This application claims the priority benefit of Taiwan application serial no. 99109864, filed Mar. 31, 2010. The entirety of the above-mentioned patent application is hereby incorporated by reference herein and made a part of this specification.
1. Field of the Invention
The invention relates to a protecting circuit for a central processing unit (CPU) and, more particularly, to a protecting circuit for detecting whether the short is occurred.
2. Description of the Related Art
A CPU socket is used for connecting a CPU and a motherboard in a computer. A conventional CPU socket uses the pin grid array (PGA) structure, the pins at the CPU are needle in shape, and the pins of the CPU should be inserted into the socket accurately in assembling. Recently, a part of the CPUs and their sockets use the land grid array (LGA) structure, and the pins have an arc surface.
As the improvement of the calculating and accessing speed, the number of the CPU pins increases greatly. When the pins of the CPU forms too close, the CPU or the socket is easy to be burned due to the short between the pins of the CPU.
Since the CPU has many power pins, when the CPU is not inserted into the socket accurately, the power pin of the CPU is connected to the ground end and results in a short. However, if the force is not proper when placing the CPU, the pins of the CPU may also lean, the power pin of the CPU may be wrongly connected to the ground end to cause a short, or part of metal debris drop into the socket to occur a short. If the user boots the computer when the pins is occurred a short, the power supply provides the system voltage to the CPU socket, which results in the CPU socket burned down, or even the CPU burned down.
Conventionally, since the pins of the CPU are not too close, a mechanical fool-proof device is usually used when the CPU is placed into the CPU socket, or a instruction manual may be used to remind the user to be careful to avoid a misplacement. However, the technology of detecting whether the CPU is short or not is rare. Some protection technologies only detect whether the pins of the CPU are wrongly connected or connected to the ground end after the computer boots. However, if the pins of the CPU are already short before the booting, the conventional protection technology cannot prevent the CPU or the socket from being burned.
A protecting circuit for a CPU is provided. The protecting circuit stops providing a system power when a short is occurred between a power pin of the CPU and a ground end, to protect the CPU from being burned down or damaged.
A protecting circuit for a CPU is provided. The protecting circuit includes a detecting unit and an enable switch. The detecting unit detects whether a short is occurred between the power pin of the CPU and the ground end before the system voltage is provided to the power pin of the CPU. The enable switch is coupled to the detecting unit and determines whether to provide the system voltage to the power pin of the CPU according the detecting result of the detecting unit for preventing the system voltage from being provided to the CPU, and an electronic device of the CPU booting when the short is occurred between the power pin and the ground end.
In an embodiment of the invention, the detecting unit includes a standby power generating unit, a first resistor, a comparator and a register. The standby power generating unit outputs a standby power in a first predetermined period after the power supply provides a standby power to the power end. The first resistor is coupled between the standby power generating unit and the power pin. The comparator is coupled to the first resistor and compares a reference voltage and the pin voltage of the power pin to generate a comparing result. The register is coupled to the comparator and determines a potential of a booting enable signal after the first predetermined period according to the comparing result of the comparator, to prevent the system voltage from being provided to the CPU and prevent the electronic device from booting when the short is occurred between the power pin of the CPU and the ground end.
In the embodiment of the invention, the standby power generating unit includes a second resistor, a third resistor, a bipolar junction FET (BJT), an N-channel metal oxide semiconductor (NMOS) FET and a capacitor. The second resistor is coupled to the ground end. A collector of the BJT is coupled to the first resistor, an emitter of the BJT is coupled to the power end, and a base of the BJT is coupled to the second resistor. A drain of the NMOS FET is coupled to the power end; a source of the NMOS is coupled to the second resistor and the base of the BJT. The third resistor is coupled to a gate between the power end and the NMOS FET. The first capacitor is coupled to the third resistor and the ground end. The length of the first predetermined period is determined by the resistance of the third resistor and the capacitance of the first capacitor.
In the embodiment of the invention, the detecting unit further includes a reference voltage generating unit providing the reference voltage to the comparator in a second predetermined period after the power supply provides the standby power to the power end. The second predetermined period is shorter than the first predetermined period.
