ELECTRONIC SYSTEM, MONITORING CHIP, AND OPERATION METHOD

An electronic system includes a first electronic device and a second electronic device. The first electronic device includes a monitoring chip and a hub chip. The monitoring chip is coupled to an upstream port of the hub chip through a first connection and is coupled to the hub chip through a second connection. The second electronic device is configured to couple a downstream port of the hub chip. The monitoring chip is configured to acquire connection information of the second electronic device through the first connection, and acquire status information of the second electronic device through the second connection. The first electronic device is configured to control at least one third electronic device according to the connection information and the status information.

RELATED APPLICATIONS

This application claims priority to Taiwanese Application Serial Number 111126537, filed Jul. 14, 2022, which is herein incorporated by reference.

BACKGROUND

Technical Field

The present disclosure relates to technology related to hub technology. More particularly, the present disclosure relates to an electronic system, a monitoring chip, and an operation method.

Description of Related Art

With development of technology, various electronic products are developed, such as: personal desktop computers, laptop computers, or other electronic systems. In some applications, hub devices can be used to enable multiple electronic devices to transmit data or power at the same time.

SUMMARY

Some aspects of the present disclosure are to provide an electronic system. The electronic system includes a first electronic device and a second electronic device. The first electronic device includes a monitoring chip and a hub chip. The monitoring chip is coupled to an upstream port of the hub chip through a first connection and is coupled to the hub chip through a second connection. The second electronic device is configured to couple a downstream port of the hub chip. The monitoring chip is configured to acquire connection information of the second electronic device through the first connection, and acquire status information of the second electronic device through the second connection. The first electronic device is configured to control at least one third electronic device according to the connection information and the status information.

Some aspects of the present disclosure are to provide a monitoring chip. The monitoring chip is disposed in a first electronic device, is coupled to an upstream port of the hub chip through a first connection, and is coupled to the hub chip through a second connection. The monitoring chip is further configured to acquire connection information of the second electronic device coupled to a downstream port of the hub chip through the first connection, and acquire status information of the second electronic device through the second connection for the first electronic device to control at least one third electronic device.

Some aspects of the present disclosure are to provide an operation method. The operation method includes following operations: acquiring, by a monitoring chip in a first electronic device, connection information of a second electronic device through a first connection, in which the monitoring chip is coupled to an upstream port of a hub chip through the first connection and the second electronic device is coupled to a downstream port of the hub chip; acquiring, by the monitoring chip, status information of the second electronic device through a second connection, in which the monitoring chip is coupled to the hub chip through the second connection; and controlling, by the first electronic device, at least one third electronic device according to the connection information and the status information.

As described above, in the present disclosure, the monitoring chip (coupled to the upstream of the hub chip) in the first electronic device can obtain the connection information and the status information of the second electronic device (coupled to the downstream of the hub chip) through two connections. Thus, the first electronic device can control other electronic devices (e.g., the third electronic device) according to the two kinds of information.

DETAILED DESCRIPTION

In the present disclosure, “connected” or “coupled” may refer to “electrically connected” or “electrically coupled.” “Connected” or “coupled” may also refer to operations or actions between two or more elements.

Reference is made toFIG.1.FIG.1is a schematic diagram of an electronic system100according to some embodiments of the present disclosure.

As illustrated inFIG.1, the electronic system100includes an electronic device110, an electronic device120, and an electronic device130. The electronic device110can be coupled to the electronic device120and the electronic device130.

The electronic device110includes a monitoring chip111, a hub chip112, and a main control chip113. The monitoring chip111, the hub chip112, and the main control chip113can be disposed on a printed circuit board (PCB). As illustrated inFIG.1, the hub chip112can include at least one upstream port O1and a plurality of downstream ports O2.

The monitoring chip111can be coupled to the upstream port O1of the hub chip112through a connection C1. In addition, the monitoring chip111can be coupled to the hub chip112through a connection C2. For example, the monitoring chip111can include a pin P1and a pin P3on the printed circuit board, and the hub chip112can include a pin P2and a pin P4on the printed circuit board, in which the pin P2is coupled to the upstream port O1. One metal wire can be connected between the pin P1and the pin P2to from the connection C1, and another one metal wire can be connected between the pin P3and the pin P4to from the connection C2.

In practical applications, the connection C1can support a first transmission protocol, and the connection C2can support a second transmission protocol. The second transmission protocol can be different from the first transmission protocol. In some embodiments, the first transmission protocol can be a universal serial bus (USB) protocol, and the second transmission protocol can be an inter-integrated circuit (I2C) bus protocol or a system management bus (SMBus) protocol. However, the present disclosure is not limited thereto.

