Docking station and communication equipment

Abstract

The invention provides a docking station and communication equipment, and the docking station comprises a housing, a circuit board and a switch, and the housing is provided with an accommodation space; the circuit board is arranged in the accommodating space, at least one port is arranged on the circuit board, and a pin connected with the at least one port is arranged on the circuit board; and the switch is coupled with the pin, and at least part of the switch is exposed outside the shell so as to control the connection and disconnection between the port and an external component. Through the mode, enabling of the pins is controlled through the switch, the working state of the port can be controlled, the requirements of customers can be effectively met in the using process, the operation complexity is reduced, and the situation that equipment is damaged due to multiple times of plugging and unplugging is prevented.

Description

Technical Field

[0001] The present application is applied to the technical field of expansion docks, and in particular relates to an expansion dock and a communication device. Background Art

[0002] A docking station, also known as a port replicator, is an external device designed specifically for laptops. By duplicating or even expanding a laptop's ports, it allows for convenient, one-stop connection between the laptop and multiple accessories or external devices (such as a power adapter, network cable, mouse, external keyboard, printer, and external monitor).

[0003] For existing docking stations, when the host (system) and device (hardware device or network device) are connected to the docking station together, there will be continuous current and data exchanged between the host and the device. During the data and current transmission process of the existing docking station, when the system does not need the hardware device or network device to transmit data, some systems need to disconnect the hardware device or network device. As a result, when using the docking station, multiple plugging and unplugging situations occur, causing damage to the docking station, system, hardware device or network device. Summary of the Invention

[0004] The present application provides an expansion dock to solve the problem in the prior art that the expansion dock needs to be plugged in and out multiple times during use.

[0005] To solve the above technical problems, the first aspect of the present application provides an expansion dock, including: a shell, the shell forming a accommodating space; a circuit board, the circuit board is arranged in the accommodating space, the circuit board is provided with at least one port, and the circuit board is provided with pins connected to the at least one port; a switch, the switch is coupled to the pins and is at least partially exposed to the outside of the shell to control the connection and disconnection of the port and external components.

[0006] The housing includes a first housing and a second housing. The first housing and the second housing are detachably connected to form an accommodating space. The switch is movably arranged in the accommodating space, and the circuit board is arranged on the second housing.

[0007] The circuit board is provided with slide rails on both sides of the port opening, and the switch can slide on the slide rails, and the sliding direction of the switch is perpendicular to the axis direction of the port opening.

[0008] The switch includes a slider which is arranged above the port and is slidably connected to the slide rail.

[0009] The switch further includes a toggle member, which is arranged on the end face of the slider facing the first shell, and the toggle member is located on the end face of the slider near the end of the port; a first opening larger than the toggle member is opened on the first shell, and at least part of the toggle member is exposed in the first opening to facilitate the sliding of the toggle member in the first opening.

[0010] Among them, the pin is arranged toward the port; a connector is provided at the end of the slider toward the pin, and a slot adapted to the pin is opened on the connector to facilitate connection between the pin and the connector.

[0011] When connecting the port, the toggle member is slid toward the pin to connect the pin to the connector; when disconnecting the port, the toggle member is slid toward the pin to disconnect the pin from the connector.

[0012] A second opening adapted to the port is provided on the side wall of the first shell, and the port is at least partially exposed to the second opening.

[0013] A groove is provided at the end of the slider close to the port, and the port is located inside the groove.

[0014] To solve the above problems, the present application also provides a communication device, including: a mobile terminal, the mobile terminal is connected to an expansion dock, and the expansion dock is any one of the expansion docks mentioned above.

