TWI784227B - Switching device and operation method thereof - Google Patents

Abstract

A switching device and an operation method thereof are provided. The switching device is suitable for multiple hosts and one peripheral device. The switching device includes multiple host ports, a peripheral device port, a switching circuit, and a prompt signal monitoring unit. The host ports are coupled to the hosts and receive data from the hosts. The peripheral device port is coupled to the peripheral device. The switching circuit receives a switching signal and selectively transmits data received by one of these host ports through the peripheral device port to the peripheral device according to the switching signal. The prompt signal monitoring unit is coupled to the host ports to receive prompt signal from the other one of the hosts, and makes a notification to indicate the host port that receives the prompt signal according to the prompt signal.

Description

Switching Devices and How to Do It

The present invention relates to an electronic device, and more particularly to a switching device and an operating method thereof.

Keyboard/Screen/Mouse (Keyboard/Video/Mouse, KVM) switch is also known as KVM switch. By time-sharing, KVM switches allow a group of peripheral devices to control multiple computers. The peripheral devices may include one or more of a keyboard, a monitor, a mouse, a speaker, and other devices. Generally speaking, the KVM switch will only select one computer at a time, and then connect the set of peripheral devices to the selected computer. The selected computer may be called the current computer.

During operation, any of these computers connected to the KVM switch may generate prompt events from time to time. For example, when a computer receives a new e-mail from the Internet (an alert event occurs), the computer will send an alert signal (such as a beep) to notify the user. When a prompt event occurs on the current computer (the selected computer), the current computer can send a prompt signal to the peripheral device through the KVM switch to notify the user. However, when a notification event occurs on a non-current computer (a computer not selected), the notification signal of the non-current computer cannot pass through the KVM switch, so that the non-current computer cannot notify the user in real time.

It should be noted that the content of the "Prior Art" paragraph is used to help understand the present invention. Some (or all) of the content disclosed in the "Prior Art" paragraph may not be known to those with ordinary skill in the art. The content disclosed in the "Prior Art" paragraph does not mean that the content has been known to those with ordinary knowledge in the technical field before the application of the present application.

The invention provides a switching device and its operation method, which can send out a notification in real time to point out the host that sends out the prompt signal.

The switching device of the present invention is suitable for multiple hosts and one peripheral device. The switching device includes multiple host connecting ports, a peripheral device connecting port, a switching circuit and a prompt signal monitoring unit. The host ports are coupled to the hosts and receive data from the hosts. The peripheral device connection port is coupled to the peripheral device. The switching circuit is coupled to the host port and the peripheral device port. The switching circuit receives and selectively transmits the data received by one of the host connection ports to the peripheral device through the peripheral device connection port according to the switching signal. The prompt signal monitoring unit is coupled to the host ports to receive a prompt signal from another one of the hosts, and sends a notification according to the prompt signal to point out the host port that has received the prompt signal.

The operation method of the present invention includes: receiving and selectively transmitting data received from one of the hosts to peripheral devices according to the switching signal; receiving a prompt signal from another of the hosts; And send a notification according to the prompt signal, the notification is used to point out the host computer that sends the prompt signal.

Based on the above, the switching device according to the embodiments of the present invention can select a host (called the current host) from multiple hosts, and then connect the current host to peripheral devices. The switching device can receive the prompt signal sent by any one of these hosts, regardless of whether the host sending the prompt signal is the current host (the selected host). According to the prompting signal, the switching device can send out a notification in real time to point out the host that sends out the prompting signal. Therefore, not only the current host, but also non-current hosts (hosts not selected) can be notified to the user in real time.

In order to make the above-mentioned features and advantages of the present invention more comprehensible, the following specific embodiments are described in detail together with the accompanying drawings.

The term "coupled (or connected)" used throughout the specification of this case (including the patent claims) may refer to any direct or indirect means of connection. For example, if it is described in the text that a first device is coupled (or connected) to a second device, it should be interpreted that the first device can be directly connected to the second device, or the first device can be connected to the second device through other devices or certain A connection means indirectly connected to the second device. The terms "first" and "second" mentioned in the entire description of this case (including the scope of the patent application) are used to name elements (elements), or to distinguish different embodiments or ranges, and are not used to limit the number of elements The upper or lower limit of , nor is it used to limit the order of the elements. In addition, wherever possible, elements/components/steps using the same reference numerals in the drawings and embodiments represent the same or similar parts. Elements/components/steps using the same symbols or using the same terms in different embodiments can refer to related descriptions.

