Patent Application
20070294452
Please refer to
In
The connecting member 104, the expansion card socket 120, the USB port 140, and the connecting members 141, 142, 143 with the USB extending interface are respectively mounted to the first circuit board 110 and are electrically connected thereto.
The expansion card socket 120 is suitable for inserting a second circuit board 300, so that the second circuit board 300 can transmit a high-speed signal with an express card 210 through the expansion card socket 120 and the first circuit board 110. The express card 210 is inserted into an express card socket 220 of the portable computer 200 and is electrically connected thereto. It should be noted that there are one expansion card socket 120 suitable for inserting one second circuit board 300 according to the present embodiment, while there may be a plurality of the expansion card sockets 120 for inserting a plurality of the second circuit boards 300 thereto according to the other embodiments.
According to the present embodiment, the high-speed signal is a peripheral component interconnect express (PCI-E) signal with a transmission rate of 2.5 Gbps, while the transmission rate may reach 4 Gbps or higher according to the other embodiments.
According to the present embodiment, the portable computer 200 is a notebook, while the portable computer 200 may be a palmtop, a tablet PC, an ultra-mobile personal computer (UMPC), a personal digital assistant (PDA), or a mobile phone according to the other embodiments.
The USB port 140 and the connecting members 141, 142, 143 with the USB extending interface are installed at one side of the first circuit board 110. Since the USB port 140 and the connecting members 141,142,143 with the USB extending interface are electrically connected to the first circuit board 110, they can transmit a USB signal with the express card 210 through the first circuit board 110. Please note that the present invention is not limited to this embodiment. For example, according to the other embodiments, the external multimedia expansion device 100a may not have the USB port 140 and the connecting members 141, 142, 143 with the USB extending interface.
The USB port 140 can be used to connect an external device 400. According to the present embodiment, the external device 400 may be electrically connected to the USB port 140 of the external multimedia expansion device 100a through a USB transmitting cable 410. After the external device 400 is connected to the USB port 140 through the USB transmitting cable 410, the portable computer 200 is capable of transmitting the USB signal with the external device 400 through the external multimedia expansion device 100a at a transmission rate of 1.5 Mbps at least. Please note that the transmission rate of transmitting the USB signal reaches 1.5 Mbps at least under a USB 1.0 transmission protocol according to the present embodiment, while the transmission rate reaches 480 Mbps at least under a USB 2.0 transmission protocol according to the other embodiments.
Only one USB port 140 is indicated in
According to the present embodiment, the connecting members 141, 142, 143 with the USB extending interface may be radio frequency port-RF ports, audio/video port-AV ports, ports capable of connecting speakers, or other ports enabling applications of USB signals.
Thus, through the external multimedia expansion device 100a, the portable computer 200 is allowed to improve its function by connecting the external device 400, a video device, an audio device e.g. speakers or other electronic devices with the USB extending interface. For example, through the external multimedia expansion device 100a, the portable computer 200 is allowed to improve its audio/video function by connecting a television, a video recorder/player, a VCD player, a DVD player, or speakers.
According to the present embodiment, it should be noted that the expansion card socket 120 uses the PCI-E interface, and the second circuit board 300 is a circuit board with the PCI-E interface. Said second circuit board 300 is, for example, a board with the PCI-E interface. According to the other embodiments, the expansion card socket 120 may use the MXM interface. Correspondingly, the second circuit board 300 is the board with the MXM interface. Only one expansion card socket 120 is mounted to the first circuit board 110 according to the present embodiment. However, a plurality of expansion card sockets 120 may be mounted to the first circuit board 110 according to the other embodiments.
On the other hand, according to the present embodiment, a processing unit 600 is mounted to the second circuit board 300 and electrically connected thereto. The processing unit 600 may be further electrically connected to the first circuit board 110 through the second circuit board 300 and the expansion card socket 120. Accordingly, when the second circuit board 300 is inserted into the expansion card socket 120 and electrically connected thereto, the portable computer 200 is capable of enhancing its hardware performance through operating the processing unit 600 of the second circuit board 300. In other words, the portable computer 200 can enhance its hardware performance through the express card 210, the transmitting cable 500, and the external multimedia expansion device 100a attaching the second circuit board 300 thereto.
According to the present embodiment, the processing unit 600 is a graphic processing unit (GPU) or a physics processing unit (PPU), while the processing unit 600 may be other types of processing units so as to enhance processing performance of the portable computer 200 according to the other embodiments.
