Home

Password protected modular computer method and device

Contents

1. Feb 17 1997 lt lt http www lantimes com testing 97compare pccon sol html gt gt downloaded from web on Jun 23 2004 2 pgs Williams Dennis Cubix Corp ERS FTIT Feb 17 1997 http www lantimes com testing 97feb 702b068b html gt gt downloaded from web on Jun 23 2004 4 pgs Williams Dennis EVERSYS Corp System 8000 Feb 17 1997 lt lt http www lantimes com testing 97feb 702b070b html downloaded from web on Jun 22 2004 4 pgs Williams Dennis Executive Summary Consolidate Now Feb 17 1997 lt lt http www lantimes com testing 97feb 702b064a html gt gt downloaded from web on Jun 23 2004 2 pgs Williams Dennis Top Scores for Useability and Open ness Feb 17 1997 http www lantimes com testing 97feb 702b070a html gt gt downloaded from web on Jun 23 2004 2 pgs Windows Magazine Cubix PowerSMP Series 4000 Nov 1997 http www techweb com winmag library 1997 1101 ntent008 htm gt gt downloaded from the web on Jun 22 2004 p NTO7 U S Appl No 12 322 858 filed Feb 5 2009 Chu William W Y Dirk S Faegre et al CTOS Revealed http ww byte com art 9412 sec13 art2 htm Jesse Berst s Anchor Desk http www zdnet com an chordesk talkback talkback 56555 html Jesse Berst s Anchor Desk http www zdnet com an chordesk story story 1504 html Kelly Spang Component House Design Technology for PCs in a snap
2. Windows Article ArticleID 3095 3095 html downloaded 5 907 566 A 5 1999 Benson et al 5 933 609 A 8 1999 Walker et al from web on Jun 22 2004 2 pgs 5 941 965 A 8 1999 Moroz CETIA Brochure CETIA Powerengine CVME 603e pp 5 948 047 A 9 1999 Jenkins et al 1 6 downloaded from the internet at http www cetia com dicen in io Meum ProductAddOns wp 47 01 pdf on Feb 15 2006 r s alker et al E 55 5 971 804 A 10 1999 Gallagher et al Cragle Jonathan Density System 1100 May 1999 5 977 989 A 11 1999 Lee et al http www winnetmag com Windows Article ArticleID 5 978919 A 11 1999 Doiet al cece 726 36 5199 5199 htm1 gt gt downloaded from web on Jun 21 2004 5 982 363 A 11 1999 Naiff 3 pgs 1E ia A Y aa EN et al Crystal Advertisement for QuickConnect Cable Manage 991 osrowpour 51999952 A 13 1999 Jenkinsetal ayia 708 100 WER 2000 2004 lt lt http www crystalpc com prod 6 002 442 A 12 1999 Li etal ucts quickconnect asp gt gt downloaded from web on Jun 17 6 003 105 A 12 1999 Vicard et al 2004 4 pgs 6 006 243 A 12 1999 Karidis Crystal Advertisement for Rackmount Computers 6 009 488 A 12 1999 Kavipurapu 2000 2004 lt lt http www crystalpc com products roserv 6 011 546 A 1 2000 Bertram ers asp gt gt downloaded from web on Jun 17 2004 8 pgs 6 012 145 A 1 2000 Mathers et al a 6 016 252 A 1 2000 Pignolet et al Cubix Product Brochure entitled Density System O 6
3. Hard disk module 420 includes a hard disk drive The hard disk drive however can also be replaced by removable hard disk drives read write CD ROMs flash memory floppy disk drives and the like A small form factor for example 2 5 is currently contemplated however other form factors such as PC card and the like are also contemplated Mass storage unit 240 may also support other interfaces than IDE Among other features the computer system includes an ACM with secu rity protection The ACM connects to the console which has at least the following elements which should not be limiting 1 Connection to input devices e g keyboard or mouse 2 Connection to display devices e g Monitor 3 Add on means e g PCI add on slots 4 Removable storage media subsystem e g Floppy drive CDROM drive 5 Communication device e g LAN or modem 6 An interface device and connectors to ACM 7 A computer module bay with a notch in the frame for ACN s lock and 8 Power supply and other accessories As noted the computer module bay is an opening in a peripheral console that receives the ACM The computer module bay provides mechanical support and protection to ACM The module bay also includes among other elements a variety of thermal components for heat dissipation a frame the provides connector alignment and a lock engagement which secures the ACM to the console The bay also has a printed circuit board to mount and mate th
4. Ontario Canada Apr 1998 entitled Enhanced COTS SBC from DY 4 Systems features 166MHz Pentium Processor http www realtime in fo be VPR layout display pr asp pr asp PRID 363 gt gt 2 pgs Product Brochure entitled SVME DM 192 Pentium II Single Board Computer Jun 1999 pp 1 9 Product Brochure entitled System 8000 lt lt http www bomara com Eversys briefDefault htm gt gt downloaded from web on Jun 22 2004 4 pgs Product Brochure entitled ERS FT II System 2000 lt lt http 64 173 211 7 support techinfo system ersft2 ersft2 htm gt gt downloaded from web on Jun 22 2004 4 pgs Product Manual entitled ERS II and ERS FT IT Chap 3 System Components lt lt http 64 173 211 7 support techinfo manuals ers2 ers2 c3 htm gt gt downloaded from web on Jun 22 2004 22 pgs US RE41 294 E Page4 Product Manual entitled ERS II and ERS FT IT Chap 6 Component Installation lt lt http 64 173 211 7 support techinfo manuals ers2 ers2 c6 htm downloaded from web on Jun 22 2004 18 pgs Synder Joel Better Management through consolidation pp 1 6 downloaded from the internet at http www opus1 com www jms nw con 08 1 8rev html Williams Dennis ChatCom Inc Chatterbox Feb 17 1997 lt lt http www lantimes com testing 97feb 702b066ahtml gt gt downloaded from web on Jun 23 2004 3 pgs Williams Dennis Consolidated Servers
5. PDO PDO PD1 PD1 PD2 PD2 PD3 PCN U S Patent Apr 27 2010 Sheet 10 of 12 US RE41 294 E Primary PCI Bus PCIClock NL Bus Asynchronous IO Control e Controller Interface Controller XPBus Controller XPBus ME l PDR 3 0 I PD 3 0 RSTEP Peripheral Interface Controller Asynchronous PCIClock Y PCI Device FIG 10 Secondary PCI Bus U S Patent Apr 27 2010 Sheet 11 of 12 H jja E AD 31 0 out Decoder amp Separale Osta Path Control 25 M40 Video Port Data 0 15 Video Port Control FIG II Feel Tt rro RESET 1130 US RE41 294 E ies to Serial Converter ie Buffer Reset amp XPBus EE Parity Eno Control Reset amp XPBus Panty Erro Delect e Es Serial to Parate Convenor 1144 Serial to Poraliat Converter U S Patent Apr 27 2010 Sheet 12 of 12 US RE41 294 E PCK PDO PD1 PD2 PD3 FIG 12 PCK PDO PD1 PD2 PD3 US RE41 294 E 1 PASSWORD PROTECTED MODULAR COMPUTER METHOD AND DEVICE Matter enclosed in heavy brackets appears in the original patent but forms no part of this reissue specifica tion matter printed in italics indicates the additions made by reissue CROSS REFERENCE TO RELATED APPLICATIONS The following two commonly owned copending applications including this one are being filed concurrently and the other one is hereby incorporated
6. rather than the control sig nals that they represent are transmitted on the interface channel At the receiving end the control bits representing control signals are decoded back into PCI control signals prior to being transmitted to the intended PCI bus The fact that control bits rather than control signals are transmitted on the interface channel allows using a smaller number of signal channels and a correspondingly small number of conductive lines in the interface channel than would otherwise be possible This is because the control bits can be more easily multiplexed at one end of the interface channel and recovered at the other end than control signals This relatively small number of signal channels used in the interface channel allows using LVDS channels for the inter face As mentioned above an LVDS channel is more cable friendly faster consumes less power and generates less noise than a PCI bus channel which is used in the prior art to interface two PCI buses Therefore the present invention advantageously uses an LVDS channel for the hereto unused purpose of interfacing PCI or PCI like buses The relatively smaller number of signal channels in the interface also allows using connectors having smaller pins counts As men tioned above an interface having a smaller number of signal channels and therefore a smaller number of conductive lines is less bulky and less expensive than one having a larger number of signal channels Sim
7. 14 31818 MHz 508 that couples to a real time clock circuit The real time clock circuit can be in the host interface controller An energy source 506 such as a battery can be used to keep the real time clock circuit running even when the ACM has been removed from the console The real time clock can be used by a security program to perform a variety of functions As merely an example these functions include 1 fixed time period in which the ACM can be used e g ACM cannot be used at night 2 programmed ACM to be used after certain date e g high security procedure dur ing owner s vacation or non use period 3 other uses simi lar to a programmable time lock Further details of the present real time clock are described in the application listed under Ser No 09 183 816 noted above In still a further embodiment the present invention also includes a permanent password or user identification code to identify the computer module In one embodiment the per manent password or user code is stored in a flash memory device Alternatively the permanent password or user code is stored in the central processing unit The password or user code can be placed in the device upon manufacture of such device Alternatively the password or user code can be placed in the device by a one time programming techniques using for example fuses or the like The present password or user code provides a permanent finger print on the device which is g
8. PDR3 are used to transmit clock signals and bits from the PIC to HIC 1100 The above embodiments are described generally in terms of hardware and software It will be recognized however that the functionality of the hardware can be further com bined or even separated The functionality of the software can also be further combined or even separated Hardware can be replaced at times with software Software can be replaced at times with hardware Accordingly the present embodiments should not be construed as limiting the scope of the claims here One of ordinary skill in the art would recognize other variations modifications and alternatives While the above is a full description of the specific embodiments various modifications alternative construc tions and equivalents may be used Therefore the above description and illustrations should not be taken as limiting the scope of the present invention which is defined by the appended claims 20 25 30 35 40 45 50 55 60 65 16 What is claimed is 1 A computer module said module comprising an enclosure said enclosure being insertable into a con sole a central processing unit in said enclosure said central processing unit comprising a microprocessor based integrated circuit chip a hard disk drive in said enclosure said hard disk drive being coupled to said central processing unit and a programmable memory device in said enclosure said prog
