USB SSIC thin card device and data transfer method thereof

A USB SSIC thin card device and a data transfer method thereof are provided. A first universal serial bus (USB) physical layer circuit is controlled by a USB device control unit to transmit data through a pair of first differential signal pins and a pair of a second differential signal pins, wherein the first USB physical layer circuit is used to transmit data complied with a USB 3.0 SSIC transmission specification.

BACKGROUND

1. Technical Field

The disclosure relates to a USB SSIC (SuperSpeed USB Inter-Chip) thin card device and a data transfer method thereof. Particularly, the disclosure relates to a USB SSIC thin card device complying with a universal serial bus (USB) 3.0 SSIC transmission specification and a data transfer method thereof.

2. Related Art

Along with development of technology, various external universal serial bus (USB) devices are quickly developed in the market, which not only bring convenience to the lives of people, but also play an indispensable role in people's daily life, for example, a smart phone, a tablet PC or an eBook, etc. Since mobile devices are all developed in a trend of “lightness, slimness, shortness and smallness” and “high-performance and low power consumption”, demands for memory cards having features of small size, fast speed and low power consumption are greatly increased. Presently, the SD-series memory cards are widely used on the mobile devices. Although the USB 3.0 has high-speed and diversified complete peripherals, it is not optimised in power consumption for the mobile devices, and a power consumption specification thereof is not complied with a demand of low power consumption of the mobile devices, so that it fails to enter the mobile device market.

SUMMARY

The disclosure is directed to a USB SSIC thin card device and a data transfer method thereof, where the USB SSIC thin card device satisfies a low power consumption demand of mobile device and has high-speed data transmission quality.

The disclosure provides a USB SSIC thin card device, which is adapted to be connected to a host device for data transmission. The USB SSIC thin card device includes a first universal serial bus (USB) physical layer circuit, a pair of first differential signal pins, a pair of second differential signal pins, a USB device control unit, a plate body, a first ground pin and a second pin row, where the first USB physical layer circuit is used to transmit data complied with a USB 3.0 SSIC transmission specification. The USB device control unit controls the first USB physical layer circuit to perform data transmission through the pair of first differential signal pins and the pair of second differential signal pins. The pair of first differential signal pins, the pair of second differential signal pins and the first ground pin form a first pin row, and the first ground pin is located between the pair of first differential signal pins and the pair of second differential signal pins. The first pin row and the second pin row are parallel to a side edge of the plate body and are disposed on the plate body, and the second pin row is closer to the side edge compared to the first pin row. The second pin row comprises a pair of third differential signal pins, a first power pin and a second ground pin, wherein the pair of third differential signal pins is located between the first power pin and the second ground pin.

The disclosure also provides a data transfer method of a USB SSIC thin card device, which is adapted to perform data transmission with a host device, where the USB SSIC thin card device includes a first universal serial bus (USB) physical layer circuit, a second USB physical layer circuit and a third USB physical layer circuit. The data transfer method includes following steps. A power voltage supplied to the USB SSIC thin card device is detected. It is determined whether the power voltage is smaller than a predetermined voltage. If the power voltage is smaller than the predetermined voltage, the first USB physical layer circuit is selected to perform data transmission with the host device through a pair of first differential signal pins and a pair of second differential signal pins, where the first USB physical layer circuit is used to transmit data complied with a USB 3.0 SSIC transmission specification. If the power voltage is not smaller than the predetermined voltage, it is determined whether the pair of first differential signal pins and the pair of second differential signal pins have signal transmission. If the pair of first differential signal pins and the pair of second differential signal pins have the signal transmission, the second USB physical layer circuit is selected to perform data transmission with the host device through the pair of first differential signal pins and the pair of second differential signal pins. If the pair of first differential signal pins and the pair of second differential signal pins do not have the signal transmission, the third USB physical layer circuit performs data transmission with the host device through a pair of third differential signal pins.

According to the above descriptions, in the disclosure, the USB physical layer circuits and the pairs of differential signal pins used for transmitting data complied with the USB 3.0 SSIC transmission specification are configured in the USB SSIC thin card device, such that the power consumption of the USB SSIC thin card device complies with the standard of mobile device, so as to satisfy the requirement of using in the mobile device such as a mobile phone, etc. Moreover, by using an interface specification detection unit to select the USB physical layer circuit used for transmitting data according to the power voltage, the USB SSIC thin card device is complied with the host device of different USB transmission specifications, which improves usage convenience of the USB SSIC thin card device.

