CN116340232A

CN116340232A - Device, equipment, server and port multiplexing method for supporting differential transmission

Info

Publication number: CN116340232A
Application number: CN202310316769.3A
Authority: CN
Inventors: 郑涛; 李书通; 刘新春; 陈玉龙; 倪亚路; 朱明�
Original assignee: Chengdu Haiguang Integrated Circuit Design Co Ltd
Current assignee: Chengdu Haiguang Integrated Circuit Design Co Ltd
Priority date: 2023-03-28
Filing date: 2023-03-28
Publication date: 2023-06-27

Abstract

The device, equipment, server and method for supporting differential transmission, disclosed by the embodiment of the application, relate to the technical field of communication interfaces based on differential transmission, and can improve the reliability of the multiplexing ports. Comprising the following steps: at least one downstream port compatible with two or more communication transmission rate standards, the downstream port configured for connecting devices supporting the two or more communication transmission rate standards; a signal detection unit configured to detect whether at least one of a downstream port and an upstream port of a device is occupied by a connection; and the device power manager is connected with the output end of the signal detection unit and the power supply end of the device, and is configured to receive an electrical signal fed back by the signal detection unit whether at least one of the downstream port and the upstream port of the device is occupied by connection or not, and control the power supply state of the device according to the electrical signal. The method and the device are suitable for interface application scenes based on differential transmission.

Description

Device, equipment, server and port multiplexing method for supporting differential transmission

Technical Field

The present invention relates to the field of communication interfaces based on differential transmission, and in particular, to a device, an apparatus, a server, and a method for improving reliability of multiplexing communication ports based on differential transmission.

Background

A Universal Serial Bus (USB) based on differential transmission provides an extensible and hot-pluggable plug-and-play serial interface, can provide standard communication connection for various external devices, and is widely applied to various devices needing to realize data transmission, such as a processor, a hub and the like.

The universal serial bus 3.0 (USB 3.0, sometimes replaced with USB3.0 for ease of description) provides a more user friendly function than USB2.0, and has been widely used in many devices such as processors. In order to be compatible with the old standard of the universal serial bus, the USB3.0 interface (Port) comprises a cable interface for connecting two groups of signal cables (Cable), one group of signal cables (TX+/TX-, RX+/RX-) is used for transmitting ultra-high-speed signals such as 5G frequency and the other group of signal cables (D+/D-) is used for transmitting USB2.0 or other old standard signals.

The inventors of the present application found in the course of implementing the inventive concept that: for some processor motherboards configured with USB3.0 ports, the USB3.0 and USB2.0 devices are selected to be connected to corresponding interfaces respectively, when the USB2.0 device accesses the corresponding signal port d+/D-, the working mechanism of the USB3.0 protocol causes an interface suspension (suspend, also referred to in the industry) of an Upstream port (Upstream port) of the USB3.0 device for accessing the USB2.0 or other old standard signals when the USB3.0 device is accessed.

Meanwhile, due to the downward compatibility of the USB3.0 protocol, when the USB3.0 device cannot detect the downstream Port (Down Stream Port, chinese is translated into a downstream Port) RX of the USB3.0 of the processor motherboard for some reason, the USB2.0 connection detection will be tried, however, at this time, the USB2.0 link interface is in a suspended state, so that the USB3.0 device is suspended in an unknown state, and the ports cannot be multiplexed.

Disclosure of Invention

In view of the above, embodiments of the present invention provide an apparatus, a device, a server, and a method for multiplexing a communication port for differential transmission, which can improve the reliability of the multiplexed port.

In order to achieve the aim of the invention, the following technical scheme is adopted:

according to a first aspect of an embodiment of the present invention, there is provided an apparatus for supporting differential transmission, including: at least one downstream port compatible with two or more communication transmission rate standards, the downstream port configured to connect a device supporting two or more communication transmission rate standards for indicating how much of a transmission rate;

a signal detection unit configured to be connected to the downstream port and/or the device, for detecting whether at least one of the downstream port and an upstream port of the device is occupied by a connection;

And the equipment power manager is configured to be connected with the output end of the signal detection unit and the power supply end of the equipment, and is used for receiving an electric signal fed back by the signal detection unit whether at least one of the downstream port and the upstream port of the equipment is occupied by connection or not and controlling the power supply state of the equipment according to the electric signal.

Optionally, the signal detection unit is specifically configured to collect a level signal of at least one of the downstream port and an upstream port of the device;

determining whether a state of the level signal changes from an initial level signal state of at least one of the downstream port and an upstream port of the device;

if yes, outputting a turnover level signal with preset duration to the equipment power manager.

Optionally, the signal detection unit is a signal enhancement repeater or a signal reconstruction enhancement repeater, the initial level signal state is a low level state, and the flip level signal is a high level state; or alternatively, the process may be performed,

the initial level signal state is a high level state, and the flip level signal is a low level state.

