TWI431477B - Kvm switch - Google Patents

Description

Multiple host switchers

The present invention relates to a multi-master switch (KVM switch), and more particularly to a multi-host switch that supports a particular communication standard.

The so-called multiple host switcher, the English name is KVM Switch, where KVM is the abbreviation of keyboard (keyboard), video (video) and mouse (mouse). As the name implies, multiple host switches allow users to control multiple computers through a set of keyboards, monitors and mice.

There are two types of host switchers currently on the market. The first is an electronic switch that is mostly manufactured as a separate small electronic device that is connected between a set of keyboards, displays and mice, and between multiple computers. The user can operate the switch on the switch to select which computer to connect the keyboard, monitor and mouse to. The second is a network switcher, which is usually software. By installing the software on a computer, you can use this software to log in to another computer via a network connection, and then use the keyboard, monitor and mouse of the previous computer for remote control of the latter computer.

The invention provides a multi-host switcher, which adopts a universal serial bus (USB) architecture. The USB connection cable is cheaper than the traditional electronic switch connector cable. USB can be plug and play, hardware installation is simple, and it is more convenient to use than the network switcher.

The invention provides a multi-host switch, comprising a plurality of host ports, a device port, and a routing unit. The above host connection 埠 conforms to a communication standard and is used to connect multiple hosts. The device port is used to connect a peripheral device. The routing unit is coupled to the device by the plurality of host ports and coupled to the peripheral device, so that the host and the peripheral device perform signal transmission according to the communication standard. In addition, the routing unit receives a command from each of the hosts that meets the above communication standard, stores an address specified by each of the hosts in the command, and plays the peripheral device having the address on the host according to the communication standard, and responds The above order.

The above described features and advantages of the present invention will be more apparent from the following description.

FIG. 1 is a schematic diagram of a plurality of host switchers 100 in accordance with an embodiment of the present invention. The plurality of host switchers 100 includes four host ports 111-114, four USB ports 121-124, a routing unit 130, device ports 141, 142, and a switching device 150. The host ports 111 to 114 are respectively connected to the hosts 101 to 104, and the USB ports 121 to 124 are also connected to the hosts 101 to 104, respectively. The host 101~104 may be an electronic device such as a mobile phone, a personal digital assistant (PDA), a notebook computer, or a desktop computer that can act as a USB host. Device ports 141 and 142 are used to connect peripheral devices such as a keyboard, mouse or display. In the present embodiment, the device port 141 is connected to the peripheral device 161, and the device port 142 is connected to the display 162. The peripheral device 161 can be a keyboard or a mouse. The ports of the plurality of host switchers 100 and their corresponding hosts or peripheral devices can be interconnected by a signal transmission line.

Although the plurality of host switchers 100 of FIG. 1 includes four host ports, four USB ports, and two device ports, the present invention is not limited to the number of ports described above. In other embodiments of the present invention, the number of the above various ports can be flexibly adjusted according to application requirements.

The routing unit 130 includes a command receiver 131 and a path determiner 132 coupled to each other. The path determiner 132 determines the signal path between each host and each peripheral device, and the command receiver 131 is responsible for receiving USB commands from the hosts 101-104 and responding to the USB commands.

The switching device 150 is coupled to the path determiner 132. The switching device 150 can include components such as switches, buttons or knobs for the user to operate to set which host or hosts are coupled to the peripherals connected to the device ports 141-142. Device. The switching device 150 generates a switching signal according to the operation of the user, and the path determiner 132 selects a subset of the hosts 101-104 according to the switching signal. The subset includes the host set by the user, and the path determiner 132 selects the subset. It is coupled to peripheral devices connected to the device ports 141-142.

For example, if the user chooses to couple the host 103 to the peripheral device, the path determiner 132 turns on the connection channel of the host 103 to the peripheral device 161 and the display 162, and turns off the remaining hosts other than the host 103 to the peripheral device 161 and the display. 162 connection channel. The path determiner 132 is coupled to the host 103 and the display 162 via the USB port 123 and the device port 142, and coupled to the host 103 and the peripheral device 161 via the host port 113 and the device port 141. Thereby, the host 103 can perform various signal transmissions with the peripheral device 161 and the display 162.

In this implementation, the peripheral device 161 can be a keyboard, a mouse, a trackball, or a device that combines a keyboard and a mouse function (for example, a keyboard with a trackball), so that the host 103 and the peripheral device 161 can be connected via a host 埠113. Transfer keyboard signals, mouse signals, or both. On the other hand, between the host 103 and the display 162, a video stream can be transmitted via the USB port 123, and a display control generated when the user operates an on-screen display (OSD) can also be transmitted. Signal. If the display 162 is provided with an audio speaker, an audio stream can also be transmitted between the host 103 and the display 162. If the display 162 is replaced with an input device like the peripheral device 161, or the display 162 is a peripheral device including a keyboard and a mouse, the keyboard signal, the mouse signal, or both may be transmitted between the host 103 and the display 162. .

