KVM switcher and data transmission system

Abstract

The utility model is suitable for the technical field of KVM switchers, and provides a KVM switcher and a data transmission system. The KVM switcher comprises a concentrator, a plurality of uplink ends, an expansion module and a switching module. And the concentrator is connected with each uplink end, the expansion module and the switching module. Compared with an existing KVM switcher comprising a plurality of concentrators, the KVM switcher provided by the utility model only comprises one concentrator connected with each uplink end, the extension module and the switching module, so that the use number of the concentrators can be reduced, and the cost of the KVM switcher is reduced.

Description

Technical Field

[0001] The present application belongs to the technical field of KVM switches, and in particular, relates to a KVM switch and a data transmission system. Background Art

[0002] KVM switches (multi-computer controllers) allow users to control multiple electronic devices (such as computers) through a set of mice, keyboards, and monitors. Currently, KVM switches usually include multiple hubs, each of which is connected to a corresponding electronic device through an uplink port and exchanges data. This type of KVM switch is expensive because it requires the use of multiple hubs. Summary of the invention

[0003] In view of this, the embodiments of the present application provide a KVM switch and a data transmission system to solve the technical problem of high cost of existing KVM switches.

[0004] In a first aspect, an embodiment of the present application provides a KVM switch, the KVM switch comprising a hub, a plurality of upstream ends, an expansion module, and a switching module;

[0005] The hub is connected to each of the upstream ends, the expansion modules and the switching modules.

[0006] Optionally, the hub has a data copy chip, and the data copy chip is connected to each of the upstream ends.

[0007] Optionally, the KVM switch further includes a mutual copy controller for controlling each of the upstream ends to perform data mutual copying, and the mutual copy controller is connected to the data mutual copy chip.

[0008] Optionally, the KVM switch further includes a switching controller for controlling the switching module;

[0009] The switching controller is connected to the switching module.

[0010] Optionally, the hub further comprises a protocol chip for acquiring a communication protocol used by electronic devices connected to each of the upstream ends;

[0011] The protocol chip is connected to each of the upstream ends.

[0012] Optionally, the hub further includes a power chip;

[0013] The power chip is connected to each of the upstream ends and the protocol chip.

[0014] Optionally, the hub further includes a plurality of switches;

[0015] The first end of each switch is connected to one of the upstream ends, the second end of each switch is connected to the expansion module, and the controlled end of each switch is connected to the switching module.

[0016] Optionally, the expansion module includes a mouse, a keyboard and a display.

[0017] In a second aspect, an embodiment of the present application provides a data transmission system, including a KVM switch and several electronic devices.

[0018] Optionally, each of the electronic devices is connected to one of the uplink ends.

[0019] The KVM switch and data transmission system provided by the embodiments of the present application have the following technical effects:

[0020] The KVM switch of the embodiment of the present application includes a hub, a plurality of upstream ends, an expansion module and a switching module; the hub is connected to each upstream end, the expansion module and the switching module. Compared with the existing KVM switch including multiple hubs, since the KVM switch provided by the present application only includes one hub connected to each upstream end, the expansion module and the switching module, the number of hubs used can be reduced, thereby reducing the cost of the KVM switch. BRIEF DESCRIPTION OF THE DRAWINGS

[0021] In order to more clearly illustrate the technical solutions in the embodiments of the present application, the drawings required for use in the embodiments or the description of the prior art will be briefly introduced below. Obviously, the drawings described below are only some embodiments of the present application. For ordinary technicians in this field, other drawings can be obtained based on these drawings without paying creative labor.

