Patent Application
20070230101
The present invention relates to computer systems; more particularly, the present invention relates to computer system design.
Mobile computer systems, such as portable computer system computers, may be typically manufactured based on a standard factory design, with limited interchangeability of parts within the line of the manufacture or between manufacturers. However, there has been a recent demand by portable computer system computer users to have a capability of purchasing systems that may be physically custom designed. Currently, such capabilities may not be available since custom designing a portable computer system computer system would likely require the entire system be redesigned each time a new configuration is requested. Such redesign is not feasible.
The invention is illustrated by way of example and not limitation in the figures of the accompanying drawings, in which like references indicate similar elements, and in which:
A modular portable computer system computer system is described. In the following detailed description of the present invention, numerous specific details may be set forth in order to provide a thorough understanding of the present invention. However, it will be apparent to one skilled in the art that the present invention may be practiced without these specific details. In other instances, well-known structures and devices may be shown in block diagram form, rather than in detail, in order to avoid obscuring the present invention.
Reference in the specification to “one embodiment” or “an embodiment” means that a particular feature, structure, or characteristic described in connection with the embodiment is included in at least one embodiment of the invention. The appearances of the phrase “in one embodiment” in various places in the specification may be not necessarily all referring to the same embodiment.
A chipset 107 may also be coupled to bus 105. Chipset 107 includes a memory control hub (MCH) 110. MCH 110 may include a memory controller 112 that is coupled to a main system memory 115. Main system memory 115 stores data and sequences of instructions that may be executed by CPU 102 or any other device included in system 100.
In one embodiment, main system memory 115 includes dynamic random access memory (DRAM); however, main system memory 115 may be implemented using other memory types. Additional devices may also be coupled to bus 105, such as multiple CPUs and/or multiple system memories. MCH 110 may be coupled to an input/output control hub (ICH) 140 via a hub interface. ICH 140 provides an interface to input/output (I/O) devices within computer system 100.
The above described components (e.g., CPU 102 and chipset 107 may be typically mounted on a system board. Failure rates of system board components within portable computer system computer systems may be rather high, with the current system board failure rate being approximately 1%. However, when a system board failure occurs, it is often difficult to access the system board for repair or replacement.
The cover 230 includes a keyboard, LCD monitor and other input/output (I/O) components that may be coupled to system board 220 via cables and connectors. Therefore, in order to access the system board upon a failure occurring, many components typically need to be disassembled. In some instances the disassembly process may take up more than one hour, depending on the skill of the technician.
At operation 302, a frame 320 is placed around cover 310. At operation 303, a system board 330 is placed on top of the cover. In one embodiment, system board 330 is inserted so that the primary side faces down (e.g., mounted major components, such as CPU, heat pipe, etc., towards the keyboard). However in other embodiments, system board 330 is inserted so that it faces up (e.g., mounted major components, such as CPU, heat pipe, etc., away from the keyboard).
At operation 304, other components may be added (e.g., thermal management components, I/O expansion card, adapters, etc). In one embodiment, stiffeners may be added to maintain the structural strength of the chassis. At operation 305, door 340 is added. In another embodiment, the stiffeners may be integrated into door 340 to simplify the assembly (e.g., by minimizing the assemble pieces).
In other embodiments, structural frames may also be designed on cover 320 and door 340 (e.g., housing for the electronics and peripherals) to maintain the structural soundness of portable computer system. The structural frames may be in the form of alloy metal frames. Another alternative is to attach system board 330 to an inner frame member that fits and attaches to outer frame 320. Other components could in this case mount to this inner frame member.
At operation 306, the final components may be added to the portable computer system. Such components may include an optical drive, hard disk drive, battery, lid, etc. Though
As discussed above, the system board may be placed in the chassis with core logic components facing up or down. Note that operations 301-306 are not all required and do not have to be practiced in the same order as illustrated here, as one of ordinary skill in the relevant art would appreciate based at least on the teachings provided herein.
Further, the dual system board mounting may enable additional design options. First, all system connectors may be designed with a set targeted for the CPU side facing up, and another set with the CPU side facing down. In another embodiment, one set of connectors may be designed to work with both the CPU side up or CPU down system board mounting schemes.
Adapters or cabling may be included to handle the embodiment where the system board is flipped, such as reversing the signal pin out on the keyboard Flexible Printed Circuit (FPC) (e.g., flex cable), or the use of the rounded cable which allows the cable connector housing be rotated to aligned with the mating connector on the system board. The system board may be shipped with additional cables or adapters to support different mounting schemes.
According to one embodiment, a common system board may also be implemented for multiple portable computer system form factors. For instance a single system board would be designed for various portable computer system display sizes, such as: 14.1″ 4×3, 14.1″ 16×10, 15.1″ 4×3, 15.4″ 16×10 LCD display aspect ratios. The system board designed for the smaller form factor, such as 14.1″ 16:10 form factor or 14.1″ 4:3 form factor boards may be mounted in the 15″ 4:3 or 15.4″ 16:10 form factor platforms. The system board for the smaller form factor (the 14.1″ 16:10 or 14.1″ 4:3 form factors) is referred to as “Mini mobile Form Factor board—MMFF”, while the bigger one is referred to as “Standard mobile Form Factor board—SMFF”.
In order to implement the common system board, the CPU 102, and chipset 107 location may be fixed to allow for the design of a common thermal solution for the chassis. Further, system board 600 may be extended to allow peripherals or adapter cards to be mounted directly to system board 600 if needed. Further, the additional board space allows additional space for electronics for product differentiations. Outline 650 indicates the areas to which a peripheral/adapter card may be mounted to system board 600.
According to one embodiment, portable computer systems may be physically customized to conform to individual user preferences. In such an embodiment, a modular portable computer system design is implemented to minimize platform cost, while other components of the platform may be chosen by a user. A first operation in providing a customized portable computer system is to determine a common form factor, with common system board mounting features, keep out may be as and other common interfaces. For example, a 15″ 4:3 form factor with a MMFF system board 600 as shown in
Also, the common form factor would be designed to permit a single system board design for multiple chassis designs, as discussed above with respect to
Subsequently, skins of various designs may be attached using standardized attachment points on the base of the portable computer system. Thus, different skins may be attached to the same platform, or a different platform having the same form factor.
The above-described modular portable computer system computer system enables a “design and sell” concept for portable computer system computer systems in which end users may customize the design of systems for purchase.
Whereas many alterations and modifications of the present invention will no doubt become apparent to a person of ordinary skill in the art after having read the foregoing description, it is to be understood that any particular embodiment shown and described by way of illustration is in no way intended to be all inclusive in nature. Therefore, references to details of various embodiments are not intended to limit the scope of the claims which in themselves recite only those features regarded as essential to the invention.
