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Multiple module computer system and method

1. mier 914 rsinding Opn PDT ee isng jereudueg LCE AERM OC EMEREORBO OE REDE OL EME ed P 2 La US 7 146 446 132 1 MULTIPLE MODULE COMPUTER SYSTEM AND METHOD CROSS REFERENCE TO RELATED APPLICATIONS The present application claims priority as a continuation of U S nonprovisional patent application Ser No 10 772 214 filed Feb 3 2004 which is a continuation of U S nonprovisional patent application Ser No 09 569 758 filed May 12 2000 Now U S Pat No 6 718 415 which claimed priority to U S Provisional Application No 60 134 122 filed May 14 1999 commonly assigned and hereby incorporated by reference BACKGROUND OF THE INVENTION The present invention relates to computing devices More particularly the present invention provides a system includ ing a plurality of computer modules that can independently operate to provide backup capability dual processing and the like Merely by way of example the present invention is applied to a modular computing environment for desk top computers but it will be recognized that the invention has a much wider range of applicability It can be applied to a server as well as ot
2. 60 Provisional application No 60 134 122 filed on May 14 1999 51 Int Cl 13 00 2006 01 52 U S USPC 710 301 709 227 709 248 710 313 710 315 710 63 710 72 58 Field of Classification Search None See application file for complete search history 56 References Cited To view the complete listing of prior art documents cited during the proceeding for Reexamination Control Number 95 001 328 please refer to the USPTO s public Patent Application Information Retrieval PAIR system under the Display References tab Primary Examiner Majid A Banankhah 57 ABSTRACT A computer system for multi processing purposes The com puter system has a console comprising a first coupling site and a second coupling site Each coupling site comprises a con nector The console is an enclosure that is capable of housing each coupling site The system also has a plurality of com puter modules where each of the computer modules is coupled to a connector Each of the computer modules has a processing unit a main memory coupled to the processing unit a graphics controller coupled to the processing unit and amass storage device coupled to the processing unit Each of the computer modules is substantially similar in design to each other to provide independent processing of each of the computer modules in the computer system 100 113 119 US 7 146 446 Cl 1 INTER PARTES REEXAMINATION
3. time of day clock configuration settings when the ACM is not attached to a PCON or machine state when moving an active ACM immediately from one PCON to another The total energy stored in such a battery would however be insufficient to sustain operation of the CPU at its rated speed along with the memory and primary mass storage for more than a fraction of an hour if the battery were able to deliver the required level of electrical current at all FIG 6 is a block diagram of an attached computing module ACM 500 The physical ACM package 500 con tains the ACM functional components 501 and the ACM side of the ACM to PCON Interconnection 300 The ACM 501 comprises a CPU component 510 a system memory component 520 a primary mass storage component 530 a high performance devices components 550 and an interface and support component 540 The ACM side of the ACM to PCON Interconnection 700 comprises a Host Interface Controller HIC component 720 and an ACM connector component 730 The HIC 720 and connector 730 components couple the ACM functional components 800 with the signals of an ACM to PCON interface bus 710 used to operatively connect an ACM with a PCON The ACM to PCON interface bus 710 comprises conveyance for electrical power 714 and signals for a peripheral bus 712 video 716 video port 717 and console type 718 The preferred ACM to PCON Interconnection 700 is described in detail in a companion U S patent application Se
4. The isolation of the relatively heavy and sizable primary display 610 from the core computing power and user envi ronment contained within an ACM represents a further advantage of the present invention The primary input component 620 of the PCON func tional circuitry 601 of the presently described embodiment comprises keyboard interface circuitry 622 keyboard con nector 623 pointer interface circuitry 624 and pointer connector 625 Keyboard interface circuitry 622 and pointer interface circuitry 624 connect to ISA bus 645 and are thereby coupled to the CPU component 510 of FIG 3 of any ACM attached to PCON 600 Keyboard interface cir cuitry 622 interfaces a standard computer keyboard not shown attached at connector 623 to ISA bus 645 Pointer interface circuitry 622 interfaces a standard computer point ing device not shown such as a computer mouse attached at connector 625 to ISA bus 645 Computer keyboards pointing devices connectors 623 625 keyboard interface circuitry 622 and pointer interface circuitry 624 are well known in the art The isolation of the relatively heavy and sizable primary input devices 620 from the core computing power and user environment contained within an ACM represents a further advantage of the present invention The primary power supply component 630 of the PCON functional circuitry 601 of the presently described embodi ment provides electrical energy for the sustained normal operation of t
5. 720 and 730 The fabrication and use of such circuits boards is well known and understood in the art Connector 922 is also mounted on main circuit board 910 and mates with mobile processor module 920 Mobile processor module 920 represents a form of packaging for a microprocessor and related com ponents The illustrated mobile processor module 920 is a self contained unit that includes a microprocessor 512 CPU cache 514 and CPU bridge 546 operatively interconnected by the manufacturer example of one such module is the Pentium Processor with MMX Technology Mobile Module from Intel Corporation order number 24 7515 001 Sep tember 5997 One skilled in the art recognizes that discrete microprocessor cache and bridge could have been employed and mounted directly to the main circuit board US 7 146 446 132 17 The mobile processor module 920 blocks the view from the top of the system BIOS 524 Similarly hard disk drive 532 hides RAM memory 522 the high performance graph ics processor 552 the host interface controller 720 and flash memory 526 Memory upgrade socket 930 remains exposed to facilitate installation of additional RAM memory 522 Power regulator 542 like the memory upgrade socket enjoys a generous amount of overhead clearance to accom modate its vertical size The area including IDE controller 548 also enjoys overhead clearance to facilitate a cable connection with the hard disk drive 532 The functional interco
6. 8 Power supply and others computer bay 15 an opening in the peripheral console that receives an ACM CMB provides mechanical protection to ACM mechanical alignment for connector mating mechanical locking system to prevent theft and accidental removal and connectors at the end of the opening for connecting to ACM The interface bus between ACM and the peripheral console has a video bus peripheral connec tions serial communication connection control signals and power connection Video bus includes video output of graphics devices i e analog RGB and control signals for monitor Power connection supplies the power for ACM An implementation of peripheral sharing is the use of Ethernet controllers to bridge the communication between the two ACMs Some of the peripheral devices residing in the peripheral console are shown in the simplified diagram of FIG 2 As shown the diagram is merely an illustration which should not limit the scope of the claims herein One of ordinary skill in the art would recognize many other variations alternatives and modifications As shown a primary ACM 203 is connected to PCI peripheral devices in the peripheral console through the PCI bus 225 that passes through the connection between primary ACM 203 and peripheral console 201 As shown ACM has a CPU module 207 coupled to the PCI bus through a North Bridge 211 The CPU module can use a suitable microprocessing unit microcontroller digital signal
7. Cubix 5 5200XS Series Technical Specifications 2000 http 64 173 211 7 support techinfo bc sp5200xs spec htm downloaded from web on Jun 22 2004 2 pgs Cubix SP 5200 Series Chapter 1 Introduction 2000 http 64 173 211 7 support techinfo manuals sp5200 chap 1 htm gt gt downloaded from web on Jun 22 2004 3 pgs Cubix SP 5200 Series Chapter 2 Switches amp Jumpers 2000 lt lt http 64 173 211 7 support techinfo manuals sp5200 chap 3 htm gt gt downloaded from web on Jun 22 2004 3 pgs Cubix SP 5200 Series Chapter 3 Installation 2000 http 64 173 211 7 support techinfo manuals sp5200 chap 2 htm gt gt downloaded from web on Jun 22 2004 4 pgs Cubix 5 5200 Series Chapter 4 Technical Reference 2000 http 64 173 211 7 support techinfo manuals sp5200 chap 4 htm downloaded from web on Jun 22 2004 3 pgs Cubix DP 6200 D Series Plug In Computers lt lt http 64 173 211 7 support techinfo be dp 6200d intro htm gt gt downloaded from web on Jun 22 2004 3 pgs Cubix Installing DP or SP Series Boards 2000 lt lt http 64 173 211 7 support techinfo be dp 6200d intro htm gt gt downloaded from web Jun 22 2004 2 pgs Cubix Powering On Off or Resetting Plug In Computers in an Density System 2000 http 64 173 211 7 support techinfo system density info power htm downloaded from w
8. and a graphics controller coupled to the video switch and a mass storage device coupled to one of the computer modules wherein each of the computer modules operates fully inde pendent of each other 17 The computer system of claim 16 wherein the Ether net controller in the console adapted to transfer data between the computer modules and an external network 18 The computer system of claim 16 wherein each computer module further comprises a grounding plate for shielding electromagnetic interference EMI 19 The computer system of claim 16 wherein the com puter module further comprises circuitry that can vary the clock frequency of the processing unit for varying its power consumption 20 The computer system of claim 16 wherein the com puter module further comprises a second enclosure with grooves running down the sides for engaging with rails running down the computer bay of the console upon inser tion US 7 146 446 132 23 21 A computer system comprising a console comprising a video switch a first coupling site and a second coupling site each coupling site com prising a connector and a slot the console being a first enclosure housing the video switch each coupling site an Ethernet hub controller coupled to an external network and a plurality of computer modules each computer module coupled to one of the coupling sites through the con nector and the slot and comprising a processing unit a main m
9. 12 United States Patent Chu US007146446B2 US 7 146 446 B2 Dec 5 2006 10 Patent No 45 Date of Patent 54 75 73 n Q1 Q2 65 63 60 51 52 58 56 MULTIPLE MODULE COMPUTER SYSTEM AND METHOD Inventor William W Y Chu Los Altos CA US Assignee Acqis Technology Inc Mountain View CA US Notice Subject to any disclaimer the term of this patent is extended or adjusted under 35 U S C 154 b by 18 days Appl No 11 113 401 Filed Apr 22 2005 Prior Publication Data US 2005 0195575 A1 Sep 8 2005 Related U S Application Data Continuation of application No 10 772 214 filed on Feb 3 2004 which is a continuation of application No 09 569 758 filed on May 12 2000 now Pat No 6 718 415 Provisional application No 60 134 122 filed on May 14 1999 Int Cl G06F 13 00 2006 01 USS l 3e 710 301 710 313 710 315 710 63 710 72 709 227 709 248 Field of Classification Search 710 305 315 710 300 304 62 64 72 73 709 214 217 709 219 226 227 See application file for complete search history References Cited U S PATENT DOCUMENTS 3 996 585 A 4 623 964 A 4 700 362 A 4 769 764 A 12 1976 Hogan 11 1986 Getz et al 10 1987 Todd et al 9 1988 Levanon 4 872 001 A 10 1989 Maniwa et al 4 890282 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
10. A 10 1991 Dyke 5 086 499 A 2 1992 Mutone 5 251 097 A 10 1993 Simmons et al 5 278 509 A 1 1994 Haynes et al Continued FOREIGN PATENT DOCUMENTS EP 722138 Al 7 1996 Continued OTHER PUBLICATIONS Agerwala SP2 System Architecture Systems Journal Scalable Parallel Computing vol 34 No 2 1995 Continued Primary Examiner Mark H Rinehart Assistant Examiner Raymond N Phan 74 Attorney Agent or Firm Townsend and Townsend and Crew LLP 57 ABSTRACT A computer system for multi processing purposes The computer system has a console comprising a first coupling site and a second coupling site Each coupling site comprises a connector The console is an enclosure that is capable of housing each coupling site The system also has a plurality of computer modules where each of the computer modules is coupled to a connector Each of the computer modules has a processing unit a main memory coupled to the processing unit a graphics controller coupled to the processing unit and a mass storage device coupled to the processing unit Each of the computer modules is substantially similar in design to each other to provide independent processing of each of the computer modules in the computer system 80 Claims 9 Drawing Sheets US 7 146 446 2 Page 2 U S PATENT DOCUMENTS 6 311 268 BL 10 2001 Chu 6 314 522 11 2001 Chu et al 5 278 730 A 1 1994 Kikinis 6 317 329 11 2001 Dowdy et al 5 293 497
