Portable computer

• US 4,777,590 A
• Filed: 05/28/1985
• Issued: 10/11/1988
• Est. Priority Date: 10/29/1984
• Status: Expired due to Fees

• Current Assignee: V-Marc Incorporated
• Original Assignee: Pictorial, Inc. (Redfin Corporation)
• Inventors: Taylor, Duaine O., Franklin, Timothy E., Durkos, Larry G.
• Primary Examiner(s): Eng, David Y.
• Application Number:
  US06/738,671
• Time in Patent Office: 1,232 Days
• Field of Search: 364/200 MS File, 364/900 MS File
• US Class Current: 712/43
• CPC Class Codes: G06F 15/02 manually operated with input through keyboard and computation using a built-in program, e.g. pocket calculators
• CPC Class Codes: G06F 9/445 Program loading or initiating bootstrapping G06F9/4401; security arrangements for program loading or initiating G06F21/57

Abstract

A computer system has a system bus with several sockets or slots therein which receive memory modules. Each module can be used to implement at least one of a variety of functions. The functions include operating system programs, application programs, and random access memories (RAM). Each slot has a module select line coupled to it at the same location. A module select circuit is provided which enables the module select lines to select the appropriate module or modules. Modules implementing the same type of function, or different functions, can be plugged into the slots in any order. Each module implementing the same type of function is allocated the same address block and starts at the same address. In the cases of operating system modules and application program modules, the module which is enabled by the module select line acts as the program memory for the processor so that the program is instantaneously in memory from the time the module is selected. The computer system of the instant invention does not load a program from a storage medium into memory and then execute it. In the case of a RAM module, the selected module becomes a memory for the processor when selected and the processor can access the RAM module to store and retrieve data.

Claims

1. A computer comprising a processor including means for addressing memory;

a plurality of memory modules, each memory module implementing, at least in part, a particular type of function of a plurality of types of functions, each function having a starting address, each function of the same particular type of function having the same starting address;

means for coupling a plurality of memory modules to the processor;

the processor including means for selectively enabling and disabling the memory modules coupled to it to implement no more than one function of each particular type of function at any one time by enabling for each particular type of function to be implemented only that memory module or those memory modules which implements or implement that one function of that particular type of function to be implemented;

the selectively enabled module or modules comprising memory addressed by the processor'"'"'s memory addressing means.

2. The computer of claim 1 wherein the particular types of functions include operating system programs, application programs, and random access memory (RAM), the means for coupling a plurality of memory modules to the processor includes means for coupling a plurality of memory modules containing a plurality of application programs to the processor, and the processor'"'"'s means for selectively enabling and disabling memory modules includes means for selectively enabling and disabling the memory modules containing the plurality of application programs coupled to the processor to selectively enable the memory module or modules containing only one of the application programs at any one time.

3. The computer of claim 2 wherein the coupling means includes a plurality of connector slots for receiving the memory modules and at least one select line coupled to the processor and to each slot for enabling the memory module received in that slot when the select line coupled to the slot is asserted by the processor, the processor'"'"'s means for selectively enabling and disabling the memory modules including means for asserting the select lines.

4. The computer of claim 3 wherein each memory module implementing an application program function includes means for identifying that memory module.

5. The computer of claim 4 wherein each memory module implementing an operating system program function includes means for identifying that memory module.

6. The computer of claim 5 wherein the memory module identifying means for the application program memory modules and the operating system program memory modules comprise for each such memory module a module identification block of information stored in the memory module wherein the information is related to the function type implemented by the memory module, a name for the memory module, an indication of related memory modules, and a memory module identification number.

7. The computer of claim 6 wherein the processor includes means for reading the module identification block of a selectively enabled memory module and determining if a memory module for a desired function has been enabled based upon the information contained in the module identification block.

8. The computer of claim 7 wherein the means for selectively enabling and disabling memory modules further includes second means for determining if the desired function is distributed among more memory modules than the enabled memory module, and means for enabling the additional memory modules among which the function is distributed and generating an error indication if any of such additional memory modules are absent.