Optionally, when the flip level signal is in a low level state, the signal detection unit is further configured to, after the outputting of the flip level signal for a predetermined period of time: and outputting a steady-state high-level signal to the device power manager.

Optionally, the device power manager is specifically configured to:

and when receiving an electrical signal fed back by the signal detection unit that at least one of the downstream port and the upstream port of the equipment is not occupied by connection, disconnecting the power supply of the equipment and controlling the equipment to be powered on and started again.

Optionally, the signal detection unit is further configured to pull the output terminal voltage low when detecting that at least one of the downstream port and the upstream port of the device is not occupied by connection, and output a low level signal for a predetermined period of time to a device power manager.

Optionally, the two or more communication transmission rate criteria include: two or more standards of USB1.0, USB2.0, USB3.0, USB3.1, USB3.2 and USBn.x, n is more than or equal to 4, and x is more than or equal to 0;

alternatively, it includes: two or more of any of ethernet, PCI-E, SATA, RS485, RS422, HDMI, LVDS, CAN communication protocol standards.

According to a second aspect of the embodiments of the present invention, there is provided an apparatus for supporting differential transmission, comprising:

at least one upstream port compatible with two or more communication transmission rate standards;

The signal detection unit is connected with the upstream port and is used for detecting whether the upstream port is connected with a downstream port of a device compatible with two or more communication transmission rate standards;

a power supply terminal;

the equipment power manager is provided with a power management chip, the power management chip is connected with the output end of the signal detection unit and is used for receiving the electric signal fed back by the signal detection unit and controlling the switch state of the power supply output end according to the electric signal, and the power supply output end is connected with the power supply terminal.

According to a third aspect of the embodiment of the present invention, there is provided a server, including: a main board for providing a processor mounting portion and at least one downstream port compatible with two or more communication transmission rate standards;

a processor coupled to the processor mount;

the apparatus of the second aspect, at least one upstream port of the apparatus coupled to the downstream port.

According to a fourth aspect of the embodiments of the present invention, there is provided a method for multiplexing ports based on differential transmission, including:

detecting a connection occupancy state of a downstream port configured for connecting an upstream port device supporting two or more communication transmission rate standards;

Generating a feedback electric signal according to the detection result of the connection occupancy state; a kind of electronic device with high-pressure air-conditioning system;

and controlling the power supply state of the upstream port equipment according to the feedback electric signal so as to enable the upstream port of the upstream port equipment to be restored to a connectable state.

Optionally, the detecting the connection occupancy state of the downstream port includes:

collecting a level signal of the downstream port link;

the generating the feedback electrical signal according to the detection result of the connection occupancy state includes:

and outputting a reverse level signal for a predetermined period of time if the state of the level signal changes from the initial level signal state of at least one of the downstream port and the upstream port of the device.

Optionally, the initial level signal state is a high level state, and the flip level signal is a low level state;

after said outputting the inverted level signal for a predetermined period of time, the method further comprises: and outputting a steady-state high level signal.

Optionally, the controlling the power supply state of the upstream port device according to the feedback electric signal includes; and if the feedback electric signal represents that the downstream port is not occupied by connection, disconnecting the power supply of the equipment and controlling the equipment to be electrified and started again.

Drawings

In order to more clearly illustrate the embodiments of the invention or the technical solutions in the prior art, the drawings that are required in the embodiments or the description of the prior art will be briefly described, it being obvious that the drawings in the following description are only some embodiments of the invention, and that other drawings may be obtained according to these drawings without inventive effort for a person skilled in the art.

FIG. 1 is a schematic diagram of a scenario in which a USB3.0 downstream port of a device supporting differential transmission is connected to USB2.0 and USB3.0, respectively;

fig. 2 is a schematic structural diagram of an embodiment of an apparatus for supporting differential transmission capable of improving port multiplexing in the present invention;

FIG. 3 is a schematic diagram illustrating an embodiment of a device supporting differential transmission as a USB Hub according to the present invention;

FIG. 4 is a schematic diagram of an application structure of a signal detection unit connected to a pin led out from a downstream port according to an embodiment of the present invention;

FIG. 5 is a schematic diagram of an application structure of a signal detection unit connected to a pin led out by an upstream port according to an embodiment of the present invention;

fig. 6 is a schematic diagram of an application structure of a signal detection unit built in the device 200 to implement a signal detection function according to an embodiment of the present invention;

FIG. 7 is a schematic diagram illustrating an embodiment of a device for supporting differential transmission as a hub according to the present invention;

fig. 8 is a flowchart of a method for implementing a multiplexed differential transmission standard interface by a device supporting differential transmission according to an embodiment of the present invention.

Detailed Description

Embodiments of the present application are described in detail below with reference to the accompanying drawings.

It should be understood that the described embodiments are merely some, but not all, embodiments of the invention. All other embodiments, which can be made by those skilled in the art based on the embodiments of the invention without making any inventive effort, are intended to be within the scope of the invention.

