Patent Application
20200364170
This application claims priority to Taiwan Application Serial No. 108117174, filed May 17, 2019, the disclosure of which is incorporated herein by reference.
The present disclosure relates to an electronic device and method thereof, and in particularly to an integrated electronic apparatus for data access, data transmission, and power management and method thereof.
With rapid development of information technologies, applications of electronic products have become increasingly popular. For example, portable electronic devices such as notebooks, mobile phones, and tablets are everywhere. These electronic devices are characterized by being portable and ready to use anywhere. In order to enable various electronic devices to be connected to each other for a relatively large amount of data transmission, it is common to insert a flash drive with a universal serial bus (USB) connector into the electronic product to expand a memory storage capacity of the electronic product. Alternatively, the electronic product is connected to another electronic product by a cable having a USB port to perform a data transmission between these two electronic products. However, due to a difference in types of a connector (such as a standard USB Type-A connector) and a USB port (such as a lightning connector defined by Apple Inc.), the flash drive with the connector and the cable are difficult to integrate. Furthermore, the flash drive not only does not have a power supply function, but also limits the application with a USB flash drive. Accordingly, it is necessary to provide a new electronic device to solve the technical problem in the prior art.
An object of the present disclosure is to provide an integrated electronic apparatus for data access, data transmission, and power management and a method thereof. The integrated electronic apparatus employs a first controller, a second controller, and a switch unit for controlling the data access, data transmission, and power management between a first peripheral device and a second peripheral device, so that a first communication interface and a second communication interface of the integrated electronic apparatus are integrated effectively to increase convenience of the data access and utilization flexibility of the integrated electronic apparatus. The integrated electronic apparatus serves as functions of a portable storage device, a data transmission line, and a portable power bank.
In order to achieve the above object, the present disclosure provides an integrated electronic apparatus for data access, data transmission, and power management. The integrated electronic apparatus includes a storage unit, a power module, a first communication interface, a second communication interface, a switch unit, a first controller, and a second controller. The storage unit is configured to store data. The power module is configured to supply power. The first communication interface is configured to detect whether a first peripheral device is connected thereto, so as to determine a corresponding communication connection between the storage unit and the power module and the first peripheral device. The second communication interface is configured to detect whether a second peripheral device is connected thereto, so as to determine another corresponding communication connection between the storage unit and the power module and the second peripheral device. The switch unit is coupled to the storage unit, the first communication interface, and the second communication interface, and is configured to switch a connection state between the storage unit, the first communication interface, and the second communication interface. The first controller is coupled to the storage unit, the first communication interface, the second communication interface, and the switch unit, and is configured to control the switch unit to perform switching between the storage unit, the first communication interface, and the second communication interface. The second controller is coupled to the power module, the first communication interface, the second communication interface, and the switch unit. The first controller controls the first peripheral device to access first data corresponding to the storage unit according to a first protocol, and/or controls the second peripheral device to access the first data corresponding to the storage unit according to a second protocol. The second controller controls the first peripheral device to charge the power module, and/or controls the power module to supply the power to the second peripheral devices.
In one embodiment, in response to the first peripheral device connecting to the first communication interface, the first controller controls the switch unit to connect the storage unit to the first communication interface, such that the first peripheral device reads and writes the first data of the storage unit according to the first protocol, and the second controller controls the first communication interface to enable the first peripheral device to charge the power module.
In one embodiment, the first peripheral device is in a host mode, and the integrated electronic apparatus is in a device mode.
In one embodiment, in response to the second peripheral device connecting to the second communication interface, the first controller controls the switch unit to connect the storage unit to the second communication interface, such that the second peripheral device reads and writes the first data of the storage unit according to the second protocol, and the second controller controls the second communication interface to enable the power module to supply the power to the second peripheral device.
In one embodiment, in response to the power module supplying the power to the second peripheral device for charging, the integrated electronic apparatus is in a host mode, and the second peripheral device is in a device mode, and in response to the second peripheral device reading and writing the first data, the integrated electronic apparatus is in the device mode, and the second peripheral device is in the host mode.
In one embodiment, in response to the first peripheral device connecting to the first communication interface and the second peripheral device connecting to the second communication interface, the second controller controls the switch unit to connect the first communication interface to the second communication interface, such that the first peripheral device extracts second data of the second peripheral device according to the second protocol, and the second controller controls the first communication interface to enable the first peripheral device to charge the power module, and the second controller controls the second communication interface to enable the power module to supply the power to the second peripheral device.
In one embodiment, the first peripheral device is in a host mode, and the second peripheral device is in a device mode.
In one embodiment, in response to the first peripheral device connecting to the first communication interface and the second peripheral device connecting to the second communication interface, the first controller controls the switch unit to connect the storage unit to the second communication interface, such that the second peripheral device reads and writes the first data of the storage unit according to the second protocol, and the second controller controls the first communication interface to enable the first peripheral device to charge the power module, and the second controller controls the second communication interface to enable the power module to supply the power to the second peripheral device.