11. and 0 5 40 45 55 60 65 16 Interface Devices for Bridging Computer Interface Buses already incorporated herein by reference The connectors 730a and 7305 used in one embodiment are connectors complying with the Device Bay industry standard as docu mented in Device Bay Interface Specification revision 0 85 Feb 6 1998 Such connectors have specifically been designed to stand up to the rigors of repeated insertion and withdrawal Cooling plate 830 forms part of the top surface 812 of ACM 500 The cooling plate 830 may be mounted to or project through an opening formed in case 810 Similarly electromagnetic interference EMI lectrostatic discharge ESD grounding plate 832 forms part of the right surface 814 of ACM 500 The grounding plate 832 may be mounted to or project through an opening formed in case 810 Cooling plate 830 and grounding plate 832 compressively mate with counterparts when the ACM is fully inserted into the computer bay The counterparts located along the bound aries of the computer bay conduct dangerous heat and electrical charges away from the ACM Inside the ACM cooling plate 830 thermally couples to heat sensitive com ponents such as CPU 810 by methods well known in the art Similarly grounding plate 832 electrically couples to EMI ESD sensitive components such as a microprocessor by methods well known in the art LCD display 850 forms part of the right surface 814 o
12. circuitry circuitry that can vary the clock frequency of the processing unit for varying its power consumption and a network controller coupled to the Ethernet controller through the connector of the coupling site to support communication with the external network wherein each of the computer modules operates fully inde pendent of each other and wherein the primary input circuitry couples to input devices through the console only and wherein one of the computer modules is configured to provide protection against failure of another of the plurality of computer modules 80 The computer system of claim 79 wherein each computer module further comprises a grounding plate for shielding electromagnetic interference EMI US007146446C1 a2 INTER PARTES REEXAMINATION CERTIFICATE 81 1th United States Patent Chu US 7 146 446 C1 Jan 29 2014 10 Number 45 Certificate Issued 54 MULTIPLE MODULE COMPUTER SYSTEM AND METHOD 75 Inventor William W Y Chu Los Altos CA US 73 Assignee Acqis LLC McKinney TX US Reexamination Request No 95 001 328 Mar 19 2010 Reexamination Certificate for Patent No 7 146 446 Issued Dec 5 2006 Appl No 11 113 401 Filed Apr 22 2005 Related U S Application Data 63 Continuation of application No 10 772 214 filed on Feb 3 2004 now Pat No 7 099 981 which is a continuation of application No 09 569 758 filed on May 12 2000 now Pat No 6 718 415
13. circuitry 601 of the presently described embodiment comprises PCI connectors 671 and ISA connectors 672 A circuit card may be inserted into one of the connectors 671 672 in order to be operatively coupled with the CPU 510 of anattached ACM shown in FIG 6 Each of connectors 671 electrically connects to PCI bus 641 and may receive and hold a printed circuit card which it electrically couples to PCI bus 641 Each of connectors 672 electrically connects to ISA bus 645 and may receive and hold a printed circuit card which it electrically couples to ISA bus 645 The PCI 641 and ISA 645 busses couple to the CPU 110 of an attached ACM shown in FIG 4 by circuitry already described Various modifications to the preferred embodiment can be made without departing from the spirit and scope of the invention A limited number of modifications have already been described in the preceding discussion For example a particular embodiment may insert another layer of bus bridging between the CPU bridge and the Peripheral bridge This may be desirable if for example a vendor wants to implement a proprietary general purpose bus having inter mediate performance characteristics that fall between those of the high performance general purpose bus originating at the CPU and the slower general purpose PCI bus Thus the foregoing description is not intended to limit the invention as set forth While the above is a full description of the specific embodiment
14. processor and the like In a specific embodiment the CPU module uses for example a 400 MHz Pentium microprocessor module from Intel Corporation and like microprocessors from AMD Corpora tion Cyrix Corporation now National Semiconductor Cor poration and others In other aspects the microprocessor 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 peripheral controller 213 is coupled to BIOS flash memory 217 Additionally the peripheral controller is coupled to a clock control logic a configuration signal and a peripheral bus The ACM has the hard drive module 215 Among other elements the ACM includes north bridge 215 graphics subsystem 223 e g graphics accelerator graphics memory an IDE controller and other components Adjacent to and in parallel alignment with the hard drive module 215 is the PCI bus In a specific embodi ment North Bridge unit 211 often couples to a computer memory 209 to the graphics subsystem and to the periph eral controller via the PCI bus Graphics subsystem typically couples to a graphics memory and other elements IDE controller generally supports and provides timing signals necessary for the IDE bus In the present embodiment the IDE controller is embodied as part of a P114XE controller f
15. 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 transferring software and data between the two types of computers For example the user must often couple the portable computer to a local area network 1 LAN to a serial port with a modem and then manually transfer over files and data between the desktop 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 portable 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 program software and supporting programs generally must be installed upon both hard drives in order for the user to operate 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 the road use and
16. use keyboards mouse input devices and the like The keyboard is generally configured similar to a typewriter format The keyboard also has 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 20 25 30 35 40 45 50 55 60 65 2 devices have limited common platforms to transfer infor mation 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 drawback to having two separate computers is that the user must often purchase both the desktop and laptop to have total computing power where the desktop
17. 0034 Od CSP cern engiereudued ee cm M 09 211 390148 Peer eRRECRRRRE ART ART Ae ed 09 wwf ee 1 RARER ERA AREER 0 0 1814 0122 024 Hp 206 OLS eT Tete eee Q Tt U S Patent Dec 5 2006 Sheet 7 of 9 US 7 146 446 B2 FIG 7 7 146 446 2 Sheet 8 of 9 Dec 5 2006 U S Patent 8AUQ pJeH c 925 2010000 eogpejul 8 911 VE 1 89282 27 026 7 146 446 2 Sheet 9 of 9 Dec 5 2006 U S Patent 689 O19 Loo rire rrr w N 519 999 299 ks RR 0994 Bi ry E 7595 ESQ veo NER B 191 peseydued 680 9 unos t 5 L H Od 5 e 4 a 4 9 H a Li t gt H 5 H ry Li H o
18. 1995 5 721 837 A 2 1998 Kikinis 5 721 842 A 2 1998 Beasley et al OTHER PUBLICATIONS 5 745 733 A 4 1998 Robinson 5 752 080 A 5 1998 Ryan Bernal Carlos product brochure entitled PowerSMP Series 5 764 924 A 6 1998 Hong 4000 1998 lt lt http www winnetmag com Windows Ar 5 774 704 A 6 1998 Williams ticle ArticleID 3095 3095 html downloaded from web on Jun 22 5 795 228 A 8 1998 Trumbull 2004 2 pgs 5 809 538 A 9 1998 Pollmann Cragle Jonathan Density System 1100 May 1999 lt lt http 5 815 681 A 9 1998 Kikinis www winnetmag com Windows Article ArticleID 5 199 5199 5 819 050 A 10 1998 Boehling et al html gt gt downloaded from web on Jun 21 2004 4 pgs 5 826 048 A 10 1998 Dempsey et al Feldman Jonathan Rack Steady The Four Rack Mounted Servers 5 848 249 A 12 1998 Garbus That Rocked Our Network lt lt http www networkcomputing 5 859 669 A 1 1999 Prentice com shared printArticle jhtml article 910 910r3sidel htm gt gt 5 907 566 A 5 1999 Benson et al Jun 23 2004 3 pgs 5 941 965 8 1999 Moroz Fetters Dave Cubix High Density Server Leads the Way With 5 948 047 A 9 1999 Jenkins et al Standout Management Software Feb 8 1999 lt lt http www 5 960 213 9 1999 Wilson nwe com shared printArticle jhtml article 1003 1003r3 full html 5 968 144 A 10 1999 Walker et al amp pub nwe gt gt downloaded from web on Jun 23 2004 5 pgs 5 971 804 A 10 1999 Gallagher et al Gardner Micha
19. 646 and the IDE controller 648 in a single package The secondary mass storage component 650 of the PCON functional circuitry 601 of the presently described embodi ment comprises diskette drive 654 hard disk drive 652 and CD ROM drive 656 Secondary mass storage 650 generally provides low cost non volatile storage for data files which may include software program files Data files stored on secondary mass storage 650 are not part of a computer user s core computing power and environment Secondary mass storage 650 may be used to store for example seldom used software programs software programs that are used only with companion hardware devices installed in the same peripheral console 600 or archival copies of data files that are maintained in primary mass storage 550 of an ACM shown in FIG 6 Storage capacities for secondary mass storage 650 devices may vary from the 1 44 megabytes of the 3 5 inch high density diskette drive 654 to more than 10 gigabytes for a large format 5 inch hard disk drive 652 Hard disk drive 652 employs fixed recording media while diskette drive 654 and CD ROM drive 656 employ remov able media Diskette drive 654 and hard disk drive 652 support both read and write operations 1 data stored on their recording media may be both recalled and modified while CD ROM drive 656 supports only read operations The other devices component 660 of the PCON functional circuitry 601 of the presently described embodi
20. 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 system are described in more detail below In a dual ACM system the primary ACM can connect directly to the peripheral board in the peripheral console The second ACM can connect either directly or indirectly to the peripheral board For indirect connection a receptacle board is added to allow a cable connection to the peripheral board This 15 to facilitate the mechanical positioning of the second ACM inside the com puter chassis The receptacle board approach can even be used for the primary ACM if a high bandwidth peripheral bus e g PCI Bus is not connected from the primary ACM to the peripheral board The shared peripheral console has a chassis and a moth erboard that connects the following devices 1 Input means e g keyboard and mouse 2 Display means e g RGB monitor 3 Add on means e g PCI add on slots 4 Two Computer Module Bays CMB with connectors to two ACMs 5 A serial communication Hub controller that interfaces to serial communication controller of both ACMs 5 20 25 30 35 40 45 50 55 60 65 6 6 Shared storage subsystem e g Floppy drive drive DVD drive or 2nd Hard Drive 7 Communication device e g modem
21. A 3 1994 Free 6 321 335 B1 11 2001 Chu 5 311 397 A 5 1994 Harshberger et al 6 332 180 12 2001 Kauffman et al 5 317 477 5 1994 Gillett 6 345 330 2 2002 Chu 5 319 771 6 1994 Takeda 6 366 951 4 2002 Schmidt 5 331 509 A 7 1994 Kikinis 6 378 009 4 2002 Pinkston et al 5 355 391 10 1994 Horowitz et al 6 381 602 BI 4 2002 Shoroff et al 5 428 806 6 1995 6 393 561 B1 5 2002 Hagiwara et al 5 436 857 7 1995 Nelson et al 6 401 124 81 6 2002 Yang et al 5 463 742 10 1995 Kobayashi 6 425 033 BL 7 2002 Conway et al 5 539 616 A 7 1996 Kikinis 6 452 789 BL 9 2002 Pallotti et al 5 550 710 A 8 1996 Rahamim et al 6 452 790 BL 9 2002 Chu et al 5 550 861 A 8 1996 Chan et al 6 453 344 BL 9 2002 Ellsworth 5 578 940 11 1996 Dillon 6 496 561 B1 12 2002 Kim et al 5 600 800 A 2 1997 Kikinis et al 6 549 966 131 4 2003 Dickens et al 5 603 044 A 2 1997 Annapareddy et al 6 564 274 5 2003 Heath et al 5 606 717 A 2 1997 Farmwald et al 6 643 777 81 11 2003 Chu 5 608 608 A 3 1997 Flint et al 6 718 415 4 2004 5 630 057 5 1997 6 725 317 4 2004 Bouchier et al 5 638 521 6 1997 Buchala et al 3 020302 A gt 0 1997 Kikinis FOREIGN PATENT DOCUMENTS 5 659 773 A 8 1997 Huynh et al 5 663 661 A 9 1997 Dillon et al JP 6 289953 10 1994 5 673 174 A 9 1997 Hamirani WO WO 92 18924 10 1992 5 680 126 A 10 1997 Kikinis WO WO 94 00097 1 1994 5 689 654 A 11 1997 Kikinis WO WO 95 13640 5
22. CERTIFICATE ISSUED UNDER 35 U S C 316 THE PATENT IS HEREBY AMENDED AS INDICATED BELOW AS A RESULT OF REEXAMINATION IT HAS BEEN DETERMINED THAT 10 Claims 1 80 are cancelled
