10 Main Interfaces Of Industrial PC

We often come into contact with many interfaces of the computer, such as the USB interface is the most common one, and there is also an HDMI interface for external monitors. These interfaces have different shapes and different functions. We mainly explain the functions of the following 10 kinds of interfaces.

The computer interfaces mainly include power input or output, signal input or output (DI/DO), which is used to connect a variety of devices, such as monitors, printers, cameras, mice, keyboards, scanning modules, and other external mechanical devices. Industrial computers have abundant I/O interfaces, too.

1. USB

The USB interface is one of the most common interfaces in our daily life. USB is the abbreviation of Universal Serial Bus in English. It is an external bus standard used to regulate the connection and communication between computers and external devices. Intel, Compaq, Digital, IBM, Microsoft, NEC, Northern Telecom, and other computer and communication companies established, since1995, USB has evolved from version 1.0 to version 4.0. The current mainstream on computers is USB2.0 and USB3.0 versions.

USB has the advantages of fast transmission speed, easy use, support for hot plugging, flexible connection, independent power supply, etc. It can be connected to various peripherals such as keyboard, mouse, and mass storage devices: our common U disk, mouse, keyboard, USB interface printer, etc.

2. LAN / RJ45

The network interface is also called the network port, which is generally exposed to the computer case in the form of RJ45 or LAN. The main function of the network port is to send or receive data. We can understand it like: a computer is equivalent to a house, and the network port is a door, mainly for communicating with the outside world. An industrial computer requires 2 or more network ports.
Network ports are divided into 10M, 100M, 1000M, etc. according to the transmission speed. At present, many computers use 100M network speed (the transmission speed is also related to the network cable and the purchased network service). For optical fiber networks, it is generally above 1000M.
Different computers use different network interface chips. At present, the mainstream ones are Intel network port control chips. For the pursuit of high-cost performance, some use Realtek network port control chips from Taiwan, China. In terms of stability, Intel network ports have better compatibility and performance, especially for industrial computers.

3. DVI

The full name of DVI is Digital Visual Interface, which is a kind of digital video interface. For old computers, the DVI interface is often used to connect the display screen, but the DVI interface is used less and less now.

4. VGA

The full name of VGA is Video Graphics Array, which is an analog signal interface for video graphics arrays. It has 15 pins in three rows, each with five pins. At present, many devices are defined by the VGA interface. It has high resolution and display. Advantages such as fast speed and rich colors. The VGA interface is installed with double screws, which has good stability and is especially suitable for some industrial scenes with high vibration.

5. HDMI

HDMI stands for High Definition Multimedia Interface, which is a digital video and sound transmission interface that can transmit uncompressed audio and video signals. The emergence of the HDMI interface is to replace the older analog signal video and audio transmission.
HDMI is a dedicated digital interface suitable for image transmission. At present, LCD TVs and monitors mostly use HDMI interfaces, which can transmit audio and video signals at the same time, and the maximum data transmission speed is 5Gbps.

6. COM

COM interface is a kind of serial communication port. Generally, there are 9-pin D-type connectors and 25-pin connectors, with a maximum rate of 115200bps. It is generally called COM serial port, including RS232, RS485, RS422, etc.
Old-fashioned computer COM interfaces are mainly used to connect serial mice, modulators, game consoles, and keyboards. At present, these functions have been replaced by USB interfaces. Some industrial equipment controls on the market require COM interfaces, so industrial computers generally have multiple COM interfaces.

7. Headphone & Microphone (Audio) Interface

For laptops, which require multimedia audio output, a headphone jack is a must. Sometimes the equipment has requirements for recording, and there is also a recording hole. Many computers have two holes on the back, one green is the headphone jack, and the red one is the microphone jack. With the current technological development, the headset and microphone interface can be merged into one.

8. Mouse & Keyboard Interface

The PS/2 interface is designed with purple and green round holes for keyboards and mice. It has strong compatibility but does not support hot plugging. If old-fashioned devices need to re-boot the computer when changing the mouse and keyboard, which sometimes damages the computer. Another problem is that the PS/2 pins are not designed for frequent plugging and unplugging. Yes, the stitches are prone to bend or even break if they are used too much.

9. GPIO

GPIO is called General-purpose Input/Output. GPI is a switch analog signal from the computer to an external device, an analog signal from the external device to the computer.
Personal office commercial computers generally have very few GPIO interfaces. For the industrial field, GPIO is a common interface. Its main function is to carry out remote serial communication or control, and it is also one of the devices for weak current control and strong current.

10. Power Output (DC) Interface

Some computers are equipped with a 220V power supply, so when the power is input, a 3-core interface with a long hexagon is used. If the external power supply is converted from 220V to 12V or 24V or 9-36V, a DC power input with a core built in a round hole is generally used.
In order to enhance the stability of the base, the power input of some industrial computer manufacturers is generally changed to a 2-PIN lock pattern input or a 4-Pin pressure input.

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