9. RD WR con trol 814 and master RD WR control 815 Additionally con trol encoder amp merge data path unit 825 receives control signals from CPU CNIL amp GPIO latch driver 890 which is coupled to the CPU and north bridge not shown in FIG 8 Control encoder amp merge data path unit 825 encodes PCI control signals as well as CPU control signals and north bridge signals into control bits merges these encoded con trol bits and transmits the merged control bits to transmitter 830 which then transmits the control bits on the data lines PDO to PD3 and control line PCN of the XPBus Examples of control signals include PCI control signals and CPU con trol signals A specific example of a control signal is FRAME used in PCI buses A control bit on the other hand is a data bit that represents a control signal Control decoder amp separate data path unit 824 receives control bits from receiver 840 which receives control bits on data lines PDRO to PDR3 and control line PCNR of the XPBus Control decoder amp separate data path unit 824 separates the control bits it receives from receiver 840 into PCI control signals CPU control signals and north bridge signals and decodes the control bits into PCI control signals CPU control signals and north bridge signals all of which meet the rel evant timing constraints Transmitter 830 receives multiplexed parallel address data A D bits and control bits from translator 820 on the AD 31 0 out an
10. a security program configured to manage a user s access privilege of data based on said password 53 A computer module comprising an enclosure insertable into a slot of a console to form a functional computer said console comprising a power supply a central processing unit in said enclosure said central processing unit comprising a microprocessor based integrated circuit chip a hard disk drive in said enclosure said hard disk drive being coupled to said central processing unit an interface controller coupled to the console upon inser tion through a low voltage differential signal LVDS channel comprising two sets of multiple unidirectional serial differential signal channels in opposite directions and configured to communicate data in a form of encoded bit stream of Peripheral Component Intercon nect PCI bus transaction and a programmable memory device in said enclosure said programmable memory device being configurable to a 5 25 22 store a password for preventing unauthorized use of said hard disk drive 54 The computer module of claim 53 wherein the LVDS channel is configured to communicate in 10 bit packets 55 The computer module of claim 53 further comprising a security program configured to manage a user s access privilege of data based on said password 56 The computer module of claim 53 configured to receive power from the power supply after insertion into the console 57 A computer module compris
11. al 5 278 500 A 1 1994 Haynes et al 6 052 513 A 4 2000 MacLaren 5 278 730 A 1 1994 Kikinis 6 069 615 A 5 2000 Abraham et al 5 293 497 A 3 1994 Free 6 070 214 A 5 2000 Ahern 5 311 397 A 5 1994 Harshberger et al 6 088 224 A 7 2000 Gallagher et al 5 317 477 A 5 1994 Gillett 6 088 752 A 7 2000 Ahern 5 319 771 A 6 1994 Takeda 6 104 921 A 8 2000 Cosley et al 5 331 509 A 7 1994 Kikinis 6 157 534 A 12 2000 Gallagher et al 5 355 391 A 10 1994 Horowitz et al 6 163 464 A 12 2000 Ishibashi et al 5 428 806 A 6 1995 Pocrass 6 175 490 B1 1 2001 Papa et al 5 436 857 A 7 1995 Nelson et al 6 202 169 B1 3 2001 Razzaghe Ashrafi et al 5 463 742 A 10 1995 Kobayashi 6 208 522 B1 3 2001 Manweiler et al 5 519 843 A 5 1996 Moran et al 6 216 185 BI 4 2001 Chu 5 539 616 A 7 1996 Kikinis 6 256 689 B1 7 2001 Khosrowpour 5 550 710 A 8 1996 Rahamim et al 6 260 155 BL 7 2001 Dellacona 5 550 861 A 8 1996 Chan et al 6 266 539 B1 7 2001 Pardo 5 572 441 A 11 1996 Boie 6 289 376 B1 9 2001 Taylor et al 5 578 940 A 11 1996 Dillon 6 304 895 B1 10 2001 Schneider et al 5 600 800 A 2 1997 Kikinis et al 6 311 268 B1 10 2001 Chu 5 603 044 A 2 1997 Annapareddy et al 6 314 522 B1 11 2001 Chu et al 5 606 717 A 2 1997 Farmwald et al 6 317 329 BL 11 2001 Dowdy et al 5 608 608 A 3 1997 Flint et al 6 321 335 B1 11 2001 Chu 5 623 637 A 4 1997 Jonesetal 711 164 6 332 180 BI 12 2001 Kauffman et al 5 630 057 A 5 1997 Hait 6 345 330 B2 2 20
12. by reference in their entirety for all purposes 1 U S patent application Ser No 09 183 816 William W Y Chu entitled Modular Computer Security Method and Device and 2 U S patent application Ser No 09 183 493 William W Y Chu entitled Password Protected Modular Computer Method and Device Notice More than one reissue application has been filed for the reissue of U S Pat No 6 321 335 The reissue appli cations are application Ser No 10 963 825 filed Oct 12 2004 application Ser No 11 474 256 filed Jun 23 2006 the present application application Ser No 11 517 601 filed Sep 6 2006 and application Ser No 12 322 858 filed Feb 5 2009 the present application being a continuation reissue of U S Pat No 6 321 335 BACKGROUND OF THE INVENTION The present invention relates to computing devices More particularly the present invention provides a method and device for securing a personal computer or set top box using password protection techniques Merely by way of example the present invention is applied to a modular computing environment for desk top computers but it will be recog nized that the invention has a much wider range of applica bility It can be applied to a server as well as other portable or modular computing applications Many desktop or personal computers which are com monly termed PCs have been around and used for over ten years The PCs often come with state of art micro
13. devices Graphics subsystem transmits a video signal to an interface connector which couples to a display for example The attached computer module also includes a primary hard disk drive that serves as a main memory unit for pro grams and the like The hard disk can be any suitable drive that has at least 2 GB and greater As merely an example the hard disk is a Marathon 2250 2 25 GB 2 inch drive product made by Seagate Corporation of Scotts Valley but can be others The hard disk communicates to the north bridge by way of a hard disk drive controller and bus lines 502 and 531 The hard disk drive controller couples to the north bridge by way of the host PCI bus which connects bus 537 to the north bridge The hard disk includes computer codes that implement a security program according to the present invention Details of the security program are pro vided below The attached computer module also has a flash memory device 505 with a BIOS The flash memory device 505 also has codes for a user password that can be stored in the device The flash memory device generally permits the stor age of such password without a substantial use of power even when disconnected As merely an example the flash memory device has at least 4 Meg or greater of memory or 16 Meg or greater of memory A host interface controller 507 communications to the north bridge via bus 535 and host PCI bus The host interface controller also has a lock control 5
14. password in a computer system is provided In an exemplary embodiment the present invention provides a security sys tem for an attached computer module ACM In an embodiment the ACM inserts into a Computer Module Bay CMB within a peripheral console to form a functional computer In a specific embodiment the present invention provides a computer module The computer module has an enclosure that is insertable into a console The module also has a cen tral processing unit i e integrated circuit chip in the enclo sure The module has a hard disk drive in the enclosure where the hard disk drive is coupled to the central processing unit The module further has a programmable memory device in the enclosure where the programmable memory device can be configurable to store a password for prevent ing a possibility of unauthorized use of the hard disk drive and or other module elements The stored password can be any suitable key strokes that a user can change from time to time In a further embodiment the present invention pro vides a permanent password or user identification code stored in flash memory which also can be in the processing unit or other integrated circuit element The permanent password or user identification code is designed to provide a permanent finger print on the attached computer module In a specific embodiment the present invention provides a variety of methods In one embodiment the present inven t
15. the console after insertion into the console 48 The computer module of claim 46 wherein the LVDS channel is configured to communicate in 10 bit packets 49 The computer module of claim 46 wherein the inter face controller in the computer module is configured to couple to the console upon insertion into the console 50 A computer module comprising an enclosure insertable into a slot of a console to form a functional computer said console comprising a first interface controller US RE41 294 E 21 a central processing unit in said enclosure said central processing unit comprising a microprocessor based integrated circuit chip a hard disk drive in said enclosure said hard disk drive being coupled to said central processing unit a second interface controller coupled to the first interface controller through a low voltage differential signal LVDS channel comprising two sets of multiple unidi rectional serial differential signal channels in opposite directions and configured to communicate data in a form of encoded bit stream of Peripheral Component Interconnect PCI bus transaction and a programmable memory device in said enclosure said programmable memory device being configurable to store a password for preventing unauthorized use of said hard disk drive 51 The computer module of claim 50 wherein the LVDS channel is configured to communicate in 10 bit packets 52 The computer module of claim 50 further comprising
16. 02 Chu 5 638 521 A 6 1997 Buchala et al 6 366 951 BI 4 2002 Schmidt 5 640 302 A 6 1997 Kikinis ees 361 687 6 378 009 B1 4 2002 Pinkston II et al 5 648 762 A 7 1997 Ichimura et al 6 381 602 B1 4 2002 Shoroffet al 5 659 773 A 8 1997 Huynh et al 6 393 561 B1 5 2002 Hagiwara et al 5 663 661 A 9 1997 Dillon et al 6 401 124 BI 6 2002 Yang et al 5 673 174 A 9 1997 Hamirani 6 425 033 B1 7 2002 Conway et al 5 680 126 A 10 1997 Kikinis 6 452 789 B1 9 2002 Pallotti et al 5 689 654 A 11 1997 Kikinis 6 452 790 BL 9 2002 Chu et al 5 721 837 A 2 1998 Kikinis 6 453 344 BL 9 2002 Ellsworth 5 721 842 A 2 1998 Beasley et al 6 496 361 B2 12 2002 Kim et al 5 745 733 A 4 1998 Robinson 6 549 966 B1 4 2003 Dickens et al 5 751 711 A 5 1998 Sakaue 6 564 274 B1 5 2003 Heath et al 5 752 080 A 5 1998 Ryan 6 643 777 B1 11 2003 Chu 5 764 924 A 6 1998 Hong 6 718 415 BL 4 2004 Chu 5 774 704 A 6 1998 Williams 6 725 317 B1 4 2004 Bouchier et al 5 795 228 A 8 1998 Trumbull 7 099 981 B2 8 2006 Chu 5 809 538 A 9 1998 Pollmann 7 146 446 B2 12 2006 Chu 5 815 681 A 9 1998 Kikinis 2001 0011312 A1 8 2001 Chu 5 819 050 A 10 1998 Boehling et al 5 826 048 A 10 1998 Dempsey et al OTHER PUBLICATIONS 5 838 932 A 11 1998 Alzien 5 848 249 A 12 1998 Garbus Bernal Carlos product brochure entitled PowerSMP 5 859 669 A x 1 1999 Prentice Series 4000 Mar 1998 lt lt http www winnetmag com DESKA IARR Advani alorrei 717 125