In the embodiment of the invention, the reference voltage generating unit includes a fourth resistor to a sixth resistor, a second capacitor and a NMOS FET. The fourth resistor is coupled to the power end. The second capacitor is coupled between the fourth resistor and the ground end. The drain of the NMOS FET is coupled to the comparator, the source of the NMOS is coupled to the ground end, and the gate of the NMOS is coupled between the fourth resistor and the second capacitor. The fifth resistor is coupled between the power end and the drain of the NMOS FET. The sixth resistor is coupled between the ground end and the drain of the NMOS FET. The length of the second predetermined period is determined by the resistance of the fourth resistor and the capacitance of the second capacitor.
In the embodiment of the invention, the register is a D flip-flop. A clock (CLK) input end of the D flip-flop is coupled to an output end of the comparator, a data input end of the D flip-flop is coupled to the power end, and a data output end of the D flip-flop outputs the booting enable signal.
In the embodiment of the invention, the enable switch includes a buffer. An input end of the buffer is coupled to a switch of the electronic device, and a control end of the buffer is coupled to the output end of the register to receive the booting enable signal. The output end of the buffer is coupled to an enable switch (PSON) end of the power supply.
In the embodiment of the invention, the protecting circuit further includes an alerting unit executing an alerting action when the power pin of the CPU is connected to ground end.
As stated above, it detects whether the power pin of the CPU is connected to the ground end before booting. If a short is occurred, the power supply does not provide the system power to stop the booting of the electronic device with the CPU, and thus protect the CPU or the socket from being burned down.
These and other features, aspects and advantages of the present invention will become better understood with regard to the following description, appended claims, and accompanying drawings.
The power supply 130 provides a standby power (5V VSB) to the motherboard before the booting signal (SPSON) is received (that is, before the electronic device 100 is booted). In the embodiment, the protecting circuit 120 at the motherboard is used for detecting whether the short is occurred between the power pin of the CPU 110 and the ground end before the electronic device 100 is booted and determining whether to prevent the booting signal (SPSON) from being transmitted to the power supply 130 to prevent the system voltage from being provided to the CPU 110 to stop booting the electronic device 100. The standby power in the embodiment is a +5V standby voltage, which is not limited herein.
The theory and the operation flow of the protecting circuit 120 of the CPU 110 are illustrated hereinafter accompanying
The enable switch 260 is coupled to the detecting unit 250, and determines whether to transmit the booting signal (SPSON) to the enable switch end (PSON) of the power supply 130 according to the detecting result of the detecting unit 250 (that is, the received booting enabling signal (SPSON
Besides, the protecting circuit 120 of the CPU 110 further includes an alerting unit 270 for executing an alerting action when the power pin (PVCORE) of the CPU is connected to the ground end. The user can use the alerting unit and the alerting action according to different requirements. In the embodiment, the alerting unit 270 includes an alerting light. The alerting light lights to alert the user when the power pin (PVCORE) is connected to the ground end. In other embodiments, the user may be alerted by sounds or other methods, which is not limited herein.
The function and operating theory of each component of the detecting unit 250 are illustrated in detail hereinafter.
The comparator 320 compares the reference voltage (VREF) and the pin voltage (VPIN) to generate a booting CLK signal (SPSCK).
The register 330 is coupled to the comparator 320 and determines the potential of the booting enable signal (SPSON
The standby power generating unit 310 only outputs the standby power (VR) in the first predetermined period (T1) to avoid that the power pin (PVCORE) of the CPU 110 is still coupled to the standby power generating unit 310 after the system voltage (VCORE) is applied on the power pin (PVCORE) to affect the operation of the CPU 110. Furthermore, since the pin voltage (VPIN) is 0V after the first predetermined period T1, to avoid the reference voltage VREF (0.5V) becomes larger than the pin voltage VPIN (0V) after the first predetermined period T1, which makes the detecting unit 250 wrongly detect that the short is occurred between the CPU 110 and the ground end, the second predetermined period T2 is set to be shorter than the first predetermined period T1.
