JPH02210512A - Personal computer - Google Patents

Abstract

PURPOSE:To easily recognize that a personal computer is set in an input waiting state even though a casing of a display part is closed during execution of a computing process by adding a display part which shows the internal working state of the computer to a prescribed area of an outer casing of the computer which is always exposed to the outside regardless of the mechanism setting state. CONSTITUTION:A display part 4 which displays the internal working state is prepared at a prescribed part of an outer casing 1 of a personal computer which is always exposed to the outside regardless of the mechanism setting state. Thus it is possible to easily recognize the internal working states of the computer including the end of execution of an application program, an input waiting state, etc., at all times regardless of the open/close state of a casing 2 of the part 4 and the mechanism setting state of the computer. For instance, it is possible to easily recognize that the computer is set in an input waiting state from outside even though the casing 2 is closed during execution of a computing process.

Description

[Detailed Description of the Invention] [Object of the Invention] (Industrial Application Field) The present invention provides a display function that allows the user to recognize and display the internal state of the device, such as completion of execution of an application program, waiting for input, etc. Regarding personal computers.

(Prior Art) In recent years, laptop-type personal computers have been widely used. This type of laptop-type personal computer has a rotatable display housing on the device body, and when not in operation, the display housing can be rotated forward and the front of the display housing can be folded down onto the keyboard of the device body. let me,
Many devices have a housing structure in which the back portion acts as a lid for the main body of the device.

On the other hand, in recent years, devices that can be operated anywhere without degrading functionality, performance, reliability, etc., and are smaller and lighter, such as notebook-sized or notebook-sized devices, are easy to carry. There has been a demand for small-sized personal computers that have been developed.

In this type of small, easily portable personal computer, it is possible to operate it by opening a specific functional part such as a display part that is rotatably provided on the main body, and when it is carried around or not in use. In some cases, by closing the specific function section, portability is facilitated and damage protection is achieved.

In such a personal computer, a specific program such as an arithmetic program that requires a relatively long processing time is started, and during the processing, the display section, etc. is specified to prevent dust from entering and damage protection. When the functional part is closed,
The end of the process cannot be recognized from the outside.

(Problems to be Solved by the Invention) As mentioned above, in a personal computer that can be operated by opening a specific functional part such as a display part, when starting a program that takes a relatively long processing time, Conventionally, when a specific functional section such as a display section is closed, its processing state (program processing completion state, input waiting state, etc.) cannot be recognized from the outside.

The present invention was developed in view of the above circumstances, and it is possible to always easily recognize the end of execution of an application program, the input status ζ9, and the internal operating state of the device, regardless of the mechanical settings of the device, such as the open/closed state of the display housing. The purpose of the present invention is to provide a personal computer with a display function capable of displaying images.

[Structure of the Invention] (Means and Effects for Solving the Problems) The present invention provides a display that displays the operating state inside the device at a predetermined part of the device outer casing that is always exposed to the outside regardless of the mechanism setting state. This allows the internal operating state of the device, such as completion of execution of an application program or waiting for input, to be monitored from the outside regardless of the mechanical settings of the device, such as the open/closed state of the display housing. For example, even if the display unit housing is closed during execution of arithmetic processing, it can be easily recognized from the outside that the device is in a state of waiting for human power.

(Example) An embodiment of the present invention will be described below with reference to the drawings.

FIG. 1 is a block diagram showing the configuration of essential parts in one embodiment of the present invention, FIG. 2 is a block diagram showing the overall system configuration in the above embodiment, and FIG. 3 is a block diagram showing the configuration of the entire system in the above embodiment. Flowchart 1 showing the timer interrupt routine, Figure 4 (
(a) and (b) are external views of the apparatus in the above embodiment, respectively.

In the figure, 10 is a system bus, and 11 to 27 are components connected to the system bus IO. Among these components, 11 is a CPU that controls the entire system, and I5 is an interrupt controller (PIC) that can be set by a program.
ran+mable Interrupt Control
oller), 19 is an input/output interface (Ilo-
IF), 23 is a keyboard controller (KBC) 244 that controls the keyboard (KB) 37;
DISP CONT).

Here, the input/output interface 19 is a CPU.
L of a specific level (e.g. “1” level) received from II
The ED lighting control signal is sent to the LED 4 as a lighting drive signal via the driver circuit (DR) 5, and the signal for the switch 3, which is turned on/off as the display unit housing 2 is opened/closed, is sent to the CPUI.
Send to I.

