JP2012128550A - Computer system - Google Patents

Abstract

PROBLEM TO BE SOLVED: To provide a computer system which solves problems such as occupation of unnecessary space by not using an interface card with a connection port.SOLUTION: A computer system of this invention is able to connect to multiple peripheral devices and comprises an interface card and a connection device. The interface card comprises a control unit and a first connection part. The control unit electrically connects to the first connection part. The connection device comprises a second connection part and multiple connection ports. The second connection part is electrically connected to the multiple connection ports and the first connection part. The multiple peripheral devices are configured to be electrically connected to the control unit through the multiple connection ports, the second connection part and the first connection part of the interface card.

Description

  The present invention relates to a computer system, and more particularly to a computer system that relocates all connect ports on an interface card to a connect device.

  The body of an existing personal computer (hereinafter referred to as a “personal computer”) in accordance with the demand for various peripheral devices (for example, a display, keyboard, mouse, printer, projector, external hard disk, Internet modem, etc.) that need to be connected to the computer. In general, a plurality of different connection ports are provided on the interface card (for example, a mother board) so that the connection terminals of the peripheral devices can be connected. Here, examples of the connect port include a USB port, a 1394 port, a network port, a printer port, and a display port. However, in certain operational situations, these connect ports may actually be used only rarely or not at all. For example, in a plurality of blade servers located in a server rack, normally only one connect port on the plurality of blade servers is used, and the connect ports on other blade servers are It may be used rarely or not at all.

  For the PC itself, if the connection port is not used at all on a daily basis or from the beginning, this is not only a wasteful installation, but also occupies a considerable amount of space. Furthermore, these connect ports often block the ventilation path in the motherboard case of the personal computer main body, prevent heat from being discharged outside the case, and cause a heat radiation failure. In addition, the connection port of the personal computer body is attached on the interface card, and once the standard of the interface card of the personal computer body is determined, no modification can be made to the type and quantity of the connection port on the personal computer body. Some of the aforementioned problems have not been solved until today.

  Taiwanese M345286 patent specification (Patent Document 1) discloses a kind of simple personal computer. A connect unit for connecting to the expansion interface card is installed on the motherboard of the simple personal computer, and the expansion interface card has two expansion units. However, although many connect ports are prepared on such a simple personal computer, these connect ports are configured only for external connection to the simple personal computer.

  On the other hand, Taiwan Patent Publication No. 539145 (Patent Document 2) discloses a kind of external relay box. This relay box has various connection ports and cable assemblies. Among these, the cable assembly has a plurality of extension cords and is connected to the various connection ports on the personal computer main body. However, since many connection ports are prepared on the personal computer main body, the above-mentioned problem still remains.

Taiwan Patent M345286 Specification Taiwan Patent Notice 539145 Specification

  As described above, the conventional technique described above has a problem that a large number of connection ports have to be prepared.

  The present invention has been made in view of such conventional problems, and a main object of the present invention is to provide a computer system including an interface card having no connect port.

  The present invention is a computer system capable of connecting a plurality of peripheral devices, and includes an interface card and a connection device. The interface card includes a control unit that controls input / output data between the computer system and the plurality of peripheral devices, and a first connection unit that is electrically connected to the control unit. On the other hand, the connect device includes a plurality of connect ports for connecting to the plurality of peripheral devices, and a second connect unit electrically connected to the plurality of connect ports and the first connect unit. Have. The plurality of peripheral devices are electrically connected to the control unit via the plurality of connect ports, the second connect unit, and the first connect unit of the interface card.

  The computer system of the present invention can further include a case in which the interface card is accommodated, and a personal computer main body is configured by the case and the interface card.

  In the present invention, all the connect ports provided on the conventional interface card are moved to the connect device, and there is no connect port on the interface card, so that more space can be used. Further, in the present invention, it can be connected to the personal computer main body in a selectable form. For example, the interface card is connected to the case by inserting / removing the interface card, or the interface card is moved to the outside of the case and connected. The path is not blocked, and connection ports can be increased or decreased within a predetermined limit.

  Preferably, the side plate of the case is provided with a plurality of ventilation holes, and the connecting device is installed in the case at a position where the ventilation holes are not shielded.

  In another preferred configuration of the second connection unit, a plurality of interface cards can be connected. Specifically, the second connect unit is electrically connected to a plurality of connect ports and a first connect unit on each of a plurality of interface cards, and the plurality of peripheral devices include a plurality of connect ports, An electrical connection with the control unit of each interface card is configured via the second connect unit and the first connect unit of each interface card.

  Preferably, the second connection unit further includes a selector circuit, and the selector circuit controls to select an electrical connection between the plurality of connection ports and the first connection unit on each interface card. The connection device may further include a button that is electrically connected to the selector circuit and is used for control related to selection of an electrical connection of the selector circuit.

