Patent ID: 7047344

Claim:
A resource sharing apparatus, for enabling at least one peripheral apparatus to be shared by a plurality of personal computers, the resource sharing apparatus comprising: an application specific integrated circuit (ASIC), comprising: a plurality of hubs, each of the hubs having a host port (B port), and a plurality of peripheral ports (A port), wherein the hubs are one-to-one coupled to the personal computers via the host ports; a plurality of device controllers, coupled to the peripheral ports, wherein the device controllers are one-to-one coupled to the hubs for stimulating the peripheral apparatus; a bus, coupled to the device controllers; a host controller, coupled to the bus, for stimulating peripheral apparatus related functions of an operation system (OS) or a basis input/output operation system (BIOS) in the personal computers, and communicating with the device controllers via the bus; a root hub, comprising a host port and a plurality of peripheral ports, wherein the host port of the root hub is coupled to the host controller, and the peripheral apparatus is coupled to one of the peripheral ports of the root hub; and a central processing unit, coupled to the bus for controlling the operation of the ASIC.