JPH0330015A - Personal computer - Google Patents

Abstract

PURPOSE:To improve the serviceability by making plural cards loaded on a card slot accessible selectively as a single recording medium or in cooperation. CONSTITUTION:In order to avoid such a fault as an abnormal circuit is formed in circuits of a body 1 and a card 3a, when memory cards 3a (3b) are inserted into card slots 101, 201 in a state that its surface and reverse side are reversed and both or one of the body 1 and the card 3a falls into an unreleaseable state, a circuit wiring containing a power source is bisected at every classification and distributed symmetrically to the center line to each terminal. Also, a power source (5V/GND), data lines (D0 - D7), address lines (A0 - A7), a control signal line (CTL), etc., are brought to pin connection symmetrically to the center (20 pins) of the pins, respectively. In such a manner, a system having an external storage capacity whose serviceability is high can be realized.

Description

[Detailed Description of the Invention] [Object of the Invention] (Industrial Application Field) The present invention relates to a personal computer that is operable by an internal battery and has a card slot for a memory card, an IC card, etc. .

(Prior Art) Conventionally, in personal computers that are easy to carry and can be operated by an internal battery, a floppy disk (FD) has been used as a storage medium for supplying information from the outside.
Rotating magnetic recording media such as , semiconductor memory cards, etc. are used. Among these, device configurations that use floppy disks as external storage media require large power consumption due to the rotational drive mechanism, which places a large load on the internal battery and makes the device large and large.
There is a problem of weight gain. Furthermore, in devices that use memory cards as external storage media, there is a problem in that the storage capacity per card is extremely small, and therefore there are major limitations in terms of practical use. Large cards are currently very expensive, making them economically disadvantageous and impractical.

(Problems to be Solved by the Invention) As mentioned above, conventionally, in a device configuration that uses a floppy disk as an external storage medium, the load placed on the internal battery is large, and the device becomes large and bulky. Furthermore, in devices that use memory cards as external storage media, the storage capacity per card is extremely small. Cards that are small and have a large storage capacity are currently very expensive, which poses problems in terms of practicality and economy.

The present invention was made in view of the above circumstances, and an object of the present invention is to provide a personal computer that can realize a system with a highly practical external storage capacity by effectively using a relatively inexpensive small-capacity memory card. .

[Structure of the Invention] (Means and Effects for Solving the Problems) The present invention provides a personal computer that can be operated by an internal battery, in which card slots are provided at a plurality of locations in the casing, and card slots are inserted into the card slots. It is designed so that multiple cards can be selectively accessed as a single storage medium or in conjunction with each other, making it practical to use multiple relatively inexpensive small capacity memory cards. A system with a high external storage capacity can be realized.

The present invention also provides a laptop-type personal computer in which the display casing opens and closes within a predetermined rotation range on a main body provided with a keyboard, in which the main body and the display casing each have at least one card slot. With this configuration, it is possible to realize a system with a highly practical external storage capacity by using a plurality of relatively inexpensive small-capacity memory cards.

Further, the present invention provides a personal computer that can be operated by an internal battery, and has a structure in which a plurality of card slots and at least one external unit storage slot are provided in the housing, thereby allowing cards and external units to be connected to each other. Units can be used in combination according to the purpose of use, and a system suitable for the purpose of use can be easily realized.

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

FIG. 1 is a configuration explanatory diagram showing an embodiment of the present invention.

In FIG. 1, 1 is a main body of a personal computer to which the present invention is applied, and 2 is a display housing provided on the main body 1 so as to be openable and closable within a predetermined rotation range. 101 is a card slot provided on one side of the main body 1, and 201 is a card slot provided on one side of the display housing 2. Reference numeral 102 denotes an external unit storage slot provided on one side of the main body l, and here, the external unit storage slot with a built-in magnetic disk drive such as a small floppy disk drive (FDD) or a small hard disk drive (HDD) is targeted. There is. 3a and 3b are semiconductor power cards such as memory cards and IC cards. 4
4c is an external unit that is inserted into the external unit storage slot 102 and has a built-in magnetic disk drive such as a small floppy disk drive (FDD) or a small hard disk drive (HDD); 4c is an external unit that is inserted into the external unit storage slot 102; Connector provided.

