JPH11175206A - Peripheral equipment connector - Google Patents

Abstract

PROBLEM TO BE SOLVED: To provide a device bay for connecting the peripheral equipment of different interfaces. SOLUTION: On a back plane 3 located on the back of plural device bays 1 and provided with a bay connector 2 for connecting the peripheral equipment to be mounted at the device bays 1, a signal converter 4 is provided for centralizing arbitrary general-purpose serial interfaces such as a USB or IEEE1394 on the side of peripheral equipment while converting them to one IEEE1394 as an interface signal provided with a Plug and Play function or Hot Plug function. Then, the plural device bays 1 respectively having plural connecting interfaces and a system device can be connected by such an IEEE1394 signal line 5.

Description

DETAILED DESCRIPTION OF THE INVENTION

[0001]

BACKGROUND OF THE INVENTION 1. Field of the Invention The present invention relates to a technology for connecting peripheral devices, and more particularly, to a technology effective when applied to connection of various peripheral devices to a system device by a plurality of different connection interfaces.

[0002]

2. Description of the Related Art For example, Nikkei BP, published on June 30, 1997, "Nikkei Electronics" P89-P10
As described in the literatures such as 3rd, etc., de facto standards concerning the implementation of system devices of personal computers (hereinafter, abbreviated as personal computers) which are widely spread now include ATX, LPX, Baby-AT and NLX. There is something like that.

[0003] By the way, NLX is an earlier ATX,
It has the following features as compared to LPX, Baby-AT and the like. That is, the NLX includes a board for connecting peripheral devices and the like called a riser board in addition to the motherboard on which the main components of the system device are mounted, and all signal lines connected from the motherboard to the peripheral devices and the like pass through the riser board. The riser board is connected to the motherboard by a card edge. For example, an expansion board that expands the functions of peripheral devices and system devices such as HDDs and CD-ROMs is connected to a riser board instead of being connected to a motherboard as in previous ATXs and Baby-ATs. You. When replacing the motherboard for maintenance or upgrade of the system unit, ATX, LPX, Baby-AT, etc. needed to remove all the cables connected to peripheral devices, etc. There is no cable to connect to, so you can easily replace the motherboard simply by removing it from the riser board. In general,
Motherboards have the highest failure rate and failure rate among system units, and in general, peripheral devices have a longer lifespan as a product than motherboards (here, they do not mean useful life, but become obsolete due to technological progress). Slow)
Therefore, the system device based on NLX is excellent in maintainability and microprocessor upgradeability.

On the other hand, system devices based on these de facto standards include a magnetic disk and a C disk from the front of the device.
There is a space called a drive bay or a device bay for connecting peripheral devices such as a D-ROM.
The drive bay is a de facto standard in which dimensions and positions of screw holes are simply determined, and peripheral devices that meet this rule are installed in the drive bay.
A peripheral device can be connected by connecting a cable such as a power line or a signal line from a connector on the back of the peripheral device to a corresponding connector in the system device.

However, it is necessary to disassemble the system unit when installing peripheral devices, and to connect cables such as power supply lines and signal lines, and to provide expertise in setting system environment parameters and necessary device drivers after connection. And the inconvenience that peripheral devices cannot be attached or detached while the system device is powered on.

[0006] On the other hand, the device bay is a new de facto standard for solving the above-mentioned technical problems of the drive bay. The device bay has a function of mounting a device without disassembling a system unit. Plug and Play function that automatically connects the system cables and other necessary cables, and automatically executes settings such as system environment parameters and necessary device drivers. Also, peripheral devices can be connected and disconnected while the system unit is powered on. It has a Hot Plug function and the like.

[0007]

By providing the above-mentioned device bay, it is possible to provide a system device excellent in scalability, maintainability, and the like. However, the prior art has the following technical problems.

[0008] As an interface used to connect peripheral devices corresponding to the device bay, Plug and
Universal serial bus (USB) interface with Play function, Hot Plug function, IEEE
In addition to the E1394 interface and the like, it is conceivable to employ an interrupt signal interface for automatically detecting attachment / detachment of a peripheral device and a battery interface (for example, SMbus) provided for battery connection. The USB interface has a low signal speed but a low signal speed, and the IEEE 1394 interface has a high signal speed but a high signal speed. Therefore, as system devices, multiple connectors and multiple cables with these multiple interfaces are prepared for the number of device bays for connecting peripheral devices corresponding to the device bay so that peripheral devices with various characteristics can be connected. It is conceivable to do so.

