KR20020076015A - digital apparatus with common interface - Google Patents

Abstract

PURPOSE: A digital apparatus having a common interface is provided to reduce the size of the digital apparatus and simplify the structure of a circuit by easily settling lines through a printed circuit board. CONSTITUTION: A digital apparatus having a common interface includes a common connecting part(33) having a structure selectively connector with different devices, a connection detecting part(35) connected with at least one or more terminals in a plurality of terminals prepared at the common connecting part, thereby detecting the kind of the devices connected with the common connecting part, a control part(31) processing a signal corresponding to a device according to the detection of the common detecting part.

Description

Digital apparatus with common interface

The present invention relates to a digital device using a portable storage medium, and more particularly, to a digital device for transmitting and receiving data through interfacing to a portable storage medium and an external device.

In general, a digital device refers to a device capable of digitally processing data such as audio and video, and storing and retrieving corresponding digital information according to a user's request signal. Such digital devices allow the input data to be digitized for storage or display. In addition, in order to store digital information in the digital device or to retrieve the stored digital information from the digital device if necessary, a memory device having a predetermined capacity is mounted on a predetermined portion of the digital device. The digital information can then be stored and retrieved within the range of memory capacity.

Examples of such digital devices include MP3 players, digital cameras, digital video camcorders, portable telephones, and the like. Such digital devices are generally manufactured to be portable so that they can be easily used wherever needed. In this case, a portable storage medium that can interface with the digital device is used to store data corresponding to a capacity of a memory device or more mounted inside the digital device.

1 is a block diagram showing a connection state for a conventional digital device and interfacing. The conventional digital device 10 includes a control unit 11 for outputting a control signal corresponding to a flow control of a data and a user's requested signal, and a key input unit for providing the control unit 11 with a selection signal corresponding to a user's selection ( 12), a peripheral device 13 including a digital processing of the input data and a memory device (not shown), a storage medium connection socket 15 for interfacing with the controller 11 with respect to the inserted storage medium, and an external device. An external device communication interface 16 configured to perform predetermined communication interfacing to the device.

As shown in the drawing, a conventional digital device includes a storage medium connection socket 15 to which a portable storage medium 17 can be connected. The storage medium connection socket 15 is connected to the controller 11 through respective lines necessary for control and data transmission for interfacing with the portable storage medium 17.

In addition, an external device communication interface 16 is provided to enable data communication with the external device. In the drawings, the external device will be described as an example of a computer 19 such as a personal computer, a computer capable of internet communication, and the like. The computer 19 performs data communication through communication ports 18 provided at both ends of a cable having a line capable of interface communication with the outside. Here, the communication port 18 is formed with a connection (not shown) to be connected to the external device communication interface 16 of the digital device. In addition, the external device communication interface 16 is connected to the control unit 11 through respective lines necessary for control and data transmission for data communication with the computer 19 through the communication port 18 at both ends.

As described above, the conventional digital device 10 has a storage medium connection socket 15 connected to the portable storage medium 17 to perform interfacing, and is separately connected to the computer 19 to perform inputation. The external device communication interface 16 should be provided as much as possible. Therefore, the conventional digital device 10 is required to provide a space in which the storage medium connection socket 15 and the external device communication interface 16 can be mounted, thereby increasing in size, thereby increasing production cost and weight of the product. Due to its inherent purpose, it is inconvenient to use as a portable.

In addition, in the conventional digital device 10, the storage line connection socket 15 and the external device communication interface 16 separately control line 15a, 16a and data line 15b, for communication with the control unit 11. 16b) shall be provided respectively. Therefore, there is a problem that the space utilization of the printed circuit board (not shown) used for the circuit design of the digital device 10 becomes complicated. In addition, since the control unit 11 must have a port corresponding to the line to be connected, the size of the control unit 11 increases in design.

In order to solve the above problems, an object of the present invention is to provide a digital device with a simplified connection structure with heterogeneous devices.

1 is a block diagram showing a connection state between a conventional digital device and an external device;

2 is a block diagram showing a preferred embodiment of a digital device having a common interface according to the present invention;

3 is a view illustrating in detail an example of a common connection unit and a connection detection unit of FIG.

4A and 4B show an example of an auxiliary recording medium connected to the common connection of Fig. 3;

FIG. 5 shows an example of a port of a connection cable used to connect an external device to the common connection of FIG. 3; FIG.