In order to make the aforementioned and other features and advantages of the disclosure comprehensible, several exemplary embodiments accompanied with figures are described in detail below.

DETAILED DESCRIPTION OF DISCLOSED EMBODIMENTS

FIG. 1is a schematic diagram of a USB SSIC thin card device according to an embodiment of the disclosure. Referring toFIG. 1, the USB SSIC thin card device100can be connected to a host device108to perform data transmission with the host device108. The USB SSIC thin card device100includes a universal serial bus (USB) physical layer circuit102, a USB device control unit104, an application module106, a USB physical layer circuit110, a USB physical layer circuit112, an interface specification detecting unit114and a switching unit116, where the application module106may serve as a memory or an input/output (I/O) interface, the USB physical layer circuit102is used to transmit data complied with USB 3.0 SSIC transmission specification. The USB device control unit104is coupled to the USB physical layer circuit102, the USB physical layer circuit110, the USB physical layer circuit112and the application module106. The USB device control unit104controls the USB physical layer circuit102to perform data transmission through a pair of first differential signal pins Tx1and Tx2and a pair of second differential signal pins Rx1and Rx2, controls the USB physical layer circuit110to transmit data complied with a USB 2.0 transmission specification, and controls the USB physical layer circuit112to transmit data complied with the USB 3.0 transmission specification. The switching unit116is coupled to the USB physical layer circuit102, the USB physical layer circuit112and the interface specification detecting unit114, wherein the interface specification detecting unit114is further coupled to the host device108. The interface specification detecting unit114is used to detect a transmission specification corresponding to the host device108connected to the USB SSIC thin card device100. The switching unit116determines whether to select the USB physical layer circuit102or the USB physical layer circuit112to perform the data transmission according to a power voltage supplied to the USB SSIC thin card device100. Namely, the switching unit116can select the USB physical layer circuit102or112to perform data transmission according to specification of a transmission port of the host device108, where the power voltage supplied to the USB SSIC thin card device100can be detected by the interface specification detecting unit114, and data transmission is controlled by the USB device control unit104. In the present embodiment, the USB physical layer circuit102and112perform data transmission through the pair of first differential signal pins Tx1and Tx2and the pair of second differential signal pins Rx1and Rx2, and the USB physical layer circuit110performs data transmission through a pair of third differential signal pins D+ and D−.

In detail, the interface specification detecting unit114can determine whether the power voltage is smaller than a predetermined voltage (for example, 3V, but not limited thereto). If the power voltage is smaller than the predetermined voltage, it represents that the data transmission specification of the host device108uses the USB 3.0 SSIC transmission specification, and meanwhile, the switching unit116selects the USB physical layer circuit102to perform the data transmission with the host device108through the pair of first differential signal pins Tx1and Tx2and the pair of second differential signal pins Rx1and Rx2. If the power voltage is not smaller than the predetermined voltage, it represents that the data transmission specification of the host device108can be the USB 3.0 or USB 2.0. The interface specification detecting unit114first determines whether the pair of first differential signal pins Tx1and Tx2and the pair of second differential signal pins Rx1and Rx2have a signal transmission, and if the pair of first differential signal pins Tx1and Tx2and the pair of second differential signal pins Rx1and Rx2have the signal transmission, it represents that the data transmission specification of the host device108uses the USB 3.0 specification, and the switching unit116selects the USB physical layer circuit112to perform the data transmission with the host device108through the pair of first differential signal pins Tx1and Tx2and the pair of second differential signal pins Rx1and Rx2. If the pair of first differential signal pins Tx1and Tx2and the pair of second differential signal pins Rx1and Rx2do not have the signal transmission, it represents that the data transmission specification of the host device108uses the USB 2.0 specification.

As described above, the interface specification detecting unit114selects the suitable USB physical layer circuit for transmitting data according to the power voltage received by the USB SSIC thin card device100, which is not only compatible to the USB 3.0 SSIC transmission specification, but is also backward compatible to the USB 3.0 and USB 2.0 transmission specifications. By providing a corresponding transmission mode to the host device108of different transmission specifications, usage convenience of the USB SSIC thin card device100is greatly improved.

