System utilizing BIOS-compatible high performance video controller being default controller at boot-up and capable of switching to another graphics controller after boot-up
US5799204A · kind A · utility
Assignee
Inventor
Key dates
| Filing date | May 1, 1995 |
| Grant date | Aug 25, 1998 |
| Priority date | — |
| Expiry date | May 1, 2015 |
Classification
- Technology area (CPC G)Physics
- CPC primaryG09G2360/06
- WIPO fieldAudio-visual technology
- WIPO sectorElectrical engineering
Abstract
A high-performance video controller is provided for a microprocessor-based computer having a bus, which has a plurality of slots for receiving slot connectors for peripheral-type devices, wherein (i) the bus is of the type imposing a single-device-per-slot limitation and (ii) the computer has a BIOS requiring on boot-up of the computer the presence of a standard video controller (e.g. VGA). The high-preformance controller includes (a) a connector arrangement having at least one slot connector, and (b) a standard-video-controller subsystem coupled to the connector arrangement and having a video output, and (c) an advanced graphics subsystem that is also coupled to the connector arrangement and that also has a video output. The connector arrangement may have a plurality of slot connectors so that the standard-video-controller subsystem is connected to a separate slot from the advanced graphics subsystem, which also has its own slot. The slot connectors and the circuit boards holding the components of the two subsystems may be mechanically rigidly linked to one another, spaced apart the same amount as the bus's slots, so that the two connectors can be plugged into parallel slots toget…
Source: USPTO / EPO open patent data. Objective bibliographic and citation counts.