However, in such a case, the composite cable must be connected to a plurality of interface control chips mounted on a motherboard or an expansion board. For example, a control chip for an SMbus or IEEE 1394 interface is not always mounted on a main board as a standard, but is often mounted on an expansion board. For this reason, the wiring of the composite cable overflows in a crossover manner toward the connectors to the respective interface control chips. As a result, a malfunction or a cost increase due to a connection error or the like is caused. Furthermore, since a considerable wiring space is required, there is a technical problem that it is disadvantageous for downsizing the system device.

[0010] In the case of a system device based on NLX, the composite cable includes some interface signals that are not prepared on the riser board, and therefore the cable is wired to the motherboard or the expansion board. Therefore, there is a technical problem that the advantage of the NLX described above is lost.

Another point to consider is the shape of the composite connector used to connect the composite cable.
For both the USB interface and the IEEE 1394 interface, dedicated connectors are standardized, and the power supply pins are longer than the signal line pins for both connectors. When connecting the connectors, the power supply is connected before the signal line. When the connector is disconnected, the power can be supplied such that the power is removed after the signal line.

However, in the composite connector in which these are coexisted, a connector defined by any standard cannot be adopted. USB interface, IEEE1
The timing between the 394 interface, power supply and insertion / removal detection interrupt signal, etc., must be considered. Since conventional peripheral devices cannot perform hot-swap, power management of the peripheral devices has always assumed that a power supply is present. However, in a peripheral device corresponding to the device bay, this premise is broken, so that more detailed power management control is required. In particular, a peripheral device having a large base current consumes a considerable amount of power even in the power save mode. Therefore, it is necessary to perform fine power management control so that the power consumption approaches zero.

Also, a USB coexisting with the composite cable
Interface and IEEE 1394 interface,
The topology (cable connection when a plurality of peripheral devices are connected) has a tree structure or a star structure. To set the peripheral devices (nodes) anywhere, the peripheral device side It is necessary to prepare at least two sets of the composite connector. This will increase the number of pins in the composite connector, and if no peripheral device is connected, use a dummy device to short-circuit the two sets of connectors or devise the structure of the composite connector There is.

SUMMARY OF THE INVENTION An object of the present invention is to provide a peripheral device connection technique capable of easily connecting peripheral devices having a plurality of different connection interfaces to a system device without causing a complicated route of an interface cable. To provide.

Another object of the present invention is to provide a peripheral device capable of connecting a plurality of peripheral devices having different connection interfaces to a system device without deteriorating the advantage of the housing standard of a general-purpose system device such as NLX. An object of the present invention is to provide device connection technology.

Another object of the present invention is to provide a peripheral device connection technique capable of accurately executing a plugging / unplugging operation in a connector into which a plurality of peripheral device connecting interfaces are plugged / unplugged at a time.

Another object of the present invention is to provide a peripheral device connection technique capable of performing accurate control in hot-swapping of a power supply system of a peripheral device connected to a system device.

Another object of the present invention is to simplify the configuration of peripheral devices connected to the peripheral device connection interface capable of hierarchical connection, reduce the cost, and simplify the handling of connection operations by the user. The object of the present invention is to provide a peripheral device connection technology capable of realizing the above.

[0019]

SUMMARY OF THE INVENTION The present invention relates to a peripheral device connecting apparatus for connecting a desired peripheral device to a system device, wherein a plurality of different peripheral device connecting interfaces are connected to one peripheral device connecting interface or a desired peripheral device connecting interface. An interface conversion means for converting to a bus connection interface and connecting to a system device is provided.

More specifically, for example, as an example,
A signal converter for converting an arbitrary interface signal connected to a peripheral device or the like corresponding to the device bay to a PCI interface or an IEEE1394 interface having a Plug and Play function or a Hot Plug function in advance is provided.

The connector for connecting to peripheral devices on the device bay side has signal pins for a plurality of peripheral device connection interfaces, and a common power supply pin and insertion / removal detection pin. When the configuration is such that the connection of multiple peripheral devices with an interface can be connected in common, when the peripheral device is inserted into the connector, the electrical connection is made in the order of power supply pin, signal pin, insertion / removal detection pin, Sometimes, the length of each pin is set so that the electrical disconnection of each pin is performed in the reverse order.

