US-12625832-B2 - Hub device and control system

US12625832B2US 12625832 B2US12625832 B2US 12625832B2US-12625832-B2

Abstract

A hub device is provided. An upstream-facing port (UFP) is coupled to a host device. A downstream-facing port (DFP) is coupled to a peripheral device. A control chip is coupled to the UFP, the DFP, and a memory, and includes a first transceiver interface, a second transceiver interface, a first processing circuit, and a second processing circuit. The first transceiver interface is coupled to the UFP. The second transceiver interface is coupled to the DFP. The first processing circuit is coupled to the first and second transceiver interfaces so that the host device communicates with the peripheral device. The second processing circuit is coupled between the first processing circuit and the memory. In response to the first processing circuit receiving an access command from the host device via the first transceiver interface, the first processing circuit triggers the second processing circuit to access the memory.

Inventors

Wei-Chih Huang
Ching Shen CHANG

Assignees

PU-DAN LIMITED CORP.

Dates

Publication Date: 20260512
Application Date: 20241121
Priority Date: 20231123

Claims (16)

1 . A hub device comprising: an upstream-facing port coupled to a host device; a first downstream-facing port coupled to a first peripheral device; a first memory; and a control chip coupled to the upstream-facing port, the first downstream-facing port, and the first memory and comprising: a first transceiver interface coupled to the upstream-facing port; a second transceiver interface coupled to the first downstream-facing port; a first processing circuit coupled to the first and second transceiver interfaces so that the host device communicates with the first peripheral device; and a second processing circuit coupled between the first processing circuit and the first memory, wherein: in response to the first processing circuit receiving an access command from the host device via the first transceiver interface, the first processing circuit triggers the second processing circuit to access the first memory.
2 . The hub device as claimed in claim 1 , wherein the control chip further comprises: a third transceiver interface coupled to a second downstream-facing port; and a second memory storing a first management program code and a second management program code, wherein the first processing circuit executes the first management program code to transmit information from the first transceiver interface to the second or third transceiver interface.
3 . The hub device as claimed in claim 2 , wherein in response to the first processing circuit triggering the second processing circuit, the second processing circuit executes the second management program code to manage the data stored in the first memory.
4 . The hub device as claimed in claim 2 , wherein the upstream-facing port is a USB Type-C connection port, and the first or second downstream-facing port is a USB Type-A connection port or a USB Type-C connection port.
5 . The hub device as claimed in claim 2 , wherein the second processing circuit comprises: a fourth transceiver interface coupled to the first memory; a fifth transceiver interface coupled to a third memory; and a memory controller coupled to the first processing circuit, and the fourth and fifth transceiver interfaces, wherein: the fourth transceiver interface outputs parallel data to the first memory, the second transceiver interface outputs first serial data to the first downstream-facing port, the third transceiver interface outputs second serial data to the second downstream-facing port.
6 . The hub device as claimed in claim 5 , wherein the memory controller divides specific data provided by the first processing circuit and distributes the divided data in the first and third memories via the fourth and fifth transceiver interfaces.
7 . The hub device as claimed in claim 6 , wherein the memory controller divides the specific data into a plurality of data groups, the memory controller stores a first data group of the data groups in the first memory via the fourth transceiver interface, stores a second data group of the data groups in the third memory via the fifth transceiver interface, stores a third data group of the data groups in the first memory via the fourth transceiver interface, and stores a fourth data group of the data groups in the third memory via the fifth transceiver interface.
8 . The hub device as claimed in claim 5 , wherein the memory controller uses the fourth and fifth transceiver interfaces to store specific data provided by the first processing circuit in the first and third memories simultaneously.
9 . The hub device as claimed in claim 5 , wherein the control chip further comprises: a fifth memory, wherein: the memory controller stores specific data provided by the first processing circuit to the fifth memory, in response to the amount of data in the fifth memory reaching a target value, the first processing circuit outputs the data stored in the fifth memory to the memory controller.
10 . The hub device as claimed in claim 9 , wherein the fifth memory is a random-access memory and the first memory is a non-volatile memory.
11 . The hub device as claimed in claim 5 , wherein the first memory is a first flash and the third memory is a second flash.
12 . A control system comprising: a host device; a peripheral device; and a hub device responsible for communication between the host device and the peripheral device and comprising: an upstream-facing port coupled to the host device; a downstream-facing port coupled to the peripheral device; a memory; and a control chip coupled to the upstream-facing port, the downstream-facing port, and the memory and comprising: a first transceiver interface coupled to the upstream-facing port; a second transceiver interface coupled to the downstream-facing port; a first processing circuit coupled to the first and second transceiver interfaces so that the host device communicates with the peripheral device; and a second processing circuit coupled between the first processing circuit and the memory, wherein: in response to the first processing circuit receiving an access command from the host device via the first transceiver interface, the first processing circuit triggers the second processing circuit to access the memory.
13 . The control system as claimed in claim 12 , wherein the first processing circuit receives write data from the host device via the first transceiver interface, and writes the write data to the memory via the second processing circuit.
14 . The control system as claimed in claim 13 , wherein the first processing circuit reads the memory via the second processing circuit to generate read data, and outputs the read data to the host device via the first transceiver interface.
15 . The control system as claimed in claim 14 , wherein the first transceiver interface is a local area network (LAN) connection port.
16 . The control system as claimed in claim 12 , further comprising: an electronic device coupled to an internet, wherein the host device is coupled to the internet, and the host device is an access point (AP).

