TWM651085U - Connector component and transmission line system - Google Patents

Abstract

A video transmission connector component comprises a video transmission connector and a circuit substrate including a control module. The circuit substrate is coupled to the pin group of the video transmission connector through the first setting pad group. The control module includes a control unit and a redriver unit configured to be coupled to at least one signal transmission pin of the pin group of the video transmission connector. The control unit is coupled to the redriver unit through a communication transmission, and the redriver unit receives at least one redriver parameter setting from the control unit through the communication transmission to adjust the signal transmitted to at least one signal transmission pin.

Description

Connector components and transmission line systems

This creation relates to connector assemblies and transmission line systems; in particular, to connector assemblies and transmission line systems with control units and relay units.

In order to cope with long-distance transmission, active transmission lines with relay units are widely used. However, the relay parameters in the relay unit need to be adjusted according to different applications. For example, when the signal attenuation at both ends of the active transmission line is greater than the standard specification, the relay parameters in the relay unit need to be adjusted so that the signal attenuation at both ends of the active transmission line meets the standard specification. However, when the relay parameters are set improperly, the signal may be over-amplified, causing the over-amplified signal to be cut off or the eye diagram test to fail.

The relay parameters of the relay unit in the connector assembly need to be adjusted depending on, for example, the length of the transmission line, the diameter or material of the transmission line. However, for current image transmission connector assemblies, the means of adjusting the relay parameters of the relay unit is, for example, by adjusting the layout of passive components or the layout of conductor lines on the circuit substrate, so that the relay unit provides different relay parameters. As the number of relay parameter setting groups of the relay unit increases, the number of materials managed for circuit substrates and/or passive components also increases accordingly. Significantly increases the manufacturer's purchasing, management and/or warehousing costs.

Therefore, how to set relay parameters for the relay unit in the connector assembly in a simplified and single way will be a major focus of research and development in this field.

One of the purposes of this creation is to simplify the hardware requirements for setting relay parameters for the relay unit in the image transmission connector assembly.

One of the purposes of this creation is to make the image transmission connector assembly applicable to transmission line systems of different transmission lengths without changing the hardware architecture.

The invention provides an image transmission connector assembly including an image transmission connector and a circuit substrate that at least includes a control module. The circuit substrate is coupled to the pin group of the image transmission connector through the first pad group. Wherein, the control module includes a control unit and a relay unit configured to be coupled to at least one signal transmission pin in the pin group of the image transmission connector. A programming pin of the control unit is coupled to a pin of the pin group of the image transmission connector. The control unit is coupled to the relay unit via communication transmission, and the relay unit receives at least one relay parameter setting from the control unit via communication transmission to adjust the signal transmitted to at least one signal transmission pin.

This invention provides a transmission line system including a transmission cable and the above image transmission connector assembly. The above image transmission connector assembly is disposed on at least one end of the transmission cable.

To sum up, the control unit can establish a communication link with the relay unit and control and set the relay unit. Thus, the purpose of adjusting the relay parameters of the relay unit is achieved. Therefore, various relay parameter settings on the image transmission connector assembly can be set through the control unit without changing the hardware structure of the image transmission connector assembly (for example, circuit layout and/or components on the circuit substrate). Control the relay unit corresponding to various relay parameter settings (for example, set the relay parameters of the relay unit through instruction sets of different parameters). When the image transmission connector assembly needs to be matched with transmission cables of different lengths to form a transmission line system, different relay parameters can be used to enable the transmission line systems of different transmission lengths to meet the required transmission quality and standard specifications with the same hardware architecture.

10:Image transmission connector assembly

11:Image transmission connector

111: Pin group

111-A: Any pin

111-DC: DC pin

111-S: Signal transmission pin

12:Circuit substrate

1201:First end

1202:Second end

1203: First side

1204:Second side

121:Control module

1211:Control unit

1212:Relay unit

122: First setting pad group

123: Second setting pad group

123-S: Signal setting pad

124:Power module

20:Transmission line system

21:Universal Connector Components

22:Image output device

23: Signal output device

C:Transmission cable

CS: Communication transmission

CL: clock line

DL: data line

VS: signal

VS’: Relayed signal

PW: power supply

The drawings presented in this creation are to help describe various embodiments of the present invention. However, in order to simplify the drawings and/or highlight the content to be presented in the drawings, conventional structures and/or elements in the drawings may be drawn in a simple schematic manner or may be omitted. On the other hand, the number of elements in the drawings may be singular or plural. The drawings presented in this work are for the purpose of illustrating these embodiments only and not to limit them.

