Patent Publication Number: US-2006012936-A1

Title: Electronic apparatus

Description:
CROSS-REFERENCE TO RELATED APPLICATIONS  
      This application claims the benefit of Korean Patent Application No. 2004-0054925, filed Jul. 14, 2004, in the Korean Intellectual Property Office, the disclosure of which is incorporated herein by reference.  
     BACKGROUND OF THE INVENTION  
      1. Field of the Invention  
      The present general inventive concept relates to an electronic apparatus, and more particularly, to an electronic apparatus which prevents a transient current from being introduced from a microcomputer to an adjacent integrated circuit, thereby solving a problem in telecommunication.  
      2. Description of the Related Art  
      As shown in  FIG. 1 , an electronic apparatus generally comprises a microcomputer  100  controlling overall components thereof, and a plurality of adjacent integrated circuits (IC)  102 ,  104 ,  106  interactively communicating with the microcomputer  100 .  
      When the electronic apparatus is turned on/off, the adjacent IC  102 ,  104  and  106  may instantly require a transient current according to their characteristics. In the case where the adjacent ICs  102 ,  104  and  106  instantly require the transient current, the transient current is introduced from the microcomputer  100  to the adjacent ICs  102 ,  104  and  106  through communication lines  108  and  110 . Therefore, the microcomputer  100  deprived of the transient current is insufficient to operate, so that telecommunication is not smoothly performed.  
     SUMMARY OF THE INVENTION  
      Accordingly, it is an aspect of the present general inventive concept to provide an electronic apparatus which prevents a transient current from being introduced from a microcomputer to an adjacent integrated circuit, thereby solving a problem in telecommunication.  
      Additional aspects and advantages of the present general inventive concept will be set forth in part in the description which follows and, in part, will be obvious from the description, or may be learned by practice of the general inventive concept.  
      The foregoing and/or other aspects and advantages of the present general inventive concept are achieved by providing an electronic apparatus comprising: a microcomputer; an IC communicating with the microcomputer through a predetermined communication line; and a transient current breaker preventing a predetermined transient current from being introduced from the microcomputer to the IC through the communication line.  
      According to an embodiment of the present general inventive concept, the transient current breaker can be disposed on the communication line, and can comprise a diode having a cathode connected to the microcomputer and an anode connected to the IC.  
      According to an embodiment of the present general inventive concept, the electronic apparatus may further comprise a pull-up circuit disposed between the anode of the diode and the IC, and pulls up the communication line between the anode of the diode and the IC when a high signal is applied to the cathode of the diode. 
    
    
     BRIEF DESCRIPTION OF THE DRAWINGS  
      The above and/or other aspects and advantages of the present general inventive concept will become apparent and more readily appreciated from the following description of the embodiments, taken in conjunction with the accompany drawings of which:  
       FIG. 1  is a view showing an internal configuration of a conventional electronic apparatus; and  
       FIG. 2  is a view showing an internal configuration of an electronic apparatus according to an embodiment of the present general inventive concept. 
    
    
     DETAILED DESCRIPTION OF THE PREFERRED EMBODIMENTS  
      Reference will now be made in detail to the embodiments of the present general inventive concept, examples of which are illustrated in the accompanying drawings, wherein like reference numerals refer to like elements throughout. The embodiments are described below in order to explain the present general inventive concept by referring to the figures.  
       FIG. 2  is a view showing an internal configuration of an electronic apparatus according to an embodiment of the present general inventive concept.  
      As shown in  FIG. 2 , an electronic apparatus according to an embodiment of the present general inventive concept comprises a microcomputer  10  controlling overall components thereof, and a plurality of adjacent integrated circuits (IC)  12 ,  14  and  16  interactively communicating with the microcomputer  10 . Here, the microcomputer  10  and the adjacent ICs  12 ,  14  and  16  interactively communicate with each other through I 2 C communication lines  18  and  20 .  
      According to an embodiment of the present general inventive concept, the electronic apparatus includes a display apparatus connected to a computer and receiving electric power from the computer.  
      The microcomputer  10  comprises a Vdd port to receive the electric power, and SCL and SDA ports forming the I 2 C communication lines  18  and  20 .  
      The Vdd port of the microcomputer  10  is used to receive the electric power from the display apparatus or the computer, wherein the electric power passes through a diode  22  or  24 .  
      The SCL port and the SDA port of the microcomputer  10  are connected to an SCL port and an SDA port of the adjacent ICs  12 ,  14  and  16 , respectively, thereby forming the I 2 C communication lines  18  and  20 . On the I 2 C communication lines  18  and  20  are provided series resistors  34 ,  36 ,  38 ,  40 ,  42 ,  44 ,  50  and  52  to limit electric current flow.  
      Further, the electronic apparatus comprises pull-up resistors  30  and  32  to pull up the I 2 C communication lines  18  and  20  when the telecommunication is not performed through the I 2 C communication lines  18  and  20 .  
      When the transient current is introduced from the microcomputer  100  of the conventional electronic apparatus to the adjacent IC 3   16 , a problem can arise in the telecommunication.  
      Thus, according to an embodiment of the present general inventive concept, when the electric power is supplied from the display apparatus or the computer, high voltage is applied to cathodes of diodes  26  and  28 , the diodes  26  and  28  being connected to a side of the IC 3   16  such that anode ends of the diodes  26  and  28  are connected to the IC 3   16 . At this time, the diodes  26  and  28  become reverse-biased and behave like an open switch. Thus, when the power is turned on/off, the transient current is not instantly introduced to the adjacent IC 3   16  through the I 2 C communication lines  18  and  20 .  
      Further, at this time, the pull-up resistors  30  and  32  cause the Vcc high voltage to be applied to the SCL port and the SDA port of the IC 3   16 . That is, the pull-up resistors  30  and  32  function as a pull-up circuit to pull up the communication lines  18  and  20  between the respective diodes  26  and  28  and the IC 3   16 . Therefore, the electric current is not introduced to the IC 3   16  through the I 2 C communication lines  18  and  20 , but through the pull-up resistors  30  and  32 .  
      The pull-up circuit comprising the diodes  26  and  28  and the pull-up resistors  30  and  32  is disposed in a front terminal of the IC having a problem in the I 2 C communication and does not have an effect on the other ICs. For example, the pull-up circuit can be applied to only a line having the problem between SCL and SDA lines. Accordingly, the pull-up circuit comprising the diodes  26  and  28  and the resistors  30  and  32  illustrated in  FIG. 2  can be applied to any one of or a plurality of the ICs used with the electronic apparatus.  
      In the foregoing embodiment, the series resistors  34  and  36  are disposed in the front terminal of the IC 3   16 . However, the series resistors  34  and  36  may be disposed in a front terminal or a back terminal of the pull-up resistors  30  and  32 .  
      As described above, the present general inventive concept provides an electronic apparatus, which prevents a transient current from being introduced from a microcomputer to an adjacent integrated circuit, thereby solving problems in telecommunication.  
      Although a few embodiments of the present general inventive concept have been shown and described, it will be appreciated by those skilled in the art that changes may be made in these embodiments without departing from the principles and spirit of the general inventive concept, the scope of which is defined in the appended claims and their equivalents.