Bridge module, uart expansion device, and method of showing customized serial port name
Patent Information
- Authority / Receiving Office
- TW · TW
- Patent Type
- Patents
- Current Assignee / Owner
- PROLIFIC TECH INC
- Filing Date
- 2024-12-13
- Publication Date
- 2026-08-01
AI Technical Summary
Conventional USB-UART converters and UART expansion cards require costly and complex processes to obtain a dedicated VID and undergo WHQL testing to customize serial port names and numbers, limiting flexibility and increasing financial burden for small-scale suppliers.
A bridging module with a memory and bridge chip that allows users to write customized serial port names and numbers directly into the memory, enabling the operating system to display these without altering the VID/PID in the INF file, thus bypassing the need for USB Association fees and WHQL testing.
Enables customizable serial port names and numbers without the need for dedicated VIDs or WHQL testing, providing flexibility and cost savings while allowing port numbers beyond the standard range of 3 to 256.
Smart Images

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Abstract
Description
Technical Field
[0001] This invention relates to the technical field of serial ports (COM ports), and more particularly to a method and system for customizing serial port names. Prior Technology
[0002] It is known that early personal computers were equipped with UART interfaces (such as RS232 connectors) for data transmission with peripheral devices. Unlike UART interfaces, USB interfaces offer high data transfer rates and plug-and-play functionality, thus gradually becoming the mainstream data transmission interface between personal computers, laptops, and other electronic devices and external electronic devices.
[0003] Even so, the UART interface remains widely used in industrial control applications. Therefore, manufacturers of USB devices have developed external USB-UART converters and UART expansion cards that connect directly to the motherboard for integration into industrial control computers. Figure 1 is a perspective view of the USB-UART converter, and Figure 2 is a perspective view of the UART expansion card. As shown in Figures 1 and 2, the USB-UART converter 1a has a bridging chip 10a, and the UART expansion card 1b also has a bridging chip 10b.
[0004] Users familiar with the USB-UART converter 1a (as shown in Figure 1) or UART expansion card 1b (as shown in Figure 2) will know that after connecting the USB-UART converter 1a to a USB connector on the host computer, the Microsoft-provided standard CDC-ACM driver can be used as the standard driver and installed on the host computer. As shown in Figure 3, after the installation of the standard driver, the device administrator of the host computer's operating system (e.g., Windows) will simultaneously display the names of the three RS232 ports of the USB-UART converter 1a as "USB serial port" and assign them port numbers 3, 4, and 5 respectively.
[0005] In practice, the supplier will provide a custom-editable driver developed based on the standard CDC-ACM driver. In other words, after connecting the USB-UART converter 1a to a USB connector on the host computer, the user can choose to install the custom-editable driver on the host computer. As shown in Figure 4, after the installation of the custom-editable driver is completed, the device administrator of the host computer's operating system will simultaneously display the three RS232 ports of the USB-UART converter 1a as Prolific PL2303GC USB Serial COM Port, and assign their port numbers as 3, 4, and 5 respectively.
[0006] It is worth noting that the self-edited driver is a USB device driver, and it is typically developed by the manufacturer (i.e., the design house) of the bridge chip 10a. Furthermore, the engineer responsible for its development would know that a USB device driver must include both an .INF file and a .SYS file. The .SYS file contains the actual driver code, while the .INF file is the Device Information File, used to guide the operating system through the installation process. Additionally, the engineer knows that the USB device's VID and PID are usually edited in a [Strings] block within the .INF file, allowing the operating system to determine the USB device's VID and PID by reading the .INF file. For example, as shown in Figure 4, Prolific is the manufacturer's name (i.e., VID) for the bridge chip 10a, and PL2303GE is the product name (i.e., PID).
