TW201405312A - Docking station - Google Patents

Abstract

A docking station includes a body, a plurality of connector and a controlling unit. A side of the body has a plurality of receiving grooves, each of the receiving grooves has a first connecting unit. The connectors are detachable disposed in the receiving grooves, each of connectors has a plurality of second connecting unit for connecting the first connecting unit. The controlling unit is coupled to the second connecting unit for obtaining an identification information of each of the connectors and provides a corresponding driver for driving to each of the connector accordingly, wherein the identification information is correspond to a type of each of the connectors.

Description

Expansion base

A docking station, and more particularly to a docking station having a detachable connector.

With the advancement of technology, all kinds of electronic products are developing towards high speed, high efficiency, light and short. As a result, various portable electronic devices have gradually become mainstream, such as mobile phones, notebook computers, and personal digital assistants (PDAs). However, in order to reduce the size of the portable electronic device for the convenience of the user, the performance of the portable electronic device is generally inferior to that of a general electronic device.

In view of this, the docking station (Docking Station) is generated in response to the above problems. The docking station usually refers to a hardware structure and a series of interfaces for electrical connection. The portable electronic device can be connected to other peripheral devices through the docking station to increase the variety of uses. In this way, the user can not only enjoy the lightness of the portable electronic device, but also the user can eliminate the trouble of plugging and unplugging the portable electronic device computer by using the docking station.

However, some of the connectors provided on the docking station are not used by the user or are not used at all, which will reduce the ease of use of the docking station. Or, if the portable electronic device is continuously updated, the specifications of the input/output ports of some connectors may be different. If the connector of the docking station cannot be replaced with a new type of input/output connector, the user will be There is a docking station, but it can't be combined with new input/output. The connection of the portable electronic device will also reduce the ease of use of the docking station.

In view of the above problems, the present disclosure provides an expansion base, thereby increasing the ease of use and expandability of the docking station.

An expansion base of the present disclosure includes a body, a plurality of connectors and a control unit. One side of the body has a plurality of receiving slots, and each of the receiving slots has a first connecting unit. The connector is detachably disposed in the accommodating slot, the connector each has a second connecting unit, and the second connecting unit is adapted to be coupled to the first connecting unit. The control unit is coupled to the first connection unit for obtaining identification information of each connector through the first connection unit, and accordingly providing a driver for the corresponding connector to drive the connector, wherein the identification information corresponds to each connector Types of.

In an embodiment, each of the first connecting units has a plurality of first connecting pins, and each of the second connecting units has a plurality of second connecting pins, and the first connecting pins are coupled in a one-to-one manner. The two connection pins have the same number of first connection pins as the corresponding second connection pins.

In an embodiment, the second connecting pin portion of the foregoing portion is a signal pin, and the identification information is the number and position of the signal pins.

In an embodiment, the second connecting unit further has an identification chip for storing an identification code, the identification code corresponding to each connector type, and the first connecting unit has a reading unit for coupling the identification chip with The control unit reads the identification code and transmits it to the control unit.

In an embodiment, the first connection pins of each of the first connection units are respectively Provided on a plurality of regions of each of the first connection units, and the number of the first connection pins of each region is different from each other, and the second connection pins of each of the second connection units are set corresponding to the type of each connector The first connecting pin and the second connecting pin are located at the corresponding positions of one of the corresponding areas, and the number of the first connecting pins is the same as that of the second connecting pins, and is coupled in a one-to-one manner.

In an embodiment, the connector has the same shape and volume.

In an embodiment, the type of the connector is a universal serial bus interface, a high-resolution multimedia interface, and an RJ-45 interface.

The docking station of the present disclosure is configured by arranging a plurality of connectors detachably disposed on the docking station body and by reading the identification information of the connector (for example, reading the identification code of the identification chip or reading the signal) The number and position of the pins) to determine the type of connector, and accordingly provide a driver of the corresponding connector type to drive the connector to initiate related operations. In this way, the convenience and expandability of the docking station can be increased.

