CN114184984A - Active cable - Google Patents

Active cable Download PDF

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Publication number
CN114184984A
CN114184984A CN202210133485.6A CN202210133485A CN114184984A CN 114184984 A CN114184984 A CN 114184984A CN 202210133485 A CN202210133485 A CN 202210133485A CN 114184984 A CN114184984 A CN 114184984A
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China
Prior art keywords
signal
detection circuit
channel
signal detection
switch
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Granted
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CN202210133485.6A
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Chinese (zh)
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CN114184984B (en
Inventor
陈婷
江辉
周新亮
程煜烽
周一环
徐亮
田进峰
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Everpro Technologies Wuhan Co Ltd
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Everpro Technologies Wuhan Co Ltd
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Priority to CN202210133485.6A priority Critical patent/CN114184984B/en
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Publication of CN114184984B publication Critical patent/CN114184984B/en
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    • G—PHYSICS
    • G01—MEASURING; TESTING
    • G01R—MEASURING ELECTRIC VARIABLES; MEASURING MAGNETIC VARIABLES
    • G01R31/00—Arrangements for testing electric properties; Arrangements for locating electric faults; Arrangements for electrical testing characterised by what is being tested not provided for elsewhere
    • G01R31/50—Testing of electric apparatus, lines, cables or components for short-circuits, continuity, leakage current or incorrect line connections
    • G01R31/58—Testing of lines, cables or conductors
    • H—ELECTRICITY
    • H01—ELECTRIC ELEMENTS
    • H01R—ELECTRICALLY-CONDUCTIVE CONNECTIONS; STRUCTURAL ASSOCIATIONS OF A PLURALITY OF MUTUALLY-INSULATED ELECTRICAL CONNECTING ELEMENTS; COUPLING DEVICES; CURRENT COLLECTORS
    • H01R13/00—Details of coupling devices of the kinds covered by groups H01R12/70 or H01R24/00 - H01R33/00
    • H01R13/66—Structural association with built-in electrical component
    • H01R13/70—Structural association with built-in electrical component with built-in switch
    • H—ELECTRICITY
    • H01—ELECTRIC ELEMENTS
    • H01R—ELECTRICALLY-CONDUCTIVE CONNECTIONS; STRUCTURAL ASSOCIATIONS OF A PLURALITY OF MUTUALLY-INSULATED ELECTRICAL CONNECTING ELEMENTS; COUPLING DEVICES; CURRENT COLLECTORS
    • H01R31/00—Coupling parts supported only by co-operation with counterpart
    • H01R31/06—Intermediate parts for linking two coupling parts, e.g. adapter
    • H01R31/065—Intermediate parts for linking two coupling parts, e.g. adapter with built-in electric apparatus

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  • Physics & Mathematics (AREA)
  • General Physics & Mathematics (AREA)
  • Information Transfer Systems (AREA)

Abstract

The invention relates to an active cable comprising: the active cable has a first state connecting the first communication protocol signal transmission channel between the first transceiving port and the second transceiving port, and a second state connecting the second communication protocol signal transmission channel between the first transceiving port and the second transceiving port; the active cable further includes: a state detection circuit for detecting a transmission state on the first communication protocol signal transmission channel and/or the second communication protocol signal transmission channel; and the state switching switch group is connected to the first transceiving port and the second transceiving port and used for judging whether to switch the state of the active cable or not according to the detection result of the state detection circuit, and if the judgment result is yes, executing switching. The invention eliminates the dependence on the USB PD message analysis function.

Description

Active cable
Technical Field
The present invention relates generally to the field of communication devices. More particularly, the present invention relates to an active cable.
Background
Type c (USB interface profile standard) interface has been proposed and widely used due to its miniaturization (as shown in fig. 1). Among them, a cable having a type of TypeC interface supporting DP Alt Mode (display interface Alternate Mode) can support not only 1-way USB transmission, but also 1-way USB + 2-way USB DisplayPort transmission (as shown in fig. 2), or can be switched to support 4-way DisplayPort transmission (as shown in fig. 3), that is, 2 channels originally transmitting full-duplex USB3.x signals are changed to transmit DisplayPort signals (display interface signals, abbreviated as DP signals).
Currently, the information transmitted by the cable with the DP Alt Mode function configures the Type-C interface through a USB Power Delivery (USB Power supply specification, USB PD for short) protocol, so that the cable has a function of switching between two transmission modes. This function is very convenient for the passive copper cable because the passive copper cable only needs to use the wire to carry out the transmission, and the wire transmission itself is irrelevant with signal transmission's direction, does not also relate to the problem of transmission signal kind. But for active cables, additional design is required. Since the signals of USB3.x are full duplex, i.e. the transmission directions of 2 channels are opposite, while the DP (display interface) signal has only one transmission direction, and the transmission rate and code pattern of the USB signal and the DP signal are different.
In order to enable the active cable to support the DP Alt Mode function, in the current technology, as shown in fig. 4, a switch circuit (multiplexer) is added to each of the first connector and the second connector of the TypeC interface of the active cable to perform 4/6 channel selection and 6/4 channel selection, and the switch circuit is controlled by monitoring message information on the USB PD protocol, so that an external interface is switched to a required internal circuit to implement the DP Alt Mode function.
To implement this technique, the following two requirements need to be met: the first, active cable needs to be able to parse or at least partially identify the information on the USB PD protocol. And a switch circuit is required on the second TypeC interface. These two requirements will increase the design complexity of the active cable and will cause an increase in power consumption.
Disclosure of Invention
In order to solve at least the above problems, the present invention proposes an active cable. The dependence on the USB PD message analyzing or monitoring function is eliminated, the physical connection medium required by high-speed signal transmission can be effectively reduced, and the optimization or improvement of products on the aspects of power consumption, cable diameter, manufacturing process and cost is facilitated.
In one aspect, the present invention provides an active cable comprising: the active cable has a first state connecting the first communication protocol signal transmission channel between the first transceiving port and the second transceiving port, and a second state connecting the second communication protocol signal transmission channel between the first transceiving port and the second transceiving port; the active cable further includes: a state detection circuit for detecting a transmission state on the first communication protocol signal transmission channel and/or the second communication protocol signal transmission channel; and the state switching switch group is connected with the first transceiving port and the second transceiving port and used for judging whether the active cable is switched from the first state to the second state or from the second state to the first state according to the detection result of the state detection circuit, and if the judgment result is yes, the switching is executed.
In one embodiment, the state detection circuit includes: a first state detection circuit for detecting whether transmission of first communication protocol data does not occur in the first communication protocol signal transmission channel and taking a detection result as a first detection result; the second state detection circuit is used for detecting whether the second communication protocol signal transmission channel does not transmit the second communication protocol data or not and taking the detection result as a second detection result; accordingly, the state switch group is used for: when the active cable is in a first state, judging whether to switch to a second state according to a first detection result or the first detection result and a second detection result, and if so, executing switching; and/or when the active cable is in the second state, judging whether to switch to the first state according to the second detection result, and if so, executing switching.
In one embodiment, the active cable further comprises: a first connection channel group and a second connection channel group; when the active cable is in a first state, the first communication protocol signal transmission channel comprises the first connection channel group, the second connection channel group and a USB signal transmission channel, the USB signal transmission channel is connected with the first transceiving port through the first connection channel group and is connected with the second transceiving port through the second connection channel group, and the USB signal transmission channel comprises an SSRX channel; when the active cable is in a second state, the second communication protocol signal transmission channel comprises the first connection channel group, the second connection channel group and a display interface signal transmission channel, and the display interface signal transmission channel is connected with the first transceiving port through the first connection channel group and is connected with the second transceiving port through the second connection channel group.
In one embodiment, the state change switch group includes: the first signal change-over switch is connected with a pin for receiving and transmitting data of a first receiving and transmitting port through the first connecting channel group, and is used for judging whether to switch to a second state according to a first detection result when the active cable is in the first state, if so, connecting a display interface signal transmission channel with the first connecting channel group, judging whether to switch to the first state according to a second detection result when the active cable is in the second state, and if so, connecting a USB signal transmission channel with the first connecting channel group; the second signal change-over switch is connected with a pin for receiving and sending data of a second receiving and sending port through the second connection channel group, and is used for judging whether to switch to a second state according to a first detection result when the active cable is in the first state, if so, connecting a display interface signal transmission channel with the second connection channel group, judging whether to switch to the first state according to a second detection result when the active cable is in the second state, and if so, connecting a USB signal transmission channel with the second connection channel group; the first state detection circuit is connected with the USB signal transmission channel, the first connection channel group, the second connection channel group or a pin for receiving and transmitting data of the second receiving and transmitting port so as to detect whether transmission of first communication protocol data does not occur in a preset time from the second receiving and transmitting port to the first receiving and transmitting port in the direction from the second receiving and transmitting port to the first signal change-over switch and the second signal change-over switch or not, and the detection result is used as a first detection result and is sent to the first signal change-over switch and the second signal change-over switch; the second state detection circuit is connected with the display interface signal transmission channel, the first connection channel group, the second connection channel group or a pin for receiving and transmitting data of the first receiving and transmitting port to detect whether transmission of second communication protocol data does not occur on the display interface signal transmission channel or not, and sends a detection result serving as a second detection result to the first signal change-over switch and the second signal change-over switch.
