TWI619022B - Display apparatus and switch for electronic apparatuses - Google Patents

Abstract

A display device and an electronic device switcher. The electronic device switch includes a hub device and an image processing device. The hub device includes a first upstream universal serial bus port, a second upstream universal serial bus port, and a downstream universal serial bus port. The first upstream universal serial bus port is a C-type universal serial bus port. The downstream universal serial bus port receives control commands. The hub device controls the first electronic device or the second electronic device according to the selection signal. The image processing device displays the combined image on the display panel according to the first image signal provided by the first electronic device and the second image signal provided by the second electronic device. The image processing device receives the first image signal from the first electronic device through the first upstream universal serial bus.

Description

Display device and electronic device switcher

The present invention relates to a display device and an electronic device switcher, and more particularly, to a display device with an embedded electronic device switcher that can be switched between multiple electronic devices to perform an operation action.

In the conventional technical field, a display device provides a management device capable of switching a plurality of computers. This kind of management device is called KVM, and it realizes the operation of switching and operating between multiple computer devices through a set of keyboard, display and mouse. In the field of conventional technology, computer equipment transmits general data and image signals. A single computer equipment must be connected to the management device through at least two signal transmission lines. When switching operations are required for multiple computer devices, the display device needs to provide many ports, and the user needs to prepare many signal transmission lines to connect the display device and the computer device. In this way, the management device for switching between multiple computers of the conventional technology cannot have good convenience and reduce its performance.

The invention provides an electronic device switcher, which can perform a plurality of electronic device control operations through a group of input and output devices.

The present invention further provides a display device having an electronic device switcher. An electronic device switch is used to perform a plurality of electronic device control operations through a group of input and output devices.

The electronic device switch of the present invention includes a hub device and an image processing device. The hub device includes at least one first upstream universal serial bus port, at least one second upstream universal serial bus port, and at least one downstream universal serial bus port. The first upstream universal serial bus port is a C-type universal serial bus port, and is coupled to at least one first electronic device. The second upstream universal serial bus port is coupled to at least one second electronic device. The downstream universal serial bus port is coupled to at least one input device to receive control commands. The hub device controls the first electronic device or the second electronic device according to the selection signal. The image processing device is coupled to the hub device and the display panel, and receives and displays the combined image on the display panel according to the first image signal provided by the first electronic device and the second image signal provided by the second electronic device. The image processing device receives the first image signal from the first electronic device through the first upstream universal serial bus.

In an embodiment of the present invention, the above-mentioned hub device further includes a hub circuit and a multiplexer. The hub circuit is coupled to the first upstream universal serial bus port, the second upstream universal serial bus port, the downstream universal serial bus port, and the image processing device. The multiplexer is coupled to the hub circuit, the first upstream universal serial bus port and the second upstream universal serial bus port. The multiplexer causes the first electronic device or the second electronic device to perform a signal transmission operation with the hub circuit according to the selection signal.

In an embodiment of the present invention, the above-mentioned hub device further includes a power generator and a channel configuration / power transmission controller. The power generator generates a plurality of power sources to be selected. The channel configuration / power transmission controller is coupled to the power generator and the first upstream universal serial bus port, and selects one of the power sources to be selected according to the received data received by the first upstream universal serial bus port. And send and receive data to the multiplexer according to the selected power.

In an embodiment of the present invention, the image processing apparatus further includes at least one image signal receiving port and an image processing circuit. The image signal receiving port receives a second image signal provided by the second electronic device, and provides a second image signal to the image processing device. The image processing circuit is coupled to an image signal receiving port and a hub device. The image processing circuit combines the first image signal and the second image signal to generate a combined image signal, and performs an enlargement or reduction operation on the combined image signal to display the combined image on the display panel.

In an embodiment of the present invention, the image processing circuit further displays the control index in the first part or the second part of the combined image according to the selection signal. The first part and the second part correspond to the first image signal and the second image signal, respectively.

In an embodiment of the present invention, the image signal receiving port includes a first image signal receiving port and a second image signal receiving port. The image processing device further includes a multiplexer, which is coupled to the first image signal receiving port and the second image signal receiving port, and transmits the image signal received by the first image signal receiving port or the second image signal receiving port to Image processing circuit.