Figures 1 and 2 are schematic structural diagrams of the image transmission connector assembly in the first embodiment of the present invention.

FIG. 3 is a block diagram of an image transmission connector assembly in the first embodiment of the present invention.

Figure 4 is a schematic connection diagram of the transmission line system in the second embodiment of the present invention.

Any reference herein to elements using designations such as "first," "second," etc. generally does not limit the number or order of these elements. Rather, these names are used herein as a convenient way to distinguish between two or more elements or instances of elements. Therefore, it should be understood that the names "first," "second," etc. in the claims do not necessarily correspond to the same names in the written description. Furthermore, it should be understood that reference to first and second elements does not imply that only two elements may be employed or that the first element must precede the second element. The words "includes", "includes", "has", "contains", etc. used in this article are all open terms, which mean including but not limited to.

The term "coupled" is used herein to refer to a direct or indirect electrical coupling between two structures. For example, in one example of indirect electrical coupling, one structure may be coupled to another structure via passive components such as resistors, capacitors, or inductors.

In this creation, the words "exemplary" and "for example" are used to mean "serving as an example, instance or illustration". Any implementation or aspect described herein as "exemplary," "for example," is not necessarily Construed as preferred or advantageous over other aspects of the creation. The terms "approximately" and "approximately" as used herein with respect to a specified value or characteristic are intended to mean within a certain numerical value (eg, 10%) of the specified value or characteristic.

First embodiment.

Please refer to FIGS. 1 to 3 , which illustrate an image transmission connector assembly 10 including an image transmission connector 11 and a circuit substrate 12 including at least a control module 121 . The circuit substrate 12 is coupled to the pin set 111 of the image transmission connector 11 through the first pad set 122 . The control module 121 includes a control unit 1211 and a relay unit 1212 configured to be coupled to at least one signal transmission pin 111 -S in the pin group 111 of the image transmission connector 11 . The control unit 1211 is coupled to the relay unit 1212 via communication transmission CS, and the relay unit 1212 receives at least one relay parameter setting from the control unit 1211 via communication transmission CS to adjust the signal transmitted to at least one signal transmission pin 111-S. VS.

Specifically, the specifications of the image transmission connector 11 can be selected from High Definition Multimedia Interface (HDMI), DisplayPort (DP) or any other image transmission connector. In one embodiment, the image transmission connector 11 has an arrangement structure that limits the arrangement direction to avoid an incorrect arrangement direction. The image transmission connector 11 may be a plug or a socket. A person with ordinary knowledge in the art will know that the plug and socket of the invention can be equivalently exchanged and/or replaced without affecting the implementation of the invention. The pin set 111 of the image transmission connector 11 may include pins corresponding to different tasks/functions. Taking the HDMI connector as an example, the pin set of HDMI can have DC signal pins, high-frequency signal pins and/or low-frequency signal pins. DC signal pins include power pins that transmit DC voltage power and ground pins that serve as ground terminals. High-frequency signal pins are, for example, differential signal transmission pins. Taking HDMI as an example, there can be three to four groups of differential signal transmission pin pairs for transmitting images or other high-frequency signals. Low-frequency signal pins, such as Consumer Electronics Control (CEC) pins or HEAC pins, are pins with low-frequency signal transmission capabilities.