17. 028 643 A 2 2000 Jordan et al 2000 http 64 173 211 7 support techinfo system den 6 029 183 A 2 2000 Jenkins et al sity density10 htm downloaded from web on Jun 22 6 038 621 A 3 2000 Gale et al 2004 3 pgs US RE41 294 E Page3 Cubix Product Brochure entitled Density System Techni cal Specifications O 2000 http 64 173 211 7 support techinfo system density info spec htm gt gt downloaded from web on Jun 22 2004 2 pgs Cubix Product Manual entitled Density System Chapter l Introduction 2000 lt lt http 64 173 211 7 support techinfo manuals density Chap 1 htm downloaded from web on Jun 22 2004 5 pgs Cubix Product Manual entitled Density System Chapter 2 Installation 2000 lt lt http 64 173 211 7 support techinfo manuals density Chap 2 htm gt gt downloaded from web on Jun 22 2004 9 pgs Cubix Product Manual entitled Density System Chapter 3 Operation 2000 lt lt http 64 173 211 7 support techinfo manuals density Chap 3 htm downloaded from web on Jun 22 2004 4 pgs Cubix Product Manual entitled Density System Chapter 4 Maintenance and Repair 2000 http 64 173 211 7 support techinfo manuals density Chap 4 htm gt gt down loaded from web on Jun 22 2004 5 pgs Cubix Click on the front panel that matches your system 2000 lt lt http 64 173 211 7 support techinfo system density density htm gt gt
18. 09 which couples to a lock The lock is attached to the module and has a manual override to the lock on the host interface controller in some embodiments Host interface controller 507 communicates to the console using bus 511 which couples to connection 513 In one aspect of the present invention the security system uses a combination of electrical and mechanical locking mechanisms Referring to FIG 5A for example the present system provides a lock status mechanism in the host inter face controller 509 The lock status of the lock is determined by checking a lock status bit 549 which is in the host inter face controller The lock status bit is determined by a signal 553 which is dependent upon the position of the lock Here the position of the lock is closed in the ground 559 position where the latch couples to a ground plane in the module and or system Alternatively the signal of the lock is at Vcc for example which is open Alternatively the signal can be ground in the open position and Vcc in the closed position depending upon the application Other signal schemes can also be used depending upon the application Once the status is determined the host interface controller turns the lock via solenoid 557 in a lock on or lock off position which is provided through the control bit 551 for example The control bit is in a register of the host interface controller in the present example By way of the signal schemes noted and the c
19. 30 35 40 45 18 30 The computer module of claim 28 further comprising a security program configured to manage a user s access privilege of data based on said password 31 A computer module comprising an enclosure being insertable into a console a central processing unit in said enclosure said central processing unit comprising a microprocessor based integrated circuit chip a hard disk drive in said enclosure said hard disk drive being coupled to said central processing unit an interface controller coupled to a differential signal channel for communicating an encoded serial bit stream of Peripheral Component Interconnect PCI bus transaction wherein the differential signal channel comprises two sets of unidirectional serial bit channels which transmit data in opposite directions and a programmable memory device in said enclosure said programmable memory device being configurable to store a password for preventing unauthorized use of said hard disk drive wherein the computer module communicates to the con sole through serial bit based lines transmitting data packets in Universal Serial Bus USB protocol 32 A method for operating a computer system said method comprising inserting an attached computer module ACM into a bay of a modular computer system said ACM comprising an interface controller coupled to a differential signal channel for communicating encoded serial bit stream of Periphe
20. 394 line and a Universal Serial Bus USB line It is to be noted that although each of the lines PCK PDO to PD3 PCN PCKR PDRO to PDR3 PCNR VPCK and VPD is referred to as a line in the singular rather than plural each such line may contain more than one physical line For example in the embodiment shown in FIG 9 each of lines PCK PDO to PD3 and PCN includes two physical lines between each driver and its corresponding receiver The term line when not directly preceded by the terms physi 20 25 30 35 40 45 50 55 60 65 14 cal or conductive is herein used interchangeably with a sig nal or bit channel which may consist of one or more physical lines for transmitting a signal In the case of non differential signal lines generally only one physical line is used to trans mit one signal However in the case of differential signal lines a pair of physical lines is used to transmit one signal For example a bit line or bit channel in an LVDS or IEEE 1394 interface consists of a pair of physical lines which together transmit a signal FIG 9 is a schematic diagram of lines PCK PDO to PD3 and PCN These lines are unidirectional LVDS lines for transmitting clock signals and bits from the HIC to the PIC The bits on the PDO to PD3 and the PCN lines are sent synchronously within every clock cycle of the PCK Another set of lines namely PCKR PDRO to PDR3 and PCNR are used to transmit clock signals and bi
21. 994 WO WO 92 18924 10 1992 WO WO 94 00097 1 1994 WO WO 95 13640 5 1995 WO WO97 00481 1 1997 OTHER PUBLICATIONS Features Chart Feb 1 1997 lt lt http www lanti mes com testing 97 feb 702b072a html gt gt downloaded from web on Jun 23 2004 3 pgs SQL Server and NT Cluster Manager Availability Demo Microsoft Server Programmer Developers Conference Nov 1996 15 pages total Agerwala T Systems Journal SP2 System Architecture vol 34 No 2 1995 Scalable Parallel Computing vol 34 No 2 1995 Continued Primary Examiner Beemnet W Dada 74 Attorney Agent or Firm Cooley Godward Kronish LLP 57 ABSTRACT A method and device for securing a removable Attached Computer Module ACM 10 ACM 10 inserts into a Com puter Module Bay CMB 40 within a peripheral console to form a functional computer such as a desktop computer or portable computer The present ACM 10 includes a locking system which includes hardware and software 600 700 to prevent accidental removal or theft of the ACM from the peripheral console While ACM is in transit further security is necessary against illegal or unauthorized use If ACM con tains confidential data a high security method is needed to safeguard against theft 36 Claims 12 Drawing Sheets SECURITY tock m INTERFACE 57 CONNECTORS US RE41 294 E Page2 U S PATENT DOCUMENTS 6 040 792 A 3 2000 Watson et al 6 046 571 A 4 2000 Bovio et
22. NeoSystmes Offers Building Blocks Computer Reseller News Apr 21 1997 Issue 732 Section Channel Assembly http www techweb com se directlink cgi CRN19970421S0054 Rick Boyd Merritt Ungradeable PC effort takes divergent paths http techweb cmp com eet news 97 949news ef fort html Think Modular PC Magazine Jun 10 1997 wysiwyg 60http homezdnet com pemag issues 1611 pcmg0072 htm cited by examiner U S Patent Apr 27 2010 Sheet 1 of 12 US RE41 294 E N COMPUTER MODULE BAY MONITOR 40 13 INSERT c Cry lt ang POSSE Sey IE i POSSESS OSS SL nuu 2594 7 4 4 Sigo cry Lossy ccr cy CONSOLE ATTACHED COMPUTER MODULE FIG 1 U S Patent Apr 27 2010 Sheet 2 of 12 US RE41 294 E OPENING FOR ENGAGING LOCK U S Patent Apr 27 2010 Sheet 3 of 12 US RE41 294 E 10 T FRONT NH MANUAL KEY 0 A NN ANUAL KE CONNECTOR 2n 23 ii E r ACM 19 COMPUTER INSERTION PERIPHERAL MODULE BAY BLOCKED CONSOLE FRAME ENCLOSURE FIG 3 U S Patent Apr 27 2010 Sheet 4 of 12 US RE41 294 E 400 ji POETE S 1 7 CMI CONNECTOR CMI CONNECTOR ee b FLASH MEM i INTERFACE INCL SYS CONTROLLER PASSA HEIGHT SWORD APT 1 723 CPU MODULE 16 4mm 3 4 2 HARD 435 DRIVE 25 4mm DEPTH 234mm 9 213 N POWER eee SORT REGULATOR MAIN CIRCUIT BOARD ye 437 ua ic COMPONENT UNDERNEATH nis e 432 C
23. ONNECTION TO LOCK CONTROL SECURITY xd aA E ei 420 427 13 FIG 4 gue PIRCON U S Patent Apr 27 2010 Sheet 5 of 12 US RE41 294 E 500 501 PRIMARY HARD DISK Wi SECURITY PROGRAM ATTACHED COMPUTER MODULE a1 ee mr ru MEMORY BUS FLASH MEM WITH BIOS amp USER CPU BUS PASSWORD HOST INTERFACE CONTROLLER INTERFACE ird 519 517 CONNECTORS FIG 5 U S Patent Apr 27 2010 Sheet 6 of 12 US RE41 294 E 500 ATTACHED COMPUTER MODULE FLASH MEM WITH BIOS amp USER PASSWORD wh FIG 5A U S Patent Apr 27 2010 Sheet 7 of 12 US RE41 294 E NSERTE ACINTO CHB a acm oursine oF 70 pe OB y TO PREVENT ILLEGAL USE USE KEY TO TURN LOCK ON ACM CANNOT INSERT INTO CMB USE KEY TO TURN LOCK OFF POWER FAILURE ACM CAN INSERT CMB USE KEY TO RELEASE LOCK ACM CAN BE REMOVED U S Patent Apr 27 2010 Sheet 8 of 12 Flash Memory BIOS Configuration a Ile gs ero eH onde li j I sro LL Ft Enc Sat R TEHE CPU CNTL amp GPIO Latch Driver Video Port Data 0 35 Video Port Control Graphics Controller FIG 8 US RE41 294 E Ressl Cou Serial to Parallel n Converter eria to l arate S aa n PCK Lepr Ponz Poro Serial to as Parelie 7 3 Converter 2 U S Patent Apr 27 2010 Sheet 9 of 12 US RE41 294 E PCK gt f rece PCK
24. Technical Reference 2000 lt lt http 64 173 211 7 support techinfo manuals sp5200 chap 4 htm gt gt downloaded from web on Jun 22 2004 3 pgs Cubix SP 5200XS Series Plug in Computers 2000 http 64 173 211 7 support techinfo bc7 sp5200xs An tro htm downloaded from web on Jun 22 2004 2 pgs Cubix SP 5200XS Series Technical Specifications O 2000 lt lt http 64 173 211 7 support techinfo be sp5200xs spec htm gt gt downloaded from web on Jun 22 2004 2 pg Cubix What are Groups 2000 lt lt http 64 173 211 7 support techinfo system density info group s htm gt gt downloaded from web on Jun 22 2004 3 pgs eBay Advertisement for Total IT Group Network Engines lt lt http cgi ebay com we eBayISAPI dll Viewltem amp item 5706388046 amp sspagename STRK 3AMDBI 3MEBI3AIT amp rd 1 gt gt downloaded from web on Jun 25 2004 1 pgs Eversys Corp Eversys System 8000 Consolidated Network Server Market and Product Overview Slide Presentation downloaded from lt lt http eversys com gt gt 20 pages total Feldman Jonathan Rack Steady The Four Rack Mounted Servers That Rocked Our Network lt lt http www net workcomputing com shared printArticle jhtml article 910 910r3sidel htm gt gt Jun 23 2004 3 pg Fetters Dave Cubix High Density Server Leads the Way With Standout Management Software Feb 8 1999 http www nwc com
25. ace controller that is coupled to said microprocessor based unit 20 The method of claim 14 wherein said mass memory storage device comprises a code directed to comparing said user password with a desired password 21 The method of claim 14 further comprising identify ing a permanent password or user code on said attached computer module 22 The method of claim 21 wherein said permanent password or user code is stored in said microprocessor unit 23 The method of claim 21 wherein said permanent password or user code is stored in a flash memory device coupled to said microprocessor unit 24 A computer module said module comprising an enclosure said enclosure being insertable into a con sole a central processing unit in said enclosure said central processing unit comprising a microprocessor based integrated circuit chip a hard disk drive in said enclosure said hard disk drive being coupled to said central processing unit an interface controller coupled to a differential signal channel for communicating an encoded serial bit stream of Peripheral Component Interconnect PCI bus transaction wherein the differential signal channel comprises two sets of unidirectional serial bit channels which transmit data in opposite directions and a programmable memory device in said enclosure said programmable memory device being configurable to store a password for preventing unauthorized use of said hard disk drive 25 The