9. The computer of claim 8 wherein the module identification block of each memory module implementing an application program or operating system program further contains information related to whether additional memory modules are needed to implement the function being implemented by that memory module and the second determining means determines whether additional modules are needed based on the information related to whether additional memory modules are needed.

10. The computer of claim 1 wherein the means for coupling the memory modules to the processor includes connector slots for receiving the memory modules and a system bus coupling the connector slots to the processor.

11. The computer of claim 10 wherein the system bus has a unique select line for each connector slot which is coupled from the processor to a respective connector slot, and the processor'"'"'s means for selectively enabling and disabling the memory modules includes means for asserting each select line to selectively enable the memory module received in the connector slot to which the select line is coupled.

12. The computer of claim 11 wherein the processor includes a microprocessor, a microcomputer, and a dual port memory coupling the microprocessor to the microcomputer.

13. The computer of claim 1 wherein the means for selectively enabling and disabling the memory modules includes means for sequentially actuating the memory modules in some sequence, means for determining that an enabled memory module implements a desired function, and means for halting the sequential actuation upon such a determination and maintaining the enabled module for the desired function actuated.

14. The computer of claim 13 wherein the means for sequentially enabling and disabling memory modules further includes means for restarting and sequential actuation of the enabling and disabling means to select another desired function.

15. A portable computer, comprising

a processor;

a plurality of connector slots for receiving at least memory modules containing application programs, each application program having the same starting address;

a system bus coupling the connector slots to the processor;

the processor including means for selectively enabling and disabling the memory modules received in the connector slots to select the memory modules necessary for the processor to execute only one application program of a plurality of application programs when a plurality of application program-containing memory modules are received in the connector slots by selectively enabling only the memory module or modules which contain the selected application program;

the selectively enabled memory module or modules comprising memory addressed by the processor.

16. The computer of claim 15 wherein the processor includes means for storing data for an application program it is executing in a RAM module, selecting a new application program from among those contained in the memory modules received in the connector slots, and executing the new program utilizing the data stored in the RAM module.

17. The computer of claim 15 wherein the processor includes a RAM, a calculator, and a file system, means for switching between an application program being executed by the processor and one of the file system and calculator wherein data generated by the selected one of the calculator and file system can be selectively stored in the processor'"'"'s RAM for use by the application program.

18. The computer of claim 15 wherein each connector slot has an enable terminal, the system bus has select lines coupled from the processor to the enable terminals of the connector slots, and the processor'"'"'s means for selectively enabling and disabling the memory modules includes means for selectively actuating and deactuating the select lines to enable and disable the memory modules.

19. The computer of claim 18 wherein each application program memory module has a module identification block, the processor having means for interrogating the module identification block of an enabled memory module.

20. The computer of claim 18 wherein the system bus has a unique select line for each connector slot.

21. The computer of claim 20 wherein the processor'"'"'s means for selectively actuating and deactuating the select lines includes means for sequentially actuating and deactuating the select lines to enable and disable, respectively, the memory modules received in the connector slots in some sequence to select the next application program to be executed, and the computer further including means for initiating the sequential actuating means.

22. The computer of claim 20 wherein each memory module has a module identification block, the module identification block including information related to the memory module, and the processor includes means for reading the information from the module identification block of an enabled memory module.

23. The computer of claim 22 wherein the module identification blocks for memory modules containing application programs include information indicating any additional memory modules which are needed by the application program and the processing means includes means for querying the module identification blocks of the selectively enabled memory modules to locate any needed additional memory modules, maintaining the select lines for the needed memory modules actuated, and generating an error indication should a needed memory module be missing.

24. The computer of claim 23 wherein the processor includes RAM, the processor further including means for storing data for an application program it is executing in the processor'"'"'s RAM or in a RAM module, means for selecting a new application program from among the memory modules received in the connector slots and executing the new application program utilizing the data stored in the processor'"'"'s RAM or the RAM module.

25. The computer of claim 15 and further including one or more memory modules containing an operating system program received in the connector slots and the processor'"'"'s means for selectively enabling and disabling the memory modules includes means for selectively enabling the memory modules containing the operating system program at the same time the memory module or modules containing the selected application program are enabled.