The technical solutions provided by the embodiments of the present application are various examples when applied to ports of electronic devices based on differential signal transmission. The standard interfaces based on differential signal transmission mainly comprise: universal Serial Bus (USB), ethernet, PCI-E, SATA, RS485, RS422, HDMI, LVDS, CAN communication, etc.

In the drawings and the text used in the following description, for convenience of description, a Universal Serial Bus (USB) standard interface among a plurality of differential signaling standard interfaces is mainly used as an example, and the number, shape, or size ratio of the constituent elements shown in the drawings, and the positions or connection relationships between the constituent elements are not limited to the illustrated form. In some cases, in order to make the solution easier to understand, other specific concepts will be described in the following description, but they should not be construed as exclusive limitations on the applicable scenarios of the technical solutions provided in the embodiments of the present application.

Where "port" is an meaning translation of an english port, it may be considered as an outlet for communication between devices, or between a device and the outside world. Ports can be divided into virtual ports and physical ports, where virtual ports refer to ports within a computer or within a switch router that are not visible. Such as 80 ports, 21 ports, 23 ports, etc. in a computer. Physical ports, also known as interfaces, are visible ports, for example, USB interfaces of computer backplanes, PCI serial ports, RJ45 network ports, RJ45 ports such as switch router hubs, and RJ11 jacks for telephone use are also within the category of physical ports. Herein, "port" refers primarily to a physical port, sometimes also referred to as an interface.

Universal Serial Bus (USB) 3.X (a new standard named change in 3.X and beyond) is a relatively new standard that provides better performance than USB 2.0 technology, USB3.X and beyond, continuing the backward compatibility of USB3.0, e.g., USB3.0 is compatible with USB 2.0 devices, USB4.0 is compatible with USB3.0 devices. In general, when designing a new standard, compatibility with an old standard is considered, where only a USB protocol standard interface is described, and other communication standard interfaces based on differential signaling are also described, which will not be described in detail.

As shown in fig. 1, a standard interface based on differential transmission technology, for example, a USB 3.X compatible interface generally includes: ultra-high speed metal contacts and high speed metal contacts (commonly known as USB2.0 metal contacts), wherein the metal contacts are also commonly known in the industry as pins or pins. The ultra-high speed metal contact mainly comprises: SSTX+/SSTX-and SSRX+/SSRX- (for convenience of description herein, the drawings and text sections are mainly referred to as TX+/TX-and RX+/RX), the USB2.0 metal contacts mainly include: d+ and D-.

In order to distinguish the interconnection links formed by interconnecting the devices by the two metal contacts, the links of the ultra-high-speed metal contacts TX+/TX-and RX+/RX-are used as a first transmission link, and the links of the USB2.0 metal contacts D+ and D-are used as a second transmission link. Wherein the communication rate of the first transmission link is greater than the communication rate of the second transmission link. For example, in a USB3.0 compatible interface, the communication rate standard of the first transmission link may be a signal of 5G frequency, while the second transmission link is mainly used for transmitting USB2.0 signals, and the transmission rates are different.

In many scenarios of differential signaling, standard interfaces supporting differential signaling are typically found in a variety of electronic devices, either as male or female interfaces. Still taking a USB port as an example, in a processor motherboard, a USB port female socket (i.e., female interface) of a HUB of a downstream (also called downstream) device may allow a user to plug an upstream port (typically a male interface) of an upstream device such as a flash memory, a camera, a keyboard, a sound device, etc. into the USB port of the downstream device to achieve a link connection.

However, as shown in fig. 1, when the motherboard designer chooses to connect two sets of signals in the USB3.0 port (downstream port) to the USB3.0 device (upstream device) and the USB2.0 device (upstream device), respectively, this design causes the second transmission link in the upstream port of the USB3.0 device for transmitting the USB2.0 signal to hang. It is to be understood that floating, as referred to above, refers to the logic device having its input pins (e.g., D + and D-pins) neither tied high nor low.

If the upstream device is compatible with supporting two or more communication transmission rate standards, such as compatible with the USB3.0 standard, data communication with the downstream device will use the first transmission link connection for communication, as described above: when a designer connects two groups of signal ports of a downstream port with USB3.0 and USB2.0 devices respectively, the second transmission links (D+ and D-) of the USB3.0 devices are suspended, when the USB3.0 devices are detected and the first transmission links of the downstream devices cannot be detected, the USB3.0 devices (upstream devices) try to automatically detect the second transmission links based on the downward compatibility of the USB3.0 protocol, and the second transmission links (D+ and D-) of the USB3.0 devices are suspended, so that the whole USB3.0 devices are suspended in an unknown state and cannot be used by the system again, and the working reliability of device systems such as a processor main board is affected.

Referring to fig. 2, the present application provides at least one apparatus for supporting differential transmission to improve port multiplexing, so as to address at least one of the above problems or other technical problems. Referring to fig. 2, an apparatus 100 for supporting differential transmission according to an embodiment of the present application includes:

at least one downstream port 101 compatible with two or more communication transmission rate standards, said downstream port 101 being configured for connecting a device 200 supporting two or more communication transmission rate standards, corresponding data transmission rates being different under the two or more communication transmission rate standards.

