CN1540535A - Electronic peripheral device and network card - Google Patents

Abstract

An electronic peripheral device for selectively connecting an electronic system to first and second wireless networks includes first and second system modules. The first system module enables an electronic system to access a first wireless network and includes at least a first interface. The second system module enables the electronic system to access a second wireless network and at least comprises a second interface, a third interface and a processing device. The second interface is connected to the first interface and transfers signals between the first and second system modules. The third interface is used for connecting with the electronic system and transmitting a plurality of first or second wireless network system signals between the electronic system and the third interface. The processing device controls the electronic system to transmit signals through the third interface, when the electronic system is connected to the first wireless network, the first system module transmits/receives a plurality of first wireless network system signals through the second and third interfaces, and when the electronic system is connected to the second wireless network, the second system module transmits/receives a plurality of second wireless network system signals through the third interface.

Description

Electronic peripherals and network cards

technical field

The present invention relates to an electronic device, and in particular provides an electronic peripheral device, which enables an electronic system connected to it to use the same interface to selectively connect to two different wireless networks.

Background technique

In recent years, with the continuous development of wireless network technology, new radio access and wireless network standards have been continuously formulated. It is believed that in the near future, there will be different wireless communication systems in the same environment, which support different wireless communication systems. Network standards to provide users with different wireless transmission services. Different radio access networks have different properties. Advanced (high-tier) wireless networks, such as integrated general packet radio service (General Packet Radio Service, GPRS) networks, etc., have lower transmission bandwidth (bandwidth) and better Mobility; while a low-tier wireless network, such as a wireless local area network (Wireless LAN, WLAN), etc., provides higher transmission bandwidth, but has poor mobility. Users can use electronic peripheral devices such as network cards to connect electronic systems such as personal computers, notebook computers or portable electronic devices to a suitable wireless network according to their own needs. In addition, in order to increase the convenience of users, many electronic peripheral devices that can support two or more wireless network standards have been manufactured, which enable electronic systems such as personal computers, notebook computers or portable electronic devices to selectively connect to a different wireless network.

FIG. 1 is a structural diagram of a known integrated general packet radio service and a network card of a wireless local area network. As shown in the figure, the network card utilizes an interface 140 of the Personal Computer Memory Card International Association (hereinafter referred to as PCMCIA) and an electronic system such as a personal computer, a notebook computer or a portable electronic device (not shown in the figure). ), this network card utilizes a wireless local area network (Wireless LAN, hereinafter referred to as WLAN) module 110 to access a WLAN network (not shown in the figure), and in addition, this network card utilizes a comprehensive general packet radio service (General Packet Radio Service, hereinafter referred to as GPRS) network Module 120 accesses the GPRS network (not shown). The WLAN module 110 , the GPRS module 120 and the PCMCIA interface 140 transmit/receive signals through the data bus 160 .

PCMCIA bridging device 112,122 is connected to control chip 130 and is connected with WLAN module 110, GPRS module 120 respectively, and PCMCIA bridging device 112 and 122 are used for converting the signal interface from WLAN module 110, GPRS module 120 into PCMCIA signal, for example: when When the electronic system needs to be connected to the WLAN network, the control chip controls the GPRS module 120 so that its signal is not transmitted/received by the data bus 160, and the WLAN module 110 is transmitted/received by the bus 160; when the electronic system needs to be connected to the GPRS network, the control chip The chip controls the WLAN module 110 so that its signal stops transmitting/receiving to the data bus 160, so that the GPRS module 120 transmits/receives signals through the bus 160. Therefore, PCMCIA bridging devices 112, 122 and the control chip 130 must be used, which wastes a lot of space and Increased the cost of the network card configuration.

In addition, in the development and design of the software corresponding to this network card, it is necessary to write GPRS application programs and WLAN application programs for the PCMCIA interface to correspond to the link layer (link layer) and physical layer (physical layer) of GPRS and WLAN respectively. Therefore, the time for software development will be increased, and the application program of GPRS and the application program of WLAN are switched by the control chip 130. This parallel structure needs to design an additional interrupt (interrupt) to control the switching of WLAN and GPRS in software design. Software usage, writing software will add more complexity.

Contents of the invention

In view of this, the main purpose of the present invention is to propose an electronic peripheral device, which does not need to add additional bridge chips and control chips, but enables the electronic system connected to it to be selectively connected to different wireless networks, so as to This reduces the hardware space to greatly reduce the hardware configuration cost.

Another object of the present invention is to propose an electronic peripheral device, which connects different wireless network modules via a Universal Serial Bus (Universal Serial Bus, USB) interface or a Universal Asynchronous Receiver/Transmitter (UART) Interface synthesis, through the comprehensive serial connection of hardware, further reduces the cost of software development and design corresponding to electronic peripheral devices.