When the peripheral device connection interfaces on the side of the plurality of peripheral devices have specifications that enable a hierarchical connection configuration, each peripheral device is configured to be connected to the end of the hierarchical connection configuration. .

[0023]

Embodiments of the present invention will be described below in detail with reference to the drawings.

(Embodiment 1) FIG. 1 is a conceptual diagram showing an example of the configuration of an information processing system having a peripheral device connection device according to an embodiment of the present invention.
1 is a schematic perspective view showing a more specific example of an information processing system according to the present embodiment.

In the present embodiment, an example of a configuration in which a device bay is provided in a system device of an information processing system and an arbitrary peripheral device is connected via the device bay will be described.

The device bay 1 stores peripheral devices and the like corresponding to the device bay standard. Bay connector 2
A power supply and a signal for a peripheral device or the like corresponding to the device bay 1 are stored. The backplane 3 is a physical board on which the signal conversion device 4 is mounted. Signal converter 4
Logically merges all interface signals 2a from peripheral devices and the like corresponding to the device bay 1, and
IEEE 1394 interface signal 5a having a g and Play function and a Hot Plug function in advance
, And connected to the IEEE 1394 interface control chip of the system device through the IEEE 1394 signal line 5. The system device does not require various types of specific interfaces from peripheral devices or the like corresponding to the device bay, and has an advantage that only the IEEE1394 interface needs to be prepared.

FIG. 2 illustrates a more specific system configuration example. The system device 50 of the present embodiment includes, for example, a microprocessor 5 inside a tower type case 51.
The configuration is such that a motherboard 53 on which the second and the like are mounted is provided. The plurality of device bays 1 are fixed to a backplane 3 having a signal conversion device 4 on the rear side, and arbitrary peripheral devices (not shown) are connected via a bay connector 2 installed on the backplane 3. Each of the device bays 1 is provided with an eject button 1a for performing an operation of removing (ejecting) a peripheral device (not shown) connected to the device bay 1.

IEEE 139 exiting the backplane 3
4 signal lines 5 are connected to an expansion I / O board mounted on the motherboard 53, for example, as an expansion I / O board compatible with a PCI bus.
It is connected to the board 54. This extended I / O board 5
4 includes an IEEE1394 interface control chip 5
5, an operation of converting an IEEE 1394 interface signal 5a exchanged with the device bay 1 through the IEEE 1394 signal line 5 into a signal on a PCI bus is performed.

As described above, in the case of the present embodiment, the plurality of device bays 1 are connected to the motherboard 53 via one IEEE 1394 signal line 5 exiting from the backplane 3.
, The cable routing inside the case 51 for connecting peripheral devices is greatly simplified, the assembly process is simplified, the cost is reduced, and the occurrence of trouble due to incorrect connection is prevented. There is an advantage that it can be realized. Further, by adopting the device bay 1, the user does not need to be conscious of the internal configuration and the like of the case 51 when installing any peripheral device, and can easily add any peripheral device. it can. Also, when replacing the motherboard 53, the replacement work can be simplified since only one expansion I / O board 54 is removed for the connection interface of the peripheral device.

The backplane 3 is physically located at the back of the device bay 1 and has the bay connector 2 directly mounted thereon.
Do not squeeze the space inside. In FIG. 2, even when a conventional drive bay (not shown) is installed in place of the device bay 1, the backplane 3 itself is worthwhile, but the space between the bays arranged side by side is the backplane 3. Is a useless space for In this case, by providing the signal conversion device 4 in the wasted space, there is an advantage that the space in the system device or the like can be saved accordingly.

In the present embodiment, since the IEEE 1394 interface (IEEE 1394 signal line 5) is used as a connection interface to the system device side,
The cable can be extended based on the EE1394 interface specification. That is, there is an advantage that the system device 50 and the device bay 1 can be separated from each other by about 4.5 m.

For example, as shown in FIG. 3, an expansion box 56 separated from the system unit 50 is provided, and the expansion box 56 has a configuration in which a plurality of device bays 1 and the backplane 3 are accommodated. Device 5
0 is connected via the IEEE 1394 signal line 5, the system unit 50 and the expansion box 56 provided with the device bay 1 can be arbitrarily installed at a distance of about 4.5 m, and the expansion can be performed. The degree of freedom in installing the box 56 is improved.