FIG. 1 is a schematic diagram of a circuit block of a switching device 100 according to an embodiment of the present invention. According to design requirements, the switching device 100 may be a keyboard/video/mouse (KVM) switch (or called a KVM switch) or other switching devices. The switching device 100 is coupled to a plurality of hosts (such as hosts 10_1 , . . . , 10_n) and peripheral devices 20 . According to design requirements, the peripheral device 20 may include one or more of a keyboard, a monitor, a mouse, a speaker and other devices. According to application requirements, any one of the hosts 10_1˜10_n can be a server, a workstation, a personal computer, a notebook computer or other hosts.

FIG. 2 is a schematic flowchart of an operation method of a switching device according to an embodiment of the present invention. Please refer to Figure 1 and Figure 2. In step S210 , the switching device 100 can receive the switching signal SW, and selectively transmit the data received from one of the hosts 10_1˜10 — n to the peripheral device 20 according to the switching signal SW. In step S220, the switching device 100 may receive a prompt signal from another one of the hosts 10_1˜10_n. For example, assume that the switching device 100 selects to transmit the data of the host 10_1 to the peripheral device 20 according to the switching signal SW. The switching device 100 can monitor whether the other hosts among the hosts 10_1˜10_n except the host 10_1 send out the prompt signal in step S220. When any one of the hosts 10_1˜10_n sends out a prompt signal, the switching device 100 can receive the prompt signal.

In the embodiment shown in FIG. 2, step S220 includes steps S221, S222 and S223. In step S221, the switching device 100 may check (monitor) the outputs of the hosts 10_1˜10_n. When the determination result of step S222 is "none", the switching device 100 returns to step S210. When any one of the hosts 10_1˜10_n sends out a prompt signal (the determination result of step S222 is “Yes”), the switching device 100 may receive the prompt signal (step S223 ). In step S230, the switching device 100 may send a notification according to the prompt signal, wherein the notification is used to indicate which one of the hosts 10_1˜10_n is the host sending the prompt signal.

For example, when any one of hosts 10_1～10_n (for example, host 10_n) receives a new electronic letter from the Internet (reminder event occurs), this host will send out an audio signal (prompt signal) to notify the user . The switching device 100 can monitor whether the hosts 10_1˜10_n send out audio signals (prompt signals). When the host 10_n sends out an audio signal (prompt signal), the switching device 100 can send a notification to the user according to the audio signal (prompt signal), so as to indicate that it is the host 10_n that sends out the prompt signal. According to design requirements, the notification may include sound, light, text or other forms of notification.

Please refer to Figure 1. The switching device 100 shown in FIG. 1 includes a plurality of host ports (such as host ports 110_1 , . A plurality of host ports 110_1˜110_n are coupled to the hosts 10_1˜10_n, and receive data from the hosts 10_1˜10_n. The peripheral device connection port 140 is coupled to the peripheral device 20 . The switching circuit 120 is coupled to the host connection ports 110_1˜110 — n and the peripheral device connection port 140 . The switching circuit 120 can receive the switching signal SW. The switching signal SW may come from an interface circuit (not shown). The user can operate the interface circuit to send the switching signal SW to the switching circuit 120 . According to the switching signal SW, the switching circuit 120 can selectively transmit the data received by one of the host connection ports 110_1˜110 — n to the peripheral device 20 through the peripheral device connection port 140 .

The prompt signal monitoring unit 130 is coupled to the host ports 110_1-110_n to receive prompt signals from the hosts 10_1-10_n. For example, assuming that the switching circuit 120 selects to transmit the data of the host 10_1 to the peripheral device 20 according to the switching signal SW, the prompt signal monitoring unit 130 can monitor whether other hosts among the hosts 10_1˜10_n except the host 10_1 send out prompt signals. When any one of the hosts 10_1-10_n sends a prompt signal, the prompt signal monitoring unit 130 can receive the prompt signal, and send a notification according to the prompt signal, to indicate that the host port receiving the prompt signal is the host Which one of the ports 110_1 to 110_n is connected. According to design requirements, the notification may include sound, light, text or other forms of notification. According to the notification, the user can know which one of the hosts 10_1˜10_n sends the prompt signal. On the other hand, in some operating situations, since the host 10_1 is selected as the current host, generally speaking, the prompt signal from the current host 10_1 can be intuitively perceived by the user, for example, through a pop-up window, etc. The prompt signals of the remaining hosts can be notified to the user through the above-mentioned other forms.