The above description takes the host 103 as an example, and other hosts can be deduced by analogy. The USB port 埠121~124 must be connected to the host 101~104 by using a USB transmission line, so the video stream signal transmission between the host 101~104 and the display 162 is at least in the segments of the host 101~104 and the USB port 埠121~124. Signal transmission by USB.

The host ports ~111~114 can conform to the USB specification or conform to other specifications, such as the PS2 specifications commonly used by peripheral devices such as keyboards and mice. The specifications of the device ports 141 and 142 are not limited and may be USB or PS2. The device connection to the display can also conform to video standards such as Video Graphics Array (VGA) or High-Definition Multimedia Interface (HDMI). Each device port can meet the same or different communication standards. The device port 141 and the host ports 111-114 may also conform to the same or different communication standards.

The command receiver 131 can receive a USB command from each of the hosts 101-104, store each USB address specified by the host in the above command, and play each host with the address specified by the host according to the USB standard. Peripheral device. The command receiver 131 individually records the status of the peripheral devices played by each of the above hosts, and responds to each USB command from the hosts 101-104 according to the corresponding USB address and the corresponding peripheral device status. Regardless of which host or hosts the user switches the connection between the peripheral device 161 and the display 162, the command receiver 131 continuously records the USB address and status corresponding to each of the hosts 101-104, and still receives each host 101~ 104 USB commands and responded. Thus, even if the switch back to the previous host, the command receiver 131 still remembers the address specified by the host before, and does not need the host to specify the address again.

If a device connected to the peripheral device supports USB, the command receiver 131 forwards the USB command from the host to the peripheral device and responds to the command using the response of the peripheral device.

2 is a schematic diagram of a plurality of host switchers 200 in accordance with another embodiment of the present invention. The plurality of host switchers 200 are connected to the hosts 101 to 104 by USB ports 221 to 224, respectively. The signal transmission between the host 101-104 and the peripheral device 161 and the display 162 is performed by USB at least in the sections of the host 101-104 and the USB port 221-224. The rest of the plurality of host switchers 200 are identical to the plurality of host switchers 100.

FIG. 3 is a schematic diagram of an application of a plurality of host switchers 100 according to an embodiment of the invention. In order to simplify the drawing, FIG. 3 only shows the path determiner 132 and the switching device 150 of the plurality of host switchers 100. In this embodiment, the user can operate the switching device 150 to set two subsets of the hosts 101-104, wherein the second subset is a subset of the first subset. The switching device 150 generates a switching signal according to the operation of the user, and the path determiner 132 selects the two subsets according to the switching signal. The path determiner 132 turns on the connection channel of the first subset to the display 162, and closes the connection channel of the host other than the first subset to the display 162, so that USB signal transmission can be performed between the first subset and the display 162. In this embodiment, the first subset includes hosts 101-104, and the USB signal transmission includes a video screen output by each host of the first subset. The path determiner 132 composes the video screen into the divided screen 310 and transmits the divided screen 310 to the display 162 for display. The sub-pictures 1 to 4 displayed on the display 162 are the video pictures output by the main units 101 to 104, respectively.

The first subset of this embodiment includes all hosts, and in other embodiments of the invention, the first subset may include only a portion of the hosts.

In addition, the path determiner 132 turns on the connection channel of the second subset to the peripheral device 161, and closes the connection channel of the host other than the second subset to the peripheral device 161, so that the signal can be transmitted between the second subset and the peripheral device 161. transmission. In general, the peripheral device 161 is an input device such as a mouse or a keyboard, and the second subset includes only one of the hosts 101 to 104. In some special application scenarios, the second subset may include multiple hosts of the hosts 101-104. That is to say, via the setting of the switching device 150, the peripheral device 161 can be controlled to simultaneously control a plurality of hosts, and the control results thereof are simultaneously displayed in the plurality of sub-screens of the divided screen 310.

The path determiner 132 may also form a plurality of pictures output by the first subset into a mother-child picture and transmit the picture to the display 162 for display. As shown in the embodiment of FIG. 4, in this embodiment, the first subset includes hosts 101 and 102. The display 162 displays the mother screen 410. The video screen 1 output by the host 101 is located in the mother screen 410, and the video screen 2 output by the host 102 is located in the video screen 1.

Although Figures 3 and 4 illustrate multiple host switchers 100, in other embodiments of the invention, multiple host switchers 200 may be substituted.

The plurality of host switchers 100 and 200 of the above embodiment are specifically designed to support USB. In other embodiments of the present invention, USB can be changed to other similar communication standards.

In summary, the multiple host switchers of the present invention use a USB architecture to perform signal transmission between the host and peripheral devices, which is a completely new architecture. The multiple host switchers of the present invention use a USB transmission line to connect to the host, which is more cost effective than the transmission line of the conventional electronic switch. Because USB can be plug and play, the multiple host switchers of the present invention are simpler to install and use than conventional network switchers.