To achieve the above object, the present invention proposes an electronic peripheral device for connecting an electronic system to selectively connect the electronic system to a first wireless network and a second wireless network, which includes a first system module and a second system module. The first system module is used to enable the electronic system to access the first wireless network, and at least includes a first interface. The second system module is used for enabling the electronic system to access the second wireless network, and at least includes a second interface, a third interface and a processing device. The second interface is connected to the first interface for transmitting signals between the first system module and the second system module. The third interface is used to connect with the electronic system, and transmit a plurality of first wireless network system signals or a plurality of second wireless network system signals between the electronic system through the third interface. The processing device is used to control the transmission signal of the electronic system through the third interface. When the electronic system is connected to the first wireless network, the first system module transmits/receives a plurality of first wireless network system signals through the second interface and the third interface. When When the electronic system is connected to the second wireless network, the second system module and the third interface transmit/receive a plurality of second wireless network system signals.

The first wireless network may be a general packet radio service (General Packet Radio Service) network or a global system for mobile communication (Global System for Mobile Communication). The second wireless network is a wireless local area network (Wireless LAN).

In order to make the above and other objects, features, and advantages of the present invention more comprehensible, the following specific embodiments, together with the accompanying drawings, are described in detail as follows:

Description of drawings

FIG. 1 is a block diagram of a known network card capable of selectively connecting to an integrated general packet radio service and a wireless local area network.

FIG. 2 is a structural diagram of an electronic peripheral device and an electronic system connected thereto according to the present invention.

FIG. 3 is a structural diagram of an electronic peripheral device and an electronic system connected thereto according to an embodiment of the present invention.

FIG. 4 is a structural diagram of a network card and an electronic system connected thereto according to an embodiment of the present invention.

Symbol Description

110, 310, 410~WLAN module; 120, 320, 420~GPRS module;

130～control chip; 140～PCMCIA interface;

150～control bus; 160～data bus;

112, 122 ~ PCMCIA bridge device; 200, 300 ~ electronic peripheral device;

210～second system module; 212～second interface;

214～the third interface; 220～the first system module;

222～first interface; 400～network card;

312, 314, 322, 332, 412, 414, 422, 432～interfaces;

216, 316, 416～processing device; 330, 430～electronic system;

418～WLAN antenna; 424～GPRS antenna;

442～Voice output port.

Detailed ways

The present invention discloses an electronic peripheral device for the first time, which enables electronic systems connected to it to selectively connect to different wireless networks without additional bridge devices. Referring to FIG. 2 , FIG. 2 is a structural diagram of an electronic peripheral device and an electronic system connected thereto according to the present invention. As shown in the figure, the electronic peripheral device 200 is connected to the electronic system 230. Through the electronic peripheral device 200, the electronic system 230 can selectively connect to the first wireless network (not shown in the figure) and the second wireless network (not shown in the figure) . The electronic peripheral device 200 includes a first system module 220 and a second system module 210, through the first system module 220, the electronic system 230 can access the first wireless network; through the second system module 210, the electronic system 230 can access the second wireless network . The first system module 220 includes a first interface 222 , and the second system module 210 includes a second interface 212 , a third interface 214 and a processing device 216 . The second interface 212 is connected to the first interface 222 , through the second interface 212 , signals can be transmitted between the first system module 220 and the second system module 210 . The third interface 214 is connected to the electronic system 230 , through the third interface 214 , the first wireless network system signal or the second wireless network system signal can be transmitted between the second system module 210 and the interface 232 of the electronic system 230 . The processing device 216 is used for controlling the transmission signal of the electronic system 210 through the third interface.

Hereinafter, the present invention will be described in detail by taking an electronic peripheral device connected to two types of wireless networks, GPRS and WLAN, as an example.

FIG. 3 is a structural diagram of an electronic peripheral device and an electronic system connected thereto according to an embodiment of the present invention. As shown in the figure, the electronic peripheral device 300 includes a wireless local area network (Wireless Local Area Network, hereinafter referred to as WLAN) module 310 and a comprehensive general packet radio service (General Packet Radio Service, hereinafter referred to as GPRS) network module 320, and the electronic peripheral device 300 can be connected to For example, the electronic system 330 such as a personal computer, a notebook computer or a portable electronic device enables the electronic system 330 to selectively connect to a WALN network (not shown in the figure) and a GPRS network (not shown in the figure).

The GPRS module 320 is used to enable the electronic system 330 to access the GPRS network, which at least includes an interface 322, and the interface 322 can be a Universal Serial Bus (Universal Serial Bus, USB) interface or a Universal Asynchronous Receiver/Transmitter (Universal Asynchronous Receiver/Transmitter, UART) interface.