In one embodiment, the active cable further comprises: the first joint is arranged at the first end of the active cable and comprises the first transceiving port, a first signal change-over switch and a first connecting channel group; and the second joint is arranged at the second end of the active cable and comprises a second transceiving port, a second signal change-over switch and a second connection channel group.
In one embodiment, the first state detection circuit is an AC signal detection circuit; the display interface signal transmission channel comprises a general channel and a special channel, and the second state detection circuit comprises a low-rate signal detection circuit which is used for detecting whether signals lower than a preset rate are transmitted on the general channel or not.
In one embodiment, the AC signal detection circuit and the low-rate signal detection circuit are disposed on each of the first connector and the second connector, so that the first signal switch and the second signal switch are directly connected to the AC signal detection circuit and the low-rate signal detection circuit; the AC signal detection circuit is connected with the SSRX channel, and the low-rate signal detection circuit is connected with the general channel.
In one embodiment, the AC signal detection circuit is disposed on the first connector or the second connector and connected to the SSRX channel, one of the first signal switch and the second signal switch is directly connected to the AC signal detection circuit, and a first transmission channel is disposed between the first connector and the second connector for connecting the AC signal detection circuit to the other of the second signal switch and the first signal switch; the low-rate signal detection circuit is arranged on the first connector or the second connector, the low-rate signal detection circuit is connected with the general channel, one of the first signal selector switch and the second signal selector switch is directly connected with the low-rate signal detection circuit, and a second transmission channel is arranged between the first connector and the second connector and is used for connecting the low-rate signal detection circuit with the second signal selector switch and the other of the first signal selector switch.
In one embodiment, the AC signal detection circuit is disposed at the first connector or the second connector and connected to the SSRX channel, one of the first signal switch and the second signal switch is directly connected to the AC signal detection circuit, and a first transmission channel is disposed between the first connector and the second connector for connecting the other of the second signal switch and the first signal switch to the AC signal detection circuit; the low-rate signal detection circuit is arranged at the first joint and is respectively connected with the first signal selector switch and the general channel, and the second joint is provided with an optical signal detection circuit which is connected with the display interface signal transmission channel or the second connection channel group so as to detect whether optical signals are transmitted on the display interface signal transmission channel or the second connection channel group.
In one embodiment, the second state detection circuit further comprises a dedicated channel AC signal detection circuit connected to the dedicated channel, the first connection channel group, or the second connection channel group to detect whether transmission of data occurs on the dedicated channel.
In one embodiment, the first and second connectors are each provided with the AC signal detection circuit and a dedicated channel AC signal detection circuit, so that the first and second signal switches are directly connected with the AC signal detection circuit and the dedicated channel AC signal detection circuit, the AC signal detection circuit is connected with the SSRX channel, and the dedicated channel AC signal detection circuit is connected with the dedicated channel.
In one embodiment, the second state detection circuit includes a general channel AC signal detection circuit connected to the general channel, the first connection channel group, or the second connection channel group to detect whether transmission of data occurs on the general channel; the first connector and the second connector are both provided with a universal channel AC signal detection circuit, so that the first signal change-over switch and the second signal change-over switch are directly connected with the universal channel AC signal detection circuit.
In one embodiment, the AC signal detection circuit is disposed at the first connector or the second connector, one of the first signal switch and the second signal switch is directly connected to the AC signal detection circuit, and a first transmission channel is disposed between the first connector and the second connector and is used for connecting the other of the second signal switch and the first signal switch to the AC signal detection circuit; the dedicated channel AC signal detection circuit is arranged at the first joint or the second joint, and one of the first signal switch and the second signal switch is directly connected with the dedicated channel AC signal detection circuit; a second transmission channel is arranged between the first joint and the second joint and used for connecting the other of the second signal change-over switch and the first signal change-over switch with the special channel AC signal detection circuit; the AC signal detection circuit is connected with the SSRX channel, and the special channel AC signal detection circuit is connected with the general channel.
In one embodiment, the AC signal detection circuit is disposed at the first connector or the second connector and connected to the SSRX channel, one of the first signal switch and the second signal switch is directly connected to the AC signal detection circuit, and a first transmission channel is disposed between the first connector and the second connector for connecting the other of the second signal switch and the first signal switch to the AC signal detection circuit; the dedicated channel AC signal detection circuit is arranged at the first joint and is directly connected with the first signal switch, and the dedicated channel AC signal detection circuit is connected with the dedicated channel; and the second joint is provided with an optical signal detection circuit which is connected with the display interface signal transmission channel or the second connecting channel group so as to detect whether the display interface signal transmission channel transmits optical signals.
In one embodiment, the second status detection circuit further comprises a pin AC signal detection circuit connected to the data transceiving pin of the first transceiving port to detect whether data exists on the data transceiving pin of the first transceiving port.
In one embodiment, the pin AC signal detection circuit is disposed at the first connector and is directly connected to the first signal switch; the AC signal detection circuit is arranged at the first joint or the second joint, one of the first signal change-over switch and the second signal change-over switch is directly connected with the AC signal detection circuit, and a first transmission channel is arranged between the first joint and the second joint and is used for connecting the other of the second signal change-over switch and the first signal change-over switch with the AC signal detection circuit; the AC signal detection circuit is connected with the SSRX channel, and the pin AC signal detection circuit is connected with a pin for receiving and transmitting data of a first receiving and transmitting port; the active cable further includes: and the controller is arranged at the first joint so as to be directly connected with the first signal change-over switch, is connected with the AC signal detection circuit and the pin AC signal detection circuit, and is provided with a second transmission channel between the first joint and the second joint for connecting the second signal change-over switch with the controller.
In one embodiment, the second state detection circuit includes a dedicated channel AC signal detection circuit connected to the dedicated channel, the first connection channel group, or the second connection channel group, for detecting whether transmission of data occurs on the dedicated channel; the dedicated channel AC signal detection circuit is arranged on the first joint or the second joint so as to be directly connected with one of the first signal change-over switch and the second signal change-over switch, and a third transmission channel is arranged between the first joint and the second joint and is used for connecting the other of the second signal change-over switch and the first signal change-over switch with the dedicated channel AC signal detection circuit.
In one embodiment, the low-rate signal detection circuit is further disposed on the first connector or the second connector, and the low-rate signal detection circuit is directly connected to one of the first signal switch and the second signal switch; and a third transmission channel is arranged between the first transceiving port and the second transceiving port and is used for connecting the other of the second signal change-over switch and the first signal change-over switch with the low-rate signal detection circuit, and the low-rate signal detection circuit is connected with the general channel.
In one embodiment, an AC signal detection circuit, a pin AC signal detection circuit and a low-rate signal detection circuit are disposed on the first connector, the AC signal detection circuit is connected to the SSRX channel, the pin AC signal detection circuit is connected to a data receiving and transmitting pin of the first transceiving port, and the low-rate signal detection circuit is connected to the general channel; and the second joint is provided with an optical signal detection circuit which is connected with the display interface signal transmission channel or the second connecting channel group so as to detect whether the display interface signal transmission channel transmits optical signals.
In one embodiment, the display interface signal transmission channel comprises a dedicated channel, and the second state detection circuit further comprises a dedicated channel AC signal detection circuit connected to the dedicated channel, the first connection channel group, or the second connection channel group to detect whether data transmission occurs on the dedicated channel; an AC signal detection circuit, a pin AC signal detection circuit and a dedicated channel AC signal detection circuit are arranged on the first connector, the AC signal detection circuit is connected with the SSRX channel, and the pin AC signal detection circuit is connected with a pin for receiving and transmitting data of the first receiving and transmitting port; and the second joint is provided with an optical signal detection circuit which is connected with the display interface signal transmission channel or the second connecting channel group so as to detect whether the display interface signal transmission channel transmits optical signals.