[0015] The beneficial effects of the present application are: different from the existing technology, the present application forms a topological structure of system-dock-hardware device or network device by arranging a circuit board in the accommodating space of the shell and arranging at least one port on the circuit, thereby realizing the transmission of data and current, and by setting pins at positions corresponding to the ports and enabling the pins through switches, it is possible to control the working status of the ports, effectively meet customer needs during use, reduce the tediousness of operation, and prevent damage to the equipment due to repeated plugging and unplugging. BRIEF DESCRIPTION OF THE DRAWINGS

[0016] Figure 1 Is this application docking station explosion Figure 1 A schematic structural diagram of an embodiment;

[0017] Figure 2 This is a structural diagram of an embodiment of a circuit board of the present application;

[0018] Figure 3 It is a structural diagram of an embodiment of the communication device of the present application. DETAILED DESCRIPTION

[0019] The following will be combined with the drawings in the embodiments of this application to clearly and completely describe the technical solutions in the embodiments of this application. Obviously, the embodiments described are only part of the embodiments of this application, not all of the embodiments. Based on the embodiments in this application, all other embodiments obtained by ordinary technicians in this field without making creative efforts are within the scope of protection of this application.

[0020] It should be noted that if the embodiments of the present application involve directional indications (such as up, down, left, right, front, back, etc.), the directional indications are only used to explain the relative position relationship, movement status, etc. between the various components under a certain specific posture (as shown in the accompanying drawings). If the specific posture changes, the directional indications will also change accordingly.

[0021] In addition, if there are descriptions involving "first", "second", etc. in the embodiments of the present application, the descriptions of "first", "second", etc. are only for descriptive purposes and cannot be understood as indicating or implying their relative importance or implicitly indicating the number of the indicated technical features. Therefore, the features defined as "first" and "second" may explicitly or implicitly include at least one of such features. In addition, the technical solutions between the various embodiments can be combined with each other, but they must be based on the fact that they can be implemented by ordinary technicians in this field. When the combination of technical solutions is contradictory or cannot be implemented, it should be deemed that such a combination of technical solutions does not exist and is not within the scope of protection required by this application.

[0022] See also Figure 1 , Figure 1 This application provides a docking station explosion Figure 1 A schematic structural diagram of an embodiment.

[0023] This application provides a docking station. Figure 1As shown, the expansion dock of this embodiment includes a shell 10, a circuit board 20 and a switch 30. The shell 10 is formed with a receiving space 103, and the circuit board 20 is arranged in the receiving space 103. The circuit board 20 can be fixed to the receiving space 103 of the shell 10 by bolts, or can be glued to the shell 10 by glue, or can be fixed in the receiving space 103 by other methods. This application does not make specific restrictions here. At least one port 201 is provided on the circuit board 20, and pins 202 connected to the at least one port 201 are provided on the circuit board 20. In this embodiment, the ports 201 provided on the circuit board 20 may include data ports 201 such as USB-A and Type-C for connecting hardware devices or network devices; video ports 201 such as HDMI and DP for connecting monitors, projectors, etc.; and other functional ports may also be included, such as network cable ports, audio ports, etc. This application does not make specific restrictions here. Furthermore, pin 202 may be a CE pin 202 (enable pin 202), and pin 202 may be connected only to the upstream port or only to the downstream port as needed, or one pin 202 may be connected to each of the upstream port and the downstream port, and this application does not make any specific restrictions here. Switch 30 is coupled to pin 202 and is at least partially exposed to the outside of the housing 10 to control the on-off between port 201 and external components. Among them, the end of switch 10 may be flush with the outer end surface of housing 10 or higher than the outer end surface of housing 10, and this application does not make any specific restrictions here. That is, the switch 30 can control the enabling of pin 202, thereby controlling the enabling and disconnecting state of port 201, and thus controlling the on-off between port 201 and external components. Among them, the way in which the switch controls the enabling of pin 202 may be by toggling, pressing or touching, or other ways may be used to control the on-off of pin 202, and this application does not make any specific restrictions here.