Since the USB physical layer circuit102uses a USB 3.0 high-speed communication protocol and a software mode and a mobile industry processor interface (MIPI) low power consumption physical layer technique, the USB physical layer circuit102has characteristics of high transmission speed and low power consumption, and can be directly applied in mobile devices (such as mobile phones, tablet PCs, and cameras, etc.), which improves flexibility and universality of the interfaces of the mobile devices, and developers are unnecessary to repeatedly develop all of the interfaces and peripheral devices, and ranges of suitable application processor systems and peripheral devices are significantly extended.

Further, configuration of signal pins of the USB SSIC thin card device100can be as that shown inFIG. 2, and the USB SSIC thin card device100includes a plate body202. A pin row PR1′ and a pin row PR2are configured/disposed on the plate body202, where the pin row PR1′ is a data transmission/reception pin row supporting the USB 3.0 and the USB 3.0 SSIC transmission specifications, and the pin row PR2is a data transmission/reception pin row supporting the USB 2.0 transmission specification. The pin row PR1′ and the pin row PR2are configured/disposed on the plate body202, and are parallel to a side edge S1of the plate body202, where the pin row PR2is closer to the side edge S1compared to the pin row PR1′, and the side edge S1is perpendicular to a coupling direction of the USB SSIC thin card device100and the host device108. The pin row PR1′ includes the pair of first differential signal pins Tx1and Tx2, the pair of second differential signal pins Rx1and Rx2and the ground pin Vss1, where the ground pin Vss1is located between the pair of first differential signal pins Tx1and Tx2and the pair of second differential signal pins Rx1and Rx2. The pin row PR2includes the pair of third differential signal pins D+ and D−, the power pin Vdd1and the ground pin Vss2, where the pair of third differential signal pins D+ and D− is located between the power pin Vdd1and the ground pin Vss2.

The USB physical layer circuit110can perform the data transmission with the host device108through the pair of third differential signal pins D+ and D−, and the USB physical layer circuit102and the USB physical layer circuit112can perform the data transmission with the host device108through the pair of first differential signal pins Tx1and Tx2and the pair of second differential signal pins Rx1and Rx2. As described above, since the USB SSIC thin card device100has the characteristic of low power consumption, it can be applied on the mobile devices, and all of the pins are designed into a pad type of the present embodiment, such that the USB SSIC thin card device100can serve as an embedded memory card of the mobile devices.

FIG. 3is a flowchart illustrating a data transfer method of a USB SSIC thin card device according to an embodiment of the disclosure. Referring toFIG. 3, the data transfer method of the USB SSIC thin card device may include following steps. First, a power voltage supplied to the USB SSIC thin card device is detected (step S302). Then, it is determined whether the power voltage is smaller than a predetermined voltage (step S304), wherein the predetermined voltage is, for example, 3V (but not limited thereto), and if the power voltage is smaller than the predetermined voltage, it represents that the transmission interface of the host device is complied with the USB 3.0 SSIC transmission specification. If the power voltage is smaller than the predetermined voltage, the first USB physical layer circuit is selected to perform data transmission with the host device through a pair of first differential signal pins and a pair of second differential signal pins (step S306), where the first USB physical layer circuit is used to transmit data complied with the USB 3.0 SSIC transmission specification. If the power voltage is not smaller than the predetermined voltage, it is determined whether the pair of first differential signal pins and the pair of second differential signal pins have signal transmission (step S308). If the pair of first differential signal pins and the pair of second differential signal pins have the signal transmission, the second USB physical layer circuit is selected to perform data transmission with the host device through the pair of first differential signal pins and the pair of second differential signal pins (step S310), where the second USB physical layer circuit is, for example, used to transmit data complied with the USB 3.0 transmission specification. If the pair of first differential signal pins and the pair of second differential signal pins do not have the signal transmission, the third USB physical layer circuit performs data transmission with the host device through a pair of third differential signal pins (step S312), where the third USB physical layer circuit is, for example used to transmit data complied with the USB 2.0 transmission specification.

FIG. 4is a schematic diagram of a USB SSIC thin card device according to another embodiment of the disclosure. Referring toFIG. 4, compared to the USB SSIC thin card device100, the USB SSIC thin card device400of the present embodiment does not include the interface specification detecting unit114and the switching unit116, the USB physical layer circuit102and the USB physical layer circuit112are directly coupled to the host device108, where operation methods of the USB physical layer circuit102,110,112, the USB device control unit104and the application module106are the similar to the description ofFIG. 1, thus the detail is not iterated. Since the USB SSIC thin card device400of the present embodiment does not include the interface specification detecting unit114and the switching unit116, configuration of the signal pins of the card device400is different from that ofFIG. 2.