Different from the prior art that information on a USB PD protocol needs to be analyzed or at least partially recognized and switch circuits need to be arranged on a first connector and a second connector, the invention detects the real-time transmission state between a first transceiving port and a second transceiving port by arranging a first state detection circuit and a second state detection circuit in the first connector and the second connector, and switches a transmission channel connected with the first transceiving port and the second transceiving port according to the detection result, thereby realizing switching of the transmission mode of an active cable. The design complexity of the active cable can be reduced, and meanwhile, the increase of power consumption cannot be caused. And physical connection media required by high-speed signal transmission can be effectively reduced, and optimization or improvement of the active cable in the aspects of manufacturing process, cable diameter and cost is facilitated.
Drawings
The above and other objects, features and advantages of exemplary embodiments of the present invention will become readily apparent from the following detailed description read in conjunction with the accompanying drawings. Several embodiments of the present invention are illustrated by way of example, and not by way of limitation, in the figures of the accompanying drawings and in which like reference numerals refer to similar or corresponding parts and in which:
FIG. 1 is a schematic diagram showing the structure of a TypeC interface in the prior art;
FIG. 2 is a schematic structural diagram illustrating a TypeC interface supporting DP Alt Mode in the prior art;
FIG. 3 is a diagram illustrating the structure of a TypeC interface supporting 4lane DisplayPort transmission in the prior art;
FIG. 4 is a circuit diagram showing a prior art TypeC interface 6 channel based active cable supporting DP Alt Mode;
FIG. 5 is a circuit diagram illustrating an active cable according to an embodiment of the present invention;
fig. 6 is a circuit diagram illustrating an active cable according to another embodiment of the present invention;
fig. 7 is a circuit diagram illustrating an active cable according to another embodiment of the present invention;
fig. 8 is a circuit diagram illustrating an active cable according to another embodiment of the present invention;
fig. 9 is a circuit diagram illustrating an active cable according to another embodiment of the present invention;
fig. 10 is a circuit diagram illustrating an active cable according to another embodiment of the present invention;
fig. 11 is a circuit diagram illustrating an active cable according to another embodiment of the present invention;
fig. 12 is a circuit diagram illustrating an active cable according to another embodiment of the present invention;
fig. 13 is a circuit diagram illustrating an active cable according to another embodiment of the present invention;
fig. 14 is a circuit diagram illustrating an active cable according to another embodiment of the present invention;
fig. 15 is a circuit diagram illustrating an active cable according to another embodiment of the present invention; and
fig. 16 is a circuit diagram illustrating an active cable according to another embodiment of the present invention.
Detailed Description
Embodiments will now be described with reference to the accompanying drawings. It will be appreciated that for simplicity and clarity of illustration, where considered appropriate, reference numerals may be repeated among the figures to indicate corresponding or analogous elements. In addition, this application sets forth numerous specific details in order to provide a thorough understanding of the embodiments described herein. However, it will be understood by those of ordinary skill in the art that the embodiments described herein may be practiced without these specific details. In other instances, well-known methods, procedures, and components have not been described in detail so as not to obscure the embodiments described herein. Moreover, this description is not to be taken as limiting the scope of the embodiments described herein.
The technical solution in the embodiments of the present invention will be clearly and completely described below with reference to the accompanying drawings.
Fig. 5 is a circuit diagram illustrating an active cable according to an embodiment of the present invention. As shown in fig. 5, the present invention provides an active cable, comprising: the device comprises a first transceiving port (TX end), a second transceiving port (RX end), a first communication protocol signal transmission channel and a second communication protocol signal transmission channel. Wherein the first transceiving port and the second transceiving port may be transceiving ports of a universal data interface (e.g., a TypeC interface). The active cable has a first state connecting the first communication protocol signal transmission channel between the first transceiving port and the second transceiving port, and a second state connecting the second communication protocol signal transmission channel between the first transceiving port and the second transceiving port. In one embodiment, the active cable may be a 6-channel cable, wherein the first communication protocol signaling channel is a USB signaling channel, including an SSRX (super For Receiver) channel and an SSTX (super For Transport) channel. The second communication protocol signal transmission channel is a display interface signal transmission channel (only including DP ML2 and DP ML 3), the state of the active cable is related to the transmission states of DP ML2 and DP ML3, and DP ML0 and DP ML1 are always connected with the first transceiving port and the second transceiving port.
The active cable further comprises a state change-over switch group, a first connecting channel group, a second connecting channel group and a state detection circuit. The state change-over switch group includes: a first signal transfer switch and a second signal transfer switch. The first signal switch is connected with the pin for receiving and transmitting data of the first receiving and transmitting port through the first connecting channel group. The first connection channel group comprises a first channel and a second channel, wherein the first channel can bidirectionally transmit data, one end of the first channel is connected with pins B10 and B11 of the first transceiving port, and the other end of the first channel is connected with the first signal change-over switch. The second channel is a unidirectional (from the first transceiving port to the first signal switch) transmission channel, one end of which is connected to pins a2 and A3 of the first transceiving port, and the other end of which is connected to the first signal switch. The second signal switch is connected with the pin for receiving and transmitting data of the second receiving and transmitting port through the second connecting channel group. The second connection channel group comprises a third channel and a fourth channel, wherein the third channel can bidirectionally transmit data, one end of the third channel is connected with pins B10 and B11 of the second transceiving port, and the other end of the third channel is connected with the second signal change-over switch. The fourth channel is a unidirectional (direction from the second signal switch to the second transceiving port) transmission channel, one end of which is connected to pins a2 and A3 of the second transceiving port, and the other end of which is connected to the second signal switch.
The state detection circuit is used for detecting the transmission state on the first communication protocol signal transmission channel and/or the second communication protocol signal transmission channel. In one embodiment, the state detection circuit may include a first state detection circuit and a second state detection circuit. The first state detection circuit is configured to detect a transmission state of the first communication protocol signal transmission channel, that is, detect whether transmission of the first communication protocol data does not occur in the first communication protocol signal transmission channel, or whether transmission of the first communication protocol data does not occur within a preset time (the preset time is greater than 360 ms), and use a detection result as a first detection result. The second state detection circuit is used for detecting the transmission state of the second communication protocol signal transmission channel, namely detecting whether the second communication protocol signal transmission channel does not transmit the second communication protocol data, and taking the detection result as the second detection result.
In one embodiment, the first status detection circuit may be connected to a data transceiving pin (B10, B11) of the USB signal transmission channel, the first channel, the third channel, or the second transceiving port, so as to detect whether transmission of the first communication protocol data (USB data) does not occur in a direction from the second transceiving port to the first transceiving port (i.e., on the SSRX path), or whether transmission of the first communication protocol data (USB data) does not occur within a preset time, and use the detection result as the first detection result S1. The second state detection circuit may be connected to a data transceiving pin of the display interface signal transmission channel, the first channel, the second channel, the third channel, the fourth channel, or the first transceiving port, so as to detect whether transmission of the second communication protocol data (DP data) does not occur on the display interface signal transmission channel, and use a detection result as the second detection result S2.
Correspondingly, the state switch group is connected to the first transceiving port and the second transceiving port, and is configured to determine whether to switch the active cable from the first state to the second state or from the second state to the first state according to a detection result of the state detection circuit, and if the determination result is yes, the state switch group performs switching. Specifically, when the active cable is in the first state, whether to switch to the second state is judged according to the first detection result or the first detection result and the second detection result, and if the judgment result is yes, the switching is executed. And when the active cable is in the second state, judging whether to switch to the first state according to a second detection result, and if so, executing switching.
The first signal switch is configured to determine whether to switch to the second state according to a first detection result when the active cable is in the first state (at this time, SSRX is connected to the first transceiving port through the first channel, and SSTX is connected to the first transceiving port through the second channel), and if the determination result is yes, connect the display interface signal transmission channel to the first connection channel group (that is, DP ML3 is connected to the first transceiving port through the first channel, and DP ML2 is connected to the first transceiving port through the second channel). And when the active cable is in the second state, whether the active cable is switched to the first state is judged according to the second detection result, and if the active cable is switched to the first state, the USB signal transmission channel is connected with the first connection channel group.
The second signal switch is used for judging whether to switch to the second state according to the first detection result when the active cable is in the first state (at the moment, the SSRX is connected with the second transceiving port through the third channel, and the SSTX is connected with the second transceiving port through the fourth channel), and if the judgment result is yes, connecting the display interface signal transmission channel with the second connection channel group (namely, the DP ML3 is connected with the second transceiving port through the third channel, and the DP ML2 is connected with the second transceiving port through the fourth channel). And when the active cable is in the second state, judging whether to switch to the first state according to a second detection result, and if so, connecting the USB signal transmission channel with the second connection channel group. The first signal switch and the second signal switch have the same logic for selecting the transmission channel and work synchronously, so that the transmission channels can be switched together, and the state of the active cable can be switched.