6 is a view showing a state in which the auxiliary recording medium of FIGS. 4A and 4B is connected to the common connection of FIG. And,

FIG. 7 is a view illustrating a state in which the first connection port of FIG. 5 is connected to the common connection unit of FIG. 3.

* Description of the symbols for the main parts of the drawings *

31 control unit 33 common connection

33c: Transmission terminal 33e, 33f: Ground terminal

35: connection detection unit 37: key input unit

39: peripheral device 43c: transfer pin

43e, 43f: Ground pin 53: First connection port

60: computer

The digital apparatus of the present invention for achieving the above object is a kind of device connected to the common connection by being connected to at least one terminal among a plurality of terminals provided in the common connection portion and the common connection portion that can be selectively connected to other devices. And a control unit for performing signal processing corresponding to the device connected to the common connection unit in accordance with the detection of the connection detection unit.

The connection detecting unit includes a power supply and a resistor provided between a power supply and a ground terminal set among the plurality of terminals, and the connection detection unit may be configured according to a type of device based on a signal corresponding to an output voltage output between the resistor and the ground terminal to which the power supply is connected. The corresponding signal is output to the controller.

The heterogeneous device includes a secondary recording medium that is portable and connected to a digital device for storing and retrieving data, and a digital device such as an MP3 player, a digital camera, a digital video camcorder, and a portable telephone.

The common connection part has a first connection port connected to a heterogeneous device, and has a first connection port that is matched to a terminal structure of the common connection part at one end thereof, and a second connection port capable of interfacing with a communication port provided at an external device at the other end thereof.

According to the present invention, a scale can be reduced in manufacturing a digital device due to a common connection unit and a control unit connected to an external auxiliary recording medium and an external device to perform setting for each communication and to interface accordingly. In addition, by using the line between the control unit and the common connection in common regardless of the type of the device connected to the outside, it is easy to set the line through the printed circuit board, there is an effect that the configuration of the circuit is simplified accordingly.

Hereinafter, with reference to the drawings will be described the present invention in more detail.

2 is a block diagram showing a preferred embodiment of a digital device having a common interface for external connection according to the present invention. The digital device 30 is connected to the common connection part 33 by being connected to at least one or more terminals of a plurality of terminals provided in the common connection part 33 and the common connection part 33 having a structure that can be selectively connected to other devices. And a control unit 31 which performs signal processing corresponding to the device connected to the common connection unit 33 according to the output of the connection detection unit.

Here, the heterogeneous devices include an auxiliary recording medium that is portable and connected to the digital device to store and retrieve data, and digital devices such as MP3 players, digital cameras, digital video camcorders, and portable telephones.

In this case, the auxiliary recording medium refers to a portable auxiliary recording medium for storing data provided through the digital device 30 or withdrawing or modifying the stored data through the digital device 30. There are various kinds of portable auxiliary recording media such as smart media card (SMC), multimedia card (MMC), memory stick (MS) and the like depending on the shape of the card and the connection portion. In addition, the external device refers to a device that can communicate with the outside, such as a personal computer, a computer capable of Internet communication.

The key input unit 37 provides the control unit 31 with a selection signal according to a user's key input. In addition, the peripheral device 39 is controlled by the controller 31 to perform a set function. For example, when the digital device 30 is an MP3 player, the peripheral device 39 is configured to be controlled by the control unit 31 so as to output an audio signal through the speaker and / or earphone terminal. Here, the peripheral device 39 may include a memory device (not shown) having a predetermined capacity for storing data.

The common connection unit 33 is formed so that the auxiliary recording medium and the external device can be selectively connected. In addition, the common connection unit 33 has a structure in which when any one of the auxiliary recording medium and the external device is connected, the connected device can interface with the control unit 31. The control line 33a is provided between the control unit 31 and the common connection unit 33 and the data line 33b is arranged to transmit data corresponding to the control signal.

When one of the auxiliary recording medium and the external device is connected to the common connection unit 33, the connection detection unit 35 detects the type of the connected device and transmits it to the control unit 31. As a result, the control unit 31 sets an environment for communication with the device connected to the common connection unit 33 in accordance with the detection from the connection detection unit 35. At this time, the environment for communication means setting an environment necessary for data recording and retrieving operation for an auxiliary recording medium, and setting an environment for data communication according to transmission and reception of control signals and data for an external device.