When the host port receiving the prompt signal is selected by the switching circuit 120, the prompt signal monitoring unit 130 may stop sending the notification. For example, assume that the switching circuit 120 selects to transmit the data of the host 10_1 to the peripheral device 20 according to the switching signal SW, and the host 10_n sends out a prompt signal. That is, the switch circuit 120 selects the host port 110_1 according to the switch signal SW, and the host port 110_n receives the prompt signal. Therefore, the prompt signal monitoring unit 130 can issue a notification according to the prompt signal to indicate that "the host port 110_n receives the prompt signal". After the prompt signal monitoring unit 130 notifies the user according to the prompt signal, the user can operate the interface circuit (not shown) of the switching device 100 to control the switching circuit 120 to select the host 10_n according to the switching signal SW. The data is transmitted to the peripheral device 20 . That is to say, the switching circuit 120 reselects the host port 110_n according to the switching signal SW to check the events of the host 10_n. When the host port 110_n receiving the prompt signal is selected by the switching circuit 120, the prompt signal monitoring unit 130 may stop sending the notification.

FIG. 3 is a schematic circuit block diagram illustrating the prompt signal monitoring unit 130 shown in FIG. 1 according to an embodiment of the present invention. In the embodiment shown in FIG. 3 , the prompt signal monitoring unit 130 includes a prompt signal detection circuit 131 and a prompt unit 132 . The prompt signal detection circuit 131 is coupled to the host connection port 110 . According to design requirements, in some embodiments, the host connection port 110 shown in FIG. 3 is used to represent one, a plurality or all of the host connection ports 110_1˜110_n. In other embodiments, the host port 110 shown in FIG. 3 is used to represent one or more other ports other than the host ports 110_1˜110_n. The prompt signal detection circuit 131 can detect whether the host port 110 receives the prompt signal, and generates a status signal St according to the prompt signal to indicate whether the host port 110 receives the prompt signal. The prompt unit 132 is coupled to the prompt signal detection circuit 131 to receive the status signal St. According to the status signal St, the prompt unit 132 can determine whether to send a notification.

In the embodiment shown in FIG. 3 , the prompt signal detection circuit 131 includes a signal processing unit 310 and a memory unit 320 . The signal processing unit 310 is coupled to the host port 110 to receive the prompt signal. The signal processing unit 310 can monitor/detect whether the host port 110 receives a prompt signal. According to the prompt signal, the signal processing unit 310 can generate a trigger signal 311 to indicate the host connection port 110 receiving the prompt signal. The monitoring function of the signal processing unit 310 can be provided according to design requirements. For example, if the prompt signal is an audio signal, the signal processing unit 310 can identify the audio signal.

The memory unit 320 is coupled to the signal processing unit 310 to receive the trigger signal 311 . According to the trigger signal 311 , the memory unit 320 can set the state signal St to a first logic state to indicate the host port 110 receiving the prompt signal. When the host port 110 is selected by the switch circuit 120 , the switch circuit 120 can reset the memory unit 320 . At this time, the memory unit 320 can reset the state signal St to the second logic state, so as to control the prompt unit 132 to end the notification. According to design requirements, in some embodiments, the first logic state may be a high logic level, and the second logic state may be a low logic level. In other embodiments, the first logic state may be a low logic level, and the second logic state may be a high logic level.

FIG. 4 is a schematic circuit block diagram illustrating the prompt signal monitoring unit 130 shown in FIG. 1 according to another embodiment of the present invention. In the embodiment shown in FIG. 4 , the prompt signal monitoring unit 130 includes a plurality of prompt signal detection circuits (such as prompt signal detection circuits 131_1 , . . . , 131_n) and a prompt unit 132 . Each of the prompt signal detection circuits 131_1-131_n shown in FIG. 4 can be analogized by referring to the relevant description of the prompt signal detection circuit 131 shown in FIG. 3 , and the prompt unit 132 shown in FIG. related descriptions, so I won’t repeat them here. The prompt signal detection circuits 131_1˜131_n shown in FIG. 4 are coupled to the host connection ports 110_1˜110_n. The prompt unit 132 is coupled to the prompt signal detection circuits 131_1˜131_n to receive status signals St_1, . . . , St_n.

