Apparatus and method for energizing a computer in a vehicle

1. Field of Invention

The present invention relates to a computer and, more particularly, to an apparatus and method for energizing a laptop computer in a vehicle.

2. Related Prior Art

A conventional method for automatically turning off a computer is disclosed in Taiwanese Patent Publication No. 455756. A computer 20 is connected to a power supply of a vehicle such as a car, aircraft and a boat through a controller 10 for turning off the computer 20 .

When an ignition of the vehicle is turned on, the computer 20 is energized by the power supply of the vehicle through the controller 10 . When the ignition is turned off, an OFF signal is sent to the computer 20 for turning off the computer 20 . It generally takes a period of time (the “normal period”) to turn off the computer 20 . After turning off the computer 20 , a FINISH signal is provided. On receiving the FINISH signal, the controller 10 stops the energizing. Alternatively, if not receiving the FINISH signal within a pre-determined period of time, the controller 10 stops the energizing. The pre-determined period is longer than the normal period.

Problems have been encountered in using the conventional method. Firstly, it takes quite some time for the controller 10 to normally operate after the ignition is turned on since the controller 10 must go through a process for initiation.

Secondly, the controller 10 is complicated because it includes a mechanism to detect the state of a switch 29 of the computer 20 , a mechanism to provide the OFF signal and a mechanism to receive the FINISH signal.

Thirdly, the controller 10 cannot turn on and off the computer 20 . The controller 10 only controls the energizing of the computer 20 . The actuation and termination of the computer 20 is done by an element 28 operatively connected to the switch 29 .

The present invention is therefore intended to obviate or at least alleviate the problems encountered in prior art.

An objective of the present invention is to provide an efficient simple computer for use in a vehicle.

Another objective of the present invention is to provide a structurally simple computer for use in a vehicle.

Another objective of the present invention is to provide a vehicle with a computer that can automatically be turned on if an ignition of the vehicle is turned on.

The objectives are reached by providing a mother board including a converting circuit, a switching circuit, a detecting circuit, a central processing unit and a south bridge controller. The converting circuit converts electricity. The switching circuit controls the transfer of electricity to the converting circuit from a power supply of a vehicle. The detecting circuit detects the state of an ignition of the vehicle. If the ignition is turned on, the detecting circuit sends an ON signal and instructs the switching circuit to conduct the transfer. If the ignition is turned off, the detecting circuit sends an OFF signal and instructs the switching circuit to interrupt the transfer. The central processing unit receives electricity from the converting circuit and turns on or off the computer. The south bridge controller receives electricity from the converting circuit and instructs the central process to turn on the computer on receiving the ON signal or turn off the computer on receiving the OFF signal.

Another objective of the present invention is to provide a converter for converting electricity from a format for a vehicle into another format for a computer.

The forgoing objective is reached by providing a converter including a converting circuit, a switching circuit and a detecting circuit. The converting circuit converts the electricity. The switching circuit controls the transfer of electricity to the converting circuit from the power supply of the vehicle. The detecting circuit for detects the state of the ignition of the vehicle. If the ignition is turned on, the detecting circuit sends an ON signal and instructs the switching circuit to conduct the transfer. If the ignition is turned off, the detecting circuit sends an OFF signal and instructs the switch circuit to interrupt the transfer.

Other objectives, advantages and features of the present invention will become apparent from the following description referring to the attached drawings.

The present invention will be described through detailed illustration of the preferred embodiment referring to the drawings.

FIG. 1 is a block diagram of a computer according to the preferred embodiment of the present invention.

FIG. 2 is a flowchart of a method for operating the computer shown in FIG. 1 .

Referring to FIG. 1 , according to the preferred embodiment of the present invention, a computer 9 can be installed and used in a vehicle such as a car, a boat and an aircraft. The vehicle includes a power supply 5 , an ignition 6 connected to the power supply 5 and a control system 8 connected to the ignition 6 . The ignition 6 is generally operated with a key to start or stop the vehicle.

On receiving an ON signal from the ignition 6 , the computer 9 starts a basic input/output system (the “BIOS”). On receiving an OFF signal from the ignition 6 , the computer 9 stops an operation system (the “OS”). In more detail, the computer 9 includes a mother board 1 and peripherals such as an optical disc drive (not shown), a hard disc drive (not shown) and a display (not shown).

The mother board 1 includes a detecting circuit 3 , a switching circuit 4 , a converting circuit 2 , a manual switch 7 , a south bridge controller 11 , a north bridge controller 12 , a central processing unit 13 (the “CPU”), a non-volatile memory 10 and a primary memory (not shown).

