Reconfigurable Modular Computing Device

Abstract

A configurable computing device comprising a housing, a printed circuit board disposed within the housing, a first microcontroller and a second microcontroller each coupled to the PCB, wherein the first microcontroller and the second microcontroller are in electrical signal communication with each other, a computer-on-module (COM) coupled to the PCB, wherein the COM is in electrical signal communication with the first microcontroller and the second microcontroller, and one or more peripheral modules coupled to the PCB, wherein, the peripheral modules are each in electrical signal communication with the first microcontroller and wherein, the peripheral modules are each in electrical signal communication with the COM via the second microcontroller.

What is claimed is: 
     
         1 . A reconfigurable modular computing device (RMCD) comprising:
 a printed circuit board (PCB) comprising:
 first microcontroller input/output (I/O) connections, 
 first computer-on-module (COM) I/O connections, and 
 first peripheral module I/O connections; 
   a first microcontroller coupled to the PCB via the first microcontroller I/O connections;   a first COM comprising a first COM connection bus and removably coupled to the PCB via the first COM connection bus and the first COM I/O connections; and   a first peripheral module comprising a first peripheral module connection bus and removably coupled to the PCB via the first peripheral module connection bus and the first peripheral module I/O connections,   wherein the PCB is configured to provide physical connectivity and electrical connectivity among the first microcontroller, the first COM, and the first peripheral module in order to provide a first application.   
     
     
         2 . The RMCD of  claim 1 , wherein the PCB is further configured to adapt to any given application. 
     
     
         3 . The RMCD of  claim 1 , wherein the first microcontroller is removably coupled to the PCB for programming of the first microcontroller. 
     
     
         4 . The RMCD of  claim 1 , wherein the first microcontroller is hard-wired to the PCB. 
     
     
         5 . The RMCD of  claim 1 , wherein the first microcontroller comprises a memory, and wherein the memory comprises a look-up table relating the first COM I/O connections and the first peripheral module I/O connections to device profiles. 
     
     
         6 . The RMCD of  claim 5 , wherein the memory is configured to update the look-up table to further relate the first COM I/O connections and the first peripheral module I/O connections to additional device profiles. 
     
     
         7 . The RMCD of  claim 5 , wherein the first microcontroller is configured to:
 detect the first COM;   interrogate the first COM to determine a first COM profile associated with the first COM; and   employ a first configuration of the first COM I/O connections based on the first COM profile.   
     
     
         8 . The RMCD of  claim 7 , wherein the first microcontroller is further configured to:
 detect the first peripheral module;   interrogate the first peripheral module to determine a first peripheral module profile associated with the first peripheral module; and   employ a second configuration of the first peripheral module I/O connections based on the first peripheral module profile.   
     
     
         9 . The RMCD of  claim 5 , wherein the first microcontroller is configured to:
 receive a first COM profile associated with the first COM;   employ a first configuration of the first COM I/O connections based on the first COM profile;   receive a first peripheral module profile associated with the first peripheral module; and   employ a second configuration of the first peripheral module I/O connections based on the first peripheral module profile.   
     
     
         10 . The RMCD of  claim 1 , wherein the PCB further comprises a non-conductive substrate, and wherein the non-conductive substrate comprises a plurality of electrical flow paths configured to provide the electrical connectivity. 
     
     
         11 . The RMCD of  claim 10 , wherein the electrical flow paths comprise:
 preconfigured electrical flow paths that are etched into the PCB; and   configurable electrical flow paths comprising transistors, wherein the transistors are configured to provide electrical switches.   
     
     
         12 . The RMCD of  claim 1 , wherein the first COM is removably coupled to the PCB for configuring or reconfiguring the RMCD for any given application. 
     
     
         13 . The RMCD of  claim 1 , wherein the first microcontroller is a peripheral interface controller (PIC), a field programmable gate array (FPGA), or an embedded processor. 
     
     
         14 . The RMCD of  claim 1 , wherein the PCB further comprises second microcontroller I/O connections, second COM I/O connections, and second peripheral module I/O connections. 
     
     
         15 . The RMCD of  claim 14 , further comprising:
 a second microcontroller coupled to the PCB via the second microcontroller I/O connections;   a second COM comprising a second COM connection bus and removably coupled to the PCB via the second COM connection bus and the second COM I/O connections; and   a second peripheral module comprising a second peripheral module connection bus and removably coupled to the PCB via the second peripheral module connection bus and the second peripheral module I/O connections.   
     
     
         16 . A method comprising:
 determining a first application;   providing a printed circuit board (PCB) comprising:
 microcontroller input/output (I/O) connections, 
 COM I/O connections, and 
 peripheral module I/O connections; 
   providing a first microcontroller comprising a first microcontroller connection bus;   removably coupling, in response to the determining the first application, the first microcontroller to the PCB via the first microcontroller connection bus and the microcontroller I/O connections;   providing a first computer-on-module (COM) comprising a first COM connection bus;   removably coupling, in response to the determining the first application, the first COM to the PCB via the first COM connection bus and the COM I/O connections;   providing a first peripheral module comprising a first peripheral module connection bus; and   removably coupling, in response to the determining the first application, the first peripheral module to the PCB via the first peripheral module connection bus and the peripheral module I/O connections.   
     
     
         17 . The method of  claim 16 , further comprising:
 determining a second application;   removing, in response to the determining the second application, the first microcontroller, the first COM, and the first peripheral module from the PCB;   providing a second microcontroller comprising a second microcontroller connection bus;   removably coupling, in response to the determining the second application, the second microcontroller to the PCB via the second microcontroller connection bus and the microcontroller I/O connections;   providing a second COM comprising a second COM connection bus;   removably coupling, in response to the determining the second application, the second COM to the PCB via the second COM connection bus and the COM I/O connections;   providing a second peripheral module comprising a second peripheral module connection bus; and   removably coupling, in response to the determining the second application, the second peripheral module to the PCB via the second peripheral module connection bus and the peripheral module I/O connections.   
     
     
         18 . An apparatus comprising:
 a front case;   a mid-frame;   a back case coupled to the front case so as to enclose the mid-frame; and   a reconfigurable modular computing device (RMCD) coupled to the mid-frame and comprising:
 microcontroller input/output (I/O) connections, 
 computer-on-module (COM) I/O connections, 
 peripheral module I/O connections, and 
 a printed circuit board (PCB), in order to implement a first application, configured to:
 couple to a first microcontroller via the microcontroller I/O connections, 
 couple to a first COM via the COM I/O connections, and 
 couple to a first peripheral module via the peripheral module I/O connections. 
 
   
     
     
         19 . The apparatus of  claim 18 , wherein the PCB is, in order to implement a second application, further configured to:
 decouple from the first microcontroller, the first COM, and the first peripheral module; and   couple to a second microcontroller via the microcontroller I/O connections, couple to a second COM via the COM I/O connections, and couple to a second peripheral module via the peripheral module I/O connections.   
     
     
         20 . The apparatus of  claim 18 , wherein the second microcontroller is, in order to implement the second application, further configured to:
 detect the second peripheral module;   interrogate the second peripheral module to determine a peripheral module profile associated with the second peripheral module; and   employ a configuration of the peripheral module I/O connections based on the peripheral module profile.