setting is one, it means that the controlled address is changed according to the change pin connection mode.

In an embodiment, the number of conversion circuits 230 may be plural, each conversion circuit 230 is connected to one or more input/output ports 220, and each conversion circuit 230 corresponds to a controlled address. The processing unit 310 of the main board 300 specifies that the corresponding conversion circuit 230 communicates via one or more of the input and output ports 220 connected thereto according to the controlled address. That is to say, the processing unit 310 of the main board 300 specifies the corresponding controlled address to transmit a message according to the input/output port 220 and the conversion circuit 230 connected to the peripheral device 400 that is to be transmitted, so that the message can be transmitted to the corresponding conversion. The circuit 230 performs a conversion of the communication protocol so that the converted message is transmitted to the peripheral device 400 via the input/output port 220. Here, each of the preliminary firmware 321 executed by the main board 300 stores the controlled address of the corresponding conversion circuit 230.

2 is a schematic structural diagram of an expansion board 200 according to an embodiment of the present invention. Here, the memory unit 240 is not depicted. The connection interface 210 is implemented with a low pin count 500, and the input port 220 is implemented with a serial communication port 530. The conversion circuit 230 is two here, and each conversion circuit 230 includes a first conversion circuit 510 and two second conversion circuits 520. The expansion board 200 receives the message of the main board 300 via the low pin count 500. The first conversion circuit 510 converts the low pin count 500 protocol into another communication protocol, such as a UART. Here, the first conversion circuit 510 is converted into two sets of UART outputs. The two second conversion circuits 520 respectively receive the two sets of UART outputs, and convert the UART signals into COM signals (such as RS232, RS422, RS485), and output them in the serial communication port 530. Here, the motherboard 300 can initialize the first conversion circuit 510 via the low pin count 500. The first conversion circuit 510 and the second conversion circuit 520 are also partially connected to each other and communicate with the low pin count 500, so that the main board 300 can perform initial setting on the second conversion circuit 520 through the first conversion circuit 510.

In summary, the computer system 100 and the main board 300 of the embodiment of the present invention can automatically detect and execute a suitable firmware when the expansion board 200 is connected, so as to correctly communicate with the peripheral device 400 via the expansion board 200 without using Additional firmware is installed.

100‧‧‧Computer system

200‧‧‧ expansion board

210‧‧‧Connection interface

220‧‧‧Import and export

230‧‧‧Transition circuit

240‧‧‧ memory unit

241‧‧‧Different information

242‧‧‧Common information

300‧‧‧ motherboard

310‧‧‧Processing unit

320‧‧‧ storage unit

321‧‧‧Prepared firmware

322‧‧‧Drive Firmware

330‧‧‧Extension interface

400‧‧‧ peripheral devices

500‧‧‧Low pin count

510‧‧‧First conversion circuit

520‧‧‧Second conversion circuit

530‧‧‧ Serial Communication埠

FIG. 1 is a schematic structural diagram of a computer system according to an embodiment of the present invention. 2 is a schematic structural view of an expansion board according to an embodiment of the present invention.

Claims (10)

A computer system comprising: an expansion board, comprising: a connection interface; at least one input port; at least one conversion circuit connected between the connection interface and the at least one input port, each of the conversion circuits is received from the The message of the connection interface is correspondingly converted into a communication protocol conforming to the input port; and a memory unit is connected to the connection interface, the memory unit records a type information corresponding to the conversion circuit; and a motherboard includes: an extension interface for The connection interface of the expansion board is correspondingly connected; a storage unit storing a plurality of preparation firmware; and a processing unit connecting the storage unit and the extension interface, the processing unit receiving the type information from the extension interface, according to the type The information is obtained as a driver firmware in the prepared firmware, and the processing unit executes the driver firmware to control the expansion board, and communicates with the outside via the at least one input port. The computer system of claim 1, wherein each of the types of information comprises a common information and a different information, the common information being a common part of the plurality of types of information, the different information being a plurality of types of information Different parts of it. The computer system of claim 1, wherein the extension interface and the connection interface comprise a system management bus. The computer system of claim 1, wherein the extension interface and the connection interface comprise a fast peripheral component interconnect (PCI Express) or a low pin count (LPC). The computer system of claim 1, wherein the at least one conversion circuit is plural, each of the conversion circuits is connected to at least one of the input and output ports, and each of the conversion circuits respectively corresponds to a controlled address, and the processing of the main board And the unit specifies, according to the controlled address, the at least one of the input and the connection via which the conversion circuit is connected. The computer system of claim 5, wherein each of the prepared firmwares executed by the motherboard stores the corresponding controlled address. The computer system of claim 1, wherein the at least one input port is one of a USB port, an HDMI port, a COM port, a UART port, a network port, a memory card, or any combination. A motherboard for connecting an expansion board, the motherboard comprising: an extension interface for connecting the expansion board; a storage unit storing a plurality of preparation firmware; and a processing unit connecting the storage unit and the extension interface, The processing unit receives the type of information provided by the expansion board from the extension interface, and obtains a matching firmware in the preparation firmware according to the type information, and the processing unit executes the driving firmware to control the expansion board. At least one of the input and output ports communicates with the outside via the at least one input port. The motherboard of claim 8, wherein the at least one input port is one of a USB port, an HDMI port, a COM port, a UART port, a network port, a memory card, or any combination thereof. . The motherboard of claim 8, wherein the extension interface is a fast peripheral component interconnect (PCI Express) or a low pin count (LPC).