KR200239603Y1 - Usb peripheral device having wireless communication module - Google Patents

Abstract

The present invention relates to a computer peripheral device for providing a universal serial bus, and more particularly, to a general purpose serial bus computer peripheral device incorporating a wireless communication module.

The present invention provides a computer peripheral device having a universal serial bus (USB), wherein a computer peripheral module and a wireless communication module are simultaneously mounted therein, the wireless communication module including a first universal serial bus interface, and the wireless The communication module also includes a second universal serial bus interface, which is connected to the first universal serial bus interface and the second universal serial bus interface to relay universal serial bus data transmitted / received through a universal serial bus connector. It includes a general-purpose serial bus hub for transmitting and receiving data with a computer.

Description

Universal Serial Bus Computer Peripherals with Integrated Wireless Communication Modules {USB PERIPHERAL DEVICE HAVING WIRELESS COMMUNICATION MODULE}

The present invention relates to a computer peripheral device for providing a universal serial bus, and more particularly, to a general purpose serial bus computer peripheral device incorporating a wireless communication module.

Universal Serial Bus (hereinafter referred to as "USB") is a standard interface for computer peripheral devices. It is intended to replace existing low-speed interfaces such as RS-232C and keyboards. Various forms of computer peripheral devices that currently support USB include keyboards, mice, printers, scanners, and digital cameras.

As is well known, in the USB standard, a computer is always the master, and peripherals are connected in a slave form called slaves, and all management is handled by the host computer. Since the actual connection is a tree through a hub, there is no need to connect all computer peripherals directly to the computer's USB ports. USB assigns and manages address numbers to all peripheral devices connected to the host.

Meanwhile, the development of a local area network (for example, a wireless LAN (Local Area Network)) technology using a wireless communication such as radio frequency or infrared communication, or a short range personal area network technology such as Bluetooth. Accordingly, various forms of products using these have emerged.

Since peripheral devices or external communication devices having a USB connector must be connected to a USB port at the same time, they are generally connected through a USB hub (HUB) mounted to a monitor of a personal computer (PC). By the way, notebook computers or non-PC computers. For example, in the case of Web Pad, PDA, etc., it is expected to increase the demand to connect and use data input peripherals in addition to the built-in input device. In addition, devices for short-range wireless communications, such as Wireless LAN and Bluetooth, are expected to increase in the use of standard interfaces, such as USB, so that they are not hardware dependent. As such, when the computer peripheral and the wireless communication device are mixed, a lot of space for using the computer will be required. In other words, various types of devices such as USB keyboards, mice, digital cameras, external wireless LAN devices, and Bluetooth are introduced, and in the near future, computer peripherals such as an office or a personal desk are complicated by these devices. The desk space will be reduced.

Accordingly, an object of the present invention is to solve the above problems, and an object of the present invention is to embed a wireless communication device in a computer peripheral device using a universal serial bus, thereby reducing the number of universal serial bus devices used around the computer. The present invention provides a computer peripheral device that facilitates installation of a wireless network module and improves radio wave or antenna characteristics to improve communication quality of the wireless network module.

1 is a block diagram showing a state in which a wireless communication module according to an embodiment of the present invention is embedded in a USB computer peripheral device.

Figure 2 is a detailed detailed illustration of Figure 1;

* Explanation of symbols for main parts of the drawings

111: wireless communication module 113: peripheral module

115: USB hub 117: USB connector

201: host interface 203: scan metrics

205: scan code generator 207: keyboard controller

209: USB controller 211: mouse controller

213: mouse position sensor

The present invention for achieving the above object, in a computer peripheral having a universal serial bus (USB), a computer peripheral module and a wireless communication module is mounted at the same time, the wireless communication module is a first universal serial bus interface The wireless communication module also includes a second universal serial bus interface, and is connected to the first universal serial bus interface and the second universal serial bus interface, relaying the universal serial bus data transmitted and received, It includes a universal serial bus hub for transmitting and receiving data to and from the computer through the universal serial bus connector.

Hereinafter, exemplary embodiments of the present invention will be described in detail with reference to the accompanying drawings.

1 is a view showing a state in which a wireless communication module is embedded in a computer peripheral device according to an embodiment of the present invention.

As shown in the figure, the wireless communication module 111, for example, Bluetooth, wireless-LAN, etc., is embedded in a housing 110 (e.g., keyboard, mouse, digital camera, etc.) of a computer peripheral device.

The USB hub 115 relays USB data between the computer peripheral module 113 and the wireless communication module 111 and a USB port (not shown) of a computer connected through the USB connector 117. That is, the USB hub 115 transmits USB data transmitted from the wireless communication module 111 and the computer peripheral module 113 to the computer through the USB connector 117 and the USB port of the computer. In addition, the USB hub 115 transmits the USB data received from the computer to the wireless communication module 111 or the computer peripheral module 113.

The internal antenna 123 is connected to the wireless communication module 111 to support wireless communication. In the present invention, the antenna 123 is an integrated or separate antenna made of a printed circuit board, or a mono-pole or a di-pole that can be mounted on a mouse or a keyboard. It can be in various forms such as an antenna.

FIG. 2 illustrates FIG. 1 in detail. In the embodiment of the present invention, a peripheral device in which a mouse and a keyboard are integrated will be described as an example.

The short-range wireless communication module 111, such as a wireless LAN and Bluetooth, should be designed to support the USB interface standard. That is, these wireless communication modules must be able to communicate with the host computer through the USB interface.

The USB controller 209 controls the transmission / reception of USB data between the peripheral module 113 and the computer by the control of the host controller of the computer. The USB controller 209 is generally provided in a USB providing peripheral device for transmitting / receiving USB data with a host controller of a computer in a USB standard peripheral device, and a detailed description thereof will be omitted.

