UNIVERSAL SERIAL BUS (USB) SYSTEM SUPPORTING DISPLAY ALTERNATE MODE FUNCTIONALITY ON A USB TYPE-C ADAPTER

• US 20180143916A1
• Filed: 11/22/2016
• Published: 05/24/2018
• Est. Priority Date: 11/22/2016
• Status: Active Grant

• Current Assignee: Qualcomm, Inc.
• Original Assignee: Qualcomm, Inc.
• Inventors: Gupta, Amit, Leung, Michael
• Granted Patent: US 10,331,579 B2
• Time in Patent Office: Days
• CPC Class Codes: G06F 1/266 Arrangements to supply power to external peripherals either directly from the computer or under computer control, e.g. supply of power through the communication port, computer controlled power-strips
• CPC Class Codes: G06F 13/102 where the programme performs an interfacing function, e.g. device driver G06F13/105 takes precedence; scheduling within device drivers G06F9/52; contention policies within device drivers G06F9/4881
• CPC Class Codes: G06F 13/385 for adaptation of a particular data processing system to different peripheral devices
• CPC Class Codes: G06F 13/387 for adaptation of different data processing systems to different peripheral devices, e.g. protocol converters for incompatible systems, open system
• CPC Class Codes: G06F 13/4068 Electrical coupling
• CPC Class Codes: G06F 13/4282 on a serial bus, e.g. I2C bus, SPI bus on daisy chain buses G06F13/4247
• CPC Class Codes: G06F 2213/0042 Universal serial bus [USB]
• CPC Class Codes: Y02D 10/00 Energy efficient computing, e.g. low power processors, power management or thermal management

Abstract

A Universal Serial Bus (USB) system supporting Display Alternate Mode functionality on a USB Type-C adapter is disclosed. In one aspect, a display controller in a display source device can detect a display sink device attached to a display connector of a USB Type-C split adapter and communicate a display data signal to at least three preconfigured display data pins without negotiating a pin assignment with the attached display sink device. In another aspect, the display source device can provide the display data signal to the preconfigured display data pins independent of attachment of the display sink device. By skipping the pin assignment negotiation or providing the display data signal regardless of attachment of the display sink device, it is possible to support Alternate Modes functionality without requiring a Power Delivery (PD) circuit, thus helping to reduce cost, power consumption, and implementation complexity of the display source device.

Claims

1. A Universal Serial Bus (USB) system, comprising:

a USB Type-C split adapter, comprising;

a USB Type-C connector comprising a plurality of first data pins and a plurality of second data pins;

a display connector comprising a plurality of display data pins conductively coupled to the plurality of first data pins in the USB Type-C connector, respectively; and

a USB Revision 2.0 (USB 2.0) connector comprising a plurality of USB 2.0 data pins conductively coupled to the plurality of second data pins in the USB Type-C connector, respectively; and

a display source device, comprising;

a USB Type-C adapter, comprising;

a plurality of first interface data pins conductively coupled to the plurality of first data pins in the USB Type-C connector, respectively; and

a plurality of second interface data pins conductively coupled to the plurality of second data pins in the USB Type-C connector, respectively; and

a display controller configured to;

detect a display sink device attached to the display connector; and

communicate a display data signal to at least three preconfigured display data pins among the plurality of first interface data pins independent of a pin assignment negotiation with the attached display sink device in a USB Power Delivery (PD) Structured Vendor Defined Message (VDM).

2. The USB system of claim 1, wherein the display source device further comprises a USB host controller configured to:

detect a USB 2.0 client device attached to the USB 2.0 connector; and

communicate a USB 2.0 data signal via the plurality of second interface data pins in response to detecting the USB 2.0 client device attached to the USB 2.0 connector of the USB Type-C split adapter.

3. The USB system of claim 1, wherein the display source device further comprises a USB client controller configured to:

detect a USB 2.0 host device attached to the USB 2.0 connector; and

communicate a USB 2.0 data signal via the plurality of second interface data pins in response to detecting the USB 2.0 host device attached to the USB 2.0 connector of the USB Type-C split adapter.

4. The USB system of claim 1, wherein:

the USB Type-C connector further comprises at least one power pin;

the USB 2.0 connector further comprises at least one USB 2.0 power pin conductively coupled to the at least one power pin in the USB Type-C connector;

the USB Type-C adapter further comprises at least one interface power pin conductively coupled to the at least one power pin in the USB Type-C connector; and

the display source device further comprises a USB client controller configured to;

detect a USB charger attached to the USB 2.0 connector; and

receive a power signal from the USB charger via the at least one interface power pin in response to detecting the USB charger attached to the USB 2.0 connector of the USB Type-C split adapter.