In an embodiment of the present invention, the image signal receiving port further includes at least one of a high-quality multimedia interface signal receiving port and a mobile high-quality connection signal receiving port.

In an embodiment of the present invention, the image processing apparatus further includes at least one memory, and provides an image processing circuit for data access.

In an embodiment of the present invention, the electronic device switch further includes a selection interface coupled to the hub device to provide a selection signal.

In an embodiment of the present invention, the input device is at least one of a keyboard and a mouse.

The present invention further provides a display device including a display panel and the above-mentioned electronic device switcher. The electronic device switch is coupled to the display panel.

Based on the above, the present invention provides at least one C-type universal serial bus port in the electronic device switcher to connect the first electronic device, and provides other universal serial bus port in the form of a wire to connect the second electronic device. And input devices. The image signals of the first electronic device and the second electronic device are integrated through the image processing device to generate a combined image. In this way, the control command received by the input device can be switched and controlled between the first electronic device and the second electronic device.

In order to make the above features and advantages of the present invention more comprehensible, embodiments are hereinafter described in detail with reference to the accompanying drawings.

Please refer to FIG. 1, which is a schematic diagram of an electronic device switcher according to an embodiment of the present invention. The electronic device switcher 100 includes a hub device 110 and an image processing device 120. The hub device 110 is coupled to the image processing device 120, and the hub device 110 includes upstream universal serial bus (USB) ports UPP1 and UPP2 and downstream universal serial bus ports DNP1 and DNP2. The upstream universal serial bus ports UPP1 and UPP2 are respectively coupled to the electronic device EA1 and the electronic device EA2, and the downstream universal serial bus ports DNP1 and DNP2 are respectively coupled to the input devices IND1 and IND2. At least one of the upstream universal serial bus ports UPP1 and UPP2 is a Type-C universal type serial bus port. In this embodiment, the upstream universal serial bus port UPP1 is Type -C Universal serial bus port.

Regarding the details of the operation of the electronic device switcher 100, at least one of the input device IND1 and the input device IND2 may receive a control command. The control command can be transmitted to the hub device 110 through at least one of the downstream universal serial bus ports DNP1 and DNP2. The hub device 110 further receives a selection signal SEL, and transmits a control command to one of the electronic device EA1 and the electronic device EA2 through one of the upstream universal serial bus ports UPP1 and UPP2 for execution according to the selection signal SEL. Manipulating actions. Specifically, the input device IND1 and the input device IND2 may be a mouse and a keyboard, respectively. The user can perform a control command input operation through at least one of a mouse (input device IND1) and a keyboard (input device IND2). When the user wants to perform a control action on the electronic device EA1, the selection signal SEL may be the first logic level (eg, logic level 0) corresponding to the upstream universal serial bus port UPP1, and the hub device 110 may be based on the selection signal SEL The control command is transmitted to the electronic device EA1 to control the electronic device EA1. In contrast, when the user wants to perform a control action on the electronic device EA2, the selection signal SEL can be switched to a second logical level (eg, logical level 1) corresponding to the upstream universal serial bus port UPP2, and the hub device 110 can A control command is transmitted to the electronic device EA2 based on the selection signal SEL to control the electronic device EA2. In this embodiment, the electronic device EA1 may be any one of a mobile phone, a desktop computer, a tablet computer, or a notebook computer; the electronic device EA2 may also be any one of a mobile phone, a desktop computer, a tablet computer, or a notebook computer .

Based on the upstream universal serial bus port UPP1 being a Type-C universal serial bus port, the electronic device EA1 can transmit general data signals DS to the hub device 110 through the upstream universal serial bus port UPP1. The image signal DPS1 can be transmitted to the hub device 110 through the serial bus port UPP1.

On the other hand, the image processing device 120 is coupled to the display panel 101 and the electronic device EA2, and receives the image signal DPS2 provided by the electronic device EA2. In addition, the image processing device 120 may also receive the image signal DPS1 provided by the electronic device EA1 by the hub device 110, perform image processing operations on the image signal DPS2 and the image signal DPS1, and transmit the processed combined image signal CPS to the display panel. 101 to display a merged image on the display panel 101. The combined image signal CPS can be a low voltage differential signal (LVDS).