In the embodiment shown in FIG. 4 , the prompt unit 132 includes a processor 410 . The processor 410 may provide the management web page 40 . The management web page 40 can be used as a user management interface. Users can use the management web page 40 via the Internet to check the status of the switching device 100 and/or set the operating parameters of the switching device 100 . According to the status signals St_1˜St_n, the processor 410 can determine whether to send a notification. In the embodiment shown in FIG. 4 , the notification includes a notification string added to the management web page 40 . According to design requirements, in some embodiments, the notification string may indicate which one (or which) of the host ports 110_1˜110_n is the host port that receives the prompt signal. In some other embodiments, the notification string may indicate which one (or which ones) of the hosts 10_1˜10_n is the host sending the prompt signal.

FIG. 5 is a circuit block diagram illustrating the switching circuit 120 and the prompt signal monitoring unit 130 shown in FIG. 1 according to another embodiment of the present invention. In the embodiment shown in FIG. 5 , the switching device 100 further includes host connection ports 150_1 , . . . , 150_n. The host connection ports 110_1˜110_n are used to receive video signals from the hosts 10_1˜10_n, and the host connection ports 150_1˜150_n are used to receive audio signals (prompt signals) from the hosts 10_1˜10_n. The prompt signal monitoring unit 130 shown in FIG. 5 includes a plurality of prompt signal detection circuits 131_1 - 131_n and a processor 410 (prompt unit 132 ). The prompt signal detection circuits 131_1-131_n shown in FIG. 5 are coupled to the host connection ports 150_1-150_n to detect the prompt signal. The reminder signal detection circuits 131_1 - 131_n and the processor 410 shown in FIG. 5 can be analogized with reference to the related descriptions of the reminder signal detection circuits 131_1 - 131_n and the processor 410 shown in FIG. 4 , so the details are not repeated here.

In the embodiment shown in FIG. 5 , the switching circuit 120 includes a video switching circuit 510 . The video switching circuit 510 is coupled to the host ports 110_1˜110_n to receive video signals from the hosts 10_1˜10_n. According to the switching signal SW, the video switching circuit 510 can select one of the host connection ports 110_1˜110_n. The video switching circuit 510 is coupled to the peripheral device connection port 140 . The video switching circuit 510 can transmit the video signal received by the selected host port to the peripheral device 20 via the peripheral device port 140 . In the embodiment shown in FIG. 5 , the peripheral device 20 includes a display device 50 .

The video switching circuit 510 can selectively transmit one of the multiple video signals output by the hosts 10_1˜10 — n to the display device 50 . In addition, the video switching circuit 510 can add an On-Screen Display (OSD) window into the screen of the display device 50 . According to the status signals of the prompt signal detection circuits 131_1˜131_n, the processor 410 can determine whether to send a notification. In the embodiment shown in FIG. 5, the notification includes a notification string added to the OSD window (as the notification). According to design requirements, in some embodiments, the notification string may indicate which one (or which) of the host ports 110_1˜110_n is the host port that receives the prompt signal. In some other embodiments, the notification string may indicate which one (or which ones) of the hosts 10_1˜10_n is the host sending the prompt signal. The processor 410 can determine whether to control the video switching circuit 510 according to the status signals of the signal detection circuits 131_1˜131_n, so as to add the notification string to the OSD window.

FIG. 6 is a schematic circuit block diagram illustrating the prompt signal monitoring unit 130 shown in FIG. 1 according to another embodiment of the present invention. In the embodiment shown in FIG. 6 , the prompt signal monitoring unit 130 includes a prompt signal detection circuit 133 and a prompt unit 134 . For the host connection port 110 , the prompt signal detection circuit 133 and the prompt unit 134 shown in FIG. 6 , reference may be made to the relevant descriptions of the host connection port 110 , the prompt signal detection circuit 131 and the prompt unit 132 shown in FIG. 3 .

