EP0230351A2
Expired / Lapsed
EP
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Information processing system
Assignee: International Business Machines Corp
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Filing: 1987-01-08
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Granted: —
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Expires: 2007-01-08
Abstract
Abstract A method and apparatus for powering down a computer system while saving the state of the system at power down is disclosed. The system maintains the capability to suspend the execution of an application program operating on the system at any point and resuming execution of the application program at that same point at a later time. The time at which the system may be powered down and then powered back up again is totally arbitrary and depends only upon the user of the system. At the time the system is powered off, the contents of all active registers as well as the states of all I/O devices in the system are stored in a special save area of system memory. This special save area is provided with power during the suspended time in order to retain the state of the system at the time it was powered down. By using this special save suspend area, the main memory area of the system is available to any application programs independently of the system save memory requirements. Additionally, the system may be powered on and off under software control thereby providing the capability for unattended system operation using an alarm function.
Inventors
- 👤 Ronald Xavier Arroyo
- 👤 Michael Norman Day
- 👤 Jimmie Darius Edrington
- 👤 James Thomas Hanna
- 👤 Gary Thomas Hunt
- 👤 Steven Taylor Pancoast
Bibliographic Details
Application Number
—
Jurisdiction
EP
Data Source
google_patents
Last Synchronized
2026-10-30 02:18
CPC Classifications
G; G06; G06F; G06F1/00; G06F1/26; G06F1/32; G06F1/3203; G06F1/3234; G06F1/3246; G06F1/30; G06F9/00; G06F9/06; G06F9/46; G06F9/461; G05; G05B; G05B2219/00; G05B2219/30; G05B2219/34; G05B2219/34306; G05B2219/34365; G06F11/00; G06F11/07; G06F11/14; Y; Y02; Y02P; Y02P70/00; Y02P70/10
Claims Analysis
Total Claims: 16
Claim 1
Independent Claim
83 words
An information processing system including a central processor, memory, and a plurality of input-output devices, characterised in that the system further includes means for powering-off said information processing system; means for saving the state of all memory locations and of each of said plurality of input-output devices when said powering-off means are activated; and, means for restoring all memory locations and each of said plurality of input-output devices to the state held at power-off time upon powering said information processing system back on.
Claim 2
Dependent Claim
83 words
An information processing system including a central processor, memory, and a plurality of input-output devices, characterised in that the system further includes means for powering-off said information processing system; means for saving the state of all memory locations and of each of said plurality of input-output devices when said powering-off means are activated; and, means for restoring all memory locations and each of said plurality of input-output devices to the state held at power-off time upon powering said information processing system back on.
Claim 3
Dependent Claim
38 words
An information processing system according to claim 1 wherein said means for powering-off said information processing system comprises means for disabling all interrupts in said system and for halting operation of each of said plurality of input-output devices.
Claim 4
Dependent Claim
41 words
An information processing system according to claim 1 or claim 2 wherein said saving means comprises means for activating an isolated area of memory for storing the state of selected memory locations and of each of said plurality of input-output devices.
Claim 5
Dependent Claim
31 words
An information processing system according to claim 3 further including means for performing a checksum operation on said special area of memory as well as on the remainder of said memory.
Claim 6
Dependent Claim
40 words
An information processing system according to claims 2, 3 or 4 further comprising means for setting a system suspend flag subsequent to the disablement of all system interrupts and the turning off of each of said plurality of input-output devices.
Claim 7
Dependent Claim
30 words
An information processing system according to any of the preceding claim 1 further comprising means for disabling said saving means and said restoring means upon powering-off said information processing system.
Claim 8
Dependent Claim
114 words
An information processing system including, a central processor on which an application program executes, memory and a plurality of input-output devices, said information processing system characterised in that the system comprises means for powering-off said information processing system and suspending execution of an application program; means for saving the state of all memory locations and of each of said plurality of input-output devices at said power-off time; means for restoring all memory locations and each of said plurality of input-output devices to the state held at said power-off time upon powering said information processing system back on; and, means for resuming execution of said application program at the point at which it was suspended.
Claim 9
Dependent Claim
114 words
An information processing system including, a central processor on which an application program executes, memory and a plurality of input-output devices, said information processing system characterised in that the system comprises means for powering-off said information processing system and suspending execution of an application program; means for saving the state of all memory locations and of each of said plurality of input-output devices at said power-off time; means for restoring all memory locations and each of said plurality of input-output devices to the state held at said power-off time upon powering said information processing system back on; and, means for resuming execution of said application program at the point at which it was suspended.
Claim 10
Dependent Claim
37 words
An information processing system according to Claim 7 wherein said saving means comprises means for activating a special memory area for storing the state of selected memory locations and of each of said plurality of input-output devices.
Claim 11
Dependent Claim
27 words
An information processing system according to claim 8 further comprising means for performing a checksum operation on said special area and on the remainder of said memory.
Claim 12
Dependent Claim
26 words
An information processing system according to claim 9 further comprising means for disabling said restoring means upon the occurrence of an error during said checksum operation.
Claim 13
Independent Claim
65 words
A method for suspending and resuming operation of an information processing system characterised by powering-off said information processing system; saving the state of all memory locations and each of said plurality of input-output devices at power-off time; and, restoring all memory locations and each of said plurality of input-output devices to the state held at power-off time upon powering said information processing system back on.
Claim 14
Independent Claim
65 words
A method for suspending and resuming operation of an information processing system characterised by powering-off said information processing system; saving the state of all memory locations and each of said plurality of input-output devices at power-off time; and, restoring all memory locations and each of said plurality of input-output devices to the state held at power-off time upon powering said information processing system back on.
Claim 15
Independent Claim
92 words
A method for suspending and resuming an application program executing on an information processing system characterised by: powering-off said information processing system thereby suspending execution of an application program; saving the state of all memory locations and of each of said plurality of input-output devices at said power-off time; restoring all memory locations and each of said plurality of input-output devices to the state held at said arbitrary time upon powering said information processing system back on; and, resuming execution of said application program at the point at which it was suspended.
Claim 16
Independent Claim
92 words
A method for suspending and resuming an application program executing on an information processing system characterised by: powering-off said information processing system thereby suspending execution of an application program; saving the state of all memory locations and of each of said plurality of input-output devices at said power-off time; restoring all memory locations and each of said plurality of input-output devices to the state held at said arbitrary time upon powering said information processing system back on; and, resuming execution of said application program at the point at which it was suspended.
References Cited (Backward Citations)
No citation records indexed.
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