This external unit (FDD unit/HDD unit)
4 each have a unique controller (FDC/HDC) inside, as shown in FIG.

FIG. 2 shows semiconductor power cards 3a. inserted into the card slots 101, 201. This figure shows the pin arrangement of the plug part provided at the tip of 3b in the insertion direction, and here it is shown for a memory card (MC).

The memory card 3a (3b) in this embodiment is inserted into the card slot lot. 201, the circuits of the device main body 1 and card 3a,
In order to avoid damage that could result in the formation of an abnormal circuit that could cause a power supply to run around, a short circuit, etc., resulting in unrecoverable damage to both the main unit l and/or the card 3a, the circuit wiring, including the power supply, should be connected to its type. The configuration is such that each terminal is divided into two parts, and each terminal is distributed symmetrically to each terminal. To give a specific example, power supply (5V
/GND), data lines (DO to D7), address lines (AO to A7), and control signal lines (CTL)
etc., are connected by pins symmetrically with the center of the bin (terminal) (2/40 pin - 20 pin in the figure) as the border.

FIG. 3 is a block diagram showing an example of the configuration of a personal computer having a slot structure in the above embodiment.

Here, memory cards 3a and 3b connected to card slots 101 and 201 are connected to a system node (S-BU) via a card interface (C-IF) 20.
S) 10 and under the control of the CPU II, each of the above-mentioned memory cards 3a. 3b can be read/written as a single memory or as interrelated access targets. The card interface 20 holds information indicating the mounting state of the card and the type of the mounted card.
It has the function of responding to 1.

When the CPU II receives the response information from the card interface 20, it determines whether the card is slotted or not based on the content of the information.
1, 201 card mounting state and mounted card type 11
When multiple cards are installed, each card is treated as a single storage medium, and access is selectively controlled in coordination with each other.

In addition, each external unit (FDD unit/HDD unit) 4 has its own internal controller (FCC).
/IDC), is connected to the system bus IO via the controller, and is accessed by the CPU II.

In FIG. 3, 12 is a ROM in which fixed programs are stored, and 13 is a RAM in which programs to be processed, data, etc. are stored. Here, it has a capacity of 1.5MB, of which 640KB is remains in main memory, 896
The KB is used as a so-called node RAM, and the power supply (VBK) is constantly supplied even when the power is off. l4 is a DMA that performs direct memory access control
Controller (DMAC; Direct
Memory Access Controller)
, 15 is an interrupt controller (PIC) that can be set by a program.
interrupt controller), 1B
is an interval timer (P
IT:Progra+u+able Interval
Tiger), 17 is a clock module (RTC; Real-Time) with its own operating battery.
Clock). l8 is a backup RAM (BK) that serves as a data storage area to realize the resume function.
-RAM) and is supplied with backup power (VBK). Also, 2l is the printer controller (PRT
-CONT), 22 is the input/output interface (U
A R T ; Llnivcrsal^synch
ronousRece1ver/Transsite
r), 234L keyboard controller (KBC)
, 24 is a display controller (DISP-CONT).
), 25 is a Tahide RAM (VRAM) to which the power supply (V BK) is supplied, 2B is a Kanji ROM that obtains the Kanji character turn from the Kanji character code, 27
is a dictionary@ROM that realizes a kana/kanji conversion dictionary, etc.

28 connects the power supply circuit 30 to the CPU via the system bus IO.
Power supply 11 control interface (P
S-IF). No. 29 is a power adapter (AC adapter) that rectifies and smoothes a commercial alternating current power source (AC) to obtain a DC working power source with a predetermined potential, and is plug-in connected to the personal computer main body. 30 is a power supply circuit (PC-CPU) equipped with a computer controller (PC-CPU).
It has the function of always monitoring the state of the internal power supply under the control of the Nokwar Control CPU, regardless of whether the device is powered on or off. 31A is a rechargeable battery (M-BA
TT), 31B is a built-in sub-battery (S-BATT) which is also constructed from a rechargeable battery. 34 is a printer connected to the printer controller 21 as necessary; 35 is an input/output interface 2;
2 is an RS-232C interface device that is connected as necessary, 36 is a keyboard that is connected to the keyboard controller 23, 37 is an LCD display unit that is connected to the display controller 24, and 38 is an RS-232C interface device that is connected to the display controller 24 as necessary. This is a CRT display section that is selectively connected. 4
0 is an expansion connector to which an expansion unit is selectively connected as necessary.