In the embodiment shown in FIG. 6 , the prompt signal detection circuit 133 includes an operational amplifier 610 and a latch circuit 620 . The input end of the operational amplifier 610 is coupled to the corresponding connection port (the host connection port 110 ) to receive the prompt signal. The operational amplifier 610 can generate a trigger signal 611 to indicate the host port 100 receiving the prompt signal. The input terminal of the latch circuit 620 is coupled to the output terminal of the operational amplifier 610 to receive the trigger signal 611 . The reset terminal of the latch circuit 620 is controlled by the selection signal of the switching circuit 120 . After being triggered by the trigger signal 611 , the latch circuit 620 can set the state signal St to a first logic state to indicate the host port 110 receiving the prompt signal. When the selection signal of the switch circuit 120 indicates that the corresponding port (the host port 110 ) is selected, the switch circuit 120 can reset the latch circuit 620 . At this time, the latch circuit 620 resets the state signal St to the second logic state to control the prompt unit 134 to end the notification. According to design requirements, in some embodiments, the first logic state may be a high logic level, and the second logic state may be a low logic level. In other embodiments, the first logic state may be a low logic level, and the second logic state may be a high logic level.

In the embodiment shown in FIG. 6 , the prompt unit 134 includes an oscillation circuit 630 and a light emitting circuit 640 . The oscillator circuit 630 is coupled to the prompt signal detection circuit 133 to receive the status signal St. The oscillation circuit 630 can determine whether to send the driving pulse train 631 to the light emitting circuit 640 according to the state signal St. The oscillating circuit 630 may be any controllable oscillating circuit/element. The light emitting circuit 640 is coupled to the oscillation circuit 630 to receive the driving pulse train 631 . When the light emitting circuit 640 emits a flash according to the driving pulse train 631 (as the notification), the light emitting circuit 640 can indicate the host connection port 100 that has received the prompt signal.

FIG. 7 is a schematic circuit block diagram illustrating the prompt signal monitoring unit 130 shown in FIG. 1 according to yet another embodiment of the present invention. In the embodiment shown in FIG. 7 , the prompt signal monitoring unit 130 includes a plurality of prompt signal detection circuits (eg, prompt signal detection circuits 131_1 - 131 — n ) and a prompt unit 135 . The prompt signal detection circuits 131_1-131_n shown in FIG. 7 are coupled to the host connection ports 110_1-110_n. The prompt unit 135 is coupled to the prompt signal detection circuits 131_1˜131_n to receive the state signals St_1˜St_n. The reminder signal detection circuits 131_1~131_n and the state signals St_1~St_n shown in FIG. For the unit 135, reference may be made to the relevant description of the prompt unit 132 shown in FIG. 3 , so details are not repeated here.

In the embodiment shown in FIG. 7 , the prompt unit 135 includes an oscillation circuit 710 and a sounding circuit 720 . The oscillator circuit 710 is coupled to the prompt signal detection circuits 131_1˜131_n to receive the status signals St_1˜St_n. The oscillation circuit 710 can determine whether to send out the driving pulse train 711 according to the state signals St_1˜St_n. In addition, the oscillation circuit 710 can also dynamically adjust the frequency of the driving pulse train 711 according to the state signals St_1 - St_n. The sounding circuit 720 is coupled to the oscillation circuit 710 to receive the driving pulse train 711 . Based on the variation of the frequency of the driving pulse train 711 , the sounding circuit 720 can emit prompt sounds of different frequencies (as the notification).

The sounding circuit 720 indicates which one of the host ports 110_1˜110_n is the host port receiving the prompt signal by emitting prompt tones with different frequencies. For example, the sounding circuit 720 can emit a low-frequency prompting sound to indicate that the host port 110_1 has received the prompting signal. In another situation, the sounding circuit 720 can emit a higher frequency prompt tone to indicate that the host port 110_n has received the prompt signal.

FIG. 8 is a schematic circuit block diagram illustrating the prompt signal monitoring unit 130 shown in FIG. 1 according to yet another embodiment of the present invention. In the embodiment shown in FIG. 8 , the prompt signal monitoring unit 130 includes a plurality of prompt signal detection circuits (eg, prompt signal detection circuits 131_1 - 131 — n ) and a prompt unit 136 . The prompt signal detection circuits 131_1-131_n shown in FIG. 8 are coupled to the host connection ports 110_1-110_n. The prompt unit 136 is coupled to the prompt signal detection circuits 131_1˜131_n to receive the status signals St_1˜St_n. The reminder signal detection circuits 131_1~131_n and the status signals St_1~St_n shown in FIG. For the unit 136, reference may be made to the relevant description of the prompt unit 132 shown in FIG. 3 , so details are not repeated here.