In one embodiment, in response to the power module supplying the power to the second peripheral device, the integrated electronic apparatus is in a host mode, and the second peripheral device is in a device mode, and in response to the second peripheral device reading and writing the first data, the integrated electronic apparatus is in the device mode, and the second peripheral device is in the host mode.
In one embodiment, the storage unit includes a secure digital memory card or an embedded multimedia card.
In one embodiment, the first protocol includes a universal serial bus (USB) mass storage class protocol.
In one embodiment, the second protocol includes an iPod accessory protocol.
The present disclosure also provides an implementation method of an integrated electronic apparatus for data access, data transmission, and power management. The integrated electronic apparatus includes a storage unit, a power module, a first communication interface, a second communication interface, a switch unit, a first controller, and a second controller. The implementation method includes the following steps.
S1, detecting whether the first communication interface is connected to a first peripheral device to determine a corresponding communication connection between the storage unit and the power module and the first peripheral device;
S2, detecting whether the second communication interface is connected to a second peripheral device to determine another corresponding communication connection between the storage unit and the power module and the second peripheral device;
S3, switching, by the switch unit, a connection state between the storage unit, the first peripheral device, and the second peripheral device according to detection results of the first communication interface and the second communication interface;
S4, controlling, by the second controller, a charging state and a powering state between the power module, the first peripheral device, and the second peripheral device according to the detection results of the first communication interface and the second communication interface;
S5, controlling, by the first controller, the first peripheral device to access first data corresponding to the storage unit according to a first protocol, and/or controlling, by the first controller, the second peripheral device to access the first data corresponding to the storage unit according to a second protocol; and
S6, controlling, by the second controller, the first peripheral device to charge the power module, and/or controlling, by the second controller, the power module to supply power to the second peripheral devices.
In one embodiment, in the step S5, if the first peripheral device is connected to the first communication interface, the first controller controls the first peripheral device to read and write the first data of the storage unit according to the first protocol, and in the step S6, the second controller controls the first peripheral device to charge the power module.
In one embodiment, the first peripheral device is in a host mode, and the integrated electronic apparatus is in a device mode.
In one embodiment, in the step S5, if the second peripheral device is connected to the second communication interface, the first controller controls the second peripheral device to read and write the first data of the storage unit according to the second protocol, and in the step S6, the power module is controlled to supply the power to the second peripheral device.
In one embodiment, if the power module supplies the power to the second peripheral device for charging, the integrated electronic apparatus is in a host mode and the second peripheral device is in a device mode, and if the second peripheral device reads and writes the first data, the integrated electronic apparatus is in the device mode and the second peripheral device is in host mode.
In one embodiment, in the step S5, if the first peripheral device is connected to the first communication interface and the second peripheral device is connected to the second communication interface, the second controller controls the switch unit to enable the first peripheral device to extract second data of the second peripheral device according to the second protocol, and in the step S6, the second controller controls the first communication interface to enable the first peripheral device to charge the power module, and the second controller controls the second communication interface to enable the power module to supply the power to the second peripheral device.
In one embodiment, the first peripheral device is in a host mode, and the second peripheral device is in a device mode.
In one embodiment, in the step S5, if the first peripheral device is connected to the first communication interface and the second peripheral device is connected to the second communication interface, the first controller controls the switch unit to connect the storage unit to the second communication interface, such that the second peripheral device accesses the first data corresponding to the storage unit according to the second protocol, and in the step S6, the second controller controls the first communication interface to enable the first peripheral device to charge the power module, and the second controller controls the second communication interface to enable the power module to supply the power to the second peripheral device.
In one embodiment, if the power module supplies the power to the second peripheral device, the integrated electronic apparatus is in a host mode and the second peripheral device is in a device mode, and if the second peripheral device reads and writes the first data, the integrated electronic apparatus is in the device mode, and the second peripheral device is in the host mode.
In one embodiment, the first protocol includes a universal serial bus (USB) mass storage class protocol.
In one embodiment, the second protocol includes an iPod accessory protocol.
In order to illustrate the technical solutions according to the embodiments of the present disclosure more clearly, the accompanying drawings for describing the embodiments are introduced briefly in the following. Apparently, the accompanying drawings in the following description are only some embodiments of the present disclosure, and persons of ordinary skill in the art may derive other drawings from the accompanying drawings without creative efforts.
Please refer to the drawings, like reference numerals designate like elements throughout the specification. The principle of the present disclosure is described by the embodiments in suitable operation conditions. The following description is based on the specific illustrated embodiments of the present disclosure, which should not be construed as limiting the present disclosure, unless otherwise specified.
