JP3626280B2 - Computer system and system setting method - Google Patents

Description

[0001]
BACKGROUND OF THE INVENTION
The present invention particularly relates to a personal computer, and more particularly to a computer system having a function of automatically identifying system specifications such as BIOS.
[0002]
[Prior art]
Conventionally, a personal computer basically includes a main body side component including a CPU, a main memory, and the like and peripheral devices. Peripheral devices are input devices such as a keyboard, output devices such as a display device, and external storage devices such as a hard disk device and a floppy disk device. The components on the main body side are usually composed of various integrated circuits mounted on several circuit boards (boards).
[0003]
By the way, personal computers are designed with different system specifications based on the usage environment and the like while considering compatibility for each model. Specifically, for example, system specifications differ between a domestic personal computer and an overseas personal computer.
[0004]
That is, as shown in FIG. 6A, in a domestic personal computer, a memory (usually a basic input / output system) that stores a domestic BIOS (basic input / output system) in accordance with the domestic system specifications is stored in the circuit board 1 on the main body side. ROM) 2A and similarly a domestic keyboard controller 3A. Of course, the keyboard, which is an input device, is also designed to meet the domestic system specifications. On the other hand, as shown in FIG. 6B, in a personal computer for overseas use, the circuit board 1 on the main body side is mounted with a ROM 2B storing an overseas BIOS in accordance with overseas system specifications and an overseas keyboard controller 3B. ing.
[0005]
[Problems to be solved by the invention]
As described above, each personal computer for domestic use and overseas use is equipped with a BIOS, a keyboard controller, and the like according to the respective system specifications. Therefore, it is necessary to prepare the circuit board 1 on the computer main body side according to each system specification. That is, when manufacturing a personal computer, it is necessary to prepare several types of circuit boards on the main body side according to each system specification and incorporate them into the main body of each personal computer for domestic and overseas use.
[0006]
In such a working environment in the manufacturing process, even different types of circuit boards are almost the same in appearance, and it is not easy for the operator to visually identify the circuit boards. For this reason, for example, the inconvenience that a circuit board for domestic use is mistakenly incorporated into the main body of a personal computer for overseas use is likely to occur.
An object of the present invention is to unify circuit boards by providing a function for automatically identifying system specifications for domestic and overseas use, for example.
[0007]
[Means for Solving the Problems]
The present invention provides, for example, an input device having a function of outputting an identification signal based on a system specification in advance in a computer system such as a personal computer equipped with a BIOS adapted to each system specification for domestic use and overseas use. In this configuration, a circuit board having a function of discriminating system specifications based on signals is mounted on the system body.
[0008]
On the circuit board, for example, a keyboard controller is mounted that inputs an identification signal from the keyboard and discriminates system specifications when connected to an input device such as a keyboard. The circuit board is provided with system setting means for setting a BIOS corresponding to the system specification determined by the keyboard controller. This system setting means reads the relevant BIOS from an external storage device storing the BIOS for each system specification, for example, and sets it in a predetermined memory (such as an EEPROM).
[0009]
With such a configuration, for example, it is possible to unify circuit boards without preparing circuit boards for each system specification for domestic use and overseas use. Therefore, in the process of manufacturing a personal computer according to each system specification, it is not necessary for an operator to check a circuit board that matches the system specification, and a situation where a circuit board of another specification is mistakenly incorporated is prevented. Is possible.
[0010]
In other words, the present invention is a computer system provided with means for setting or changing system specifications by recognizing the type of keyboard (identification signal) set in the system. Therefore, the personal computer actually used can be changed to another system specification by replacing the keyboard.
[0011]
DETAILED DESCRIPTION OF THE INVENTION
Embodiments of the present invention will be described below with reference to the drawings.
1 and 2 are block diagrams showing a system configuration related to the present embodiment, and FIG. 4 is a flowchart for explaining the operation of the present embodiment.
