KR100718813B1 - A structure of connecting interface card with main board in a sata external storage apparatus - Google Patents

Abstract

The present invention relates to a serial ATA (SATA) external storage device, and more particularly, to a connection structure between a main board and an interface card installed in a serial A external storage device.

The present invention provides an external storage device that accommodates one or more hard disks and is connected to a host and a Serial ATA (SATA) interface, wherein a SATA data interface card is provided separately from the main board in a storage device housing. A slot modularly installed on a main board inside the storage device housing; And an independent SATA data interface card installed inside the storage device housing, wherein a slot connection coupled to the modularized slot is configured on a portion of the interface card's PCB, and another portion of the interface card PCB is connected to a host cable. And a SATA data interface card having a connector.

Storage, SATA, Interface Card, Slots, Shield, Single Lane, Double Lane, Connector

Description

A STRUCTURE OF CONNECTING INTERFACE CARD WITH MAIN BOARD IN A SATA EXTERNAL STORAGE APPARATUS}

1 is a conceptual diagram schematically illustrating a connection between a serial ATA external storage device and a host.

2 is a view schematically showing the configuration of FIG. 1.

3 is a circuit diagram of a serial ATA external storage device provided by the present inventors.

4 is a diagram illustrating a schematic connection structure of a controller and an interface, which are conventionally implemented in a main board of an external storage device.

5 is a schematic connection structure of the main board and the interface card of the present invention.

FIG. 6 is a diagram illustrating a schematic connection structure between a single lane main board and an interface card.

FIG. 7 is a diagram illustrating a schematic connection structure between a main board of a double lane type and an interface card.

<Description of the symbols for the main parts of the drawings>

1: host

2: storage device

10: hard disk

11: motherboard

20: interface

30: SATA cable

40: SATA data interface card

50: slot

51: slot connection

60: host connector

61, 62, 63, 64: individual connectors

65: integrated connector

The drawings above are for reference purposes only and do not limit claims of claims.

The present invention relates to a serial ATA (SATA) external storage device, and more particularly, to a connection structure between a main board and an interface card installed in a serial A external storage device.

SATA is a high-speed disk serial transfer technology that provides faster transfer speeds and ease of installation than traditional Parallel ATA. Serial ATA I (1.0a), the first generation of SATA, delivers 150MByte / s, while SATA II (SATA 3.0GI), the second generation, delivers 300MByte / s. The present invention will disclose an external storage device compliant with standard SATA II.

As shown in FIG. 1, the inventor has completed the first external storage device 2 having a plurality of hard disks 10 mounted therein and connected to the host 1 in a SATA manner. In view of data transmission and reception again, the block diagram of FIG. 2 illustrates a plurality of hard disks 10 inserted into an external storage device (area A) connected to a SATA data interface 20 and the SATA data interface 20. SATA cable 30 is connected to this, and this SATA cable 30 is connected to the PCI controller interface of the host (1) again.

The basic configuration of the storage device is to allow a plurality of hard disks to be detachably mounted inside the housing, to install a motherboard with integrated electronic circuits inside the housing and to connect the hard disks, and to connect the SATA data interface on the motherboard of the motherboard. It is equipped with an in-host connector and the cable connected to the host is plugged directly into the host connector on the motherboard. In addition, a predetermined cooling fan is provided in the storage device housing to cool the heat generated by the operation of the hard disk, and a power supply unit for the entire driving is configured.

A schematic configuration of the internal circuit of the external storage device 2 is shown in FIG. 3.

It can be seen that the interface structure in the storage device includes a single connector that is connected to the hard disks in a one-to-one correspondence and an integrated connector in which the internal hard disks are integrated. A single connector is called a single lane because it transmits one Serial ATA transmission at a time, and a single lane is connected to the integrated connector so that multiple Serial ATA transmissions can be transmitted through a single medium. It is called). That is, in the case of the storage device, which was invented by the inventor, the single connector and the integrated connector were implemented together.

In view of the motherboard, it is as shown schematically in FIG.

In the external storage device housing, one main board 11 for SATA is mounted. In this main board 11, a plurality of electronic components are mounted and electronic circuits are printed. 12). That is, four individual connectors (21 to 24) and one integrated connector (25) are plugged together on one motherboard PCB board. Four individual connectors 21 to 24 are connected to the hard disks in a one-to-one manner, and each host is connected to a single cable, while the integrated connector 25 is connected to all hard disks via a data bridge. The host is connected by one integrated cable.

This configuration has a problem in that a single lane and a multi lane are designed to be fixed on one main board at the same time. The data input / output units are distributed, signal attenuation occurs due to the data bridge, and noise countermeasures are required. In particular, in view of the doubled transmission speed of SATA II, the problems of signal attenuation and noise are more serious.

