JPH06168053A - Personal computer - Google Patents

Abstract

(57) [Abstract] [Purpose] To provide a personal computer capable of easily extending the usage time even under an environmental condition in which an AC power supply cannot be used. According to the present invention, in a personal computer having a removable storage means in a main body, the storage means 12 and the main body internal circuit 40 are provided between a position where the removable storage means 12 is mounted and the main body internal circuit 40. A second connecting means for electrically connecting the first connecting means 30 and energizing the internal circuit 40 of the main body when the removable external power supply 15 is mounted at the position where the storage means is mounted. Three
1 is provided. With this configuration, the external power supply 15 can be added even in an environmental condition in which the AC power supply cannot be used, and it is possible to avoid a situation in which the internal power supply 34 cannot be used due to exhaustion and to extend the usage time.

Description

Detailed Description of the Invention

[0001]

BACKGROUND OF THE INVENTION 1. Field of the Invention The present invention relates to a personal computer referred to as, for example, a book type computer or a notebook type computer, in which a storage means such as a hard disk is detachable.

[0002]

2. Description of the Related Art In recent years, miniaturization of personal computers has rapidly progressed, and personal computers with good portability called book computers or notebook computers have been widely used. Further, in many personal computers of this type, storage means such as a hard disk can be attached and detached, so that small-sized and large-capacity information processing is possible.

[0003]

However, in the case of the above-mentioned conventional personal computer, miniaturization is required, so that in addition to the AC power source, an internal power source (DC power source) is mounted in the main body. There is. Therefore, when the personal computer is used under an environmental condition in which the AC power supply cannot be used, the use time is short, and the internal power supply is consumed, and the personal computer becomes unusable during the work, which is a problem.

The present invention has been made under the above circumstances, and an object of the present invention is to provide a personal computer which can easily extend its usage time even under an environmental condition in which an AC power supply cannot be used.

[0005]

The invention according to claim 1 is
In a personal computer having a removable storage means in a main body, a first means for electrically connecting the storage means and the main body internal circuit provided between a position where the removable storage means is mounted and a main body internal circuit And a second connecting means for energizing the internal circuit of the main body from the external power source when a removable external power source is mounted at the position where the storage means is mounted.

According to a second aspect of the invention, the second connecting means utilizes a part of the first connecting means.

According to a third aspect of the present invention, the removable storage means is an IC card type and the removable external power source is an IC card type having a built-in paper battery.

According to a fourth aspect of the present invention, the main body has a built-in rechargeable internal power source, and the external power source charges the internal power source when the removable external power source is attached to the main body. It was done.

According to a fifth aspect of the invention, after the external power source mounted on the main body charges the internal power source,
The main body is configured to re-execute the operation with the resume function.

[0010]

The operation of the personal computer having the above configuration will be described. The first of this personal computer
The connecting means electrically connects the mounted storage means and the internal circuit of the main body between the position where the removable storage means is mounted and the internal circuit of the main body, and is removable at the position instead of the storage means. When an external power source is installed, the second
The connecting means supplies the power from the external power source to the internal circuit of the main body. As a result, it is possible to avoid a situation in which the main body cannot be used due to exhaustion of the internal power supply, and it is possible to extend the usage time of the main body.

Further, since the second connecting means uses a part of the first connecting means, the circuit configuration can be simplified.

Further, by making the removable storage means an IC card type and the external power source an IC card type having a paper battery built therein, operability and portability are improved.

Furthermore, the main body has a built-in rechargeable internal power source, and when the removable external power source is attached to the main body, the external power source charges the internal power source. It is possible to avoid the situation where the main body cannot be used due to exhaustion.

Further, after the external power source mounted on the main body is charged to the internal power source, the main body re-executes the operation by the resume function, thereby simplifying the restarting process of the main body. .

[0015]

EXAMPLES Examples of the present invention will be described in detail below.
The personal computer shown in FIG. 1 is, for example, a box-shaped main body 2 of A4 size, a lid 4 that covers the upper surface of the main body 2, and a pair of hinge portions 6a that connects the lid 4 to the main body 2 in an openable and closable manner. , 6b, a keyboard 10 provided on the upper surface of the main body 2, and a mounting portion (slot) 1 provided on the side surface of the main body 2.
An IC card type hard disk device (HDD) 12 as a storage means attached to the device 1, a stopper 21 for locking the hard disk device 12 to the main body 2, and a display such as a liquid crystal display or a plasma display provided on the lid 4. And a section 22.

As shown in an enlarged view in FIG. 2, the stopper 21 is configured to be slidable in the directions of arrows A and B shown in FIG. 2, and when slid in the direction of arrow A, the hard disk device 12 is locked to the main body 2. Then, when it slides in the direction of the arrow B, the hard disk device 12 is made detachable from the main body 2. In addition, the attachment 2 has a stopper 2
A detection switch 25 is provided which is turned on when 1 is locked.