(Embodiment 2) FIG. 4 is a conceptual diagram showing an example of another embodiment of the peripheral device connection device of the present invention, and FIG. 5 is a schematic perspective view showing an example of the entire configuration. is there. In the present embodiment, as an example, an example in which the device bay 1 is provided in the NLX standard system device 60 as illustrated in FIG. 5 will be described. The signal conversion device 6 provided on the back plane 3 converts the interface signal 2a from the device bay 1 into a PCI signal and connects it to the PCI bus 7 of the system device.

That is, in the present embodiment, the NL is placed inside the desktop case 61 of the system device 60.
A riser board 62 conforming to the X standard and a motherboard 64 which is inserted into and removed from the riser board 62 and on which a microprocessor 63 and the like are mounted are provided. The riser board 62 is provided with a PCI bus controller and the like (not shown).

In the case of this embodiment, the backplane 3 provided on the back side of the plurality of device bays 1 is a PC.
It is directly connected to the riser board 62 without a cable via the I bus connector 7a. Therefore, in the present embodiment, the backplane 3 and the riser board 62
There is an advantage that no cable is required between them, the labor required for cable routing and the like and the space in the case 61 can be greatly saved, and the assembling operation is simplified. 1 is that the system device 60 does not require the IEEE 1394 interface control chip 55 or the like. As a result, a reduction in price can be expected.

In the system device 60 based on NLX, there is no need to route cables or the like across the riser board 62, so that there is an advantage that the connection is simplified and the price is reduced. In addition, even when the motherboard 64 or the expansion board is replaced with or inserted into the riser board 62, there is an advantage that it is not necessary to remove and insert a cable.

(Embodiment 3) FIG. 6 is a conceptual diagram showing still another example in which a device bay is provided in a system apparatus, and FIG. 7 is a perspective view of the same. In the present embodiment, the signal conversion device 6 is not a backplane but a P
It is mounted on the CI expansion board 8.

That is, the system device 7 of the present embodiment
0 has a configuration in which, for example, a motherboard 73 on which a microprocessor 72 and the like are mounted is provided inside a tower type case 71. Also, the motherboard 73 has P
The PCI expansion board 8 is connected via the CI bus connector 8a, and the signal conversion device 6 is mounted on the PCI expansion board 8. The signal conversion device 6 converts the interface signal 2a from the device bay 1 into a PCI signal and connects it to the PCI bus 7 of the system device.

At the back of the plurality of device bays 1, a cable 2b is pulled out from a bay connector 2 into which peripheral devices are inserted and withdrawn. This cable 2b is connected to a connector P via a connector 2c.
It is connected to the CI extension board 8.

In the example of FIG. 4 described above, the bay connector 2 is directly mounted on the riser board 62. In the case of this embodiment, however, the cable extends from the device bay 1 to the PCI expansion board 8 on the motherboard 73. Although the complexity of the cabling for routing the 2b goes out, the existing motherboard 73
And the case 71 can be utilized. Also, it does not squeeze space compared to conventional drive bays. There is a merit that the approach as an upgrade for existing users is effective when performed by the method of this embodiment.

(Embodiment 4) FIG. 8 is a conceptual diagram showing an example in which a device bay is provided in a system device based on NLX, and FIG. 9 is a schematic perspective view showing an example of the entire configuration of the system device. It is. In the case of this embodiment,
It is assumed that the NLX motherboard 10 is used, and the backplane in the example of FIG. 4 is also used as a riser board.

That is, the system device 8 of the present embodiment
Reference numeral 0 denotes a riser board and backplane 9 corresponding to the NLX standard inside the case 81, and an NLX motherboard 10 having a microprocessor 10b mounted and removed from the riser board and backplane 9 via a connector 10a. A plurality of device bays 1 are included.

In this case, the riser board / backplane 9 has the signal conversion device 6 mounted thereon and has both the function as the riser board of the NLX standard and the function of the backplane in FIG. However, between the riser board / backplane 9 and each of the plurality of device bays 1,
They are connected via an interface cable 82 and an interface cable 83.

