TWI447570B - A computer system - Google Patents

Description

computer system

The present invention relates to a computer system, and more particularly to a computer system for simultaneously powering multiple motherboards.

With the development of technology in the field of information and communication, computer systems are required to develop increasingly large control boards. The traditional control board is usually a server or a switch board. When these boards need to be turned on, they need to manually turn on the power button of these boards to receive power from the external power supply to meet the working requirements of the motherboard.

However, when the control board of the computer system involves a large number, the method of manually opening one by one or separately opening not only wastes a lot of manpower, but also cannot meet the requirement of controlling the power supply of the synchronous control of the motherboard. And when multiple motherboards must be powered synchronously to ensure the quality of communication or the immediacy of data exchange, it is easy to cause errors in communication or data exchange.

Therefore, it is necessary to provide a computer system to solve the above problem that the multi-board power supply cannot be synchronously controlled.

In view of this, the primary object of the present invention is to provide a computer system capable of controlling simultaneous power supply of a plurality of motherboards to solve the problem of power supply of the plurality of motherboards.

According to an aspect of the present invention, a computer system includes: a plurality of power supplies; and a plurality of main boards electrically connected to the plurality of power supplies, wherein each of the power supplies corresponds to each The power supply of the motherboard includes: a boot module for generating a boot signal; a control module, receiving the boot signal, and generating a power enable signal according to the boot signal; The cascading module is electrically connected to the power supply corresponding to the main board and the control module, and the cascading module receives the power enable signal; wherein the cascading modules of each of the main boards are mutually Electrically connecting, when the control module of any motherboard issues the power enable signal, transmitting the power enable signal to the cascade module of the other motherboard through the cascade module of the motherboard The cascading modules of all the motherboards simultaneously transmit the power enable signal to the corresponding power supply, so that the multiple power supplies simultaneously supply power to the corresponding motherboards, so as to realize synchronous startup of the motherboards.

Preferably, the computer system has a plurality of chassis, each of the chassis having at least one of the motherboards.

Preferably, the control module is a south bridge chip.

Preferably, the plurality of main boards further include a power connector and a control signal connector, wherein the plurality of power supplies are respectively connected to the power connector and the control signal connector of the corresponding motherboard, The cascading module is electrically connected to the corresponding power supply by the control signal connector.

Preferably, after receiving the power enable signal, the plurality of power supplies respectively return a power supply status good signal to the control modules of the corresponding main boards, and then start supplying power to the corresponding main boards.

According to still another aspect of the present invention, a computer system includes: a power supply; and a plurality of first main boards and a second main board, respectively electrically connected to the power supply, the plurality of first The motherboard and the second motherboard respectively comprise: a boot module for generating a boot signal; a control module, receiving the boot signal, and generating a power enable signal according to the boot signal; and a cascade The module is electrically connected to the control module and receives the power enable signal; wherein the cascade modules of the plurality of first motherboards and the cascade modules of the second motherboard are electrically connected to each other And the cascading module of the second main board is electrically connected to the power supply, and when the control module of one of the plurality of first main boards and the second main board sends the power supply When the signal is capable, the power enable signal is transmitted to the power supply through the cascade module of the second motherboard, and the power supply is directed to the plurality of first motherboards and the second motherboard Powering to achieve the plurality of first And said second main plate synchronizing power.

Preferably, the computer system has a plurality of chassis, each of which has at least one of the plurality of first motherboards and the second motherboard.

Preferably, the control module is a south bridge chip.

Preferably, the plurality of first motherboards further include a first power connector; the second motherboard further includes a second power connector and a second control signal connector, the first power connector And the second power connector is electrically connected to the power supply, and the cascading module of the plurality of first main boards and the cascading module of the second main board pass the second main board The first control signal connector is electrically connected to the power supply.

Preferably, after receiving the power enable signal, the power supply device returns a power supply status good signal to the control module of the second motherboard, and then sends the power supply status to the plurality of first motherboards and The second motherboard is powered.

Therefore, the computer system of the present invention controls the power supply to simultaneously supply power to a plurality of mainboards through a power supply enable signal sent from a main board, thereby solving the above problem that the multi-board power supply cannot be synchronously controlled.