Specifically, the image processing device 120 may combine according to the image signal DPS1 and the image signal DPS2 to combine the images to be displayed by the electronic device EA1 and the electronic device EA2, and display the combined image on the display panel 101. In addition, the image processing device 120 may also process the combined image signals, for example, perform an enlargement or reduction in size, so that the combined image can be better displayed on the display panel 101.

In addition, to assist one of the electronic device EA1 and the electronic device EA2 for manipulation, the image processing device 120 displays a control index in the merged image according to the selection signal SEL. Furthermore, the combined image generated by the image processing device 120 according to the image signal DPS1 and the image signal DPS2 includes two parts. The first part of the combined image corresponds to the image signal DPS1 and the second part of the combined image corresponds to the image signal DPS2. When the selection signal SEL selects to control the electronic device EA1, the image processing device 120 may display the control index in the first part of the combined image. In contrast, when the selection signal SEL selects to control the electronic device EA2, the image processing device 120 Control indicators can be displayed in the second part of the merged image.

According to the above description, it can be known that the electronic device switcher 100 according to the embodiment of the present invention can construct a Type C upstream universal serial bus port UPP1, and the signal transmission wires between the electronic devices EA1, EA2 and the electronic device switcher 100 can be The number of requirements can be reduced and the convenience in use can be improved.

Please refer to FIG. 2A below. FIG. 2A is a schematic diagram of an electronic device switch according to another embodiment of the present invention. The electronic device switcher 200 includes a hub device 210, an image processing device 220, and a selection interface 230. The hub device 210 is coupled to the image processing device 220 and the selection interface 230. The hub device 210 includes a hub circuit 211, upstream universal serial bus ports UPP1 and UPP2, and downstream universal serial bus ports DNP1-DNP3, a power generator 212, a channel configuration / power transmission controller (CC / PD controller) 213 And multiplexer 214. The upstream universal serial bus ports UPP1 and UPP2 are respectively coupled to the electronic devices EA1 and EA2, and the electronic devices EA1 and EA2 are a notebook computer and a desktop computer, respectively. The downstream universal serial bus ports DNP1 and DNP2 are respectively coupled to the input devices IND1 and IND2, where the input devices IND1 and IND2 are a keyboard and a mouse, respectively. The upstream universal serial bus ports UPP1 and UPP2 and the downstream universal serial bus ports DNP1-DNP3 are coupled to the hub circuit 211.

In addition, the power generator 212 generates a plurality of different sets of power sources to be selected, and provides the power sources to be selected to the channel configuration / power transmission controller 213. The channel configuration / power transmission controller 213 is further coupled to the upstream universal serial bus port UPP1, and receives the received data transmitted by the upstream universal serial bus port UPP1, and selects the candidate according to the above-mentioned received data. One of the power sources. The channel configuration / power transmission controller 213 transmits the received data to the multiplexer 214 according to the selected power.

The multiplexer 214 is coupled to the upstream universal serial bus port UPP2, the hub circuit 211, and the selection interface 230. The selection interface 230 provides a selection signal SEL to the multiplexer 214. The multiplexer 214 selects one of the upstream universal serial bus ports UPP1 and UPP2 to be coupled to the hub circuit 211 according to the selection signal SEL. Specifically, when the selection signal SEL selects the electronic device EA1 for control, the multiplexer 214 selects the upstream universal serial bus port UPP1 to be coupled to the hub circuit 211 according to the selection signal SEL, and makes the electronic device EA1 available. Perform data transmission operation with the hub circuit 211. In contrast, when the selection signal SEL selects the electronic device EA2 for control, the multiplexer 214 selects the upstream universal serial bus port UPP2 to be coupled to the hub circuit 211 according to the selection signal SEL, and enables the electronic device EA2 to communicate with The hub circuit 211 performs a data transmission operation.

In another aspect, the control command generated by at least one of the input devices IND1 and IND2 can be transmitted to the hub circuit 211 through at least one of the downstream universal serial bus ports DNP1 and DNP2. The hub circuit 211 can also transmit the control command to the selected electronic device (the electronic device EA1 or the electronic device EA2) through the multiplexer 214 to perform a control action.