Thus, as compared with FIG. 4, there is an advantage that the backplane can be omitted and the number of boards can be reduced. Further, when the signal converter 6 is also used as a riser board, a part of the interrupt interface signal and the USB interface signal are originally in the NLX standard, so that the function of the signal conversion device 6 may be lower than that of FIG. There is. Further, by selecting a riser board, a model with a device bay / a model without a device bay can be selected, so that there is an advantage that a motherboard can be shared.

Further, the mounting of the device bay 1 can be realized without impairing that the cable routing between the motherboard and the peripheral device (in this case, the device bay 1), which is a feature of the NLX, is unnecessary. This saves space as well as cost. In NLX, I
The IEEE 1394 chip is not essential, but it is
Since there is no need to add a new 394 expansion board,
The extension board and the connector for the extension board can be saved. The latter is particularly important for small computers where space is important.

(Embodiment 5) FIG. 10 shows a configuration of a composite connector for enabling connection of peripheral devices having a plurality of different connection interfaces to individual device bays as in the above embodiments. FIG. 11 is a perspective view showing an example of the configuration.

The connector 11 is a pair, and the power pin 1
2. The signal line pin 13 and the interrupt line pin 14 are connected.
The length is in this order, the power supply pin 12 is the longest, the signal line pin 13 is next, and the interrupt line pin 14 is the shortest. That is, when the connector 11 is connected, the power pin 12
Are connected first, then the signal line pin 13 is connected, and finally the interrupt line pin 14 is connected. At the time of removal, it is cut in the reverse order. Therefore, by monitoring the voltage of the interrupt line pin 14, the completion of connection and the start of disconnection of the connector 11 can be reliably detected before the power is cut off or the signal is cut off.

In the case of USB or IEEE 1394 alone, the power supply pins are lengthened and the signal line pins are shortened in this way,
Although the power supply sequence can be applied in a correct state, the power supply pin is a common terminal because a plurality of these are combined in the device bay. In addition, the structure is such that a conflict with another line such as an interrupt line may occur.

Therefore, in this embodiment, the power supply pin 1
2. By defining the order of the lengths of the signal line pins 13 and the interrupt line pins 14 in the configuration illustrated in FIG. 10, it is possible to comply with the respective standards of the original USB and IEEE 1394. The interrupt line, which is a signal line unique to the device bay, can be used. Also, connector 1
By defining the shape of 1, the power-on sequence is kept constant, and malfunction of the system can be prevented.

FIG. 11 shows a more specific configuration example of the connector 11. Two USB signals for a USB interface are provided on the outer periphery of the male connector 11a at both ends in the width direction orthogonal to the insertion / removal direction. Wire pin 13a and IEEE
An IEEE 1394 signal line pin 13b for the 1394 interface is arranged, and two power supply pins 12 common to both interfaces and an interrupt line pin 14 for insertion / removal detection in the device bay 1 are arranged therebetween. The relationship between these lengths is, as exemplified in FIG.
The power supply pin 12 is the longest, the interrupt line pin 14 is the shortest, and the USB signal line pin 13a and the IEEE 1394 signal line pin 13b are set to intermediate lengths. Note that the pin arrangement and the number of pins in FIG. 11 are merely examples, and it goes without saying that pins other than those shown may be provided as necessary.

The female connector 11b is connected to the male connector 11
a power supply pin 12, USB signal line pin 13a, IE
A plurality of connection terminals 11c are arranged at positions corresponding to the EE1394 signal line pins 13b and the interrupt line pins 14, respectively.

Accordingly, when the connector 11 is connected,
Power supply pin 12, USB signal line pin 13a and IEEE
After the 1394 signal line pin 13b is connected, the interrupt line pin 14 is connected, so that the system detects the connection of the connector 11, and the correct connector 1
One connection sequence can be realized.

On the contrary, when the connector 11 is removed,
The removal start is notified to the system by interrupting the interrupt line pin 14 first.
2 and the USB signal line pin 13a and the IEEE 1394 signal line pin 13b are in a connected state, so that accurate preparation processing for disconnection of the connector 11 is accurately performed by both the peripheral device connected to the connector 11 and the system device. As a result, it is possible to realize an accurate removal sequence of the connector 11.