In the mounting portion 11 provided on the side surface of the main body 2, in addition to the hard disk device 12 shown enlarged in FIG. 3, an IC card type floppy disk device 13 shown in FIG. 4 and FIG.
The IC card type memory card 14 shown in FIG.
An external power supply 15 with a built-in C-card type paper battery 16 can be selectively mounted. Further, the hard disk device 12, the floppy disk device 13, the memory card 14, and the external power supply 15 are respectively mounted on the mounting portion 1 of the main body 2.
1 is provided with a contact portion 17 that can be attached to the connector 2a.

The mounting portion 11 of the main body 2 and the internal circuit 40 of the main body
A first connecting means 30 and a second connecting means 31 as shown in FIG. 7 are provided between and. First connecting means 30
Is a voltage conversion circuit 32 that matches the voltage of the external power supply 15 to the voltage of the internal power supply 31 when the voltages of the external power supply 15 and the internal power supply 31 are different, and the collector is the output side of the voltage conversion circuit 32 (the internal circuit side of the main body). ) Is a first transistor T1 whose emitter is connected to the terminal 2a1 of the connector 2a, and a second transistor T1 whose collector is connected to the terminal 2a1 of the connector 2a and whose emitter is connected to the input side of the voltage conversion circuit 32.
2, a voltage comparison / detection circuit 33 connected between the collector and emitter of the first transistor T1, an internal power source 34 provided in the emitter of the body 2, and a collector connected to the collector of the second transistor T2 via a resistor. A third transistor T3 for charging the connected internal power supply 34, a fourth transistor T4 having a collector connected to the internal power supply 34 and an emitter connected to the input side of the voltage conversion circuit 32, and a first transistor T1, Connected to the bases of the second transistor T2, the third transistor T3, and the fourth transistor T4, the on / off control of the first to fourth transistors T1 to T4 is controlled based on the comparison result of the voltage comparison and detection circuit 33. And a control circuit 35 for controlling.

The control circuit 35 turns on only the second transistor T2 when the external power supply 15 is attached to the attachment portion 11 of the main body 2 and turns on the first transistor T1, the third transistor T3, and the fourth transistor T3. Turn off T4,
The power from the external power supply 15 is supplied to the main body internal circuit 40 via the voltage conversion circuit 32 that matches the voltage of the external power supply 15 with the voltage of the internal power supply. Therefore, the control circuit 35 and the second transistor T2 form the second connecting means 31 utilizing a part of the first connecting means 30.

Next, the operation of the personal computer having the above configuration will be described with reference to FIGS. When you turn on the power switch of the personal computer,
As shown in FIG. 8, the control circuit 35 includes a voltage comparison detection circuit 3
It is checked whether the hard disk device 12 is mounted (step S1) or whether the external power supply 15 is mounted (step S3) based on the voltage comparison result between the collector and the emitter of the first transistor T1 according to No. 3 of FIG. . That is, the control circuit 35 determines that the hard disk device 12 is attached when the voltage on the collector side is high, and determines that the external power supply 15 is attached when the voltage on the collector side is low. When it is determined in step S1 that the hard disk device 12 is mounted, the processing in which the hard disk device 12 is mounted is performed (step S2). When it is determined in step S3 that the external power source 15 is attached, the process of attaching the external power source 15 is performed (step S4). When both the hard disk device 12 and the external power supply 15 are not installed, the processing in which the hard disk device 12 and the external power supply 15 are not installed is performed (step S5).

Further, as shown in FIG. 9, the processing when the external power source is not installed is as follows.
Is attached (step S6),
If it is not attached, the process ends. If it is attached, the external power supply 15 automatically starts up the main body 2 (step S
7).

On the other hand, when the hard disk device 12 is removed and the external power supply 15 is attached while the personal computer is in use, the processing is performed as shown in FIGS. When the lock switch 25 is on (step S11), the control circuit 35 checks whether the hard disk device 12 mounted on the mounting portion 11 is being accessed (step S12). If the hard disk device 12 is being accessed, the internal power supply 34 is connected to the fourth transistor T.
4, power is being supplied to the hard disk device 12 via the voltage conversion circuit 32 and the first transistor T1. Therefore, during access, there is no potential difference between the collector and emitter of the first transistor T1, and the voltage comparison and detection circuit 33 outputs the result to the control circuit. As a result, the control circuit 35 can determine whether the hard disk device 12 is being accessed.

When the hard disk device 12 is being accessed, the access to the hard disk device 12 is stopped (step S13), and information about the work status at that time, which is necessary for the work interruption process, that is, the suspend / resume function, is stored. And the like (step S1)
4). After that, the first transistor T1 is turned off to cut off the power supply to the hard disk device 12 (step S15).

In step S16, it is determined whether or not the user has attached the external power supply. When the user removes the hard disk device 12 and attaches the external power supply 15 (step S16), the display unit 22 is controlled under the control of the control circuit 35.
A message for charging or continuing work is displayed on the screen (step S17). When the user selects charging in step S18, the control circuit 35 turns on only the third transistor T3 and turns off the other transistors T1, T2 and T4. As a result, the power from the external power supply 15 passes through the connector 2a and the third transistor T3, and the internal power supply 3
4 to charge the internal power supply 34 (step S
19).