As described above, the card slots 101 and 201 are provided at a plurality of locations in the housing, and the plurality of cards 3a and 3a installed in these card slots 201 and
3b can be accessed selectively as a single storage medium or in conjunction with each other, making it possible to create a system with a highly practical external storage capacity using multiple relatively inexpensive small-capacity memory cards. It can be easily achieved. Furthermore, since the card and external unit can be used in combination according to the purpose of use, a system suitable for the purpose of use can be easily realized.

In the embodiment described above, one card slot 10I, 201 is provided on each side of the main body 1 and the display housing 2, but the present invention is not limited to this. A configuration may be adopted in which only the body 2 is provided with a plurality of card slots.

[Effects of the Invention] As described in detail above, according to the present invention, in a personal computer that can be operated by an internal battery, card slots are provided at a plurality of locations in the casing, and a plurality of card slots installed in these card slots are provided. The card can be used as a single storage medium or can be accessed selectively in conjunction with each other, allowing for a highly practical external storage capacity using multiple relatively inexpensive small-capacity memory cards. system can be realized.

Further, according to the present invention, in a laptop type personal computer in which the display housing opens and closes within a predetermined rotation range on a main body provided with a keyboard, at least one is provided on each of the main body and the display housing. By adopting a structure in which a card slot is provided, a system having a highly practical external storage capacity can be realized by using a plurality of relatively inexpensive small-capacity memory cards.

Further, according to the present invention, in a personal computer that can be operated by an internal battery, the casing is provided with a plurality of card slots and at least one external unit storage slot. can be used in combination according to the purpose of use, and a system suitable for the purpose of use can be easily realized.

[Brief explanation of drawings]

FIG. 1 is a configuration explanatory diagram showing one embodiment of the present invention, FIG. 2 is a diagram showing a bin arrangement of semiconductor power cards inserted into the card slot in the above embodiment, and FIG. FIG. 2 is a block diagram showing an example of the configuration of a personal computer having a slot structure. l...Main body, 2...Display unit housing, 3a, 3b...
・Cards with semiconductor elements (memory cards, IC cards, etc.), 4...External units} (FDD units, HDDs)
Unit) 4c...Connector, 10...System bus (S-BUS), 11...CPU, 12...
・ROM, 13...RAM, 14...DMA controller (DMAC; D4rect Mcvory Ac
cess Controller) 15゜゛゜Interrupt Controller (PIC; Program
mableInterrupt Controller
), IG...interval tie v (P I
T; PrograIIIable Interv
al Tinker), 17...Clock module (RTC; Real-TimeClock)
) 1g...Backup RAM (BK-RA
M) 20... Card interface (C-IF
) 21...Printer controller (PRT-C
ONT) 22... Input/output interface (UART; Universal Asy
ncl1ronous Receiver/Trans
mitter), 23--keyboard controller (WBC), 24--display controller (DISP
-CONT), 25・I? Deo RAM (VRAM
), 2B... Kanji ROM, 27... Dictionary ROM,
28...Power control interface (PS-IF),
29...Power adapter (AC adapter), 30...
Intelligent power supply circuit (power supply circuit), 31
．． A...Main battery (M-BATT) 3
1B...Sub battery (S-BATT), 34.
...Printer, 35... l? s-232C interface device, 36...Keyboard, 37...LC
D display section, 101, 201... card slot,
102...External unit storage slot.

Claims (3)

[Claims] (1) In a personal computer that can be operated by an internal battery, card slots are provided at a plurality of locations in the casing, and means for accessing a plurality of cards installed in these card slots as a single storage medium;
Alternatively, a personal computer comprising means for cooperatively and selectively accessing a plurality of cards installed in each of the card slots. (2) In a laptop-type personal computer in which the display casing opens and closes within a predetermined rotation range on the main body equipped with a keyboard, at least one card slot is provided in each of the main body and the display casing. A personal computer characterized by the following features: (3) A personal computer operable by an internal battery, characterized in that the casing is provided with a plurality of card slots and at least one external unit storage slot.