Reconfigurable modular computing device

• US 8,924,609 B2
• Filed: 04/28/2014
• Issued: 12/30/2014
• Est. Priority Date: 05/08/2012
• Status: Expired due to Fees

• Current Assignee: Doug Fowler
• Original Assignee: Entegra Technologies, Inc.
• Inventors: Fowler, Douglas Lee
• Primary Examiner(s): TSENG, CHENG YUAN
• Application Number:
  US14/263,742
• Publication Number:
  US 20140229650A1
• Time in Patent Office: 246 Days
• Field of Search: None
• US Class Current: 710/72
• CPC Class Codes: G06F 1/1658 related to the mounting of internal components, e.g. disc drive or any other functional module
• CPC Class Codes: G06F 1/1684 Constructional details or arrangements related to integrated I/O peripherals not covered by groups G06F1/1635 - G06F1/1675
• CPC Class Codes: G06F 13/10 Program control for peripheral devices G06F13/14 - G06F13/42 take precedence
• CPC Class Codes: G06F 13/4027 using bus bridges G06F13/4022 takes precedence
• CPC Class Codes: G06F 13/4068 Electrical coupling
• CPC Class Codes: G06F 13/4081 Live connection to bus, e.g. hot-plugging current or voltage limitation during live insertion H02H9/004
• CPC Class Codes: G06F 13/4221 being an input/output bus, e.g. ISA bus, EISA bus, PCI bus, SCSI bus
• CPC Class Codes: H05K 13/04 Mounting of components , e.g. of leadless components
• CPC Class Codes: H05K 3/32 electrically connecting electric components or wires to printed circuits
• CPC Class Codes: Y10T 29/49128 Assembling formed circuit to base

Abstract

A configurable computing device comprising a housing, a printed circuit board disposed within the housing, a first microcontroller and a second microcontroller each coupled to the PCB, wherein the first microcontroller and the second microcontroller are in electrical signal communication with each other, a computer-on-module (COM) coupled to the PCB, wherein the COM is in electrical signal communication with the first microcontroller and the second microcontroller, and one or more peripheral modules coupled to the PCB, wherein, the peripheral modules are each in electrical signal communication with the first microcontroller and wherein, the peripheral modules are each in electrical signal communication with the COM via the second microcontroller.

Claims

1. A configurable computing device comprising:

a housing;

a printed circuit board (PCB) disposed within the housing;

a computer-on-module (COM) removably coupled to the PCB and in electrical signal communication with a first microcontroller and a second microcontroller, wherein the COM is configured to execute an instruction set and an operating system;

one or more peripheral modules coupled to the PCB and in electrical signal communication with the first microcontroller and the second microcontroller;

the first microcontroller coupled to the PCB,

wherein the first microcontroller is configured to;

interrogate the COM and the peripheral modules, wherein interrogating the COM and the peripheral modules comprises employing a hardware detection protocol;

provide a COM profile to the second microcontroller that comprises at least one of a central processing unit (CPU) information or the operating system for the COM in response to interrogating the COM, and

provide a peripheral module profile to the second microcontroller that comprises at least one of a device identifier or a driver information for the peripheral modules in response to interrogating the peripheral modules; and

the second microcontroller coupled to the PCB and in electrical signal communication with the first microcontroller,

wherein the second microcontroller is configured to;

determine an input/output (I/O) port configuration for the second microcontroller that provides a route of electrical signal communication between the COM and the peripheral modules based on the COM profile and the peripheral module profile; and

establish the route of electrical signal communication between the COM and the peripheral modules via the second microcontroller.

2. The device of claim 1, wherein the COM profile identifies a chipset.

3. The device of claim 1, wherein the second microcontroller is configured to implement one or more signaling protocols between the COM and the peripheral modules to establish the route of electrical signal communication between the COM and the peripheral modules.

4. The device of claim 1, wherein one or more of the peripheral modules are removably coupled to the PCB.

5. The device of claim 1, wherein the second microcontroller comprises a plurality of programmable I/O ports, and wherein the second microcontroller is configured to associate the COM profile and the peripheral module profile to the I/O port configuration.