26. anent password or user code is stored in a flash memory device Alternatively the permanent pass word or user code is stored in the central processing unit The password or user code can be placed in the device upon manufacture of such device Alternatively the password or user code can be placed in the device by a one time program ming techniques using for example fuses or the like The present password or user code provides a permanent finger E print on the device which is generally hardware The per manent finger print can be used for identification purposes for allowing the user of the hardware to access the hardware itself as well as other systems These other systems include local and wide area networks Alternatively the systems can also include one or more servers The present method allows a third party confirm the user by way of the permanent pass word or user code The present password and user identifica tion can be quite important for electronic commerce applica tions and the like which verify the user code or password In one or more embodiments the permanent password or user code can be combined with the password on flash memory for the security program Embodiments in accordance with the present invention may interface two PCI or PCI like buses using a non PCI or non PCI like channel In accordance with embodiments of the present invention PCI control signals are encoded into control bits and the control bits
27. as United States a2 Reissued Patent Chu 0 Patent Number 45 Date of Reissued Patent USOORE41294E US RE41 294 E Apr 27 2010 54 PASSWORD PROTECTED MODULAR COMPUTER METHOD AND DEVICE 75 Inventor William W Y Chu Los Altos CA US 73 Assignee ACQIS Techonology Inc Mountain View CA US Notice This patent is subject to a terminal dis claimer 21 Appl No 11 474 256 22 Filed Jun 23 2006 Related U S Patent Documents Reissue of 64 Patent No 6 321 335 Issued Nov 20 2001 Appl No 09 183 493 Filed Oct 30 1998 51 Int Cl H04L 9 32 2006 01 52 US CL niece aces 713 193 710 301 726 9 726 18 726 28 58 Field of Classification Search 713 164 713 172 189 190 194 193 711 164 710 100 710 301 726 2 9 17 18 19 20 28 361 687 See application file for complete search history 56 References Cited U S PATENT DOCUMENTS 3 996 585 A 12 1976 Hogan 4 623 964 A 11 1986 Getz et al 4 700 362 A 10 1987 Todd et al 4 769 764 A 9 1988 Levanon 4 872 001 A 10 1989 Maniwa et al 4 890 282 A 12 1989 Lambert et al 4 918 572 A 4 1990 Tarver et al 4 939 735 A 7 1990 Fredericks et al 5 056 141 A 10 1991 Dyke 5 086 499 A 2 1992 Mutone ATTACHED COMPUTER MODULE 5 103 446 A 4 1992 Fischer 5 191 581 A 3 1993 Woodbury et al 5 251 097 A 10 1993 Simmons et al Continued FOREIGN PATENT DOCUMENTS EP 722138 AI 7 1996 JP 6 289953 10 1
28. authorized use during transit The 20 25 30 35 40 45 50 55 60 65 4 present invention is also implemented using conventional technologies that can be provided in the present computer system in an easy and efficient manner Depending upon the embodiment one or more of these benefits can be available These and other advantages or benefits are described throughout the present specification and are described more particularly below These and other embodiments of the present invention as well as its advantages and features are described in more detail in conjunction with the text below and attached FIGS BRIEF DESCRIPTION OF THE DRAWINGS FIG 1 is a simplified diagram of a computer system according to an embodiment of the present invention FIG 2 is a simplified diagram of a computer module according to an embodiment of the present invention FIG 3 is a simplified side view diagram of a computer module according to an embodiment of the present inven tion FIG 4 is a simplified layout diagram of a security system for a computer system according to an embodiment of the present invention FIG 5 is a simplified block diagram of a security system for a computer module according to an embodiment of the present invention and FIGS 6 and 7 show simplified flow diagrams of security methods according to embodiments of the present invention FIG 8 is a detailed block diagram of one embodiment of the ho
29. cally by way of computer software Here the key can be used to as a manual override if the ACM or computer fails The lock is used to prevent theft and accidental removal inside CMB The current invention locates the lock inside the ACM to allow a user to keep a single key as ACM is moved from console to console at different locations When ACM is in transit the lock can be engaged using the key so that the latch extends outside ACM s enclosure The extended latch prevents ACM from being inserted into any CMB This prevents any illegal use of ACM by someone other than the user In one aspect of the invention the user password is pro grammable The password can be programmable by way of US RE41 294 E 11 the security program The password can be stored in a flash memory device within the ACM Accordingly the user of the ACM and the console would need to have the user password in order to access the ACM In the present aspect the combi nation of a security program and user password can provide the user a wide variety of security functions as follows 1 Auto lock capability when ACM is inserted into CMB 2 Access privilege of program and data 3 Password matching for ACM removal and 4 Automatic HDD lock out if tempering is detected In still a further embodiment the present invention also includes a method for reading a permanent password or user identification code to identify the computer module In one embodiment the perm
30. computer module of claim 24 wherein the encoded serial bit stream comprises 10 bit packets 26 The computer module of claim 24 wherein the serial bit stream of PCI bus transaction comprises encoded PCI address and data bits 27 The computer module of claim 24 wherein the com puter module communicates to the console through serial bit based lines transmitting data packets in Universal Serial Bus USB protocol 28 A computer module comprising an enclosure insertable into a console to form a functional computer said console comprising a first interface con troller a central processing unit in said enclosure said central processing unit comprising a microprocessor based integrated circuit chip a hard disk drive in said enclosure said hard disk drive being coupled to said central processing unit a second interface controller coupled to the first interface controller through a differential signal channel com prising two sets of unidirectional serial bit channels in opposite directions which transmit data in 10 bit pack ets and a programmable memory device in said enclosure said programmable memory device being configurable to store a password for preventing unauthorized use of said hard disk drive 29 The computer module of claim 28 wherein the differ ential signal channels communicate an encoded serial bit stream of Peripheral Component Interconnect PCI bus address and data transaction 5 0 a 5 20
31. d the CNTL out lines respectively Trans mitter 830 also receives a clock signal from PLL 850 PLL 850 takes a reference input clock and generates PCK that drives the XPBus PCK is asynchronous with the PCI clock signal and operates at 66 MHz twice the speed of the PCI clock of 33 MHz The higher speed is intended to accommo date at least some possible increases in the operating speed of future PCI buses As a result of the higher speed the XPBus may be used to interface two PCI or PCI like buses operating at 66 MHz rather than 33 MHz or having 64 rather than 32 multiplexed address data lines The multiplexed parallel A D bits and some control bits input to transmitter 830 are serialized by parallel to serial converters 832 of transmitter 830 into 10 bit packets These bit packets are then output on data lines PDO to PD3 of the XPBus Other control bits are serialized by parallel to serial converter 833 into 10 bit packets and send out on control line PCN of the XPBus The XPBux lines PDO to PD3 PCN PDRO to PDR3 and PCNR and the video data and clock lines VPD and VPCK are not limited to being LVDS lines as they may be other forms of bit based lines For example in another embodiment the XPBus lines may be IEEE 1394 lines A bit based line i e a bit line is a line for transmitting serial bits Bit based lines typically transmit bit packets and use a serial data packet protocol Examples of bit lines include an LVDS line an IEEE 1
32. downloaded from web on Jun 22 2004 1 pg Cubix DP 6200 D Series Plug in Computers lt lt http 64 173 211 7 support techinfo bc dp 6200d intro htn gt gt downloaded from web on Jun 22 2004 2 pgs Cubix Installing DP or SP Series Boards 2000 lt lt http 64 173 211 7 support techinfo system density info pic inst htm gt gt downloaded from web on Jun 22 2004 2 pgs Cubix Multiplexing Video Keyboard amp Mouse with Mul tiple Density Systems 2000 lt lt http 64 173 211 7 support techinfo system density info vkm mux htm gt gt downloaded from web on Jun 22 2004 2 pgs Cubix Powering On Off or Resetting Plug in Computers in an Density System 2000 http 64 173 211 7 sup port techinfo system density info power htm downloaded from web on Jun 22 2004 2 pgs Cubix SP 5200 Series Chapter 1 Introduction 2000 lt lt http 64 173 211 7 support techinfo manuals sp5200 chap 1 htm gt gt downloaded from web on Jun 22 2004 3 pg Cubix SP 5200 Series Chapter 2 Switches amp Jumpers 2000 lt lt http 64 173 211 7 support techinfo manuals sp5200 chap 2 htm gt gt downloaded from web on Jun 22 2004 3 pgs Cubix SP 5200 Series Chapter 3 Installation 2000 lt lt http 64 173 211 7 support techinfo manuals sp5200 chap 3 htm gt gt downloaded from web on Jun 22 2004 4 pgs Cubix SP 5200 Series Chapter 4
33. e connector from the ACM to the console The connector provides an interface between the ACM and other accessories FIG 5 is a simplified block diagram 500 of a security system for a computer module according to an embodiment of the present invention This diagram is merely an illustra tion and should not limit the scope of the claims herein One of ordinary skill in the art would recognize other variations modifications and alternatives The block diagram 500 has a variety of features such as those noted above as well as others In the present diagram different reference numerals are used to show the operation of the present system The block diagram is an attached computer module 500 The module 500 has a central processing unit which com municates to a north bridge 541 by way of a CPU bus 527 The north bridge couples to main memory 523 via memory bus 529 The main memory can be any suitable high speed 20 25 30 35 40 45 50 55 60 65 8 memory device or devices such as dynamic random access memory DRAM integrated circuits and others The DRAM includes at least 32 Meg or 64 Meg and greater of memory but can also be less depending upon the applica tion Alternatively the main memory can be coupled directly with the CPU in some embodiments The north bridge also couples to a graphics subsystem 515 via bus 542 The graph ics subsystem can include a graphics accelerator graphics memory and other