5. The USB system of claim 1, wherein the display controller is further configured to communicate the display data signal to at least four preconfigured display data pins among the plurality of first interface data pins.

6. The USB system of claim 1, wherein the display controller is further configured to communicate the display data signal to at least six preconfigured display data pins among the plurality of first interface data pins.

7. The USB system of claim 1, wherein the display controller is further configured to communicate the display data signal to eight preconfigured display data pins among the plurality of first interface data pins.

8. The USB system of claim 1, wherein the display controller is configured to detect the display sink device attached to the display connector via a preconfigured sink device detection pin among the plurality of first interface data pins.

9. The USB system of claim 1, wherein the display controller is further configured to perform display port (DP) auxiliary communication and link training in two different polarities by reversing transmit and receive pairing of the plurality of first interface data pins.

10. A Universal Serial Bus (USB) system, comprising:

a USB Type-C split adapter, comprising;

a USB Type-C connector comprising a plurality of first data pins and a plurality of second data pins;

a display connector comprising a plurality of display data pins conductively coupled to the plurality of first data pins in the USB Type-C connector, respectively; and

a USB Revision 2.0 (USB 2.0) connector comprising a plurality of USB 2.0 data pins conductively coupled to the plurality of second data pins in the USB Type-C connector, respectively; and

a means for providing a display data signal, comprising;

a means for interfacing with the USB Type-C connector, comprising;

a plurality of first interface data pins conductively coupled to the plurality of first data pins in the USB Type-C connector, respectively; and

a plurality of second interface data pins conductively coupled to the plurality of second data pins in the USB Type-C connector, respectively; and

a means for controlling the display data signal configured to;

detect a display sink device attached to the display connector; and

communicate the display data signal to at least three preconfigured display data pins among the plurality of first interface data pins independent of a pin assignment negotiation with the attached display sink device in a USB Power Delivery (PD) Structured Vendor Defined Message (VDM).

11. A method for communicating a display data signal over a Universal Serial Bus (USB) Type-C adapter, comprising:

attaching a USB Type-C split adapter to a USB Type-C adapter in a display source device, wherein;

the USB Type-C split adapter comprises;

a USB Type-C connector comprising a plurality of first data pins and a plurality of second data pins;

a display connector comprising a plurality of display data pins conductively coupled to the plurality of first data pins in the USB Type-C connector, respectively; and

a USB Revision 2.0 (USB 2.0) connector comprising a plurality of USB 2.0 data pins conductively coupled to the plurality of second data pins in the USB Type-C connector, respectively; and

the USB Type-C adapter comprises;

a plurality of first interface data pins conductively coupled to the plurality of first data pins in the USB Type-C connector, respectively; and

a plurality of second interface data pins conductively coupled to the plurality of second data pins in the USB Type-C connector, respectively;

detecting a display sink device attached to the display connector of the USB Type-C split adapter; and

communicating a display data signal to at least three preconfigured display data pins among the plurality of first interface data pins independent of a pin assignment negotiation with the attached display sink device in a USB Power Delivery (PD) Structured Vendor Defined Message (VDM).

12. The method of claim 11, further comprising:

detecting a USB 2.0 client device attached to the USB 2.0 connector; and

communicating a USB 2.0 data signal via the plurality of second interface data pins in response to detecting the USB 2.0 client device attached to the USB 2.0 connector of the USB Type-C split adapter.

13. The method of claim 11, further comprising:

detecting a USB 2.0 host device attached to the USB 2.0 connector; and

communicating a USB 2.0 data signal via the plurality of second interface data pins in response to detecting the USB 2.0 host device attached to the USB 2.0 connector of the USB Type-C split adapter.

14. The method of claim 11, further comprising:

detecting a USB charger attached to the USB 2.0 connector; and

receiving a power signal from the USB charger via at least one interface power pin in the USB Type-C adapter in response to detecting the USB charger attached to the USB 2.0 connector of the USB Type-C split adapter.

15. The method of claim 11, further comprising communicating the display data signal to at least four preconfigured display data pins among the plurality of first interface data pins.

16. The method of claim 11, further comprising communicating the display data signal to at least six preconfigured display data pins among the plurality of first interface data pins.

17. The method of claim 11, further comprising communicating the display data signal to eight preconfigured display data pins among the plurality of first interface data pins.

18. The method of claim 11, further comprising detecting the display sink device attached to the display connector via a preconfigured sink device detection pin among the plurality of first interface data pins.