FIG. 2 is a partially exploded view of a preferred embodiment of the present invention. It is an assembly appearance view of a preferred embodiment. FIG. 3 is a partially exploded view of another preferred embodiment of the present invention.

  DESCRIPTION OF EMBODIMENTS Hereinafter, embodiments for carrying out the present invention will be described in detail with reference to the drawings. However, the present invention is not limited to the embodiments described below.

  1 and 2 are schematic views of one preferred embodiment of a computer system according to the present invention. The computer system of the present embodiment is capable of connecting a plurality of peripheral devices, and includes a personal computer main body 1 and a connection device 2. The personal computer main body 1 includes a case 10 that is a housing and an interface card 11 installed in the case 10. The interface card 11 is a motherboard, for example, and includes a control unit 111 and a first connection unit 110. The control unit 111 is located on the interface card 11, and the first connection unit 110 is electrically connected to the control unit 111.

  The control unit 111 has a function of controlling input / output data between the computer system and a plurality of peripheral devices (not shown). As such a function, for example, a south bridge chip, a super ( Super) I / O chip, or a chip set having both.

  Conventionally, a control unit and a plurality of connect ports are directly connected (that is, physically integrated), and each connect port is connected to a corresponding peripheral device (note that the connect port is a composite type) If so, a plurality of peripheral devices are connected to one connect port.) On the other hand, the control unit 111 of the present embodiment is electrically connected to the first connection unit 110 through a printed circuit (not shown) provided on the interface card 11, and peripheral devices are provided on the interface card 11. There is no connect port to connect.

  Here, the first connect part 110 is in the form of a card edge connector as shown in FIG. 1, but in addition, a male (male) connector having a plurality of pins and a female (female) having a plurality of jacks. It can be a connector or other type of connector.

  The connection device 2 includes a second connection unit 20 and a plurality of connection ports 21. Here, the plurality of connect ports 21 are ports used to connect peripheral devices, respectively, such as a USB port, an IEEE 1394 port, an audio output port, a SATA port, a PS / 2 port, a serial port, a parallel port, It can be an EATA port, a combined USB / ESATA port, or it can be another type of connect port.

  The second connection unit 20 is physically and electrically connected to the first connection unit 110 described above. Here, the second connection portion 20 is in the form of a card edge connector as shown in FIG. 1, but may be in the form of a socket or plug or a connection cable having a head connector. In any form, the second connect unit 20 has a function of electrically connecting the plurality of connect ports 21 and the first connect unit 110 described above.

  The plurality of peripheral devices are connected to the corresponding connection port 21 among the plurality of connection ports 21 described above, so that the second connection unit 20 and the first connection of the interface card 11 are connected. Electrical connection with the control unit 111 is achieved via the unit 110. As described above, all the various peripheral devices that can be supported by the interface card 11 are electrically connected to the control unit 111 of the interface card 11 by the connecting device 2 and are controlled by the control unit 111.

  As apparent from comparison with the interface card of the prior art, the interface card 11 of this embodiment does not have a connect port for connecting to various peripheral devices. Therefore, the conventional interface card has a problem such as blockage of the ventilation path due to the space occupation of the connect port on the card, but this embodiment can solve such a problem.

  Further, in the present embodiment, a plurality of types of connect devices 2 having different connect ports 21 within the range supported by the interface card 11 can be manufactured. The connection device 2 can be selected. Therefore, according to the present embodiment, it is possible to solve the conventional problem that the user has to replace the interface card when changing the connect port.

  In the present embodiment, a plurality of ventilation holes 121 are provided in the side plate 120 of the case 10 as a motherboard case in which the interface card 11 is accommodated. As shown in FIG. 2, the connecting device 2 is installed in the case 10 and is disposed at a position where the ventilation holes 121 of the case side plate 120 are not shielded.

  In the present embodiment, the connection device 2 is formed into a shape that can be substantially inserted into and removed from the case 10. As another embodiment, the connection device 2 can be configured to be connected to the interface card 11 by a connection cable (not shown), or can be moved outside the case 10 and installed. Therefore, the connection device 2 is selectively installed outside or inside the case according to demand or the like.

  FIG. 3 shows another preferred embodiment of a computer system according to the present invention. In this example, the second connection unit described above is arranged in a form that can connect a plurality of interface cards (31). More specifically, the computer system is capable of connecting a plurality of peripheral devices, and includes a personal computer main body 3 and a connection device 5.

  The personal computer main body 3 includes a case 30 and a plurality of interface cards 31 installed in the respective compartments in the case 30. In the example of FIG. 3, an embodiment including three interface cards 31 is shown, but the number of interface cards 31 may be two, four, or more.