23. a docking station that houses the portable computer for office use Similar to separate desktop and portable computers there is no commonality between two desktop computers To date most personal computers are constructed with a single motherboard that provides connection for CPU and other components in the computer Dual CPU systems have been available through Intel s slot 1 architecture For example two Pentium II cartridges can be plugged into two slot 1 card slots on a motherboard to form a Dual processor system The two CPU s share a common host bus that connects to the rest of the system e g main memory hard disk drive graphics subsystem and others Dual CPU sys tems have the advantage of increased CPU performance for the whole system Adding a CPU cartridge requires no change in operating systems and application software How ever dual CPU systems may suffer limited performance improvement if memory or disk drive bandwidth becomes the limiting factor Also dual CPU systems have to time share the processing unit in running multiple applications CPU performance improvement efficiency also depends on software coding structure Dual CPU systems provide no hardware redundancy to help fault tolerance In running multiple applications memory and disk drive data through put will become the limiting factor in improving perfor mance with multi processor systems Thus what is needed are computer systems that can have multiple c
24. able the user to interact with the operating system and application software The primary input com ponent is the paramount vehicle by which programs execut ing on the CPU receive signals from the user The PCON may contain secondary mass storage 650 to provide additional high capacity storage for data and soft ware Secondary mass storage may have fixed or removable media and may include for example devices such as diskette drives hard disks CD ROM drives DVD drives and tape drives The PCON may be enhanced with additional capability through the use of integrated Other Devices 660 or add on cards inserted into the PCON s expansion slots 670 Examples of additional capability include sound generators LAN connections and modems Interface and support cir cuitry 640 primarily includes interface chips driver chips and signal busses that interconnect the other components within the PCON The interface and support circuitry also connects PCON resident components with the ACM to PCON interconnection apparatus as needed Importantly the PCON houses the primary power supply 630 The primary power supply has sufficient capacity to power both the PCON and the ACM 500 for normal opera tion Note that the ACM may include a secondary power supply in the form for example of a small battery Such a power supply would be included in the ACM to maintain for 20 25 30 35 40 45 50 55 60 65 12 example
25. ance and which because of their speed need to be located close to the CPU The primary mass storage 530 contains persistent copies of the operating system software application software configuration data and user data The software and data stored in the primary mass storage device represent the user s computing environment Interface and support circuitry 540 primarily includes interface chips and signal busses that interconnect the CPU system memory high performance devices and primary mass storage The interface and support circuitry also connects ACM resident components with the ACM to PCON interconnection appa ratus as needed Within the PCON 600 the primary display component 610 may include an integrated display device or connection circuitry for an external display device This primary display device may be for example an LCD plasma or CRT display screen used to display text and graphics to the user for interaction with the operating system and application software The primary display component is the primary output of the computer system i e the paramount vehicle by which programs executing on the CPU can communicate toward the user The primary input component 620 of the PCON may include an integrated input device or connection circuitry for attachment to an external input device The primary input may be for example a keyboard touch screen keypad mouse trackball digitizing pad or some combination thereof to en
26. as an interrupt request Micropro cessor 512 also couples to CPU Bridge 546 via CPU main bus 564 comprising signal paths for address data and control information The CPU Bridge component 546 of the interface and support circuitry 540 operates to couple the high speed CPU main bus 564 to specialty buses of varying speeds and capability that connect other computer components The CPU Bridge of the presently described embodiment incor porates memory controller circuitry advanced graphics pro cessor support circuitry and a general industry standard US 7 146 446 132 13 PCI bus controller in a single package A CPU Bridge 546 such as the 52443LX PCI AGP Controller from Intel Cor poration may be used The system memory component 520 of the ACM func tional circuitry 501 in the present embodiment comprises main system memory RAM 522 BIOS memory 524 and flash memory 526 The system memory 520 is used to contain data and instructions that are directly addressable by the CPU The RAM 522 comprises volatile memory devices such as DRAM or SDRAM memory chips that do not retain their stored contents when power is removed This form of memory represents the largest proportion of total system memory 520 capacity The BIOS memory 524 comprises non volatile memory devices such as ROM or EPROM memory chips that retain their stored contents regardless of the application of power and are read only memory under normal operating conditions The BIOS m
27. 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 FIG 5 is a block diagram of the components in one computer system employing the present invention The computer system comprises an attached computer module a peripheral console PCON and the interconnec tion apparatus between them The ACM includes the central processing unit CPU 510 system memory 520 high US 7 146 446 132 11 performance devices 550 primary mass storage 530 and related interface and support circuitry 540 The PCON includes primary display 610 primary input 620 secondary mass storage 650 other devices 660 expansion slots 670 the primary power supply 630 and related interface and support circuitry 640 The interconnection apparatus 700 includes circuitry to convey power and operational signals between the ACM and PCON Within the ACM 500 the CPU 510 executes instructions and manipulates data stored in the system memory The CPU 510 and system memory 520 represent the user s core computing power The core computing power may also include high performance devices 550 such as advanced graphics processor chips that greatly increase overall system perform
28. communication with the external network wherein each of the computer modules operates fully inde pendent of each other and wherein one of the computer modules can replace another one of the computer modules in operation 47 The computer system of claim 46 wherein each computer module further comprises a grounding plate for shielding electromagnetic interference EMI 48 The computer system of claim 46 wherein primary input circuitry of the computer module couples to input devices through the console only 49 The computer system of claim 46 wherein the com puter module further comprises a second enclosure with grooves running down the sides for engaging with rails running down the computer bay of the console upon inser tion 50 The computer system of claim 46 wherein the console further comprises a video switch 51 A computer system comprising a console comprising an Ethernet hub controller a uni versal serial bus USB a first coupling site and a second coupling site each coupling site comprising a connector and a slot the console being a first enclosure housing the Ethernet hub controller the coupling sites and more than two computer modules each computer module coupled to one of the coupling site through the con nector and the slot comprising a processing unit a graphics controller a main memory coupled to the processing unit and an Ethernet controller coupled to the Ethernet hub controller through the con
29. coupled to the processing unit a SCSI hard disk drive and a communication controller coupled to the serial com munication hub controller through the connector of the coupling site for communication between the computer modules wherein each of the computer modules operates independent of each other 67 The computer system of claim 66 wherein each computer module further comprises a grounding plate for shielding electromagnetic interference EMI 68 The computer system of claim 66 wherein the com puter module further comprises circuitry that can vary the clock frequency of the processing unit for varying its power consumption 69 The computer system of claim 66 wherein the com puter module further comprises a second enclosure with grooves running down the sides for engaging with rails running down the computer bay of the console upon inser tion 70 The computer system of claim 66 wherein the console further comprises a hard disk drive coupled to the computer module 71 A computer system comprising a console comprising a universal serial bus USB a first coupling site and a second coupling site each coupling site comprising a connector and a slot the console being a first enclosure housing each coupling site a serial communication controller coupled to an external network and a plurality of computer modules each computer module coupled to one of the coupling sites through the con nector and the slot and each co
30. ctors 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 security protection The ACM also has a network controller which can be coupled to a serial port 302 which is coupled to the PCI bus in the ACM The serial port is coupled to the peripheral console through a serial controller 301 in the serial console The serial controller is connected to PCI bus 239 The serial controller is also coupled to a serial hub controller 303 which is coupled to the PCI bus and a second ACM In a specific embodiment a receptacle board 310 is added to connect to the second ACM The purpose of the receptacle board is to allow a cable connection 307 to the peripheral board 300 The cable connection is possible because the signals needed to connect to the peripheral board can be limited to video I O serial communication and power The serial communication controller can be placed on the recep tacle board and not in the ACM As shown the serial bus controller couples to the PCI bus The receptacle board also couples to power graphics subsystem I O controller and other elements which may be on a common bus The overall operation of the present configuration is similar to the previous one except it operates in serial communication mode The Dual ACM system can support different usage mod els 1 One user using both ACMs conc
31. d a plurality of computer modules each computer module coupled to one of the coupling sites through the con nector and the slot and each computer module com prising a processing unit a main memory coupled to the processing unit a cooling plate thermally coupled to the processing unit and an Ethernet controller coupled to the Ethernet hub controller through the connector of the coupling site for communication between the computer modules wherein each of the computer modules operates fully inde pendent of each other 77 The computer system of claim 76 wherein each computer module further comprises a grounding plate for shielding electromagnetic interference EMI 78 The computer system of claim 76 wherein the com puter module further comprises circuitry that can vary the clock frequency of the processing unit for varying its power consumption 79 A computer system comprising a console comprising a power supply a first coupling site and a second coupling site each coupling site com prising a connector and a slot the console being an enclosure housing each coupling site 20 25 30 an Ethernet controller powered by the power supply and coupled to an external network and a plurality of computer modules each computer module coupled to one of the coupling sites through the con nector and the slot and each computer module com prising a processing unit a main memory coupled to the processing unit primary input
32. dily be used to construct the case 810 The case 810 completely surrounds the internal components being generally an 8 sided box FIG 8 shows the top 812 right 814 and rear 816 surfaces of the ACM case 810 Rear edges 818 of the case joining the rear surface 816 with its adjoining surfaces may be beveled or rounded to facilitate insertion of the ACM 500 into the computer bay of the PCON Notches 840 may be formed by projecting small surfaces inward from otherwise generally flat surfaces of the ACM case 810 The notches 840 may be used to engage with mechanical devices mounted in and about a computer bay Such mechanical devices can be employed to secure the ACM into position within a computer bay for reliability and security Openings 817 are formed into the rear surface 816 of the ACM case 810 through which to project connectors 530a and 5305 In one embodiment the case 810 is approxi mately 5 75 inches wide by 6 5 inches deep by 1 6 inches high Connectors 730a and 7305 are part of the ACM to PCON Interconnection as described earlier in reference to FIGS 5 and 6 When the ACM 500 is inserted into the computer bay of a peripheral console PCON connectors 730a and 7305 mate with corresponding connectors located at the rear of the computer bay to electrically couple the ACM with the PCON containing the computer bay Details concerning the ACM to PCON Interconnection can be found in the U S patent application entitled A Communication Channel
