KR20070056253A - Universal serial bus cable apparatus - Google Patents

Abstract

A USB(Universal Serial Bus) cable apparatus is provided to reduce a manufacturing cost and make the apparatus conveniently managed by integrating various kinds of USB cable apparatuses in one USB cable apparatus. The first port(31) is coupled to the first electronic device(10) which supports a USB OTG(On-The-Go) interface. The first port includes the first communication line including the first ID(Identification) line and the first power line including a ground line. The second port(32) is coupled to a USB interface of the second electronic device(20). The second port includes the second communication line including the second ID line and the second power line including the ground line. A port switch(33) is coupled to the first and second ports. The port switch selectively connects one of the first and second ID lines to the ground line and connects the first and second communication lines to the first and second power lines.

Description

USB cable device {Universal Serial Bus Cable Apparatus}

1 is a block diagram schematically illustrating a connection between a USB cable device and electronic devices according to an embodiment of the present invention.

2A to 2D are diagrams illustrating a Standard-A plug, a Standard-B plug, a Mini-A plug, and a Mini-B plug according to the USB standard.

3A to 3C are diagrams illustrating a Standard-A Receptacle, a Standard-B Receptacle, and a Mini-A / B Receptacle according to the USB standard.

4 is a block diagram showing a USB cable device according to an embodiment of the present invention.

5 is a view showing a modification of the USB cable device according to an embodiment of the present invention.

6 is a view showing another modified form of the USB cable device according to the embodiment of the present invention.

<Description of Symbols for Main Parts of Drawings>

10: first electronic device

20: second electronic device

30: USB cable device

The present invention relates to a USB cable device capable of easily selecting and connecting a function / role of a host and a peripheral device when connecting an electronic device equipped with a USB OTG to another electronic device.

The USB (Universal Serial Bus) interface is one of the port specifications for connecting peripheral devices to the computer. The Plug & Play function can be used without any setting and the hot plug can be used while the computer is operating. It has the advantage of being easy to use because it supports hot plugging function. USB also offers significantly faster speeds than serial or parallel ports. In addition, due to the computer's IRQ (Interrupt Request) restriction, computer users can use up to four peripherals. In particular, the emergence of a USB 2.0 interface capable of supporting 480 Mbps per second solved some of the speed problems that were most vulnerable in the conventional USB (USB 1.1) interface, for example, that it was too slow to use multimedia peripherals. As a result, it is attracting attention as a simple and low-cost communication interface.

More recently, the USB On-The-Go (OTG) interface has received new attention thanks to the recent popularization of home networking and portable digital devices. The USB OTG interface is a non-dependent USB interface that improves the transfer speed and can be connected to the USB device itself without taking the host role to the computer, which is different from the conventional method in which USB connection was possible only through the host computer. The USB OTG chip has a self-hosting feature that allows users to print directly from digital cameras and printers with a USB cable, for example, or directly from a PDA and an external hard disk drive without a host computer. The USB OTG interface is also compatible with existing USB 1.1 or USB 2.0 specifications. Therefore, a device using a USB OTG interface has an advantage of easily utilizing an existing USB cable.

Meanwhile, USB data transfer speeds have been rapidly improved to 1.5 Mbps, 12 Mbps, and 480 Mbps. USB devices that support USB OTG can choose the role of host or peripheral. However, as USB functionality improves, the electrical and port characteristics of the connecting cable device or USB cable device vary from version to version. In addition, when connecting different versions of USB devices, it is necessary to connect them using a port and a cable suitable for each device version. In other words, if your phone runs on USB 2.0 High Speed OTG, the other device you connect to may be the same version. In addition, when a mobile phone equipped with USB OTG function operates as a host, the USB device connected to the mobile phone and supports OTG acts as a peripheral device. The USB device connected to the mobile phone operates as a host. In this case, the role change of the device is performed by protocols such as HNP and SRP.

As described above, at least three cables are required to connect a mobile phone equipped with the USB OTG function with various types of USB devices having different USB versions (USB 1.1, USB 2.0, and USB OTG). Therefore, using a conventional USB cable device, the user has to use three USB cable devices to connect a device equipped with the USB OTG function to devices having different USB versions. Costs are required, and each device connection needs to be replaced with the corresponding USB cable device, which reduces the convenience.