[0007] Based on practical experience, if the supplier of the USB-UART converter 1a is not the manufacturer of the bridge chip 10a, the supplier cannot make the operating system's device administrator display their supplier name and / or product name by modifying the VID / PID in the [Strings] block of the .INF file. This is because the custom-edited driver also includes a digitally signed .cat file, which is used during the installation process to verify that the .INF and .sys files have not been tampered with or corrupted. More specifically, after completing the custom-edited driver, the manufacturer of the bridge chip 10a submits it to a third-party certification body for WHQL testing to obtain a digital signature for releasing the .cat file. Furthermore, the VID is not arbitrarily defined; an application must be submitted to the USB Association and related fees paid. In other words, the VID "Prolific" shown in Figure 4 is obtained only after the manufacturer of the bridge chip 10a submits an application to the USB Association and pays the relevant fees.
[0008] In summary, to enable the operating system's device administrator to display customized serial port names, the supplier must first complete the following three tasks: (1) Submit an application to the USB Association and pay the relevant fees to obtain a dedicated VID; (2) After modifying the VID / PID in the [Strings] block of the .INF file, submit the self-edited driver containing the .INF and .sys files to a third-party certification body for WHQL testing to obtain digital signatures for releasing the .cat file; and (3) Integrate the digitally signed .cat, .INF and .sys files into a custom-editable driver.
[0009] Based on practical experience, obtaining a dedicated VID and conducting WHQL testing can cost thousands of dollars, a considerable financial expense for small-scale suppliers. On the other hand, the operating system (i.e., Windows) assigns communication port numbers starting with 3 and a maximum of 256. However, for users with specific needs, it is necessary to assign communication port numbers to any integer between 1 and 65535.
[0010] In summary, conventional USB-UART converters or UART expansion cards using bridging chips have many practical shortcomings that need improvement. Therefore, the inventors of this invention have diligently researched and developed a bridging module, a UART expansion device, and a method for displaying customized serial port names. Summary of the Invention
[0011] The main objective of this invention is to provide a bridge module that allows for customized serial port name changes. This module includes a bridge chip and a memory, and is applied to a UART expansion device, such as a USB-RS232 converter. According to this invention, a user can write programming data containing a customized serial port name into the memory. Thus, when the UART expansion device is connected to a host electronic device with a driver installed, the bridge chip reads the customized serial port name from the memory and integrates it into a device descriptor sent to the host electronic device. This allows the device administrator of the host electronic device's operating system (e.g., Windows) to display the UART communication port of the UART expansion device as the customized serial port name.
[0012] In addition, users can write programming data containing a customized serial port number into the memory, so that the operating system of the main control electronic device can be assigned the corresponding serial number of the UART communication port of the UART expansion device by the device administrator according to the customized serial port number.
[0013] Specifically, when using the bridging module of the present invention, the UART expansion device has the following practical advantages: (1) The supplier or customer only needs to write the programming data containing the customized serial port name into the memory to enable the operating system's device administrator to display the UART communication port of the UART expansion device as the customized serial port name. In other words, the supplier or customer does not need to change the VID and / or PID in the [Strings] block of the .INF file, let alone make such a change invalid for the driver's signature verification. (2) Suppliers do not need to submit an application to the USB Association and pay related fees to obtain a dedicated VID, saving application fees and annual membership fees. (3) Suppliers do not need to submit their self-edited drivers, which include .sys files and .INF files after changing VID / PID, to a third-party certification body for WHQL testing to obtain digital signatures, thus saving WHQL testing fees. (4) The serial number of the communication connection port is not limited to 3~256, but can be any integer between 1 and 65535.
[0014] To achieve the above objectives, the present invention provides an embodiment of the bridging module, which is disposed on a circuit board having a signal transmission interface and at least one UART interface thereon, thereby forming a UART expansion device together with the circuit board, the signal transmission interface, and the at least one UART interface; the bridging module includes: A bridging chip; and A memory, coupled to the bridge chip, is used to store a custom serial port name; The bridging chip is configured to perform: When the signal transmission interface is connected to a master electronic device with a driver that has the UART expansion device installed, the custom serial port name is read from the memory and integrated into a device descriptor transmitted to the master electronic device; When an electronic device is connected to the UART interface, a first signal received from the signal transmission interface is converted into a first UART signal, and the first UART signal is transmitted to the electronic device through the UART interface; When the electronic device transmits a second UART signal to the UART interface, the received second UART signal is converted into a second signal and transmitted to the main control electronic device through the signal transmission interface.