In addition, since two different types of data interfaces must be configured together on one main board and have separate switching means and separate interface controllers, not only PCB design work is difficult, but also external type from the consumer's point of view. When inserting one hard disk into a storage device and connecting one host PC to one or one, or connecting two computers to one storage device, use only one individual connector or two individual connectors. All you need is a connection between the storage device and the host. However, even in this case, it is not economical or efficient because the integrated interface controller and the integrated cable must be purchased together. In addition, since the SATA cable is directly plugged into the motherboard PCB, the work efficiency is inferior.

On the other hand, in the case of SATA II, which has doubled the transmission speed compared to the SATA I method, it is necessary to take measures to prevent the high transmission speed from being attenuated or lost due to white noise (heat, shock, humidity, etc.). . This is to ensure high data stability. Such measures have not been considered in prior storage devices.

SUMMARY OF THE INVENTION An object of the present invention is to provide a connection structure between a motherboard and an interface card of a serial AT external storage device capable of selectively using either a single lane or a multi lane according to a user environment. That is, an object of the present invention is to minimize signal attenuation caused by configuring a single lane SATA data interface and a multi lane SATA data interface on one motherboard.

This simplifies the hardware design of the storage device, increases the ease of operation when users connect the storage device to the host, and optionally selects two different SATA data interfaces and interface controllers, depending on the environment. Making it available is another object of the present invention.

Another object of the present invention is to improve the high data stability by preventing the high transmission speed of 300 Mbyte / s, the transmission speed of SATA II (second generation), from being attenuated or lost by white noise.

Other objects and advantages of the present invention will be described below, which is not limited to the matters disclosed in the claims of the present invention and the disclosures of the embodiments thereof, but also to the broader ranges by means and combinations within the range that can be easily contemplated therefrom. It will be added that it will be included in, and will correspond to the unique effects of the present invention.

In order to achieve the above object, the present invention, in an external storage device that accommodates one or more hard disks, and is connected to a serial ATA (SATA) interface, the SATA data interface card in the storage device housing It is provided separately from the main board,

A slot modularly installed on a main board inside the storage device housing; And

An independent SATA data interface card installed inside a storage device housing, wherein a slot connection coupled to the modularized slot is configured on one portion of the interface card's PCB, and another portion of the interface card PCB is connected to a host cable. SATA data interface card having a; characterized in that it comprises a.

The host connector configured in the PCB of the SATA data interface card,

A number of individual connectors with 1: 1 correspondence to the hard disks mounted in the storage device housing and one integrated connector for all hard disks are optionally configured on a separate SATA data interface card,

When selected as a plurality of individual connectors, a single host cable is connected to each connector to form a single lane, and when selected as one integrated connector, an integrated host cable is connected to the integrated connector to connect a multi lane. By configuring (Multi Lane), it is characterized in that the configuration of the single lane and the multi-lane is selectively made.

In addition, the host connector is preferably shielded (Shield).

Meanwhile, the coupling structure of the modular slot of the motherboard and the modular slot connector of the SATA data interface card is the slot of the female type, and the slot of the slot corresponds to the male slot. Type), it is preferable to be a male and female coupling.

Hereinafter, exemplary embodiments of the present invention will be described in detail with reference to the accompanying drawings. In the following description of the present invention, when it is determined that the subject matter of the present invention may be unnecessarily obscured as a matter already known to those skilled in the art, such as a known function or a known configuration, the detailed description thereof will be omitted.

5 is a schematic structural example of a connection structure between a main board and an interface card of the serial A external storage device of the present invention.

Basically, the SATA data interface is not provided directly on the main board 11, but is composed of an interface card 40 on a separate board, and the interface card 40 has a host connector for connecting a storage device to a host. 60 is provided, the host connector 60 protrudes out of the housing to facilitate connecting the SATA host cable.

Meanwhile, since the SATA data interface card 40 should be connected to the controller of the main board 11, it is necessary to take a separate connection means. To this end, a slot 50, which is modularized as a PCB connector on the main board, and which slot connector 51 (which is also modularized) which couples to the slot 50 is specified for the SATA data interface card 40 By configuring the position, the slot 50 of the motherboard and the slot connecting portion 51 of the interface card are correspondingly coupled to each other.

The slot 50 of the motherboard and the slot connector 51 of the interface card are known as PCB connectors capable of high-speed data transfer of 10 Gbps or more. The combination of the slot 50 and the slot connecting portion 51 can be understood as a male and female coupling. That is, the main board 11 and the SATA data interface card 40 are connected to each other by combining the slot 50 modularized with the female type and the slot connector 51 modularized with the male type. The contacts of the slot 50 and the slot connector 51 are composed of a signal and a ground, and the male and female pairs of the contacts are individually shielded.