SUMMARY OF THE INVENTION The present invention has been made in view of the above-described problems. When the portable digital device equipped with the USB 2.0 High Speed OTG and the devices having different USB versions are connected, the functions and roles of the host and the peripheral device of the two devices are connected. Its purpose is to provide a USB cable device that is simple to select and uses only one cable to reduce costs and is easy to use and store.

According to a preferred aspect of the present invention to achieve the above object, a first power line including a first communication line and a ground line coupled to the first electronic device supporting the USB OTG and a first line 1 port; A second port coupled to a USB interface of a second electronic device, the second port including a second communication line including a second ID line and a second power line including the ground line; And coupled to the first and second ports, selectively connecting any one of the first ID line and the second ID line to the ground line, wherein the first and second communication lines and the first and second power sources are connected. A USB cable device is provided that includes a port switch for connecting a line.

Preferably, the second port includes a plurality of ports of different specifications used for USB interfaces of different USB versions.

The second port includes at least one plug of Standard-A plug, Standard-B plug, Mini-A plug, and Mini-B plug.

The second port includes at least one receptacle of a Standard-A receptacle, a Standard-B receptacle, a Mini-A receptacle, and a Mini-B receptacle. The USB cable device is also an auxiliary cable coupled to the at least one receptacle and the second electronic device and having at least one of a Standard-A plug, a Standard-B plug, a Mini-A plug, and a Mini-B plug. It includes more.

An adapter is coupled between the first port and the port switch or between the second port and the port switch, and further includes an adapter for compatibility with different USB standards of the first and second electronic devices.

Hereinafter, exemplary embodiments of the present invention will be described in detail with reference to the accompanying drawings. The following examples are provided to fully understand the present invention for those skilled in the art. Note that the same components in the drawings are represented by the same reference numerals and symbols as much as possible even though they are shown in different drawings. In addition, in the drawings, that one component is coupled with another component includes two components directly coupled or another component interposed therebetween. In addition, in describing the present invention, when it is determined that a detailed description of a related known function or configuration may unnecessarily obscure the subject matter of the present invention, the detailed description thereof will be omitted.

1 is a block diagram schematically showing a USB cable device and first and second electronic devices connected by the device according to an embodiment of the present invention.

As shown in FIG. 1, the USB cable device 30 according to the present invention includes a first electronic device 10 that supports USB 2.0 High Speed On-The-Go (OTG) and a second electronic device that supports a USB interface. The device 20 is electrically connected. In addition, the USB cable device 30 allows the second electronic device 20 to function as a peripheral device when the first electronic device 10 functions as a host, or the first electronic device 10 to the peripheral device. When functioning, the second electronic device 20 functions to function as a host.

To this end, the USB cable device 30 includes a first port 31 connected to the first electronic device 10, a second port 32 connected to the second electronic device 20, and a first port 31. ) And a second port 32 and a port switch 33 for selecting a function of a host or a peripheral device of the first and second electronic devices 10 and 20.

Specifically, the first electronic device 10 includes a device that supports a USB On-The-Go (OTG) function that can directly connect other electronic devices according to the USB standard without a host computer device. The first electronic device 10 is, for example, an electronic device on which the USB OTG chip 11 is mounted, and includes digital devices such as a mobile phone, a PDA, a digital camera, an MP3 player, and a photo printer. In addition, the first electronic device 10 includes various interfaces installed according to various types of electronic devices. However, the interface includes at least a USB interface.

For example, the first electronic device 10 may include a USB OTG chip 11 and a USB connector 13 together with a USB connector 13 that may be coupled with a port of a 24-pin USB cable for the electronic device. It is desirable to have a USB driver 12 to be coupled to each other. In this case, as the first port 31 of the USB cable device 30, a port of a 24-pin USB cable for a mobile phone (see 31a in FIG. 5) is used.

The second electronic device 20 includes various existing electronic devices connected to other electronic devices according to the USB standard, for example, digital devices such as mobile phones, PDAs, digital cameras, MP3 players, and photo printers. The second electronic device 20 includes a USB driver 21 and a USB connector 32 to support the USB interface.