19. The method of claim 11, further comprising performing display port (DP) auxiliary communication and link training in two different polarities by reversing transmit and receive pairing of the plurality of first interface data pins.

20. A Universal Serial Bus (USB) system, comprising:

a USB Type-C split adapter, comprising;

a USB Type-C connector comprising a plurality of first data pins and a plurality of second data pins;

a display connector comprising a plurality of display data pins conductively coupled to the plurality of first data pins in the USB Type-C connector, respectively; and

a USB Revision 2.0 (USB 2.0) connector comprising a plurality of USB 2.0 data pins conductively coupled to the plurality of second data pins in the USB Type-C connector, respectively; and

a display source device, comprising;

a USB Type-C adapter, comprising;

a plurality of first interface data pins conductively coupled to the plurality of first data pins in the USB Type-C connector, respectively; and

a plurality of second interface data pins conductively coupled to the plurality of second data pins in the USB Type-C connector, respectively; and

a display controller configured to communicate a display data signal to at least three preconfigured display data pins among the plurality of first interface data pins independent of whether a display sink device is attached to the display connector.

21. The USB system of claim 20, wherein the display source device further comprises a USB host controller configured to:

detect a USB 2.0 client device attached to the USB 2.0 connector; and

communicate a USB 2.0 data signal via the plurality of second interface data pins in response to detecting the USB 2.0 client device attached to the USB 2.0 connector of the USB Type-C split adapter.

22. The USB system of claim 20, wherein the display source device further comprises a USB client controller configured to:

detect a USB 2.0 host device attached to the USB 2.0 connector; and

communicate a USB 2.0 data signal via the plurality of second interface data pins in response to detecting the USB 2.0 host device attached to the USB 2.0 connector of the USB Type-C split adapter.

23. The USB system of claim 20, wherein:

the USB Type-C connector further comprises at least one power pin;

the USB 2.0 connector further comprises at least one USB 2.0 power pin conductively coupled to the at least one power pin in the USB Type-C connector;

the USB Type-C adapter further comprises at least one interface power pin conductively coupled to the at least one power pin in the USB Type-C connector; and

the display source device further comprises a USB client controller configured to;

detect a USB charger attached to the USB 2.0 connector; and

receive a power signal from the USB charger via the at least one interface power pin in response to detecting the USB charger attached to the USB 2.0 connector of the USB Type-C split adapter.

24. The USB system of claim 20, wherein the display controller is further configured to communicate the display data signal to at least four preconfigured display data pins among the plurality of first interface data pins.

25. The USB system of claim 20, wherein the display controller is further configured to communicate the display data signal to at least six preconfigured display data pins among the plurality of first interface data pins.

26. The USB system of claim 20, wherein the display controller is further configured to communicate the display data signal to eight preconfigured display data pins among the plurality of first interface data pins.

27. The USB system of claim 20, wherein the display controller is further configured to perform display port (DP) auxiliary communication and link training in two different polarities by reversing transmit and receive pairing of the plurality of first interface data pins.

28. A Universal Serial Bus (USB) system, comprising:

a USB Type-C split adapter, comprising;

a USB Type-C connector comprising a plurality of first data pins and a plurality of second data pins;

a display connector comprising a plurality of display data pins conductively coupled to the plurality of first data pins in the USB Type-C connector, respectively; and

a USB Revision 2.0 (USB 2.0) connector comprising a plurality of USB 2.0 data pins conductively coupled to the plurality of second data pins in the USB Type-C connector, respectively; and

a means for providing a display data signal, comprising;

a means for interfacing with the USB Type-C connector, comprising;

a plurality of first interface data pins conductively coupled to the plurality of first data pins in the USB Type-C connector, respectively; and

a plurality of second interface data pins conductively coupled to the plurality of second data pins in the USB Type-C connector, respectively; and

a means for controlling the display data signal configured to communicate the display data signal to at least three preconfigured display data pins among the plurality of first interface data pins independent of whether a display sink device is attached to the display connector.

29. A method for communicating a display data signal over a Universal Serial Bus (USB) Type-C adapter, comprising:

attaching a USB Type-C split adapter to a USB Type-C adapter in a display source device, wherein;

the USB Type-C split adapter comprises;

a USB Type-C connector comprising a plurality of first data pins and a plurality of second data pins;

a display connector comprising a plurality of display data pins conductively coupled to the plurality of first data pins in the USB Type-C connector, respectively; and

a USB Revision 2.0 (USB 2.0) connector comprising a plurality of USB 2.0 data pins conductively coupled to the plurality of second data pins in the USB Type-C connector, respectively; and

the USB Type-C adapter comprises;

a plurality of first interface data pins conductively coupled to the plurality of first data pins in the USB Type-C connector, respectively; and

a plurality of second interface data pins conductively coupled to the plurality of second data pins in the USB Type-C connector, respectively; and

communicating a display data signal to at least three preconfigured display data pins among the plurality of first interface data pins independent of whether a display sink device is attached to the display connector of the USB Type-C split adapter.