[0024] In an optional embodiment, if Figure 1As shown, the housing 10 is a detachable structure. Since a housing space 103 is formed in the housing 10, the circuit board 20 can be disposed within the housing space 103 of the housing 10. Furthermore, at least one uplink port 201 and a downlink port 201 are provided on the circuit board 20, so that the system and the hardware device or network device can be connected to the uplink port 201 and the downlink port 201, respectively, to form a system-dock-hardware device or network device topology, thereby enabling the exchange of current and data between the system and the hardware device or network device, thereby completing data transmission. However, during the data and current transmission process, when the system does not need the hardware device or network device to transmit data, some systems need to disconnect the hardware device or network device, resulting in multiple plugging and unplugging when using the dock, causing damage to the dock, the system, the hardware device or the network device. Therefore, by providing a switch 30 in the dock, the current and data transmission between the system and the hardware device or network device can be disconnected without disconnecting the above topology, thereby solving the problem of needing to plug and unplug multiple times. Specifically, taking the toggle switch 30 as an example, a pin 202 connected to port 201 is provided on circuit board 20. By providing switch 30, engaging the toggle switch 30 with pin 202 enables pin 202, and port 201 connected to pin 202 operates normally. Disengaging the toggle switch 30 from pin 202 in the opposite direction disables port 201 corresponding to pin 202. In other words, by providing pin 202 at a position corresponding to port 201 and controlling the enabling of pin 202 through switch 30, the operating state of port 201 is further controlled. This effectively meets customer needs during use, reduces operational complexity, and prevents device damage caused by repeated plugging and unplugging.

[0025] In one specific application scenario, a user uses a mobile phone (system)-docking station-wireless microphone topology to shoot a video, etc. The wireless microphone can transmit sound to the mobile phone. When the user uses the wireless microphone on the mobile phone to receive sound, some mobile phone systems will forcibly transfer both audio input and output to the wireless microphone when connecting to the wireless microphone. As a result, when the wireless microphone is connected, the video playback will be silent. The entire wireless microphone must be unplugged before the sound can be played. Therefore, when receiving sound, the user needs to unplug the wireless microphone before the sound can be played through the mobile phone. If the user needs to play the video multiple times to hear the reception effect, the user needs to take the wireless microphone out of the device storage box and plug it into the mobile phone multiple times. This operation is cumbersome and brings great inconvenience to the user.

[0026] In the above embodiment, by setting a circuit board 20 in the accommodating space 103 of the shell 10 and setting at least one port 201 on the circuit, a topological structure of system-dock-hardware device or network device is formed to realize the transmission of data and current, and by setting a pin 202 at a position corresponding to the port 201 and controlling the enablement of the pin 202 through the switch 30, the working state of the port 201 can be controlled, which can effectively meet the needs of customers during use, reduce the tediousness of operation, and prevent the occurrence of device damage due to repeated plugging and unplugging.

[0027] In an optional embodiment, if Figure 1 As shown, the housing 10 includes a first housing 101 and a second housing 102. The first housing 101 and the second housing 102 are detachably connected to form a housing space 103. The switch 30 is movably disposed within the housing space 103, and the circuit board 20 is disposed on the second housing 102. Specifically, the detachable connection between the first housing 101 and the second housing 102 forms the housing space 103 for accommodating the circuit board 20 and the switch 30. The circuit board 20 is disposed on the end surface of the second housing 102 facing the first housing 101. Specifically, the circuit board 20 can be installed on the end surface of the second housing 102, followed by the switch 30 and the first housing 101, thereby completing the assembly of the docking station. The detachable connection between the first housing 101 and the second housing 102 makes installation of the docking station simpler and more convenient, and facilitates repair of the circuit board 20 in the event of a malfunction. The circuit board 20 can also be mounted on the side wall of the first housing 101, using threaded connections, adhesive bonding, or other methods, which are not specifically limited in this application. Furthermore, the switch 30 may be disposed between the first housing 101 and the circuit board 20 , so as to facilitate turning the switch 30 to control the on / off of the port 201 on the switch 30 .