[0015] In one embodiment, the memory is further used to store a customized serial port number, and the bridge chip is configured to perform: When the signal transmission interface is connected to the main control electronic device that has the driver installed, the custom serial port name and the custom serial port number are read from the memory and integrated into the device descriptor transmitted to the main control electronic device.
[0016] In one embodiment, the bridging chip is selected from any of the group consisting of USB-UART bridging chips and USB-PCIe bridging chips.
[0017] In one embodiment, the bridging chip is selected from any of the group consisting of integrated circuit (IC) chips, complex programmable logic device (CPLD) chips, and field programmable gate array (FPGA) chips.
[0018] In one embodiment, the memory is selected from any one of the group consisting of one-time programmable (OTP) memory, multi-time programmable (MTP) memory, electrically-erasable programmable read-only memory (EEPROM), and flash memory.
[0019] In one embodiment, the UART interface 22 includes any one of the group consisting of RS232 electrical connectors, RS422 electrical connectors and RS485 electrical connectors.
[0020] Furthermore, the present invention also provides an embodiment of a UART expansion device having the function of displaying customized serial port names, comprising: Circuit board; A signal transmission interface is disposed on this circuit board; At least one UART interface is disposed on the circuit board; and A bridging module is disposed on the circuit board and includes a bridging chip and a memory. The memory is coupled to the bridge chip and is used to store a customized serial port name; The bridging chip is coupled to the signal transmission interface and the at least one UART interface, and is configured to perform: When the signal transmission interface is connected to a master electronic device with a driver that has the UART expansion device installed, the custom serial port name is read from the memory and integrated into a device descriptor transmitted to the master electronic device; When an electronic device is connected to the UART interface, a first signal received from the signal transmission interface is converted into a first UART signal, and the first UART signal is transmitted to the electronic device through the UART interface; and When the electronic device transmits a second UART signal to the UART interface, the received second UART signal is converted into a second signal and transmitted to the main control electronic device through the signal transmission interface.
[0021] In one embodiment, the memory is also used to store a custom serial port number, and the bridge chip is configured to perform: When the signal transmission interface is connected to the main control electronic device that has the driver installed, the custom serial port name and the custom serial port number are read from the memory and integrated into the device descriptor transmitted to the main control electronic device.
[0022] In one embodiment, the bridging chip is selected from any of the group consisting of USB-UART bridging chips and USB-PCIe bridging chips.
[0023] In one embodiment, the bridging chip is selected from any of the group consisting of integrated circuit (IC) chips, complex programmable logic device (CPLD) chips, and field programmable gate array (FPGA) chips.
[0024] In one embodiment, the memory is selected from any one of the group consisting of one-time programmable (OTP) memory, multi-time programmable (MTP) memory, electrically-erasable programmable read-only memory (EEPROM), and flash memory.
[0025] In one embodiment, the UART interface includes any one of the group consisting of RS232 electrical connectors, RS422 electrical connectors and RS485 electrical connectors.
[0026] Furthermore, the present invention also proposes an embodiment of a method for displaying customized serial port names, comprising: A memory is further integrated into a UART expansion device comprising a signal transmission interface, at least one UART interface, and a bridging chip; After the signal transmission interface is connected to a main control electronic device, a driver for the UART expansion device is installed in the main control electronic device; and The bridging chip is configured to have the following functions: After receiving programming data containing a customized serial port name transmitted by the main control electronic device, the programming data is written into the memory; and When the memory stores the programming data and the signal transmission interface is connected to the main control electronic device on which the driver is installed, the custom serial port name is read from the memory and integrated into a device descriptor transmitted to the main control electronic device.
[0027] In a feasible embodiment, the method for displaying a customized serial port name according to the present invention further includes: A custom serial port name editing program is further installed on the main control electronic device, which allows the programming data to be edited by operating the custom serial port name editing program.