The features and implementations of the present disclosure are described in detail below with reference to the drawings.

Please refer to the "Figure 1" and "Figure 2", which are respectively a block diagram of the docking station and a schematic diagram of the coupling relationship between the control unit, the first connecting unit and the second connecting unit. The docking station 100 of the embodiment is suitable for connecting a portable electronic device, such as a notebook computer, a tablet computer, a personal digital assistant (PDA), etc., to increase the electronic device connection week. The number of Peripheral Devices, which in turn expands the additional functionality of the electronic device.

The docking station 100 includes a body 110, a plurality of connectors 121, 122, 123, 124, 125 and a control unit 130. One side 111 of the body 110 has a plurality of receiving slots 112 , and each of the receiving slots 112 has a first connecting unit 140 .

The connectors 121, 122, 123, 124, and 125 are detachably disposed in the accommodating slots 112, that is, the user can install the connectors 121, 122, 123, 124, and 125 in the accommodating slots 112. The connector 121, 122, 123, 124, 125 is detached from the receiving slot 112 and replaced with other types of connectors to add additional functionality to the docking station 100.

The connectors 121, 122, 123, 124, 125 each have a second connection unit 150. The second connecting unit 150 is adapted to be coupled to the first connecting unit 140 when the connectors 121 , 122 , 123 , 124 , 125 are mounted on the receiving slots 112 of the body 110 . In an embodiment, the connectors 121, 122, 123, 124, 125 can be designed in the same shape and volume to facilitate replacement.

The control unit 130 is coupled to the second connecting unit 150 for obtaining the identification information of the connectors 121, 122, 123, 124, and 125 through the second connecting unit 150 when the second connecting unit 150 is coupled to the first connecting unit 140. The driver for the corresponding connector 121, 122, 123, 124, 125 is provided to drive the connectors 121, 122, 123, 124, 125 so that the connectors 121, 122, 123, 124, 125 are associated with each other. Transfer mode.

In addition, when the connectors 121, 122, 123, 124, 125 are removed by the receiving slot 112 When the second connecting unit 150 is uncoupled (that is, the second connecting unit 150 is not coupled to the first connecting unit 140), the control unit 130 stops providing the drivers of the corresponding connectors 121, 122, 123, 124, and 125, and disables the related The function.

The foregoing identification information corresponds to, for example, the types of the connectors 121, 122, 123, 124, and 125. The types of the connectors 121, 122, 123, 124, and 125 can be a universal serial bus (USB), a high-definition multimedia interface (HDMI), a RJ-45 interface, and the like. To connect the corresponding peripheral devices.

In the embodiment, the first connecting unit 140 has a plurality of first connecting pins 141. As shown in FIG. 3, the second connecting unit 150 has a plurality of second connecting pins 151, respectively, as shown in FIG. Figure ", Figure 5". The first connecting pin 141 is coupled to the second connecting pin 151 in a one-to-one manner, and the first connecting pin 141 is the same as the corresponding second connecting pin 151.

Further, the second connection pin 151 of a portion of the second connection unit 150 of the connector 121 can be a signal pin. Assuming that the type of the connector 121 is the RJ-45 interface, the connector 121 has "TX_D1+", "TX_D1-", "RX_D2+", "RX_D2-", "BI_D3+", "BI_D3-", "BI_D4+", "BI_D4". -"8 signal pins, and the configuration of the signal pins "TX_D1+", "TX_D1-", "RX_D2+", "RX_D2-", "BI_D3+", "BI_D3-", "BI_4+", "BI_D4-" The location is shown in Figure 4. Moreover, the remaining second connection pins 151 are empty positions.

When the second connecting unit 150 of the connector 121 is coupled to the first connecting unit 140 Then, the control unit 130 can obtain the identification information of the connector 121 having the eight signal pins and the arrangement position thereof through the first connection unit 140, and then determine that the type of the connector 121 is the RJ-45 interface. Next, the control unit 130 provides a driver corresponding to the RJ-45 interface according to the identification information to drive the connector 121 to initiate a transmission mode with respect to the RJ-45 interface.