  Each of the plurality of interface cards 31 includes a control unit 311 and a first connection unit 310. The control unit 311 of each interface card 31 is electrically connected to the corresponding first connection unit 310, and controls input / output data between the computer system and the corresponding peripheral device (not shown). The control unit 311 is a chip set having a south bridge chip, a super I / O chip, or both.

  As described above, conventionally, the control unit 311 of each interface card 31 is directly connected (that is, physically integrated) corresponding to a plurality of connect ports, and each connect port corresponds to one peripheral device. (In the case of a composite connection port, one connection port is connected corresponding to a plurality of peripheral devices). On the other hand, in this embodiment, all the control units 311 on each interface card 31 are electrically connected (through a printed circuit or the like not shown) to the first connection unit 310 on the interface card 31 to which the control unit 311 belongs. Each interface card 31 has no connection port for connecting peripheral devices.

  Here, each first connection part 310 is in the form of a female (female) connector having a plurality of jacks (see FIG. 3), but in addition, a male (male) connector having a plurality of pins, a card edge It can be a connector or other type of connector.

  The connection device 5 includes a second connection unit 50 and a plurality of connection ports 51. Here, the plurality of connect ports 51 are ports used to connect peripheral devices, and are a USB port, an IEEE 1394 port, an audio output port, a SATA port, a PS / 2 port, a serial port, a parallel port, It can be an EATA port, a USB / ESATA combined connect port, or it can be another type of connect port.

  The second connection unit 50 is electrically connected to the plurality of connection ports 51 and the plurality of first connection units 31. The plurality of peripheral devices are electrically connected to the control unit 311 of each interface card 30 via the plurality of connect ports 51, the second connect unit 50, and the first connect unit 31 of each interface card 30. Composed. Here, the second connection unit 50 is a pin board.

  In this way, all peripheral devices that can be supported by each interface card 31 can be electrically connected to the control unit 311 of each interface card 31 by the connect device 5 and are controlled by the control unit 311. These interface cards 31 do not have a connect port, so that the various problems found in the above-described prior art can be solved.

  Preferably, the second connection unit 50 further includes a selector circuit 6. The selector circuit 6 is used for control related to selection of electrical connection between the plurality of connection ports 51 and the plurality of first connection units 31. In addition, the connection device 5 may further include a button 60. The button 60 is electrically connected to the selector circuit 6 and is used for control related to the selection of the electrical connection of the selector circuit 6 described above.

  The above-described embodiments are merely for explaining the technical idea and features of the present invention, and are intended to make those skilled in the art understand and implement the contents of the present invention. It is not intended to limit the scope of the claims of the invention. Accordingly, improvements or modifications having various similar effects without departing from the spirit of the invention should be construed as being included in the following claims.

1, 3 PC body 10, 30 Case 11, 31 Interface card
110, 310 First connection part 111, 311 Control unit 120 Side plate 121 Ventilation hole 2 Connect device 20, 50 Second connection part 21, 51 Connect port 6 Selector circuit 60 Button

Claims (8)

A computer system that can connect multiple peripheral devices,
An interface card having a control unit for controlling input / output data between the computer system and the plurality of peripheral devices, and a first connection unit electrically connected to the control unit;
A connect device having a plurality of connect ports for connecting to the plurality of peripheral devices, and a second connect portion electrically connected to the plurality of connect ports and the first connect portion;
Including
The plurality of peripheral devices are configured to be electrically connected to the control unit via the plurality of connect ports, the second connect unit, and the first connect unit of the interface card. A featured computer system.   And a case in which the interface card is accommodated, a plurality of ventilation holes are provided in a side plate of the case, and the connecting device is provided at a position where the plurality of ventilation holes are not shielded. The computer system according to claim 1.   The computer system according to claim 1, wherein the connection device is installed in the case so as to be removable. The computer system according to claim 1, wherein the connection device is connected to a connection cable and is installed outside the case in a movable manner.   The computer system according to claim 1, wherein the connection device is installed in a selectable form outside or inside the case. A computer system that can connect multiple peripheral devices,
A plurality of interface cards each having one control unit for controlling input / output data between the computer system and the plurality of peripheral devices, and a first connection unit electrically connected to the control unit; ,
A connect device having a plurality of connect ports for connecting to the plurality of peripheral devices, and a second connect unit electrically connected to the plurality of connect ports and the plurality of first connect units; ,
Including
The plurality of peripheral devices are configured to be electrically connected to the control unit of each interface card via the plurality of connect ports, the second connect unit, and the first connect unit of each interface card. A computer system characterized by that.   The second connection unit further includes a selector circuit, and the selector circuit performs control related to selection of electrical connection between the plurality of connection ports and the plurality of first connection units. The computer system according to claim 6.   The computer system according to claim 6, wherein the connection device further includes a button that is electrically connected to the selector circuit and is used for control related to selection of an electrical connection of the selector circuit.

Images