At this time, as shown in FIG. 4, the switch 3 and the LED 4 are each provided in the device main body l which rotatably supports the display housing 2, and the switch 3 has its operating end on the device main body 1. The operating end protrudes from the top surface and is fixedly arranged so that it is pressed against the display housing 2 when the display housing 2 is closed, and the LED 4 is visible from the outside even when the display housing 2 is closed. The main body of the device allows for easy
It is fixedly placed in the center of the front of the

Further, in FIG. 2, 12 is a ROM in which fixed programs are stored, 13 is a RAM in which programs to be processed, data, etc. are stored, and 14 is a DMA controller (DM) that performs tie-left memory access control. A-CH
DirecL MeIIlory AccessCon
trol Ier), 1B is an interval tie 7 that can be set by program (PIT; Prog
rammableInterval Timer),
17 is a clock module (RTC; Real-Time
C1ock). Reference numeral 18 denotes a large-capacity expansion RAM that can be inserted into and removed from the dedicated cart slot C of the main body, and here it is used as an alternative memory for the hard disk drive (HDD), so it is supplied with backup power (VBK). Reference numeral 20 denotes a memory card controller provided in place of a floppy disk controller (FDC), which here has two card slots A and B, with card slot A being a card slot that can be set to DO3. 21 is a printer controller (P RTCONT
) 22 is a serial input/output interface (S10
) 23 is the keyboard controller (KBC), 24
is a display controller (DISPCONT), 25 is a video RAM (VRAM), and 2G is a Kanji ROM.

Reference numeral 27 denotes a power save control circuit that recognizes the state of the AC adapter 30 when it operates without using a power source and controls the operation of internal components in a power save mode. 28
is an oscillation circuit that generates a clock signal of a specific frequency that is a source of an operating clock. 29 is CPU1. This is a clock frequency selection circuit that selectively controls frequency switching of the operating clock (f CLK ) supplied to I in accordance with the power input state of the AC adapter 30 . Reference numeral 30 denotes a power adapter (hereinafter referred to as AC adapter) that rectifies and smoothes a commercial AC power source (AC) to obtain a DC working power source of a predetermined potential. Power for operation is supplied to a power supply circuit 40, which will be described later. 32 is memory card controller 2
0 is a memory card inserted into card slot l-A and stores DO3, and 33 is a memory card containing DO5 which is also inserted into card slot B of the memory card controller 20.
It is a memory card that does not store. 34 is a printer connected to the printer controller 21 as necessary;
35 is a driver circuit connected to the serial input/output interface 22, and 36 is selectively connected to the driver circuit 35.T? This is an S-232C interface device. 37 is a keyboard connected to the keyboard controller 23; 38 is an L connected to the display controller 24;
A CD display section 39 is a CRT display section selectively connected to the display controller 24. 40 is a power supply for operation (Vccl, Vcc2) required for each component under the control of the power save control circuit 27.
, VPH, VMH, VLD) and a backup power supply (VBK). 50a
, 50b are built-in batteries housed within the main body of the personal computer. Of these, 50a supplies operating power to each component during operation without using the AC adapter 30, and supplies backup power to memory, etc. that requires backup during non-operation (power off). 50b is the first built-in battery (BATT-A), and 50b is the first built-in battery (BATT-A) that is
A second built-in battery (BATT-B) that supplies backup power to memory, etc. that requires backup when the power supply voltage of the built-in battery (BATT-A) falls below a predetermined value.
It is. Here, the DC output power supply voltage of the AC adapter 30 is referred to as VM, and the built-in battery (BATT-A) 50
The power supply voltage of a is VA, built-in battery (BATT-B) 50
When the power supply voltage of b is VB, the AC adapter 30 and the built-in battery 50 are connected so that [VM>VA>VB] is satisfied.
The power supply voltages of a and 50b are set, and when the power is turned on and the DC output power of the AC adapter 30 is not supplied, the built-in battery (BATT-A) 50a is used, and when the power is turned off, the built-in battery (BATT-A) 50a is used. Power supply (VB
When the built-in battery (IIATT-A) 50a is used in the built-in battery (BATT-A) 50a and the power supply of the built-in battery (BATT-A) 50a becomes unable to maintain the predetermined operating power supply voltage, the built-in battery (BATT-B) is used instead. ) 50b is used.

The operation of the embodiment of the present invention will now be described with reference to FIGS. 1 to 4.

When the CPUIL receives an interrupt signal (IRP) from the interrupt controller 15 at a predetermined interval, it executes a timer interrupt routine as shown in FIG. 3 each time.