The WLAN module 310 is used to enable the electronic system 330 to access the WLAN network, and at least includes an interface 312 , an interface 314 and a processing device 316 . Interface 312 is connected to interface 322, and interface 312 can be Universal Serial Bus (USB) interface or Universal Asynchronous Receiver and Transmitter (UART) interface, and the standard of interface 312 needs to be identical with the standard of interface 322, for GPRS module 320 and Signals are transmitted between the WLAN system modules 330 . The interface 314 is used to be connected with the electronic system 330. The interface 314 can be a Personal Computer Memory Card International Association (PCMCIA), a peripheral component interconnection (Peripheral Component Interconnect, PCI) interface, a card bus (CardBus) Interface or Universal Serial Bus (USB) interface, the standard of the interface 314 needs to be the same as that of the interface 332 in the electronic system 330 , so as to transfer GPRS signals or WLAN signals between the interface 314 and the electronic system 330 . The processing device 316 is used to control the transmission signal of the electronic system 330 through the interface 314. When the electronic system 330 is connected to the GPRS network, the GPRS module transmits/receives the GPRS signal via the interface 312 and the interface 314. When the electronic system 330 is connected to the WALN network, the WLAN module Transmits/receives WALN signals with the interface 314.

The electronic peripheral device of the present invention can be a network connection device such as a network card. The network card used to enable the electronic system to selectively connect to the integrated GPRS and WLAN is used as an example to illustrate another embodiment of the present invention.

FIG. 4 is a structural diagram of a network card and an electronic system connected thereto according to an embodiment of the present invention. As shown in the figure, the network card 400 includes a wireless local area network (Wireless LAN, hereinafter referred to as WLAN) module 410, a comprehensive general packet radio service (General Packet Radio Service, hereinafter referred to as GPRS) network module 420, GPRS antenna 424, WLAN antenna 418 and voice Output port 442. The network card 400 can be connected to electronic systems 430 such as personal computers, notebook computers or portable electronic devices, so that the electronic systems 430 can be selectively connected to a WALN network (not shown) through a WLAN antenna 418 or through a GPRS antenna. 424 is connected to the GPRS network (not shown in the figure).

The GPRS module 420 is used to enable the electronic system 430 to access the GPRS network, and it at least includes an interface 422. The interface 422 can be a Universal Serial Bus (Universal Serial Bus, USB) interface or a Universal Asynchronous Receiver/Transmitter (Universal Asynchronous Receiver/Transmitter, UART) interface.

The WLAN module 410 is used to enable the electronic system 430 to access the WLAN network, and at least includes an interface 412 , an interface 414 and a processing device 416 . The interface 412 is connected to the interface 422, and the interface 432 can be a universal serial bus (USB) interface or a universal asynchronous receiver and transmitter (UART) interface, and the standard of the interface 412 needs to be the same as the standard of the interface 422, for use in the GPRS module 420 and Signals are transferred between the WLAN system modules 430 . The interface 414 is used to be connected with the electronic system 430, and the interface 414 can be a personal computer memory card international association (PCMCIA), a peripheral component interconnection (PCI) interface, a card bus (CardBus) interface or a universal serial bus (USB) interface The standard of the interface 414 needs to be the same as that of the interface 432 in the electronic system 430 , so as to transmit GPRS signals or WLAN signals between the interface 414 and the electronic system 430 . When the electronic system 430 is connected to the GPRS network, the processing device 416 is used to control the GPRS data transmission/reception between the GPRS module and the electronic system 430 through the path transmission/reception of the interface 442, the interface 412, the interface 412 and the interface 414. When the electronic system 430 is connected In the WALN network, the processing device 416 is used to control the data transmission/reception of the WLANS between the WLAN module and the electronic system 430 via the interface 442 and the interface 414 .

In addition, there is a voice output port 440 on the network card 400, which can be externally connected to devices such as hands-free handsets, and implements the function of voice calls from the GPRS network or the WALN network. In addition, in the present invention, the processing device in the WLAN module 410 can also be used to control the GPRS module 420. Therefore, when the GPRS module needs to update the firmware, the required data can also be downloaded through the voice output port 442.

The WLAN module 410 can be realized by using a ZD1201 chip manufactured by ZyXEL Technology (ZyDAS). )interface.

In addition, in software development and design, it is no longer necessary to write the application program of GPRS and the application program of WLAN to correspond to the connection layer (link layer) of GPRS and WLAN respectively, because in the present invention, the processing in the WLAN module 410 is utilized The GPRS module 420 is controlled by a device, so only the WLAN application upper layer structure needs to correspond to the GPRS connection layer, which can reduce the complexity of software writing.

In summary, the electronic peripheral device of the present invention does not need additional bridge chips and control chips, but enables the electronic system connected to it to be selectively connected to different wireless networks, thereby reducing hardware space and achieving The purpose of greatly reducing the cost of hardware components, and through the synthesis of hardware, the purpose of reducing the cost of software development and design corresponding to electronic peripheral devices is achieved.