33. eb on Jun 22 2004 2 pgs Cubix Multiplexing Video Keyboard 4 Mouse with Multiple 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 eBay Advertisement for Total IT Group Network Engines http cgi ebay com we eBayISAPI dll ViewItem 5706388046 amp sspagename STRK 3AMDBI 3AMEBI3 AIT amp rd 1 gt gt down loaded from web on Jun 25 2004 1 pg Features Chart Feb 1 1997 lt lt http www lantimes com test ing 97feb 702b072a html gt gt downloaded from web on Jun 23 2004 3 pgs Internet Telephone Roundup Industrial Computers http www tmenet com articles itmag 0499 0499roundup htm gt gt down loaded from web on Jun 23 2004 5 pgs Press Release Hiawatha Iowa 1 1997 entitled Crystal Group Products Offer Industrial PCs with Built in Flexibility lt lt http www crystalpc com news pressreleases prodpr asp gt gt downloaded from web on May 14 2004 2 pgs Press Release Kanata Ontario Canada Apr 1998 entitled Enhanced COTS SBC from DY 4 Systems features 166MHz Pentium Processor lt lt http www realtime info be VPR layout display pr asp PRID 363 gt gt 2 pgs Product Brochure enetitled 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 briefDe
34. econd and additional ACM can be added later to increase overall system performance and reliability The ACM operates independently as self con tained computer communicates with each other through a high speed serial communication and share most peripheral devices within the peripheral console Each ACM controls its independent graphics subsystem and drives separate video output signals A practical implementation is a dual ACM system In a dual ACM system two monitors can be used to display the two ACMs graphics outputs at the same time For a single monitor a RGB switch is used to switch between the video outputs of the two ACMs and can be controlled by a command from the user Similarly input devices i e keyboard and mouse are switched between the two computer systems with a command from the user Command from the user can be in the form of either a dedicated key on the keyboard or a special icon on the screen that the mouse can click on In most embodiments the ACM includes an enclosure such as the one described with the following components which should not be limiting 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 password 6 Operating System application software data files on primary HDD 7 interface device and connectors to peripheral con sole
35. ects step 401 a certain file in one of the computer module for automatic backup Next the method determines if another module is available step 403 If so the method in the originating module requests the other com puter module to create step 405 backup file Alternatively the method alerts the user of the missing or malfunctioning module step 429 The method then has the user try later 431 once the missing or malfunctioning module has been replaced or repaired Next the method determines if there is sufficient storage available in the other computer module for the backup files If so the method goes to the next step Alternatively the method prompts step 433 a message to the user indicating that the storage is full In the next step the method stores the backup file in memory of the other module After the backup file has been successfully created step 409 the software in the originating ACM sets a timer to check step 411 for file modification via branches 423 427 through continue step 425 process If a file selected for backup has been modified step 415 then the file is auto matically back up to the other ACM again step 417 Alternatively the method returns to step 411 through branch 421 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
36. el and Null Christopher A Server Condominium 5 977 989 A 11 1999 Lee et al lt lt http www lantimes com testing 98jun 806a042a html gt gt Jun 5 982 363 11 1999 Naif 23 2004 3 pgs 5 991 163 A 11 1999 Marconi et al Harrison Dave in the Military The M1 A2 Main Battle Tank 5 991 844 A 11 1999 Khosrowpour Upgrade Relies on COTS VME lt lt http www dy4 com gt gt Feb 5 999 952 A 12 1999 Jenkins et al 9 1998 pp 1 34 6 002 442 A 12 1999 Li et al Williams Dennis Consolidated Servers Feb 17 1997 lt lt http 6 003 105 A 12 1999 Vicard et al www lantimes com testing 97compare pcconsol html down 6 011 546 A 1 2000 Bertram loaded from web on Jun 23 2004 2 pgs 6 016 252 A 1 2000 Pignolet et al Williams Dennis Executive Summary Consolidate Now Feb 6 028 643 A 2 2000 Jordan et al 17 1997 lt lt http www lantimes com testing 97feb 702b064a 6 029 183 2 2000 Jenkins et al html gt gt downloaded from web on Jun 23 2004 2 pgs 6 038 621 A 3 2000 Gale et al Williams Dennis Top Scores for Useability and Openness Feb 6 040 792 A 3 2000 Watson et al 17 1997 lt lt http www lantimes com testing 97feb 702b064a 6 052 513 4 2000 MacLaren html gt gt downloaded from web on Jun 23 2004 2 pgs 6 069 615 A 5 2000 Abraham et al Williams Dennis ChatCom Inc Chatterbox Feb 17 1997 6 088 224 A 7 2000 Gallagher et al lt lt http www lantimes com testin
37. emory 524 stores for example start up instructions for the microprocessor 512 and sets of instructions for rudimentary input output tasks The flash memory 526 comprises non volatile memory devices that retain their stored contents regardless of the application of power Unlike the BIOS non volatile memory however the stored contents of the flash memory 526 are easily changed under normal operating conditions The flash memory 526 may be used to store status and configuration data such as security identifiers or ACM specifications like the speed of the microprocessor 512 Some embodiments may combine the BIOS functions into the flash memory device thus permitting BIOS contents to be rewritten improving field upgradability The main system memory RAM 522 is coupled to memory controller circuitry resident within the CPU Bridge 546 via direct memory bus 565 The BIOS 524 and flash memory 526 are coupled to HIC 720 via switched memory bus 566 This permits the BIOS 524 and flash 526 memories to be accessed by circuitry in the HIC 720 or other circuitry connected thereto The direct memory bus 565 and the switch memory bus 566 each comprises conductors to convey signals for data address and control information The primary mass storage component 530 of the ACM functional circuitry 501 in the present embodiment com prises a compact hard disk drive with an industry standard IDE interface The hard disk drive HDD 532 has a for matted stora
38. emory coupled to the processing unit and a graphics controller coupled to the video switch wherein each of the computer modules operates fully inde pendent of each other and wherein one of the computer modules is configured to provide protection against failure of another of the computer modules and wherein the video output of the graphics controller couples to a display only through the console 22 The computer system of claim 21 wherein the Ether net hub controller in the console adapted to transfer data between the computer modules and an external network 23 The computer system of claim 21 wherein each computer module further comprises a grounding plate for shielding electromagnetic interference EMI 24 The computer system of claim 21 wherein the com puter module further comprises circuitry that can vary the clock frequency of the processing unit for varying its power consumption 25 The computer system of claim 21 wherein the com puter module further comprises a second enclosure with grooves running down the sides for engaging with rails running down the computer bay of the console upon inser tion 26 A computer system comprising a console comprising an Ethernet hub controller a first coupling site and a second coupling site each coupling site comprising a connector and a slot the console being a first enclosure housing the Ethernet hub controller each coupling site and a plurality of computer modules each c
39. er system of claim 6 wherein the Ethernet controller in the console adapted to transfer data between any two of the computer modules and to an external net work 8 The computer system of claim 6 wherein each com puter module further comprises a grounding plate for shield ing electromagnetic interference EMI 9 The computer system of claim 6 wherein the computer module further comprises circuitry that can vary the clock frequency of the processing unit for varying its power consumption 10 The computer system of claim 1 comprising four or more computer modules 11 computer system comprising a console comprising an Ethernet hub controller a first coupling site and a second coupling site each coupling site comprising a connector and a slot the console being a first enclosure housing the Ethernet hub controller each coupling site 20 30 40 45 60 65 22 a plurality of computer modules each coupled to one of the coupling sites through the connector and the slot each computer module comprising a processing unit a main memory coupled to the processing unit circuitry that can vary the clock frequency of the processing unit for varying its power consumption and an Ethernet controller coupled to the Ethernet hub controller through the connector of the coupling site for communication between the computer modules and a mass storage device coupled to one of the computer modules and wherein each of t
40. eripheral console has four computer bays for four separate computer modules The computer modules communicate through a four port Ethernet hub The video keyboard and mouse switch will cycle through the connec tion from each computer module to the external monitor keyboard and mouse with a push button sequentially This embodiment is useful for a server that performs different functions concurrently e g email application hosting web hosting firewall etc 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 FIG 4 is a simplified diagram of a method according to an embodiment of the present invention This diagram is merely an example which should not limit the scope of the claims herein One of ordinary skill in the art would recog nize many other variations modifications and alternatives The present diagram illustrates an automatic file backup procedure from one computer module to the other As shown a user sel
41. eyboard or an icon on the screen that the mouse can click on 36 A computer system comprising a console comprising a keyboard mouse multi port switch a power supply a first coupling site and a second coupling site each coupling site comprising a connector and a slot the console being an enclosure housing each coupling site a serial communication controller coupled to an external network and power by the console and a plurality of computer modules each coupled to one of the coupling sites through the connector and the slot each computer module comprising a processing unit a main memory coupled to the processing unit a keyboard input and a communication controller coupled to the serial com munication controller through the connector of the coupling site for communication between the com puter modules wherein each of the computer modules operates fully inde pendent of each other and wherein the keyboard input couples to a keyboard based on a command from a user sent to the keyboard mouse multi port switch US 7 146 446 132 25 37 The computer system of claim 36 wherein each computer module further comprises a grounding plate for shielding electromagnetic interference EMI 38 The computer system of claim 36 wherein the com puter module further comprises circuitry that can vary the clock frequency of the processing unit for varying its power consumption 39 The computer system of claim 36 wherein the com pute
42. f ACM 500 The LCD display may be mounted to or project through an opening formed in case 810 The LCD display may contain indicators about the status of the ACM Such indicators may display for example the time of day from a time of day clock contained within the ACM or the amount of charge remaining in an ACM resident battery or certain configuration options recorded in flash memory The LCD display 850 provides display capability for a limited amount of information most useful when the ACM is separated from a PCON and is thus separated from full capability primary display device In one embodiment the weight of an inserted ACM is largely borne by the bottom side of a computer bay frame Alternative embodiments are possible where for example the weight of the ACM is borne by rails running longitudi nally down the right and left sides of the computer bay cavity that engage corresponding grooves running longitu dinally down the right and left sides of an ACM FIG 8 illustrates the internal component layout for one embodiment of an ACM All components are contained within the confines of the ACM case 510 except for connectors 730a and 7305 which extend from the rear of the ACM 500 to engage mating connectors not shown that will couple the ACM circuitry with the PCON circuitry Main circuit board 910 provides electrical connections for cir cuitry within the ACM and mounting for many of its components 524 522 526 552 542148