In the embodiment shown in FIG. 8 , the prompt unit 135 includes a processor 810 and a sounding circuit 820 . The processor 810 is coupled to the sound generating circuit 820 . The processor 810 can determine whether to control the sounding circuit 820 to make a prompt voice (as the notification) according to the status signals St_1˜St_n. Wherein, the prompt voice may indicate which of the host ports 110_1˜110_n is the host port receiving the prompt signal. For example, the sounding circuit 820 can emit a prompt voice with the content "the host port 110_1 has received the prompt signal", to indicate that the host port 110_1 has received the prompt signal. In another situation, the sounding circuit 820 may emit a prompt voice with the content "the host port 110_n has received a prompt signal", to indicate that the host port 110_n has received the prompt signal. In another embodiment, the sounding circuit 820 can send out a prompt voice with the content "the host 10_1 has sent a prompt signal" to indicate that the host 10_1 has sent a prompt signal, and can issue a prompt voice with the content "the host 10_n has sent a prompt signal" to indicate that the host 10_1 has sent a prompt signal Indicates that the host 10_n has sent a prompt signal.

According to different design requirements, the blocks of the prompt signal monitoring unit 130, the processor 410, and (or) the processor 810 may be implemented in the form of hardware, firmware, or software. Or a combination of more of the aforementioned three.

In terms of hardware, the blocks of the prompt signal monitoring unit 130 , the processor 410 and/or the processor 810 may be implemented as logic circuits on an integrated circuit. Related functions of the above prompt signal monitoring unit 130 , processor 410 and/or processor 810 may be implemented as hardware by using hardware description languages (such as Verilog HDL or VHDL) or other suitable programming languages. For example, the relevant functions of the above-mentioned prompt signal monitoring unit 130, processor 410 and (or) processor 810 may be implemented in one or more controllers, microcontrollers, microprocessors, application-specific integrated circuits ( Application-specific integrated circuit (ASIC), digital signal processor (digital signal processor, DSP), field programmable logic gate array (Field Programmable Gate Array, FPGA) and/or various logic blocks and modules in other processing units and circuits.

In terms of software and/or firmware, the relevant functions of the above-mentioned prompt signal monitoring unit 130 , the processor 410 and/or the processor 810 may be implemented as programming codes. For example, the above prompt signal monitoring unit 130 , the processor 410 and (or) the processor 810 are realized by common programming languages (such as C, C++ or assembly language) or other suitable programming languages. The programming code can be recorded/stored in a recording medium, which includes, for example, a read-only memory (Read Only Memory, ROM), a storage device, and/or a random access memory (Random Access Memory, RAM) . A computer, a central processing unit (Central Processing Unit, CPU), a controller, a microcontroller or a microprocessor can read and execute the programming code from the recording medium, so as to achieve related functions. As the recording medium, "non-transitory computer readable medium" can be used, for example, a tape, a disk, a card, a semiconductor memory, etc. can be used. Programmed logic circuits, etc. Furthermore, the program may be provided to the computer (or CPU) via any transmission medium (communication network, broadcast wave, etc.). The communication network is, for example, the Internet (Internet), wired communication (wired communication), wireless communication (wireless communication) or other communication media.

To sum up, the switching device 100 according to the embodiments of the present invention can select a host (current host) from the multiple hosts 10_1˜10_n, and then connect the current host to the peripheral device 20 . The switching device 100 can receive the prompt signal sent by any one of the hosts 10_1˜10_n, regardless of whether the host sending the prompt signal is the current host (the selected host). According to the prompt signal, the switching device 100 can send a notification to the user in real time to indicate which one of the hosts 10_1˜10_n is the host that sends the prompt signal. Therefore, not only the current host, but also non-current hosts (hosts not selected) can be notified to the user in real time.

Although the present invention has been disclosed above with the embodiments, it is not intended to limit the present invention. Anyone with ordinary knowledge in the technical field may make some changes and modifications without departing from the spirit and scope of the present invention. The scope of protection of the present invention should be defined by the scope of the appended patent application.