Although the present invention has been disclosed in the above embodiments, it is not intended to limit the invention, and any one of ordinary skill in the art can make some modifications and refinements without departing from the spirit and scope of the invention. The scope of the invention is defined by the scope of the appended claims.

1~4. . . Video screen

100. . . Multiple host switchers

101~104. . . Host

111~114. . . Host connection埠

121~124. . . USB port埠

130. . . Routing unit

131. . . Command receiver

132. . . Path decider

141, 142. . . Device connection埠

150. . . Switching device

161. . . Peripheral device

162. . . monitor

200. . . Multiple host switchers

221~224. . . USB port埠

310. . . Split screen

410. . . Mother screen

FIG. 1 is a schematic diagram of a plurality of host switchers according to an embodiment of the invention.

2 is a schematic diagram of a plurality of host switchers in accordance with another embodiment of the present invention.

3 and FIG. 4 are schematic diagrams showing the application of a plurality of host switchers according to an embodiment of the invention.

100. . . Multiple host switchers

101~104. . . Host

111~114. . . Host connection埠

121~124. . . USB port埠

130. . . Routing unit

131. . . Command receiver

132. . . Path decider

141, 142. . . Device connection埠

150. . . Switching device

161. . . Peripheral device

162. . . monitor

Claims (12)

A plurality of host switchers, comprising: a plurality of first host ports, complying with a first communication standard for connecting a plurality of hosts; a first device port for connecting to a first peripheral device; and a route The unit is coupled to the first device by the plurality of first host ports, and coupled to the at least one host and the first peripheral device, so that the host and the first peripheral device are in accordance with the first communication standard. Performing a first signal transmission; the routing unit receives a command from each of the hosts that conforms to the first communication standard, stores an address specified by each of the hosts in the command, and plays on the host according to the first communication standard. A peripheral device having the above address and responding to the above command. The plurality of host switchers as claimed in claim 1, wherein the first signal transmission transmits at least one of a video stream, an audio stream, a display control signal, a keyboard signal, and a mouse signal. The plurality of host switchers as described in claim 1, wherein the routing unit further comprises: a command receiver, receiving the command, storing the address, and playing on each of the hosts according to the first communication standard The peripheral device of the address specified by the host separately records the state of the peripheral device played by each of the hosts, and responds to the command according to the address and the state; and a path determiner coupled to receive the command And selecting a subset of the plurality of hosts, opening the connection channel of the subset to the first peripheral device, and closing a connection channel of the host other than the subset to the first peripheral device, so that the subset is The first peripheral device performs the first signal transmission according to the first communication standard. The plurality of host switchers of claim 3, wherein the command receiver forwards the command to the first peripheral device and uses the response of the first peripheral device to respond to the command. The plurality of host switchers as described in claim 3, further comprising: a switching device coupled to the path determiner, generating a switching signal according to a user operation, wherein the path determining device is configured according to the switching signal Select this subcollection. The multiple host switch as described in claim 3, wherein the first peripheral device is a display, the first signal transmission includes a video screen output by each host of the subset, and the path determinator displays the video The screens constitute a split screen and the split screen is transmitted to the first peripheral device for display. The multiple host switch as described in claim 3, wherein the first peripheral device is a display, and the first signal transmission includes a first picture and a second picture output by the subset, the path determiner Forming the first picture and the second picture into a picture, and transmitting the picture to the first peripheral device for display, the first picture is located in the picture, and the second picture is located In the first picture. The multiple host switch as described in claim 1, wherein the first communication standard is a universal serial bus. The multiple host switch as described in claim 1, wherein the first device connection meets the first communication standard. The plurality of host switchers according to claim 1, wherein the first device port is compliant with a second communication standard, and the second communication standard is different from the first communication standard. The plurality of host switchers as described in claim 1 further includes: a plurality of second host ports configured to connect to the plurality of hosts; and a second device port; For connecting to a second peripheral device, wherein the routing unit is coupled to the second device by the plurality of second host ports, and coupled to the at least one host and the second peripheral device, so that the host and the first A second signal transmission is performed between the two peripheral devices, and the second signal transmission transmits at least one of a keyboard signal and a mouse signal. The plurality of host switchers, as described in claim 11, further comprising: a switching device coupled to the routing unit to generate a switching signal according to a user operation, wherein the routing unit selects the foregoing according to the switching signal a first subset of the plurality of hosts, and selecting a second subset of the first subset according to the switching signal, the routing unit turning on the first subset to the connection channel of the first peripheral device, and closing the first a connection channel of the host to the first peripheral device other than a subset, so that the first signal is transmitted between the first subset and the first peripheral device according to the first communication standard, and the routing unit turns on the The second sub-assembly is connected to the connection channel of the second peripheral device, and the connection channel of the host other than the second sub-assembly to the second peripheral device is closed, so that the second sub-set and the second peripheral device are The second signal is transmitted.