TWI502888B - Shared electronic connector and method of operating a shared electronic connector - Google Patents

Description

Shared socket and method of operating shared socket

The present invention relates to a shared socket, and more particularly to a shared socket having a standard for supporting universal serial bus (USB 2.0 and USB 3.0) transmission standards and advanced add-on technology (eSATA) transmission standards.

With the rapid development of today's computer equipment, the pursuit of faster and more efficient data transmission has been the focus of the industry's efforts.

However, the demand for electronic products in the market is becoming lighter, thinner, shorter and smaller. In addition to simplifying the use space of each component in each product, the external sockets or connectors must be integrated and improved. If this is not the case, the appropriate outlets and connectors must be selected in a limited external space.

The most popular signal transmission specification for today's computers is the Universal Serial Bus (USB). The sockets and transmission lines made by this specification can be connected to the peripheral devices of the computer, which are measured and used immediately by the computer. .

In order to meet the demand for high-traffic data transmission, there is another plug-and-play transmission specification, Serial Serial ATA (eSATA), which is larger than USB and is usually used for storing memory. Large data transfer.

The above USB and eSATA interfaces are not compatible, but the two sockets are quite similar but cannot be shared.

A common socket includes a slot, a first terminal set, a second terminal set, a detection pin, and a determining device. The slot has a first maximum width and a second maximum width in the same direction, wherein the second maximum width is different from a second maximum width. The first terminal group conforms to the USB 3.0 specification and has a plurality of first stream data pins. The second terminal group conforms to the eSATA specification and has a plurality of second stream data pins, wherein the first terminal group and the second terminal group are collectively disposed in the slot. The detection pin is used to transmit a determination signal to a processor. The determining device is coupled to the detecting pin and disposed in the slot for determining the plug inserted into the slot to conform to one of the USB 3.0 specifications or the eSATA standard according to the shape of one of the plugs inserted into the slot. One of the second plugs and generates a determination signal.

A method of operating a shared socket includes detecting whether a plug is inserted into a slot, wherein the slot has a first maximum width in the same direction and a second maximum width different from the first maximum width; when a plug is detected When the slot is inserted, the judging device determines, according to the shape of the inserted plug, that the inserted plug conforms to one of the first plugs of the USB 3.0 specification or the second plug that conforms to one of the eSATA specifications, and generates a determination signal; The judging signal selectively uses a first terminal group conforming to one of the USB 3.0 specifications or a second terminal group conforming to the eSATA standard in a shared socket.

The methods of making and using various embodiments of the present invention are discussed in detail below. However, it is to be noted that many of the possible inventive concepts provided by the present invention can be implemented in various specific ranges. These specific examples are merely illustrative of the methods of making and using the invention, but are not intended to limit the scope of the invention.

Figure 1 is a schematic illustration of a first plug 100 conforming to the USB 3.0 specification. The first plug 100 has a metal housing 110 for insertion into the slot 301 shown in Figure 3. The metal housing 110 has a first maximum width D1. 2 is a schematic view of a second plug 200 conforming to the eSATA specification, and the second plug 200 has a metal housing 210 for inserting the slot 301 shown in FIG. The metal housing 210 has a second maximum width D2. It should be noted that the first plug 100 may also be a plug conforming to USB 2.0, and the second maximum width D2 is greater than the first maximum width D1.

FIG. 3 is a schematic diagram of a mechanism of a shared socket 300 according to the present invention. The shared socket 300 has a slot 301, which is compatible with the first plug 100 and the second plug 200 shown in FIGS. 1 and 2, respectively. The position where the first plug 100 is inserted into the common socket 300 is the position where the second plug 200 is inserted into the common socket 300. The slot 301 has a first maximum width D31 and a second maximum width D32 in the same direction, and the first maximum width D31 is different from the second maximum width D32, wherein the first maximum width D31 is equal to the first maximum width D1. And the second maximum width D32 is equal to the second maximum width D2. The common socket 300 has an intermediate plastic part 360 having seven pins above the intermediate plastic part 360 and nine pins below, which are respectively the second terminal group 324 and the first terminal group 322 shown in FIG.