10_1, 10_n: Host 20: Peripheral devices 40: Manage web pages 50: display device 100: switch device 110, 110_1, 110_n, 150_1, 150_n: host port 120: switching circuit 130: Prompt signal monitoring unit 131, 131_1, 131_n, 133: prompt signal detection circuit 132, 134, 135, 136: prompt unit 140: Peripheral device connection port 310: signal processing unit 311, 611: trigger signal 320: memory unit 410, 810: Processor 510: Video switching circuit 610: Operational Amplifier 620: Latch circuit 630, 710: oscillator circuit 631, 711: drive pulse train 640: Lighting circuit 720, 820: sounding circuit S210～S230: Steps St, St_1, St_n: status signal SW: switch signal

FIG. 1 is a schematic diagram of a circuit block of a switching device according to an embodiment of the present invention. FIG. 2 is a schematic flowchart of an operation method of a switching device according to an embodiment of the present invention. FIG. 3 is a schematic diagram illustrating a circuit block of the prompt signal monitoring unit shown in FIG. 1 according to an embodiment of the present invention. FIG. 4 is a schematic circuit block diagram illustrating the prompt signal monitoring unit shown in FIG. 1 according to another embodiment of the present invention. FIG. 5 is a circuit block diagram illustrating the switching circuit and the prompt signal monitoring unit shown in FIG. 1 according to another embodiment of the present invention. FIG. 6 is a schematic circuit block diagram illustrating the prompt signal monitoring unit shown in FIG. 1 according to another embodiment of the present invention. FIG. 7 is a schematic circuit block diagram illustrating the prompt signal monitoring unit shown in FIG. 1 according to yet another embodiment of the present invention. FIG. 8 is a schematic circuit block diagram illustrating the prompt signal monitoring unit shown in FIG. 1 according to yet another embodiment of the present invention.

10_1, 10_n: Host

20: Peripheral devices

100: switch device

110_1, 110_n: host port

120: switching circuit

130: Prompt signal monitoring unit

140: Peripheral device connection port

SW: switch signal

Claims (19)