(System configuration)
This embodiment is a computer system that allows a BIOS corresponding to each system specification to function, assuming a personal computer with a system specification for domestic use and a personal computer with a system specification for overseas use. It is assumed that the function of the keyboard controller described later is the same for each system specification.
[0012]
As shown in FIG. 1, the circuit board 10 mounted on the main body of each personal computer is mounted with a keyboard controller 11, a built-in register 11A, and a memory (ROM or EEPROM) 12 for storing the BIOS. The system specifications are the same.
[0013]
The circuit board 10 is connected to a keyboard 13 which is an input device by an FPC (flexible print cable), and inputs various input signals from the keyboard 13 via the input signal lines 14A and 14B. In the present embodiment, in addition to the input signal line 14B for transferring a normal input signal such as a character key signal from the keyboard 13, an identification signal line 14A for transferring an identification signal SS for identifying system specifications is provided. Yes.
[0014]
The keyboard 13 is prepared in accordance with system specifications (in this embodiment, two types for domestic use and overseas use), and an identification circuit for outputting an identification signal SS corresponding to each system specification. 13A is built in. This identification circuit 13A is a circuit that grounds or opens the identification signal line 14A. Here, it is assumed that the circuit is in a grounded state for domestic use. On the other hand, the keyboard controller 11 has a circuit for pulling up the identification signal line 14A. In the case of the identification signal SS having the logic level “L”, the keyboard controller 11 determines that the system is for domestic use, and also has the logic level “H”. In the case of the identification signal SS, it has a function of discriminating that it is an overseas system specification. The keyboard controller 11 sets an identification flag indicating the determined result in the built-in register 11a.
[0015]
Further, the circuit board 10 is mounted with a memory 12 for storing a BIOS for performing input / output control of the personal computer. In the present embodiment, as shown in FIG. 2, the memory 12 includes a ROM 21 that stores a common BIOS common to each system specification, and an EEPROM (non-volatile writable ROM) 22 that stores a BIOS according to the system specification. A configuration consisting of
[0016]
The personal computer of this embodiment is equipped with a floppy disk device (FDD) 23 as an external storage device as a standard feature, and reads system software such as BIOS from the floppy disk set in the FDD 23 and sets it in the internal memory 12. Have That is, the common BIOS 21 monitors the built-in register 11a of the keyboard controller 11, and reads the domestic BIOS 23A or the overseas BIOS 23B from the FDD 23 based on the set identification flag.
(Operation of this embodiment)
In the present embodiment, a keyboard 13 for each system specification for domestic and overseas is prepared in advance in the manufacturing process of a personal computer, and the keyboard 13 is automatically connected to the circuit board 10 of the computer body. In this method, a BIOS that matches the system specifications is set. The operation of this embodiment will be described below with reference to FIGS.
[0017]
First, as shown in FIG. 1, the prepared keyboard 13 is connected to the circuit board 10 of the computer main body (step S1). The keyboard controller 11 mounted on the circuit board 10 inputs the identification signal SS from the identification signal line 14A of the connected keyboard 13, and determines whether the system specification is for domestic or overseas (steps). S2). As shown in FIG. 1, the keyboard 13 is provided with an identification circuit 13 </ b> A that outputs an identification signal that meets the system specifications in advance.
[0018]
The keyboard controller 11 sets an identification flag corresponding to the determined system specification in the built-in register 11A (step S3). Here, it is assumed that the identification signal SS of the logic level “L” is a domestic system specification, and the identification signal SS of the logic level “H” is an overseas system specification.
[0019]
Next, a floppy disk storing both the domestic BIOS 23A and the overseas BIOS 23B is set in the FDD 23 provided as standard in the computer main body. The FDD 23 may be an external type instead of a built-in type. As shown in FIG. 2, the circuit board 10 is mounted with a ROM that stores a common BIOS 21 shared by each system specification. The common BIOS 21 is a common routine that executes various types of startup processing of the system.