[0022] Figure 1 A schematic structural diagram of a KVM switch provided in an embodiment of the present application;

[0023] Figure 2 A schematic structural diagram of a KVM switch provided in another embodiment of the present application;

[0024] Figure 3 A schematic diagram of the structure of a data transmission system provided in an embodiment of the present application. DETAILED DESCRIPTION

[0025] It should be noted that the terms used in the embodiments of the present application are only used to explain the specific embodiments of the present application, and are not intended to limit the present application. In the description of the embodiments of the present application, unless otherwise specified, "multiple" refers to two or more than two, and "at least one", "one or more" refers to one, two or more. The terms "first" and "second" are only used for descriptive purposes and cannot be understood as indicating or implying relative importance or implicitly indicating the number of indicated technical features. Thus, it is defined that the "first" and "second" features can explicitly or implicitly include one or more of the features.

[0026] References to "one embodiment" or "some embodiments" etc. described in this specification mean that a particular feature, structure or characteristic described in conjunction with the embodiment is included in one or more embodiments of the present application. Thus, the phrases "in one embodiment", "in some embodiments", "in some other embodiments", "in some other embodiments", etc. that appear at different places in this specification do not necessarily refer to the same embodiment, but mean "one or more but not all embodiments", unless otherwise specifically emphasized in other ways. The terms "including", "comprising", "having" and their variations all mean "including but not limited to", unless otherwise specifically emphasized in other ways.

[0027] A KVM switch is a computer hardware device used to switch between different computer sources. KVM is the abbreviation of Keyboard, Video and Mouse. A KVM switch is also called a multi-computer controller, which allows users to control multiple computers through an expansion module (including keyboard, display and mouse).

[0028] At present, the existing KVM switch usually includes multiple hubs, each of which is connected to a corresponding electronic device through an uplink port and performs data exchange. Since the existing KVM switch needs to use multiple hubs, the existing KVM switch has a high cost. In addition, since each electronic device requires a hub for connection and data exchange, the number of electronic devices that can be controlled by the existing KVM switch is limited by the number of hubs included in the KVM switch, which reduces the convenience of the KVM switch.

[0029] The present application embodiment first provides a KVM switch. Figure 1 , Figure 1 This is a schematic structural diagram of a KVM switch provided in an embodiment of the present application. Figure 1 As shown, the KVM switch 10 can be connected to a plurality of electronic devices 20 .

[0030] Specifically, the KVM switch 10 may include a hub 11 , a plurality of upstream terminals 12 , an expansion module 13 and a switching module 14 .

[0031] The hub 11 is connected to each upstream end 12, the expansion module 13 and the switch module 14. The hub 11 is used to output the signal input by the expansion module 13 to the upstream end 12 of the target, and output the signal input by the upstream end 12 of the target to the expansion module 13.

[0032] Each upstream end 12 can be used to connect to an electronic device 20. The upstream end 12 can be used to receive a signal input from the hub 11, and output the signal input from the hub 11 to the electronic device corresponding to the upstream end 12. The upstream end 12 can also be used to receive a signal input from the electronic device 20 corresponding to the upstream end 12, and output the signal input from the electronic device 20 to the hub 11.

[0033] The expansion module 13 may include but is not limited to a mouse, a keyboard and a display. The expansion module 13 may be used to generate a corresponding control signal according to the instructions input by the user, and input the control signal into the hub 11 to instruct the hub 11 to send the control signal to the corresponding electronic device 20 through the upstream end 12.

[0034] The expansion module 13 can also receive a signal input from the hub 11 and respond to the signal input from the hub 11. Exemplarily, the expansion module 13 can also receive an image signal input from the hub 11 and display the image through a display in the expansion module 13.

[0035] The switching module 14 can be used to control the on / off of the communication link between each upstream end 12 and the hub 11 .

[0036] Exemplarily, the KVM switch may include an upstream end A, an upstream end B, and an upstream end C. The switching module 14 can connect the communication link between the upstream end A and the hub 11, disconnect the communication link between the upstream end B and the hub 11, and disconnect the communication link between the upstream end C and the hub 11 as needed.

[0037] When the communication link between the A upstream end and the hub 11 is connected, the extension module 13 can send a signal to the electronic device 20 connected to the A upstream end through the hub 11 and the A upstream end to control the electronic device 20 connected to the A upstream end. The extension module 13 can also receive a signal sent by the electronic device 20 connected to the A upstream end through the hub 11 and the A upstream end, and respond to the signal sent by the electronic device 20 connected to the A upstream end.

