Patent Application
20120210038
1. Field of the Invention
The present invention generally relates to a bridge system, and more particularly to an external bridge system that supports mass storage and card reading.
2. Description of Related Art
A bridge is an electronic system that links a host and a device by converting signals from one communication protocol to another communication protocol. The circuitry and software resided in the bridge should be specifically designed according to the specification of the connected device such as a mass storage device. As the mass storage device, for example, a hard disk drive, is commonly fixed to the host, such as a personal computer, the mass storage device thus lacks versatility in functions and applications.
A card reader is commonly used to accommodate a memory card, which has a storage capacity being generally smaller than that of the mass storage device. The card reader, typically having Universal Serial Bus (USB) interface, is commonly a removable device that is capable of being plugged into or removed from the host.
However, either the mass storage device or the card reader is individually made. As a result, they are limited in functions and applications respectively. A need has therefore arisen to propose a novel scheme that advances the use of the mass storage device and the card reader to acquire more utilization and make more functions from them.
In view of the foregoing, it is an object of the embodiment of the present invention to provide an external bridge system that is capable of providing interfacing among a host and a number of devices of different communication protocols. Another object of the embodiment is to operate a memory card in conjunction with a mass storage device via the external bridge system.
According to one embodiment, an external bridge system includes a host interface, a first device interface, a second device interface, and a bridge controller. The host interface is configured to comply with a communication protocol used by a host. The first device interface is configured to comply with a communication protocol used by a first device. The second device interface is configured to comply with a communication protocol used by a second device, the communication protocol of the second device being different from the communication protocol of the first device. The bridge controller is electrically coupled among the host interface, the first device interface, and the second device interface. The bridge controller is configured to translate signals compliant with the communication protocol of the host to or from signals compliant with the communication protocol of the first or second device.
In the embodiment, the external bridge system 10 primarily includes a bridge controller 100, a host interface 102 and a number of device interfaces, e.g., a first device interface 104 and a second device interface 106. Specifically, the host interface 102 communicates with the host 12 via the link 11, and complies with a communication protocol used by the host 12. The first device interface 104 complies with a communication protocol used by the first device 14, and the second device interface 106 complies with a communication protocol used by the second device 16. It is noted that the communication protocol used by the first device 14 is different from the communication protocol used by the second device 16. Moreover, either the first device interface 104 or the second device interface 106 may include a single port that is capable of accommodating one device or include multiple ports that are capable of accommodating a number of devices of the same protocols. The bridge controller 100 is electrically coupled among the host interface 102, the first device interface 104 and the second device interface 106 in order to translate signals compliant with one protocol into signals compliant with another protocol.
The host 12 may be, but is not limited to, a computer (such as a notebook personal computer (PC), a netbook PC, an industry PC), a cellular phone, a smartbook or a smart television (TV) set. The host interface 102 may be, but is not necessarily, a hot-swapping interface such that the external bridge system 10, with or without the first/second device 14/16, may be plugged into or removed from the host 12 without shutting down or significant interruption to the host 12. Some of available, but not exclusive, communication protocols for the host interface 102 are Universal Serial Bus (USB), IEEE 1394, Serial Advanced Technology Attachment (SATA), external SATA (eSATA), micro SATA, Bluetooth and WiFi.
According to the preferred embodiment as shown in
In another specific preferred embodiment, the memory card 16A or the USB drive 16B may be emulated to act, for example, a cache or an optical disk drive. The emulation of the optical disk drive, for example, may be accomplished by acknowledging a connection request sent from the host 12 with signals compliant with the communication protocol of the optical disk drive. One of the advantages of using the memory card 16A or the USB drive 16B as an emulated device is substituting a small-volume memory card 16A or the USB drive 16B for a bulky optical disk drive and its optical disk.
In a further specific preferred embodiment, the memory card 16A or the USB drive 16B may be operative in conjunction with the mass storage device 14A. In the embodiment, the memory card 16A or the USB drive 16B may be used to provide access rights to the mass storage device 14A. For example, some or all region, including a protected region, of the mass storage device 14A can be accessed when the memory card 16A is electrically coupled to the card reader interface 106A (e.g., the memory card 16A is inserted in a card reader associated with the card reader interface 106A) or the USB drive 16B is electrically coupled to the USB interface 106B; otherwise, only a public region of the mass storage device 14A can be accessed.
Although specific embodiments have been illustrated and described, it will be appreciated by those skilled in the art that various modifications may be made without departing from the scope of the present invention, which is intended to be limited solely by the appended claims.