43. fault htm 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 down loaded 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 downloaded from the web on Jun 22 2004 21 pgs Product Manual entitled ERS II and ERS FT II Chap 6 Com ponent Installation lt lt http 64 173 211 7 support techinfo manu als ers2 ers2 c6 htm downloaded from web on Jun 22 2004 18 pgs Windows Magazine Cubix PowerSMP Series 4000 Nov 1997 lt http lt www techweb com winmag library 1997 1101 ntent008 htm gt gt downloaded from the web on Jun 22 2004 p NT07 MPL The First Rugged All in One Industrial 486FDX 133 MHz PC IPM486 IPMS User Manual 1998 pp 1 24 CETIA Brochure CETIA Powerengine CVME 603e pp 1 6 down loaded from the internet at http www cetia com ProductAddOns wp 47 01 pdf on Feb 15 2006 MPL Brochure 1 Rugged in One industrial 486FDX 133 MHz PC pp 1 2 downloaded from the internaet at http www mpl ch DOCs ds48600 pdf on Feb 15 2006 MPL Brochure IPM 486 Brochure IPMS User Manual 1 6 downloaded from the internet at http www mpl ch DOCs u48600xd pdf on Feb 15 2006 Snyder Joel Better Management th
44. fo system density info spec htm gt gt downloaded from web on Jun 22 2004 2 pgs Cubix Product Manual entitled Density System Chapter 1 Introduction 2000 http 64 173 211 7 support techinfo manuals density Chap 1 htm downloaded 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 den sity htm downloaded from web on Jun 22 2004 1 pg Cubix Product Manual entitled Density System Chapter 2 Installation 2000 http 64 173 211 7 support techinfo manuals 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 gt gt 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 sup port techinfo manuals density Chap 3 htm downloaded from web on Jun 22 2004 5 pgs Cubix What are Groups 2000 lt lt http 64 173 211 7 support techinfo system density info groups htm gt gt downloaded from web on Jun 22 2004 3pgs Cubix SP 5200XS Series Plug in Computers 2000 lt lt http 64 173 211 7 support techinfo bc sp5200xs intro htm down loaded from web on Jun 22 2004 2 pgs
45. g 97 feb 702b066a html gt gt down 6 088 752 A 7 2000 Ahern loaded from web on Jun 23 2004 3 pgs 6 157 534 A 12 2000 Gallagher et al Williams Dennis EVERSYS Corp System 8000 Feb 17 1997 6 163 464 A 12 2000 Ishibashi et al http www lantimes com testing 97feb 702b70b html down 6 175 490 Bl 1 2001 Papa et al loaded from web on Jun 22 2004 4 pgs 6 202 169 B1 3 2001 Razzaghe Ashrafi et al Williams Dennis Cubix Corp ERS FT II Feb 17 1997 6 208 522 Bl 3 2001 Manweiler et al http www lantimes com testing 97feb 702b068b html down 6 216 185 Bl 4 2001 Chu loaded from web on Jun 23 2004 4 pgs 6 260 155 B1 7 2001 Dellacona Crystal Advertisement for Rackmount Computers 2000 6 289 376 Bl 9 2001 Taylor et al 2004 lt lt http www crystalpe com products roservers asp gt gt 6 304 895 B1 10 2001 Schneider et al downloaded from web on Jun 17 2004 8 pgs 05 7 146 446 2 3 Crystal Advertisement for QuickConnect Cable Management 2000 2004 http www crystalpc com products quickconnect asp gt gt downloaded from web on Jun 17 2004 4 pgs Cubix Product Brochure entitled Density System 2000 http 64 173 211 7 support techinfo system density 10 htm gt gt downloaded from web on Jun 22 2004 3 pgs Cubix Product Brochure entitled Density System Technical Specifications 2000 lt lt http 64 173 211 7 support techin
46. ge capacity sufficient to contain an operating system for the computer application software desired by the user and related user configuration and operating parameter data The HDD 532 in the present embodiment serves as the boot device for the personal computer from which the operating system is loaded into RAM 522 by the start up program stored in the BIOS 524 The present HDD 532 has a capacity of approximately 6 000 megabytes to provide adequate storage for common software configurations and reasonable space for user data One example of a common software configuration includes the Windows 95 operating system from Microsoft Corpo ration a word processing program a spreadsheet program a presentation graphics program a database program an email program and a web browser such as Navigator from Netscape Corporation The hard disk 532 stores program and data files for each software component including files distributed by the vendor as well as files created or updated by operation of the software after it is installed For example a word processor program may maintain information about user s identity and latest preferences in an operating system registry file Or for example the web browser may maintain a file of the user s favorite web sites or most recently viewed web pages An HDD with 6000 megabyte 20 25 30 35 40 45 50 55 60 65 14 capacity is readily available in the small size of hard dis
47. he PCON 600 and any ACM coupled to connector 750 The power supply may be of the switching variety well known in the art that receives electrical energy from an AC source 689 such as a wall outlet Power supply 630 reduces the alternating current input voltage to a number of distinct outputs of differing voltages and current capacities The outputs of power supply 630 are applied to power bus 631 Power bus 631 distributes the power supply outputs to the other circuitry within the PCON 600 Bus 631 also connects to certain pins of connector 350 to provide the electrical power 714 for an ACM conveyed by ACM to PCON interconnection 700 The isolation of the usually heavy power supply 630 from the core computing power and user environment contained within the ACM represents a further advantage of the present invention The interface and support component 640 of the PCON functional circuitry 601 of the presently described embodi US 7 146 446 132 19 ment comprises peripheral bridge 646 diskette controller 642 IDE controller 648 and signal conveyance paths 641 643 644 645 647 and 649 Peripheral bridge 646 couples PCI peripheral bus 641 with peripheral busses of other formats such as ISA peripheral bus 645 and others 647 PCI and ISA peripheral busses are industry standards well known and understood in the art Other peripheral busses 647 may include for example a bus compliant with the universal serial bus USB industry standard Wh
48. he computer modules operates fully independent of each other and wherein one of the computer modules is configured to provide protection against failure of another of the computer modules and wherein the mass storage device is powered by the console 12 The computer system of claim 11 wherein the Ethernet hub controller in the console adapted to transfer data between the computer modules and an external network 13 The computer system of claim 11 wherein each computer module further comprises a grounding plate for shielding electromagnetic interference EMT 14 The computer system of claim 11 wherein the com puter module s primary input circuitry couples to input devices through the console only 15 The computer system of claim 11 wherein the com puter module further comprises a second enclosure with grooves running down the sides for engaging with rails running down the computer bay of the console upon inser tion 16 A computer system comprising a console comprising a video switch a first coupling site and a second coupling site each coupling site com prising a connector and a slot the console being a first enclosure housing each coupling site an Ethernet controller coupled to an external network a plurality of computer modules each computer module coupled to one of the coupling sites through the con nector and the slot and comprising a power supply a processing unit a main memory coupled to the processing unit
49. he peripheral system 201 also has an independent power supply 231 for each ACM Each power supply provides power to each ACM As merely an example the power supply is a MICRO ATX 150W made by ENLIGHT but can be others The power supply is connected or coupled to each ACM through a separate line for example The independent power supply allows for independent operation of each ACM in some embodiments 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 FIG 3 is a simplified block diagram 300 of a computer system according to an alternative embodiment of the present invention This diagram is merely an example which should not limit the scope of the claims herein One of ordinary skill in the art would recognizes many other variations modifications and alternatives Like reference numerals are used in this FIG as the previous FIGs for easy referencing but are not intended to be limiting As shown each ACM includes co
50. her comprises a grounding plate for shielding electromagnetic interference EMI 43 The computer system of claim 41 wherein the com puter module further comprises circuitry that can vary the clock frequency of the processing unit for varying its power consumption 44 The computer system of claim 41 wherein the com puter module further comprises a second enclosure with grooves running down the sides for engaging with rails running down the computer bay of the console upon inser tion 45 The computer system of claim 41 wherein the console further comprises a hard disk drive coupled to the computer module 46 A computer system comprising a console comprising a power supply a universal serial bus USB a first coupling site and a second coupling site each coupling site comprising a connector and a slot the console being a first enclosure housing each coupling site an Ethernet controller powered by the power supply and coupled to an external network a plurality of computer modules each coupled to one of the coupling sites through the connector and the slot each computer module comprising a processing unit a main memory coupled to the processing unit 25 35 40 45 50 55 60 65 26 circuitry that can vary the clock frequency of the processing unit for varying its power consumption and a network controller coupled to the Ethernet controller through the connector of the coupling site to support
51. her 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 microprocessors such as the Intel Pentium 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 i 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 peripheral devices include mass storage devices such as a Zip Drive product sold by Iomega Corporation of Utah Other storage devices include external hard drives tape drives and others 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
52. ile other embodiments of a peripheral console 600 may include a single peripheral bus that is coupled to an attached ACM via ACM to PCON interconnection 700 such as PCI bus 641 this embodiment includes peripheral bridge 646 to establish additional busses 645 647 The additional busses 645 647 permit the use of the many low cost and readily available components compatible with these bus specifications Diskette controller 642 interfaces a floppy disk drive 654 with the CPU component 110 of an attached ACM shown in FIG 4 so that the CPU may control and use the diskette drive 654 hardware to store and retrieve data Diskette controller 642 couples to the CPU via a connection to ISA bus 645 Diskette controller 642 connects to the diskette drive 654 via one of device cables 643 Similarly IDE controller 648 interfaces a hard disk drive 652 and a CDROM drive 656 with the CPU component 510 of an attached ACM shown in FIG 6 so that the CPU may control and use the hard disk drive 652 and CDROM 656 hardware to store and retrieve data IDE controller 648 couples to the CPU via connection to PCI peripheral bus 641 IDE controller 648 connects to each of hard disk drive 652 and CD ROM drive 656 via one of device cables 643 Some embodiments of PCON 600 may take advantage of VLSI integrated circuits such as an 82371 SB PIIX4 integrated circuit from Intel Corporation An 82371 SB integrated circuit includes circuitry for both the peripheral bridge
53. k e g 6 5 inch or 7 5 inch to minimize the space required within the ACM for the primary mass storage device 530 The HDD 532 is coupled to IDE controller circuitry 548 via IDE bus 572 The IDE controller circuitry 548 is coupled to the CPU Bridge 546 via the Host PCI bus 567 IDE controllers and busses and the PCI bus are well known and understood in the industry The above components operate together to couple the hard disk drive 532 to the micropro cessor 512 The high performance devices component 550 of the ACM functional circuitry 501 in the present embodiment comprises an Advanced Graphics Processor AGP 552 The Model 740 Graphics Device from Intel Corporation may be used in the present embodiment as the AGP Increases in computer screen size graphics resolution color depth and visual motion frame rates used by operat ing system and application software alike have increased the computing power required to generate and maintain computer screen displays An AGP removes a substantial portion of the graphics computing burden from the CPU to the specialized high performance processor but a high level of interaction between the CPU and the specialized proces sor is nonetheless required To maximize the effective con tribution of having a specialized processor in the presently described embodiment the AGP 552 is located in the ACM 500 where it is in close proximity to the microprocessor 512 The AGP 552 is coupled to the microp