Referring to FIG. 1, there is shown a computer system in accordance with an embodiment of the present invention. In the embodiment shown in FIG. 1, the computer system includes a plurality of power supplies (identified by digits 101, 102, ... 10n) and a plurality of motherboards (corresponding to numbers 301, 302) corresponding to the power supplies. , ... 30n to identify). Wherein each power supply supplies power to each corresponding motherboard, and each of the motherboards 301 to 30n includes The boot module, the control module and the cascade module, that is, the motherboard 301 includes a boot module 321, a control module 331 and a cascade module 381; the motherboard 302 includes a boot module 322, a control module 332, and a cascade module. The group 382; and the main board 30n includes a boot module 32n, a control module 33n, and a cascade module 38n.

The motherboard 301 is taken as an example to describe the connection relationship between the boot module, the control module, and the cascade module in the motherboard. The boot module 321 is configured to generate a boot signal, and the control module 331 is configured to receive a boot signal generated by the boot module 321 and generate a power enable signal according to the boot signal, and the cascade module 381 is electrically connected to the motherboard. The power supply 101 and the control module 331 corresponding to the 301, and the cascade module 381 receive the power enable signal from the control module 331. In addition, the cascading module 381 of the main board 301, the cascading module 382 of the main board 302, and the cascading module 38n of the main board 30n are electrically connected to each other, and when any one of the main board control modules (the control module 331 or 332 or 33n) When the power enable signal is issued, the power supply enable signal is transmitted to the cascade module of the other motherboard through the corresponding motherboard cascading module, so that the cascading modules of all the motherboards simultaneously enable the power supply. The signal is transmitted to the corresponding power supply, so that the plurality of power supplies simultaneously supply power to the corresponding main boards, so that the synchronous start of each main board is realized.

According to an embodiment, the computer system of FIG. 1 further has a plurality of chassis, that is, a plurality of motherboards 301, 302, ... 30n are respectively accommodated in corresponding chassis, each chassis having at least one of a plurality of motherboards Motherboard. In other embodiments, the computer system can have at least one chassis, the One less chassis can accommodate at least one of the plurality of motherboards.

According to another embodiment, any one of the plurality of motherboards of FIG. 1 may further include a power connector and a control signal connector, that is, the motherboard 301 includes a power connector 361 and a control signal connector 341, and the motherboard 302 includes The power connector 362 and the control signal connector 342, the main board 30n includes a power connector 36n and a control signal connector 34n. Taking the main board 301 as an example, the power supply 101 is respectively connected to the power connector 361 of the main board 301 and the control signal connector 341, and then the cascode module 381 is electrically connected to the power supply 101 through the control signal connector 341. Preferably, after receiving the power enable signal, the power supply 101, 102, ... 10n respectively returns a power supply status good signal to the respective control modules of the corresponding main boards 301, 302, ... 30n. Then start to supply power to the corresponding motherboard.

In addition, in this embodiment, the control module 331 can be a south bridge chip. It should be understood by those skilled in the art that in other embodiments, the control module 331 can be other smart chips or software drivers.

In addition, the power supply 101 can be a basic power supply unit, such as a power supply, an adjustable power supply, a power supply adaptation unit, and a PWM switching power supply. The power supply enable signal can be used to provide the required high level voltage to the main board 301 or Low level voltage to meet the needs of the motherboard 301. Here, the working principle of the power supply 101 will not be described again. Since the structures of the main boards 301, 302, ..., 30n are the same, and the power supplies 101, 102 to 10n are also the same, the computer system of the present embodiment is only used by the main board 301, the control module 331, and the power supply 101. Signal Sexual description.

As described above, through the computer system shown in FIG. 1, when a plurality of motherboards need to be powered simultaneously, only one motherboard needs to be manually turned on, and multiple motherboards that need to be powered can be controlled to be simultaneously turned on, which not only saves manpower but also saves manpower. Synchronous control of the power supply of the motherboard can be realized.

Referring to FIG. 2, a computer system according to another embodiment of the present invention is shown. In the embodiment shown in FIG. 2, the computer system includes a single power supply (identified by the digits 10) and a plurality of motherboards (in the digits 401, 402, ... 40n) electrically connected to the power supply 10 Identification). Wherein, a single power supply supplies power to each motherboard, and each of the motherboards 401 to 40n includes a boot module, a control module, and a cascade module, that is, the motherboard 401 includes a boot module 421 and a control module. The group 431 and the cascading module 481; the main board 402 includes a booting module 422, a control module 432, and a cascading module 482; and the main board 40n includes a booting module 42n, a control module 43n, and a cascading module 48n.