The electronic device120can be coupled to the downstream port O2of the hub chip112. For example, the electronic device120can include a cable W. One end of the cable W can be coupled to a body of the electronic device120, and the other end of the cable W can be inserted into the downstream port O2of the hub chip112. In practical applications, the cable W also supports the first transmission protocol. In other words, the cable W and the connection C1support the same transmission protocol (e.g., the universal serial bus transmission protocol). However, since the connection C2support other transmission protocol, the connection C2can be regarded as a sideband connection.

The monitoring chip111can be coupled to the main control chip113. In operation, the electronic device120can transmit connection information CIN to the hub chip112through the cable W. The hub chip112can reorganize the connection information CIN to generate reorganized connection information CIN′. Then, the reorganized connection information CIN′ can be transmitted to the monitoring chip111through the connection C1. In addition, since the hub chip112can acquire status information SIN of the electronic device120by itself, the monitoring chip111can obtain the status information SIN of the electronic device120from the hub chip112through the connection C2. Then, the monitoring chip111can transmit a notification signal NIN to the main control chip113according to the reorganized connection information CIN′ and the status information SIN. The main control chip113can transmit a control signal CS to the monitoring chip111in response to the notification signal NIN so as to control the electronic device130.

References are made toFIG.1andFIG.2.FIG.2is a schematic diagram of a computer system200according to some embodiments of the present disclosure. In some embodiments, the electronic system100inFIG.1can be applied to the computer system200inFIG.2.

In the example ofFIG.2, the electronic device110is a display screen. In this example, the main control chip113can include a scaler controller circuit to control the display function. In the example ofFIG.2, the electronic device120is a keyboard, but the present disclosure is not limited thereto. The electronic device120can also be a mouse or a universal serial bus flash drive. In some embodiments, the electronic device130A and the electronic device130B (used to implement the electronic device130inFIG.1) are computer hosts, and different operation systems are installed in the computer hosts respectively. In this example, the electronic device130A and the electronic device130B are desktop computers. However, in some other examples, the electronic device130A can be a desktop computer, and the electronic device130B can be a laptop.

In practical applications, the electronic device130A can be coupled to the electronic device110through a video cable VC1. The video cable VC1is used to transmit images of the electronic device130A. Similarly, the electronic device130B can be coupled to the electronic device110through a video cable VC2. The video cable VC2is used to transmit images of the electronic device130B.

In addition, the electronic device130A can be coupled to the monitoring chip111in the electronic device110through a universal serial bus cable USB1. The monitoring chip111can control the electronic device130A through the universal serial bus cable USB1. Similarly, the electronic device130B can be coupled to the monitoring chip111in the electronic device110through a universal serial bus cable USB2. The monitoring chip111can control the electronic device130B through the universal serial bus cable USB2.

As described above, the monitoring chip111can acquire the reorganized connection information CIN′ from the hub chip112through the connection C1. Reference is made toFIG.3.FIG.3is a schematic diagram of the reorganized connection information CIN′ according to some embodiments of the present disclosure.

As illustrated inFIG.3, the reorganized connection information CIN′ includes an address (e.g., 8) of the electronic device120, an address (e.g., 7) of the hub chip112, a port number (e.g., 1) of the downstream port O2, and action data (e.g., 01_00_00_00_00) of the electronic device120. In other words, the reorganized connection information CIN′ can indicate the electronic device120, indicate the hub chip112, indicate which downstream port of the hub chip112the electronic device120is coupled to, and indicate the type of operation perform by an user on the electronic device120. For example, it is assumed that the electronic device120is a mouse. The action data generated by the electronic device120can be 01_00_00_00_00 when the user presses the left button on the mouse.

As described above, the monitoring chip111can obtain the status information SIN of the electronic device120from the hub chip112through the connection C2. References are made toFIG.4andFIG.5.FIG.4is a schematic diagram of status information SIN according to some embodiments of the present disclosure.FIG.5is a schematic diagram of bit information in the status information SIN according to some embodiments of the present disclosure.

As illustrated inFIG.4, the status information SIN includes a port state (e.g., 0000001100000001). The port state includes a plurality of bits, and the bits are used to indicate states of the electronic device120respectively.

FIG.5only shows some of the bits. For example, the first bit (bit 0) indicates whether the electronic device120is connected. The second bit (bit 1) indicates whether the electronic device120is enabled. The third bit (bit 2) indicates whether the electronic device120is suspended. The fourth bit (bit 3) indicates whether the electronic device120receives excess current. The fifth bit (bit 4) indicates whether the electronic device120has been reset. The sixth bit (bit 5) indicates a power-saving state. The ninth bit (bit 8) indicates whether the electronic device120has power. The tenth bit (bit 9) indicates whether the electronic device120is in a low-speed state. The eleventh bit (bit 10) indicates whether the electronic device120is in a high-speed state. The twelfth bit (bit 11) indicates whether the electronic device120is in a test state. The thirteenth bit (bit 12) indicates a light (indicator) control. Accordingly, the bits in the port state can reflect the states of the electronic device120.