[0028] In yet another feasible embodiment, the method for displaying customized serial port names according to the present invention further includes: The program that edits the custom serial port name can further edit the programming data to include a custom serial port number.
[0029] In one embodiment, the memory also stores the customized serial port number, and the bridge chip is configured to perform: When the signal transmission interface is connected to the main control electronic device that has the driver installed, the custom serial port name and the custom serial port number are read from the memory and integrated into the device descriptor transmitted to the main control electronic device.
[0030] In one embodiment, the bridging chip is selected from any of the group consisting of USB-UART bridging chips and USB-PCIe bridging chips.
[0031] In one embodiment, the bridging chip is selected from any of the group consisting of integrated circuit (IC) chips, complex programmable logic device (CPLD) chips, and field programmable gate array (FPGA) chips.
[0032] In one embodiment, the memory is selected from any one of the group consisting of one-time programmable (OTP) memory, multi-time programmable (MTP) memory, electrically-erasable programmable read-only memory (EEPROM), and flash memory.
[0033] In one embodiment, the UART interface 22 includes any one of the group consisting of RS232 electrical connectors, RS422 electrical connectors and RS485 electrical connectors. Simple Explanation of the Diagram
[0034] Figure 1 is a perspective view of the USB-UART converter; Figure 2 is a 3D view of the UART expansion card; Figure 3 shows the device administrator screen of the operating system of the main control computer with the standard CDC-ACM driver installed; Figure 4 shows the device administrator screen of the operating system of the main control computer with the self-edited driver installed; Figure 5 is a first perspective view of a UART expansion device including a bridging module of the present invention; Figure 6 is a second perspective view of a UART expansion device including the bridging module of the present invention; and Figure 7 shows the device administrator's view of the operating system with the main control electronics unit shown in Figure 4. Implementation
[0035] To enable your review committee to further understand the structure, features, purpose, and advantages of this invention, detailed descriptions of the preferred embodiments are attached below with drawings.
[0036] Figure 5 is a first perspective view of a UART expansion device including a bridging module of the present invention. As shown in Figure 5, the bridging module 1 of the present invention includes a bridging chip 11 and a memory 12, and is disposed on a circuit board 20 having a signal transmission interface 21 and at least one UART interface 22 thereon, thereby forming a UART expansion device 2 together with the circuit board 20, the signal transmission interface 21, and the at least one UART interface 22. Specifically, the signal transmission interface 21, the at least one UART interface 22, and the bridging module 1 are all disposed on the circuit board 20, and the bridging chip 11 is coupled to the signal transmission interface 21, the at least one UART interface 22, and the memory. It is easy to understand that the UART expansion device 2 shown in Figure 5 is an external USB-RS232 converter. Therefore, the signal transmission interface 21 is a USB connector, and the UART interface 22 is an RS232 connector. Furthermore, the bridging chip 11, such as the Prolific PL2303 series chip, is a USB-UART bridging chip.
[0037] Figure 6 is a second perspective view of a UART expansion device including the bridging module of the present invention. As shown in Figure 6, if the main control electronic device 3 is a desktop computer, industrial computer, or embedded computer instead of a notebook computer as shown in Figure 5, the UART expansion device 2 can be a UART expansion card directly connected to a PCIe slot on the motherboard. In this case, the signal transmission interface 21 is a PCIe gold finger, the UART interface 22 is an RS232 connector, and the bridging chip 11 is a USB-PCIe bridging chip.