It should be noted that the cascading module 482 of the main board 402 is electrically connected to the power supply 10, and the cascading modules 481 and 48n of other main boards need not be electrically connected to the power supply 10, so that it is convenient to distinguish The main boards such as the main boards 481 and 48n are referred to as "first main board", and the main board 402 is referred to as "second main board". Similarly, the motherboard 401 is taken as an example to describe the connection relationship between the boot module, the control module, and the cascade module in the motherboard. The boot module 421 is configured to generate a boot signal, and the control module 431 is configured to receive a boot signal generated by the boot module 421, and generate a power enable signal according to the boot signal, and the cascade module 481 is electrically Connected to the control module 431 and receives a power enable signal from the control module 431. Moreover, the cascade modules 481 and 48n of the plurality of first motherboards (such as the motherboards 401 and 40n) and the cascade module 482 of the second motherboard (the motherboard 402) are electrically connected to each other due to the cascade mode of the second motherboard. The group 482 is electrically connected to the power supply 10, and when any one of the plurality of first main boards and the second main board sends a power enable signal, the power can be supplied through the cascade module 482 of the second main board. The enable signal is transmitted to the power supply, and the power supply supplies power to the plurality of first main boards and the second main board to realize synchronous start-up of the plurality of first main boards and the second main board.

According to an embodiment, the computer system of FIG. 2 further has a plurality of chassis, that is, a plurality of motherboards 401, 402, ... 40n are respectively accommodated in corresponding chassis, each chassis having at least one of a plurality of motherboards Motherboard. In other embodiments, the computer system can have at least one chassis that can accommodate at least one of the plurality of motherboards.

According to another embodiment, any one of the plurality of first motherboards (such as the motherboards 401 and 40n) of FIG. 2 may further include a first power connector (such as the power connectors 461 and 46n), and the second motherboard (eg, The main board 402) may further include a second power connector (such as the power connector 462) and a first control signal connector (such as the control signal connector 441). The power connectors 461, 462, and 46n are all electrically connected to the power supply 10, and the cascade modules 481 and 48n of the motherboards 401 and 40n and the cascade module 482 of the motherboard 402 are all rotated by the control signal connector 441. Connected to the power supply 10. Preferably, the power supply After receiving the power enable signal, 10 returns a power supply status good signal to the control module 432 of the motherboard 402, and then starts supplying power to the motherboards 401, 402, and 40n.

In addition, in this embodiment, the control module 431 can be a south bridge chip. It should be understood by those skilled in the art that in other embodiments, the control module 431 can be other smart chips or software drivers.

In addition, the power supply 10 can be a basic power supply unit, such as a power supply, an adjustable power supply, a power supply adaptation unit, and a PWM switching power supply. The power supply enable signal can be used to provide the required high level voltage to the main board 401 or Low level voltage to meet the needs of the motherboard 401. Here, the working principle of the power supply 10 will not be described again.

Please refer to FIG. 3 , which is a schematic structural diagram of a cascading module of a computer system according to still another embodiment of the present invention. In this embodiment, the cascading module may include a plurality of input/output ports for inputting/outputting the above power enable signals, or may also be used to expand input/output other voltage signals so that the power supply cannot be satisfied. Auxiliary power supply is provided when the power supply of the motherboard is required.

Figure 3 shows that the cascade module includes 1 to 6 input and output ports, wherein the first input/output port can be loaded with a standby operating voltage for providing a standby voltage when the motherboard is in standby. The 2~3 input/output ports can be loaded with an auxiliary supply voltage for providing an auxiliary supply voltage when the power supply cannot meet the power supply requirements. The 4th input/output port can be used for cascading of the main board and input/output of signals. The 5th to 6th input/output ports can be used for grounding to provide a complete circuit structure for the cascaded module. Thus, cascading The modules can be extended to cascade various signals that can be used for synchronous control, and are not limited to the power enable signals shown in the present invention. Therefore, those skilled in the art should understand that the structure of the cascading module shown in FIG. 3 is only for exemplifying the function of the cascading module of the computer system of the present invention, and should not be construed as limiting the present invention.