[0020]
The common BIOS 21 monitors the built-in register 11A of the keyboard controller 11 and checks the set identification flag (step S4). Based on this identification flag, the common BIOS 21 selects one of the domestic BIOS 23A or the overseas BIOS 23B from the FDD 23 and sets it on the main body side (steps S5 to S7).
[0021]
That is, if the keyboard 13 connected to the main body is a domestic system specification, the common BIOS 21 reads the domestic BIOS 23A from the FDD 23 and writes it to the writable EEPROM 22 mounted on the circuit board 10 (step S6). . If the keyboard 13 connected to the main body is a system specification for overseas, the common BIOS 21 reads the overseas BIOS 23B from the FDD 23 and writes it to the EEPROM 22 mounted on the circuit board 10 (step S7).
[0022]
As described above, when manufacturing a personal computer using the keyboard 13 and BIOS according to the system specifications for domestic and overseas, just connecting the keyboard 13 that matches the system specifications, the computer itself will automatically System specifications are identified. Then, the BIOS that matches the identified system specification is read from the FDD 23 and set in the EEPROM 22 in the main body. Therefore, for example, a personal computer manufactured for overseas use is equipped with a keyboard 13 that meets the system specifications for overseas, and executes a predetermined input / output control process by the overseas BIOS 23B that meets the system specifications.
[0023]
According to this embodiment, it is possible to use the same circuit board 10 for each system specification without preparing a circuit board for each system specification for domestic and overseas use. Therefore, the operator needs to select a keyboard that meets the system specifications, but does not need to confirm a circuit board that is difficult to distinguish in appearance. For this reason, as in the prior art, when a circuit board prepared for each system specification is selected, a situation in which a circuit board of another specification is mistakenly incorporated into the computer main body can be reliably prevented.
(Modification of this embodiment)
As described above, the present embodiment is a system in which system specifications are automatically identified, particularly at the time of manufacture, and a BIOS that matches the identified system specifications is set in the computer main body. On the other hand, in the modification of the present embodiment, a dedicated BIOS corresponding to each system specification is mounted in advance on the circuit board 10 in the computer main body, and the BIOS corresponding to the automatic identification result of the system specification. Is a method of selecting and specifying.
[0024]
That is, as shown in FIG. 3, in addition to the ROM 21 storing the common BIOS, the circuit board 10 is pre-mounted with a ROM 30 storing the domestic BIOS 23A and the overseas BIOS 23B for each system specification. In general, the ROM 21 and the ROM 30 are the same chip, which means different storage areas.
[0025]
In such a configuration, the operation will be described with reference to the flowchart of FIG. This modification assumes not a manufacturing process but a case where a keyboard with a system specification for domestic use is replaced with a keyboard with a system specification for overseas use for a personal computer that has already been commercialized.
[0026]
That is, when a keyboard 13 of another specification is connected to the circuit board 10 of the computer main body, the keyboard controller 11 inputs the identification signal SS from the identification signal line 14A of the connected keyboard 13 as described above, It is determined whether the system specification is for domestic or overseas (steps S10 and S11). The keyboard controller 11 sets an identification flag corresponding to the determined system specification in the built-in register 11A (step S12).
[0027]
Next, the common BIOS 21 checks the identification flag set in the built-in register 11A, and recognizes whether the system specification is for domestic or overseas based on this identification flag (step S13). The common BIOS 21 selects and designates either the domestic BIOS 23A or the overseas BIOS 23B corresponding to the recognized system specification (steps S14 to S16).
[0028]
As described above, if the keyboard 13 connected to the computer main body is a system specification for domestic use, the common BIOS 21 selects and designates the domestic BIOS 23A from the ROM 30 previously mounted on the circuit board. Accordingly, the computer main body executes an input / output control process using the keyboard 13 and the domestic BIOS 23A according to the domestic system specification (step S15). If the keyboard 13 connected to the computer main body is a system specification for overseas, the common BIOS 21 selects and designates the overseas BIOS 23B from the ROM 30 previously mounted on the circuit board. Therefore, the computer main body executes an input / output control process using the keyboard 13 and the overseas BIOS 23B according to the system specifications for overseas (step S16).