34. e key 11 is insertable from the face into the keyhole As the ACM inserts into the frame connector 17 couples and inserts into connector 21 Connector 17 electrically and mechanically interface elements of the ACM to the console through connector 21 Latch 14 should be moved away from the bottom side 19 of the module bay frame before inserting the ACM into the frame Once the ACM is inserted fully into the frame latch 15 is placed in a closed or lock position where it keeps the ACM firmly in place That is latch 15 biases against a backside portion 29 of the ACM enclosure to hold the ACM in place where the connector 17 firmly engages electrically and mechanically with connector 21 To remove the ACM latch 15 is moved away or opened from the back side portion of the ACM enclosure ACM is manu ally pulled out of the computer module bay frame where connector 17 disengages with connector 21 As shown the key 11 is used to selectively move the latch in the open or locked position to secure the ACM into the frame module In most embodiments the ACM includes an enclosure such as the one described with the following components which should not be limiting a 5 20 25 30 35 40 45 50 55 60 65 6 1 ACPU with cache memory 2 Core logic device or means 3 Main memory 4 A single primary Hard Disk Drive HDD that has a security program 5 Flash memory with system BIOS and programmable user pa
35. enerally hardware The permanent finger print can be used for identification purposes for allowing the user of the hardware to access the hardware itself as well as other systems These other systems include local and wide area networks Alternatively the systems can also include one or more servers The present password and user identifi cation can be quite important for electronic commerce appli cations and the like In one or more embodiments the per manent password or user code can be combined with the password on flash memory for the security program which is described below in more detail II SECURITY DETECTION PROGRAMS FIGS 6 and 7 show simplified flow diagrams 600 700 of security methods according to embodiments of the present invention These diagrams are merely illustrations and should not limit the scope of the claims herein One of ordi nary skill in the art would recognize other variations modifications and alternatives Referring to FIG 6 which considers an example for when the ACM is inserted into the computer module bay in the console ACM has already been inserted into the console and is firmly engaged in an electri cal and mechanical manner A computer system is powered up 601 which provides selected signals to the microproces an 0 an 5 20 40 45 55 65 10 sor The microprocessor oversees the operation of the com puter system The microprocessor searches the memory in for example t
36. ential signal channel wherein data commu nication to the serial channels comprises an encoded bit stream of Peripheral Component Interconnect PCI bus transaction applying power to said computer system and said ACM to execute a security program said security program being stored in said mass memory storage device and prompting for a user password from a user on a display 46 A computer module comprising an enclosure configured to be inserted into a slot of a console comprising a power supply a central processing unit in said enclosure said central processing unit comprising a microprocessor based integrated circuit chip a hard disk drive in said enclosure said hard disk drive being coupled to said central processing unit a low voltage differential signal LVDS channel in said enclosure said low voltage differential signal channel comprising two sets of multiple unidirectional serial differential signal channels in opposite directions an interface controller coupled to a connector through the low voltage differential signal channel and configured to communicate data in a form of encoded bit stream of Peripheral Component Interconnect PCI bus transac tion and a programmable memory device in said enclosure said programmable memory device being configurable to store a password for preventing unauthorized use of said hard disk drive 47 The computer module of claim 46 configured to receive power from the power supply in
37. forma tion and supplies the BIOS and PCI configuration informa tion to A D MUX 860 and RD WR Control 870 which con trol the programming read and write of flash memory unit 801 Bus controller 810 is coupled to the host PCI bus which is also referred to herein as the primary PCI bus and manages PCI bus transactions on the host PCI bus Bus controller 810 includes a slave target unit 811 and a master unit 816 Both slave unit 811 and master unit 816 each include two first in first out FIFO buffers which are preferably asyn chronous with respect to each other since the input and out put of the two FIFOs in the master unit 816 as well as the two FIFOs in the slave unit 811 are clocked by different clocks namely the PCI clock and the PCK Additionally slave unit 811 includes encoder 822 and decoder 823 while master unit 816 includes encoder 827 and decoder 828 The FIFOs 812 813 817 and 818 manage data transfers between the host PCI bus and the XPBus which in the embodiment shown in FIG 8 operate at 33 MHz and 66 MHz respectively PCI address data AD from the host PCI bus is entered into FIFOs 812 and 817 before they are encoded by encoders 822 and 823 Encoders 822 and 823 format the PCI address data bits to a form more suitable for parallel to serial conversion prior to transmittal on the XPBus Similarly address and data information from the receivers is decoded by decoders 823 and 828 to a form more suitable for transmissi
38. he hard disk drive and execute a security program step 603 The security program runs through a sequence of steps before allowing a user to operate the present system with the ACM Among other processes the security program deter mines if an Auto lock is ON If so the security program goes via branch 606 to step 607 Alternatively the security program goes to step 609 which determines that the lock stays OFF and loops to step 627 which indicates that the ACM can be removed physically from the console In step 607 the security program turns a switch or switching means that turns ON a lock which can be electrical mechanical or a combination of electrical and mechanical In a specific embodiment the security program turns OFF the power of the ACM and console Here the security pro gram directs the OS to turn the power OFF step 613 In an embodiment where power failure occurs step 611 a key is used to release a latch in the ACM on the lock 615 where the ACM can be removed step 627 From step 613 the security program determines if the ACM is to be removed step 617 If not the lock stays ON step 619 Alternatively the security detection program determines if the password or other secu rity code matches with the designated password step 621 If not the lock stays ON step 623 Alternatively the security program releases the lock 625 which frees the ACM Next the ACM can be removed step 627 In an alternative embodi
39. id differ ential signal channel comprising two sets of unidirec tional serial bit channels in opposite directions a first interface controller configured to be coupled to the console upon insertion of the enclosure into the console the first interface controller configured to transmit Peripheral Component Interconnect PCI bus transaction on the differential signal channel and a programmable memory device in said enclosure said programmable memory device being configurable to store a password for preventing unauthorized use of said hard disk drive 42 The computer module of claim 41 wherein the first interface controller is configured to be coupled with a sec ond interface controller of the console through the differen tial signal channel 43 A computer module comprising an enclosure configured to be inserted into a console a central processing unit in said enclosure said central processing unit comprising a microprocessor based integrated circuit chip a hard disk drive in said enclosure said hard disk drive being coupled to said central processing unit a differential signal channel in said enclosure said differ ential signal channel comprising two sets of unidirec tional serial channels in opposite directions an interface controller coupled to the differential signal channels and configured to communicate data in a form of encoded bit stream of Peripheral Component Inter connect PCI bus transaction and a progra
40. ilarly connectors hav ing a smaller number of pins are also less expensive and less bulky than connectors having a larger number of pins In a preferred embodiment the interface channel has a plurality of serial bit channels numbering fewer than the 35 40 4 na 65 12 number of parallel bus lines in each of the PCI buses and operates at a clock speed higher than the clock speed at which any of the bus lines operates More specifically the interface channel includes two sets of unidirectional serial bit channels which transmit data in opposite directions such that one set of bit channels transmits serial bits from the HIC to the PIC while the other set transmits serial bits from the PIC to the HIC For each cycle of the PCI clock each bit channel of the interface channel transmits a packet of serial bits FIG 8 is a detailed block diagram of one embodiment of the host interface controller HIC of the present invention As shown in FIG 8 HIC 800 comprises bus controller 810 translator 820 transmitter 830 receiver 840 a PLL 850 an address data multiplexer A D MUX 860 a read write con troller RD WR Cntl 870 a video serial to parallel con verter 880 and a CPU control amp general purpose input output latch driver CPU CNTL amp GPIO latch driver 890 HIC 800 is coupled to an optional flash memory BIOS configuration unit 801 Flash memory unit 801 stores basic input output system BIOS and PCI configuration in
41. ing an enclosure configured to be inserted into a slot of a console comprising a LAN communication device a central processing unit in said enclosure said central processing unit comprising a microprocessor based integrated circuit chip a hard disk drive in said enclosure said hard disk drive being coupled to said central processing unit a low voltage differential signal LVDS channel in said enclosure said low voltage differential signal channel comprising two sets of multiple unidirectional serial bit channels in opposite directions and configured to com municate data in a form of encoded bit stream of Peripheral Component Interconnect PCI bus transac tion an interface controller coupled to the low voltage differ ential signal channel and a programmable memory device in said enclosure said programmable memory device being configurable to store a password for preventing unauthorized use of said hard disk drive 58 The computer module of claim 57 wherein the LVDS channel is configured to communicate in 10 bit packets 59 The computer module of claim 57 wherein the com puter module is configured to receive power to operate from a power supply in the console after insertion into the con sole