The USB connector 32 includes at least one of the Standard-A receptacle, the Standard-B receptacle, and the Mini-A / B receptacle according to the USB standard, or the Standard-A plug, the Standard-B plug, At least one of a Mini-A plug and a Mini-B plug.

In this case, as the second port 31 of the USB cable device 30, as shown in FIGS. 2A to 2D, the Standard-A plug 32a and the Standard-B plug 32b corresponding to the USB connector 32 are shown. ), At least one of the Mini-A plug 32c and the Mini-B plug 32d is used, or as shown in FIGS. 3A to 3C, the Standard-A receptacle 32e and the Standard-B receptacle ( At least one of 32f) and Mini-A / B receptacle 32g is used.

The USB cable device 30 includes a first port 31 coupled to the USB connector 13 of the first electronic device 10 and a second port coupled to the USB connector 22 of the second electronic device 20. And at least one communication line connecting the first port 31 and the second port 32 to select a host or peripheral function of the first or second electronic device 10, 20. It includes a port switch 33 for selectively switching. The USB cable device 30 will be described in detail below.

4 is a block diagram showing a USB cable device according to an embodiment of the present invention.

Referring to FIG. 4, the USB cable device 30 is coupled to a first electronic device supporting USB OTG, and includes a power line (VDD, GND) including a ground (GND) line and a communication line (D +, including an ID line). The first port 31 having the D-, ID, and the second electronic device supporting the USB, and the power line (VDD, GND) including the ground line and the communication line (D +, D) including the ID line A second port 32 having an ID) and a port switch 33 for selectively connecting one of two ID lines to a ground line while connecting the first port 31 and the second port 32; It includes. The first and second ports 31 and 32 are USB ports.

The port switch 33 has a switch SW1 for connecting the power lines VDD of the two ports 31 and 32 and the communication lines D + and D-, and two ID lines of the two ports 31 and 32. Optionally, there is another switch SW2 for connecting to the ground line. The electronic device in which the ID line is connected to the ground line performs a host operation.

The port switch 33 described above may be implemented as a manual operation switch in which a contact is connected to an ON / OFF state by a user's manual operation. On the other hand, the port switch 33 may be implemented as a semiconductor switching element that is controlled on / off by the control signal of the first electronic device, in this case, the USB cable device 30 to control the port switch 33 A control line may be additionally included.

The connection of the first port 31 and the port switch 33 or the connection of the second port 32 and the port switch 33 may be implemented by cables 34 and 35 including communication lines and power lines. .

According to the above configuration, since at least one of the two electronic devices does not support OTG, even when the dual roll device (DRD) operation cannot be performed while the two electronic devices are coupled by the USB cable device, the USB cable device is disconnected. You don't have to switch to another USB cable device to connect, you can easily switch between hosts and peripherals simply by operating a port switch. In addition, a single USB cable device can be used to directly connect USB devices that support only existing host functions, USB devices that operate only as peripheral devices, or USB devices that support OTG functions. You can easily set the initial behavior of the device to the host and peripherals.

5 is a view schematically showing a modification of the USB cable device according to the embodiment of the present invention.

As shown in FIG. 5, the USB cable device 30a according to the present embodiment includes a first port 31a coupled to the USB connector 13a of the mobile phone 10a supporting USB 2.0 High Speed OTG and mutually. A plurality of second ports 32a, 32b, 32c, 32d, and a first port 31a and a plurality of second ports coupled to a USB connector of another electronic device (second electronic device) having a different USB standard; 32a, 32b, 32c, and 32d) connects the communication line and the power line, and the port switch 33a for selectively connecting the ID line so that two electronic devices connected to the two ports are initially operated as a host and a peripheral device. Include.

The first port 31a is manufactured to be suitable for various interfaces provided in the mobile phone 10a as a dedicated 24-pin port for an existing mobile phone and includes a USB port.

The plurality of second ports include a Standard-A plug 32a, a Standard-B plug 32b, a Mini-A plug 32c and a Mini-B plug 32d. In addition, the power supply line and the communication line of each of the second ports 32a, 32b, 32c, and 32d are connected in parallel to each of the contacts of the port switch 33a by the cable 36 for each type.

