Electronic apparatus, external apparatus and method of controlling the same

• US 9,898,798 B2
• Filed: 04/25/2017
• Issued: 02/20/2018
• Est. Priority Date: 12/03/2012
• Status: Active Grant

• Current Assignee: Samsung Electronics Co. Ltd.
• Original Assignee: Samsung Electronics Co. Ltd.
• Inventors: Koo, Ja-goun
• Primary Examiner(s): Crawford, Jacinta M
• Application Number:
  US15/496,537
• Publication Number:
  US 20170228852A1
• Time in Patent Office: 301 Days
• Field of Search: 345501, 36167941
• CPC Class Codes: G06F 1/1632 External expansion units, e.g. docking stations
• 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 13/409 Mechanical coupling back panels H05K7/1438
• CPC Class Codes: G06F 2200/1639 Arrangements for locking plugged peripheral connectors
• CPC Class Codes: G06T 1/20 Processor architectures; Processor configuration, e.g. pipelining
• CPC Class Codes: G09G 2330/04 Display protection
• CPC Class Codes: G09G 5/006 Details of the interface to the display terminal specific for a display terminal using a CRT G09G1/167; using a flat panel G09G3/2096; circuits for interfacing with colour displays G09G5/04

Abstract

An electronic apparatus includes a locking unit to selectively lock a physical connection with an external apparatus and a control unit to control an operation mode of the electronic apparatus, according to a connection state with the external apparatus, in which the control unit controls the locking unit to lock the connection with the external apparatus, when the electronic apparatus is in an operation mode of using a graphic processing unit of the external apparatus.

Claims

1. An electronic apparatus connectable with an external apparatus, the electronic apparatus comprising:

a locking mechanism configured to be operated to one of lock or unlock a physical connection with the external apparatus; and

a processor configured to control one of a plurality of operation modes of the electronic apparatus, while the electronic apparatus and the external apparatus are connected,

wherein the processor is further configured to control the locking mechanism to maintain the lock of the physical connection with the external apparatus if the electronic apparatus is in an operation mode in which the electronic apparatus uses a graphic processing unit of the external apparatus to perform graphic processing.

2. The electronic apparatus as claimed in claim 1, further comprising:

a graphic processor configured to perform graphic processing.

3. The electronic apparatus as claimed in claim 1,

wherein, if the electronic apparatus and the external apparatus are not connected, the processor is further configured to control the electronic apparatus to operate in a first operation mode in which the electronic apparatus uses only a graphic processor of the electronic apparatus to perform graphic processing, and

wherein, if the electronic apparatus and the external apparatus are connected, the processor is further configured to control the electronic apparatus to operate in a second operation mode in which the electronic apparatus uses at least one of the graphic processing unit of the external apparatus and the graphic processor to perform graphic processing.

4. The electronic apparatus as claimed in claim 1, further comprising:

a communication interface configured to receive a release command from the external apparatus.

5. The electronic apparatus as claimed in claim 4, wherein the processor is further configured to control the locking mechanism to release the physical connection with the external apparatus if the release command is received by the communication interface.

6. The electronic apparatus as claimed in claim 4,

wherein, if the release command is received, the processor is further configured to use only a graphic processor of the electronic apparatus to perform graphic processing, and

wherein, after the processor controls to use only the graphic processor of the electronic apparatus, the processor is further configured to control the locking mechanism to release the physical connection with the external apparatus.

7. The electronic apparatus as claimed in claim 4, wherein, if the release command is received by the communication interface while the electronic apparatus is in the operation mode in which the electronic apparatus uses the graphic processing unit of the external apparatus to perform graphic processing, the processor is further configured to control the locking mechanism to maintain the lock of the physical connection with the external apparatus despite the release command being received by the communication interface.

8. The electronic apparatus as claimed in claim 4, wherein, if the release command is received by the communication interface while the electronic apparatus is in the operation mode in which the electronic apparatus uses the graphic processing unit of the external apparatus to perform graphic processing, the processor is further configured to control an indicator to indicate that the physical connection between the electronic apparatus and the external apparatus in unable to be released.

9. The electronic apparatus as claimed in claim 1, further comprising:

a user interface configured to receive an input to release the physical connection with the external apparatus.

10. The electronic apparatus as claimed in claim 1, further comprising:

a socket configured to interface between the electronic apparatus and the external apparatus,

wherein the electronic apparatus and the external apparatus are connected through the socket and the release command is received from the external apparatus through the socket.

11. The electronic apparatus as claimed in claim 1, wherein the electronic apparatus is configured to indicate that the electronic apparatus is detachable from the external apparatus, while the external apparatus is connected with the electronic apparatus.

12. The electronic apparatus as claimed in claim 1, further comprising a user interface configured to display a notification that the electronic apparatus is detachable.

13. The electronic apparatus as claimed in claim 1, further comprising:

a socket configured to interface between the electronic apparatus and the external apparatus,

wherein the socket is directly connected with the external apparatus.

14. The electronic apparatus as claimed in claim 13, wherein the socket is interfaced with the external apparatus via at least one of high definition multimedia interface (HDMI) and thunderbolt.

15. The electronic apparatus as claimed in claim 1, wherein the graphic processing unit of the external apparatus is a discrete graphic processing unit (dGPU) provided on a main board.

16. A method of controlling an electronic apparatus connectable with an external apparatus, the electronic apparatus including a locking mechanism configured to be operated to one of lock or unlock a physical connection with the external apparatus, and a processor configured to control one of a plurality of operation modes of the electronic apparatus, while the electronic apparatus and the external apparatus are connected, the method comprising:

locking, by the locking mechanism, the physical connection with the external apparatus; and

controlling, by the processor, the locking mechanism to maintain the lock of the physical connection with the external apparatus if the electronic apparatus is in an operation mode in which the electronic apparatus uses a graphic processing unit of the external apparatus to perform graphic processing.

17. An electronic system, comprising:

an external apparatus comprising a graphic processing unit;

an electronic apparatus comprising a graphic processor; and

a locking mechanism incorporated in one of the electronic apparatus and the external apparatus, the locking mechanism configured to be operated to one of lock or unlock a physical connection between the external apparatus and the electronic apparatus,

wherein the electronic apparatus is configured to control the locking mechanism to maintain the lock of the physical connection with the external apparatus if the electronic apparatus is in an operation mode in which the electronic apparatus uses the graphic processing unit of the external apparatus to perform graphic processing.

18. The electronic system as claimed in claim 17, wherein the external apparatus further comprises:

a keyboard configured to receive an input to release the physical connection; and

a socket configured to interface between the external apparatus and the electronic apparatus.

19. The electronic system as claimed in claim 18,

wherein the electronic apparatus is further configured to change a current operation mode of the electronic apparatus to an operation mode in which the electronic apparatus uses only the graphic processor to perform graphic processing if the input to release the physical connection is received from the external apparatus, and

wherein the electronic apparatus is further configured to control the locking mechanism to release the physical connection from the external apparatus if the current operation mode of the electronic apparatus is changed to the operation mode in which the electronic apparatus uses only the graphic processor to perform graphic processing.

20. The electronic system as claimed in claim 17, wherein the electronic apparatus is further configured to indicate that the electronic apparatus is detachable from the external apparatus if the locking mechanism releases the physical connection from the external apparatus.