In the embodiment of the present invention, the image processing device 220 includes an image processing circuit (scaler) circuit 221, an image signal receiving port DPS, DP1, DP2, and an image signal output port DPO, a multiplexer 222, and memories 223-224. The image processing circuit 221 is coupled to an image signal receiving port DPS, DP1, DP2, an image signal output port DPO, and a multiplexer 222. The image signal receiving port DP1 in this embodiment is coupled to the electronic device EA2 and receives the image signal DPS2 provided by the electronic device EA2. In addition, the image processing circuit 221 may be coupled to the channel configuration / power transmission controller 213, and the channel configuration / power transmission controller 213 receives the image signal DPS1 provided by the electronic device EA1. In this way, the image processing circuit 221 can perform image processing operations on the image signals DPS1 and DPS2 and generate a combined image signal CPS, and provide the combined image signal CPS to the display panel.

It is worth mentioning that the image processing device 220 in this embodiment provides a plurality of image signal receiving ports DPS, DP1, DP2. The image signal receiving port DPS may be at least one of a high-definition multimedia interface (HDMI) signal receiving port and a mobile high-definition link (HML) signal receiving port. The image signal receiving port DP1 and the image signal receiving port DP2 can be image signal receiving ports with different sizes of connection terminals. Among them, the image signal receiving ports DP1 and DP2 can be DisplayPort and mini DisplayPort promoted by the Electronic Standards Association (VESA), respectively. .

The image signal receiving ports DP1 and DP2 are coupled to the multiplexer 222, and when the image signal receiving port DP1 is connected and receives an image signal, the multiplexer 222 selects to transmit the image signal received by the image signal receiving port DP1 to the image processing circuit 221. In contrast, when the image signal receiving port DP2 is connected and receives an image signal, the multiplexer 222 chooses to transmit the image signal received by the image signal receiving port DP2 to the image processing circuit 221.

In addition, the image processing device 220 also provides an image signal output port DPO to provide a combined image to an external display panel (not shown).

The image processing circuit 221 is further coupled to the memories 223 and 224. The memories 223 and 224 may be any form of memory, and may store information required by the image processing circuit 221 and be accessed by the image processing circuit 221. Such as boot code, setting data, etc.

The image processing circuit 221 is also coupled to the hub circuit 211. The hub circuit 211 can convert the USB format to a Serial Peripheral Interface Bu (SPI) format and transmit the signal USB2SPI to the image processing circuit 221. In addition, the hub circuit 211 can transmit a USB detection signal USBDET to the image processing circuit 221. The hub circuit 211 can transmit the enable signal USBEN to the image processing circuit 221.

Please refer to FIG. 2B-FIG. 2D, FIG. 2B-FIG. 2D are schematic diagrams of different embodiments of the embodiment of FIG. 2A of the present invention, respectively. In FIG. 2B, the electronic device EA2 is coupled to the image signal receiving port DP2, and transmits the provided image signal DPS2 through the image signal receiving port DP2. In FIG. 2C, the electronic device EA2 is coupled to the image signal receiving port DPS and can transmit the provided image signal DPS2 through the high-quality multimedia interface to the image signal receiving port DPS. In FIG. 2D, the electronic device EA1 is a smart phone, and performs data transmission operations through a Type C universal serial bus port UPP1.

Please refer to FIG. 3 below, which illustrates a schematic diagram of an electronic device switcher according to another embodiment of the present invention. In FIG. 3, unlike the previous embodiment, the hub device 310 of the electronic device switch 300 includes a plurality of Type C upstream universal serial bus ports UPP11 and UPP12, and is coupled to the electronic devices EA11 and EA12, respectively. In this embodiment, the non-Type C upstream universal serial bus port UPP2 is further coupled to the electronic device EA2. In this way, the image processing device 320 can process the image signals provided by the combined electronic devices EA11, EA12, and EA2, and generate a combined image with three images.

In addition, the hub device 310 of the electronic device switch 300 includes a plurality of channel configuration / power transmission controllers 3131 and 3132 corresponding to a plurality of Type C upstream universal serial bus ports UPP11 and UPP12. The channel configuration / power transmission controllers 3131 and 3132 correspond to the upstream universal serial bus ports UPP11 and UPP12, respectively, and perform channel configuration and power transmission operations on the received data of the upstream universal serial bus ports UPP11 and UPP12.