(Embodiment 6) FIG. 12 is a conceptual diagram showing an example of a configuration of a power supply control circuit in a peripheral device (node) connected to the device bay exemplified in each of the above embodiments. FIG. 13 is a perspective view showing an example of a configuration of a peripheral device provided with the power supply circuit.

In this embodiment, an example is shown in which the power supply circuit of the peripheral device 90 is not directly connected to the power supply line of the device bay 1 but is constituted by switches and control signals.

The power supply 15 from the device bay 1 is not directly connected to the power supply 18 of the peripheral device 90 but is connected via the switch 17. The control of the switch
It operates with a control signal from the power supply control circuit 16. The power supply control circuit 16 operates using the power supply 15 from the device bay 1 as a power supply, and considers the signal from the device bay 1, the state of the peripheral device 90, and the like. Determine whether to turn on the power. In the conventional peripheral device 90, since the power supply 18 is always connected to the system device side, the power control of the peripheral device 90 is not performed by the peripheral device 90 itself, and a reset signal for the purpose of stabilizing the power ON / OFF is provided. Although the device bay 1 was equipped with only a head retract mechanism for hard disk in case of sudden power interruption, the device bay 1 can be hot-swapped.
This assumption breaks down. Therefore, if the conventional peripheral device 90 is used as it is, vibration at the time of insertion / removal overlaps with a sudden power-off, and in the case of the peripheral device 90 such as an HDD, for example, physical destruction such as damaging the surface of a hard disk. There is a risk.

In this embodiment, the power supply control circuit 16 is provided between the device main body 91 of the peripheral device 90 and the device bay signal. Since there is a peripheral device 90 that can perform a reset operation and a head retraction operation in response to a command from the system device side, this is utilized. Using a signal from the interrupt line pin 14 of the device bay 1, a series of evacuating operations is performed,
The power supply 18 of the peripheral device 90 can be safely cut off before the power supply 15 is completely turned off.

In particular, in the case of a rotating peripheral device 90, especially an HDD, for which the power supply 18 cannot be turned off suddenly, damage to the peripheral device 90 can be eliminated by the above circuit.

By applying the power control circuit 16 in reverse, it is possible to turn off the power to the peripheral device 90 until the supply of the power 15 from the device bay 1 becomes stable when the power is turned on. Until the power supply 15 is stabilized, the reset signal and the like are unstable, and noise due to the rubbing of the connector 11 also occurs. Conventionally, a long reset signal has been used, but in this case, the danger of latch-up cannot be avoided. For this reason, the latch-up prevention circuit is provided by the peripheral device 9.
0 was used to protect the input. However, in the power supply control circuit 16 of the present embodiment, since the switch 17 is turned on after the power supply 15 is stabilized, these protection circuits are not required. Also, the reset signal can be set to an appropriate length without being set longer than necessary. Thereby, the start-up of the peripheral device 90 can be speeded up.

The ON / OFF operation of the switch 17 can be applied to a signal. That is, by connecting signals from the system device to the device main body 91 only while the power supply 15 is stable, the number of signal line protection circuits can be reduced. Further, a protection circuit or protection software for unstable operation before and after the power is turned on can be eliminated.

(Embodiment 7) FIG. 14 is a conceptual diagram showing an example of a logical connection form in a plurality of device bays, and FIG. 15 is a schematic perspective view showing an example of a specific configuration thereof. is there.

The USB and the IEEE 1394 generally have a hierarchical structure such as a tree or a star structure as shown in FIG. 14 as a logical connection, but when the device bay 1 is constructed, the position of the bay is as follows. It is a feature of the present embodiment that it is defined that the position is the leaf 19, not the intermediate 20 or the route 21.

Specifically, as exemplified in FIG.
By configuring each of the plurality of device bays 1 to be connected to the system device side via a hub 100 having a function of branching a desired interface, the individual device bays 1 End (leaf 19) of a typical connection hierarchy.