In one embodiment, the active cable further comprises a first connector and a second connector. The first connector is arranged at the first end of the active cable and is connected with the first transceiving port, and the first transceiving port can be contained in the first connector. The second connector is disposed at the second end of the active cable and is connected to the second port while accommodating the second port therein. Meanwhile, the first signal transfer switch and the first connection channel group may be disposed on the first connector, and the second signal transfer switch and the second connection channel group may be disposed on the second connector. The USB signal transmission channel and the display interface signal transmission channel are both arranged between the first joint and the second joint.
In one embodiment, the first state detection circuit may be an AC (Alternating Current) signal detection circuit. The display interface signal transmission channel comprises a general channel and a special channel, and the general channel refers to DPML2 and is used for transmitting display interface signals based on the specification of DP Alt Mode protocol, but USB signals can also be transmitted through the general channel; the dedicated channel is referred to as DPML3, which can only transmit display interface signals. The second state detection circuitry includes low rate signal detection circuitry for detecting whether signals below a predetermined rate (which may be 1.62 Gbps) are being transmitted on the common channel. In one application scenario, the low-rate signal detection circuit may determine whether the type of the signal is a DP signal (display interface signal) by detecting the speed of the signal transmitted on the general-purpose channel. For example, it is determined whether the transmission speed of the signal is lower than a preset rate, and if so, the signal is not a DP signal (because the DP signal transmission speed is greater than 1.62 Gbps). As shown in fig. 5, in an implementation scenario, the first connector and the second connector are each provided with an AC signal detection circuit and a low-rate signal detection circuit, so that the first signal switch and the second signal switch are directly connected to the AC signal detection circuit and the low-rate signal detection circuit. The AC signal detection circuit is connected with the USB signal transmission channel, and the low-speed signal detection circuit is connected with the display interface signal transmission channel.
An AC signal detection circuit disposed on an SSRX channel between a first terminal and a second terminal detects whether data is being transmitted on the SSRX channel. A low rate signal detection circuit connected to the DP ML2 path detects the presence of a signal below a predetermined rate in the transmitted signal. Since in the 4lane DP transmission mode, if the system (host and device) switches to the USB signal transmission mode, but the first signal switch and the second signal switch do not know that the transmission mode has been switched, the state of the active cable will not switch, which will cause the USB signal transmitted from the host to the device to be transmitted via DP ML2 (because the physical connection is present), but since the universal channel is designed not to transmit USB signals, there may be some problems with the outgoing USB signals (low speed or high speed). The DP ML2 channel is referred to herein as a universal channel because its physical characteristics result in USB signals still being allowed to be transmitted over it, and is not specifically designed to be a channel capable of transmitting both USB and DP signals. The specific implementation manner of the state switching of the active cable is as follows: first, the initial state of the active cable is set to the first state S0, i.e.: two ends of the USB signal transmission channel are respectively communicated with the first transceiving port and the second transceiving port. Specifically, SSRX is connected to TX's B10-B11 via a first channel and to RX's B10-B11 via a third channel. SSTX is connected to A2-A3 at the TX end via a second channel and to A2-A3 at RX via a fourth channel.
Then, during a preset time period T1 (T1 >360 ms), the AC signal detection circuit at the first connector and the AC signal detection circuit at the second connector both check whether data is transmitted on the SSRX channel from the second connector to the first connector to determine whether data transmission has not occurred in the direction from the RX end to the TX end. If data transmission is found, keeping the state of S0 unchanged; if it is found that no data is transmitted on the SSRX channel during the time T1, the first signal switch switches the state of the active cable according to the detection result of the AC signal detection circuit on the first connector, such that the DP ML3 channel is connected to the TX-side B10-B11 via the first channel, the DP ML2 channel is connected to the TX-side a2-A3 via the second channel, and the second signal switch switches the state of the active cable according to the detection result of the AC signal detection circuit on the second connector, such that the DP ML3 channel is connected to the RX-side B10-B11 via the third channel, and the DP ML2 channel is connected to the RX-side a2-A3 via the fourth channel, thereby switching the state of the active cable to the second state S1. Namely: two ends of the display interface signal transmission channel are respectively communicated with the first transceiving port and the second transceiving port. While because the DP ML0 channel and the DP ML1 channel always communicate with the RX end and the TX end. Thus, 4lane DP transmission is achieved. Next, once the low-rate signal detection circuit finds that the rate of the signal transmitted on the DP ML2 channel is lower than the preset rate (indicating that it is not the DP signal transmitted on the DP ML2 channel), the first signal switch and the second signal switch will switch the state of the active cable to S0.
In order to reduce the number of detection circuits, in one embodiment, the AC signal detection circuit may be provided only on the first connector or the second connector, and then the detection result is transmitted to the connector without the AC signal detection circuit through the transmission channel. Taking the example of arranging the AC signal detection circuit only on the first connector, as shown in fig. 6, the first signal switch is directly connected to the AC signal detection circuit. A first transmission channel is arranged between the first connector and the second connector and used for connecting the second signal change-over switch with the AC signal detection circuit, so that a first detection result obtained by the AC signal detection circuit is transmitted to the second signal change-over switch. The low-rate signal detection circuit is also arranged on the first joint so that the first signal change-over switch is directly connected with the low-rate signal detection circuit, and a second transmission channel is arranged between the first joint and the second joint and used for connecting the second signal change-over switch with the low-rate signal detection circuit, so that a second detection result obtained by the low-rate signal detection circuit is transmitted to the second signal change-over switch. Wherein the AC signal detection circuit is connected with the USB signal transmission channel. The low-rate signal detection circuit is connected with the general channel. The first transmission channel and the second transmission channel may be copper wires or optical fibers, and the copper wires or the optical fibers may multiplex signal wires in the existing specification or may be additional signal wires.
The specific implementation manner of the state switching of the active cable shown in fig. 6 is as follows: first, the initial state of the active cable is set to S0, i.e.: two ends of the USB signal transmission channel are respectively communicated with the TX end and the RX end. Specifically, the SSRX is connected with B10-B11 of the TX end through a first channel, and is connected with B10-B11 of the RX end through a third channel. SSTX is connected to A2-A3 at the TX end via a second channel and to A2-A3 at the RX end via a fourth channel.
Then, during time T1, the AC signal detection circuit of the first connector checks whether data is transmitted on the SSRX channel from the second connector to the first connector to determine whether data transmission has not occurred in the direction from the RX end to the TX end. If data transmission is found, the first signal switch does not execute the switching action, and the detection result is sent to the second signal switch through the first transmission channel, so that the second signal switch does not execute the switching action, namely, the state of S0 is kept unchanged. If no data is transmitted on the SSRX channel in the time of T1, the first signal switch switches the state of the active cable according to the detection result of the AC signal detection circuit, so that the DP ML3 channel is connected with B10-B11 of the TX end through the first channel, the DP ML2 channel is connected with A2-A3 of the TX end through the second channel, meanwhile, the second signal switch switches the state of the active cable according to the first detection result transmitted through the first transmission channel, so that the DP ML3 channel is connected with B10-B11 of the RX end through the third channel, and the DP ML2 channel is connected with A2-A3 of the RX end through the fourth channel, thereby the state jumps to the second state S1. Meanwhile, the DP ML0 channel and the DP ML1 channel are always communicated with the RX end and the TX end, so that the DP transmission of 4lane is realized. Then, once the low-rate signal detection circuit finds that the signal transmitted by the DP ML2 channel is a signal lower than the preset rate, the detection result is sent to the second signal switch through the second transmission channel, so that the first signal switch and the second signal switch perform a switching operation simultaneously, and the state of the active cable is transitioned to S0.
In order to simplify the detection circuit and reduce the design complexity, as shown in fig. 7, an AC signal detection circuit and a low-rate signal detection circuit are provided on the first joint; the AC signal detection circuit is connected with the USB signal transmission channel, the low-speed signal detection circuit is connected with the universal channel, only the optical signal detection circuit can be arranged on the second connector and is connected with the display interface signal transmission channel (or the second connection channel group) to detect whether the optical signal is transmitted on the display interface signal transmission channel (or the second connection channel group), and whether the optical signal is transmitted on the display interface signal transmission channel or the second connection channel group, the optical signal transmission on the display interface signal transmission channel is indicated. The realization mode of the optical signal detection circuit is simpler than that of a low-rate signal detection circuit, the detection circuits of the whole scheme are fewer, and the reduction of power consumption is facilitated.