The material of the circuit substrate 12 is, for example, fiberglass, bakelite or other conventional substrate materials. The circuit substrate 12 can be used as a carrier to provide electronic components, chips, active/passive components, pins or wires for arrangement. The circuit substrate 12 may be single-layer, double-layer or multi-layer, and may be determined according to the complexity of the circuit and the structural limitations of the circuit. The first end 1201 of the circuit substrate 12 is the end connected to the image transmission connector 11. The surface of the circuit substrate 12 (for example, the first surface 1203 or the second surface 1204) has a first pad set 122 close to the first end 1201. The first setting pad set 122 is configured to couple with the pin set 111 of the image transmission connector 11 . The coupling method is, for example, conventional connection methods such as contacting, welding, or crimping. The second end 1202 of the circuit substrate 12 is configured to be coupled with the transmission cable C. The surface of the circuit substrate 12 (for example, the first surface 1203 or the second surface 1204) has a second pad set 123 close to the second end 1202. The second pad set 123 can be coupled to the core wire of the transmission cable C through welding or any conventional manufacturing means. At least one signal setting pad 123 -S in the second setting pad group 123 can be coupled to a high-frequency transmission core wire in the transmission cable C that is configured to transmit a high-frequency signal or an image signal VS. Taking HDMI as an example, the high-frequency transmission line can be a differential signal transmission line. On the other hand, circuit protection components such as diodes or TVS components can also be provided on the circuit substrate 12 to protect the control module 121 on the circuit substrate 12 .

The control module 121 disposed on the circuit substrate 12 may be implemented by means of a single chip or a multi-chip. For example, taking a single chip as an example, the control module 121 can be a single chip, and the relay unit 1212 and the control unit 1211 are configured in the chip. On the other hand, the control module 121 can be composed of multiple chips through circuits. For example, the control module can include a chip or chip set used for the control unit 1211 and a chip or chip used for the relay unit 1212. chipset. In other words, the form and type of the control module 121 are not limited in this creation, and any means that can achieve the control module 121 in this creation should fall within the scope of this creation. The relay unit 1212 and the control unit 1211 can be disposed on the first side 1203 or the second side 1204 of the circuit substrate 12, and are preferably disposed between the first set pad group 122 and the second set pad set 123 to facilitate conductors. Line path planning. It should be noted that FIG. 1 and FIG. 2 are only examples to illustrate the component configuration on the circuit substrate 12 and are not intended to limit the invention. This creation does not limit the circuit configuration to the circuit base Regarding the layout on the board 12, the components on the circuit substrate 12 can be selectively arranged on the first side 1203 or the second side 1204 of the circuit substrate 12 according to the conventional operation of circuit layout.

In one embodiment, the circuit substrate 12 may also have a power module 124 . The power module 124 can be connected to the DC pin 111-DC (for example, a ground pin, a power pin) in the pin group 111 of the image transmission connector 11 through a conductor wire, and use the power transmitted by the image transmission connector 11 to Converted into power PW required by the relay unit 1212 and/or the control unit 1211. Thus, when the power supply specifications (for example, voltage, power) required by the relay unit 1212 and/or the control unit 1211 are different from the voltage specifications that the DC pin 111-DC of the image transmission connector 11 can provide, the power supply model The group 124 can still provide the power required by the relay unit 1212 and/or the control unit 1211. However, the power required by the relay unit 1212 and/or the control unit 1211 can also come directly from the DC pin 111-DC of the power supply of the image transmission connector 11 or through the power core wire (for example, DC 5V) in the transmission cable C. and grounding cores to provide the required power or grounding needs. The power supply method of this invention is not limited to the power module 124.

The control unit 1211 is, for example, a microprocessor, an FPGA, an application specific integrated circuit (ASIC), a single chip system (SoC) or a multi-chip system, etc., which have computing functions and can be integrated on the circuit substrate 12 of the image transmission connector assembly 10 . . In this embodiment, the control unit 1211 is configured to have the ability to regulate relay parameters of the relay unit 1212 . Preferably, the control unit 1211 can store an instruction set and operate according to the instruction set. It should be noted that this invention does not limit the programming method of the instruction set in the control unit 1211.

In one embodiment, the control unit 1211 can be pre-programmed with an instruction set and then disposed on the circuit substrate 12 .