In addition, assuming that the type of the connector 121 is a universal serial bus interface, the connector 121 has four signal pins of “D+”, “D-”, GND, and VCC, and the signal pins “D+” and “D-”. The arrangement positions of ", GND" and "VCC" are as shown in "Fig. 5", and the remaining second connection pins 151 are empty positions.

Therefore, after the second connecting unit 150 of the connector 121 is coupled to the first connecting unit 140, the control unit 130 can obtain the identification information of the connector 121 having four signal pins and their configured positions through the first connecting unit 140. Further, it is determined that the type of the connector 121 is a universal serial bus interface. Next, the control unit 130 provides a driver corresponding to the universal serial bus interface interface according to the identification information to drive the connector 121 to initiate a transmission mode regarding the universal sequence bus.

In an embodiment, the first connection pins 141 of the first connection unit 140 can be respectively disposed on different areas, and the number of the first connection pins 141 located in different areas is also different, as shown in FIG. . In FIG. 6, the first connection pin 141 located in the area A is used, for example, to connect a connector of the universal serial bus interface, and the first connection pin 141 located in the area B is used, for example, to connect the connector of the RJ-45 interface. The first connection pin 141 located in the area C is used, for example, to connect a connector of a high-resolution multimedia interface. And the second connecting unit 150 located on the connector 121 The second connecting pin 151 may be disposed at a corresponding position corresponding to the area of the first connecting pin 141 corresponding to the type of the connector 121.

For example, the type of the connector 121 is a universal serial bus interface, and the second connection pin 151 can be disposed at a corresponding position of the area A. The type of the connector 121 is an RJ-45 interface, and the second connection pin is The 151 can be disposed at a corresponding position of the area B, and the type of the connector 121 is a high-resolution multimedia interface, and the second connection pin 151 can be disposed at a corresponding position of the area C. It can be seen that the control unit 130 can know the type of the connector 121 according to which region (region A, region B or region C) the first connection pin 141 and the second connection pin 151 are coupled to, and provide a corresponding The driver of the connector 121 activates the associated transfer mode of the connector 121, thereby allowing the docking station 100 to increase the number of peripheral devices connected to different types.

Continuing to refer to FIG. 1 and FIG. 2, the second connection unit 151 of the connector 121 of the present embodiment further has an identification chip 152. The identification chip 152 stores an identification code, and the identification code corresponds to the connection. The type of device 121. Also, the first connection unit 140 is further configured with a reading unit 142. The reading unit 142 is coupled to the identification chip 152 and the control unit 130 for reading the identification code of the identification wafer 152 and transmitting it to the control unit 130.

For example, if the type of the connector 121 is a universal serial bus interface, the identification code can be set to, for example, "0001", and the type of the connector 121 is a high-resolution multimedia interface, for example, the identification code can be set to "0010". When the type of the connector 121 is the RJ-45 interface, the identification code can be set to, for example, "0100".

Thereby, when the connector 121 is mounted on the receiving slot 112 of the body 110, the second The connection unit 150 is coupled to the first connection unit 140 (ie, the reading unit 142 is coupled to the identification chip 152), and the control unit 130 obtains the identification code of the identification chip 152 through the reading unit 142 to determine the type of the connector 121. A driver corresponding to the connector 121 is provided to drive the connector 121 to enable its corresponding transmission mode.

In the foregoing embodiment, the related operation description is only performed by the connector 121, and the related operations of the remaining connectors 122, 123, 124, and 125 can be analogized, and thus will not be described herein.

The docking station of the embodiment of the present disclosure is configured with a plurality of connectors detachably disposed on the docking station body and by reading the identification information of the connector (for example, reading the identification code of the identification chip or reading The number and position of the signal pin are determined to determine the type of the connector, and accordingly a driver corresponding to the connector type is provided to drive the connector to initiate related operations. In this way, the convenience and expandability of the docking station can be increased.