The specific implementation manner of switching the transmission channel of the active cable shown in fig. 7 is as follows: first, the initial state of the active cable is set to S0. Then, during time T1, the AC signal detection circuit at the first connector checks whether data is being transmitted on the SSRX path from the first connector to the second connector to determine whether data is being transmitted in the direction from the RX end to the TX end. If data transmission is found, the state of S0 is kept unchanged. If no data is transmitted on the SSRX channel during the time T1, the optical driving circuit of the DP ML2 on the first connector is turned on, so that the optical signal is transmitted on the DP ML2 channel, and the first signal switch switches the state to S1. If the optical signal detection circuit on the second connector finds that the DP ML2 channel has an optical signal to transmit, the second signal switch also switches the state to S1, that is: the display interface signal transmission channel is communicated with the first transceiving port and the second transceiving port.
Once the low-rate signal detection circuit of the first connector finds that a signal with a transmission rate lower than a preset rate appears on the DP ML2 channel, the first signal switch switches the state to S0, and simultaneously turns off the optical drive circuit of the DP ML2 channel, otherwise, the state is stopped at S1. Once the optical signal detection circuit of the second connector finds that no optical signal is transmitted on the DP ML2 channel, the second signal switch switches the state to S0, otherwise stays in S1 state.
While the active cables according to embodiments of the present invention have been described above with reference to fig. 5, 6 and 7, it will be understood by those skilled in the art that the circuit diagrams of the active cables shown in fig. 5, 6 and 7 are exemplary and not limiting, and can be modified as needed by those skilled in the art. For example, the AC signal detection circuit in FIG. 5 can also be connected to the B10-B11 pin of the RX terminal to detect whether there is data input on the B10-B11, etc. The AC signal detection circuit and the low-rate signal detection circuit in fig. 6 may also be provided on the second joint, or the AC signal detection circuit may be provided on the second joint, the low-rate signal detection circuit may be provided on the first joint, and so on. The optical signal detection circuit in fig. 7 may also be connected to the DP ML3 channel, etc. An active cable according to another embodiment of the present invention is exemplarily described below with reference to fig. 8.
Fig. 8 is a circuit diagram illustrating an active cable according to another embodiment of the present invention. As shown in fig. 8, in an implementation scenario, the second status detection circuit further includes a dedicated channel AC signal detection circuit connected to the dedicated channel, the first connection channel group, or the second connection channel group to detect whether data transmission occurs on the dedicated channel. In one implementation scenario, the first connector and the second connector are both provided with an AC signal detection circuit and a dedicated channel AC signal detection circuit, so that the first signal switch and the second signal switch are directly connected with the AC signal detection circuit and the dedicated channel AC signal detection circuit, and the AC signal detection circuit is connected with the USB signal transmission channel and is used for checking whether data is transmitted on an SSRX channel between the second connector and the first connector; or connected with the B10-B11 of the second transceiving port and used for detecting whether data are input on the B10-B11 of the second transceiving port; or the first channel or the third channel is connected so as to check whether data are transmitted on the first channel or the third channel; all of the three manners can finally determine whether data is transmitted on the SSRX channel from the RX end to the TX end. Wherein the dedicated channel AC signal detection circuit is connected to the dedicated channel (DP ML3 channel) to check whether data is transmitted on the DP ML3 channel; or connected with the B10-B11 of the TX terminal so as to detect whether data is input on the B10-B11 of the TX terminal; or the first channel or the third channel is connected so as to check whether data are transmitted on the first channel or the third channel; all the three modes can finally judge whether data is transmitted on the DP ML3 channel.
The specific implementation manner of the state switching of the active cable shown in fig. 8 is as follows: first, the initial state of the active cable is S0. And checking whether data is transmitted on the SSRX channel between the first connector and the second connector through the AC signal detection circuit respectively at the first connector and the second connector so as to determine whether data transmission exists on the SSRX channel from the RX end to the TX end within T1 time. If data transmission is found, the state of the active cable is maintained at S0. If it is found that no data has been transmitted for the time T1, the state jumps to S1, namely: the display interface signal transmission channel is communicated with the first transceiving port and the second transceiving port. If the dedicated channel AC signal detection circuit detects no signal transmission on DP ML3 channel, it turns out that no 4lane DP application is working at this time, and the state of the active cable needs to jump to S0. If there is a signal transmission on the DP ML3 channel, it remains in the S1 state.
In one embodiment, as shown in fig. 9, the second state detecting circuit includes a universal channel AC signal detecting circuit connected to the universal channel, the second channel, the fourth channel, the a2-A3 pin of the TX terminal or the a2-A3 pin of the RX terminal to detect whether transmission of data occurs on the universal channel; the first connector and the second connector are both provided with a universal channel AC signal detection circuit, so that the first signal change-over switch and the second signal change-over switch are directly connected with the universal channel AC signal detection circuit. The specific implementation of the switching of the transmission channel of the active cable as shown in fig. 9 is as follows: first, the starting state of the active cable is S0, i.e.: two ends of the USB signal transmission channel are respectively communicated with the first transceiving port and the second transceiving port. And checking whether data is transmitted on the SSRX channel between the first connector and the second connector through the AC signal detection circuit respectively at the first connector and the second connector so as to determine whether data transmission exists on the SSRX channel from the RX end to the TX end within T1 time.
If data transmission is found, the state of the active cable is maintained at S0; if it is found that no data has been transmitted for time T1, then the state of the active cable jumps to S1, i.e.: the display interface signal transmission channel is communicated with the first transceiving port and the second transceiving port. If only the A2-A3 channel of the TX end or the DP ML2 channel has a signal, and the B10-B11 channel of the TX end or the DP ML3 channel has no signal, detected by the universal channel AC signal detection circuit of the first connector, the fact that no 4lane DP application works at the moment is proved, and the first signal switch is switched to the S0 state. Similarly, at the RX end, if only the DP ML2 channel has a signal, but the DP ML3 channel has no signal, it proves that there is no 4lane DP application in operation, and the first signal switch also needs to jump to the S0 state.
To reduce the number of detection circuits, in one embodiment, the AC signal detection circuit may be provided only at the first terminal or the second terminal. The detection result is then sent to the connector without the AC signal detection circuit through the transmission channel. Taking the example of arranging the AC signal detection circuit only at the first connector as an example, as shown in fig. 10, the AC signal detection circuit is arranged only at the first connector and is connected to the USB signal transmission channel. And a first transmission channel is arranged between the first joint and the second joint and used for connecting the second signal change-over switch with the AC signal detection circuit so as to send a first detection result detected by the AC signal detection circuit to the second signal change-over switch. A dedicated channel AC signal detection circuit is also provided at the first connector and is connected to the common channel. And a second transmission channel is arranged between the first joint and the second joint and used for connecting the second signal change-over switch with the special channel AC signal detection circuit so as to send a second detection result detected by the special channel AC signal detection circuit to the second signal change-over switch. The scheme reduces the number of detection circuits, but requires a copper wire or an optical fiber to transmit status information between the first connector and the second connector, and the copper wire or the optical fiber can be multiplexed with a signal wire in the existing specification or an additionally added signal wire.
The specific implementation of the state switching of the active cable shown in fig. 10 is as follows: first, the initial state of the active cable is S0, that is, two ends of the USB signal transmission channel are respectively connected to the first transceiving port and the second transceiving port. Then, the first connector checks whether data is transmitted on the SSRX channel from the second connector to the first connector through the AC signal detection circuit to determine whether data transmission exists on the SSRX channel from the RX end to the TX end. And notifies the result to the second signal changeover switch.
If data transmission is found, keeping the state of S0 unchanged; if it is found that no data has been transmitted for the time of T1, the state jumps to S1. If the dedicated channel AC signal detection circuit detects no signal at the TX terminals B10-B11 or on the DP ML3 channel, it turns out that no 4lane DP application is working at this time, the detection result is notified to the second signal switch, and the states of both the first signal switch and the second signal switch jump to S0. If a signal exists on the B10-B11 pin of the TX terminal or the DP ML3 channel, the application of 4lane DP is proved to work at the moment, the detection result is also informed to the second signal switch, and the states of the first signal switch and the second signal switch are both kept in the S1 state.
