CN100437434C - Cotrol starting circuit and method of multiple IDE device - Google Patents

Abstract

A starting circuit and method for controlling IDE devices, wherein the circuit includes a host, several IDE devices, several quick switches corresponding to the IDE devices, and several controllers capable of exchanging information with the host and controlling the IDE devices. The IDE interface of the host computer is provided with an ID indicating pin for specifying an ID value and an ID setting pin. By controlling the voltage of the ID setting pin, the controller will be controlled by the host to enter the state of obtaining the ID value, and then turn on the fast switch with a delay according to the ID value, so that the power can be transmitted to the corresponding IDE devices in sequence, so that the IDE devices are started in sequence. Avoid excessive power consumption when starting at the same time.

Description

Start-up circuit and method for controlling multiple IDE devices

【Technical field】

The present invention relates to a start-up circuit and method for controlling multiple IDE devices, in particular to a circuit and method for controlling start-up of multiple IDE devices in sequence within the computer start-up time.

【Background technique】

With the development of computer technology, the requirements for memory capacity are getting higher and higher. In order to increase the memory capacity, the computer system is usually equipped with a non-volatile external memory device with high access capacity. The IDE hard disk device (HDD) is currently the most widely used external memory device.

The IDE hard disk device usually includes an access medium, a read/write head, a motor for rotating the access medium, and a circuit board, wherein the circuit board is provided with an interface interface for connecting the IDE hard disk device to the hard disk control board of the computer, and The IDE interface is a commonly used standard interface for connecting electronic devices to computers. All IDE hard disk devices that meet the IDE standard are called IDE hard disk devices (IDE HDD). The IDE standard allows two IDE hard disk devices to be connected to a hard disk control board through the same IDE interface. One of the IDE hard disk devices is designated as the master IDE hard disk device by the control signal of the computer system, and the other is the slave IDE hard disk device.

When only two IDE hard disk devices are connected, when the computer system starts up, the IDE hard disk device starts to run immediately under the drive of the motor when the power is turned on. During the initial period, the instantaneous peak current of each IDE hard disk device can reach 2A. When the motor rotation becomes stable, the current consumed by the IDE hard disk device will drop to a lower average value. There are few IDE hard disk devices used in computer systems, and the influence of power consumption on the power supply during startup is not obvious.

However, in occasions requiring larger access capacity, such as network systems, more IDE hard disk devices need to be added. For example, if there are eight IDE hard disk devices connected, when they start running at the same time, the instantaneous peak current will be as high as 16A. Ordinary power supplies cannot withstand such a large power consumption and are easily burned. will increase.

Therefore, it is necessary to provide a startup circuit and method for controlling multiple IDE devices, so as to reduce the power consumption during startup and ensure the normal operation of the entire system.

【Content of invention】

One object of the present invention is to provide a startup circuit and method for controlling multiple IDE devices, which can reduce the power consumption when the multiple IDE devices start up.

Another object of the present invention is to provide a start-up circuit and method for controlling multiple IDE devices. The system does not need to replace a special power supply to reduce costs.

In order to achieve the above object, the present invention provides a startup circuit and method for controlling IDE devices, wherein the circuit includes a host, several IDE devices, some fast switches set corresponding to the IDE devices, and several capable of exchanging information with the host and controlling Controller for IDE devices. The IDE interface of the host is provided with an ID indicating pin for specifying an ID value and an ID setting pin. By controlling the voltage of the ID setting pin, the controller will be controlled by the host to enter the state of obtaining the ID value, and then turn on the fast switch with a delay according to the ID value, so that the power is sequentially transmitted to the corresponding IDE devices, so that the IDE devices are started in sequence.

Compared with the prior art, the start-up circuit and method for controlling multiple IDE devices provided by the present invention can automatically delay the system by assigning ID values, so that each pair of IDE hard disk devices starts up sequentially, avoiding excessive instantaneous The peak current will burn the power supply, so there is no need to replace it with a high-cost special power supply.

【Description of drawings】

FIG. 1 is a schematic diagram of a start-up circuit for controlling multiple IDE hard disk devices provided by the present invention.