[0038] According to the design of the invention, the memory 12 is used to store a customized sequence port name, and it may be, but is not limited to, single-time programmable (OTP) memory, multi-time programmable (MTP) memory, electronically erasable reproducible read-only memory (electrically-erasable programmable read-only memory, EEPROM memory). On the other hand, the bridge chip 11 may be, but is not limited to, an integrated circuit (IC) chip, a complex programmable logic device (CPLD) chip, and a Field Programmable Gate Array (FPGA) chip. Further, in practical application of the invention, the bridge chip 11 is configured by integrating program instructions in its internal memory or an external memory such that the bridge chip 11 performs the following functions: When the signaling interface 21 is connected to a master electronic device 3 in which a driver of the UART extension device 2 has been installed, the customized sequence port name is read from the memory 12 and the customized sequence port name is integrated in a device descriptor transmitted to the master electronic device 3 ; When the UART interface 22 is connected to an electronic device 4 , a first signal received from the signal transmission interface 21 (e.g., a USB signal or a PCIe signal) is converted into a first UART signal, and the first UART signal is transmitted to the electronic device 4 through the UART interface 22; and When the electronic device 4 transmits a second UART signal to the UART interface 22 , the reception from the second UART signal is converted into a second signal (e.g., USB signal or PCIe signal) and transmits the second signal to the master electronic device 3 through the signal transmission interface 21 .
[0039] It should be noted that the driver for the aforementioned UART expansion device 2 is a custom-edited driver developed based on the standard CDC-ACM driver, rather than the standard CDC-ACM driver provided by Microsoft. Furthermore, this custom-edited driver is typically developed by the manufacturer of the bridge chip 11 (e.g., Prolific). Therefore, during the installation of this custom-edited driver, the operating system (i.e., Windows) reads the VID and PID from the .INF file, where the VID is the manufacturer's name (e.g., Prolific). It is easy to understand that before writing the customized serial port name to the memory 12, the bridge chip 11 pre-integrates the VID read from the .INF file into the device descriptor, allowing the operating system's device administrator to identify the UART communication port (i.e., UART interface 22) of the UART expansion device 2 and include the manufacturer's name (i.e., Prolific) in the display name of the UART communication port.
[0040] In practical applications, suppliers or customers can further install a custom serial port name editing program developed by the manufacturer of the bridge chip 11 on the main control electronic device 3. After starting the custom serial port name editing program, the main control electronic device 3 will display a user interface on the display. It is easy to understand that by operating the user interface, suppliers or customers can edit the custom serial port name themselves and write the programming data containing the custom serial port name into the memory 12.
[0041] It should be further noted that the commonly used UART interface 22 is an RS232 electrical connector, an RS422 electrical connector, and an RS485 electrical connector. Furthermore, typically, the operating system (i.e., Windows) assigns a starting number of 3 and a maximum number of 256 to the communication port. According to the present invention, by operating this user interface, the supplier or customer can also edit a customized port number and write the programming data containing the customized port number into the memory 12. Specifically, the customized port number can be any integer between 1 and 65535. More specifically, when the memory 12 stores the customized port number, the bridge chip 11 is configured to perform: When the signal transmission interface 21 is connected to the main control electronic device 3 with the driver installed, the custom serial port name and the custom serial port number are read from the memory 12, and the custom serial port name and the custom serial port number are integrated into the device descriptor transmitted to the main control electronic device 3.
[0042] In summary, conventional UART expansion devices typically only include a circuit board, a bridging chip, a signal transmission interface, and at least one UART interface, and do not have the function of displaying a custom serial port name. In contrast, as shown in Figures 5 and 6, this invention provides a UART expansion device 2 with a custom serial port name display function, which includes a circuit board 20, a bridging chip 11, a memory 12, a signal transmission interface 21, and at least one UART interface 22. The memory 12 is used to store a custom serial port name and a custom serial port number. Furthermore, the supplier or user can edit the custom serial port name and the custom serial port number themselves by operating a custom serial port name editing program developed by the manufacturer of the bridging chip 11 (e.g., Prolific), and write data containing the custom serial port name and the custom serial port number to the memory 12 via the bridging chip 11.
[0043] It is easy to understand that before the memory 12 is programmed with the customized serial port number, the operating system, after completing the device identification of the UART expansion device 2 based on the device descriptor, will assign the UART communication port of the UART expansion device 2 a number selected from between 3 and 256 as the serial number.