Taking the downstream port 101 as an example of a USB port, a USB Hub (Hub) on a motherboard provides at least one downstream USB3.0 interface 101 for connecting to more USB devices that support two or more communication transmission rate standards, corresponding to the downstream port, for example, USB3.0 devices.

A signal detection unit 102 configured to be connected to the downstream port 101 and/or the device 200, for detecting whether at least one of the downstream port 101 and an upstream port of the device 200 is occupied by a connection;

the signal detection unit 102 is an electronic logic device that detects whether or not the ultra-high-speed metal contact of the first transmission link is occupied by an Rx Termination (receiving end) connection, i.e., determines whether or not the Rx Termination is connected in place, based on an electrical signal at the downstream port 101 and/or the upstream port of the USB3.0 device 200, and can output a detection result.

For example, referring to fig. 3, the signal detection unit 102 may be a Re-driver (signal enhancement repeater) which itself has Rx Termination detection capability and may implement a function of signal repeating.

The signal detection unit 102 may also be a Re-timer (signal reconstruction enhancement repeater), similar to a PHY chip, whose signal is reconstructed by an internal clock to increase its signal transmission energy when passing through the Re-timer, and then continues to transmit. The function is basically similar to Re-driver, except that an IC with a CDR (data clock recovery) inside can recover data, and then the signal is sent out according to a serial channel, so that jitter of the signal can be reduced. Compared with Re-driver, the Re-timer can achieve the effect of reducing physical loss better than Re-driver.

And the device power manager is configured to be connected with the output end of the signal detection unit 102 and the power supply end of the device 200, and is used for receiving an electric signal fed back by the signal detection unit 102 whether at least one of the downstream port 101 and the upstream port of the device 200 is occupied by connection or not, and controlling the power supply state of the device 200 according to the electric signal.

The device power manager is a module having a power control chip for controlling a power supply state of the device 200 to achieve a hot plug effect of the device 200 in a specific state.

In the scenario where the apparatus 100 is applied to a processor, it is known that the use scenario may result in the unavailability of an already connected USB3.0 device. The main steps are as follows: the system is restarted, a Hub downstream port corresponding to the equipment is failed, the drive resets the port, a controller corresponding to the equipment is failed, the drive resets the controller and the equipment is failed, at the moment, the drive can not communicate with the equipment, and the failure can be relieved only by powering on the main board again or plugging the equipment again.

Fig. 3 is a schematic structural diagram of an application scenario of the apparatus for supporting differential transmission according to the present invention; in order to help understand the technical solution and the technical effects of the embodiments of the present application, referring to fig. 3, an application scenario in which the above-mentioned USB3.0 device may be unavailable when the system is restarted is described below:

the apparatus 100 includes: a HOST system CPU (sometimes referred to as HOST, hereinafter also referred to as processor) to which the USB Root Hub controller may be integrated or coupled may be Reset (Reset) when the HOST system is restarted, and at this time, the RxTermination may be disconnected from the USB3.0 port 101 disposed downstream of the Root Hub controller.

According to the USB3.0 protocol, if there is no signal detector AugmentRe-driver, after the USB3.0 device detects that Rxtermination of Hub USB3.0 port is disconnected, the device is downward compatible and automatically switches to the USB2.0 link, but at this time, the USB2.0 link D+/D-of the USB3.0 device is suspended, resulting in the suspension of the whole device 200.

By adopting the technical scheme provided in this embodiment, after adding the signal detector segment Re-driver at the node between the downstream port 101 and the upstream port of the USB3.0 device 200, both the USB3.0 device and the segment Re-driver1 can detect that the RxTermination of the Hub ultra-high speed metal contact connection is disconnected, i.e. RxTermination Device (receiving end device) of the downstream port ultra-high speed metal contact connection is not in place.

When RxTermination Device is detected to be out of place, although the USB3.0 device 200 still automatically switches to the USB2.0 link, since the augmentre-driver 1 detects that the RxTermination state is changed, a clock control signal is sent to the device power manager, and the device power manager 103 disconnects the power chip Vout (power output) according to the RxTermination Device out-of-place signal, and then powers on again, similar to performing a hot plug on the device, the device enters an enumeration state again, and the device is successfully prevented from being in a hanging state all the time, thereby improving the reliability of multiplexing the USB3.0 port.

As mentioned above, the USB communication port is taken as an example for convenience of description, and the technical solution provided in this embodiment is also applicable to other standard interfaces based on differential transmission.

Therefore, the device for supporting differential transmission provided by the embodiment of the application can improve the reliability of multiplexing ports based on differential transmission.

Referring to fig. 3, in an embodiment described in a scenario, a USB Hub, including a Root Hub (Hub controller), provides at least one USB3.0 port, which is used to connect more USB devices, so as to implement function expansion; the device providing the upstream port is a USB3.0 device supporting both 3.0 and 2.0 communication transmission rate standards.