FIG. 5is a schematic diagram of a configuration of signal pins of a USB SSIC thin card device according to another embodiment of the disclosure. Referring toFIG. 5, The USB SSIC thin card device400includes a plate body502. A pin row PR1″, the pin row PR2and a pin row PR3are configured on the plate body502, where the pin row PR1″ is a data transmission/reception pin row supporting the USB 3.0 SSIC transmission specifications, the pin row PR2is a data transmission/reception pin row supporting the USB 2.0 transmission specification, and the pin row PR3is a data transmission/reception pin row supporting the USB 3.0 transmission specification.

The pin row PR1″, the pin row PR2and the pin row PR3are configured/disposed on the plate body502, and are parallel to a side edge S1of the plate body502, where a sequence of distances from far to near between the pin row PR1″, the pin row PR2and the pin row PR3and the side edge S1is the pin row PR1″, the pin row PR2and the pin row PR3, i.e. the pin row PR3is the closest to the side edge S1, and the pin row PR1″ is the farthest from the side edge S1. The pin row PR3also can be alone configured/disposed on the plate body502without PR1and PR2as well.

The pin row PR1″ includes the pair of first differential signal pins Tx1and Tx2, the pair of second differential signal pins Rx1and Rx2and ground pin Vss1, where the ground pin Vss1is located between the pair of first differential signal pins Tx1and Tx2and the pair of second differential signal pins Rx1and Rx2. The pin row PR2includes the pair of third differential signal pins D+ and D−, the power pin Vdd1and the ground pin Vss2, where the pair of third differential signal pins D+ and D− is located between the power pin Vdd1and the ground pin Vss2. The pin row PR3includes a pair of fourth differential signal pins Tx1′ and Tx2′, a pair of fifth differential signal pins Rx1′ and Rx2′, a ground pin Vss3, an input/output voltage pin VIO, a clock signal pin CLK and a core voltage pin VCORE, where the pair of fourth differential signal pins Tx1′ and Tx2′ is located between the ground pin Vss3and the input/output voltage pin VIO, the pair of fifth differential signal pins Rx1′ and Rx2′ is located between the ground pin Vss3and the core voltage pin VCORE, the ground pin Vss3is located between the pair of fourth differential signal pins Tx1′ and Tx2′ and the pair of fifth differential signal pins Rx1′ and Rx2′, and the clock signal pin CLK and the core voltage pin VCORE are respectively located at an outermost position of the pin row PR3.

In the present embodiment, the USB physical layer circuit102can perform the data transmission with the host device108through the pair of first differential signal pins Tx1and Tx2and the pair of second differential signal pins Rx1and Rx2, the USB physical layer circuit110can perform the data transmission with the host device108through the pair of third differential signal pins D+ and D−, and the USB physical layer circuit112can perform the data transmission with the host device108through the pair of fourth differential signal pins Tx1′ and Tx2′ and the pair of fifth differential signal pins Rx1′ and Rx2′.

Similarly, since the aforementioned USB SSIC thin card devices400has the USB 3.0 SSIC transmission interface, and has the characteristic of low power consumption, and all of the pins are designed into the pad type, the aforementioned USB SSIC thin card devices400can serve as embedded memory or I/O (WIFI, GPS, NFC, RFID) cards of the mobile devices.

In summary, the USB physical layer circuits and the pairs of differential signal pins used for transmitting data complied with the USB 3.0 SSIC transmission specification are configured in the USB SSIC thin card device, such that the power consumption of the USB SSIC thin card device complies with the standard of mobile device, so as to satisfy the requirement of using in the mobile device such as a mobile phone, etc., and improve flexibility and universality of the interfaces of the mobile devices, such that developers are unnecessary to repeatedly develop all of the interfaces and peripheral devices, which significantly extends ranges of suitable application processor systems and peripheral devices. Moreover, by using the interface specification detection unit to select the USB physical layer circuit used for transmitting data according to the power voltage, the USB SSIC thin card device is complied with the host device of different USB transmission specifications, which improves usage convenience of the USB SSIC thin card device.