HDMI Cable Category Detection for Higher Data Rate Compatibility
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Solution Overview
Problem
Current HDMI technologies face limitations in increasing transmission speed while maintaining compatibility and avoiding functional failures in cable length and connector compatibility, especially when trying to support high-quality 3D or 4k2k video signals.
Innovation Solution
An electronic apparatus and transmission cable system that determines the category of the cable by applying a predetermined voltage to specific pins, allowing for the differentiation between current and novel HDMI modes without changing existing connectors, thereby enabling higher data rates while ensuring compatibility.
Engineering Contradictions & Design Principles
Engineering Contradiction Analysis
1Speed
If the number of data differential line pairs is increased to raise the data rate, then the transmission speed is improved, but the connector compatibility with existing HDMI is lost
Solution Approach 1:
The patent makes the existing 19-pin HDMI connector universal by enabling it to support both current HDMI standards and future high-speed modes. The connector physically remains unchanged, but its functional capacity is expanded through internal wiring configurations that can accommodate either 3 or more differential line pairs depending on the cable type, allowing a single connector design to serve multiple generations of HDMI technology.
Solution Approach 2:
The patent changes the internal wiring parameters of the connector rather than its external physical structure. By reconfiguring which pins are connected to which differential pairs inside the connector housing, the system can support different numbers of active data lanes (3 or more) while maintaining the same 19-pin external interface, thus adapting the connector's electrical parameters to match different transmission requirements without changing its physical form.
2Speed
If the clock speed is raised to increase the transmission rate, then the data rate is improved, but the transmission distance becomes very short due to physical limitations
Solution Approach 1:
The patent segments the transmission function across multiple independent differential line pairs rather than relying on a single high-speed channel. By providing multiple parallel data lanes (3 or more pairs), the system can aggregate bandwidth across these segments to achieve high data rates while each individual lane operates at manageable speeds that support longer transmission distances, thus dividing the transmission task to overcome the speed-length tradeoff.
3Speed
If the number of pins of a connector is increased to match the number of differential line pairs, then the data rate is improved, but the connector lacks compatibility in connection to apparatus in the past
Solution Approach 1:
The patent makes the existing 19-pin HDMI connector universal by enabling it to support both current HDMI standards and future high-speed modes. The connector physically remains unchanged, but its functional capacity is expanded through internal wiring configurations that can accommodate either 3 or more differential line pairs depending on the cable type, allowing a single connector design to serve multiple generations of HDMI technology.
Solution Approach 2:
The patent uses the existing 19-pin connector design as a template or copy that can be replicated without modification. By maintaining identical external pin configurations across different HDMI versions and using internal wiring variations rather than adding external pins, the system creates a copyable, compatible connector design that works across different apparatus generations while still enabling enhanced functionality through cable-specific wiring arrangements.
Data Source
AI summary
An electronic apparatus includes: a receptacle having a plurality of pins for connecting a plug of a transmission cable; and a transmission cable determination section adapted to apply a predetermined voltage to a predetermined one of the pins of the receptacle to determine a category of the transmission cable.