In some vendor designed motherboards, the D+/D-terminal couplings of the USB3.0 port are connected to USB2.0 devices, and the TX+/TX-and RX+/RX of the USB3.0 port are connected to USB3.0 devices, if the USB2.0 devices are sound cards, mice, sound equipment, etc., the USB3.0 devices are flash memory, graphics cards, etc.

In order to avoid the phenomenon that the USB3.0 device is "dead" due to various reasons, and to improve the multiplexing of the ports, the signal detection unit 102 is connected to a coupling link between the USB3.0 port as the downstream port and the USB3.0 device serving as the upstream port. Wherein in one embodiment, the signal detection unit is specifically configured to collect a level signal of at least one of the downstream port 101 and the upstream port of the device 200;

Determining whether the state of the level signal changes from an initial level signal state of at least one of the downstream port 101 and the upstream port of the device 200;

if so, a predetermined length of the flip level signal is output to the device 200 power manager 103.

After receiving the flip level signal, the device power manager 103 cuts off the output end of the power management chip, so that the device 200 is powered off, and power supply is recovered within a preset time, which is equivalent to performing one-time hot plug on the device 200, so that the device 200 is prevented from being in a hanging dead state all the time, the port of the USB3.0 device 200 can be effectively reused, and the multiplexing reliability is improved.

The initial level signals of the ultra-high speed metal contacts tx+/TX-and rx+/RX of at least one of the downstream port 101 and the upstream port of the device 200 may be in a low level state, and the flip level signal is in a high level state; alternatively, the initial level signal state is a high level state and the inverted level signal is a low level state.

In this embodiment, the signal detection unit 102 mainly determines whether rxtermination is connected in place according to the level state change, that is, whether the ultra-high speed metal contact is occupied by connection, and outputs the detection result through a pin.

The signal detection unit 102 may be further configured to relay a 5G signal in USB 3.0, so as to enhance signal quality of the link and avoid interference.

Of course, the signal detection unit 102 may also be implemented in software, for example, by storing the initial level signal in a memory, and comparing the detected current level signal with the data in the memory to determine whether rxtermination is connected in place.

In some embodiments, when the flip level signal is in a low level state, the signal detection unit 102 is further configured to, after the outputting of the flip level signal for a predetermined period of time: outputting a steady state high level signal to the device power manager 103.

In this embodiment, taking the signal detection unit 102 as an example, the signal detection unit may be configured to output a high level (whether or not a device is connected to the link) by default on Tout (one output pin for signal detection) after the completion of the electrical initialization.

When a change in the state of the level of the link in which the RxTermination is located is detected, including the change from present to absent or from absent to present, a low level, for example 200ms, is output on the Tout output pin for a period of time, and then a high level is output again. In this way, by outputting a high level when entering a stable state, the power module can also provide power for the downstream port when the downstream port 101 is not connected with the device 200, so that some special applications can work normally, such as charging, or a USB interface fan, etc., and the normal work of the system is ensured.

Further, the signal detection unit 102 is further configured to, when detecting that at least one of the downstream port 101 and the upstream port of the device 200 is not occupied by connection, pull the output terminal voltage down, and output a low-level signal for a predetermined period of time to the device 200 power manager, so that the device power manager 103 cuts off the power supply of the device, and the device 200 is powered off and restarted, thereby solving the problem that the device 200 is in a hanging state.

Specifically, in order to realize the collection of the RxTermination state, the following scheme may be adopted:

first, the downstream port 101 (for example, a USB3.0 downstream port shown in fig. 4) is connected to the signal detection unit 102, so that the signal detection unit 102 can collect an electrical signal of the downstream port. Specifically, an additional pin is provided in the downstream USB3.0 port, connected to the signal detection unit 102, which can output an electrical signal indicative of the RxTermination state.

The second, upstream port of the device 200 (e.g., the upstream port of the USB3.0 device 200 shown in fig. 5), additionally adds a metal contact (commonly referred to as a pin, a pin or a pin) for connecting with the signal detection unit 102, and configures an output pin in an RxTermination state. Thus, by providing an additional pin in the upstream USB3.0 port of the USB device, connected to the signal detection unit 102, it is convenient to output an electrical signal indicative of the RxTermination state.

Of course, as shown in fig. 6, the signal detection unit may be integrated inside the device 200, so as to collect whether the Rx Termination (Hub is the receiving end) of the USB3.0 device 200 is connected in place, that is, whether the ultra-high-speed metal contact of the upstream port is connected. Therefore, by providing a mechanism for detecting whether Hub Rx Termination is connected in place or not in the USB device, when Hub RxTermination is detected to be out of place, an automatic reset mechanism is realized in the USB device, and the effect of simulating hot plug is achieved. For example, the signal detection unit and the device power manager are integrated inside the USB device.

