|Publication number||US7542299 B2|
|Application number||US 11/317,632|
|Publication date||Jun 2, 2009|
|Filing date||Dec 22, 2005|
|Priority date||Jul 8, 2002|
|Also published as||US7508678, US20060146491, US20070088876|
|Publication number||11317632, 317632, US 7542299 B2, US 7542299B2, US-B2-7542299, US7542299 B2, US7542299B2|
|Original Assignee||Aten International Co., Ltd|
|Export Citation||BiBTeX, EndNote, RefMan|
|Patent Citations (36), Referenced by (9), Classifications (17), Legal Events (4)|
|External Links: USPTO, USPTO Assignment, Espacenet|
The present Application for Patent is a continuation-in-part of patent application Ser. No. 10/190,015 entitled “AUTOMATIC SWITCH,” filed Jul. 8, 2002, now U.S. Pat. No. 7,035,112, and assigned to the assignee hereof and hereby expressly incorporated by reference herein.
The present invention relates to an automatic switch for a user to automatically switch between two or more computers, and, more particularly, to an improved keyboard, video and mouse (KVM) switch that has integrally injection-molded cables to provide good weather-resistance, impact-resistance, and some protection of an internal circuit board thereof.
Computers are becoming more prevalent in both homes and offices, and are often considered requisite “tools” for work, learning, leisure activities, and daily life. In certain environments, a user needs to be able to access to multiple computers simultaneously. For example, a user may have a computer dedicated to work, such as a computer used for stock trading; as well as a second computer limited to non-work activities, such as a computer used for browsing the World-Wide-Web and playing video games. Currently, for users who need to access two or more computers simultaneously, instead of using a separate keyboard, monitor and mouse for each computer, an automatic switching device commonly referred to as a Keyboard, Video and Mouse (KVM) switch is used. The KVM switch allows the user to use one keyboard, monitor and mouse to control two or more computers by being able to switch among them.
Typically, the KVM switch contains a circuit that provides the functionality for switching a set of keyboard, mouse and monitor among different computers. Thus, one set of signal cables are run from a keyboard (keyboard signal cable), a mouse (mouse signal cable) and a monitor (video signal cable) to the KVM switch, and, to each computer, another set of keyboard, mouse and monitor signals cables are run from the KVM switch. Thus, if the KVM switch is connected to 2 computers, 2 separate sets of cables, each set having a keyboard signal cable, a mouse signal cable, and a video signal cable, are needed. With the number of cables running from the KVM switch increasing incrementally based on the number of computers connected, cable management becomes a problem. Further, as the number of cables increases, the likelihood that the cables may become loose and disconnected from the KVM switch also increases. Another issue is the confusion on the part of the user of which cables to purchase because many KVM switches have multiple outlets for connecting to different types of peripherals.
In one preferred embodiment of the present invention, a keyboard, video and mouse (KVM) switch includes an enclosure, a switching circuit contained within the enclosure and a set of connector ports disposed on the enclosure and electrically coupled to the switching circuit. The KVM switch further includes a plurality of cables integrated into the enclosure and electrically coupled to the switching circuit, each cable in the plurality of cables including a plurality of connector plugs, wherein each connector plug in the plurality of connector plugs for one of the cables in the plurality of cables are matched to at least another one of the respective plurality of connector plugs from another one of the cables in the plurality of cables, and wherein the switching circuit is configured to operatively switch the set of connector ports to connect to one of the plurality of cables.
In another preferred embodiment of the present invention, a computer peripherals switch includes a switching circuit contained within a body and a first computer cable electrically coupled to the switching circuit and integrally attached to the body. The computer peripherals switch further includes a second computer cable electrically coupled to the switching circuit and integrally attached to the body and a plurality of computer peripheral ports electrically coupled to the switching circuit and disposed on the body; wherein the first computer cable has a plurality of first computer connectors, each of which is matched to at least one of the ports in the plurality of computer peripheral ports, and wherein the switching circuit is configured to selectively couple the plurality of first computer connectors to the plurality of computer peripheral ports.
Other objects, features and advantages will become apparent to those skilled in the art from the following detailed description. It is to be understood, however, that the detailed description and specific examples, while indicating exemplary embodiments, are given by way of illustration and not limitation. Many changes and modifications within the scope of the following description may be made without departing from the spirit thereof, and the description should be understood to include all such variations.
The invention may be more readily understood by referring to the accompanying drawings in which:
Like numerals refer to like parts throughout the several views of the drawings.
A third output 104C and a fourth output 104D are also located on body 102. In one preferred embodiment, third output 104C and fourth output 104D includes a first cable connector 152C and a second cable connector 152D, respectively, where each cable connector is configured to be connected to a detachable cable that contains a plurality of plugs such as audio plugs, video plugs, and peripheral plugs similar to the plugs on first cable 110A and second cable 110B. In another preferred embodiment, the detachable cable that may be connected to first cable connector 152C and/or second cable connector 152D may contain a different number of plugs as compared to first cable 110A or second cable 110B. For example, the detachable cable may only contain a video plug and one peripheral plug.