Incidentally, in the embodiment of the present invention, the electronic device switch may have a plurality of Type C upstream universal serial bus ports and a plurality of non-Type C upstream universal serial bus ports. Fixed restrictions. In addition, the electronic device switch may also have one or more downstream universal serial bus ports, and there is no fixed limit on the number thereof.

Please refer to FIG. 4 below, which illustrates a schematic diagram of a channel configuration / power transmission controller according to an embodiment of the present invention. The channel configuration / power transmission controller 400 is coupled to the Type C universal serial bus port 401. The channel configuration / power transmission controller 400 includes a core circuit 410, a multiplexer 420, an interface circuit 430, and a switch group 440. The channel configuration / power transmission controller 400 receives multiple power sources V1-V4 and is coupled to the host-side HST. The multiplexer 420 transmits data DAT. The core circuit 410 may be designed through a digital circuit design method, and may be configured through multiple logic circuits. The core circuit 410 may perform power transmission according to the type of data to be transmitted, and perform an action of configuring a transmission channel. The multiplexer 420 may be a high-speed multiplexer. The switch group 440 includes a plurality of switches to select one of a plurality of power sources V1, V2, and V3.

5A and 5B, FIG. 5A and FIG. 5B are schematic diagrams of a display device according to an embodiment of the present invention. In FIGS. 5A and 5B, the display device 500 includes a display panel 510, an electronic device switch 520, and a selection interface 530. The electronic device switcher 520 is coupled to the display panel 510 and the selection interface 530. The display panel 510 and the electronic device switcher 520 are both embedded in the display device 500. The display device 500 may further be connected to the electronic devices EA1 and EA2 and the input devices IND1 and IND2. Through the electronic device switcher 520, the user can select the electronic device to be operated through the selection interface 530, and control the selected electronic device through the input devices IND1 and IND2. The selection interface 530 may be a physical key, such as a key provided on a display panel, a key on a keyboard, or a mouse wheel or a key. Alternatively, the selection interface 530 may also be provided through a pop-up window displayed on the display panel 510. For example, any software or hardware interface that can provide a user with a selection operation of multiple electronic devices can be applied to the selection interface 530 of the present invention, and there is no fixed limit.

In addition, the display panel 510 further displays a control index 560. The position of the control indicator 560 is changed corresponding to the selection signal SEL generated by the selection interface 530. For example, when the electronic device EA1 is selected for manipulation, the control indicator 560 may appear in the first part of the display panel 510 (for example, shown in the figure) The left half of the panel 510), when the electronic device EA2 is selected for manipulation, the control indicator 560 may appear on the second part of the display panel 510 (for example, the right half of the display panel 510 in the illustration).

In summary, the electronic device switch of the present invention has a C-type universal serial bus port, and connects the electronic device through the C-type universal serial bus port, and reduces the number of transmission wires required. The system complexity of the display device is effectively simplified and the convenience in use is improved.

Although the present invention has been disclosed as above with the examples, it is not intended to limit the present invention. Any person with ordinary knowledge in the technical field can make some modifications and retouching without departing from the spirit and scope of the present invention. The protection scope of the present invention shall be determined by the scope of the attached patent application.