[0028] In an optional embodiment, the circuit board 20 is provided with slide rails 40 located on both sides of the opening of the port 201, and the switch 30 can slide on the slide rails 40, and the sliding direction of the switch 30 is perpendicular to the axis direction of the opening of the port 201. The slide rails 40 can be fixed to both sides of the opening of the port 201 by bolts, or can be fixed by gluing or other methods, which is not specifically limited in this application. That is, by providing the slide rails 40 on the circuit, when the switch 30 is toggled, the switch 30 can slide on the slide rails 40, thereby preventing the switch 30 from getting stuck due to excessive damping during the toggling process. Further, by providing the slide rails 40 at both ends of the opening of the port 201, the stability of the switch 30 sliding on the slide rails 40 can be effectively increased, thereby preventing the switch 30 from having poor contact when coupled with the pin 202, thereby affecting current and data transmission. In this embodiment, in order to reduce the volume of the entire docking station and reduce the difficulty of the layout of the internal components of the docking station, the circuit board 20 is provided with the pin 202 corresponding to the port 201 located on the side of the port 201 opening, and the pin 202 is arranged in the direction of the port 201, which effectively improves the integration of the internal components of the docking station. The toggle switch 30 slides in a direction perpendicular to the axis of the port 201 opening, thereby controlling the on and off of the switch 30 and the pin 202, and controlling the working state of the port 201. In other embodiments, the slide rails 40 are provided on both sides of the port 201 opening direction, the pin 202 is provided on the side away from the port 201 opening direction, and the pin 202 is arranged in the direction of the port 201. In this case, the sliding direction of the switch 30 is parallel to the direction of the port 201 opening axis. Other layout methods that can control the on and off of the port 201 through the switch 30 can also be adopted. This application does not make specific limitations here.

[0029] In an optional embodiment, the switch 30 includes a slider 301, which is arranged above the port 201 and is slidably connected to the slide rail 40. That is, by arranging the slider 301 on the switch 30, the slide rail 40 can cooperate with the slide rail 40. When the switch 30 is toggled, the slider 301 slides on the slide rail 40, which can effectively reduce the damping of the switch 30 during the sliding process and improve the smoothness of the sliding of the switch 30. Moreover, through the cooperation between the slide rail 40 and the slider 301, the switch 30 can be well positioned. When the switch 30 is docked with the pin 202, it can effectively prevent the switch 30 from docking incorrectly or misaligned with the pin 202, thereby causing poor contact. Arranging the slider 301 above the port 201 can further improve the integration of the docking station, reduce the size of the circuit board 20, and thus reduce the volume of the docking station. Furthermore, the slider 301 is disposed above the port 201, and a groove 304 is defined at the end of the slider 301 near the port 201, with the port 201 located within the groove 304. Since the connection between the rail 40 and the slider 301 requires volume, in order to reduce the thickness and size of the docking station, the groove 304 is defined on the side of the slider 301 near the port 201, with the port 201 located within the groove 304. This reduces the height of the slider 301 and the port 201 while preserving the operation of the rail 40 and the slider 301, thereby reducing the thickness of the docking station.

[0030] In an optional embodiment, the switch 30 further includes a toggle member 302, which is disposed on the end surface of the slider 301 facing the first housing 101. The toggle member 302 is located on the end surface of the slider 301 near the end of the port 201. The first housing 101 defines a first opening 104 that is larger than the toggle member 302, with at least a portion of the toggle member 302 exposed within the first opening 104 to facilitate sliding of the toggle member 302 within the first opening 104. Therefore, to facilitate toggling the switch 30, the toggle member 302 is disposed on the end surface of the slider 301 facing the first housing 101. When the switch 30 is toggled, the toggle member 302 is toggled, causing the slider 301 to slide on the slide rail 40, thereby coupling the switch 30 with the pin 202. Furthermore, by disposing the toggle member 302 on the end surface of the slider 301 near the end of the port 201, further space can be saved within the docking station, simplifying the internal layout of the docking station and reducing the size of the docking station. By providing a first opening 104 on the first housing 101 that is compatible with the toggle member 302, the first toggle member 302 passes through the first opening 104 and is at least partially exposed in the first opening 104. When in use, the user can toggle the toggle member 302 exposed outside the first housing 101 to control the on / off connection between the switch 30 and the pin 202, thereby controlling the on / off connection of the port 201. The length of the first opening 104 is greater than the length of the wave member, and the toggle member 302 can move within the first opening 104, thereby toggle and drive the slider 301 to slide on the slide rail 40, so that the switch 30 and the pin 202 are connected. The size of the first opening 104 is required to ensure good contact between the switch 30 and the pin 202 when the switch 30 and the pin 202 are coupled, and to ensure that the switch 30 and the pin 202 are disconnected when the switch 30 and the pin 202 are disconnected. On the other hand, it is necessary to ensure that when the toggle member 302 is toggled, the groove 304 of the slider 301 does not contact the port 201, thereby damaging the interface. That is, the first opening 104 not only needs to ensure the on-off condition of the toggle member 302 and the pin 202 , but also needs to limit the switch 30 to prevent damage to the port 201 .