Thus, through the detailed description of the above various embodiments, the computer system of the present invention can control multiple motherboards to be turned on or off synchronously when only one motherboard needs to be powered or powered off at the same time, only one motherboard needs to be manually turned on or off. powered by. Not only can save manpower, but also realize synchronous control of the motherboard switch machine.

Although the present invention has been disclosed in the above embodiments, it is not intended to limit the present invention, and the present invention can be modified and modified without departing from the spirit and scope of the present invention. The scope is subject to the definition of the scope of the patent application attached.

10, 101, 102~10n‧‧‧ power supply

301, 302~30n, 401, 402~40n‧‧‧ motherboard

321, 322~32n, 421, 422~42n‧‧‧ boot module

331, 332~33n, 431, 432~43n‧‧‧ control module

341, 342~34n, 441‧‧‧ control signal connector

361, 362~36n, 461, 462~46n‧‧‧ power connectors

381, 382~38n, 481, 482~48n‧‧‧ Cascade Module

The above and other features, advantages and embodiments of the present invention will become more apparent and understood. A schematic diagram of a computer system module in another embodiment; and FIG. 3 is a schematic structural diagram of a cascading module in a computer system according to still another embodiment of the present invention.

101, 102~10n. . . Power Supplier

301, 302~30n. . . Motherboard

321, 322~32n. . . Boot module

331, 332~33n. . . Control module

341, 342~34n. . . Control signal connector

361, 362~36n. . . Power connector

381, 382~38n. . . Cascade module

Claims (10)

A computer system includes: a plurality of power supplies; and a plurality of motherboards electrically connected to the power supplies, wherein each power supply supplies power to each corresponding motherboard, and the motherboards respectively include: a boot module for generating a boot signal; a control module, receiving the boot signal, and generating a power enable signal according to the boot signal; and a first-level module electrically connected to the power supply corresponding to the motherboard And the control module, the cascade module receives the power enable signal; wherein the cascade modules of the motherboard are electrically connected to each other, when the control module of any motherboard sends the power enable signal Passing the power enable signal to the cascade module of the other motherboard through the cascading module of the motherboard, so that the cascading modules of all the motherboards simultaneously transmit the power enable signal to the corresponding power supply, so that The power supplies simultaneously supply power to the respective motherboards to enable simultaneous startup of the motherboards. The computer system of claim 1, further comprising a plurality of chassis, each chassis having at least one of the motherboards. The computer system of claim 1, wherein the control module is a south bridge chip. The computer system of claim 1, wherein the motherboards further comprise a power connector and a control signal connector, the power supplies being respectively connected to the power connector and the control signal connector of the corresponding motherboard, The cascode module is electrically connected to the corresponding power supply through the control signal connector. According to the computer system of claim 1, wherein the power supply devices respectively receive the power enable signal, and then return a power supply status good signal to the control modules of the corresponding main boards, and then start to correspond to the respective ones. The motherboard is powered. A computer system includes: a power supply; and a plurality of first main boards and a second main board respectively electrically connected to the power supply, wherein the first main board and the second main board respectively comprise: a booting mold The group is configured to generate a power-on signal; a control module receives the power-on signal, and generates a power-enable signal according to the power-on signal; and the first-level module is electrically connected to the control module and receives the power source The cascading module of the first main board and the cascading module of the second main board are electrically connected to each other, and the cascading module of the second main board is electrically connected to the power supply. Some of the first motherboard and the second motherboard When the control module of the one sends the power enable signal, the power supply enable signal is transmitted to the power supply through the cascade module of the second motherboard, so that the power supply is directed to the first motherboards and The second motherboard is powered to implement synchronous startup of the first motherboard and the second motherboard. The computer system of claim 6, further comprising a plurality of chassis, each of the chassis having at least one of the first motherboard and the second motherboard. The computer system of claim 6, wherein the control module is a south bridge chip. The computer system of claim 6, wherein the first motherboards further comprise a first power connector; the second motherboard further includes a second power connector and a first control signal connector, the first A power connector and the second power connector are electrically connected to the power supply, and the cascade module of the first motherboard and the cascade module of the second motherboard pass the second motherboard A control signal connector is electrically connected to the power supply. The computer system of claim 6, wherein the power supply device receives the power enable signal, and returns a power supply status good signal to the control module of the second motherboard, and then to the first motherboard. And the second motherboard is powered.