The operating principle of the above-described USB cable device is briefly described as follows.

If the port switch 33a is off, the cellular phone 10a and the second electronic device are not yet connected by the USB cable device 30a. In this state, when the second electronic device is to be connected to the mobile phone 10a, first, a switch for selectively connecting the ID line is operated to determine which device of the mobile phone 10a or the second electronic device is to be used as a host. do. Then, the two devices are connected by operating a switch connecting the power lines and the communication lines of the two devices. Then, each device is recognized as a host and a peripheral device according to a user's decision, and each device operates in USB communication with the corresponding USB device.

According to the above configuration, not only the four types of ports are selected to connect another electronic device supporting the different USB standard to the mobile phone, but also the port and the other electronic devices for the mobile phone and another electronic device using the port switch 33a. You can set the initial operation with the device.

6 is a view schematically showing another modification of the USB cable device according to the embodiment of the present invention.

Referring to FIG. 6, the USB cable device 30b according to the present embodiment is very similar to the USB cable device 30a described above with reference to FIG. 5. However, the USB cable device 30b is an adapter for making the USB 10 High Speed OTG-supported mobile phone 10a and the second electronic device compatible with different USB standards of the mobile phone 10a and the second electronic device. It is characterized in that it comprises a port switch combine adapter (40) that is equipped with a function. The port switch adapter 40 performs the same function as the port switch of the USB cable device 10a described above with reference to FIG. 5.

In addition, the USB cable device 30b according to the present embodiment may be provided adjacent to the port switch and adapter 40 and have a second port 32A having a receptacle structure. In this case, it is preferable that the existing USB cable is connected to the second port 32A of the USB cable device 30b as the auxiliary cable 50 of the USB cable device. The auxiliary cable 50 may use an existing USB cable having one port 32B coupled to the second port 32A and the other port 32C having a plug structure.

The present invention described above is not limited to the above-described embodiments and the accompanying drawings, and it is common in the art that various substitutions, modifications, and changes can be made without departing from the technical spirit of the present invention. It will be evident to those who have knowledge of.

According to the present invention, one USB cable device is used to connect a digital device equipped with USB 2.0 High Speed OTG with any one of various USB devices such as a personal computer, a printer, and an MP3 player having different USB versions. And the role of the peripheral device can be easily selected and connected, which has the advantage of maximizing efficiency and convenience.

In addition, by simply integrating several types of USB cable devices into one USB cable device, there is an advantage of lower costs and easier management.

Claims (9)

A first port coupled to a first electronic device supporting USB OTG and having a first communication line including a first ID line and a first power line including a ground line; A second port coupled to a USB interface of a second electronic device, the second port including a second communication line including a second ID line and a second power line including the ground line; And Are coupled to the first and second ports and selectively connect any one of the first ID line and the second ID line to the ground line, the first and second communication lines and the first and second power lines Port switch to connect USB cable device comprising a. The method of claim 1, And the second port comprises a plurality of ports of different standards used for different versions of a USB interface. The method of claim 2, And the second port comprises at least one of a Standard-A plug, a Standard-B plug, a Mini-A plug, and a Mini-B plug. The method of claim 2, And the second port comprises at least one receptacle of a Standard-A Receptacle, a Standard-B Receptacle, a Mini-A Receptacle, and a Mini-B Receptacle. The method of claim 4, wherein And a auxiliary cable coupled to the at least one receptacle and the second electronic device, the auxiliary cable having at least one of a Standard-A plug, a Standard-B plug, a Mini-A plug, and a Mini-B plug. . The method of claim 1, And a adapter coupled between the first port and the port switch or between the second port and the port switch and configured to be compatible with different USB standards of the first and second electronic devices. The method of claim 1, The first electronic device is a USB cable device including a portable digital device including a mobile phone, PDA, digital camera, MP3 player and photo printer. The method according to any one of claims 1 to 7, And the port switch comprises a semiconductor switch element controlled by the first electronic device. The method of claim 8, The port switch is packaged with the first port, the first communication line further comprises at least one control line for controlling the port switch.

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