When the charging of the internal power source 34 is completed (step S20), the fact is displayed on the display unit 22 (step S21), and the third transistor T3 is turned off under the control of the control circuit 35, and the fourth transistor T3 is turned off. The transistor T4 is turned on. Next, in step S22, the external power source 1
It is determined whether the hard disk device 12 has been attached by pulling 5 out of the attachment portion 11. When the external power supply 15 is pulled out and the hard disk device 12 is mounted, the collector-emitter potential of the first transistor T1 is high on the collector side and low on the emitter side. The voltage comparison / detection circuit 33 outputs this comparison result to the control circuit 35, and based on this result, the control circuit 35 turns on the first transistor T1. As a result, power is supplied from the internal power supply 34 to the hard disk device 12, and the main body 2 is restarted by the resume function (step S23).

If the user selects to continue the work without selecting charging in step S18, the process proceeds to step S24 and the work is continued using the external power supply 15. That is, the control circuit 35 turns on only the second transistor T2, and supplies the power from the external power source 15 to the connector 2a, the second transistor T2, and the voltage conversion circuit 3.
It is supplied to the internal circuit 40 of the main body via 2 and the main body 2 is operated.

Although the hard disk device 12 is used in the above embodiment, the floppy disk device 13, instead of the hard disk device 12, is used.
The memory card 14 may be used. Further, the present invention is not limited to the above-described embodiments, and various modifications can be made within the scope of the gist thereof. For example, in the above embodiment, the case where the suspend / resume function is used when the work is interrupted has been described. However, when the work is stopped and then started up, the operation may be automatically reset.

[0028]

As described above in detail, according to the present invention, since it has the above-mentioned structure, it is possible to prevent the main body from becoming unusable due to exhaustion of the internal power source by mounting the external power source. It is possible to provide a personal computer capable of extending the usage time.

Further, by configuring the second connecting means by using a part of the first connecting means, it is possible to provide a personal computer capable of simplifying the circuit configuration.

Further, by making the removable storage means an IC card type and the external power source an IC card type having a paper battery built-in, it is possible to provide a personal computer having good operability and portability.

Furthermore, the main body has a built-in rechargeable internal power source, and when the removable external power source is attached to the main body, the external power source charges the internal power source. It is possible to provide a personal computer that can avoid a situation where the main body cannot be used due to wear and can extend the usage time.

Further, after the external power source mounted on the main body is charged to the internal power source, the main body re-executes the operation by the resume function, thereby simplifying the restarting process of the main body. A personal computer capable of improving operability can be provided.

[Brief description of drawings]

FIG. 1 is a perspective view showing a personal computer that is an embodiment of the present invention.

FIG. 2 is a partially enlarged side view of the personal computer according to the present embodiment.

FIG. 3 is a perspective view of a hard disk device used in this embodiment.

FIG. 4 is a perspective view of a floppy disk device used in this embodiment.

FIG. 5 is a perspective view of a memory card used in this embodiment.

FIG. 6 is a perspective view of an external power supply used in this embodiment.

FIG. 7 is a block diagram showing a control system of the personal computer in this embodiment.

FIG. 8 is a flowchart showing the operation of the personal computer of this embodiment.

FIG. 9 is a flowchart showing the operation of the personal computer of this embodiment.

FIG. 10 is a flowchart showing the operation of the personal computer of this embodiment.

FIG. 11 is a flowchart showing the operation of the personal computer of this embodiment.

[Explanation of symbols]

 2 main body 12 hard disk drive 13 floppy disk drive 14 memory card 15 external power supply 30 first connection means 31 second connection means 32 voltage conversion circuit 33 voltage comparison detection circuit 34 internal power supply 35 control circuit 40 main body internal circuit

─────────────────────────────────────────────────── ─── Continuation of the front page (51) Int.Cl. ⁵ Identification code Office reference number FI Technical display location G06F 1/00 370 D 7165-5B 7165-5B G06F 1/00 330 D

Claims (5)

[Claims] 1. A personal computer having a removable storage means in a main body, wherein the storage means and the main body internal circuit provided between a position where the removable storage means is mounted and the main body internal circuit are electrically connected. And a second connecting means for energizing the internal circuit of the main body from the external power source when a removable external power source is mounted at the position where the storage means is mounted. Characteristic personal computer. 2. The personal computer according to claim 1, wherein the second connecting means uses a part of the first connecting means. 3. The personal computer according to claim 1, wherein the removable storage unit is an IC card type, and the removable external power source is an IC card type having a paper battery built therein. 4. The main body has a built-in rechargeable internal power supply, and charges the external power supply to the internal power supply when the removable external power supply is attached to the main body. Alternatively, the personal computer according to item 3. 5. The personal computer according to claim 4, wherein after the external power source mounted on the main body charges the internal power source, the main body re-executes the operation by the resume function.