Hot Plug Latch Circuit to Block Fault Re-Powering on Main Boards
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Solution Overview
Problem
Conventional computer systems do not adequately prevent further damage to a main board after an abnormal phenomenon occurs, as the power is re-supplied before thorough analysis and troubleshooting can be completed.
Innovation Solution
A hot plug control signal generator that includes a controller and a latch, which generates and latches a hot plug control signal to a disabled state when an abnormal phenomenon occurs, ensuring the power switch remains disconnected until manual intervention.
Engineering Contradictions & Design Principles
Engineering Contradiction Analysis
1Reliability
If power is automatically re-supplied after tray re-plugging, then system availability is improved, but main board safety deteriorates due to potential further damage before fault analysis is complete
Solution Approach 1:
The latch circuit proactively prevents harmful power re-supplied to the main board after an abnormal phenomenon occurs. When the hot plug control signal transitions to a low level indicating a fault, the latch immediately latches the power switch in the disconnected state, creating a preliminary protective barrier that prevents further damage before engineers can complete analysis and troubleshooting.
Solution Approach 2:
The latch circuit serves as an intermediary between the hot plug control signal and the power switch. It receives the control signal, processes it through the latch mechanism, and generates the latched hot plug control signal that actually controls the power switch. This intermediary ensures that power re-supply cannot occur automatically, requiring manual intervention to reset the latch and restore power.
2Object-affected harmful factors
If latch circuit is added to maintain disconnected state, then main board safety is improved, but device complexity increases
Solution Approach 1:
The protective function of maintaining the power switch in a disconnected state is extracted into a dedicated latch circuit. This separate module receives the hot plug control signal, performs the latching operation independently, and outputs the latched signal to control the power switch. By extracting this specific function, the overall system becomes more modular and the latch circuit itself becomes a simple, well-defined component rather than a complex distributed control mechanism.
Data Source
AI summary
A main board, a hot plug control signal generator, and a control signal generating method thereof are provided. The hot plug control signal generator includes a controller and a latch. The controller provides a control signal. The latch is operated based on an operation power to generate a hot plug control signal. The latch sets the hot plug control signal to a disabled first logic value, and latches the hot plug control signal at the first logic value.