In one embodiment, the programming pin of the control unit 1211 may be configured to be coupled to any pin 111 -A in the pin group 111 of the image transmission connector 11 through any pin 111 of the image transmission connector 11 -A burns the control unit 1211. It should be noted that although in Figure 3, the pin group 111 can distinguish a DC pin 111-DC, a signal transmission pin 111-S and an arbitrary pin 111-A. However, this implementation Any pin 111-A in the example can be any pin in pin group 111. In other words, the DC pin 111-DC and the signal transmission pin 111-S can also be configured to be coupled to the control unit 1211 and used to program the control unit 1211.

In this embodiment, the control unit 1211 can be programmed through a burning device coupled to the pins of the image transmission connector 11 . For example, the burning device may have a socket corresponding to the image transmission connector 11. When the image transmission connector 11 is disposed in the burning device, the burning device may be coupled to the control unit through the pin set 111 of the image transmission connector 11. Any pin 111-A of 1211 is used to program the control unit 1211. It should be noted that the control unit 1211 can be configured to be "coupable" to any pin 111-A. "Coupling" is defined as the connection between the control unit 1211 and the image transmission connector after the programming of the control unit 1211 is completed. Any pin of 11 111-A may be disconnected or remain coupled. For example, the control unit 1211 can be coupled to any pin 111-A of the image transmission connector 11 through reserved conductor lines and/or passive components (for example, zero-ohm resistors) on the circuit substrate 12. After the recording is completed, the passive components can be removed or the conductor wires can be disconnected. On the other hand, the connection between any pin 111-A and the control unit 1211 can also be switched through a switch, multiplexer, selector or switch. The above-mentioned switching or disconnection methods all belong to the " The definition of "coupable". In this way, it is possible to avoid the influence of the control unit 1211 when the image transmission connector assembly 10 performs signal transmission, or the control unit 1211 occupying any pin 111 -A, resulting in a decrease in transmission quality.

On the other hand, the control unit 1211 can be programmed through the rarely used low-frequency pins in the pin group 111 of the image transmission connector 11 . Taking HDMI as an example, you can use the CEC pin for programming. In this way, after the control unit 1211 completes the instruction set programming, there is no need to disconnect the control unit 1211 and the low-frequency pins. In other words, using low-frequency pins to program the control unit 1211 can avoid affecting the high-frequency signal transmission or other signal transmission of the image transmission connector 11, and can also reduce the additional man-hours required after programming. On the other hand, the reserved coupling lines can be programmed to the control unit 1211 again or multiple times, which is beneficial to parameter testing or maintenance and replacement.

In this embodiment, the burning device is, for example, a computing electronic device such as a desktop computer, a notebook computer, an industrial computer, and/or a tablet computer. The burning device may also be an on-board writer connected to the computer. Compared with first burning the instruction set into the control unit 1211 and then disposing it on the circuit substrate 12 of the image transmission connector assembly 10 , setting the control unit 1211 directly by connecting the image transmission connector 11 provides flexibility in setting. For example, when the control unit 1211 needs to expand, adjust, remove, or replace the firmware or instruction set, it only needs to be connected to the image transmission connector 11 through the burning device, and then the control unit 1211 can directly perform corresponding settings (for example, reset burning other instruction sets) without completely removing and replacing the control unit 1211. Rework can be avoided or testing/manufacturing processes can be streamlined. This can improve cost control over raw materials and/or labor hours.

The relay unit 1212 (Redriver), for example, can relay the high-frequency signal VS transmitted (for example, received or sent) on at least one signal transmission pin 111-S of the image transmission connector assembly 10 into a relayed signal. VS', the relay processing is, for example, signal equalizer, pre-emphasis, and/or de-emphasis, etc. signal enhancement, modulation, or reproducing operations. After the setting is completed, the control unit 1211 can establish a communication link with the relay unit 1212 . Specifically, the control unit 1211 may be connected to the relay unit 1212 by a physical line (for example, communication transmission CS on the circuit substrate 12). Through the physical line group such as the data line DL and the clock line CL, the control unit 1211 can establish a communication connection with the relay unit 1212 such as an Inter-Integrated Circuit (Inter-Integrated Circuit, I2C) communication protocol. It should be noted that the communication transmission CS can also be a non-physical line group. For example, when the control unit 1211 can allow wireless connection with the relay unit 1212, the control unit 1211 and the relay unit 1212 can also use infrared or Bluetooth. , RFID or Zig-Bee and other wireless transmission protocols to connect. The control method of this invention does not limit the communication connection type or protocol between the control unit 1211 and the relay unit 1212. The communication connection type or protocol can be determined according to the specifications provided by the control unit 1211 and the relay unit 1212 or actual line requirements and cost considerations. Some adjustments have been made.