[0044] Figure 7 shows the device administrator screen of the operating system of the main control electronic device 3 shown in Figure 4. As shown in Figure 7, after receiving the device descriptor containing the customized serial port name and the customized serial port number and completing the USB device enumeration process, the device administrator of the operating system (e.g., Windows) of the main control electronic device 3 will display the UART communication port of the UART expansion device 2 as the customized serial port name, and assign the corresponding serial number to the UART communication port 22 of the UART expansion device 2 according to the customized serial port number. The customized serial port number is not limited to 3~256, but can be any integer between 1 and 65535. Alternatively, as shown in Figure 7, MingMing is the customized serial port name edited by the supplier / customer, and 65533, 65534, and 65535 are the customized serial port numbers.
[0045] In summary, the bridging module, UART expansion device, and method for displaying customized serial port names of the present invention have been fully and clearly described. However, it must be emphasized that the embodiments disclosed above are preferred embodiments, and any partial changes or modifications that originate from the technical concept of the present invention and are easily deduced by those skilled in the art are not outside the scope of the patent rights of this application.
[0046] In conclusion, this case demonstrates a significant difference from conventional technology in terms of purpose, means, and effectiveness. Furthermore, its invention is practical and meets the patent requirements for an invention. We earnestly request that your esteemed examiner carefully review the case and grant a patent as soon as possible to benefit society. This is our sincere prayer.
[0047] 1a: USB-UART converter 10a: Bridge chip 1b: UART expansion card 10b: Bridge chip 1: Bridging Module 11: Bridge chip 12: Memory 2: UART expansion device 20: Circuit board 21: Signal Transmission Interface 22: UART Interface 3: Main control electronic device 4: Electronic devices
Claims
1. A bridging module, disposed on a circuit board having a signal transmission interface and at least one UART interface thereon, thereby forming a UART expansion device together with the circuit board, the signal transmission interface, and the at least one UART interface; the bridging module includes: A bridge chip; The bridging chip also includes a memory coupled to it and used to store a custom serial port name. The bridging chip is configured to: when the signal transmission interface is connected to a master electronic device with a driver for the UART expansion device installed, read the custom serial port name from the memory and integrate it into a device descriptor transmitted to the master electronic device; when the UART interface is connected to an electronic device, convert a first signal received from the signal transmission interface into a first UART signal and transmit the first UART signal to the electronic device through the UART interface; and when the electronic device transmits a second UART signal to the UART interface, receive the second UART signal, convert it into a second signal, and transmit the second signal to the master electronic device through the signal transmission interface.
2. The bridging module as described in claim 1, wherein, The memory is also used to store a custom serial port number, and the bridge chip is configured to perform the following: when the signal transmission interface is connected to the master control electronic device with the driver installed, the custom serial port name and the custom serial port number are read from the memory, and the custom serial port name and the custom serial port number are integrated into the device descriptor transmitted to the master control electronic device.
3. The bridging module as described in claim 1, wherein, The bridging chip is selected from any one of the group consisting of USB-UART bridging chips and USB-PCIe bridging chips.
4. The bridging module as described in claim 1, wherein, The bridging chip is selected from any one of the group consisting of integrated circuit (IC) chips, complex programmable logic device (CPLD) chips, and field programmable gate array (FPGA) chips.
5. The bridging module as described in claim 1, wherein, The memory is selected from any one of the following groups: one-time programmable (OTP) memory, multi-time programmable (MTP) memory, electrically-erasable programmable read-only memory (EEPROM), and flash memory.
6. The bridging module as described in claim 1, wherein, The UART interface includes at least one electrical connector selected from the group consisting of RS232 electrical connectors, RS422 electrical connectors and RS485 electrical connectors.