Figure 4 is a block diagram of a shared socket system 400 of the present invention. The shared socket system 400 includes a shared socket 300, a processor 310, and data lines DL1-DL11. The common socket 300 includes a first terminal set 322, a second terminal set 324, and a determining device 326 in addition to the mechanism shown in FIG. It should be noted that the first terminal group 322, the second terminal group 324, and the judging device 326 are commonly disposed in the slot 301 shown in FIG.

The first terminal set 322 conforms to the USB 3.0 specification and is backward compatible with other USB specifications (eg USB 2.0), with first stream data pins D-, D+, SSRX+, SSRX-, SSTX+, SSTX-, ground pins GND1, GND2, GND3, and a power supply pin VBUS, wherein the first terminal group 322 is matched with the first plug 100 conforming to the USB 3.0 specification, and after the first plug 100 is inserted into the slot 301, the first plug 100 can be connected to the first terminal Group 322 is electrically connected and transmits data in accordance with the USB 3.0 specification. The power supply pin VBUS is coupled to a power supply V, the ground pins GND1, GND2, and GND3 are coupled to the ground, and the first stream data pins D-, D+, SSRX+, SSRX-, SSTX+, SSTX- It is coupled to a first bus bar and transmits data to the processor 310 via the first bus bar, wherein the first bus bar is composed of six data lines DL1, DL2, DL3, DL4, DL5, DL6.

The second terminal group 324 conforms to the eSATA specification and has a second stream data pin RX+, RX-, TX+, TX-, a ground pin GND4, GND5, wherein the second terminal group 324 matches the second plug 200 conforming to the eSATA specification. After the second plug 200 is inserted into the slot 301, the second plug 200 can be electrically connected to the second terminal set 324 and perform data transmission conforming to the eSATA standard. The ground pins GND4 and GND5 are coupled to the ground, and the second stream data pins RX+, RX-, TX+, and TX- are respectively coupled to a second bus bar, and the data is transmitted to the second bus bar to the processing. The device 310, wherein the second bus bar is composed of four data lines DL7, DL8, DL9, DL10. Please refer to the specifications of USB 3.0 and eSATA for the function of each pin, which will not be described here.

The determining device 326 is coupled to a detecting pin DEC. The determining device 326 is configured to determine whether the plug inserted into the slot 301 conforms to the first plug 100 of the USB 3.0 specification or conforms according to the shape of one of the plugs inserted into the slot 301. a second plug 200 of the eSATA specification, and a determination signal S1 is generated according to the plug inserted into the slot 301, wherein the first plug 100 has a first maximum width D1 and the second plug 200 has a different from the first maximum width D1 The maximum width D2, so the judging device 326 judges the insertion according to the maximum width of one of the plugs inserted into the slot 301 (ie, the first maximum width D1 of the first plug 100 or the second maximum width D2 of the second plug 200). The plug in the slot 301 is the first plug 100 or the second plug 200.

Further, when the maximum width of the plug inserted into the slot 301 is the second maximum width D2, the judging device 326 judges that the plug inserted into the slot 301 is the second plug 200, and when plugged into the slot 301 When the maximum width is the first maximum width D1, the judging means 326 judges that the plug inserted into the slot 301 is the first plug 100. . As shown in FIG. 3, the judging device 326 of the present embodiment is provided in one of the positions P1 or P2 of the slot 301. When the first plug 100 having the first maximum width D1 is inserted into the slot 301, the spring piece located at the position P1 or P2 is not squeezed, so the detecting pin DEC is maintained at a first voltage, and the transmission has a first The voltage determination signal S1 to the processor 310. The processor 310 can know that the socket inserted into the slot 301 is the first plug 100 conforming to the USB 3.0 specification according to the first voltage representing the first plug 100 of the determination signal S1. When the second plug 200 having the second maximum width D2 is inserted into the slot 301, the spring piece located at the position P1 or P2 is pressed and electrically connected to the detecting pin DEC to generate a determination signal S1 having a second voltage to be processed. The device 310. The processor 310 can know that the socket inserted into the slot 301 is the second plug 200 conforming to the eSATA standard according to the second voltage of the second plug 200 representing the determination signal S1. It should be noted that the judging device 326 of the embodiment is not limited to the elastic piece, and may also be other switches that can judge the plug according to the shape.