The communication link between the control unit 1211 and the relay unit 1212 is established through communication transmission CS. The control unit 1211 can issue instructions to the relay unit 1212 to cause the relay unit 1212 to adjust the relay parameters of the corresponding signal transmission pin 111-S. It should be noted that the relay unit 1212 may have multiple relay parameters corresponding to different signal transmission pins 111-S. Taking HDMI as an example, when HDMI has four groups of differential signal transmission pin pairs, the same relay parameters can be set for each group of differential signal transmission pin pairs, or the same relay parameters can be set for each group of differential signal transmission pin pairs. Different relay parameters. The settings of the relay parameters can be adjusted according to the material, length and/or wire diameter of the transmission cable C to which the image transmission connector assembly 10 is connected. The purpose of adjusting the relay parameters is that after the image transmission connector assembly 10 and the transmission cable C form a transmission line system, the signals at both ends of the transmission line system need to comply with the standard specifications and signal eye diagrams. However, different transmission cable specifications have different requirements for the relay parameters of the transmission line system. For example, longer transmission cables require higher gains to avoid excessive signal loss in the transmission line system. However, when a transmission line system with a shorter transmission cable uses the same gain as a long transmission cable, it will cause the signal to be over-amplified and cut off or fail to meet the eye diagram test of the standard specification.

It should be noted that the method of adjusting the relay parameters of the relay unit 1212 in this invention is not limited and can be controlled in accordance with the specifications and operating instructions of the relay unit 1212 . For example, the gain value can be adjusted by adjusting the ratio between passive components (eg, capacitors, inductors, or resistors) in the relay unit 1212 . Or, after writing a value into the temporary register in the relay unit 1212, the relay unit 1212 extracts the value from the temporary register and performs self-regulation.

Through the above-mentioned image transmission connector assembly 10, the relay parameters of the relay unit 1212 can be adjusted without changing the hardware structure of the image transmission connector assembly 10. The image transmission connector assembly 10 can comply with standard specifications when used with transmission cables C of different lengths.

Second embodiment.

The image transmission connector assembly 10 in the first embodiment may further constitute the second embodiment. Please refer to FIG. 4 in conjunction with FIGS. 1 to 3. FIG. 4 illustrates that the image transmission connector assembly 10 can be connected to a transmission line. The cable C is integrated to form the transmission line system 20. Specifically, each setting pad of the second setting pad set 123 of the image transmission connector assembly 10 is configured to allow the corresponding core wire of the transmission cable C to be coupled. The settings of the relay parameters of the image transmission connector assembly 10 can be adjusted according to the material, length and/or wire diameter of the transmission cable C to which the image transmission connector assembly 10 is connected. The purpose of adjusting the relay parameters is that after the image transmission connector assembly and the transmission cable C form the transmission line system 20, the signals at both ends of the transmission line system 20 need to comply with the standard specification and the signal eye diagram. However, different specifications of the transmission cable C have different requirements for the relay parameters of the transmission line system 20 . For example, a longer transmission cable needs to have a higher gain to avoid excessive signal loss in the transmission line system 20 . However, when the transmission line system 20 with a shorter transmission cable uses the same gain as a long transmission cable, the signal will be over-amplified and cut off or fail to meet the eye diagram test of the standard specification.