The USB hub 115 transmits USB data transmitted from the host interface 210 of the wireless communication module 111 and the USB controller 209 of the computer peripheral module 113 to the host controller of the computer through the USB connector 117. do. In addition, the USB hub 115 transmits the USB data received from the host controller to the host interface 201 of the wireless communication module 111 or the USB controller 209 of the computer peripheral module 113.

Meanwhile, in the embodiment of the present invention, a case where the computer peripheral device is a keyboard, a mouse, and a case where the keyboard and the mouse are integrated will be described as an example.

In general, a keyboard having a USB interface is composed of a scan matrix 203, a scancode generator 205, a keyboard controller 207, and a USB interface (not shown), and a mouse having a USB interface is a position sensor 213. And a mouse controller 211 and a USB interface (not shown).

First, when the peripheral device is a keyboard, it looks at the operation when the wireless communication module is built therein.

The scan matrix 203 generates a matrix combination of a corresponding keyboard according to a user's key input. The keyboard scan code generator 205 supplies a scan signal periodically and generates a scan code according to the matrix combination. The keyboard controller 207 temporarily stores the scan code in an internal output buffer and generates a hardware interrupt to transfer the scan code stored in the output buffer to the USB hub 115 through the USB interface. At this time, the wireless communication module 111 also transfers the USB data to the USB hub 115 through the host interface 201. The USB hub 115 delivers USB data transmitted to the computer under the control of the host controller of the computer.

Next, when the peripheral device is a mouse, the mouse position recognition sensor 213 recognizes a mouse position signal according to the rotation of the mouse ball. The mouse controller 211 temporarily stores the mouse position signal in an internal output buffer, generates a hardware interrupt, and transmits the mouse position signal stored in the output buffer to the USB hub 115 through the USB interface. Subsequent operations are the same as for the keyboard.

2 shows a case in which a mouse and a keyboard are integrally provided, and they are controlled by the USB controller 209. The USB hub 115 relays the USB data transmitted from the wireless communication module 111 and the computer peripheral module 113 through the USB connector 117. The USB controller 209 transfers USB data input from a keyboard or a mouse to the computer through the USB hub 115.

As described above, the scan matrix 203 of the keyboard generates a matrix combination of a corresponding keyboard according to a user's key input, and the keyboard scan code generator 205 periodically supplies a scan signal, and in accordance with the matrix combination. Generate a scan code. The keyboard controller 207 temporarily stores the scan code in an internal output buffer and generates a hardware interrupt. At this time, the mouse controller 211 stores the mouse position signal input from the position recognition sensor 213 in the internal output buffer, and generates a hardware interrupt. The interrupt handler in the USB controller 209 determines whether the data is the keyboard or the mouse according to a specific bit value of the status register, reads the data stored in the output buffer and transfers the data to the USB hub 115.

In the case of WLAN, the Media Access Controller (hereinafter referred to as 'MAC') controller has a USB interface. The MAC controller receives USB data from the USB hub 115 and converts the USB data into a frame format defined in the IEEE802.11 Wireless LAN Standard. The MAC controller transmits the converted USB data to the air through a wireless LAN physical attachment interface, a baseband processor, an orthogonal intermediate frequency processor, an RF / IF converter, an RF power amplifier, and an antenna.

The radio signal received from the antenna is input to the MAC controller via a low power amplifier, an RF / IF converter, an orthogonal intermediate frequency processor, a baseband processor, and a wireless LAN physical attachment interface. Then, the MAC controller extracts the signal received from the antenna in the IEEE802.11 frame format and temporarily stores it in the frame buffer, and transmits the USB data to the USB hub 115 through the USB interface 201.

In the present invention, the wireless communication module provides a universal serial bus (USB) interface to transmit / receive the computer and the universal serial bus data. In this case, the universal serial bus hub is responsible for relaying data between the wireless communication module and the computer peripheral module and the computer. Done.

On the other hand, the above description has been described the case of the keyboard and mouse mainly used as a computer peripheral device, it is of course possible to apply to all computer peripheral devices that support USB, such as a digital camera.

That is, as described above, a wireless device such as a wireless LAN is embedded in the digital camera through a hub, so that not only the digital camera can operate as described above but also operate as a wireless communication device such as a wireless LAN. do.

As described above, according to the present invention, by embedding a wireless communication device in a computer peripheral device using a general-purpose serial bus, it is possible to reduce the number of peripheral devices used around the computer, improve the radio wave or antenna characteristics, wireless network There is an advantage that the communication quality of the module is improved. In addition, wireless communication modules can be built into computer peripherals such as keyboards and mice, making the card easier to install. In particular, the Bluetooth module uses USB mainly for external interfaces. It is possible to embed in the existing computer, but in the case of a conventional computer requires a separate external Bluetooth device, in this case, it is possible to conveniently install the Bluetooth module on the computer peripheral device as in the present invention.

In addition, when installing an external device (for example, wireless LAN, Bluetooth, etc.) for wireless communication around the computer, there is a problem in selecting the location or type of the antenna, but in the present invention, the antenna is installed in the computer peripheral device. In addition, there is no problem of additional antenna cost and performance, and it is possible to solve the problem of purchasing a separate WLAN card according to the type of hardware or OS (operation system).

Claims (1)

In a computer peripheral having a universal serial bus (USB), The computer peripheral module and the wireless communication module is mounted at the same time, The wireless communication module includes a first universal serial bus interface, the wireless communication module also includes a second universal serial bus interface, A universal serial bus hub connected to the first universal serial bus interface and the second universal serial bus interface to relay universal serial bus data transmitted / received, and to transmit / receive data with a computer through a universal serial bus connector. And a computer peripheral device.