In order to simplify the detection circuit and reduce the design complexity, in one embodiment, as shown in fig. 11, an AC signal detection circuit and a dedicated channel AC signal detection circuit are disposed on the first connector, and the AC signal detection circuit is connected to the USB signal transmission channel, and the dedicated channel AC signal detection circuit is connected to the dedicated channel; the second connector may be provided with only an optical signal detection circuit, which is connected to the display interface signal transmission channel or the second connection channel group to detect whether the display interface signal transmission channel transmits an optical signal. The implementation mode of the optical signal detection circuit in the embodiment is simpler than that of a low-speed signal detection circuit, and meanwhile, the number of detection circuits is reduced, so that power consumption and area are saved.
The specific implementation manner of switching the transmission channel of the active cable shown in fig. 11 is as follows: first, the initial state of the active cable is S0, and no optical signal is transmitted on the DP ML3 channel. At time T1, the first connector checks whether there is data transmission on the SSRX channel from the second connector to the first connector to determine whether there is data transmission on the SSRX channel from the RX end to the TX end.
If data transmission is found, the first signal switch is kept in the state of S0; if it is found that no data is transmitted on the detected channel (SSRX channel) within the time T1, the optical driving circuit of DP ML3 channel of the first connector is turned on to allow optical signal transmission on DP ML3 channel, and the first signal switch switches to jump to S1. In the second connector, once the optical signal detection circuit finds that the DP ML3 channel has the optical signal to transmit, the second signal switch jumps to S1, and the optical driving circuit of the DP ML3 channel of the first connector is in an open state, so that the DP ML3 channel has the optical signal to transmit.
At the first connector, if there is no signal at TX terminals B10-B11 or on DP ML3 channel, it proves that no 4lane DP application is working at this time, the first signal switch needs to jump the state to S0 and turn off the optical drive circuit of DP ML3 channel. Otherwise the state stays at S1. At the second connector, once the optical signal detection circuit finds that the DP ML3 channel has no optical signal to transmit, the second signal switch jumps to S0. Otherwise, the process stays at S1.
While the active cables according to embodiments of the present invention have been described above with reference to fig. 8, 9, 10 and 11, it will be understood by those skilled in the art that the circuit diagrams of the active cables shown in fig. 8, 9, 10 and 11 are exemplary and not limiting, and can be modified as needed by those skilled in the art. The AC signal detection circuit in fig. 8 and 9, for example, may also be connected to B10-B11 of the RX side to detect whether there is data input on B10-B11, thereby determining whether there is USB data transmission from the SSRX channel from the second connector to the first connector. The two AC signal detection circuits in fig. 10 may also be provided at the second connector and connected to the second signal changeover switch. The optical signal detection circuit in fig. 11 may also be connected to the DP ML2 channel at the same time, or only to the DP ML2 channel, and not to the DP ML3 channel. An active cable according to another embodiment of the present invention is exemplarily described below with reference to fig. 12.
As shown in fig. 12, the first connector is provided with an AC signal detection circuit and a pin AC signal detection circuit, so that the AC signal detection circuit and the pin AC signal detection circuit are directly connected to the first signal switch, the AC signal detection circuit is connected to the USB signal transmission channel, and the pin AC signal detection circuit is connected to the data receiving/transmitting pin of the first receiving/transmitting port. In order to save transmission channels, in one embodiment, the active cable further includes a controller, which is disposed at the first connector and connected to the AC signal detection circuit and the pin AC signal detection circuit to obtain the first detection result and the second detection result, and is connected to the first signal switch, and only one second transmission channel needs to be disposed between the first connector and the second connector, so that the second signal switch can be connected to the controller.
The specific implementation of the state switching of the active cable shown in fig. 12 is as follows: first, the initial state of the active cable is S0, and the AC signal detection circuit detects whether data is transmitted on the SSRX channel from the second connector to the first connector. If not, the flag is true for condition 1; the pin AC signal detection circuit connected to TX B11-B10 detects whether there is data input on TX terminals B11-B10. If so, the flag holds for condition 2. If the conditions 1 and 2 are satisfied simultaneously, then the active cable is in the 4lane DP transmission mode (i.e. DP signals are transmitted through the 4-way channel) at this time, the controller sends the detection results of the AC signal detection circuit and the pin AC signal detection circuit to the first signal switch and the second signal switch, or sends a switching instruction to the first signal switch and the second signal switch, so that the first signal switch and the second signal switch jump to S1, otherwise, the state stays at S0. If the current state of the active cable is S1, it is determined whether condition 2 is satisfied, and if condition 2 is not satisfied, it is proved that it is possible that the transmission mode is not the 4lane DP transmission mode, and the controller sends the detection result to the first signal switch and the second signal switch, and causes them to jump to S0.
As shown in fig. 13, compared to the embodiment shown in fig. 12, the second state detection circuit further includes a dedicated channel AC signal detection circuit, which may be connected to the dedicated channel, the pin B10-B11 at the TX end, the pin B10-B11 at the RX end, the first channel, or the third channel, for detecting whether transmission of data occurs on the dedicated channel; the special channel AC signal detection circuit is arranged on the first joint, and a third transmission channel is arranged between the first joint and the second joint and used for connecting the second signal selector switch with the special channel AC signal detection circuit.
The specific implementation manner of switching the transmission channel of the active cable shown in fig. 13 is as follows:
first, the initial state of the active cable is S0, and the AC signal detection circuit detects whether data is transmitted on the SSRX channel from the second connector to the first connector. If not, the flag is true for condition 1; the pin AC signal detection circuit connected to TX B11-B10 detects whether there is data input on TX terminals B11-B10. If so, the flag holds for condition 2. If the condition 1 and the condition 2 are simultaneously satisfied, then the active cable is in a 4lane DP transmission mode at the moment, and the controller sends the detection results of the AC signal detection circuit and the pin AC signal detection circuit to the first signal switch and the second signal switch, or sends a switching instruction to the first signal switch and the second signal switch, so that the first signal switch and the second signal switch jump to S1, otherwise, the state stays at S0. If the current state of the active cable is S1, whether a signal is absent on the DP ML3 channel is detected through the dedicated channel AC signal detection circuit, if no signal is present, it is proved that no 4lane DP application works at the moment, the dedicated channel AC signal detection circuit sends a detection result to the first signal change-over switch and the second signal change-over switch, and the states of the active cable are jumped to S0 through the dedicated channel AC signal detection circuit. If there is a signal on the DP ML3 channel, it remains in the S1 state.
As shown in fig. 14, compared with the embodiment shown in fig. 12, the low-rate signal detection circuit is further disposed on the first connector, and is connected to the signal transmission channel of the display interface; and a third transmission channel is arranged between the first transceiving port and the second transceiving port and is used for connecting the second signal selector switch with the low-rate signal detection circuit.
The specific implementation manner of switching the transmission channel of the active cable shown in fig. 14 is as follows: first, the initial state of the active cable is S0, and the AC signal detection circuit detects whether data is transmitted on the SSRX channel from the second connector to the first connector. If not, the flag is true for condition 1; the pin AC signal detection circuit connected to TX B11-B10 detects whether there is data input on TX terminals B11-B10. If so, the flag holds for condition 2. If conditions 1 and 2 hold at the same time, then the active cable is in 4lane DP transmission mode at this time, the state jumps to S1, otherwise the state stays at S0. If the current state of the active cable is S1, a low-rate signal detection circuit is used for detecting whether signals with the transmission rate lower than the preset rate are transmitted on the DP ML2 channel, if so, the fact that no 4lane DP application works at the moment is proved, a special channel AC signal detection circuit sends a detection result to a first signal change-over switch and a second signal change-over switch, and the first signal change-over switch and the second signal change-over switch are enabled to jump to the state of the active cable to S0. If not, both maintain the state of the active cable in the S1 state.
As shown in fig. 15, in an embodiment, an AC signal detection circuit, a pin AC signal detection circuit, and a low-rate signal detection circuit are disposed on the first connector, the AC signal detection circuit is connected to the USB signal transmission channel, the pin AC signal detection circuit is connected to a data transmission/reception pin of the first transceiver port, and the low-rate signal detection circuit is connected to the general channel; the second joint is provided with an optical signal detection circuit which is connected with the display interface signal transmission channel to detect whether the display interface signal transmission channel transmits optical signals.
The specific implementation manner of switching the transmission channel of the active cable shown in fig. 15 is as follows: first, the initial state of the active cable is S0, and the AC signal detection circuit detects whether data is transmitted on the SSRX channel from the second connector to the first connector. If not, the flag is true for condition 1; the pin AC signal detection circuit connected to TX B11-B10 detects whether there is data input on TX terminals B11-B10. If so, the flag holds for condition 2. If both the condition 1 and the condition 2 are satisfied, then the active cable is in the 4lane DP transmission mode at this time, and the first signal changeover switch jumps to the state S1. Meanwhile, the optical drive circuit of the DP ML2 on the first connector is turned on, so that an optical signal is transmitted on the DP ML2 channel, and the optical signal detection circuit of the second connector detects whether the optical signal is transmitted on the DP ML2 channel. If so, the second signal switch switches the state to the state of S1, otherwise, the state stays at S0.