Based on the descriptions above, the combination of the reorganized connection information CIN′ and the status information SIN can reflect the operation type perform by a user on the electronic device120and the state of the electronic device120. Reference is made toFIG.2again. For example, when a user presses a hotkey on the electronic device120(e.g., the keyboard), the monitoring chip111can obtain the corresponding reorganized connection information CIN′ and the corresponding status information SIN. Then, the monitoring chip111can transmit the notification signal NIN to the main control chip113according to the two kinds of information. The main control chip113can transmit the control signal CS to the monitoring chip111in response to the notification signal NIN so as to control the electronic device130A and the electronic device130B. For example, the monitoring chip111can switch the electronic device130A and the electronic device130B through the universal serial bus USB1and the universal serial bus USB2according to the control signal CS. When switching to the electronic device130A, the electronic device110(e.g., the display screen) displays the images of the operating system installed in the electronic device130A. When switching to the electronic device130B, the electronic device110(e.g., the display screen) displays the images of the operating system installed in the electronic device130B. In other words, the monitoring chip111also has a function similar to a multiplexer.

In some embodiments, the notification signal NIN and the control signal CS are transmitted based on a general-purpose input/output (GPIO) protocol.

In some related approaches, a hub device is outside an electronic device (e.g., a display screen) and is coupled to this electronic device through a connection cable. Accordingly, the hub device obtains various information of the electronic device (e.g., the keyboard or the mouse) coupled to its downstream port through the same cable (the same transmission protocol).

Compared to the aforementioned approaches, in the present disclosure, the hub chip112can be disposed in the electronic device110(e.g., the display screen) to simplify the system structure. For achieving the aforementioned purposes, the monitoring chip111in the present disclosure is coupled to upstream port O1of the hub chip112. The monitoring chip111can acquire the reorganized connection information CIN′ of the electronic device120through the connection C1, and obtain the status information SIN of the electronic device120from the hub chip112through the connection C2. Thus, the electronic device110can successfully obtain the two kinds of information, and control the electronic device130correspondingly (e.g., switching between the electronic device130A and the electronic device130B) according to the two kinds of information.

In addition, the main control chip113can be coupled to the monitoring chip111through a bus BUS. In some embodiments, the bus BUS supports the universal serial bus protocol. The main control chip113can be coupled to the electronic device120through the bus BUS, the monitoring chip111, and the hub chip112. Accordingly, a user can operate the electronic device120(e.g., the keyboard) to adjust the characteristics of the electronic device110(e.g., the display screen). For example, when the user presses some specific keys on the keyboard, the main control chip113can receive commands from the bus BUS and the main control chip113can change the brightness, the resolution, or other characteristics of the display screen according to the commands. In some related approaches, some buttons on the display screen are used to adjust their characteristics. However, these buttons are disposed at positions that are more difficult to press. Therefore, compared to these related approaches, the method of the present disclosure has the advantage of ease to operate.

Reference is made toFIG.6.FIG.6is a flow diagram of an operation method600according to some embodiments of the present disclosure. As illustrated inFIG.6, the operation method600includes operation S610, operation S620, and operation S630.

In some embodiments, the operation method600can be applied to the electronic system100inFIG.1or the computer system200inFIG.2, but the present disclosure is not limited thereto. For ease of understanding, the operation method600is described with reference to the electronic system100inFIG.1.

In operation S610, the monitoring chip111in the electronic device110acquires connection information CIN of the electronic device120through the connection C1. In some embodiments, the connection C1supports the universal serial bus protocol.

In operation S620, the monitoring chip111acquires the status information SIN of the electronic device120through the connection C2. In some embodiments, the connection C2supports the inter-integrated circuit bus protocol or the system management bus protocol.

In operation S630, the electronic device110controls the electronic device130according to the connection information CIN and the status information SIN. For example, the monitoring chip111can transmit the notification signal NIN to the main control chip113according to the connection information CIN and the status information SIN. The main control chip113can transmit the control signal CS to the monitoring chip111in response to the notification signal NIN to control the one or more electronic devices130.

As described above, in the present disclosure, the monitoring chip (coupled to the upstream of the hub chip) in the first electronic device can obtain the connection information and the status information of the second electronic device (coupled to the downstream of the hub chip) through two connections. Thus, the first electronic device can control other electronic devices (e.g., the third electronic device) according to the two kinds of information.