[0029]
Even in such a configuration, as described above, the circuit board 10 can be unified without preparing a circuit board for each system specification for domestic and overseas use. Further, in this modification, since the BIOS for each system specification for domestic and overseas system is mounted on the circuit board 10 in advance, the keyboard is not limited to the manufacturing process and even after being manufactured. It is possible to automatically set the BIOS according to the system specifications simply by exchanging.
(Application examples)
Furthermore, as an application example of the present embodiment, as shown in FIG. 7, the circuit board 10 of the computer main body is basically adapted to each system specification (for domestic model or for overseas model) for domestic and overseas use. Are mounted with the same BIOS. This BIOS is mounted with a common BIOS portion 12A having the same contents and partially different BIOS portions 12B and 12C for domestic models and overseas models. Furthermore, the circuit board 10 functions as a register for storing identification data (identification information corresponding to an identification flag) for identifying whether the type of the keyboard 13 is for the domestic model or the overseas model. A RAM 41 is mounted.
[0030]
The CPU 40 transmits a command requesting identification data for identifying the type of the keyboard 13 to the keyboard controller 11 when the system is turned on. Further, the CPU 40 receives the identification data from the keyboard controller 11 in accordance with the command response and stores it in the RAM 41. The CPU 40 identifies the type of the keyboard 13 based on the identification data stored in the RAM 41, and executes an initialization process corresponding to each.
[0031]
The operation of the application example will be described below with reference to the flowchart of FIG.
In this application example, it is assumed that a personal computer on which the circuit board 10 shown in FIG. 7 is mounted is commercialized. First, when the user turns on the computer, a program for performing initialization processing on each device is normally executed (step S20). In this system, the CPU 40 transmits a command for requesting the identification data to the keyboard controller (KBC) 11 before executing the initialization process program (step S21).
[0032]
In response to the command, the KBC 11 inputs an identification signal SS from the identification signal line 14A of the connected keyboard 13 and sends identification data indicating either the domestic model or the overseas model to the CPU 40. The CPU 40 stores the identification data received from the keyboard controller 11 in the RAM 41 (step S22).
[0033]
Next, the CPU 40 refers to the identification data stored in the RAM 41 when it is necessary to perform different initialization processes for the domestic model and the overseas model in the process of executing the initialization process for each device. . Based on the identification data, the CPU 40 identifies whether the keyboard 13 mounted on the computer is for a domestic model or an overseas model (step S23).
[0034]
As described above, the CPU 40 identifies the type of the keyboard 13 mounted on the computer during the initialization process. For example, when a keyboard for a domestic model is mounted, the BIOS 12B is selected and the domestic model is selected. An initialization process suitable for use is executed (step S24). On the other hand, if a keyboard for an overseas model is mounted, the BIOS 12C is selected and an initialization process suitable for the overseas model is executed (step S25). After the initialization process is completed, the process proceeds to a boot process for starting the disk operating system (DOS) of the computer (step S26).
[0035]
According to this application example, by recognizing the type of keyboard (for domestic use or for overseas use) installed in a commercial personal computer, the system automatically sets the system specifications corresponding to that keyboard type. Or change. Thus, the user can automatically operate the computer with the system specification corresponding to the keyboard type without being aware of changing the system specification according to the keyboard type.