3 is a diagram illustrating an example of the common connection unit 33 and the connection detection unit 35 of FIG. 2 in detail. The common connection unit 33 performs an interface for connecting the auxiliary recording medium and the external device. The figure is a front view of the common connection part 33, and the arrangement | sequence of a terminal is dually arranged inside at equal intervals. Therefore, in the figure, the arrangement of the terminals arranged on the front surface of the common connection part 33 is shown. The common connection part 33 has the terminals 33c, 33e, and 33f for enabling the signal transmission / reception with the heterogeneous device which can be connected. The terminals 33c, 33e, and 33f are a transmission terminal 33c used to transmit a signal, ground terminals 33e and 33f used as a ground of a power supply, and a power supply terminal (not shown: rear layout) supplied with power. Are distinguished. Some of the ground terminals 33e and 33f are connected to the connection detecting unit 35 so as to be used for detecting the type of the connected device.

According to the embodiment of the present invention, one terminal 33f of the ground terminals 33e and 33f can be used for device type detection. The common connecting portion 33 is arranged with terminals 33c, 33e, 33f so as to be connected correspondingly to pins formed in the connectable device to be inserted. The number of terminals of the common connection portion 33 is formed to be equal to or greater than the number of terminals of the devices having the most connection terminals among the devices to be applied. For example, in a case where a smart card having a relatively large number of terminals and a number of 22 terminals is applied as compared to the device to be applied, the terminals 33c, 33e, and 33f have 11 pairs. In the illustrated example, a smart card is provided with eight pairs of transmission terminals 33c, three ground terminals 33e and 33f, and three power terminals (not shown). Here, the ground terminals 33e and 33f select two of the three terminals 33e and connect them to each other to be used as grounds, and the other one terminal 33f is connected to the connection detecting unit 35 to be inserted into the device. It is desirable to be able to detect information. At this time, the insertion groove of the external device is provided above or below the arranged terminals. In addition, when the connection portion of the device has a pin shape, as described above, the terminals may be arranged in a single line, but may be configured to be inserted into the grooves in which the pins of the external device are formed by making a flexible groove in the center of each terminal.

In the illustrated example, the terminal arrays of the common connection unit 33 are formed by arranging them in a single array, but the lines for transmitting signals of the same type may be bundled in pairs and arranged at both sides, and the devices may be inserted into the centers of the pairs. have.

The connection detector 35 includes a power supply VD for applying a predetermined voltage to one ground terminal 33f connected among the ground ports 33e and 33f, and one ground terminal to which the power supply VD and the power supply VD are connected. It has a resistor Rp disposed between 33f. In addition, it is preferable to form a line connected to the control unit 31 between one ground terminal 33f to which the resistor Rp and the power source VD are connected. This outputs a signal corresponding to the device type connected to the common connection unit 33 to the controller 31 based on the output voltage output between the ground terminal 33f to which the resistor Rp and the power supply VD are connected. To do this. Therefore, the control unit 31 receives a high signal in a non-grounded state through the common connection unit 33, and receives a low signal in a grounded state.

4A and 4B show an example of an auxiliary recording medium connected to the common connecting portion 33 of FIG. 4A is a plan view of the auxiliary recording medium, and FIG. 4B is a front view of the auxiliary recording medium.

And a transmission pin 43c corresponding to the input / output of the control signal and data output from the control unit 31, and ground pins 43e and 43f used for grounding. In this case, the transfer pin 43c is formed to correspond to the transfer terminal 33c of FIG. 3, and the ground pins 43e and 43f correspond to the ground terminals 33e and 33f of FIG. 3, respectively. Therefore, when the ground pins 43e and 43f are connected to the common connector 33, the controller 31 receives a low signal due to the ground of the power source VD generated by the connection detector 35. In addition, the controller 31 sets a communication environment corresponding to communication with the connected auxiliary recording medium 43 and stores and retrieves data according to a user's key input signal.