Description

CROSS REFERENCE TO RELATED APPLICATIONS This Application claims priority of Taiwan Patent Application No. 112145347, filed on Nov. 23, 2023, the entirety of which is incorporated by reference herein. BACKGROUND OF THE INVENTION Field of the Invention The present invention relates to a hub device, and, in particular, it relates to a hub device that comprises internal memory. Description of the Related Art Thanks to advancements in science and technology, there are more and more types and functions of electronic devices. In daily life, universal serial bus (USB) technology has become ubiquitous. For example, mobile phones, TVs, stereos, and printers all have USB interfaces. USB flash drives are electronic products that many people carry with them. However, most notebook computers have a limited number of connection ports, and users often cannot use the notebook computer's connection ports to connect all of their peripheral devices at once. BRIEF SUMMARY OF THE INVENTION In accordance with an embodiment of the disclosure, a hub device comprises an upstream-facing port, a downstream-facing port, a memory, and a control chip. The upstream-facing port is coupled to a host device. The downstream-facing port is coupled to a peripheral device. The control chip is coupled to the upstream-facing port, the first downstream-facing port, and the memory. The control chip comprises a first transceiver interface, a second transceiver interface, a first processing circuit, and a second processing circuit. The first transceiver interface is coupled to the upstream-facing port. The second transceiver interface is coupled to the first downstream-facing port. The first processing circuit is coupled to the first and second transceiver interfaces so that the host device communicates with the first peripheral device. The second processing circuit is coupled between the first processing circuit and the memory. In response to the first processing circuit receiving an access command from the host device via the first transceiver interface, the first processing circuit triggers the second processing circuit to access the memory. In accordance with another embodiment of the disclosure, a control system comprises a host device, a peripheral device, and a hub device. The hub device is responsible for communication between the host device and the peripheral device and comprises an upstream-facing port, a downstream-facing port, a memory, and a control chip. The upstream-facing port is coupled to the host device. The downstream-facing port is coupled to the peripheral device. The control chip is coupled to the upstream-facing port, the downstream-facing port, and the memory. The control chip comprises a first transceiver interface, a second transceiver interface, a first processing circuit, and a second processing circuit. The first transceiver interface is coupled to the upstream-facing port. The second transceiver interface is coupled to the downstream-facing port. The first processing circuit is coupled to the first and second transceiver interfaces so that the host device communicates with the peripheral device. The second processing circuit is coupled between the first processing circuit and the memory. In response to the first processing circuit receiving an access command from the host device via the first transceiver interface, the first processing circuit triggers the second processing circuit to access the memory. BRIEF DESCRIPTION OF THE DRAWINGS The present invention can be more fully understood by reading the subsequent detailed description and examples with references made to the accompanying drawings, wherein: FIG. 1A is a schematic diagram of an exemplary embodiment of a control system according to various aspects of the present disclosure. FIG. 1B is a schematic diagram of another exemplary embodiment of the control system according to various aspects of the present disclosure. FIG. 2A is a schematic diagram of an exemplary embodiment of a hub device according to various aspects of the present disclosure. FIG. 2B is a schematic diagram of another exemplary embodiment of a hub device according to various aspects of the present disclosure. DETAILED DESCRIPTION OF THE INVENTION The present invention will be described with respect to particular embodiments and with reference to certain drawings, but the invention is not limited thereto and is only limited by the claims. The drawings described are only schematic and are non-limiting. In the drawings, the size of some of the elements may be exaggerated for illustrative purposes and not drawn to scale. The dimensions and the relative dimensions do not correspond to actual dimensions in the practice of the invention. FIG. 1A is a schematic diagram of an exemplary embodiment of a control system according to various aspects of the present disclosure. As shown in FIG. 1A, the control system 100A comprises a host device 110, a hub device 120A, and a peripheral device 130. The hub devic