[0036]
【The invention's effect】
As described above in detail, according to the present invention, for example, in a computer system that requires input / output control according to system specifications for domestic and overseas, it is only necessary to connect an input device such as a keyboard according to the system specifications. The system specification to be set can be automatically identified, and a system such as BIOS can be set according to the identification result. Therefore, as a result, it is possible to unify circuit boards for each system specification without preparing several types of circuit boards according to each system specification. Furthermore, it is possible to eliminate the need for the operator to visually identify the circuit board, particularly in the computer manufacturing process. As a result, it is possible to improve work efficiency and prevent a situation where a circuit board having a different system specification is mistakenly incorporated into the computer main body.
[0037]
Furthermore, in a commercialized personal computer, a compatible system specification can be automatically set or changed corresponding to the type of input device such as a keyboard mounted. Therefore, for example, when the user wants to change the system specifications for domestic and overseas use, the user can operate the computer in accordance with the system specifications by simply replacing the type of keyboard desired to be used.
[Brief description of the drawings]
FIG. 1 is a block diagram showing a system configuration related to an embodiment of the present invention.
FIG. 2 is a block diagram showing a system configuration related to the present embodiment.
FIG. 3 is a block diagram showing a system configuration related to a modification of the embodiment.
FIG. 4 is a flowchart for explaining the operation of the embodiment;
FIG. 5 is a flowchart for explaining the operation of a modification of the present embodiment.
FIG. 6 is a diagram showing a configuration of a circuit board of a conventional personal computer.
FIG. 7 is a block diagram showing a system configuration related to an application example of the embodiment.
FIG. 8 is a flowchart for explaining the operation of an application example of the embodiment.
[Explanation of symbols]
1. Circuit board (conventional method)
2A ... ROM (BIOS for domestic use)
2B ... ROM (BIOS for overseas)
3A ... Domestic keyboard controller 3B ... Overseas keyboard controller 10 ... Circuit board 11 ... Keyboard controller 11A ... Built-in register (identification flag)
12 ... Memory (BIOS)
13 ... Keyboard 13A ... Identification circuit (identification signal output means)
14A ... Identification signal line 21 ... Common BIOS
22… EEPROM (non-volatile writable ROM for BIOS)
23. Floppy disk drive (FDD)
23A ... Domestic BIOS
23B ... BIOS for overseas
30 ... ROM (memory for BIOS for domestic use and BIOS for overseas use)

Claims (7)

Implement components of the computer system main body, and a circuit board which is used in common to different system specification,
An input device that includes an identification signal output means that is connectable to the circuit board and outputs an identification signal according to a predetermined system specification ;
The circuit board is
Determining means for determining a system specification based on the identification signal output from the identification signal output means when connected to the input device ;
Computer system characterized in that it comprises a system setting means for setting a basic input output system corresponding to the system specifications discriminated by said discriminating means. 2. The computer system according to claim 1, wherein the determination unit includes a memory unit that holds identification information corresponding to a system specification determined based on the identification signal. 3. The computer system according to claim 2, wherein the system setting unit sets a basic input / output system corresponding to a system specification determined according to identification information held in the memory unit. It has external storage means that stores each program corresponding to the basic input / output system for each system specification,
The computer according to claim 1, wherein the system setting unit reads a program corresponding to the system specification determined by the determination unit from the external storage unit and sets the program as a basic input / output system. system. The circuit board has program memory means for storing each program corresponding to a basic input / output system for each system specification,
2. The system setting unit according to claim 1, wherein the system setting unit selects and designates a program stored in the program memory unit as a basic input / output system corresponding to the system specification determined by the determination unit. Computer system. A circuit board that is used in common with different system specifications, and that can be connected to the circuit board and outputs an identification signal in accordance with a predetermined system specification. A system setting method applied to a computer system comprising an input device including :
Connecting the input device to the circuit board;
Determining a system specification based on the identification signal output from the identification signal output means;
And setting a basic input / output system corresponding to the system specification determined by the determining step . 7. The system according to claim 6, wherein the setting step selects in advance a program corresponding to a plurality of types of system specifications as a basic input / output system corresponding to the system specifications determined in the determination step. Setting method.

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