Figure 5 is a block diagram of a shared socket system 500 of the present invention. The common socket 300 includes a first terminal set 322, a second terminal set 324, a judging device 326, and a processor 310 in addition to the mechanism shown in FIG. It should be noted that the first terminal group 322, the second terminal group 324, and the judging device 326 are commonly disposed in the slot 301 shown in FIG. For the description of the first terminal group 322, the second terminal group 324, the determining device 326, and the processor 310, please refer to the description of FIG. 4 above, and details are not described herein again. It should be noted that the fifth embodiment differs from the embodiment of FIG. 4 in that the first and second bus bars of FIG. 4 are respectively composed of independent data lines DL1, DL2, DL3, DL4, DL5, DL6, and DL7. DL8, DL9, DL10, but the first bus bar of FIG. 5 includes the second bus bar, that is, the second stream data pin RX+, RX-, TX+, TX- of the second terminal 324 can pass through the data. The lines DL3, DL4, DL5, DL6 transfer data to the processor 310 without transferring data to the processor 310 via the data lines DL7, DL8, DL9, DL10 of FIG. The spirit of this embodiment lies in the sharing between the socket 300 and the processor 310. The second terminal group 324 can share the data lines DL3, DL4, DL5, and DL6 with the first terminal group 322 to save the layout area and pass the determination signal S1. After judging that the plug inserted into the slot 301 is the first plug 100 or the second plug 200, the transmission modes of the data lines DL3, DL4, DL5, and DL6 are controlled according to different specifications (USB 3.0 or eSATA). When the plug inserted into the slot 301 is the first plug 100, the processor 310 executes the data lines DL3, DL4, DL5, DL6 in a USB 3.0 mode, and performs the data lines DL3, DL4, DL5 according to the specifications of the USB 3.0. The transmission of the DL6, and when the plug inserted into the slot 301 is the second plug 200, the processor 310 executes the data lines DL3, DL4, DL5, DL6 in an eSATA mode, and performs the data line DL3 according to the specifications of the eSATA. , DL4, DL5, DL6 transmission. It should be noted that the present invention does not limit the manner in which the second terminal group 324 shares the data lines DL1 - DL10 with the first terminal group 322. For example, the second terminal group 324 can also share the data line DL1 with the first terminal group 322. , DL2, DL3, DL4, or data lines DL1, DL2, DL5, DL6, and the like.

Figure 6 is a flow chart of a method of operating a shared socket according to the present invention, and the flow begins in step S11. In step S11, the processor 310 sets the initial mode of reading the shared socket 300 to a USB 3.0 mode. In addition, as shown in FIGS. 4 and 5, in the USB 3.0 mode, the processor 310 executes the data lines DL1, DL2, DL3, DL4, DL5, and DL6 in the USB 3.0 mode, and performs data according to the specifications of the USB 3.0. Transmission of lines DL1, DL2, DL3, DL4, DL5, DL6. Next, the flow proceeds to step S12.

In step S12, the processor 310 (or the determining device 300) detects whether a plug is inserted into the slot 301. When the processor 310 (or the judging device 300) detects the plug insertion judgment insertion slot 301, the flow proceeds to step S13. If no, continue to detect.

In step S13, when a plug is inserted into the slot 301, the judging device 300 determines, according to the shape of the inserted plug, that the inserted plug conforms to the first plug 100 of the USB 3.0 specification or conforms to the eSATA specification. The second plug 200 generates a determination signal S1. When the judging device 300 judges that the plug inserted into the slot 301 conforms to the first plug 100 of the USB 3.0 specification, the flow returns to step S11, that is, the processor 310 maintains the USB 3.0 mode of the initial state. When the judging device 300 judges that the plug inserted into the slot 301 is the second plug 200 conforming to the eSATA standard, the flow proceeds to step S14.