42. ion provides a method for operating a computer system such as a modular computer system and others The method includes inserting an attached computer module ACM into a bay of a modular computer system The ACM has a microprocessor unit e g microcontroller microprocessor coupled to a mass memory storage device e g hard disk The method also includes applying power to the computer system and the ACM to execute a security program which is stored in the mass memory storage device The method also includes prompting for a user password from a user on a display e g flat panel CRT In a further embodiment the present method includes a step of reading a permanent pass word or user identification code stored in flash memory or other integrated circuit element The permanent password or user identification code provides a permanent finger print on the attached computer module The present invention includes a variety of these methods that can be implemented in computer codes for example as well as hardware Numerous benefits are achieved using the present inven tion over previously existing techniques The present inven tion provides mechanical and electrical security systems to prevent theft or unauthorized use of the computer system in a specific embodiment Additionally the present invention substantially prevents accidental removal of the ACM from the console In some embodiments the present invention prevents illegal or un
43. ment the present invention pro vides a security system for the ACM which is outside the console or computer module bay See FIG 7 for example As shown the security system is implemented to prevent illegal or unauthorized use step 701 of the ACM which has not been used in the console Here a key turns ON a lock step 703 The lock moves a latch in the ACM to a specific spatial location that physical blocks the passage of the ACM into the computer module bay Accordingly the ACM cannot insert step 705 into the computer module bay In an alternative aspect the key can be used to turn the lock OFF step 707 Here the key moves the latch in a selected spatial location that allows the ACM to be inserted into the computer bay module In the OFF position the ACM inserts into the computer module bay step 709 Once the ACM is in the bay a user can begin operating the ACM through the console In one embodiment the computer con sole including the ACM goes through the sequence of steps in the above FIG but is not limited In a specific embodiment the present invention imple ments the sequences above using computer software In other aspects computer hardware can also be used and is preferably in some applications The computer hardware can include a mechanical lock which is built into the ACM An example of such mechanical lock is shown above but can also be others In other aspects the lock can be controlled or accessed electroni
44. mmable memory device in said enclosure said programmable memory device being configurable to store a password for preventing unauthorized use of said hard disk drive 44 A method for operating a computer system said method comprising inserting an attached computer module ACM into a bay of a modular computer system said ACM comprising 15 20 25 30 40 45 50 55 60 65 20 a microprocessor unit coupled to a mass memory stor age device a differential signal channel comprising two sets of uni directional serial channels in opposite directions and an interface controller coupled to the differential signal channel and configured to communicate data on the serial channels comprising encoded bit stream of Peripheral Component Interconnect PCI bus trans action applying power to said computer system and said ACM to execute a security program said security program being stored in said mass memory storage device and prompting for a user password from a user on a display 45 A method for operating a computer system said method comprising inserting an attached computer module ACM into a bay of a modular computer system said ACM comprising a microprocessor unit coupled to a mass memory stor age device a differential signal channel comprising two sets of uni directional serial channels in opposite directions and an interface controller coupled to a connector through the differ
45. module of claim 10 wherein said sole noid also drives said mechanical lock from said second posi tion to said first position 12 The computer module of claim 1 further comprising a real time clock circuit coupled to said central processing unit 13 The computer module of claim 12 further comprising a battery coupled to a host interface controller that includes said real time clock 14 A method for operating a computer system said method comprising inserting an attached computer module ACM into a bay of a modular computer system said ACM compris ing a microprocessor unit coupled to a mass memory storage device applying power to said computer system and said ACM to execute a security program said security program being stored in said mass memory storage device and prompting for a user password from a user on a display 15 The method of claim 14 wherein said ACM com prises an enclosure that houses said microprocessor unit and said mass memory storage device 16 The method of claim 14 further comprising providing a user password to said security program 17 The method of claim 14 further comprising a flash memory device for storing a desired password for said ACM US RE41 294 E 17 18 The method of claim 17 wherein said flash memory device maintains said desired password when power is removed from said ACM 19 The method of claim 18 wherein said flash memory device is coupled to a host interf
46. ommunication to and from the ACM The CMB also provides mechanical pro tection and support to ACM 10 The CMB has a mechanical alignment mechanism for mating a portion of the ACM to the console The CMB further has thermal heat dissipation sinks electrical connection mechanisms and the like Some details of the ACM can be found in co pending patent appli US RE41 294 E 5 cation Nos 09 149 882 and 09 149 548 filed Sep 8 1998 commonly assigned and hereby incorporated by reference for all purposes In a preferred embodiment the present system has a secu rity system which includes a mechanical locking system an electrical locking system and others The mechanical lock ing system includes at least a key 11 The key 11 mates with key hole 13 in a lock which provides a mechanical latch 15 in a closed position The mechanical latch in the closed position mates and interlocks the ACM to the computer module bay The mechanical latch which also has an open position allows the ACM to be removed from the computer module bay Further details of the mechanical locking sys tem are shown in the Fig below FIG 2 is a simplified diagram of a computer module 10 according to an embodiment of the present invention This diagram is merely an illustration and should not limit the scope of the claims herein One of ordinary skill in the art would recognize other variations modifications and alterna tives Some of the reference numerals are
47. on on the host PCI bus Thereaf ter the decoded data and address information is passed through FIFOs 813 and 818 prior to being transferred to the host PCI bus FIFOs 812 813 817 and 818 allow bus con troller 810 to handle posted and delayed PCI transactions and to provide deep buffering to store PCI transactions Bus controller 810 also comprises slave read write con trol RD WR Cntl 814 and master read write control RD WR Cntl 815 RD WR controls 814 and 815 are involved in the transfer of PCI control signals between bus controller 810 and the host PCI bus Bus controller 810 is coupled to translator 820 Trans a tor 820 comprises encoders 822 and 827 decoders 823 and 828 control decoder amp separate data path unit 824 and control encoder amp merge data path unit 825 As discussed above encoders 822 and 827 are part of slave data unit 811 and master data unit 816 respectively receive PCI address and data information from FIFOs 812 and 817 respectively and encode the PCI address and data information into a form more suitable for parallel to serial conversion prior to US RE41 294 E 13 transmittal on the XPBus Similarly decoders 823 and 828 are part of slave data unit 811 and master data unit 816 respectively and format address and data information from receiver 840 into a form more suitable for transmission on the host PCI bus Control encoder amp merge data path unit 825 receives PCI control signals from the slave
48. ontrol bit it is possible to place the lock in the lock or unlock position in an electronic manner Once the status of the lock is determined the host interface controller can either lock or unlock the latch on the module using a variety of prompts for example In a preferred embodiment the present invention uses a password protection scheme to electronically prevent unau US RE41 294 E 9 thorized access to the computer module The present pass word protection scheme uses a combination of software which is a portion of the security program and a user password which can be stored in the flash memory device 505 By way of the flash memory device the password does not become erased by way of power failure or the lock The password is substantially fixed in code which cannot be easily erased Should the user desire to change the password it can readily be changed by erasing the code which is stored in flash memory and a new code i e password is written into the flash memory An example of a flash memory device can include a Intel Flash 28F800F3 series flash which is available in 8 Mbit and 16 Mbit designs Other types of flash devices can also be used however Details of a password protection method are further explained below by way of the FIGS In a specific embodiment the present invention also includes a real time clock 510 in the ACM but is not limited The real time clock can be implemented using a reference oscillator
49. ose transmitted within the previous two clock cycles for retransmission if transmission error is detected and a parity error signal is received on line RSTEP It is to be noted that parallel to serial converters 832 do not contain buffers such as those contained in paral lel to serial converters 1132 for purposes of retransmission since HIC 800 does not provide for parity error signal detec tion Yet another difference between HIC 800 and HIC 1100 is the fact that in HIC 1100 clock multipliers 1131 and 1141 multiply the PCK and PCKR clocks respectively by a factor of 6 rather than 10 because the XPBus coupled to HIC 1100 transmits six bit packets instead of ten bit packets during each XPBus clock cycle Sending a smaller number of bits per XPBus clock cycle provides the benefit of improving syn chronization between the data latching clock output by clock multipliers 1131 and 1141 and the XPBus clocks PCK and PCKR In another embodiment one may send 5 or some other number of bits per XPBus clock cycle As mentioned above the remaining elements in HIC 1100 are identical to those in HIC 800 and reference to the description of the elements in HIC 800 may be made to understand the func tion of the corresponding elements in HIC 1100 FIG 12 is a schematic diagram of the lines PCK and PDO to PD3 These lines are unidirectional LVDS lines for trans mitting signals from HIC 1100 to the PIC of FIG 10 Another set of lines namely PCKR and PDRO to