A switching device, suitable for a plurality of hosts and a peripheral device, the switching device includes: a plurality of host ports, coupled to the hosts and receiving data from the hosts; a peripheral device port, coupled to the peripheral device ; a switch circuit, coupled to the host port and the peripheral device port, receives and selectively connects the data received by one of the host port through the peripheral device according to a switching signal The port is transmitted to the peripheral device; and a prompt signal monitoring unit is coupled to the ports of the hosts to receive a prompt signal sent from another of the hosts from time to time, and send a prompt signal according to the prompt signal Notify to point out the port of the host that receives the prompt signal. In the switching device described in item 1 of the scope of the patent application, when the host port receiving the prompt signal is selected by the switching circuit, the prompt signal monitoring unit stops sending the notification. The switching device as described in item 1 of the scope of the patent application, wherein the prompt signal monitoring unit includes: a prompt signal detection circuit, coupled to the host ports, detecting and generating a status signal according to the prompt signal to Indicate whether the host ports receive the prompt signal; and a prompt unit, coupled to the prompt signal detection circuit to receive the status signal, and decide whether to send the notification according to the status signal. The switching device as described in item 3 of the scope of the patent application, wherein the prompt signal detection circuit includes: a signal processing unit coupled to the host ports to receive and generate a trigger signal according to the prompt signal to indicate reception the host connection port to the prompt signal; and a memory unit coupled to the signal processing unit to receive and set the status signal to a first logic state according to the trigger signal to indicate that the prompt signal has been received A host connection port, and when the host connection port is selected by the switching circuit, reset the state signal to a second logic state to control the prompt unit to end the notification. The switching device as described in item 3 of the scope of the patent application, wherein the prompt unit includes: a processor configured to provide a management web page as a user management interface, and determine whether to send the notification according to the status signal, Wherein the notification includes a notification character string added to the management webpage, and the notification character string indicates the connection port of the host that receives the prompt signal. The switching device as described in item 3 of the scope of patent application, wherein the switching circuit includes: a video switching circuit configured to selectively transmit one of the plurality of video signals output by the hosts to a display device; Wherein the notification includes a notification character string added to a window displayed on a screen in a frame of the display device, the notification character string indicates the host that received the prompt signal The prompt unit includes a processor, and the processor determines whether to control the video switching circuit to add the notification character string to the display window on the screen according to the state signal. The switching device as described in item 3 of the scope of the patent application, wherein the prompt signal detection circuit includes: an operational amplifier having an input terminal coupled to a corresponding port of the host ports to receive the prompt signal, configured to generate a trigger signal to indicate the host port receiving the prompt signal; and a latch circuit having an input terminal coupled to an output terminal of the operational amplifier to receive the trigger signal, wherein the latch circuit A reset terminal of the circuit is controlled by a selection signal, the latch circuit sets the state signal to a first logic state after being triggered by the trigger signal, and the latch circuit sets the state signal to a first logic state when the selection signal indicates that the corresponding port is selected. The latch circuit resets the state signal to a second logic state to control the prompt unit to end the notification. The switching device described in item 3 of the scope of the patent application, wherein the prompt unit includes: an oscillation circuit, coupled to the prompt signal detection circuit to receive the status signal, configured to determine whether to send a status signal according to the status signal Driving pulse train: and a light-emitting circuit coupled to the oscillation circuit to receive the driving pulse train, wherein the light-emitting circuit is used to indicate the host port receiving the prompt signal. The switching device as described in item 3 of the scope of the patent application, wherein the prompt unit includes: An oscillating circuit, coupled to the prompt signal detection circuit to receive the state signal, configured to determine whether to send a drive pulse train according to the state signal, and dynamically adjust a frequency of the drive pulse train according to the state signal : and a sounding circuit, coupled to the oscillating circuit to receive the driving pulse train, wherein the sounding circuit indicates the host port receiving the prompting signal by emitting prompting tones of different frequencies. The switching device as described in item 3 of the scope of patent application, wherein the prompt unit includes: a sounding circuit; and a processor, coupled to the sounding circuit, configured to determine whether to control the sounding circuit to emit A prompting voice is used as the notification, wherein the prompting voice indicates the connection port of the host that receives the prompting signal. An operating method of a switching device, the switching device is coupled to a plurality of hosts and a peripheral device, the operating method includes: receiving and selectively switching data received from one of the hosts according to a switching signal transmitting to the peripheral device; receiving a prompt signal from another one of the hosts from time to time; and sending a notification according to the prompt signal, and the notification is used to point out the host that sent the prompt signal. The operation method described in item 11 of the scope of the patent application further includes: when a host connection port of the switching device receiving the prompt signal is switched When a switching circuit of the device is selected, a prompt signal monitoring unit stops issuing the notification, wherein the host port is coupled to one of the hosts. The operation method described in item 11 of the scope of the patent application further includes: detecting the prompt signal by a prompt signal detection circuit of a prompt signal monitoring unit of the switching device; using the prompt signal detection circuit according to the prompt signal generating a status signal to indicate whether a plurality of host ports of the switching device have received the prompt signal, wherein the host port is coupled to the hosts and receives data from the hosts; and the prompt signal monitoring unit A prompting unit of the device determines whether to send the notification according to the status signal. The operation method described in item 13 of the scope of the patent application further includes: a signal processing unit of the prompt signal detection circuit generates a trigger signal to point out the host port that receives the prompt signal; A memory unit of the test circuit sets the state signal to a first logic state according to the trigger signal to indicate the host port receiving the prompt signal; and the host port is selected by a switching circuit of the switching device , the memory unit resets the state signal to a second logic state to control the prompt unit to end the notification. The operation method described in item 13 of the scope of the patent application further includes: providing a management web page as a user management interface by a processor of the prompt unit; and The processor decides whether to send the notification according to the status signal, wherein the notification includes a notification character string added to the management webpage, and the notification character string indicates the host port that receives the prompt signal. The operation method described in item 13 of the scope of the patent application further includes: a video switching circuit of a switching circuit of the switching device selectively transmits one of the plurality of video signals output by the hosts to a display equipment; and a processor of the prompt unit determines whether to control the video switching circuit to add a notification character string as the notification to a display window on a screen in a frame of the display device according to the state signal, wherein The notification string indicates the port of the host that received the prompt signal. The operation method described in item 13 of the scope of the patent application further includes: an oscillating circuit of the prompt unit determines whether to send a drive pulse train according to the state signal; and receives the drive pulse by a light emitting circuit of the prompt unit string to indicate the host port that received the prompt. The operation method described in item 13 of the scope of the patent application further includes: an oscillating circuit of the prompt unit determines whether to send a driving pulse train according to the state signal; and the oscillating circuit dynamically adjusts the drive according to the state signal A frequency of the pulse train: and the driving pulse train is received by a sounding circuit of the prompt unit, wherein the sounding The circuit indicates the connection port of the host receiving the prompt signal by sending out prompt sounds of different frequencies. The operation method described in item 13 of the scope of the patent application further includes: a processor of the prompting unit determines whether to control a sounding circuit of the prompting unit to emit a prompting voice as the notification according to the state signal, wherein The prompt voice indicates the host connection port that receives the prompt signal.

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