54. le comprising a first coupling site and a second coupling site Each coupling site comprises a con nector The console is an enclosure that is capable of housing each coupling site The system also has a plurality of computer modules where each of the computer modules is coupled to one of the connectors Each of the computer modules has a processing unit a main memory coupled to the processing unit a graphics controller coupled to the processing unit a mass storage device coupled to the pro cessing unit and a video output coupled to the processing unit Each of the computer modules is substantially similar in design to each other to provide independent processing of each of the computer modules in the computer system A video switch circuit is coupled to each of the computer modules through the video output The video switch is configured to switch a video signal from any one of the computer modules to a display Numerous benefits are achieved using the present inven tion over previously existing techniques In one embodi ment the invention provides improved processing and main tenance features The invention can also provide increased CPU performance for the whole system The invention also can be implemented without changes in operating system and application software The present invention is also implemented using conventional technologies that can be provided in the present computer system in an easy and efficient manner In anothe
55. ment North Bridge unit 211 often couples to a computer memory 209 to the graphics subsystem and to the periph eral controller via the PCI bus Graphics subsystem typically couples to a graphics memory and other elements IDE controller generally supports and provides timing signals necessary for the IDE bus In the present embodiment the IDE controller is embodied as part of a P114XE controller from Intel 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 US 7 146 446 132 9 The hard drive module or mass storage unit 215 typically includes a computer operating system application software program files data files and the like In a specific embodi ment the computer operating system may be the Win dows98 operating system from Microsoft Corporation of Redmond Wash Other operating systems such as Win dowsNT MacOS8 Unix and the like are also contemplated 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 Hard disk module 215 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 fa
56. ment com prises a video capture card A video capture card accepts analog television signals such as those complying with the NTSC standard used for television broadcast in the United States and digitizes picture frames represented by the ana log signal for processing by the computer Video capture cards at present are considered a specialty i e not ubiqui 0 5 20 40 45 50 20 tous component of personal computer systems Digitized picture information from video capture card 660 is carried via signal conveyance path 644 to the peripheral interface controller 740 which transforms it to the video port signals 317 of the ACM to PCON interconnection 700 for coupling to the advanced graphics processor 152 in an attached ACM shown in FIG 6 Video capture card 660 is merely representative of the many types of other devices that may be installed in a PCON to expand the capabilities of the personal computer Sound cards and laboratory data acquisition cards are other examples Video capture card 660 is shown installed in one of expansion slots 670 for coupling to the interface and control circuitry 640 of the PCON Any of other devices 660 could be coupled to the interface and control circuitry 640 of the PCON by different means such as direct installation on the circuit board that includes the interface and control circuitry 640 e g a motherboard The expansion slots component 670 of the PCON func tional
57. mmon elements as the previous FIG A primary ACM 203 is connected to PCI peripheral devices in the peripheral console through the PCI bus 225 that passes through the connection between primary ACM 203 and peripheral console 201 As shown ACM has a CPU module 207 coupled to the PCI bus through a North Bridge 211 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 Corporation and like microprocessors from AMD Corpora tion Cyrix Corporation now National Semiconductor Cor poration and others In other aspects the microprocessor 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 peripheral controller 213 is coupled to BIOS flash memory 217 Additionally the peripheral controller is coupled to a clock control logic a configuration signal and a peripheral bus The ACM has the hard drive module 215 Among other elements the ACM includes north bridge 215 graphics subsystem 223 e g graphics accelerator graphics memory an IDE controller and other components Adjacent to and in parallel alignment with the hard drive module 215 is the PCI bus In a specific embodi
58. mputer module com prising a processing unit a main memory coupled to the processing unit a communication controller coupled to the serial com munication controller to support communication with the external network and a cooling plate thermally coupled to the processing unit wherein each of the computer modules operates fully inde pendent of each other and wherein one of the computer modules can replace another one of the computer modules in operation 72 The computer system of claim 71 wherein each computer module further comprises a grounding plate for shielding electromagnetic interference EMI 73 The computer system of claim 71 wherein the com puter module further comprises circuitry that can vary the clock frequency of the processing unit for varying its power consumption 74 The computer system of claim 71 wherein the com puter module further comprises of a second enclosure with grooves running down the sides for engaging with rails running down the computer bay of the console upon inser tion 75 The computer system of claim 71 wherein the console further comprises a hard disk drive coupled to the computer module 76 A computer system comprising a console comprising a video switch a first coupling site and a second coupling site each coupling site com prising a connector and a slot the console being a first enclosure housing each coupling site US 7 146 446 132 29 an Ethernet hub controller an
59. n nection 700 is described in detail in the U S patent appli cation entitled Communication Channel and Interface Devices for Bridging Computer Interface Buses already incorporated herein by reference Connector component 750 may be selected to mate directly with the connector component 730 of an ACM shown in FIG 6 Alternatively connector component 750 may be selected to mate with for example the connector on one end of a cable intervening between the PCON and an ACM in a particular embodiment The ACM to PCON interconnection described in the aforementioned companion patent application has the advantage of providing reliable signal conveyance across low cost cables Flash memory device 748 provides non volatile storage This storage may be accessible to devices in both the ACM and the PCON including the host interface controller and the peripheral interface controller to which it is connected As such flash memory 748 may be used to store configu ration and security data to facilitate an intelligent mating between an ACM and a PCON that needs no participation of the CPU The primary display component 610 of the PCON func tional circuitry 601 of the presently described embodiment comprises integrated display panel 612 and video connector 613 Integrated display panel 612 is a color LCD display panel having a resolution of 640 horizontal by 480 vertical pixels 640 by 480 resolution is popularly considered to be the minimum
60. nal 718 conveyed from the peripheral console PCON by the CPU to PCON interconnection 700 In this arrangement the console type signal originating from a desktop PCON would result in the generation of a maximum speed CPU clock The desktop PCON presumably has unlimited power from an electrical wall outlet and does not need to sacrifice speed for power conservation The console type signal originating from a notebook PCON would however result in the generation of a CPU clock speed reduced from the maximum in order to conserve battery power and extend the duration of computer operation obtained from the energy stored in the battery The console type signal originating from a notepad PCON would result in the generation of a CPU clock speed reduced further yet the notepad PCON presumably having smaller batteries than the notebook PCON Inclusion of control signals and cir cuitry to effect a CPU clock signal varying in frequency according to characteristics of the PCON to which the ACM is connected facilitates the movement of the user s core computing power and environment to different work set tings which is a further advantage of the present invention FIG 9 illustrates an external view of one embodiment of an ACM The case 810 of the ACM 500 is generally rectangular in shape preferably constructed of a strong lightweight rigid material that will protect the internal components from mechanical and environmental exposure Plastics may rea
61. nector of the coupling site for communication between the computer modules wherein each of the computer modules operates fully inde pendent of each other and wherein one of the computer modules is configured to provide protection against failure of any one of the multitude of computer modules 52 The computer system of claim 51 wherein each computer module further comprises a grounding plate for shielding electromagnetic interference EMI 53 The computer system of claim 51 wherein the com puter module further comprises circuitry that can vary the clock frequency of the processing unit for varying its power consumption 54 The computer system of claim 51 comprising four or more computer modules 55 The computer system of claim 51 wherein the console further comprises a video switch 56 A computer system comprising a console comprising a video switch a universal serial bus USB a first coupling site and a second coupling site each coupling site comprising a connector and a slot the console being a first enclosure housing the coupling sites an Ethernet hub controller and a plurality of computer modules each coupled to one of the coupling sites through the connector and the slot each computer module comprising a processing unit a graphics controller coupled to the video switch US 7 146 446 132 27 a main memory coupled to the processing unit and an Ethernet controller coupled to the Ethernet hub controller fo
62. nnection and operation of compo nents contained within the ACM and depicted in FIG 8 has already been described in relation to FIG 6 for like num bered items appearing therein FIG 7 is a block diagram of a peripheral console PCON A peripheral console couples with an ACM to form an operating personal computer system The peripheral console PCON supplies an ACM with primary input display and power supply the ACM supplies the core computing power and environment of the user In the presently described embodiment the physical PCON package 600 contains the PCON functional components 601 and the PCON side of the ACM to PCON Interconnection 700 The PCON functional components 601 comprise primary display 610 a primary input 620 a primary power supply 630 interface and support 640 secondary mass storage 650 other devices 660 and expansion slots 670 The PCON side of the ACM to PCON Interconnection 700 comprises a Peripheral Interface Controller PIC com ponent 740 a PCON connector component 750 console type component 742 and flash memory device 748 The PIC 740 and connector 750 components couple the PCON func tional components 201 with the signals of an ACM to PCON interface bus 710 used to operatively connect an ACM with a PCON The ACM to PCON interface bus 710 comprises conveyance for electrical power 714 and signals for a peripheral bus 712 video 716 video port 717 and console type 718 The preferred ACM to PCON Interco