Next, please continue to refer to fig. 3, the device power manager 103 is configured to control a power supply state of the device, and may be configured by an and gate chip and a USB power chip, where the and gate chip may be NL17ZS08, the USB power chip may be TPS2001D, an input terminal of the and gate chip is connected to an output terminal of the signal detecting unit, an output terminal of the and gate chip is connected to the USB power chip, and an output terminal of the USB power chip is connected to a power supply terminal of the device.

When the level of the output terminal Tout of Re-driver/Re-timer as the signal detection unit 102 is low, EN (enable terminal) of the power management chip is pulled low, thereby turning off the output of Vout. When both inputs of the and gate are high, vout again starts to supply power to the device, so that when the second transmission link upstream ports d+ and D-of the device may be in a dead-hanging state, the control device 200 restarts to release the dead-hanging state, so that the upstream port of the upstream port device is restored to a connectable state, and reliable multiplexing of ports is achieved.

As described above, the power manager of the device 200 is specifically configured to:

and when receiving an electrical signal fed back by the signal detection unit that at least one of the downstream port 101 and the upstream port of the device 200 is not occupied by connection, disconnecting the power supply of the device 200 and controlling the device 200 to be powered on and started again. Similar to the hot plug of the equipment, the equipment enters an enumeration state again, and the problem that the equipment is always in a hanging state is successfully avoided.

As mentioned above, the above description is given by taking a Universal Serial Bus (USB) standard interface among a plurality of differential signaling standard interfaces as an example, and specifically, by taking USB3.0 as an example. It should be appreciated that it is equally applicable to other ports of protocols employing differential signaling, for example, the two or more communication transmission rate criteria may include: two or more standards of USB1.0, USB2.0, USB3.0, USB3.1, USB3.2 and USBn.x, n is more than or equal to 4, and x is more than or equal to 0.

May further include: two or more of any of ethernet, PCI-E, SATA, RS485, RS422, HDMI, LVDS, CAN communication protocol standards.

The apparatus 100 described in the embodiments of the present application may include: a hub, a motherboard, a processor, a terminal device (note that the terminal device herein does not refer to just a cellular phone or a computer, etc., but refers broadly to any electronic component, assembly, device, etc. that implements data transmission based on a differential transmission communication protocol) or a server.

According to the disclosure of the above embodiments, in the present application, by providing a signal unit (e.g., a signal detector) on a link at a downstream port or an upstream port or between the downstream port and the upstream port, the ultra-high speed metal contact of the first transmission link is used to detect whether the receiving end RxTermination is connected in place. According to the connection in-place state of the ultrahigh-speed metal contact of the first transmission link, the power supply state of the USB3.0 upstream equipment can be controlled to realize hot plug, so that a fault recovery mechanism is provided for the equipment, the equipment is prevented from being in a hanging dead state all the time, the reliability of a multiplexing port can be improved, and the working performance of the equipment provided with the universal serial bus interface can be improved.

Referring to fig. 3, there is provided a hub supporting differential transmission according to an embodiment of the present application, including:

A Hub control chip (Root Hub) 104;

at least one downstream port 101 connected to the hub control chip 101 or provided by the hub control chip 101, the downstream port 101 being compatible with two or more communication transmission rate standards;

a signal detection unit, connected to the downstream port 101, for detecting whether the downstream port 101 is connected to the device 200 supporting two or more communication transmission rate standards;

the device power manager 103 is provided with a power management chip, and the power management chip is connected with the output end of the signal detection unit and is used for receiving the electric signal fed back by the signal detection unit, controlling the switch state of the power supply output end according to the electric signal, and the power supply output end is used for being connected with the power supply terminal of the device 200.

According to the hub supporting differential transmission, whether to provide power for the USB equipment connected with the hub or disconnect power is determined according to the detection result output by the signal detection unit, which is equivalent to logically providing a hot plug action according to the state of a link, so that a fault recovery mechanism is provided for the equipment, the equipment is prevented from being in a hanging state all the time, the upstream port of the upstream port equipment is recovered to a connectable state, and the reliability of port multiplexing can be improved.

Fig. 7 illustrates a hub according to one embodiment of the present application. The hub comprises: a hub control chip 104, a bus 105 and at least one downstream port 101. The downstream port 101 forms two data transmission links, 1011 and 1012. Wherein the link 1011 is configured such that when the data transmission link is coupled to the USB 3.0 capable device 210, the link 1011 enables ultra-high speed signals, such as 5G, to be transferred to the bus 105 via the downstream port 101 and to the hub control chip 104. The link 1012 is configured such that when the data transfer link is coupled to the USB 2.0 capable device 220, the link 1012 enables standard speed or high speed signals to be transferred through the data transfer link to the bus 105 via the downstream port 101 and to the hub control chip 104.