50. processors such as the Intel Penttum microprocessor chips They also include a hard or fixed disk drive such as memory in the giga bit range Additionally the PCs often include a random access memory integrated circuit device such as a dynamic random access memory device which is commonly termed DRAM The DRAM devices now provide up to millions of memory cells 1 e mega bit on a single slice of silicon PCs also include a high resolution display such as cathode ray tubes or CRTs In most cases the CRTs are at least 15 inches or 17 inches or 20 inches in diameter High resolution flat panel displays are also used with PCs Many external or peripheral devices can be used with the PCs Among others these peripherals devices include mass storage devices such as a Zip M Drive product sold by Iomega Corporation of Utah Other storage devices include external hard drives tape drives and other Additional devices include communication devices such as a modem which can be used to link the PC to a wide area network of computers such as the Internet Furthermore the PC can include output devices such as a printer and other output means Moreover the PC can include special audio output devices such as speakers the like PCs also have easy to use keyboards mouse input devices and the like The keyboard is generally configured similar to 20 25 30 35 40 45 50 55 60 65 2 a typewriter format The keyboard also has
51. r 427 an IDE controller 429 and other components Adjacent to and in parallel alignment with the hard drive module is a personal computer interface PCI bus 431 432 A power regulator 435 is disposed near the PCI bus US RE41 294 E 7 In a specific embodiment north bridge unit 421 often couples to a computer memory to the graphics accelerator 423 to the IDE controller and to the host interface controller via the PCI bus Graphics accelerator 423 typically couples to a graphics memory 423 and other elements IDE control ler 429 generally supports and provides timing signals nec essary for the IDE bus In the present embodiment the IDE controller is embodied as a 643U2 PCI to IDE chip from CMD Technology for example Other types of buses than IDE are contemplated for example EIDE SCSI 1394 and the like in alternative embodiments of the present invention The hard drive module or mass storage unit 420 typically includes a computer operating system application software program files data files and the like In a specific embodiment the computer operating system may be the Windows98 operating system from Microsoft Corporation of Redmond Wash Other operating systems such as WindowsNT MacOS8 Unix and the like are also contem plated in alternative embodiments of the present invention Further some typical application software programs can include Office98 by Microsoft Corporation Corel Perfect Suite by Corel and others
52. r whereas the HIC is a fixed receiver slave The LVDS lines of XPBus a cable friendly and remote system I O bus transmit fixed length data pack ets within a clock cycle FIG 10 is a block diagram of another embodiment of the HIC and PIC of the present invention and the interface ther ebetween One important difference between the XPBuses shown in FIGS 8 and 10 is the fact that unlike the XPBus of FIG 8 the XPBus of FIG 10 does not have control lines PCN and PCNR Another difference lies in the fact that the XPBus of FIG 10 has two dedicated reset lines RSTEH and RSTEP instead of only one as is the case for the XPBus of FIG 8 RSTEH and RSTEP are unidirectional reset and error condition signal lines that transmit a reset and error condition signal from the host PCI to the peripheral PCI and from the peripheral PCI to host PCI respectively FIG 11 shows a detailed block diagrams of the HIC Shown in FIG 10 HIC 1100 shown in FIG 11 is other than for a few difference identical to HIC 800 shown in FIG 8 Accordingly reference numbers for components in HIC 1100 have been selected such that a component in HIC 1100 and its corresponding component in HIC 800 have reference numbers that differ by 300 and have the same two least sig nificant digits One of the differences between HIC 1100 and HIC 800 is the fact that unlike HIC 800 HIC 1100 does not have a parallel to serial converter or a serial to parallel converter dedicated exclu
53. ral Component Interconnect PCT bus transaction the differential signal channel trans mitting data in two sets of unidirectional serial bit channels in opposite directions and a microprocessor unit coupled to a mass memory stor age device applying power to said computer system and said ACM to execute a security program said security program being stored in said mass memory storage device and prompting for a user password from a user on a display 33 The method of claim 32 wherein said security program is configured to manage a user s privilege to access data based on said password 34 The method of claim 32 further comprises transmitting the encoded serial bit stream in 10 bit packets 35 The method of claim 32 further comprises the serial bit stream of PCI bus transaction transmitting encoded PCI address and data bits 36 A method for operating a computer system said method comprising inserting an attached computer module ACM into a bay of a modular computer system housed in a console said console comprising a first interface controller said ACM comprising a microprocessor unit coupled to a mass memory stor age device including a plurality of application soft ware program files the microprocessor unit config ured to execute the plurality of application software program files and a second interface controller applying power to said computer system such that said ACM communicates with the console through
54. rammable memory device being configurable to store a password for preventing a possibility of unau thorized use of said hard disk drive 2 The computer module of claim 1 further comprising a host interface controller for providing a status of a locking device in said enclosure 3 The computer module of claim 1 further comprising a mechanical locking device that is coupled to said program mable memory device 4 The computer module of claim 1 further comprising a host interface controller coupled to a mechanical locking device said host interface controller being coupled to said programmable memory device 5 The computer module of claim 1 wherein said pro grammable memory device comprises a flash memory device 6 The computer module of claim 1 wherein said pro grammable memory device comprises a flash memory device having at least 8 Mbits of cells and greater 7 The computer module of claim 1 further comprising a security program in a main memory 8 The computer module of claim 7 wherein said security program comprises a code for storing a password on said programmable memory device 9 The computer module of claim 8 wherein said security program comprises a code for checking a time from said real time clock circuit 10 The computer module of claim 1 further comprising a host interface controller coupled to a solenoid that drives a mechanical lock in a first position to a second position 11 The computer
55. ransferring software and data between the two types of computers For example the user must often couple the portable computer to a local area network i e LAN to a serial port with a modem and then manually transfer over files and data between the desk top and the portable computer Alternatively the user often must use floppy disks to zip up files and programs that exceed the storage capacity of conventional floppy disks and transfer the floppy disk data manually Another drawback with the current model of separate por table and desktop computer is that the user has to spend money to buy components and peripherals the are duplicated in at least one of these computers For example both the desktop and portable computers typically include hard disk drives floppy drives CD ROMs computer memory host processors graphics accelerators and the like Because pro gram software and supporting programs generally must be installed upon both hard drives in order for the user to oper ate programs on the road and in the office hard disk space is often wasted One approach to reduce some of these drawbacks has been the use of a docking station with a portable computer Here the user has the portable computer for on the road use and a docking station that houses the portable computer for office use The docking station typically includes a sepa rate monitor keyboard mouse and the like and is generally incompatible with other de
56. rtion of the attached computer module and couples to connectors 17 Here the CPU module is spatially located near connector 17 The CPU module can use a suitable microprocessing unit microcontroller digital signal processor and the like In a specific embodiment the CPU module uses for example a 400 MHz Pentium II microprocessor module from Intel Cor poration and like microprocessors from AMD Corporation Cyrix Corporation now National Semiconductor Corporation and others In other aspects the microproces sor can be one such as the Compaq Computer Corporation Alpha Chip Apple Computer Corporation PowerPC G3 processor and the like Further higher speed processors are contemplated in other embodiments as technology increases in the future In the CPU module host interface controller 401 is coupled to BIOS flash memory 405 Additionally the host interface controller is coupled to a clock control logic a configuration signal and a peripheral bus The present invention has a host interface controller that has lock control 403 to provide security features to the present ACM Furthermore the present invention uses a flash memory that includes codes to provide password protection or other elec tronic security methods The second portion of the attached computer module has the hard drive module 420 Among other elements the hard drive module includes north bridge 421 graphics accelerator 423 graphics memory 425 a power controlle
57. said interface controllers the ACM executing a security program said security program being stored in said mass storage device US RE41 294 E 19 storing a user password in said ACM and prompting for said user password from a user on a display coupled to the console wherein said interface control lers communicates through a differential signal channel for communicating an encoded serial bit stream of Peripheral Component Interconnect PCI bus transaction the differential signal channel transmitting data in two sets of unidirectional serial bit channels in opposite directions 37 The method of claim 36 wherein said mass memory storage device comprises flash memory 38 The method of claim 36 wherein said security program manages a user s privilege to access data based on said password 39 The method of claim 36 further comprises transmitting the encoded serial bit stream in 10 bit packets 40 The method of claim 36 further comprises the serial bit stream of PCI bus transaction transmitting encoded PCI address and data bits 41 A computer module comprising an enclosure configured to be inserted into a console to form a functional computer a central processing unit in said enclosure said central processing unit comprising a microprocessor based integrated circuit chip a hard disk drive in said enclosure said hard disk drive coupled to said central processing unit a differential signal channel in said enclosure sa