If the current state of the active cable is S1, the low-rate signal detection circuit of the first connector detects whether a signal with a rate lower than the preset rate is transmitted on the DP ML2 channel, if so, the first signal switch switches the state to S0, which proves that no 4lane DP application is working at the moment. If not, the state is maintained in S1. Meanwhile, the optical drive circuit of the DP ML2 on the first connector is turned on, so that an optical signal is transmitted on the DP ML2 channel, and the optical signal detection circuit of the second connector detects whether the optical signal is transmitted on the DP ML2 channel. If not, then it turns out that there is no 4lane DP application in operation at this time, then the second signal switcher jumps to S0. If so, the optical drive circuit is kept in the S1 state, and the optical drive circuit of the DP ML2 channel of the first connector is in an open state, so that an optical signal is transmitted on the DP ML2 channel.
As shown in fig. 16, in one embodiment, the dedicated channel AC signal detection circuit may be connected to a dedicated channel, the B10-B11 pin of the TX terminal, the B10-B11 pin of the RX terminal, the first channel, or the third channel to detect whether transmission of data occurs on the dedicated channel; the first connector is provided with an AC signal detection circuit, a pin AC signal detection circuit and a special channel AC signal detection circuit, the AC signal detection circuit is connected with a USB signal transmission channel, and the pin AC signal detection circuit is connected with a pin for receiving and transmitting data of the first receiving and transmitting port; and the second joint is provided with an optical signal detection circuit which is connected with the display interface signal transmission channel to detect whether the display interface signal transmission channel transmits optical signals.
The specific implementation of the state switching of the active cable shown in fig. 16 is as follows: first, the initial state of the active cable is S0, and the AC signal detection circuit detects whether data is transmitted on the SSRX channel from the second connector to the first connector. If not, the flag is true for condition 1; the pin AC signal detection circuit connected to TX B11-B10 detects whether there is data input on TX terminals B11-B10. If so, the flag holds for condition 2. If the conditions 1 and 2 are satisfied simultaneously, the active cable is in the 4lane DP transmission mode, and the optical driving circuit of the DP ML2 on the first connector is turned on to transmit the optical signal on the DP ML2 channel, and the optical signal detecting circuit of the second connector detects whether the optical signal is transmitted on the DP ML2 channel. If so, the second signal switch switches the state to the state of S1, otherwise, the state stays at S0. If the current state of the active cable is S1, the dedicated channel AC signal detection circuit of the first connector detects whether a signal is transmitted on the DP ML3 channel, if not, the first signal switch switches the state to S0, which proves that no 4lane DP application is working at the moment. If so, the state is maintained in S1. Meanwhile, the optical drive circuit of the DP ML2 on the first connector is turned on, so that an optical signal is transmitted on the DP ML2 channel, and the optical signal detection circuit of the second connector detects whether the optical signal is transmitted on the DP ML2 channel. If not, then it turns out that there is no 4lane DP application in operation at this time, then the second signal switcher jumps state to S0, while turning off the optical drive circuitry of DP ML 2. If so, the optical drive circuit is kept in the S1 state, and the optical drive circuit of the DP ML2 channel of the first connector is in an open state, so that an optical signal is transmitted on the DP ML2 channel. .
In summary, in different embodiments, the AC signal detection circuit and the low-rate signal detection circuit may be placed at different locations to perform a comprehensive design, or may be combined with the optical signal detection circuit, so as to achieve the purpose of switching between the USB application and the DP application by detecting the state of the transmission signal on the USB signal transmission channel and/or the display interface signal transmission channel.
It should be noted that while the operations of the method of the present invention are depicted in the drawings in a particular order, this is not intended to require or imply that these operations must be performed in this particular order, or that all of the illustrated operations must be performed, to achieve desirable results. Rather, the steps depicted in the flowcharts may change the order of execution. Additionally or alternatively, certain steps may be omitted, multiple steps combined into one step execution, and/or one step broken down into multiple step executions.
It should be understood that the terms "first", "second", "third" and "fourth", etc. used in the claims, the specification and the drawings of the present invention are only used for distinguishing different objects, and are not used for describing a specific order. The terms "comprises" and "comprising," when used in the specification and claims of this specification, specify the presence of stated features, integers, steps, operations, elements, and/or components, but do not preclude the presence or addition of one or more other features, integers, steps, operations, elements, components, and/or groups thereof.
It is also to be understood that the terminology used in the description of the invention herein is for the purpose of describing particular embodiments only and is not intended to be limiting of the invention. As used in the specification and claims of this application, the singular form of "a", "an", and "the" are intended to include the plural forms as well, unless the context clearly indicates otherwise. It should be further understood that the term "and/or" as used in the specification and claims of this specification refers to any and all possible combinations of one or more of the associated listed items and includes such combinations.
Although the embodiments of the present invention are described above, the descriptions are only examples for facilitating understanding of the present invention, and are not intended to limit the scope and application scenarios of the present invention. It will be understood by those skilled in the art that various changes in form and details may be made therein without departing from the spirit and scope of the invention as defined by the appended claims.

Claims (20)

1. An active cable, comprising: the active cable has a first state connecting the first communication protocol signal transmission channel between the first transceiving port and the second transceiving port, and a second state connecting the second communication protocol signal transmission channel between the first transceiving port and the second transceiving port;
the active cable further includes:
a state detection circuit for detecting a transmission state on the first communication protocol signal transmission channel and/or the second communication protocol signal transmission channel;
and the state switching switch group is connected with the first transceiving port and the second transceiving port and used for judging whether the active cable is switched from the first state to the second state or from the second state to the first state according to the detection result of the state detection circuit, and if the judgment result is yes, the switching is executed.
2. The active cable of claim 1, wherein the state detection circuit comprises:
a first state detection circuit for detecting whether transmission of first communication protocol data does not occur in the first communication protocol signal transmission channel and taking a detection result as a first detection result;
the second state detection circuit is used for detecting whether the second communication protocol signal transmission channel does not transmit the second communication protocol data or not and taking the detection result as a second detection result;
accordingly, the state switch group is used for:
when the active cable is in a first state, judging whether to switch to a second state according to a first detection result or the first detection result and a second detection result, and if so, executing switching; and/or
And when the active cable is in the second state, judging whether to switch to the first state according to a second detection result, and if so, executing switching.
3. The active cable of claim 2, further comprising: a first connection channel group and a second connection channel group;
when the active cable is in a first state, the first communication protocol signal transmission channel comprises the first connection channel group, the second connection channel group and a USB signal transmission channel, the USB signal transmission channel is connected with the first transceiving port through the first connection channel group and is connected with the second transceiving port through the second connection channel group, and the USB signal transmission channel comprises an SSRX channel;
when the active cable is in a second state, the second communication protocol signal transmission channel comprises the first connection channel group, the second connection channel group and a display interface signal transmission channel, and the display interface signal transmission channel is connected with the first transceiving port through the first connection channel group and is connected with the second transceiving port through the second connection channel group.
4. The active cable of claim 3, wherein the set of state switches comprises:
the first signal change-over switch is connected with a pin for receiving and transmitting data of a first receiving and transmitting port through the first connecting channel group, and is used for judging whether to switch to a second state according to a first detection result when the active cable is in the first state, if so, connecting a display interface signal transmission channel with the first connecting channel group, judging whether to switch to the first state according to a second detection result when the active cable is in the second state, and if so, connecting a USB signal transmission channel with the first connecting channel group; and
a second signal switch, connected to a pin for transceiving data through a second transceiving port via the second connection channel group, for determining whether to switch to a second state according to a first detection result when the active cable is in the first state, if so, connecting a display interface signal transmission channel to the second connection channel group, and determining whether to switch to the first state according to a second detection result when the active cable is in the second state, and if so, connecting a USB signal transmission channel to the second connection channel group;
the first state detection circuit is connected with the USB signal transmission channel, the first connection channel group, the second connection channel group or a pin for receiving and transmitting data of the second receiving and transmitting port so as to detect whether transmission of first communication protocol data does not occur in a preset time from the second receiving and transmitting port to the first receiving and transmitting port in the direction from the second receiving and transmitting port to the first signal change-over switch and the second signal change-over switch or not, and the detection result is used as a first detection result and is sent to the first signal change-over switch and the second signal change-over switch;
the second state detection circuit is connected with the display interface signal transmission channel, the first connection channel group, the second connection channel group or a pin for receiving and transmitting data of the first receiving and transmitting port to detect whether transmission of second communication protocol data does not occur on the display interface signal transmission channel or not, and sends a detection result serving as a second detection result to the first signal change-over switch and the second signal change-over switch.