30. The method of claim 29, further comprising:

detecting a USB 2.0 client device attached to the USB 2.0 connector; and

communicating a USB 2.0 data signal via the plurality of second interface data pins in response to detecting the USB 2.0 client device attached to the USB 2.0 connector of the USB Type-C split adapter.

31. The method of claim 29, further comprising:

detecting a USB 2.0 host device attached to the USB 2.0 connector; and

communicating a USB 2.0 data signal via the plurality of second interface data pins in response to detecting the USB 2.0 host device attached to the USB 2.0 connector of the USB Type-C split adapter.

32. The method of claim 29, further comprising:

detecting a USB charger attached to the USB 2.0 connector; and

receiving a power signal from the USB charger via at least one interface power pin in the USB Type-C adapter in response to detecting the USB charger attached to the USB 2.0 connector of the USB Type-C split adapter.

33. The method of claim 29, further comprising communicating the display data signal to at least four preconfigured display data pins among the plurality of first interface data pins.

34. The method of claim 29, further comprising communicating the display data signal to at least six preconfigured display data pins among the plurality of first interface data pins.

35. The method of claim 29, further comprising communicating the display data signal to eight preconfigured display data pins among the plurality of first interface data pins.

36. The method of claim 29, further comprising performing display port (DP) auxiliary communication and link training in two different polarities by reversing transmit and receive pairing of the plurality of first interface data pins.

37. A Universal Serial Bus (USB) system, comprising:

a USB Type-C split adapter, comprising;

a USB Type-C connector comprising a plurality of first data pins and a plurality of second data pins;

a display connector comprising a plurality of display data pins conductively coupled to the plurality of first data pins in the USB Type-C connector, respectively; and

a USB Revision 2.0 (USB 2.0) connector comprising a plurality of USB 2.0 data pins conductively coupled to the plurality of second data pins in the USB Type-C connector, respectively;

a display sink device comprising a display connector interface, the display connector interface comprising a plurality of display interface data pins conductively coupled to the plurality of display data pins in the display connector, respectively; and

a display source device, comprising;

a USB Type-C adapter, comprising;

a plurality of first interface data pins conductively coupled to the plurality of first data pins in the USB Type-C connector, respectively; and

a plurality of second interface data pins conductively coupled to the plurality of second data pins in the USB Type-C connector, respectively; and

a display controller configured to;

detect the display sink device attached to the display connector; and

communicate a display data signal to at least three preconfigured display data pins among the plurality of first interface data pins independent of a pin assignment negotiation with the attached display sink device in a USB Power Delivery (PD) Structured Vendor Defined Message (VDM).

38. The USB system of claim 37, wherein the display source device further comprises a USB host controller configured to:

detect a USB 2.0 client device attached to the USB 2.0 connector; and

communicate a USB 2.0 data signal via the plurality of second interface data pins in response to detecting the USB 2.0 client device attached to the USB 2.0 connector of the USB Type-C split adapter.

39. The USB system of claim 37, wherein the display source device further comprises a USB client controller configured to:

detect a USB 2.0 host device attached to the USB 2.0 connector; and

communicate a USB 2.0 data signal via the plurality of second interface data pins in response to detecting the USB 2.0 host device attached to the USB 2.0 connector of the USB Type-C split adapter.

40. The USB system of claim 37, wherein:

the USB Type-C connector further comprises at least one power pin;

the USB 2.0 connector further comprises at least one USB 2.0 power pin conductively coupled to the at least one power pin in the USB Type-C connector;

the USB Type-C adapter further comprises at least one interface power pin conductively coupled to the at least one power pin in the USB Type-C connector; and

the display source device further comprises a USB client controller configured to;

detect a USB charger attached to the USB 2.0 connector; and

receive a power signal from the USB charger via the at least one interface power pin in response to detecting the USB charger attached to the USB 2.0 connector of the USB Type-C split adapter.