FIG. 2 is a schematic diagram of a start-up circuit for controlling a pair of IDE hard disk devices provided by the present invention.

FIG. 3 is a flow chart of controlling multiple IDE hard disk devices provided by the present invention.

FIG. 4 is a schematic diagram of a start-up circuit according to another embodiment of the present invention.

Fig. 5 is a flowchart of another embodiment of the present invention.

【Detailed ways】

Please refer to FIG. 1 , which is a schematic diagram of a start-up circuit for controlling multiple IDE devices provided by the present invention. The IDE device used in this embodiment is an IDE hard disk device, and the circuit includes a host computer 10, four controllers 20, four pairs of IDE hard disk devices 31, 32 (two for each pair) and four pairs of first , the second fast switch 41,42. Each controller controls a pair of IDE hard disk devices 31 and 32 respectively. In addition, the circuit also provides a power supply 50 that can provide power for starting the IDE hard disk devices 31 and 32 . Wherein said main frame 10 is provided with IDE interface (not shown), is used for connecting IDE hard disk device, because the connection mode of IDE device and IDE interface is well known to those of ordinary skill in the art, and relatively irrelevant with the present invention, so here The description of it is omitted here.

In order to avoid repetition, only the circuits controlling the startup of the two IDE hard disk devices will be selected for detailed description below.

Please refer to FIG. 2, the IDE interface on the host computer 10 provides three unused pins as ID indicating pins MON, SON and control pin DIDSET, wherein the ID indicating pins MON and SON are used to designate the controller 20. ID value of the occupied IDE interface. Under the control of the jumper (Jumper) or firmware (Firmware) on the controller 20, the IDE occupied by each controller 20 can be specified by setting the high and low voltages of the pins MON and SON on the ID interface of the host computer. ID value of the interface. In this embodiment, the ID values of four IDE interfaces can be set, and the ID values of 1-3 IDE interfaces can also be set according to the number of hard disks actually used. The meaning of DIDSET/ is that if it is a low voltage, it means that the host 10 instructs the controller 20 to enter the state of acquiring the ID value at this time. Of course, DIDSET/ can also be set to a high voltage to indicate that the host 10 instructs the controller 20 to enter the state of acquiring the ID value at this time.

The controller 20 is used to control two IDE hard disk devices 31, 32. In this embodiment, the IDE hard disk device 31 is designated as the master IDE hard disk device, and the IDE hard disk device 32 is designated as the slave IDE hard disk device. The controller 20 has pins HD_RESET1/ and HD_RESET2/ respectively connected to HD_RESET/ of the master IDE hard disk device 31 and HD_RESET/ of the slave IDE hard disk device 32 to control the restart of the two IDE hard disk devices. The two IDE hard disk devices 31 , 32 are also respectively provided with PWR1 , PWR2 pins to receive the power transmitted by the power supply 50 .

The first and second fast switches 41, 42 of this circuit are turned on or off under the control of the QS pin of the controller 20. When they are turned on, the power provided by the power supply 50 is transmitted to the IDE hard disk devices 31, 32 respectively. PWR1, PWR2 pins.

Please refer to FIG. 3 , which is the workflow of the above circuit. Step 60 is the initial action. The system detects whether DIDSET/ is low voltage. If it is low voltage, the circuit starts to work. The next step 61 will be executed to obtain the ID value from the host 10 and record it as n. For the value of n, see The following table (assuming that there are 4 IDE interfaces in total, "0" and "1" represent the high and low voltages of MON and SON respectively).

After obtaining a specific ID value n, the controller 20 will execute step 62 to control the IDE hard disk device whose ID value is assigned to n to delay the startup for (m*n) seconds. When there are 4 IDE interfaces connected, that is, 4 pairs of IDE hard disk devices (1 master IDE hard disk device and 1 slave IDE hard disk device are 1 pair), n takes a value from 0 to 3, then each IDE interface connects one For IDE hard disk devices, the startup time is sequentially separated by m seconds. Step 63 is controlled by the QS of the controller 20, and the corresponding fast switches 41, 42 are turned on at the same time, so that the power supply 50 starts to supply power to the IDE hard disk devices 31, 32, and the IDE hard disk devices 31, 32 start simultaneously. According to the above steps, each pair of IDE hard disk devices 31, 32 can be started separately.