[0031] In an optional embodiment, if Figure 2As shown, the pins 202 are arranged toward the port 201; a connector 303 is provided at the end of the slider 301 facing the pins 202. The connector 303 has a slot 305 adapted to fit the pins 202, facilitating connection between the pins 202 and the connector 303. Arranging the pins 202 toward the port 201 can effectively reduce the size of the docking station. By setting a connector 303 at the end of the slider 301 facing the pin 202, when the user needs to enable the port 201, the toggle member 302 is toggled to make the slider 301 slide toward the pin 202 on the slide rail 40. At this time, the connector 303 is coupled with the pin 202, so that the pin 202 is enabled, so that the port 201 is turned on and works. When the user needs to close the port 201, the toggle member 302 is toggled to make the slider 301 slide away from the pin 202 on the slide rail 40. At this time, the connector 303 is disconnected from the pin 202, and no circuit passes through the pin 202 of the switch 30. At this time, the port 201 does not work. Furthermore, by providing a slot 305 on the connector 303 that matches the pin 202, when the connector 303 is coupled to the pin 202, the pin 202 is snapped into the slot 305 of the connector 303, thereby enhancing the contact between the connector 303 and the pin 202, thereby effectively preventing poor contact when the connector 303 and the pin 202 are coupled. The shape of the slot 305 is the same as that of the pin 202. In other embodiments, the pin 202 may be configured as the slot 305, and the connector 303 on the slider 301 may be configured as a raised pin 202, which is not specifically limited in this application.

[0032] In an optional embodiment, a second opening 105 is formed on the side wall of the first housing 101 to match the port 201, and the port 201 is at least partially exposed in the second opening 105. Since the circuit board 20 is provided with at least one port 201, the same number of second openings 105 as the number of ports 201 are provided on the side wall of the first housing.

[0033] In a specific fact, while keeping the system-dock-hardware device or network device topology unchanged, when the user needs to connect the port 201, the user toggles the wave member located in the first opening 104 to slide toward the pin 202, and the toggle member 302 drives the slider 301 to slide toward the pin 202 on the slide rail 40. When the toggle member 302 abuts against the side wall of the first opening 104, the connector 303 on the slider 301 couples with the pin 202, and the pin 202 is snapped into the slot 305 of the connector 303. That is, at this time, the switch 30 is connected to the pin 202, and the port 201 works normally. When it is necessary to disconnect the current and data between the system and the hardware device or network device, that is, when the user needs to disconnect the port 201, the user slides the toggle member 302 away from the pin 202, and the toggle member 302 drives the port to slide on the slide rail 40 away from the pin 202. When the toggle member 302 abuts the side wall on the other side of the first opening 104, the pin 202 disengages from the slot 305 of the connector 303, and the connector 303 on the slider 301 is disconnected from the pin 202. That is, at this time, the switch 30 is disconnected from the pin 202, and the port 201 does not work.