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Specifically, the first peripheral device 110a is in a host mode, and the second peripheral device 110b is in a device mode. That is, the first peripheral device 110a regards the second peripheral device 110b as an external storage device, so that the first peripheral device 110a can synchronously transmit a data content of the second peripheral device 110b. In one embodiment, the first peripheral device 110a copies the second data 103b of the second peripheral device 110b through the integrated electronic apparatus 101 according to the iPod accessory protocol (iAP) of the second protocol PT2. In other words, the integrated electronic apparatus 101 of the present disclosure has as a function of a data transmission line.
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Specifically, if the power module 102 supplies the power to the second peripheral device 110b, the integrated electronic apparatus 101 is in a host mode and the second peripheral device 110b is in a device mode. However, if the second peripheral device 110b reads and writes the first data 103a, the integrated electronic apparatus 101 is converted from the host mode to the device mode, and the second peripheral device 110b is converted from the device mode to the host mode. At this time, the second peripheral device 110b regards the integrated electronic apparatus 101 as an external storage device, so that the second peripheral device 110b can directly access the storage unit 100 of the integrated electronic apparatus 101. In one embodiment, the second peripheral device 110b is, for example, an iPhone or an iPad tablet manufactured by Apple Inc. having an iPod accessory protocol (iAP). In this case, if the integrated electronic apparatus 101 is in the device mode, it serves as a storage device for the second peripheral device 110b. When the integrated electronic apparatus 101 is in the host mode, it serves as a power supply for the second peripheral device 110b. In another embodiment, the second peripheral device 110b is, for example, a mobile phone with an Android operating system. At this time, the integrated electronic apparatus 101 only serves as the power supply.
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In a step S1, the first communication interface 104a is detected whether a first peripheral device 110a is connected thereto, so as to determine a corresponding communication connection between the storage unit 100 and the power module 102 and the first peripheral device 110a.
In a step S2, the second communication interface 104b is detected whether a second peripheral device 110b is connected thereto, so as to determine another corresponding communication connection between the storage unit 100 and the power module 102 and the second peripheral device 110b.
In a step S3, according to detection results of the first communication interface 104a and the second communication interface 104b, the switch unit 106 switches a connection state between the storage unit 100, the first peripheral device 110a, and the second peripheral device 110b according to detection results of the first communication interface and the second communication interface.
In a step S4, according to the detection results of the first communication interface 104a and the second communication interface 104b, the second controller 108b controls a charging state and a powering state between the power module 102, the first peripheral device 110a, and the second peripheral device 110b.
In a step S5, the first controller 108a controls the first peripheral device 110a to access first data 103a corresponding to the storage unit 100 according to a first protocol PT1, and/or the first controller 108a controls the second peripheral device 110b to access the first data 103a corresponding to the storage unit 100 according to a second protocol PT2.
In a step S6, the second controller 108b controls the first peripheral device 110a to charge the power module 102, and/or the second controller 108b controls the power module 102 to supply power to the second peripheral devices 110b. In an embodiment, the first protocol PT1 is a universal serial bus (USB) mass storage class protocol, and the second protocol PT2 is an iPod accessory protocol.
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In a step S10, the first controller 108a detects and enumerates a second peripheral device of a second communication interface.
In a step S12, the first controller 108a determines whether the second peripheral device 110b conforms to a peripheral device with an iAP accessory protocol, and if yes, a step S14 is performed, and if no, a step S22 is performed.
In a step S14, the first controller 108a issues a role switch command to the second peripheral device 110b, and the role switch command is, for example, a USB custom vendor request command.
In a step S16, the second peripheral device 110b determines whether it supports the role switch command, and if yes, a step S18 is performed, and if no, the step S22 is performed.
In a step S18, the second peripheral device 110b performs a disconnection, and the second peripheral device 110b is converted from the device mode to the host mode.
In a step S20, the first controller 108a is converted from the host mode to the device mode.
In the step S22, the integrated electronic apparatus 101 is maintained in the host mode.
In summary, in integrated electronic apparatus 101 for data access, data transmission, and power management and method thereof of the present disclosure, the first controller, the second controller, and the switch unit are configured to control the data access, data transmission, and power management between the first peripheral device and the second peripheral device, such that the first communication interface and the second communication interface of the integrated electronic apparatus 101 are integrated to increase an application range of the storage device and improve the utilization flexibility of the storage device.
The preferable embodiments of the present disclosure have been described above, and are not intended to limit the scope of the present disclosure. Any modification or replacement made by those skilled in the art without departing from the spirit and principle of the present disclosure should fall within the protection scope of the present disclosure, and scope of the present disclosure as defined by the appended claims.
| Number | Date | Country | Kind |
|---|---|---|---|
| 108117174 | May 2019 | TW | national |