In step S14, the processor 310 is switched from the initially set USB 3.0 mode to the eSATA mode. In the eSATA mode, the processor 310 executes the data lines DL7, DL8, DL9, DL10 shown in FIG. 4 or the data lines DL3, DL4, DL5, and DL6 shown in FIG. 5 in the eSATA mode, and according to eSATA. The specifications are transmitted in the data lines DL7, DL8, DL9, DL10 shown in FIG. 4 or the data lines DL3, DL4, DL5, and DL6 shown in FIG. Next, the flow proceeds to step S15. Further, after determining the inserted plug, the determining device 300 selectively uses the first terminal group 322 conforming to the USB 3.0 standard or the second terminal group 324 conforming to the eSATA standard in the shared socket 300 according to the determination signal S1.

In step S15, the processor 310 (or the determining device 300) detects whether the second plug 200 inserted into the slot 301 is pulled out of the slot 301. After the processor 310 (or the determining device 300) detects that the second plug 200 inserted into the slot 301 is unplugged from the slot 301, the flow proceeds back to step S11, and the processor 310 is switched from the eSATA mode to the initially set USB 3.0 mode. If no, continue to detect. It should be noted that when the judging device 300 judges that the inserted plug is the first plug 100, it receives the first stream data pins D-, D+, SSRX+, SSRX-, SSTX+, SSTX- via the first terminal group 322. The information of the first plug 100, and transmits the data of the first plug 100 to the processor 310 via the first bus DL1, DL2, DL3, DL4, DL5, DL6, and when the determining device 300 determines that the inserted plug is the second plug At 200 o'clock, the data of the second plug 200 is received via the second stream data pins RX+, RX-, TX+, TX- of the second terminal group 324, and the second data is transmitted via the second bus bars DL7, DL8, DL9, DL10. The data of the plug 200 is sent to the processor 310. In another embodiment, the second stream data pins RX+, RX-, TX+, TX- of the second terminal 324 can transmit data to the processor 310 via the data lines DL3, DL4, DL5, DL6 without The data lines DL7, DL8, DL9, and DL10 of FIG. 4 transfer data to the processor 310.

FIG. 7 is a flow chart of another method for operating a shared socket according to the present invention, and the flow begins in step S22. In step S22, the processor 310 (or the determining device 300) detects whether a plug is inserted into the slot 301. When the processor 310 (or the judging device 300) detects the plug insertion judgment insertion slot 301, the flow proceeds to step S13. If no, continue to detect.

In step S23, when a plug is inserted into the slot 301, the judging device 300 determines, according to the shape of the inserted plug, that the inserted plug conforms to the first plug 100 of the USB 3.0 specification or conforms to the eSATA specification. The second plug 200, and the determination signal S1 is generated, and the flow proceeds to step S24.

In step S24, the processor 310 is switched from the initially set USB 3.0 mode to the eSATA mode. In the eSATA mode, the processor 310 selectively uses the first terminal group 322 that conforms to one of the USB 3.0 specifications or the second terminal group 324 that conforms to the eSATA specification according to the determination signal S1.

Although the invention is disclosed above by way of example, it is not intended to limit the invention. In addition, those skilled in the art will recognize that the scope of the present invention should be broadly construed to cover all embodiments and variations thereof.

100. . . First plug

D1, D31. . . First maximum width

200. . . Second plug

D2, D32. . . Second maximum width

110, 210. . . Metal housing

301. . . Slot

330, 340. . . dotted line

360. . . Intermediate plastic parts

P1, P2. . . position

300. . . Shared socket

400, 500. . . Shared socket system

310. . . processor

322. . . First terminal group

324. . . Second terminal group

326. . . Judging device

DL1-DL11. . . Data line

D-, D+, SSRX+, SSRX-, SSTX+, SSTX-. . . First stream data pin

GND1, GND2, GND3. . . Grounding pin

VBUS. . . Supply power pin

V. . . power supply

RX+, RX-, TX+, TX-. . . Second stream data pin

GND4, GND5. . . Grounding pin

DEC. . . Detection pin

S1. . . Judgment signal

Figure 1 is a schematic diagram of a conventional plug conforming to the USB 3.0 specification;

Figure 2 is a schematic diagram of a conventional plug conforming to one of the eSATA specifications;

Figure 3 is a schematic view of a mechanism for sharing a socket of the present invention;

Figure 4 is a block diagram of a shared socket system of the present invention;

Figure 5 is a block diagram of another shared socket system of the present invention;

Figure 6 is a flow chart of a method for operating a shared socket according to the present invention;

Figure 7 is a flow chart of another method of operating a shared socket of the present invention.