In each of USB and IEEE1394, the logical connection is designed so that a node may be located at any position of this tree or star. When a node is created in the intermediate section 20 or the route 21, at least two sets of signal lines are generally required. However, when constructing the device bay 1, it is necessary to consider how many sets of connectors are to be provided. It is necessary to change the type, which causes adverse effects such as an increase in the number of pins of the connector and a complicated calculation of the amount of power. Further, if measures such as accepting the intermediate 20 and the route 21 in the USB but disallowing it in the IEEE1394 are taken, the user and the manufacturer are confused. Also, if a node is recognized in the intermediate 20 or the route 21, when no peripheral device is connected, the controller itself will not exist at that point, and the connection thereafter will not be secured. Therefore, it is necessary to provide a mechanism such as connecting a dummy peripheral device having a built-in controller or shorting a signal line. The latter is a method not defined in USB or IEEE1394, and has a problem in operation. The former, of course, is inconvenient to use and has significant problems in terms of price increases.

On the other hand, if it is defined that the device bay 1 is always the leaf 19 as in this embodiment, the controller to be prepared on the peripheral device side may be dedicated to the leaf. Since a chip dedicated to a leaf does not require a circuit for configuring a topology, it is generally small in size and low in cost, which contributes to miniaturization and low cost of peripheral devices. In addition, the user can connect without being aware of the topology, and the usability is improved. On the other hand, since it is necessary to prepare a controller for each device bay 1 on the PC side, there is a drawback that controllers (physical chips) are required by the number of device bays 1. However, adding dummy peripherals and costs are almost equal,
Taking this one point will offset the price problem.

As described above, according to each embodiment of the present invention, a specific expansion board, a device bay backplane, or an NLX Connected to the riser card and the PCI signal or I
Since the signal can be provided to the system after being converted into an EEE 1394 signal or the like, the cable wiring does not cross over and overflows, thereby saving space, reducing connection errors, and reducing costs.

In particular, in the NLX system, by connecting to the pack plane or the NLX riser card, it is not necessary to wire over the backplane, and signal lines not defined in the NLX are connected to the NLX.
Need not be added to

Also, by setting the pin shape of the composite connector to the longest power supply, the second longest signal line and the shortest interrupt line, the power supply can be normally turned on even when composite signals are connected and disconnected collectively. The sequence is maintained, eliminating the risk of malfunction and latch-up.

Further, by providing a control circuit in the power supply on the device side, the device can be normally inserted and removed without breaking the device even in a device bay where hot-swapping is possible.

Further, by setting all device bays as leaves, a single set of signal lines in the device bay can be obtained. Therefore, simplification of the device, cost reduction, and simplicity for the user can be realized.

Although the invention made by the inventor has been specifically described based on the embodiment, the invention is not limited to the embodiment and can be variously modified without departing from the gist of the invention. Needless to say, there is.

For example, the bus in the system device is not limited to the PCI bus, and a general-purpose system bus standard can be widely adopted.

[0073]

According to the peripheral device connection device of the present invention, it is possible to easily connect a plurality of peripheral devices having different connection interfaces to the system device without causing a complicated route of the interface cable. Can be obtained.

Further, it is possible to connect peripheral devices having a plurality of different connection interfaces to the system device without deteriorating the advantage of the housing standard of a general-purpose system device such as NLX.

Further, an effect is obtained that the insertion / extraction operation of the connector into which a plurality of peripheral device connection interfaces are collectively inserted / extracted can be executed accurately.

Further, it is possible to obtain an effect that it is possible to perform accurate control in hot-swapping of a power supply system of a peripheral device connected to the system device.

Further, it is possible to realize simplification of the configuration of peripheral devices connected to the peripheral device connection interface capable of hierarchical connection configuration, cost reduction, simplification of handling such as connection operation by a user, and the like. Is obtained.

[Brief description of the drawings]

FIG. 1 is a conceptual diagram illustrating an example of a configuration of an information processing system including a peripheral device connection device according to an embodiment of the present invention.

FIG. 2 is a schematic perspective view illustrating a more specific example of an information processing system including a peripheral device connection device according to an embodiment of the present invention.

FIG. 3 is a schematic perspective view illustrating a more specific example of an information processing system including a peripheral device connection device according to an embodiment of the present invention.

FIG. 4 is a conceptual diagram showing an example of an embodiment of a peripheral device connection device of the present invention.

FIG. 5 is a schematic perspective view showing an example of the entire configuration of an embodiment of the peripheral device connection device of the present invention.

FIG. 6 is a conceptual diagram showing an example of an embodiment of the peripheral device connection device of the present invention.

FIG. 7 is a schematic perspective view illustrating a more specific example of an information processing system including a peripheral device connection device according to an embodiment of the present invention.