[0038] The switching module 14 may also control the electronic device 20 connected to the B uplink end or the electronic device 20 connected to the C uplink end according to the above method, which will not be described in detail here.

[0039] As can be seen from the above, the KVM switch of the embodiment of the present application includes a hub, a plurality of upstream ends, an expansion module and a switching module; the hub is connected to each upstream end, the expansion module and the switching module. Compared with the existing KVM switch including multiple hubs, since the KVM switch provided by the present application only includes one hub connected to each upstream end, the expansion module and the switching module, the number of hubs used can be reduced, thereby reducing the cost of the KVM switch.

[0040] See also Figure 2 , Figure 2 This is a schematic structural diagram of a KVM switch provided by another embodiment of the present application. Figure 2 As shown, in a possible implementation, the hub 11 may include a data copy chip 111. The data copy chip 111 may be connected to each upstream end 12.

[0041] The data copy chip 111 can be used to copy data between each upstream end 12. Specifically, the data copy chip 111 can be used to receive data sent by a first upstream end among each upstream end 12, and send the data sent by the first upstream end to a second upstream end among each upstream end 12.

[0042] In an embodiment of the present application, when a user needs to copy data of a first electronic device connected to a first upstream end to a second electronic device connected to a second upstream end, the first electronic device can send the data to be copied to the data copy chip 111 through the first upstream end. After the data copy chip 111 receives the data input from the first upstream end, the data copy chip 111 can send the data input from the first upstream end to the second electronic device through the second upstream end. Therefore, the data copy function between various electronic devices can be realized through the data copy chip 111.

[0043] like Figure 2 As shown, in a possible implementation, the KVM switch 10 may further include a copy controller 21 . The copy controller 21 may be connected to the data copy chip 111 .

[0044] The mutual copy controller 21 can be used to control each upstream end 12 to perform data mutual copy. Exemplarily, the mutual copy controller 21 can receive a mutual copy control instruction input by a user, and control corresponding two upstream ends 12 in each upstream end 12 to perform data mutual copy according to the mutual copy control instruction.

[0045] In the embodiment of the present application, when a user needs to copy data of a first electronic device connected to a first upstream end to a second electronic device connected to a second upstream end, the user can input a corresponding mutual copy control instruction into the mutual copy controller 21 to enable the mutual copy controller 21 to control the first upstream end and the second upstream end to perform data mutual copy.

[0046] like Figure 2 As shown, in a possible implementation, the hub 11 may further include a protocol chip 112. The protocol chip 112 may be connected to each upstream end 12.

[0047] The protocol chip 112 can be used to obtain the communication protocol used by the electronic devices 20 connected to each upstream end 12. In addition, the protocol chip 112 is also used to obtain the voltage required by the electronic device 20 through the communication protocol used by the electronic device 20.

[0048] like Figure 2 As shown, in a possible implementation, the hub 11 may further include a power chip 113. The power chip 113 may be connected to each upstream end 12 and the protocol chip 112.

[0049] The protocol chip 112 may also be used to send the acquired voltage required by the electronic device 20 to the power chip 113 , so as to instruct the power chip 113 to provide the electronic device 20 with the voltage required by the electronic device.

[0050] The power chip 113 can be used to receive the voltage required by the electronic device 20 sent by the protocol chip 112, and provide the electronic device 20 with the voltage required by the electronic device 20 through the upstream end 12 connected to the electronic device 20.

[0051] like Figure 2 As shown, in a possible implementation, the hub 11 may further include a plurality of switches 114. The first end of each switch 114 is connected to an upstream end 12, the second end of each switch 114 is connected to the expansion module 13, and the controlled end of each switch 114 is connected to the switching module 14.

[0052] In the embodiment of the present application, the switching module 14 can send a control signal to the controlled end of each switch 114 to control the on or off of each switch 114, thereby realizing the on and off control of the communication link between each upstream end 12 and the hub 11.