6. The device of claim 1, wherein the second microcontroller comprises a plurality of electronically switchable gates, wherein the second microcontroller is configured to associate the COM profile and the peripheral module profile to one or more gate configurations for the plurality of electronically switchable gates, and wherein establishing the route of electrical signal communication between the COM and the peripheral modules comprises actuating the plurality of electronically switchable gates using the one or more gate configurations.

7. The device of claim 1, wherein the COM is an x86 platform or an ARM platform.

8. The device of claim 1, wherein one or more of the peripheral modules are a user interface (UI) module.

9. The device of claim 1, wherein the device is configured to:

couple to a docking station comprising one or more docking peripheral modules;

interrogate the docking stating using a hardware detection protocol;

generate a docking station profile that comprises at least one of a device configuration parameter or a device setting; and

establish a route of electrical signal communication between the COM and the docking station using the docking station profile.

19. The device of claim 1, wherein the COM comprises:

a CPU; and

a memory coupled to the CPU, wherein the memory comprises computer executable instructions stored in a non-transitory computer readable medium such that, when executed by the CPU, causes the CPU to execute the instruction set or the operating system.

10. A device configuring method comprising:

receiving device information from a computer-on-module (COM) at a first microcontroller, wherein receiving device information from the COM comprises using a hardware detection protocol, and wherein the COM is configured to execute an instruction set and an operating system;

providing a COM profile that comprises at least one of a central processing unit (CPU) information or the operating system for the COM to a second microcontroller in response to receiving the device information from the COM;

receiving device information from a peripheral module at the first microcontroller, wherein receiving device information from the peripheral module comprises using a hardware detection protocol;

providing a peripheral module profile that comprises at least one of a device identifier or a driver information for the peripheral module to the second microcontroller in response to receiving the device information from the peripheral module;

sending the COM profile and the peripheral module profile to the second microcontroller, wherein the second microcontroller is configured to;

determine an input/output (I/O) port configuration for the second microcontroller that provides a route of electrical communication between the COM and the peripheral module based on the COM profile and the peripheral module; and

establish the route of electrical signal communication between the COM and the peripheral module using the I/O port configuration.

11. The method of claim 10, wherein the COM profile identifies a a chipset.

12. The method of claim 10, wherein the peripheral module profile identifies a peripheral module type.

13. The method of claim 10, wherein the peripheral module profile identifies a signaling protocol associated with the peripheral module.

14. The method of claim 13, wherein the second microcontroller implements the signaling protocol to establish the route of electrical signal communication between the COM and the peripheral modules.

15. The method of claim 10, wherein establishing the route of electrical signal communication between the COM and peripheral module comprises actuating a plurality of electronically switchable gates.

16. The method of claim 10, further comprising:

generating a second COM profile in response to detecting a second COM; and

sending the second COM profile to the second microcontroller, wherein the second microcontroller establishes a route of electrical signal communication between the second COM and the peripheral module via the second microcontroller based on the second COM profile.

17. The method of claim 10, further comprising:

generating a second peripheral module profile in response to detecting a second peripheral module; and

sending the second peripheral module profile to the second microcontroller, wherein the second microcontroller establishes a route of electrical signal communication between the COM and the second peripheral module via the second microcontroller based on the second peripheral module profile.

18. The method of claim 10, further comprising:

receiving device information from a docking station at the first microcontroller, wherein the device information from the docking station identifies a docking peripheral module;

providing a docking station profile in response to receiving the device information from the docking station, wherein the docking station profile comprises at least one of a device configuration parameter or a device setting; and

sending the docking station profile to the second microcontroller, wherein the second microcontroller establishes a route of electrical signal communication between the COM and the docking peripheral module via the second microcontroller based on the docking station profile.

20. The method of claim 10, wherein the second microcontroller is further configured to associate the COM profile and the peripheral module profile to a plurality of I/O port configurations for the second microcontroller.