41. A Universal Serial Bus (USB) system, comprising:

a USB Type-C split adapter, comprising;

a USB Type-C connector comprising a plurality of first data pins and a plurality of second data pins;

a display connector comprising a plurality of display data pins conductively coupled to the plurality of first data pins in the USB Type-C connector, respectively; and

a USB Revision 2.0 (USB 2.0) connector comprising a plurality of USB 2.0 data pins conductively coupled to the plurality of second data pins in the USB Type-C connector, respectively;

a display sink device comprising a display connector interface, the display connector interface comprising a plurality of display interface data pins conductively coupled to the plurality of display data pins in the display connector, respectively; and

a display source device, comprising;

a USB Type-C adapter, comprising;

a plurality of first interface data pins conductively coupled to the plurality of first data pins in the USB Type-C connector, respectively; and

a plurality of second interface data pins conductively coupled to the plurality of second data pins in the USB Type-C connector, respectively; and

a display controller configured to communicate a display data signal to at least three preconfigured display data pins among the plurality of first interface data pins independent of whether the display sink device is attached to the display connector.

42. The USB system of claim 41, wherein the display source device further comprises a USB host controller configured to:

detect a USB 2.0 client device attached to the USB 2.0 connector; and

communicate a USB 2.0 data signal via the plurality of second interface data pins in response to detecting the USB 2.0 client device attached to the USB 2.0 connector of the USB Type-C split adapter.

43. The USB system of claim 41, wherein the display source device further comprises a USB client controller configured to:

detect a USB 2.0 host device attached to the USB 2.0 connector; and

communicate a USB 2.0 data signal via the plurality of second interface data pins in response to detecting the USB 2.0 host device attached to the USB 2.0 connector of the USB Type-C split adapter.

44. The USB system of claim 41, wherein:

the USB Type-C connector further comprises at least one power pin;

the USB 2.0 connector further comprises at least one USB 2.0 power pin conductively coupled to the at least one power pin in the USB Type-C connector;

the USB Type-C adapter further comprises at least one interface power pin conductively coupled to the at least one power pin in the USB Type-C connector; and

the display source device further comprises a USB client controller configured to;

detect a USB charger attached to the USB 2.0 connector; and

receive a power signal from the USB charger via the at least one interface power pin in response to detecting the USB charger attached to the USB 2.0 connector of the USB Type-C split adapter.

45. A Universal Serial Bus (USB) Type-C split adapter, comprising:

a USB Type-C connector comprising a plurality of first data pins, a plurality of second data pins, and at least one power pin;

a display connector comprising a plurality of display data pins;

a USB Revision 2.0 (USB 2.0) connector comprising a plurality of USB 2.0 data pins and at least one USB 2.0 power pin; and

a cable splitter coupled to the USB Type-C connector over a Type-C cable section, to the display connector over a display device cable section, and to the USB 2.0 connector over a USB 2.0 device cable section, wherein;

the Type-C cable section comprises;

at least four first conductive wires coupled to at least four first data pins among the plurality of first data pins;

a plurality of second conductive wires coupled to the plurality of second data pins, respectively; and

at least one third conductive wire coupled to the at least one power pin;

the display device cable section comprises at least four display device conductive wires configured to couple the at least four first conductive wires to at least four display data pins among the plurality of display data pins, respectively; and

the USB 2.0 device cable section comprises;

a plurality of first USB 2.0 device conductive wires configured to couple the plurality of second conductive wires to the plurality of USB 2.0 data pins, respectively; and

at least one second USB 2.0 device conductive wire configured to couple the at least one third conductive wire to the at least one USB 2.0 power pin.

46. A Universal Serial Bus (USB) system, comprising:

a USB Type-C split adapter, comprising;

a USB Type-C connector comprising a plurality of first data pins and a plurality of second data pins;

a display connector comprising a plurality of display data pins conductively coupled to the plurality of first data pins in the USB Type-C connector, respectively;

a USB Revision 2.0 (USB 2.0) connector comprising a plurality of USB 2.0 data pins conductively coupled to the plurality of second data pins in the USB Type-C connector, respectively; and

a dongle-side power delivery (PD) circuit; and

a display source device, comprising;

a PD circuit; and

a USB Type-C adapter, comprising;

a plurality of first interface data pins conductively coupled to the plurality of first data pins in the USB Type-C connector, respectively;

a plurality of second interface data pins conductively coupled to the plurality of second data pins in the USB Type-C connector, respectively; and

a bypass switch configured to enable and disable the dongle-side PD circuit;

wherein the dongle-side PD circuit is configured to communicate a USB PD Structured Vendor Defined Message (VDM) with the PD circuit when the dongle-side PD circuit is enabled.