And a signal detection unit 102 and a device power management 103, where the signal detection unit 102 is connected to the downstream port 101, and is configured to detect whether a link 1011 of the downstream port 101 is connected to a device 210 supporting two or more communication transmission rate standards, and output a detection result to the device power management 103, and the device power management device has a power management chip 1031, where the power management chip 1031 is connected to an output terminal of the signal detection unit 102 through an and gate chip 1032, and is configured to receive an electrical signal fed back by the signal detection unit 102, and control a power supply output terminal switching state according to the electrical signal, and the power supply output terminal is connected to a power supply terminal of the device 210.

In this way, when the device 210 may be in a hanging state, the device power manager cuts off the power supply to the device 210 and is powered on again, so that the device 210 can be released from being in a hanging state and enter a normal state, and the ports of the device 210 can be reliably reused.

According to a scenario applicable to yet another embodiment of the present application, the embodiment provides a server, including: a Main board (or, simply, a moco) for providing a processor mounting portion and at least one downstream port compatible with two or more communication transmission rate standards;

a processor coupled to the processor mount;

the Hub as in the previous embodiment, wherein a Hub control chip (Root Hub) 104 of the Hub is coupled to the processor, or the Hub control chip is integrated into the processor.

The Hub control chip (Root Hub) 104 may be integrated in a processor on the motherboard, or may be coupled to a processor on the motherboard, so as to implement interconnection.

Referring to fig. 6, the signal detection unit 102 and the device power manager 103 are part of a modified device. Specifically, according to a scenario applicable to yet another embodiment of the present application, an embodiment provides an apparatus 200 for supporting differential transmission, including:

a signal detection unit 102, connected to the upstream port, for detecting whether the upstream port is connected to a downstream port of a device compatible with two or more communication transmission rate standards;

a power supply terminal;

the device power manager 103 is provided with a power management chip, and the power management chip is connected with the output end of the signal detection unit, and is used for receiving the electric signal fed back by the signal detection unit, controlling the switch state of the power supply output end according to the electric signal, and the power supply output end is connected with the power supply terminal.

According to the device 200 provided by the embodiment of the application, whether to provide power for the USB device or disconnect power is determined according to the detection result output by the signal detection unit, which is equivalent to logically providing a hot plug action according to the state of the link, so that a fault recovery mechanism is provided for the device, the device is prevented from being in a hanging state all the time, and the reliability of the port multiplexing of the device can be improved.

According to a scenario applicable to yet another embodiment of the present application, the embodiment provides a server, including: a main board for providing a processor mounting portion and at least one downstream port compatible with two or more communication transmission rate standards;

A processor coupled to the processor mount;

comprising the following steps: the processor is arranged on the main board;

at least one downstream port compatible with two or more communication transmission rate standards for providing a coupling connection;

the apparatus of the foregoing embodiment, wherein at least one upstream port of the apparatus is coupled to the downstream port.

It should be understood that, main circuit systems and electronic components forming the server host are installed on the motherboard, so that only the parts closely related to the present application are described in detail in the text part and the drawing part to highlight the innovative gist of the technical scheme of the present application, and other components of the server host can follow the existing motherboard architecture, and the description and illustration thereof are omitted for brevity and clarity of description.

Referring to fig. 8, an apparatus provided according to an embodiment of the present application further provides a method 300 for multiplexing ports based on differential transmission, including:

s310, detecting a connection occupancy state of a downstream port 101, where the downstream port 101 is configured to connect to an upstream port device 200 supporting two or more communication transmission rate standards;

S320, generating a feedback electric signal according to the detection result of the connection occupancy state; a kind of electronic device with high-pressure air-conditioning system;

s330, controlling the power supply state of the upstream port device 200 according to the feedback electric signal so as to restore the upstream port of the upstream port device to a connectable state. In this way, by controlling the power supply state of the upstream port device 200, the device 200 can be hot plugged, so that the device 200 is prevented from being in a dead state, the upstream port of the upstream port device is restored to an enumeration connection state, and the normal operation of a HOST (HOST) system is not affected.

In some embodiments, in step S310, the detecting the connection occupancy status of the downstream port 101 includes:

collecting a level signal of the downstream port 101 link;

in step S120, the generating a feedback electrical signal according to the detection result of the connection occupancy state includes:

if the state of the level signal changes from the initial level signal state of at least one of the downstream port 101 and the upstream port of the device 200, a flipped level signal of a predetermined duration is output.

Specifically, the initial level signal state is a high level state, and the flip level signal is a low level state; after said outputting the inverted level signal for a predetermined period of time, the method further comprises: and outputting a steady-state high level signal.

Wherein said controlling the power state of said upstream port device 200 according to said feedback electrical signal comprises; if the feedback electrical signal indicates that the downstream port 101 is not occupied by connection, the power supply of the device 200 is disconnected, and the device 200 is controlled to be powered on and started again.

The method embodiments provided in the embodiments of the present application are substantially the same as the workflow executed by the foregoing apparatus embodiments, and further details or technical effects of the technical solutions are referred to the foregoing descriptions, which are not repeated herein.