[0053] Exemplarily, the A upstream end is connected to the first switch, the B upstream end is connected to the second switch, and the C upstream end is connected to the third switch. If the communication link between the A upstream end and the hub 11 is to be controlled, a switch-on signal can be sent to the controlled end of the first switch through the switch module 14, and a disconnection signal can be sent to the controlled end of the second switch and the controlled end of the third switch. Similarly, if the communication link between the B upstream end and the hub 11 is to be controlled, a switch-on signal can be sent to the controlled end of the second switch through the switch module 14, and a disconnection signal can be sent to the controlled end of the first switch and the controlled end of the third switch.

[0054] like Figure 2 As shown, in a possible implementation, the KVM switch 10 may further include a switch controller 22 . The switch controller 22 may be connected to the switch module 14 .

[0055] The switching controller 22 can receive a switching control signal input by a user and send the switching control signal to the switching module 14. After receiving the switching control signal, the switching module 14 can control the on / off of the communication link between each upstream end 12 and the hub 11 according to the switching control signal.

[0056] The following combination Figure 2 , the specific working principle of the KVM switch provided in the embodiment of the present application is described in detail.

[0057] When the user wants to control a target electronic device among the plurality of electronic devices 20 through the expansion module 13 , the user may input a corresponding switching control signal to the switching controller 22 (eg, click a corresponding control on the switching controller 22 ).

[0058] After receiving the switching control signal input by the user, the switching controller 22 may send the received switching control signal to the switching module 14 .

[0059] After the switching module 14 receives the switching control signal sent by the switching controller 22, it can send a conduction signal to the controlled end of the target switch corresponding to the target electronic device according to the switching control signal to control the target switch to be turned on, and send a disconnection signal to the controlled ends of all switches other than the target switch to control all switches other than the target switch to be turned off.

[0060] In addition, the protocol chip 112 can obtain the communication protocol used by the target electronic device through the upstream end 12 corresponding to the target electronic device, and obtain the voltage required by the target electronic device through the obtained communication protocol. After the protocol chip 112 obtains the voltage required by the target electronic device, the protocol chip 112 can send the voltage required by the target electronic device to the power chip 113.

[0061] After receiving the voltage required by the target electronic device, the power chip 113 can provide the voltage required by the target electronic device to the target electronic device through the upstream terminal 12 corresponding to the target electronic device.

[0062] Afterwards, the user can control the target electronic device through the expansion module 13. Specifically, the user can input instructions through devices such as a mouse or keyboard in the expansion module 13, and the expansion module 13 can generate a corresponding control signal according to the instruction input by the user, and send the control signal to the target electronic device through the corresponding switch 114 and the corresponding upstream end 12. In addition, the expansion module 13 can also receive a signal sent by the target electronic device through the corresponding upstream end 12 and the corresponding switch 114, and respond to the signal sent by the target electronic device.

[0063] If the user wants to change the target electronic device, the user can re-input the corresponding switching control signal to the switching controller 22. After the user inputs the corresponding switching control signal to the switching controller 22, the specific working principle of each module in the KVM switch can refer to the above-mentioned related content, which will not be repeated here.

[0064] If the user needs to copy data between two target electronic devices (the first electronic device and the second electronic device) in each electronic device, the user can input a copy control instruction to the copy controller 21. After receiving the copy control instruction input by the user, the copy controller 21 can send the copy control instruction to the data copy chip 111.

[0065] After receiving the mutual copy control instruction, the data mutual copy chip 111 can perform data mutual copy on the first uplink end and the second uplink end respectively corresponding to the first electronic device and the second electronic device according to the mutual copy control instruction.

[0066] Specifically, the first electronic device will send the first data that needs to be copied to the first uplink end, the first uplink end will forward the first data to the data copy chip 111, and the data copy chip 111 will forward the first data to the second uplink end to instruct the second uplink end to send the first data to the second electronic device.