[0034] Through the above-described method, the present application arranges a circuit board 20 within the housing space 103 of the housing 10, arranges at least one port 201 on the circuit, arranges a pin 202 at a position corresponding to the port 201, and controls the enabling of the pin 202 by the switch 30, thereby controlling the operating state of the port 201. This effectively meets customer needs during use, reduces the complexity of operation, and prevents damage to the device caused by repeated plugging and unplugging. The first housing 101 and the second housing 102 are detachably connected, and the circuit board 20 and the switch 30 are arranged within the housing 10, making the installation of the expansion dock more simple and convenient, and facilitating the repair of the circuit board 20 when a fault occurs. By arranging slide rails 40 on both sides of the opening of the port 201 on the circuit board 20, the switch 30 can slide on the slide rails 40, which can effectively increase the stability of the switch 30 sliding on the slide rails 40, thereby preventing poor contact when the switch 30 is coupled with the pin 202. By providing a slider 301 connected to the slide rail 40 above the port 201, the damping of the switch 30 during sliding can be effectively reduced, the smoothness of the switch 30's sliding can be improved, and the situation of incorrect docking or misalignment between the switch 30 and the pin 202 can be effectively prevented. By providing a toggle member 302 near the end of the port 201 on the end face of the slider 301 facing the first housing 101, and providing a first opening 104 on the first housing 101 for the toggle member 302, the slider 301 can be slid on the slide rail 40 by toggling the wave member, thereby completing the coupling between the switch 30 and the pin 202, and the toggle member 302 is limited by the first opening 104. By providing a slot 305 on the connector 303 at the end of the slider 301 facing the pin 202, the contact effect between the connector 303 and the pin 202 can be enhanced, thereby effectively preventing the situation of poor contact when the connector 303 and the pin 202 are coupled.

[0035] The present application also provides a communication device, such as Figure 3 As shown, the communication device includes a mobile terminal 60 connected to an expansion dock 50, which can be any of the expansion docks 50 described above. For example, using a toggle switch, sliding the toggle switch in a first direction (not shown) connects the expansion dock 50 to the mobile terminal 60, thereby enabling data and power transmission. Sliding the toggle switch in a direction opposite to the first direction disconnects the expansion dock 50 from the mobile terminal 60, thereby blocking data and power transmission.

[0036] The above description is only an implementation method of the present application and does not limit the patent scope of the present application. Any equivalent structure or equivalent process transformation made using the contents of the description and drawings of this application, or directly or indirectly applied in other related technical fields, are also included in the patent protection scope of the present application.

Claims

1. A docking station, characterized in that: The expansion dock includes: a housing, wherein the housing is formed with an accommodating space; a circuit board, the circuit board being disposed in the accommodating space, the circuit board being provided with at least one port, and the circuit board being provided with a pin connected to the at least one port; The switch is coupled to the pin and at least partially exposed outside the housing to control the connection and disconnection between the port and an external component.

2. The expansion dock according to claim 1, wherein: The housing includes a first housing and a second housing. The first housing and the second housing are detachably connected to form the accommodation space. The switch is movably arranged in the accommodation space. The circuit board is arranged on the second housing.

3. The expansion dock according to claim 2, wherein: The circuit board is provided with slide rails located on both sides of the port opening, the switch can slide on the slide rails, and the sliding direction of the switch is perpendicular to the axis direction of the port opening.

4. The expansion dock according to claim 3, wherein: The switch includes a slider, which is arranged above the port and is slidably connected to the slide rail.

5. The expansion dock according to claim 4, wherein: The switch further includes a toggle member, which is provided on the end surface of the slider facing the first housing, and the toggle member is located on the end surface of the slider close to the end of the port; The first shell is provided with a first opening which is larger than the toggle member, and at least a portion of the toggle member is exposed in the first opening so that the toggle member can slide in the first opening.

6. The expansion dock according to claim 5, wherein: The pins are arranged toward the port; The end of the slider facing the pin is provided with a connector, and the connector is provided with a slot adapted to the pin, so as to facilitate the connection between the pin and the connector.

7. The expansion dock according to claim 6, wherein: When the port is connected, the toggle member is toggled to slide in a direction close to the pin, so that the pin is connected to the connecting member; When disconnecting the port, the toggle member is toggled to slide in a direction away from the pin, so that the pin is disconnected from the connector.

8. The expansion dock according to claim 2, wherein: A second opening adapted to the port is formed on the side wall of the first shell, and the port is at least partially exposed to the second opening.

9. The expansion dock according to claim 5, wherein: A groove is formed at the end of the sliding block close to the port, and the port is located inside the groove.

10. A communication device, characterized in that: The communication equipment includes: A mobile terminal connected to the expansion dock, wherein the expansion dock is the expansion dock according to any one of claims 1 to 9.

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