JP2000163175A - Conversion connector - Google Patents

Abstract

PROBLEM TO BE SOLVED: To realize connection between a USB corresponding unit and a centronics interface corresponding unit by installing a conversion circuit converting a signal based on a centronics interface standard into a signal based on USB standard. SOLUTION: When a personal computer executes a command for printing out prescribed data, a signal required for printing out data is supplied from the USB terminal of the personal computer to the USB terminal 3 of a conversion connector 1 through a USB cable. The signal is supplied to a conversion circuit 4 and the conversion circuit 4 converts the signal into a signal based on centronics interface standard, namely, into a signal which a printer device can receive. The converted signal is supplied to a centronics terminal 2. The converted signal is supplied to the printer device through the cable connected to the centronics terminal 2 and the printer device executes a printing processing based on the signal.

Description

DETAILED DESCRIPTION OF THE INVENTION

[0001]

BACKGROUND OF THE INVENTION 1. Field of the Invention The present invention relates to a conversion connector, and more particularly to a conversion connector used for connecting a device having a Centronics interface terminal to a device having a universal interface terminal.

[0002]

2. Description of the Related Art A Centronics interface is known as a standard interface for connecting a printer and a personal computer. This interface is an 8-bit parallel interface developed by Centronics Data Computer, USA, and many personal computer and printer manufacturers have adopted this interface.

[0003] Also, Compaq (trademark: COMPAQ), Microsoft (trademark: Microsoft), etc., 199
In February 2006, the Universal Serial Bus (Universal Se
rialBus: The specification of USB) has been released. This U
The SB is used to unify the interface used to connect a relatively low-speed peripheral device such as a keyboard, a mouse input device, a modem, and a printer device to a personal computer. Cables can now be used.

[0004] In recent years, a large number of personal computers and peripheral devices provided with this USB-compatible terminal have been sold.

[0005]

The connector for the Centronics interface and the connector for the USB have different shapes and pin arrangements from each other. Therefore, if a user who has a personal computer and a printer device compatible with the Centronics interface replaces only the personal computer with a USB compatible device, the user may not be able to use the USB compatible personal computer due to the compatibility problem described above. Cannot be directly connected to a printer that supports the Centronics interface that was previously owned.

In order to make this connection possible, a Centronics interface terminal is provided on one side and a US
A cable for providing a B terminal and converting a USB-compliant signal into a Centronics interface signal can be used. However, if the user later replaces the printer device with a USB-compatible printer device, this cable becomes unnecessary, and the user must purchase a cable having USB terminals provided at both ends, which is economical. is not.

The present invention has been made in view of such a problem, and enables connection between a USB-compatible device and a Centronics interface-compatible device, and the Centronics interface-compatible device was later replaced with a USB-compatible device. It is another object of the present invention to provide a conversion connector that does not waste cables even in such cases.

[0008]

To achieve the above object, a conversion connector according to the present invention comprises a first terminal conforming to the Centronics interface standard and a second terminal conforming to the Universal Serial Bus (USB) standard. And a conversion circuit for converting a signal based on the Centronics interface standard into a signal based on the universal serial bus standard.

With this conversion connector, a USB device and a device corresponding to the Centronics interface can be connected using a normal USB cable having USB terminals at both ends.

[0010]

DETAILED DESCRIPTION OF THE PREFERRED EMBODIMENTS A conversion connector according to the present invention will be described below with reference to the drawings.

As shown in FIG. 1, a conversion connector 1 to which the present invention is applied has a Centronics terminal 2 conforming to the Centronics interface standard and a USB terminal 3 conforming to the Universal Serial Bus (USB) standard. And a conversion circuit 4 for converting a signal based on the Centronics interface standard into a signal based on the universal serial bus standard.

The Centronics terminal 2 is connected to a printer via a cable compatible with a Centronics interface or directly. On the other hand, the USB terminal 3 is connected to a personal computer via a normal USB cable, that is, a cable provided with USB connectors at both ends.

When the personal computer executes a command for printing out predetermined data, a signal necessary for printing out the data is supplied from the USB terminal of the personal computer to the USB terminal 3 of the conversion connector 1 via a USB cable. Is done. Further, this signal is supplied to a conversion circuit 4, which converts this signal into a signal conforming to the Centronics interface standard, that is, a signal receivable by the printer device, and supplies the converted signal to the Centronics terminal 2. I do.
Further, this converted signal is supplied to the printer device via a cable connected to the Centronics terminal 2, and
This printer device performs a printing process based on this signal.

As described above, by using the conversion connector 1, it is possible to control a printer compatible with the Centronics interface using a personal computer having only a USB terminal as a printer terminal.

Here, it is assumed that the user of the personal computer has newly purchased a printer device compatible with USB. At this time, the user may remove the USB cable from the USB terminal 3 of the conversion connector 1 and connect the personal computer and a new printer using the USB cable. That is, if the user uses a USB-Centro conversion cable,
The cable itself is no longer needed, and users can
It is necessary to purchase a B cable, but if this conversion connector 1 is used, the USB cable can be used continuously, so that the cable is not wasted and is very economical.

[0016]

As described above, the conversion connector according to the present invention has a first terminal compliant with the Centronics interface standard, a second terminal compliant with the Universal Serial Bus (USB) standard, and a Centronics interface standard. And a conversion circuit for converting a signal based on the universal serial bus standard into a signal based on the universal serial bus standard.

With this conversion connector, a USB device and a device compatible with the Centronics interface can be connected using a normal USB cable having USB terminals at both ends, and a device compatible with the Centronics interface is later replaced with a USB device. Even if the cable is not discarded, it can be used as it is.

[Brief description of the drawings]

FIG. 1 is a plan view showing an embodiment of the present invention.

[Explanation of symbols]

 1 Conversion connector 2 Centronics terminal 3 USB terminal 4 Conversion circuit

Claims (1)

[Claims] 1. A first terminal compliant with the Centronics interface standard, a second terminal compliant with the Universal Serial Bus (USB) standard, and a signal based on the Centronics interface standard is converted into a signal based on the Universal Serial Bus standard. A conversion connector comprising a conversion circuit.