Method and apparatus for controlling peripheral devices in a computer system
First Claim
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1. A system for controlling peripheral devices in a computer system, the system for controlling peripheral devices comprising:
- a microcontroller that provides a plurality of device interfaces, each of the device interfaces being adapted to support a peripheral device, and a communication interface that is adapted to allow communication between the communication interface and the peripheral devices; and
a device that stores programming instructions to initialize the microcontroller separately from the initialization of the computer system.
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Abstract
The disclosed embodiments relate to a system for controlling peripheral devices in a computer system. The system for controlling peripheral devices may comprise a microcontroller that provides a plurality of device interfaces, each of the device interfaces being adapted to support a peripheral device, and a communication interface that is adapted to allow communication between the communication interface and the peripheral devices, and a device that stores programming instructions to initialize the microcontroller separately from the initialization of the computer system.
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Citations
42 Claims
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1. A system for controlling peripheral devices in a computer system, the system for controlling peripheral devices comprising:
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a microcontroller that provides a plurality of device interfaces, each of the device interfaces being adapted to support a peripheral device, and a communication interface that is adapted to allow communication between the communication interface and the peripheral devices; and
a device that stores programming instructions to initialize the microcontroller separately from the initialization of the computer system. - View Dependent Claims (2, 3, 4, 5, 6, 7, 8, 9, 10, 11)
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12. A computer system, comprising:
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a main power supply that provides power to the computer system;
a processor complex;
a system memory;
a memory controller that is connected to the processor complex and the system memory to retrieve data from the system memory for the processor complex;
a microcontroller that is connected to the memory controller, the microcontroller providing a plurality of device interfaces, each of the device interfaces being adapted to support a peripheral device, and a communication interface that is adapted to allow communication with the peripheral devices via the plurality of device interfaces; and
a device that stores programming instructions to initialize the microcontroller separately from the initialization of the computer system. - View Dependent Claims (13, 14, 15, 16, 17, 18, 19, 20, 21, 22)
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23. A method of controlling peripheral devices in a computer system, the method comprising the acts of:
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initializing a microcontroller that includes a plurality of device interfaces, each of the device interfaces being adapted to support a peripheral device, the microcontroller comprising a communication interface that is adapted to allow communication between the communication interface and the peripheral devices; and
programming the microcontroller separately from the computer system. - View Dependent Claims (24, 25, 26, 27, 28, 29, 30)
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31. A system for controlling peripheral devices in a computer system, the system for controlling peripheral devices comprising:
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means for interfacing with a plurality of peripheral devices via a communication interface; and
a device that stores programming instructions to initialize the means for interfacing separately from the initialization of the computer system. - View Dependent Claims (32, 33, 34, 35, 36, 37, 38, 39, 40, 41)
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42. A computer system that comprises a microcontroller that functions as a south bridge, the microcontroller being programmed to avoid conflicts with other devices and to reduce resource consumption.
Specification