FIG. 5 is a diagram illustrating an example of a connection port of a connection cable connecting an external device to the common connection unit 33 of FIG. 3. The figure shows a computer 60 as an example of an external device. As shown, the connection cable has a first connection port 53 having a pin structure that is matched to the pin structure of the common connection portion 33 at one end thereof, and a communication port provided at the computer 60 that is an external device at the other end (not shown). And a second connection port having a pin structure that is matched to a pin structure. The first connection port 53 has eight pairs of pins 53c so as to correspond to each terminal of the transmission terminal 33c shown in FIG. 3 as an example of the transmission terminal according to the present invention. Three pins 53e and 53f are provided so as to correspond to the respective terminals of 33f). Therefore, each pin of the first connection port 53 has an arrangement corresponding to the arrangement of the terminals provided in the common connection portion 33, and is formed to be engaged by the insertion groove provided in the upper or lower side of each pin. In addition, one of the three pins 53e and 53f connected to the ground terminals 33e and 33f is unused and is open to any pin connected to the second connection port 55 as an unused pin. When connected to the connecting portion 33 is set to be connected to the terminal 33f connected to the connection detecting unit 35. At this time, among the three pins 53e and 53f connected to the ground terminal 33d, the other pins except for the pin 53f connected to the terminal connected to the connection detection unit 35 are connected to each other by a corresponding connection.

FIG. 6 is a view showing a state in which the auxiliary recording medium 43 of FIG. 4 is inserted into the common connecting portion 33 of FIG. Here, each pin of the auxiliary recording medium 43 has an arrangement corresponding to the transmission terminal 33c and the ground terminals 33e and 33f provided in the common connection unit 33 and is connected to each pair of ports arranged side by side on both sides. have. When the auxiliary recording medium 43 having three ground pins 43c and 43f connected to each other is connected to the common connection unit 33, a high signal is applied according to the power source VD generated by the connection detection unit 35. The low signal is applied to the control unit 31 as the high signal is grounded through the ground terminals 33e and 33f provided in the common connection unit 33. The control unit 31 that receives the low signal determines that the connected external device is the auxiliary recording medium 43 and establishes a communication environment corresponding thereto to perform communication necessary for data storage and retrieval of the connected auxiliary recording medium 43. Will be set.

FIG. 7 is a view illustrating a state in which the first connection port 53 of FIG. 5 is connected to the common connection unit 33 of FIG. 3. Here, each pin of the first connection port 53 has an arrangement corresponding to the transmission terminal 33c and the ground terminals 33e and 33f provided in the common connection portion 33 and is engaged with each pair of terminals arranged side by side on both sides. And connected. When the first connection port 53 is connected to the common connection portion 33, a high signal is applied according to the power supply VD generated by the connection detection unit 35 by an unused pin 53f among the ground pins 53e and 53f. The high signal is continuously applied to the control unit 31 without being grounded by the ground terminal 33f provided in the common connection unit 33. The controller 31 receiving the high signal determines that the connected external device is the computer 60 which is an external device, and sets a communication environment corresponding thereto to perform data communication with the connected computer 60.

In the present invention, the external auxiliary recording medium is a smart card 43, and the public connection unit 33 has been described. However, the same applies to a digital device using a multimedia card, which is an auxiliary recording medium such as a smart card, and a memory stick, and provided with a common connection portion having a terminal structure corresponding thereto.

According to the above-described embodiments of the present invention, a scale can be reduced in manufacturing a digital device due to a common connection unit and a control unit configured to connect an external auxiliary recording medium and an external device to perform settings for each communication and to interface accordingly. Can be. In addition, by using the line between the control unit and the common connection in common regardless of the type of the device connected to the outside, it is easy to set the line through the printed circuit board, there is an effect that the configuration of the circuit is simplified accordingly.

In the above, specific preferred embodiments of the present invention have been illustrated and described. However, the present invention is not limited to the above-described embodiment, and various modifications can be made by those skilled in the art without departing from the gist of the present invention as claimed in the claims. will be.

Claims (3)

A public connection unit having a structure that can be selectively connected to different types of devices; A connection detecting unit connected to at least one or more terminals of a plurality of terminals provided in the common connection unit and detecting a type of device connected to the shared connection unit; And And a controller configured to perform signal processing corresponding to a device connected to the public connection unit according to the detection of the connection detection unit. The method of claim 1, The connection detection unit, power; And And a resistor provided between the power supply and a ground terminal set among the plurality of terminals, wherein the resistor is connected to the type of the device based on a signal corresponding to an output voltage output between the resistor and the ground terminal to which the power supply is connected. And a corresponding signal is output to the controller. The method of claim 2, The common connection unit is connected to the external device, A first connection port having a first connection port matched to a terminal structure of the common connection portion at one end thereof, and connected to the external device by a connection cable having a second connection port capable of interfacing with a communication port provided at the external device at the other end thereof; Digital apparatus characterized in that.