63. ntion FIG 6 is a block diagram of an attached computing module ACM FIG 7 illustrates an external view of one embodiment of an ACM FIG 8 illustrates the internal component layout for one embodiment of an ACM FIG 9 is a block diagram of a peripheral console PCON DETAILED DESCRIPTION OF THE INVENTION According to the present invention a technique including a method and device for multi module computing is pro vided In an exemplary embodiment the present invention provides a system including a plurality of computer modules that can independently operate to provide backup capability dual processing and the like FIG 1 is a simplified diagram of a computer system 100 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 alter natives The computer system 100 includes an attached computer module i e ACM 113 a desktop console 101 among other elements The computer system also has another ACM module 117 Each ACM module has a respec tive slot 121 119 which mechanically houses and electri cally couples each ACM to the computer console Also shown is a display 111 which connects to the console Additionally keyboard 109 and mouse 115 are also shown A second display 102 keyboard 105 and mouse 107 can coupled to the console in some opti
64. omputer module coupled to one of the coupling sites through the con nector and the slot and comprising a processing unit a main memory coupled to the processing unit a graphics controller a mass storage device and an Ethernet controller coupled to the Ethernet hub controller through the connector of the coupling site for communication between the computer modules wherein each of the computer modules operates independent of each other and wherein one of the computer modules can replace another one of the computer modules in operation and wherein the video output of the graphics controller couples to a display only through the console 27 The computer system of claim 26 wherein each computer module is coupled to a keyboard or a mouse only through the console 28 The computer system of claim 26 wherein the SCSI hard disk drive is removable while the computer module is in operation 29 The computer system of claim 26 wherein each computer module further comprises a grounding plate for shielding electromagnetic interference EMI 5 20 25 30 35 40 45 55 60 65 24 30 The computer system of claim 26 wherein the com puter module further comprises circuitry that can vary the clock frequency of the processing unit for varying its power consumption 31 A computer system comprising a console comprising an Ethernet controller coupled to an external network a keyboard mouse multi port switch a first c
65. omputer modules Each computer module has dedicated memory and disk drive and can operate indepen dently US 7 146 446 132 3 BRIEF SUMMARY OF THE INVENTION According to the present invention a technique including a method and device for multi module computing is pro vided In an exemplary embodiment the present invention provides a system including a plurality of computer modules that can independently operate to provide backup capability dual processing and the like In a specific embodiment the present invention provides a computer system for multi processing purposes The com puter system has a console comprising a first coupling site and a second coupling site e g computer module bay Each coupling site comprises a connector The console is an enclosure that is capable of housing each coupling site The system also has a plurality of computer modules where each ofthe computer modules is coupled to one of the connectors Each of the computer modules has a processing unit a main memory coupled to the processing unit a graphics controller coupled to the processing unit and a mass storage device coupled to the processing unit Each of the computer mod ules is substantially similar in design to each other to provide independent processing of each of the computer modules in the computer system In an alternative specific embodiment the present inven tion provides a multi processing computer system The system has a conso
66. onal embodiments to allow more than one user to operate the computer system The computer system is modular and has a variety of components that are removable Some of these components or modules can be used in different computers worksta tions computerized television sets and portable or laptop units In the present embodiment each ACM 113 includes computer components as will be described below including central processing unit CPU IDE controller hard disk drive computer memory and the like The computer module bay i e CMB 121 is an opening or slot in the desktop console The CMB houses the ACM and provides commu nication to and from the ACM The CMB also provides mechanical protection and support to the ACM The CMB has a mechanical alignment mechanism for mating a portion of the ACM to the console The CMB further has thermal US 7 146 446 132 5 heat dissipation sinks electrical connection mechanisms and the like Some details of the ACM can be found in co pending patent application Ser Nos 09 149 882 and 09 149 548 filed Sep 8 1998 commonly assigned and hereby incorporated by reference for all purposes In a specific embodiment the present multiple computer module system has a peripheral console that has two or more computer bays that can receive a removable computer module or ACM Multiple computer module system can function as a personal computer with only one ACM and the peripheral console The s
67. oupling site and a second coupling site each coupling site comprising a connector and a slot the console being an enclosure housing the Ethernet controller each coupling site and more than two computer modules each coupled to one of the coupling sites through the connector and the slot each computer module comprising an enclosure a power supply a processing unit a main memory coupled to the processing unit and a network controller coupled to the Ethernet controller through the connector of the coupling site for com munication between the computer modules wherein each of the computer modules operates fully inde pendent of each other and wherein one of the computer modules is configured to provide protection against failure of any one of the multitude of computer modules and wherein the computer module couples to a console keyboard based on a command from a user sent to the keyboard mouse multi port switch 32 The computer system of claim 31 wherein each computer module further comprises a grounding plate for shielding electromagnetic interference EMI 33 The computer system of claim 31 wherein the com puter module further comprises circuitry that can vary the clock frequency of the processing unit for varying its power consumption 34 The computer system of claim 31 comprising four or more computer modules 35 The computer system of claim 31 wherein the com mand from the user is in the form of either a key on the k
68. ower regulation circuitry 542 receives electrical power via the electrical power conduction path 714 of the CPU to PCON Interconnection 700 condi tions and distributes it to the other circuitry in the ACM using power distribution bus 568 Such regulation and distribution is well known and understood in the art Clocking circuitry 544 generates clock signals for distri bution to other components within the ACM 500 that require a timing and synchronization clock source The CPU 510 is one such component Often the total power dissipated by a CPU is directly proportional to the frequency of its main clock signal The presently described embodiment of the US 7 146 446 132 15 ACM 500 includes circuitry that can vary the frequency of the main CPU clock signal conveyed to the CPU via signal path 562 in response to a signal received from the host interface controller HIC 720 via signal path 561 The generation and variable frequency control of clocking sig nals is well understood in the art By varying the frequency the power consumption of the CPU and thus the entire ACM can be varied The variable clock rate generation may be exploited to match the CPU power consumption to the available electri cal power Circuitry in the host interface controller HIC 720 of the presently described embodiment adjusts the frequency control signal sent via signal path 561 to the clocking circuitry 544 based on the console type infor mation sig
69. r No 09 149 882 entitled Communication Channel and Interface Devices for Bridging Computer Interface Buses by the same inventor filed on the same day here with and hereby incorporated by reference The preferred ACM to PCON interconnection 700 includes circuitry to transmit and receive parallel bus information from multiple signal paths as a serial bit stream on a single signal path This reduces the number of physical signal paths required to traverse the interconnection 700 Further employing low voltage differential signaling LVDS on the bit stream data paths provides very reliable high speed transmission across cables This represents a further advantage of the present invention The CPU component 510 of the ACM functional circuitry 501 of the presently described embodiment comprises a microprocessor 512 which is the chief component of the personal computer system power supply connection point 513 and cache memory 514 tightly coupled to the micro processor 512 by the CPU to cache bus 574 comprising signal paths for address data and control information The microprocessor 512 of this embodiment is one of the models from the Pentium 11 family of processors from Intel Corpo ration Microprocessor 512 receives electrical power from power bus 568 via connection point 513 Microprocessor 512 couples to the Host Interface Controller HIC 720 via CPU to HIC bus 563 comprising signal paths to exchange control information such
70. r communication between the computer modules wherein each of the computer modules operates fully inde pendent of each other 57 The computer system of claim 56 wherein each computer module further comprises a grounding plate for shielding electromagnetic interference EMI 58 The computer system of claim 56 wherein the com puter module further comprises circuitry that can vary the clock frequency of the processing unit for varying its power consumption 59 The computer system of claim 56 wherein the com puter module further comprises of an enclosure with grooves running down the sides for engaging with rails running down the computer bay of the console upon insertion 60 The computer system of claim 56 wherein the console further comprises a hard disk drive coupled to the computer module 61 A computer system comprising console comprising an Ethernet controller coupled to an external network a universal serial bus USB a first coupling site and a second coupling site each coupling site comprising a connector and a slot the console being a first enclosure housing a video switch each coupling site and a plurality of computer modules each computer module coupled to one of the coupling sites through the con nector and the slot each computer module comprising a grounding plate for shielding electromagnetic inter ference EMI a processing unit a main memory coupled to the processing unit and a graphics cont
71. r embodiment the invention provides at least two users to share the same modular desktop system Each user operates on a different computer module The other peripheral devices i e CDROM printer DSL connection etc can be shared This provides lower system cost less desktop space and more efficiency 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 In still further embodiments the present invention pro vides methods of using multiple computer modules 20 25 30 35 40 45 50 55 60 65 4 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 Figures 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 block diagram of a computer system according to an alternative embodiment of the present invention FIG 3 is a simplified block diagram of a computer system according to a further alternative embodiment of the present invention and FIG 4 is a simplified flow diagram of a method according to an embodiment of the present invention FIG 5 is a block diagram of one embodiment of a computer system employing the present inve
72. r module further comprises of an enclosure with grooves running down the sides for engaging with rails running down the computer bay of the console upon insertion 40 The computer system of claim 36 wherein the com mand from the user is in the form of either a key on the keyboard or an icon on the screen that the mouse can click on 41 A computer system comprising a console comprising a keyboard mouse multi port switch a video switch coupled to a display a first coupling site a second coupling site each coupling site comprising a connector the console being a first enclo sure that is capable of housing each coupling site a serial communication hub controller coupled to an external network and a plurality of computer modules inserted into said con sole each computer module coupled to one of the connectors of the console and comprising a processing unit a communication controller coupled to the serial com munication hub controller through the connector of the coupling site to support communication with the other modules a main memory coupled to the processing unit and a graphics controller coupled to the video switch wherein each of the computer modules provide independent processing in the computer system and wherein one of the computer modules is configured to provide protection against failure of another of the plurality of computer modules 42 The computer system of claim 41 wherein each computer module furt