This timer interrupt routine first begins with the signal state (
From the on/off state), it is determined whether the display housing 2 rotatably supported by the device body 1 is in the closed state as shown in FIG. 4(b) (step 3 in FIG. SL)
. Here, the switch 3 is in the on state, and the display unit housing 2
The LCD display section 24 indicates that the is closed.
The display of is cut off, and then the operation processing state inside the device (step S2 in FIG. 3), the input operation state (step S3 in FIG. 3), etc. are determined. Here, it is necessary to judge whether the main routine is in the input waiting state or not.
2) When the program processing is completed and the input waiting state is entered, the key manual operation state is then determined from the contents of the keyboard buffer provided in the keyboard controller 23 (step S3 in FIG. 3). Here, if it is determined that the keyboard buffer is empty and no key operation is being performed manually, an LED lighting control signal is sent to the input/output interface 19, and the timer interrupt routine for that time is ended (step 3 in Figure 3). S4). Also, at the time of the above judgment, if the switch 3 is in the off state, the main routine is not in the input waiting state, the keyboard buffer is not empty, etc., the timer interrupt routine for that time is terminated at each judgment point. do.

In the timer interrupt routine described above, an LED lighting control signal is sent from the CPU 11 to the input/output interface 19, and when this signal is input to the driver circuit (DR) 5,
An LED lighting drive signal is output from the driver circuit (DR) 5, and the LED 4 is driven to be lit by the lighting drive signal.

By driving the LED 4 to light up, it is possible to easily recognize that the device is in an input waiting state even if the display unit housing 2 is closed during execution of arithmetic processing.

In the above embodiment, the lighting drive of the LED 4 is controlled on the condition that the display housing 2 is in the closed state, but the opening/closing determination of the display housing 2 (step SL in FIG. 3)
The lighting drive of the LED 4 may be controlled by a timer interrupt routine that omits the step S2 in FIG. When the keyboard buffer is empty (step S3 in Figure 3), the LED
4 is driven to turn on (step S4 in FIG. 3).

Furthermore, the configuration and external structure of the personal computer, including the arrangement of the switch 3 and the LED 4, etc., are not limited to the above embodiments. Any configuration may be used as long as it includes a display unit that displays the internal operating status.

[Effects of the Invention] As detailed above, according to the personal computer of the present invention, there is a display that displays the operating status inside the device at a predetermined part of the device outer casing that is always exposed to the outside regardless of the mechanism setting state. With this configuration, the internal operating status of the device, such as completion of execution of an application program or waiting for input, can always be easily recognized from the outside, regardless of the mechanical settings of the device, such as the open/closed state of the display housing. As a result, even if the display unit housing is closed during the execution of arithmetic processing, it can be easily recognized that the device is in an input waiting state, so that the device can be operated effectively and efficiently.

[Brief explanation of the drawing]

FIG. 1 is a block diagram showing the configuration of essential parts in one embodiment of the present invention, FIG. 2 is a block diagram showing the overall system configuration in the above embodiment, and FIG. 3 is a block diagram showing the configuration of the entire system in the above embodiment. Flowchart showing the timer interrupt routine, Fig. 4(a)
) and (b) are external views of the apparatus in the above embodiment, respectively. ■... Device body, 2... Display unit housing, 3... Switzerland/Sochi, 4... LED, 5... Driver circuit (DR
), 10...System bus, 11...CPU, 12
...ROM, 18...RAM, 14...DMA controller (DMAC; Direct Memory
Access Controller) LB-・
・Interrupt controller (PIC; PrOgral
llllableInterrupt Control
ller) LB-... Interno Kurutai v (P
I T ; Progranvable Inter
val Till1er), 17 clock module (RT
C; Real-TiIIIle C1ock), 18
... Expansion RAM, 19... Input/output interface (Ilo-IF) 20... Memory card controller, 21... Printer controller (PRTCON)
T), 22...Serial input/output interface (S
IO) 23...Keyboard controller (KBC
), 24...Display controller (DISPC ON
T) 25...Video RAM (VRAM) 2
G... Kanji ROM, 27... Power save control circuit, 28... Oscillation circuit, 29... Clock frequency selection circuit, 30... Power adapter (AC adapter), 32
...Memory card (memory card that stores DOS)
33...Memory card (memory card that does not store DOS) 34...Printer, 35...Driver circuit,
36... RS-2320 interface device, 3
7... Keyboard, 38... LCD display section, 39...
・CRT display section, 40...Power supply circuit, 50a...Built-in battery (BATT-A) 50b...Built-in battery (B
ATT-B). Applicant's Representative Patent Attorney Takehiko Suzue

Claims (2)

[Claims] (1) A personal computer characterized in that a display section is provided at a predetermined portion of the outer casing of the device to display the operating state inside the device when the device is in a non-operating state. (2) In a personal computer in which the rear surface of the display housing serves as the lid of the device main body, means for determining whether the rear surface of the display housing functions as the lid of the device main body; 1. A personal computer comprising: a display section for displaying and outputting an operating state to the outside when the inside of the device is in an operating mode at the time of determination.