Furthermore, the method 300 of the embodiments of the present application and/or other methods for implementing the technical concepts of the present application may be stored as computer readable instructions on a computer readable storage medium. A processor, such as a controller, may execute computer readable instructions to reproduce the method.

According to the disclosure, the device, the hub, the motherboard, the device and the method for improving the reliability of the multiplexing USB communication port, which are provided by the embodiment of the application, are used for detecting whether the port Rxtermination is connected in place or not, and when the port Rxtermination is detected to be not connected in place, the device is controlled to realize power-off restarting, so that an automatic resetting mechanism can be realized in the device, the effect of simulating hot plug is achieved, the device is successfully prevented from being in a hanging dead state all the time, and the reliability of port multiplexing is improved.

It should be noted that, in this document, terms "upper," "lower," and the like, indicate orientations or positional relationships, and are merely used for convenience in describing the present application and simplifying the description, and do not indicate or imply that the devices or elements being referred to must have a specific orientation, be configured and operated in a specific orientation, and thus should not be construed as limiting the present application. Unless specifically stated and limited otherwise, the terms "mounted," "connected," and "connected" are to be construed broadly, and may be, for example, interconnected on signals, physically wired, or coupled; can be directly connected or indirectly connected through an intermediate medium. Relational terms such as first and second, and the like may be used solely to distinguish one entity or action from another entity or action without necessarily requiring or implying any actual such relationship or order between such entities or actions.

Moreover, the terms "comprises," "comprising," or any other variation thereof, are intended to cover a non-exclusive inclusion, such that a process, method, article, or apparatus that comprises a list of elements does not include only those elements but may include other elements not expressly listed or inherent to such process, method, article, or apparatus. Without further limitation, an element defined by the phrase "comprising one … …" does not exclude the presence of other like elements in a process, method, article, or apparatus that comprises the element.

In this specification, each embodiment is described in a related manner, and the same or similar parts of each embodiment are referred to each other, where each embodiment mainly describes differences from other embodiments.

The foregoing is merely illustrative of the present invention, and the present invention is not limited thereto, and any changes or substitutions easily contemplated by those skilled in the art within the scope of the present invention should be included in the present invention. Therefore, the protection scope of the invention is subject to the protection scope of the claims.

Claims

1. An apparatus for supporting differential transmission, comprising:

at least one downstream port compatible with two or more communication transmission rate standards, the downstream port configured for connecting devices supporting two or more communication transmission rate standards;

a signal detection unit configured to detect whether at least one of the downstream port and an upstream port of the device is occupied by a connection;

and the equipment power manager is connected with the output end of the signal detection unit and the power supply end of the equipment, and is configured to receive an electric signal fed back by the signal detection unit whether at least one of the downstream port and the upstream port of the equipment is occupied by connection or not, and control the power supply state of the equipment according to the electric signal.

2. The apparatus according to claim 1, wherein the signal detection unit is specifically configured to: collecting a level signal of at least one of the downstream port and an upstream port of the device;

3. The apparatus of claim 2, wherein the signal detection unit is a signal enhancement repeater or a signal reconstruction enhancement repeater, the initial level signal state is a low level state, and the flip level signal is a high level state; or alternatively, the process may be performed,

4. The apparatus of claim 3, wherein the signal detection unit is further configured to, when the flip level signal is in a low level state, after the outputting of the flip level signal for a predetermined period of time: and outputting a steady-state high-level signal to the device power manager.

5. The apparatus of claim 2, wherein the device power manager is specifically configured to:

6. The apparatus according to claim 1 or 5, wherein the signal detecting unit is further configured to pull down an output terminal voltage when detecting that at least one of the downstream port and the upstream port of the device is not occupied by connection, and output a low level signal for a predetermined period of time to a device power manager.

7. The apparatus of claim 1, wherein the two or more communication transmission rate criteria comprise: two or more standards of USB1.0, USB2.0, USB3.0, USB3.1, USB3.2 and USBn.x, n is more than or equal to 4, and x is more than or equal to 0;

8. An apparatus for supporting differential transmission, comprising:

a power supply terminal;

9. A server, comprising: a main board for providing a processor mounting portion and at least one downstream port compatible with two or more communication transmission rate standards;

a processor coupled to the processor mount;

the device of claim 8, at least one upstream port of the device coupled to the downstream port.

10. A method for multiplexing ports based on differential transmission is characterized in that,

Generating a feedback electric signal according to the detection result of the connection occupancy state; and

11. The method of claim 10, wherein detecting the connection occupancy status of the downstream port comprises:

collecting a level signal of the downstream port link;

12. The method of claim 11, wherein the initial level signal state is a high level state and the flipped level signal is a low level state;

13. The method of claim 10, wherein said controlling the power state of the upstream port device in accordance with the feedback electrical signal comprises; and if the feedback electric signal represents that the downstream port is not occupied by connection, disconnecting the power supply of the equipment and controlling the equipment to be electrified and started again.