A more detailed description of the connection between the external multimedia expansion device 100a and the portable computer 200 is provided hereinafter.
The external multimedia expansion device 100a of the present embodiment is electrically connected to the portable computer 200 through the transmitting cable 500 with a first connecting member 510 at one end of the transmitting cable 500 and a second connecting member 520 at the other. The first connecting member 510 may be electrically connected to the express card 210, and the second connecting member 520 may be electrically connected to the connecting member 104 of the first circuit board 110 of the external multimedia expansion device 100a. Hence, the external multimedia expansion device 100a can transmit at least one of the high-speed signal or the USB signal with the portable computer 200 through the express card 210 and the transmitting cable 500. Namely, the transmitting cable 500 can be used to transmit said high-speed signal, said USB signal, or both of them in the meantime.
According to the present embodiment, the connecting members 510 and 520 respectively comprise fourteen leads in support of transmitting said two signals. On the contrary, the connecting members 510 and 520 may comprise other numbers of leads according to the other embodiments. In addition, according to the present embodiment, the connecting members 510 and 520 are both D-type connectors, while the connecting members 510 and 520 may be other types of connectors according to the other embodiments as long as the numbers of leads are sufficient enough to permit the transmission of said two signals.
Moreover, according to the present embodiment, the express card 210 inserted to the portable computer 200 is capable of supporting transmissions of two different signals. For example, the express card 210 can support a PCI-E signal and the USB signal. However, the present invention is not limited to this embodiment. The express card 210 can also support transmissions of another two different signals according to the other embodiments. For example, the express card can support the transmissions of not only the USB signal but also another high-speed signal such as an IEEE-1394 signal, an MXM signal, the PCI-E signal, or a PCMCIA signal.
Furthermore, the external multimedia expansion device 100a disclosed in the present embodiment not only enhances performance of the portable computer 200 through operating the processing unit 600 but also provides other functions.
For instance, a control chip 114 is further mounted to the first circuit board 110 and is electrically connected to the first circuit board 110, the control unit 104, and the display panel 106, respectively. The display panel 106 is used to display system data of the portable computer 200, such as an operating frequency of a central processing unit of the portable computer 200, system fan speed thereof, system temperature thereof, or use of memory thereof. According to the present embodiment, the control unit 104 is a knob which can be rotated left, right, or be pushed down.
For example, in a preset state, the control unit 104 can be rotated left or right so as to adjust the volume of the portable computer 200. Further, when the control unit 104 is rotated left or right, a corresponding signal is generated and transferred to the control chip 114, so as to adjust the volume of the portable computer 200 through the transmitting cable 500 and the express card 210. In addition, when the control unit 104 is pushed once, another corresponding signal generated by the control unit 104 is transferred to the control chip 114, so as to adjust the operating frequency of the portable computer 200 through the transmitting cable 500 and the express card 210. Here, the operating frequency can be increased as the control unit 104 is rotated right, while the operating frequency can be decreased as the control unit is rotated left. Likewise, when the control unit 104 is pushed twice, the corresponding signal generated by the control unit 104 is transferred to the control chip 114, so as to adjust the system fan speed of the portable computer 200 through the transmitting cable 500 and the express card 210. Here, the system fan speed can be increased as the control unit 104 is rotated right, while the system fan speed can be decreased as the control unit is rotated left.
In summary, the external multimedia expansion device disclosed in the preferred embodiments of the present invention has a higher transmission rate. Therefore, after the external multimedia expansion device is connected to the portable computer, the portable computer has enhanced hardware performance through external connections. For example, the display or the processing performance of the portable computer can be boosted when the external multimedia expansion device is connected to the portable computer, or the second circuit board connected to the external multimedia expansion device is configured with a display card or a physics acceleration card.
In addition, the external multimedia expansion device comprises the USB port. Accordingly, the portable computer can enhance its performance by connecting other external devices with USB extending interfaces through the external multimedia expansion device. For example, through the external multimedia expansion device, the portable computer can further connect to an external hard drive or a printer with the USB extending interface so as to enlarge the capacity of the hard drive or add a printing feature.
Although the present invention has been disclosed above by the preferred embodiments, they are not intended to limit the present invention. Anybody skilled in the art can make some modifications and alteration without departing from the spirit and scope of the present invention. Therefore, the protecting range of the present invention falls in the appended claims.
| Number | Date | Country | Kind |
|---|---|---|---|
| 95121197 | Jun 2006 | TW | national |
| 95133172 | Sep 2006 | TW | national |