Although the present invention has been disclosed above with preferred embodiments, it is not intended to limit the present invention. Any person skilled in the art can make changes and modifications without departing from the spirit and scope of the present invention. Therefore, the present invention The scope of protection is defined by the claims as presented.

Claims (20)

1. an electronics peripheral unit in order to connect an electronic system, makes this electronic system optionally be connected to one first wireless network and one second wireless network, and this electronics peripheral unit comprises:

One first system module, with so that this electronic system can be visited this first wireless network, it comprises one first interface at least; And

One second system module, with so that this electronic system can be visited this second wireless network, it comprises at least:

One second interface, this second interface is connected to this first interface, and is used between this first system module and this second system module and transmits signal;

One the 3rd interface is in order to link to each other with this electronic system, by transmitting a plurality of first Radio Network System signals or a plurality of second Radio Network System signal between the 3rd interface and this electronic system; And

One treating apparatus, in order to control the transmission signals of this electronic system by the 3rd interface, when this electronic system connects this first wireless network, this first system module is via this second interface and a plurality of first Radio Network System signals of the 3rd interface transmission, when this electronic system connects this second wireless network, a plurality of second Radio Network System signals of this second system module and the 3rd interface transmission.

2. electronics peripheral unit as claimed in claim 1, wherein this first wireless network is a comprehensive GPRS network.

3. electronics peripheral unit as claimed in claim 1, wherein this first wireless network is a global system for mobile communications.

4. electronics peripheral unit as claimed in claim 1, wherein this second wireless network is a WLAN (wireless local area network).

5. electronics peripheral unit as claimed in claim 1, wherein this first interface and this second interface are a USB (universal serial bus).

6. electronics peripheral unit as claimed in claim 1, wherein this first interface and this second interface are a universal asynchronous reception and a sender interface.

7. electronics peripheral unit as claimed in claim 1, wherein the 3rd interface is a personal computer memory card international federation interface.

8. electronics peripheral unit as claimed in claim 1, wherein the 3rd interface is a peripheral component interconnect interface.

9. electronics peripheral unit as claimed in claim 1, wherein the 3rd interface is a CardBus interface.

10. electronics peripheral unit as claimed in claim 1, wherein the 3rd interface is a USB (universal serial bus).

11. a network card, it comprises:

One first system module, in order to visit one first wireless network, it comprises one first interface at least; And

One second system module, in order to visit one second wireless network, it comprises at least:

One second interface, this second interface is connected to this first interface, and is used between this first system module and this second system module and transmits signal;

One the 3rd interface is in order to link to each other with an electronic system, by transmitting a plurality of first Radio Network System signals or a plurality of second Radio Network System signal between the 3rd interface and this electronic system; And

One treating apparatus, in order to control the transmission signals of this electronic system by the 3rd interface, when this electronic system connects this first wireless network, this first system module is via this second interface and a plurality of first Radio Network System signals of the 3rd interface transmission, when this electronic system connects this second wireless network, a plurality of second Radio Network System signals of this second system module and the 3rd interface transmission.

12. network card as claimed in claim 11, wherein this first wireless network is a comprehensive GPRS network.

13. network card as claimed in claim 11, wherein this first wireless network is a global system for mobile communications.

14. network card as claimed in claim 11, wherein this second wireless network is a WLAN (wireless local area network).

15. network card as claimed in claim 11, wherein this first interface and this second interface are a USB (universal serial bus).

16. network card as claimed in claim 11, wherein this first interface and this second interface are a universal asynchronous reception and a sender interface.

17. network card as claimed in claim 11, wherein the 3rd interface is a personal computer memory card international federation interface.

18. network card as claimed in claim 11, wherein the 3rd interface is a peripheral component interconnect interface.

19. network card as claimed in claim 11, wherein the 3rd interface is a CardBus interface.

20. a network card in order to connect an external tapping of an electronic system, makes this electronic system optionally be connected to one first wireless network and one second wireless network, this network card comprises:

One first wireless module is in order to visit this first wireless network;

One second wireless module, in order to visit this second wireless network, this second wireless module connects this first wireless module, and it comprises at least:

One connecting interface is in order to connect this connection external tapping of this electronic system;

One treating apparatus, in order to switch this electronic system to the wireless data transmission between this first wireless module and this second wireless module, when this electronic system is selected to connect this first wireless network, this treating apparatus is controlled a plurality of first wireless network datas via this second wireless module transmission between this electronic system and this first wireless module, when this electronic system was selected to connect this second wireless network, this treating apparatus was controlled direct and a plurality of second wireless network datas of this second wireless module transmission of this electronic system.

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