The acting theory of the detecting unit 250 is illustrated in detail accompanying
At the start point O, when the CPU 110 is not inserted to the CPU socket 160, the equivalent impedance RA is infinite (∞). At the moment, it does not need to use the protecting circuit 120 to prevent the electronic device 100 from booting. When the CPU 110 is inserted to the CPU socket 160 correctly, the equivalent impedance RA is about 40Ω. Whereby, the pin voltage (VPIN) is the divided voltage of the standby power (VR), and its value is about 1V in the first predetermined period (T1). The calculation is shown as the formula (1).
Since the pin voltage (VPIN)indicated by a dotted line in
The register 330 is a positive going trigger D flip-flop 500 in the embodiment.
When the short is occurred between the power pin (PVCORE) of the CPU 110 and the ground end, for example, since the CPU 110 is inserted to the CPU socket 160 incorrectly, the impedance between the power pin (PVCORE) and the ground end is 0Ω, and the pin voltage (VPIN) is 0V. The pin voltage VPIN (denoted by a solid line in
The enable switch 260 receives the booting enable signal (SPSON
In the embodiment, the buffer 600 is a low lever triggered (conducted) signal buffer. When the CPU 110 is inserted to the CPU socket 160 correctly, the booting enable signal (SPSON
The circuit structure and the acting theory of the standby power generating unit 310 are illustrated in detail accompanying
When the power supply 130 starts to provide the standby power (VSB) to the power end (PVSB), since the first capacitor C1 does not store charges, the gate of the first NMOS FET M1 is at the low level to cut off the first NMOS FET M1. The base B of the BJT B1 is connected to the ground end via the second resistor R2, and thus the BJT B1 is turned on. As a result, the standby power (VSB) received by the emitter is transmitted to the collector of the BJT B1, and the standby power generating unit 310 outputs the standby power (the standby power VSB 5V) in the first predetermined period T1.
After the first predetermined period T1, the charges stored in the first capacitor C1 to make the gate of the first NMOS FET M1 at a high level, and thus the first NMOS FET M1 is turned on. The base B of the BJT B1 receives the standby power (VSB) via the first NMOS FET M1 to cut off the BJT B1. Thus, the standby power (VSB) of the emitter E cannot be transmitted to the collector C of the BJT B1 to make the standby power of the standby power generating unit 310 be 0V after the first predetermined period T1. The length of the first predetermined period T1 is determined by the resistance of the third resistor R3 and the capacitance of the first capacitor C1.
The circuit structure and the acting theory of the reference voltage generating unit 340 are illustrated in detail accompanying
When the power supply 130 starts to provide the standby power (VSB) to the power end (PVSB), since the second capacitor C2 does not store the charges, the gate G of the second NMOS FET M2 is at the low level, and thus the second NMOS FET M2 is cut off. Consequently, the reference voltage generating unit 340 divides the standby power (VSB) to the reference voltage VREF via the fifth resistor R5 and the sixth resistor R6. In the embodiment, the reference voltage generating unit 340 provides the reference voltage VREF 0.5V in the second predetermined period T2.
After the second predetermined period T2, the charges stored in the second capacitor C2 make the gate of the second NMOS FET M2 at the high level, and the drain and the source of the second NMOS FET M2 conduct. Thus, the reference voltage VR of the reference voltage generating unit 340 is 0V after the second predetermined period T2. The length of the second predetermined period T2 is determined by the resistance of the fourth resistor R4 and the capacitance of the second capacitor C2.
In sum, in the embodiment of the invention, whether the short is occurred between the power pin of the CPU and the ground end is detected before booting. When the short is occurred at the power pin, the enable switch is used to prevent the power supply from providing the system power. As a result, the electronic device with the CPU cannot he booted, and thus the CPU or the socket is protected from being burned down. Furthermore, in the embodiment of the invention, the alerting unit is added. When there is a short between the power pin of the CPU and the ground end, the alerting unit generates an alerting action to remind the user to remove the short of the CPU.
Although the present invention has been described in considerable detail with reference to certain preferred embodiments thereof, the disclosure is not for limiting the scope of the invention. Persons having ordinary skill in the art may make various modifications and changes without departing from the scope. Therefore, the scope of the appended claims should not be limited to the description of the preferred embodiments described above.
Number | Date | Country | Kind |
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99109864 | Mar 2010 | TW | national |