73. rnet controller can be a 10 100 Base such as Intel s 82559 or the like Other types of network connec tion devices can also be used For example the invention can use Gbit Ethernet 1394 and USB 2 0 The network control ler couples to a hub 233 in the console which includes shared peripheral system 201 Also shown is the second ACM 205 The second ACM has the same or similar components as the first ACM Here like reference numerals have been used for easy cross referencing but is not intended to be limiting In some embodiments the secondary ACM is not connected to the PCI bus in the peripheral console directly The secondary ACM 219 accesses peripheral devices controlled by the primary ACM through the Ethernet connection to the pri mary ACM e g CD ROM or PCI modem The implemen tation is not restricted to Ethernet serial communication and can use other high speed serial communication such as USB 2 0 and 1394 The Ethernet hub is coupled to an external output port 235 which connects to an external network The primary hard disk drive in each ACM can be accessed by the other ACM as sharable hard drive through the Ethernet connection This allows the easy sharing of files between the two independent computer modules The Eth ernet Hub Controller provides the high speed communica tion function between the two computer modules Ethernet data bandwidth of 100 Mbit sec allows fast data communi cation between the two computer module
74. rocessor 512 via the advanced graphics port bus 573 of the CPU Bridge 546 The visual display signal generated by the AGP are con veyed toward actual display devices at the peripheral con sole PCON via video signal bus 570 Video information from a source external to the ACM and appearing as video port signals 717 may be conveyed to the AGP 552 via video port signal path 571 Other types of high performance components may be included in different ACM configurations For example an interface to an extremely high speed data communication facility may be desirable in some future computer where CPU to network interaction is of comparable intensity to today s CPU to graphics interaction Because such high performance components tend to be high in cost their inclusion in the ACM is desirable Inclusion of high cost high performance components in the ACM concentrates a user s core computing power and environment in a portable package This represents a further advantage of the inven tion The interface and support component 540 of the ACM functional circuitry 501 in the present embodiment com prises circuitry for power regulation 542 clocking 544 CPU Bridge 546 IDE controller 548 and signal conveyance paths 561 174 The CPU Bridge 546 couples the CPU component 510 of the ACM 500 with the other components of the ACM 520 150 and the CPU to PCON Interconnec tion 700 The CPU Bridge 546 and IDE controller 548 have already been discussed P
75. roller coupled to the video switch wherein each of the computer modules operates fully inde pendent of each other and wherein the video output of the graphics controller couples to a display only through the console 62 The computer system of claim 61 wherein primary input circuitry of the computer module couples to input devices through the console only 63 The computer system of claim 61 wherein the com puter module further comprises circuitry that can vary the clock frequency of the processing unit for varying its power consumption 64 The computer system of claim 61 wherein the com puter module further comprises a second enclosure with grooves running down the sides for engaging with rails running down the computer bay of the console upon inser tion 65 The computer system of claim 61 wherein the console further comprises of a hard disk drive coupled to the computer module 66 A computer system comprising console comprising a universal serial bus USB a first coupling site and a second coupling site each coupling site comprising a connector and a slot the console being a first enclosure housing each coupling site a serial communication hub controller and a plurality of computer modules each computer module coupled to one of the coupling sites through the con nector and the slot and each computer module com prising a processing unit 20 25 30 35 40 45 55 60 65 28 a main memory
76. rom Intel 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 hard drive module or mass storage unit 215 typically includes a computer operating system application software program files data files and the like In a specific embodi ment the computer operating system may be the Win dows98 operating system from Microsoft Corporation of Redmond Wash Other operating systems such as Win dowsNT MacOSS Unix and the like are also contemplated in alternative embodiments of the present invention Further US 7 146 446 132 7 some typical application software programs can include Office98 by Microsoft Corporation Corel Perfect Suite by Corel and others Hard disk module 215 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 security protection The ACM also has a network controller which can be an Ethernet controller 219 which is coupled to the North Bridge through the PCI bus The North Bridge is coupled to the CPU The Ethe
77. rough consolidation pp 1 6 downloaded from the internet at http www opusl com www jms nw con 0818rev html 7 146 446 2 Sheet 1 of 9 Dec 5 2006 U S Patent NOV 1514 jeuondo LOL py 5 WOV reng LOL 9108009 jexeuduag pareys eee 001 U S Patent Dec 5 2006 Sheet 2 of 9 US 7 146 446 B2 U S Patent Dec 5 2006 Sheet 3 of 9 US 7 146 446 B2 z 300 45 ACM Subsystem Primary Shared Peripheral System U S Patent Dec 5 2006 Sheet 4 of 9 US 7 146 446 B2 401 User selects certain file for auto 400 backup 403 Other comp Module available NO Alert user of missing computer module Yes Ask other module to create backup file 431 407 i available 433 Yes 409 Backup file and set 427 backup timer 421 File Auto changed files 417 FIG 4 7 146 446 2 Sheet 5 of 9 Dec 5 2006 U S Patent Sls iddng Arepucoes 059 obeys 0 9 099 099 0297 009 WOW ejosuo 7 146 446 2 Sheet 6 of 9 Dec 5 2006 U S Patent E a i 895 i UT i E i 2197 veg l il Dd vere 0012 25 cec i Sidiooepa i 199 gt E mi i 2059
78. s The secondary ACM access peripheral devices of the primary ACM through the network connection provided by Ethernet link The operating system e g Windows 98 provides the shar ing of resources between the two ACMs In some embodi ments critical data in one ACM can be backup into the other ACM The Ethernet hub also couples to PCI bus 239 which connects to PCI devices 241 243 e g modem SCSI controller A flash memory 242 can also be coupled to the PCI bus The flash memory can store passwords and security information such as those implementations described in USS Ser No 09 183 493 which is commonly owned and hereby incorporated by reference The hub 233 also couples to an I O control 237 which connects to keyboard mouse switch 245 which couples to keyboard mouse 247 Option ally the keyboard mouse switch also couples to a second keyboard house 259 via PS2 or USB signal line 251 The keyboard mouse switch has at least a first state and a second state which allow operation of respectively multiple key boards or a single keyboard The switch also couples to each controller 221 in each ACM via lines 253 255 The I O control 237 also couples to an RGB switch 257 which allows video signals to pass to the first monitor 259 Alter 20 25 30 35 40 45 50 55 65 8 natively the RGB switch couples to a second monitor 261 The RGB switch includes analog video switches such as MAXIM s MAX4545 T
79. s 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 What is claimed is 1 A computer system comprising a console comprising a power supply a first coupling site and a second coupling site each coupling site com prising a connector and a slot the console being a first enclosure housing the coupling sites a serial communication controller powered by the power supply more than two computer modules each computer module coupled to one of the coupling site through the con nector and the slot comprising a second enclosure a processing unit a main memory coupled to the processing unit and a graphics controller US 7 146 446 132 21 and a mass storage device coupled to one of the computer modules wherein each of the computer modules is substantially similar in design to each other and operates fully indepen dent of each other and wherein one of the computer modules is configured to provide protection against failure of any one of the other computer modules and wherein the mass storage device is powered by the console 2 The computer system of claim 1 wherein each com puter module further comprises a communication controller coupled to the serial communication controller in the con sole adapted to transfer data between any two of
80. screen size to make practical use of the 20 25 30 35 40 45 50 55 60 65 18 application software in widespread use today One skilled in the art recognizes that the type and resolution of the display can vary greatly from embodiment to embodiment depend ing on factors such as cost and intended application Any display device may be used without departing from the scope and spirit of the invention that provides principal visual output to the computer user for operating system and application software executing in its customary and intended fashion using the CPU component 510 of FIG 3 of an ACM presently coupled to PCON 600 Integrated display panel 612 is coupled to video signal bus 649 and displays a screen image in response to video signals presented on bus 649 Certain pins of connector 750 receive video output signals 716 of the ACM to PCON interface bus 710 from a mated connector that is coupled to an ACM These certain pins of connector 750 couple to video signal bus 649 which conveys the video output signals 716 throughout the PCON 600 as needed Video connector 613 is exposed at the exterior of PCON 600 and couples to video signal bus 649 Connector 613 permits easy attach ment of an external display device that is compatible with the signals carried by bus 649 such as a CRT monitor not shown The external display device may be used in addi tion or as an alternative to integrated display panel 612
81. the com puter modules and to an external network 3 The computer system of claim 1 wherein each com puter module further comprises a grounding plate for shield ing electromagnetic interference EMI 4 The computer system of claim 1 wherein the computer module further comprises circuitry that can vary the clock frequency of the processing unit for varying its power consumption 5 The computer system of claim 1 comprising four or more computer modules 6 A computer system comprising a console comprising a power supply a first coupling site and a second coupling site each coupling site com prising a connector and a slot the console being an enclosure housing the coupling sites an Ethernet controller coupled to an external network and powered by the power supply more than two computer modules each computer module coupled to one of the coupling site through the con nector and the slot comprising a processing unit a main memory coupled to the processing unit and a network controller coupled to the Ethernet controller through the connector of the coupling site and a mass storage device coupled to one of the computer modules wherein each of the computer modules is substantially similar in design to each other and wherein one of the computer modules is configured to provide protection against failure of any one of the other computer modules and wherein the mass storage device is powered by the console 7 The comput
82. urrently with 1 or 2 monitors and a common keyboard mouse 2 Two users using the two separate ACMs at the same time with separate monitors and keyboard mouse The 2 users share peripherals e g printer CDROM and others The two users share external networking To support 1 monitor for both ACMs a video switch in the peripheral console is used to switch between the video outputs of the two ACMs The system can be set to support either 1 monitor or 2 monitor mode The user presses a special key on the keyboard or a special icon on the screen to switch the screen display from one ACM to the other This same action causes the keyboard and mouse connections to switch from one ACM to the other ACM dual ACM system can save space wiring and cost for a 2 person PC setup with the added benefit that both PC systems can be accessed from one user site for increased system performance if the other user is not using the system Files can be copied between the primary drive of both system and provides protection against a single ACM fail ure Software needs to be developed to manage the concur rent use of two PC subsystems the automatic sharing of selected files between the two systems and fault tolerance 0 5 20 40 45 50 65 10 The design with more than two computer modules can implemented with the use of multi port serial communica tion hub controller and multi port I O switches In one embodiment a p

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