First computer system 950 includes a bus 902 for communicating information between the components in first computer system 950, and a processor 904 coupled with bus 902 for executing software code, or instructions, and processing information. First computer system 950 further comprises a main memory 906, which may be implemented using random access memory (RAM) and/or other random memory storage device, coupled to bus 902 for storing information and instructions to be executed by processor 904. Main memory 906 also may be used for storing temporary variables or other intermediate information during execution of instructions by processor 904. First computer system 950 also includes a read only memory (ROM) 908 and/or other static storage device coupled to bus 902 for storing static information and instructions for processor 904. Further, a mass storage device 910, such as a magnetic disk drive and/or or a optical disk drive, may be coupled to first computer system 950 for storing information and instructions. Although not illustrated, first computer system 950 may optionally include video capture/output cards, camera devices, and many other conventional options.
In the configuration shown in
In one exemplary configuration, first computer system 950 is coupled to display device 934 using video plug 124A on first cable 110A of KVM switch device 100. Display device 934 is a device, such as a cathode ray tube (CRT) or a liquid crystal display (LCD), used for displaying information to a user so that, for example, graphical or textual information may be presented to the user. An alphanumeric input device 936, including alphanumeric and other keys, is coupled to one of the ports of pair of peripheral ports 312 on KVM switch device 100 for communicating information and/or user selection commands to processor 904 of first computer system 950. In one preferred embodiment, is the peripheral standard that is being used is based on the USB standard, as discussed above, then either one of the ports of pair of peripheral ports 312 may be used. First computer 950 is then coupled to KVM switch device 100 using peripheral plug 126 on first cable 110A.
Another type of user input device shown in the figure is a cursor control device 938, such as a conventional mouse, touch mouse, trackball, touchpad or other type of cursor direction keys for communicating direction information and command selection to first computer system 950 and for controlling movement of a cursor on display 934. Similar to alphanumeric input device 936, cursor control device 938 may be plugged into one of the ports of pair of peripheral ports 312 on KVM switch device 100. First computer system 950, which is already coupled to KVM switch device 100 using peripheral plug 126 on first cable 110A, will receive the direction information and command selection generated by cursor control device 938. Various other types of input devices, including, but not limited to the input devices described herein, unless otherwise noted, may be coupled to KVM switch device 100 using pair of peripheral ports 312 to allow the user to provide command or input to first computer system 950.
In one preferred embodiment, if more than two devices are to be coupled to KVM switch device 100, one or more hubs (e.g., one or more USB hubs) may be connected to pair of peripheral ports 312. Thus, more than two computer peripheral devices may be coupled to KVM switch device 100. Specifically, in addition to alphanumeric input device 936 and cursor control device 938, other devices such as printers, image scanners, cameras and microphones may be coupled to KVM switch device 100 through the use of devices such as hubs.
Also as illustrated, speakers 940 are coupled to first computer system 950 via KVM switch device 100. In one preferred embodiment, speakers 940 are first coupled to audio port 316 of KVM switch device 100. Audio plug 122A of first cable 110A is then plugged into first computer system 950.
First computer system 950 may also include a communication device (not shown) that is coupled to bus 902 for accessing other computer systems, as described below. The communication device may include a modem, a network interface card, or other well-known interface devices, such as those used for interfacing with Ethernet, Token-ring, or other types of networks. In any event, in this manner, first computer system 950 may be coupled to a number of other computer systems via a network infrastructure, such as second computer system 952.
The embodiments described above are exemplary embodiments. Those skilled in the art may now make numerous uses of, and departures from, the above-described embodiments without departing from the inventive concepts disclosed herein. Various modifications to these embodiments may be readily apparent to those skilled in the art, and the generic principles defined herein may be applied to other embodiments, e.g., in an instant messaging service or any general wireless data communication applications, without departing from the spirit or scope of the novel aspects described herein. Thus, the scope of the invention is not intended to be limited to the embodiments shown herein but is to be accorded the widest scope consistent with the principles and novel features disclosed herein. The word “exemplary” is used exclusively herein to mean “serving as an example, instance, or illustration.” Any embodiment described herein as “exemplary” is not necessarily to be construed as preferred or advantageous over other embodiments. Accordingly, the present invention is to be defined solely by the scope of the following claims.
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|U.S. Classification||361/752, 361/790, 361/800|
|International Classification||H01R31/00, H05K5/06, G06F3/023, H05K5/00, H01H9/04, H01R27/02|
|Cooperative Classification||H01R31/005, H01R27/02, H01H9/04, G06F3/023, H05K5/065|
|European Classification||H05K5/06F, H01H9/04, G06F3/023|
|Mar 23, 2006||AS||Assignment|
Owner name: ATEN INTERNATIONAL CO., LTD., TAIWAN
Free format text: ASSIGNMENT OF ASSIGNORS INTEREST;ASSIGNOR:CHEN, KEVIN;REEL/FRAME:017700/0752
Effective date: 20060303
|Mar 12, 2010||AS||Assignment|
Owner name: ATEN TECHNOLOGY, INC.,CALIFORNIA
Free format text: ASSIGNMENT OF ASSIGNORS INTEREST;ASSIGNOR:ATEN INTERNATIONAL CO., LTD.;REEL/FRAME:024076/0143
Effective date: 20100312
|Oct 2, 2012||FPAY||Fee payment|
Year of fee payment: 4
|Sep 3, 2014||AS||Assignment|
Owner name: ATEN INTERNATIONAL CO., LTD., TAIWAN
Free format text: ASSIGNMENT OF ASSIGNORS INTEREST;ASSIGNOR:ATEN TECHNOLOGY, INC.;REEL/FRAME:033654/0300
Effective date: 20140829