5. The active cable of claim 4, further comprising:
the first joint is arranged at the first end of the active cable and comprises the first transceiving port, a first signal change-over switch and a first connecting channel group; and
and the second joint is arranged at the second end of the active cable and comprises the second transceiving port, a second signal change-over switch and a second connection channel group.
6. The active cable of claim 5, wherein the first state detection circuit is an AC signal detection circuit; the display interface signal transmission channel comprises a general channel and a special channel, and the second state detection circuit comprises a low-rate signal detection circuit which is used for detecting whether signals lower than a preset rate are transmitted on the general channel or not.
7. The active cable of claim 6, wherein the AC signal detection circuit and the low rate signal detection circuit are disposed on both the first and second connectors such that the first and second signal switches are directly connected to the AC signal detection circuit and the low rate signal detection circuit; the AC signal detection circuit is connected with the SSRX channel, and the low-rate signal detection circuit is connected with the general channel.
8. The active cable of claim 6, wherein the AC signal detection circuit is disposed on either the first connector or the second connector and is connected to the SSRX channel, one of the first signal switch and the second signal switch being directly connected to the AC signal detection circuit, a first transmission channel being disposed between the first connector and the second connector for connecting the AC signal detection circuit to the other of the second signal switch and the first signal switch;
the low-rate signal detection circuit is arranged on the first connector or the second connector, the low-rate signal detection circuit is connected with the general channel, one of the first signal selector switch and the second signal selector switch is directly connected with the low-rate signal detection circuit, and a second transmission channel is arranged between the first connector and the second connector and is used for connecting the low-rate signal detection circuit with the second signal selector switch and the other of the first signal selector switch.
9. The active cable of claim 6, wherein the AC signal detection circuit is disposed at a first connector or a second connector and is connected to the SSRX channel, one of the first signal switcher and the second signal switcher is directly connected to the AC signal detection circuit, and a first transmission channel is disposed between the first connector and the second connector for connecting the other of the second signal switcher and the first signal switcher to the AC signal detection circuit; the low-rate signal detection circuit is arranged at the first joint and is respectively connected with the first signal selector switch and the general channel, and the second joint is provided with an optical signal detection circuit which is connected with the display interface signal transmission channel or the second connection channel group so as to detect whether optical signals are transmitted on the display interface signal transmission channel or the second connection channel group.
10. The active cable of claim 6, wherein the second state detection circuit further comprises a dedicated channel AC signal detection circuit connected to the dedicated channel, the first connection channel group, or the second connection channel group to detect whether transmission of data occurs on the dedicated channel.
11. The active cable of claim 10, wherein the first and second taps are each provided with the AC signal detection circuit and a dedicated channel AC signal detection circuit such that the first and second signal switches are directly connected to the AC signal detection circuit and the dedicated channel AC signal detection circuit, the AC signal detection circuit is connected to the SSRX channel, and the dedicated channel AC signal detection circuit is connected to the dedicated channel.
12. The active cable of claim 11, wherein the second status detection circuit comprises a universal channel AC signal detection circuit connected to the universal channel, the first connection channel group, or the second connection channel group to detect whether transmission of data occurs on the universal channel; the first connector and the second connector are both provided with a universal channel AC signal detection circuit, so that the first signal change-over switch and the second signal change-over switch are directly connected with the universal channel AC signal detection circuit.
13. The active cable of claim 10, wherein the AC signal detection circuit is disposed at the first connector or the second connector, one of the first signal switcher and the second signal switcher is directly connected to the AC signal detection circuit, and a first transmission channel is disposed between the first connector and the second connector for connecting the other of the second signal switcher and the first signal switcher to the AC signal detection circuit; the dedicated channel AC signal detection circuit is arranged at the first joint or the second joint, and one of the first signal switch and the second signal switch is directly connected with the dedicated channel AC signal detection circuit; a second transmission channel is arranged between the first joint and the second joint and used for connecting the other of the second signal change-over switch and the first signal change-over switch with the special channel AC signal detection circuit; the AC signal detection circuit is connected with the SSRX channel, and the special channel AC signal detection circuit is connected with the general channel.
14. The active cable of claim 10, wherein the AC signal detection circuit is disposed at the first connector or the second connector and connected to the SSRX channel, one of the first signal switch and the second signal switch being directly connected to the AC signal detection circuit, a first transmission channel being disposed between the first connector and the second connector for connecting the other of the second signal switch and the first signal switch to the AC signal detection circuit; the dedicated channel AC signal detection circuit is arranged at the first joint and is directly connected with the first signal switch, and the dedicated channel AC signal detection circuit is connected with the dedicated channel; and the second joint is provided with an optical signal detection circuit which is connected with the display interface signal transmission channel or the second connecting channel group so as to detect whether the display interface signal transmission channel transmits optical signals.
15. The active cable of claim 6, wherein the second state detection circuit further comprises a pin AC signal detection circuit coupled to the data-transceiving pin of the first transceiving port to detect whether data is present on the data-transceiving pin of the first transceiving port.
16. The active cable of claim 15, wherein the pin AC signal detection circuit is disposed at the first connector and is directly connected to the first signal switch; the AC signal detection circuit is arranged at the first joint or the second joint, one of the first signal change-over switch and the second signal change-over switch is directly connected with the AC signal detection circuit, and a first transmission channel is arranged between the first joint and the second joint and is used for connecting the other of the second signal change-over switch and the first signal change-over switch with the AC signal detection circuit; the AC signal detection circuit is connected with the SSRX channel, and the pin AC signal detection circuit is connected with a pin for receiving and transmitting data of a first receiving and transmitting port;
the active cable further includes:
and the controller is arranged at the first joint so as to be directly connected with the first signal change-over switch, is connected with the AC signal detection circuit and the pin AC signal detection circuit, and is provided with a second transmission channel between the first joint and the second joint for connecting the second signal change-over switch with the controller.
17. The active cable of claim 16, wherein the second state detection circuit comprises a dedicated channel AC signal detection circuit connected to the dedicated channel, the first connection channel group, or the second connection channel group for detecting whether transmission of data occurs on the dedicated channel; the dedicated channel AC signal detection circuit is arranged on the first joint or the second joint so as to be directly connected with one of the first signal change-over switch and the second signal change-over switch, and a third transmission channel is arranged between the first joint and the second joint and is used for connecting the other of the second signal change-over switch and the first signal change-over switch with the dedicated channel AC signal detection circuit.
18. The active cable of claim 16, wherein the low rate signal detection circuit is further disposed on the first connector or the second connector, the low rate signal detection circuit being directly connected to one of the first signal switch and the second signal switch; and a third transmission channel is arranged between the first transceiving port and the second transceiving port and is used for connecting the other of the second signal change-over switch and the first signal change-over switch with the low-rate signal detection circuit, and the low-rate signal detection circuit is connected with the general channel.
19. The active cable of claim 15, wherein an AC signal detection circuit, a pin AC signal detection circuit, and a low rate signal detection circuit are disposed on the first connector, the AC signal detection circuit is connected to the SSRX channel, the pin AC signal detection circuit is connected to a data transceiving pin of the first transceiving port, and the low rate signal detection circuit is connected to the common channel; and the second joint is provided with an optical signal detection circuit which is connected with the display interface signal transmission channel or the second connecting channel group so as to detect whether the display interface signal transmission channel transmits optical signals.
20. The active cable of claim 15, wherein the display interface signal transmission channel comprises a dedicated channel, the second status detection circuit further comprising a dedicated channel AC signal detection circuit connected to the dedicated channel, the first connection channel group, or the second connection channel group to detect whether transmission of data occurs on the dedicated channel; an AC signal detection circuit, a pin AC signal detection circuit and a dedicated channel AC signal detection circuit are arranged on the first connector, the AC signal detection circuit is connected with the SSRX channel, and the pin AC signal detection circuit is connected with a pin for receiving and transmitting data of the first receiving and transmitting port; and the second joint is provided with an optical signal detection circuit which is connected with the display interface signal transmission channel or the second connecting channel group so as to detect whether the display interface signal transmission channel transmits optical signals.
CN202210133485.6A 2022-02-14 2022-02-14 Active cable Active CN114184984B (en)

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US20170242804A1 (en) * 2016-02-19 2017-08-24 Dell Products L.P. Multi-Modal Active Cable
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