100, 200‧‧‧ electronic device switcher

110, 210‧‧‧ hub device

120, 220‧‧‧ image processing device

UPP1, UPP2, UPP11, UPP12‧‧‧ Upstream universal serial bus port

EA1, EA2, EA11, EA12‧‧‧ electronic devices

IND1, IND2‧‧‧ input devices

DNP1, DNP2, DNP3‧‧‧ downstream universal serial bus port

SEL‧‧‧Selection signal

DS‧‧‧General information signal

DPS1, DPS2‧‧‧Video signal

CPS‧‧‧Combined video signal

101‧‧‧display panel

230‧‧‧Select interface

211‧‧‧ Hub Circuit

212‧‧‧Power Generator

213, 3131, 3132, 400‧‧‧ channel configuration / power transmission controller

214, 222‧‧‧ Multiplexer

221‧‧‧Image Processing Circuit

USB2SPI‧‧‧Signal

USBDET‧‧‧USB detection signal

USBEN‧‧‧ enable signal

DPS, DP1, DP2 ‧‧‧ video signal receiving port

DPO‧‧‧Video signal output port

401‧‧‧Type C universal serial bus port

410‧‧‧Core Circuit

420‧‧‧Multiplexer

430‧‧‧Interface circuit

440‧‧‧Switch group

DAT‧‧‧ Information

HST‧‧‧Host

V1-V4‧‧‧ Power

500‧‧‧ display device

510‧‧‧Display Panel

520‧‧‧Electronic device switcher

530‧‧‧Select interface

560‧‧‧Control indicators

FIG. 1 is a schematic diagram of an electronic device switch according to an embodiment of the invention. FIG. 2A is a schematic diagram of an electronic device switch according to another embodiment of the invention. 2B-2D are schematic diagrams illustrating different implementation manners of the embodiment of FIG. 2A according to the present invention. FIG. 3 is a schematic diagram of an electronic device switch according to another embodiment of the present invention. FIG. 4 is a schematic diagram of a channel configuration / power transmission controller according to an embodiment of the present invention. 5A and 5B are schematic diagrams of a display device according to an embodiment of the present invention.

100: electronic device switch 110: hub device 120: image processing device UPP1, UPP2: upstream universal serial bus port EA1, EA2: electronic devices IND1, IND2: input devices DNP1, DNP2: downstream universal serial bus port SEL: Selection signal DS: General data signal DPS1: Video signal CPS: Combined video signal 101: Display panel

Claims (9)

An electronic device switcher includes: a hub device including: a first upstream universal serial bus port, which is a C-type universal serial bus port, coupled to a first electronic device; a second upstream universal A serial bus port coupled to a second electronic device; and a downstream universal serial bus port coupled to an input device to receive a control command, wherein the hub device causes the control command to respond to a control signal according to a selection signal A first electronic device or the second electronic device for controlling; and an image processing device coupled to the hub device and a display panel, and receiving and receiving a first image signal provided by the first electronic device and the second electronic device A second image signal is provided to perform image combination and generate a combined image signal, and an image is displayed on the display panel according to the combined image signal. The image processing device passes the first upstream universal serial bus. The first electronic device receives the first image signal. The image processing device includes an image signal receiving port for receiving the first image signal. The second image signal provided by a second electronic device, and providing the second image signal to the image processing device; and an image processing circuit coupled to the image signal receiving port and the hub device, the image processing circuit processing the first An image signal and the second image signal to generate an image signal, and zoom in or out on the image signal to display the image signal The display panel displays the image. The electronic device switch according to item 1 of the patent application scope, wherein the hub device further comprises: a hub circuit coupled to the first upstream universal serial bus port and the second upstream universal serial bus port The downstream universal serial bus port and the image processing device; and a multiplexer coupled to the hub circuit, the first upstream universal serial bus port, and the second upstream universal serial bus port, Causing the first electronic device or the second electronic device to perform a signal transmission operation with the hub circuit according to the selection signal. The electronic device switcher according to item 2 of the scope of patent application, wherein the hub device further includes: a power generator that generates a plurality of power sources to be selected; and a channel configuration / power transmission controller coupled to the power generator And the first upstream universal serial bus port, selecting one of the candidate power sources according to a received data received by the first upstream universal serial bus port, and transmitting the selected power source according to a selected power source Receive data to the multiplexer. According to the electronic device switcher described in claim 1, wherein the image processing circuit is further based on the selection signal to display a control index on a first part or a second part of the image, wherein the first part and the The second part corresponds to the first image signal and the second image signal, respectively. According to the electronic device switch described in the first item of the patent application scope, wherein the image signal receiving port includes a first image signal receiving port and a second image signal receiving port, the image processing device further includes: a multiplexer, Is coupled to the first image signal receiving port and the second image signal receiving port, and transmits an image signal received by the first image signal receiving port or the second image signal receiving port to the image processing circuit. According to the electronic device switch of claim 5, the image signal receiving port further includes at least one of a high-quality multimedia interface signal receiving port and a mobile high-quality connection signal receiving port. The electronic device switcher according to item 5 of the patent application scope, wherein the image processing device further comprises: a memory, which provides the image processing circuit for data access. The electronic device switch according to item 1 of the scope of patent application, further comprising: a selection interface coupled to the hub device and providing the selection signal. A display device includes: a display panel; and the electronic device switcher according to any one of claims 1-8 of the scope of patent application, coupled to the display panel.