The present disclosure is disclosed in the foregoing embodiments, and is not intended to limit the disclosure. Any subject matter of the present invention can be modified and retouched without departing from the spirit and scope of the disclosure. The scope of patent protection shall be subject to the definition of the scope of the patent application attached to this specification.

100‧‧‧Expansion base

110‧‧‧ body

111‧‧‧ One side of the body

112‧‧‧ accommodating slots

121, 122, 123, 124, 125‧‧‧ connectors

130‧‧‧Control unit

140‧‧‧First connection unit

141‧‧‧First connection pin

142‧‧‧Reading unit

150‧‧‧Second connection unit

151‧‧‧Second connection pin

152‧‧‧ Identification wafer

TX_D1+, TX_D1-, RX_D2+, RX_D2-, BI_D3+, BI_D3-, BI_D4+, BI_D4-, D+, D-, GND, VCC‧‧‧ signal pins

A, B, C‧‧‧ areas

Figure 1 is a schematic view of the docking station of the present disclosure.

FIG. 2 is a schematic diagram of a coupling relationship between a control unit, a first connection unit, and a second connection unit according to the present disclosure.

FIG. 3 is a schematic diagram showing the configuration of the first connecting pin of the first connecting unit of the present disclosure Figure.

FIG. 4 is a schematic diagram showing the configuration of the second connecting pin of the second connecting unit of the present disclosure.

FIG. 5 is another schematic diagram of the second connection pin of the second connection unit of the present disclosure.

Figure 6 is a schematic diagram showing the correspondence between the first connecting pin of the first connecting unit and the second connecting pin of the second connecting unit.

100‧‧‧Expansion base

110‧‧‧ body

111‧‧‧ One side of the body

112‧‧‧ accommodating slots

121, 122, 123, 124, 125‧‧‧ connectors

130‧‧‧Control unit

140‧‧‧First connection unit

141‧‧‧First connection pin

142‧‧‧Reading unit

150‧‧‧Second connection unit

151‧‧‧Second connection pin

152‧‧‧ Identification wafer

Claims (7)

An expansion base includes: a body having a plurality of receiving slots on one side of the body, each of the receiving slots having a first connecting unit; and a plurality of connectors detachably disposed in the housing Each of the connectors has a second connecting unit, the second connecting unit is adapted to be coupled to the first connecting unit, and a control unit is coupled to the first connecting unit for transmitting the first connecting unit A connection unit obtains an identification information of each of the connectors, and accordingly provides drivers corresponding to the connectors to drive the connectors, wherein the identification information corresponds to the type of each of the connectors. The expansion base of claim 1, wherein each of the first connection units has a plurality of first connection pins, and each of the second connection units has a plurality of second connection pins, and the first connection connections The legs are coupled to the second connecting pins in a one-to-one manner, and the number of the first connecting pins is the same as the number of the corresponding second connecting pins. The expansion base of claim 2, wherein the part of the second connection pin portions are signal pins, and the identification information is the number and position of the signal pins. The docking station of claim 2, wherein the second connecting units further each have an identification chip for storing an identification code corresponding to the type of each of the connectors, the first connection The unit has a reading unit for coupling the identification chip and the control unit to read the identification code and transmit the control code to the control unit yuan. The expansion base of claim 2, wherein the first connection pins of each of the first connection units are respectively disposed on a plurality of regions of each of the first connection units, and each of the plurality of The types of the first connecting pins of the area are different from each other, and the second connecting pins of each of the second connecting units are disposed in one of the corresponding areas corresponding to the type of each of the connectors. The first connecting pins located at the corresponding positions are coupled to the second connecting pins. The docking station of claim 1, wherein the connectors are identical in shape and volume. The docking station of claim 1, wherein the types of the connectors are a universal serial bus interface, a high-resolution multimedia interface, and an RJ-45 interface.