The detecting circuit 3 is connected to the ignition 6 . The detecting circuit 3 is used to detect the state of the ignition 6 .

The switching circuit 4 is connected to the power supply 5 on one hand and connected to the detecting circuit 3 on the other hand. The switching circuit 4 is used to receive electricity from the power supply 5 and turn on and off the computer 9 .

The converting circuit 2 is connected to the switching circuit 4 . The converting circuit 2 is used to convert the electricity from a first format for the power supply 5 into a second format in conformity with AXT regulations for the computer 9 .

The south bridge controller 11 is connected to the converting circuit 2 . The south bridge controller 11 receives electricity and a POWER-READY signal from the converting circuit 2 . Moreover, the south bridge control 11 is connected to the detecting circuit 3 .

The south bridge controller 11 is used as a core for control and calculation. The south bridge controller 11 is used to execute the BIOS for conducting a starting procedure, such as POST, to complete the actuation of the computer 9 . Moreover, the south bridge controller 11 is used to transfer the OS to the primary memory from the hard disc drive. In addition, the south bridge controller 11 is used to stop the OS, i.e., instruct the OS to execute a terminating procedure to completely stop the computer 9 .

The north bridge controller 12 is connected to the converting circuit 2 on one hand and connected to the south bridge controller 11 on the other hand.

The CPU 13 is connected to the converting circuit 2 on one hand and connected to the north bridge controller 12 on the other hand.

The non-volatile memory 10 is connected to the south bridge controller 11 . The non-volatile memory 10 is used to store the BIOS.

The manual switch 7 is connected to the south bridge controller 11 on one hand and connected to the detecting circuit 3 on the other hand.

The computer 9 is operated according to a process shown in FIG. 2 .

At a step S 10 , the process is started.

At a step S 12 , the detecting circuit 3 detects the state of the ignition. If the ignition 6 is turned off, the process returns to the step S 10 . If the ignition 6 is turned on, the process goes to a step S 13 on one hand and goes to a step 14 on the other hand.

At the step S 13 , the detecting circuit 3 sends an ON signal to the switching circuit 4 . The switching circuit 4 transfers the electricity to the converting circuit 2 . The converting circuit 2 converts the electricity into the second format from the first format and then sends the electricity to the south bridge controller 11 , the north bridge controller 12 and CPU 13 .

At a step S 15 , the manual switch 7 is maneuvered to turn on the computer 9 .

At the step S 14 , the detecting circuit 3 notifies the south bridge controller 11 of the state of the ignition 6 .

At a step S 16 , the south bridge controller 11 executes the BIOS in order to turn on the computer 9 . The BIOS provides three modes regarding the ON and OFF states of the computer 9 . The first mode is a compulsory ON mode. The second mode is a compulsory OFF mode. The third mode is recovery mode.

At a step S 18 , the compulsory ON mode is selected, the computer 9 is turned on.

At a step S 20 , the compulsory OFF mode is selected, the computer 9 is in “off” state. The process may go from the step S 20 to a step S 21 where the manual switch 7 is maneuvered to turn on the computer 9 .

At a step S 22 , the recovery mode is selected. The computer 9 is turned on if the computer 9 is on the last time the ignition 6 is turned off. The computer 9 is turned off if the computer 9 is off the last time the ignition 6 is turned off.

The process returns to the step S 10 from the steps S 18 , S 21 and S 22 .

If the ignition 6 is turned to the OFF state from the ON state, the detecting circuit 3 detects this change and sends an OFF signal to the south bridge controller 11 .

On receiving the OFF signal, the south bridge controller 11 instructs the OS to execute the terminating procedure to completely stop the computer 9 . After stopping the computer 9 , the south controller 11 sends a FINISH signal to the detecting circuit 3 . On receiving the FINISH signal, the detecting circuit 3 turns off the switching circuit 4 so that the supply of the electricity is interrupted.

It takes a period of time (the “normal period”) for the OS to stop the computer 9 . In some undesirable circumstances, the computer 9 might however not be stopped so that the south bridge controller 11 might not send any FINISH signal to the detecting circuit 3 . Should this happen, the power supply 5 would continue to energize the computer 9 and run out of electricity.

To avoid the foregoing problem, a timer may be incorporated in the detecting circuit 3 . A waiting period is set in the timer. The waiting period is longer than the normal period. If not receiving any FINISH signal, the detecting circuit 3 turns off the switching circuit 4 after the waiting period.

The present invention has been described through the illustration of the preferred embodiment. Those skilled in the art can derive variations from the preferred embodiment without departing from the scope of the present invention. Therefore, the preferred embodiment shall not limit the scope of the present invention defined in the claims.