It should be noted that the image transmission connector assembly 10 can be provided at one end of the transmission cable C, and the other end can use a universal connector assembly 21 . For example, if the image transmission connector 11 of the image transmission connector assembly 10 is of HDMI standard, then the other end of the transmission cable C can use a conventional HDMI connector assembly. One end of the transmission line system 20 having the image transmission connector assembly 10 is preferably configured to be connected to a signal receiving end (eg, an image output device 22 such as a screen or a projector). Specifically, the transmission line system 20 can be connected from one end where the universal connector assembly 21 is provided to a signal output end (for example, a signal output device 23 such as a set-top box, a TV box, etc.) and receive the signal VS. The signal VS is transmitted to one end of the transmission line system 20 having the image transmission connector assembly 10 via the transmission cable C. The signal VS to be transmitted undergoes corresponding relay processing through the image transmission connector assembly 10 and becomes a relayed signal VS'. The relayed signal VS' is provided to the image output device 22 . However, the above configuration is only an example, and the transmission line system 20 can also be equipped with image transmission connector assemblies 10 at both ends.

The transmission line system 20 with the image transmission connector assembly 10 can be adapted to various materials or lengths (i.e., different electrical properties) without changing the hardware structure of the image transmission connector assembly 10. Features) transmission cable C. It can simplify hardware design and reduce material storage requirements, thereby saving manufacturing, design or R&D costs.

The previous description of the invention is provided to enable a person of ordinary skill in the art to make or implement the invention. Various modifications to the invention will be apparent to those of ordinary skill in the art, and the general principles defined herein may be applied to other variations or embodiments without departing from the spirit or scope of the invention can be combined with each other or implemented separately. Accordingly, the present invention is not intended to be limited to the examples described herein but is to be accorded the widest scope consistent with the principles and novel features of the invention herein.

10:Image transmission connector assembly

11:Image transmission connector

111-A: Any pin

111-DC: DC pin

111-S: Signal transmission pin

12:Circuit substrate

121:Control module

1211:Control unit

1212:Relay unit

CS: Communication transmission

CL: clock line

DL: data line

VS: signal

VS’: Relayed signal

PW: power supply

Claims (10)

An image transmission connector assembly includes: an image transmission connector, wherein the specification of the image transmission connector is high-definition multimedia interface (HDMI); and a circuit substrate including at least one control module, the circuit substrate passes through a first The pad set is coupled to a pin set of the image transmission connector, wherein the control module includes: a control unit, wherein a programming pin of the control unit is coupled to the pin set of the image transmission connector. a pin; and a relay unit, wherein the relay unit is configured to be coupled to at least one signal transmission pin in the pin group of the image transmission connector; wherein the control unit passes through a data line and a clock line Coupled to the relay unit, the relay unit receives at least one relay parameter setting from the control unit via a communication transmission to adjust the signal transmitted to the at least one signal transmission pin. As in the image transmission connector assembly of claim 1, the circuit substrate further includes: a second setting pad group having at least one signal setting pad, the signal setting pad is coupled to the relay unit and coupled through the relay unit. Connected to the at least one signal transmission pin. The image transmission connector assembly of claim 1, wherein the communication transmission is configured to be suitable for an Inter-Integrated Circuit (I2C) communication protocol. The image transmission connector component of claim 1, wherein when the control unit burns an instruction set, the pin is coupled to the burning pin; when the control unit completes the burning of the instruction set, the The coupling between the pin and the programming pin. In the image transmission connector assembly of claim 1, the pin coupled to the programming pin is a low-frequency pin in the pin group. For example, the image transmission connector component of claim 1, wherein the control unit stores an instruction set that causes the control unit to perform the following operations: establish a communication link with the relay unit; and provide the relay unit with The at least one relay parameter setting. The image transmission connector component of claim 6, wherein the operation of providing the at least one relay parameter setting to the relay unit includes: writing a value to a register of the relay unit, the value corresponding to the at least one Relay parameter settings. For example, in the image transmission connector assembly of claim 1, the circuit substrate further includes: a power module coupled to at least one power pin of the pin group, and the power module is used to provide power required for the operation of the control module. . The image transmission connector assembly of claim 1, wherein the image transmission connector has an arrangement structure that limits the arrangement directionality. A transmission line system, including: a transmission cable; the image transmission connector assembly as described in any one of claims 1 to 9, the image transmission connector assembly being disposed on at least one end of the transmission cable.

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