[0067] Similarly, the second electronic device will send the second data that needs to be copied to the second uplink end, the second uplink end will forward the second data to the data copy chip 111, and the data copy chip 111 will forward the second data to the first uplink end to instruct the first uplink end to send the second data to the first electronic device.

[0068] If the user wants to replace the two target electronic devices that need to be copied, the user can re-input the copy control instructions to the copy controller 21. After obtaining the copy control instructions input by the user from the copy controller 21, the specific working principles of each module in the KVM switch can refer to the above-mentioned related content and will not be repeated here.

[0069] See also Figure 3 , Figure 3 A schematic diagram of the structure of a data transmission system provided in an embodiment of the present application. Figure 3 As shown, the data transmission system 30 may include several electronic devices 20 and Figures 1 to 2 Corresponding to the KVM switch 10 in any one of the embodiments.

[0070] The KVM switch 10 is connected to each electronic device 20 .

[0071] Specifically, each electronic device 20 is connected to an upstream end of the KVM switch 10 .

[0072] The specific functions and specific interaction processes of the KVM switch 10 and the plurality of electronic devices 20 in the data transmission system 30 provided in the embodiment of the present application can be referred to as follows. Figures 1 to 2 Any corresponding embodiment will not be described in detail here.

[0073] In the above embodiments, the description of each embodiment has its own emphasis. For parts that are not described or recorded in detail in a certain embodiment, reference can be made to the relevant descriptions of other embodiments.

[0074] Those of ordinary skill in the art will appreciate that the units and algorithm steps of each example described in conjunction with the embodiments disclosed herein can be implemented in electronic hardware, or a combination of computer software and electronic hardware. Whether these functions are performed in hardware or software depends on the specific application and design constraints of the technical solution. Professional and technical personnel can use different methods to implement the described functions for each specific application, but such implementation should not be considered to be beyond the scope of this application.

[0075] The embodiments described above are only used to illustrate the technical solutions of the present application, rather than to limit them. Although the present application has been described in detail with reference to the aforementioned embodiments, a person skilled in the art should understand that the technical solutions described in the aforementioned embodiments may still be modified, or some of the technical features may be replaced by equivalents. Such modifications or replacements do not deviate the essence of the corresponding technical solutions from the spirit and scope of the technical solutions of the embodiments of the present application, and should all be included in the protection scope of the present application.

Claims

1. A KVM switch, characterized in that: The KVM switch includes a hub, a plurality of upstream terminals, an expansion module and a switching module; The hub is connected to each of the upstream ends, the expansion modules and the switching modules.

2. The KVM switch according to claim 1, characterized in that: The hub has a data copy chip, and the data copy chip is connected to each of the upstream ends.

3. The KVM switch according to claim 2, characterized in that: The KVM switch further includes a mutual copy controller for controlling each of the upstream ends to perform data mutual copying, and the mutual copy controller is connected to the data mutual copy chip.

4. The KVM switch according to claim 1, wherein: The KVM switch also includes a switch controller for controlling the switch module; The switching controller is connected to the switching module.

5. The KVM switch according to claim 1, wherein: The hub also includes a protocol chip for acquiring a communication protocol used by electronic devices connected to each of the upstream ends; The protocol chip is connected to each of the upstream ends.

6. The KVM switch according to claim 5, characterized in that: The hub also includes a power chip; The power chip is connected to each of the upstream ends and the protocol chip.

7. The KVM switch according to claim 6, characterized in that: The hub also includes a plurality of switches; The first end of each switch is connected to one of the upstream ends, the second end of each switch is connected to the expansion module, and the controlled end of each switch is connected to the switching module.

8. The KVM switch according to any one of claims 1 to 7, characterized in that: The expansion module includes a mouse, a keyboard and a display.

9. A data transmission system, characterized in that: The invention comprises a KVM switch as claimed in any one of claims 1 to 8 and several electronic devices.

10. The data transmission system according to claim 9, characterized in that: Each of the electronic devices is connected to one of the upstream ends.

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