58. shared printArticle jhtml article2 1003 1003r3 full html amp pub nwe gt gt downloaded from web on Jun 23 2004 5 pgs Gardner Michael and Null Christopher A Server Condo minium http www lantimes com testing 98jun 806a042a html gt gt Jun 23 2004 3 pgs Harrison Dave VME in the Military The M1A2 Main Battle Tank Upgrade Relies on COTS VME lt lt http www dy4 com gt gt Feb 9 1998 pp 1 34 Internet Telephone Roundup Industrial Computers lt lt http www tmcnet com articles itmag 0499 0499round up htm gt gt downloaded from web on Jun 23 2004 5 pgs Microsoft Cluster Service Center MSCS Basics down loaded from lt lt http www nwnetworks com mscsbasics htm Feb 7 2005 4 pages total MPL Brochure Ist Rugged All in One Industrial 486FDX 133 MHz PC pp 1 2 downloaded from the inter net at http www mpl ch DOCs ds48600 pdf on Feb 15 2006 MPL Brochure IPM 486 Brochure IPM5 User Manual pp 1 9 downloaded from the Internet at http www mpl ch DOCs u48600xd pdf on Feb 15 2006 MPL The First Rugged All in One Industrial 486FDX 133 MHz PC IPM486 IPMS User Manual 1998 pp 1 52 Press Release Hiawatha Iowa Mar 1 1997 entitled Crystal Group Products Offer Industrial PCs with Built in Flexibility lt lt http www crystalpc com news pressre leases prodpr asp gt gt downloaded from web on May 14 2004 2 pgs Press Release Kanata
59. similar to the pre vious Fig for easy reading The computer module 10 includes key 11 which is insertable into keyhole 13 of the lock The lock has at least two position including a latched or closed position and an unlatched or open position The latched position secures the ACM to the computer module bay The unlatched or open position allows the ACM to be inserted into or removed from the computer bay module As shown the ACM also has a slot or opening 14 which allows the latch to move into and out of the ACM The ACM also has openings 17 in the backside for an electrical and or mechanical connection to the computer module bay which is connected to the console FIG 3 is a simplified side view diagram of a computer module according to an embodiment of the present inven tion This diagram is merely an illustration and should not limit the scope of the claims herein One of ordinary skill in the art would recognize other variations modifications and alternatives Some of the reference numerals are similar to the previous FIG for easy reading As shown the ACM module inserts into the computer module bay frame 19 which is in the console A side 27 and a bottom 19 of ACM slide and fit firmly into the computer module bay frame which has at least a bottom portion 19 and back portion 26 A backside 23 of the ACM faces backside 26 of the frame ACM also has a front side or face 25 that houses the lock and exposes the keyhole 13 to a user Th
60. sively to CNTL out and CNTL in US RE41 294 E 15 signals respectively This is due to the fact that XPBus for HIC 1100 does not contain a PCN or PCNR line Another important difference between HIC 1100 and HIC 800 is the fact that HIC 1100 unlike HIC 800 has two reset lines RSTEP and RSTEHR instead of only one reset line Reset line RSTEP is coupled to Reset amp XPBus Parity Error Con trol Unit 1136 which receives on the reset line RSTEPH a reset signal and a parity error signal generated by the PIC sends a reset signal to the CPU CNTL amp GPIO latch driver 1190 and controls retransmission of bits from the parallel to serial converters 1132 Reset amp XPBus Parity Error Detec tion and Control Unit 1146 takes bits from serial to parallel converters 1142 performs a parity check to detect any trans mission error and sends reset and parity error signals to the PIC on the reset line RSTEH The reset and parity error signals may be distinguished by different signal patterns and or different signal durations In the two reset line system the reset and error parity signals are transmitted on the same line and it is possible to send a parity error confir mation signal on one line while receiving a reset signal on the other line Because HIC 1100 provides for parity error detection the parallel to serial converters 1132 include buff ers The buffers in parallel to serial converters 1132 store previously transmitted bits e g th
61. sktop PCs The docking station is also generally not compatible with portable computers of other vendors Another drawback to this approach is that the portable computer typically has lower performance and functionality than a conventional desktop PC For example the processor of the portable is typically much slower than processors in dedicated desktop computers because of power consumption and heat dissipation concerns As an example it is noted that at the time of drafting of the present application some top of the line desktops include 400 MHz processors whereas top of the line notebook computers include 266 MHz processors Another drawback to the docking station approach is that the typical cost of portable computers with docking stations US RE41 294 E 3 can approach the cost of having a separate portable computer and a separate desktop computer Further as noted above because different vendors of portable computers have pro prietary docking stations computer users are held captive by their investments and must rely upon the particular computer vendor for future upgrades support and the like Thus what is needed are computer systems that provide reduced user investment in redundant computer components and provide a variable level of performance based upon computer configuration SUMMARY OF THE INVENTION According to the present invention a technique including a method and device for securing a computer module using a
62. ssword 6 Operating System application software data files on primary HDD 7 An interface device and connectors to peripheral con sole 8 A software controllable mechanical lock lock control means and other accessories The ACM connects to a peripheral console with power supply a display device an input device and other elements Some details of these elements with the present security sys tem are described in more detail below FIG 4 is a simplified layout diagram of a security system for a computer system according to an embodiment of the present invention This diagram is merely an illustration and should not limit the scope of the claims herein One of ordi nary skill in the art would recognize other variations modifications and alternatives The layout diagram illus trates the top view of the module 10 where the backside components e g Host Interface Controller are depicted in dashed lines The layout diagram has a first portion which includes a central processing unit CPU module 400 and a second portion which includes a hard drive module 420 A common printed circuit board 437 houses these modules and the like Among other features the ACM includes the central processing unit module 400 with a cache memory 405 which is coupled to a north bridge unit 421 and a host inter face controller 401 The host interface controller includes a lock control 403 As shown the CPU module is disposed on a first po
63. st interface controller HIC of the present invention FIG 9 is a schematic diagram of the signal lines PCK PDO to PD3 and PCN FIG 10 is a block diagram of another embodiment of the HIC and PIC of the present invention and the interface ther ebetween FIG 11 is a detailed block diagram of another embodi ment of the HIC of the present invention FIG 12 is a schematic diagram of the signal lines PCK and PDO to PD3 DESCRIPTION OF SPECIFIC EMBODIMENTS I System Hardware FIG 1 is a simplified diagram of a computer system 1 according to an embodiment of the present invention This diagram is merely an illustration and should not limit the scope of the claims herein One of ordinary skill in the art would recognize other variations modifications and alterna tives The computer system 1 includes an attached computer module i e ACM 10 a desktop console 20 among other elements The computer system is modular and has a variety of components that are removable Some of these compo nents or modules can be used in different computers workstations computerized television sets and portable or laptop units In the present embodiment ACM 10 includes computer components as will be described below including a central processing unit CPU IDE controller hard disk drive computer memory and the like The computer module bay 1 e CMB 40 is an opening or slot in the desktop console The CMB houses the ACM and provides c
64. the length and width for easily inputting information by way of keys to the computer The mouse also has a sufficient size and shape to easily move a curser on the display from one location to another location Other types of computing devices include portable com puting devices such as laptop computers and the like Although somewhat successful laptop computers have many limitations These computing devices have poor dis play technology In fact these devices often have a smaller flat panel display that has poor viewing characteristics Additionally these devices also have poor input devices such as smaller keyboards and the like Furthermore these devices have limited common platforms to transfer informa tion to and from these devices and other devices such as PCs Up to now there has been little common ground between these platforms including the PCs and laptops in terms of upgrading ease of use cost performance and the like Many differences between these platforms probably some what intentional has benefited computer manufacturers at the cost of consumers A drawback to having two separate computers is that the user must often purchase both the desk top and laptop to have total computing power where the desktop serves as a regular computer and the laptop serves as a portable computer Purchasing both computers is often costly and runs thousands of dollars The user also wastes a significant amount of time t
65. ts from the PIC to HIC The lines used for transmitting information from the PIC to the HIC have the same structure as those shown in FIG 9 except that they transmit data in a direction opposite to that in which the lines shown in FIG 9 transmit data In other words they transmit information from the PIC to the HIC The bits on the PDRO to PDR3 and the PCNR lines are sent synchronously within every clock cycle of the PCKR Some of the examples of control information that may be sent in the reverse direction i e on PCNR line include a request to switch data bus direction because of a pending operation such as read data available a control signal change in the target requiring communication in the reverse direction tar get busy and transmission error detected The XPBus which includes lines PCK PDO to PD3 PCN PCKR PDRO to PDR3 and PCNR has two sets of unidirec tional lines transmitting clock signals and bits in opposite directions The first set of unidirectional lines includes PCK PDO to PD3 and PCN The second set of unidirectional lines includes PCKR PDRO to PDR3 and PCNR Each of these unidirectional set of lines is a point to point bus with a fixed transmitter and receiver or in other words a fixed mas ter and slave bus For the first set of unidirectional lines the HIC is a fixed transmitter master whereas the PIC is a fixed receiver slave For the second set of unidirectional lines the PIC is a fixed transmitter maste

Download Pdf Manuals

Related Search

Related Contents

消安全第78号 - 総務省消防庁  ASUS P8H61M Owner's Manual  The MC10 Control Unit  Kenwood DDX 5022 Y Instruction Manual  Bedienungsanleitung Gasgrill Ontario  IT - Rasor 1946  F115A `03(68V2) FL115A`03(68W2)  取扱説明書  Shop-Vac Canada Industrial Catalog  Sprint LG LN272S 3" 133g Blue  

Copyright © All rights reserved. Failed to retrieve file