500. . . Shared socket system

300. . . Shared socket

310. . . processor

322. . . First terminal group

324. . . Second terminal group

326. . . Judging device

DL1-DL6, DL11. . . Data line

D-, D+, SSRX+, SSRX-, SSTX+, SSTX-. . . First stream data pin

GND1, GND2, GND3. . . Grounding pin

VBUS. . . Supply power pin

V. . . power supply

RX+, RX-, TX+, TX-. . . Second stream data pin

GND4, GND5. . . Grounding pin

DEC. . . Detection pin

S1. . . Judgment signal

Claims (10)

A common socket includes: a slot having a first maximum width and a second maximum width in the same direction, wherein the second maximum width is different from a second maximum width; a first terminal group conforming to USB 3.0 The specification has a plurality of first stream data pins; a second terminal group conforms to the eSATA specification and has a plurality of second stream data pins, wherein the first terminal group and the second terminal group are collectively disposed on the plug a detecting pin for transmitting a determination signal to a processor; and a determining device coupled to the detecting pin and disposed in the slot for inserting into the slot A plug is externally shaped, and the plug inserted into the slot is judged to be one of the first plugs of the USB 3.0 specification or the second plug conforming to one of the eSATA specifications, and the above-mentioned determination signal is generated. The shared socket according to claim 1, wherein the determining means determines that the inserted plug is the first plug or the second plug according to a maximum width of one of the inserted plugs. The shared socket according to claim 1, wherein the second maximum width is greater than the first maximum width, and when the maximum width of the inserted plug is the second maximum width, the determining device determines The above plug inserted is the second plug described above, and And when the maximum width of the inserted plug is the first maximum width, the determining means determines that the inserted plug is the first plug. The shared socket of claim 1, wherein the first stream data pin transmits data to the processor via a first bus bar, and the second stream data pin is via a second The bus bar transmits data to the processor, wherein the first bus bar is composed of six data lines, and the second bus bar is composed of four data lines. The shared socket of claim 4, wherein the first bus bar comprises the second bus bar. The shared socket according to claim 1, wherein the judging device is a shrapnel. A method for operating a shared socket, comprising: detecting whether a plug is inserted into a slot, wherein the slot has a first maximum width in the same direction and a second maximum width different from the first maximum width; When it is detected that the plug is inserted into the slot, the determining device inserts the first plug corresponding to one of the USB 3.0 specifications or the second plug that conforms to one of the eSATA specifications according to the inserted plug shape. And generating a determination signal; and selectively using a first terminal group conforming to one of the USB 3.0 specifications or a second terminal group conforming to the eSATA specification according to the above-mentioned determination signal. The operation of the shared socket as described in item 7 of the patent application scope The method of selectively using the first terminal group or the second terminal group according to the determining signal comprises: maintaining the USB 3.0 mode in one of the initial settings when the determining signal represents the first plug; When the determining signal represents the second plug, switching from the USB 3.0 mode to an eSATA mode; detecting whether the second plug inserted into the slot is pulled out of the slot; and when inserting the second plug into the slot When the above slot is removed, the above eSATA mode is switched to the above-mentioned USB 3.0 mode of the initial setting. The method for operating a shared socket according to claim 7, wherein the determining means determines that the plug inserted into the slot is the first plug or the first one according to a maximum width of one of the plugs inserted into the slot. Two plugs. The method of operating the shared socket according to claim 7, wherein the step of selectively using the first terminal group or the second terminal group according to the determining signal comprises: determining that the inserted plug is the first Receiving, by the plurality of first stream data pins of the first terminal group, the data of the first plug, and transmitting the data of the first plug to a processor via a first bus bar; and when determining to insert When the plug is the second plug, receiving the data of the second plug through the plurality of second stream data pins of the second terminal group, and transmitting the second plug via a second bus bar The data is sent to the processor, wherein the first bus bar is composed of six data lines, and the second bus bar is composed of four data lines.