7. A UART expansion device having a custom serial port name display, comprising: A circuit board; A signal transmission interface is disposed on this circuit board; At least one UART interface is disposed on this circuit board; A bridging module is disposed on the circuit board and includes a bridging chip and a memory; wherein the memory is coupled to the bridging chip and is used to store a custom serial port name; wherein the bridging chip is coupled to the signal transmission interface and the at least one UART interface and is configured to perform: when the signal transmission interface is connected to a master electronic device with a driver installed with the UART expansion device, the custom serial port name is read from the memory and integrated into a device descriptor transmitted to the master electronic device; when the UART interface is connected to an electronic device, a first signal received from the signal transmission interface is converted into a first UART signal and transmitted to the electronic device through the UART interface; and when the electronic device transmits a second UART signal to the UART interface, the second UART signal is received, converted into a second signal, and transmitted to the master electronic device through the signal transmission interface.
8. A UART expansion device as described in claim 7, having a custom serial port name for display, wherein, The memory is also used to store a custom serial port number, and the bridge chip is configured to perform the following: when the signal transmission interface is connected to the master control electronic device with the driver installed, read the custom serial port name and the custom serial port number from the memory, and integrate the custom serial port name and the custom serial port number into the device descriptor transmitted to the master control electronic device.
9. A UART expansion device as described in claim 7, having a custom serial port name for display, wherein, The bridging chip is selected from any one of the group consisting of USB-UART bridging chips and USB-PCIe bridging chips.
10. A UART expansion device as described in claim 7, having a custom serial port name for display, wherein, The bridging chip is selected from any one of the group consisting of integrated circuit (IC) chips, complex programmable logic device (CPLD) chips, and field programmable gate array (FPGA) chips.
11. A UART expansion device as described in claim 7, having a custom serial port name for display, wherein, The memory is selected from any one of the following groups: one-time programmable (OTP) memory, multi-time programmable (MTP) memory, electrically-erasable programmable read-only memory (EEPROM), and flash memory.
12. A UART expansion device as described in claim 7, having a custom serial port name for display, wherein, The UART interface includes any one of the group consisting of RS232 electrical connectors, RS422 electrical connectors and RS485 electrical connectors.
13. A method for displaying a customized serial port name, comprising: A memory is further integrated into a UART expansion device that includes a signal transmission interface, at least one UART interface, and a bridging chip; After the signal transmission interface is connected to a master control electronic device, a driver for the UART expansion device is installed in the master control electronic device; and the bridge chip is configured to have the following functions: after receiving a programming data containing a custom serial port name transmitted by the master control electronic device, the programming data is written to the memory; and when the memory stores the programming data and the signal transmission interface is connected to the master control electronic device with the driver installed, the custom serial port name is read from the memory and integrated into a device descriptor transmitted to the master control electronic device.
14. The method for displaying a customized serial port name as described in claim 13 further includes: A custom serial port name editing program is further installed on the main control electronic device, which allows the programming data to be edited by operating the custom serial port name editing program.
15. The method for displaying a customized serial port name as described in claim 14 further includes: The program that edits the custom serial port name can further edit the programming data to include a custom serial port number.
16. The method for displaying a customized serial port name as described in claim 15, wherein, The memory also stores the custom serial port number, and the bridge chip is configured to perform the following: when the signal transmission interface is connected to the master control electronic device with the driver installed, the custom serial port name and the custom serial port number are read from the memory, and the custom serial port name and the custom serial port number are integrated into the device descriptor transmitted to the master control electronic device.
17. The method for displaying a customized serial port name as described in claim 13, wherein, The bridging chip is selected from any one of the group consisting of USB-UART bridging chips and USB-PCIe bridging chips.
18. The method for displaying a customized serial port name as described in claim 13, wherein, The bridging chip is selected from any one of the group consisting of integrated circuit (IC) chips, complex programmable logic device (CPLD) chips, and field programmable gate array (FPGA) chips.
19. The method for displaying a customized serial port name as described in claim 13, wherein, The memory is selected from any one of the following groups: one-time programmable (OTP) memory, multi-time programmable (MTP) memory, electrically-erasable programmable read-only memory (EEPROM), and flash memory.
20. The method for displaying a customized serial port name as described in claim 13, wherein, The UART interface includes any one of the group consisting of RS232 electrical connectors, RS422 electrical connectors and RS485 electrical connectors.