On the other hand, the host connector 60 provided in the SATA data interface card 40 has its characteristics and shape depending on whether it is single lane or double lane according to a user environment, that is, whether it is single transmission or multiple transmission. To be different.

FIG. 6 shows a schematic connection structure between a main board and an interface card in the case of the single lane SATA data interface card 40. One portion of the SATA data interface card 40 is provided with the slot connection portion 51 described above, the other portion is provided with four individual connectors 61, 62, 63, 64 and protrudes out of the housing. A single host cable is connected to each individual connector 61, 62, 63, 64, and is connected to the host 1 via this single host cable. The user can plug the host cable into any particular individual connector 61 at his or her own choice, and can be coupled to any other individual connector 62. Since the four individual connectors are connected to the hard disks of the storage device in a one-to-one correspondence, when the hard disk is mounted in the storage device rack connected to the individual connector 61, the user connects the host cable to the individual connector 61. Will connect.

FIG. 7 shows a schematic connection structure between a main board and an interface card in the case of a double lane SATA data interface card 40. The embodiment of FIG. 6 and the embodiment of FIG. 7 cannot coexist at the same time. That is, if the SATA data interface card 40 of FIG. 6 is connected to the motherboard, the SATA data interface card 40 of FIG. 7 may not be connected. That is, since the SATA data interface card 40 of FIGS. 6 and 7 are each different interface cards, they are selected according to the use environment of the host.

The host connector 65 of FIG. 7 is an integrated connector and is connected to all hard disks of the storage device. In the case where a plurality of hard disks are used in the storage device, the integrated connector 65 may be more useful than the individual connector. The main board 11 of FIG. 6 and FIG. 7 is the same, and the slot 50 and the slot connection part 51 are also the same.

On the other hand, the serial ATA interface technology has entered the second generation, and the characteristic of the second generation technology is that the high-speed transmission of 300MByte / s, the noise countermeasure occurring in the connection interface is required more. Accordingly, the present invention covers the contact of the host connector 60 with a shield member coating layer in order to suppress noise generated in the host connector 60 included in the SATA data interface card 40. The shielded connector 60 is used to prevent white noise.

It is to be noted once again that the above embodiments are merely for illustrating the present invention, and the protection scope of the present invention is not limited by these examples. In addition, it should be noted that the scope of protection of the present invention cannot be limited due to obvious changes or substitutions in the technical field to which the present invention belongs.

According to the present invention, by installing the SATA data interface card separately in the storage device, the interface card and the motherboard is connected by a modular slot, by connecting the host and the host connector and the host cable by solving the connection of the storage device, There is no need to connect the host cable directly to the motherboard, which increases the work efficiency.

The SATA data interface card is divided into two types, one for the individual connector and the other for the integrated connector. The SATA data interface card can be installed in the storage device selectively and solves the signal attenuation problem caused by implementing the individual connector and the integrated connector together. There is a suitable advantage.

In addition, when a user purchases a storage device, an interface card and a controller for a single transmission (single lane) and an interface card and a controller for a multiple transmission (double lane) can be selectively purchased.

In addition, since shielded host connectors are used, noise shielding and noise resistance are improved, and thus, the transmission distance can be increased compared to the case of a connector without a separate shielding process. There is this. Experiments have shown that the implementation of enhanced shield interfaces can extend SATA's marginal transmission distance from 1m up to 2m, which is very useful for building storage systems.

Claims (4)

In the connection structure of the motherboard and the interface card of an external storage device that accommodates one or more hard disks and is connected to a host and a serial ATA (SATA) interface, The SATA data interface card is provided separately from the main board in the storage device housing, A slot modularly installed on a main board inside the storage device housing; And An independent SATA data interface card installed inside a storage device housing, wherein a slot connection coupled to the modularized slot is configured on one portion of the interface card's PCB, and another portion of the interface card PCB is connected to a host cable. Includes; SATA data interface card having a; The host connector configured on the PCB of the SATA data interface card may include a plurality of individual connectors corresponding to 1: 1 on a hard disk mounted in a storage device housing and one integrated connector for all hard disks. The interface structure of the mainboard and the interface card of the serial AT external storage device, characterized in that configured on the data interface card. The method of claim 1, When selected as the plurality of individual connectors, a single host cable is connected to each connector to form a single lane, and when selected as one integrated connector, an integrated host cable is connected to the integrated connector. Connection structure between the motherboard and the interface card of the serial AT external storage device, characterized in that by configuring a multi-lane, the configuration of a single lane and a multi-lane selectively. The method of claim 1, The host connector is shielded, characterized in that the connection structure of the motherboard and the interface card of the serial AT external storage device. The method of claim 1, The coupling structure of the modular slot of the motherboard and the modular slot connection of the SATA data interface card, The slot is a female type, and the slot connection portion is a male type corresponding to the slot, and the male and female are connected to each other. Connection structure.

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