FIG. 8 is a conceptual diagram showing an example of an embodiment of the peripheral device connection device of the present invention.

FIG. 9 is a schematic perspective view illustrating an example of an overall configuration of an information processing system including a peripheral device connection device according to an embodiment of the present invention.

FIG. 10 is a conceptual diagram showing an example of a configuration of a composite connector for enabling connection of peripheral devices having a plurality of different connection interfaces to individual device bays.

FIG. 11 is a perspective view showing an example of a configuration of a composite connector used for a peripheral device connection device according to an embodiment of the present invention.

FIG. 12 is a conceptual diagram illustrating an example of a configuration of a power supply control circuit in a peripheral device connected to a device bay.

13 is a perspective view illustrating an example of a configuration of a peripheral device including the power supply circuit of FIG.

FIG. 14 is a conceptual diagram showing an example of a logical connection form in a plurality of device bays.

FIG. 15 is a schematic perspective view showing an example of a specific configuration of a logical connection form in a plurality of device bays.

[Explanation of symbols]

DESCRIPTION OF SYMBOLS 1 ... Device bay, 1a ... Eject button, 2 ... Bay connector, 2a ... Interface signal, 2b ... Cable, 2c ... Connector, 3 ... Backplane, 4 ... Signal converter, 5 ... IEEE1394 signal line, 5a ... IEEE
1394 interface signal, 6 ... signal converter, 7 ...
PCI bus, 7a PCI bus connector, 8 PCI expansion board, 8a PCI bus connector, 9 riser board and backplane, 10 NLX motherboard, 1
0a connector, 10b microprocessor, 11
Connector, 11a: male connector, 11b: female connector,
11c connection terminal, 12 power pin, 13 signal line pin, 13a USB signal line pin, 13b IEEE13
94 signal line pins, 14 ... interrupt line pins, 15 ... power supply,
16 power supply control circuit, 17 switch, 18 power supply, 1
9: leaf, 20: middle, 21: root, 50: system unit, 51: case, 52: microprocessor, 5
3: Motherboard, 54: Expansion I / O board, 55: I
EEE1394 interface control chip, 56 ... expansion box, 60 ... system unit, 61 ... case, 62 ...
Riser board, 63 microprocessor, 64 motherboard, 70 system device, 71 case, 72
.. Microprocessor, 73 motherboard, 80 system device, 81 case, 82 interface cable, 83 interface cable, 90 peripheral device, 91 device main body, 100 hub.

Claims (3)

[Claims] 1. A peripheral device connection device for connecting a desired peripheral device to a system device, wherein said system converts a plurality of different peripheral device connection interfaces into one peripheral device connection interface or a desired bus connection interface. A peripheral device connection device comprising an interface conversion means for connecting to a device. 2. The peripheral device connection device according to claim 1, wherein the peripheral device is disassembled by connecting and disconnecting the peripheral device from the outside when the peripheral device is connected to the system device. A function that allows the peripheral device to be installed without connecting the device, a plug and play function that automatically executes settings such as system environment parameters and necessary device drivers after the connection of the peripheral device, and that the system device is powered on. A peripheral device corresponding to a device bay which is a standard having a hot plug function capable of attaching and detaching the peripheral device, and the interface conversion means includes a USB interface and an IEEE 1394 interface connected to the peripheral device side. A plurality of general-purpose serial interfaces including Peripheral device connection apparatus comprising the converted to 1394 interface or PCI bus interface function for connecting to the system apparatus. 3. The peripheral device connection device according to claim 1, wherein the connector for connecting the device bay and the peripheral device includes a signal pin for each of the plurality of peripheral device connection interfaces and a common power supply. When the peripheral device is inserted into the connector, the power supply pin is provided when the peripheral device has a configuration in which a plurality of peripheral devices each having a different peripheral device connection interface can be connected in common by including a pin and an insertion / removal detection pin. The electrical connection is performed in the order of the signal pin and the insertion / removal detection pin, and the length of each of the pins is set so that the electrical disconnection of the pin is performed in the reverse order to the removal during removal. When the peripheral device connection interface on the plurality of peripheral devices has a specification that allows a hierarchical connection configuration, The peripheral device, the hierarchical connection is connected to the end of the arrangement configuration, the peripheral device connection apparatus characterized by comprising at least one component of the.