FIG. 4 is a schematic circuit diagram of another embodiment of the present invention, wherein the controller 20 is provided with QS1 and QS2 pins to respectively control the opening and closing of the first and second fast switches 41 and 42 . Correspondingly, FIG. 5 is a working flowchart of the circuit shown in FIG. 4 . Wherein, after executing step 61 to obtain the ID value n, enter step 62', and the system delays (2m*n) seconds, that is, the startup time of each pair of IDE hard disk devices is sequentially separated by 2m seconds. Then execute step 63', which is controlled by QS1 and QS2 of the controller 20 respectively to open the first and second fast switches 41 and 42 in any order. When one of the fast switches (such as 41) is turned on first, the other fast switch (such as 42) will be turned on with a delay of m seconds, and the power supply 50 will supply power to the two IDE hard disk devices 31, 32 respectively at intervals of m seconds, and The two IDE hard disk devices 31 and 32 are respectively activated at intervals of m seconds.

Claims (10)

1. A start-up circuit for controlling multiple IDE devices, comprising a host computer equipped with an IDE interface, several IDE devices, some controllers, and some quick switches, wherein the several quick switches are set corresponding to several IDE devices and controlled by the controller Turn on, so that the electric energy is transmitted to the corresponding IDE device, each of the controllers is connected to a corresponding number of IDE devices, and it is characterized in that: the IDE interface of the host computer further includes an ID indication pin and an ID setting for specifying the ID value Pin, by controlling the voltage of the ID setting pin, the controller will be controlled by the host to enter the state of acquiring ID values, and the several IDE devices will start with a delay in sequence according to the specified ID values under the control of the corresponding controller. 2. The startup circuit for controlling multiple IDE devices as claimed in claim 1, wherein the IDE devices are IDE hard disk devices. 3. The start-up circuit for controlling multiple IDE devices as claimed in claim 1, wherein when the ID setting pin is set to a low voltage, it means that the controller enters into a state of acquiring ID values. 4. The start-up circuit for controlling multiple IDE devices as claimed in claim 1, wherein several IDE devices start up with a delay of m*n seconds according to the assigned ID value n, wherein m represents that the IDE devices connected to each controller are activated The time interval between startups. 5. The startup circuit for controlling multiple IDE devices as claimed in claim 1, wherein each controller is connected to a pair of IDE hard disk devices. 6. The start-up circuit for controlling multiple IDE devices as claimed in claim 5, wherein the two IDE devices of each pair of IDE devices start up sequentially with a delay of m seconds. 7. A starting method for controlling multiple IDE devices, comprising the steps of: (1) Provide a host configured with an IDE interface, the IDE interface of the host is provided with an ID indication pin for specifying an ID value every predetermined time interval, and an ID setting pin for indicating the ID indication pin Whether the ID value specified by the footer is valid; (2) Several controllers are provided, each controller is given an ID in advance, and can exchange information with the host, so that when the ID setting pin of the IDE interface of the host shows that the ID value specified by the ID indication pin is valid , the controller will be controlled by the host to enter the state of obtaining ID values, and only one controller’s pre-given ID will be the same as the obtained ID value within a predetermined time interval, and then the controller will output a effective control signal; (3) Provide several IDE devices, respectively connected to these controllers; (4) Several fast switches are provided, which are arranged corresponding to several IDE devices, and are turned on under the control of effective control signals of the controller, so that the several IDE devices are powered and started sequentially at predetermined time intervals. 8. The method for controlling startup of multiple IDE devices as claimed in claim 7, wherein the fast switch controlled by each controller is composed of two fast switches, and the two fast switches are turned on at the same time. 9. The method for controlling startup of multiple IDE devices as claimed in claim 7, wherein the fast switch controlled by each controller is composed of two fast switches, and the two fast switches are not turned on at the same time. 10. The method for controlling booting of multiple IDE devices as claimed in claim 9, wherein the two fast switches that are not turned on at the same time are turned on at an interval of the predetermined time interval.

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