KR100729755B1 - Composite memory card with built-in communication function and its driving method - Google Patents

Abstract

The present invention relates to a composite memory card having a built-in communication function and a driving method thereof, and more particularly, to a digital camera such as a digital camera, an MP3 player, a digital TV, etc., which does not have a communication function by having its own communication protocol function. The present invention relates to a memory card capable of performing a communication function by being attached to a memory card slot of a home appliance.

According to the present invention, by easily assigning data communication functions to the digital home appliances and portable products that do not consider the communication function at the time of production by a memory card mounting method, the data stored in the memory card can be directly connected to an external server connected via communication without a PC. There is an effect that can be transmitted. In addition, by regularly storing photos, music, video content received from a specific service provider, there is an effect that can be viewed when the user wants.

Memory Card, Communication Protocol, File System, USB, CF, SD, MMC, Memory Stick

Description

Complex memory card having function of communication and its driving method

1 is a block diagram schematically showing the configuration of a composite memory card incorporating a communication function according to a first embodiment of the present invention;

FIG. 2 is a block diagram schematically showing a configuration of a composite memory card having a communication function, wherein a separate program memory unit is provided according to a second embodiment of the present invention; FIG.

3 is a flow chart schematically showing a method of driving a composite memory card incorporating a communication function according to an embodiment of the present invention;

4 is a flowchart illustrating an operation process of step S400 in more detail of a method of driving a composite memory card having a communication function according to an embodiment of the present invention.

<Description of the symbols for the main parts of the drawings>

10: composite memory card 11: memory card interface

12: memory section 121: data memory section

122: program memory unit 13: central processing unit

131: memory card protocol 132: communication protocol

133: file system 14: communication interface unit

20: user host 30: network communication network

40: external server

The present invention relates to a composite memory card having a built-in communication function and a driving method thereof, and more particularly, to a digital camera such as a digital camera, an MP3 player, a digital TV, etc., which does not have a communication function by having its own communication protocol function. The present invention relates to a memory card capable of attaching to a memory card slot of a home appliance and performing a communication function, and a driving method thereof.

Conventional memory card type communication devices include a combo-type universal serial bus (USB) type memory dual purpose wireless LAN card. In addition, a Compact Flash (CF) or Secure Digital (SD) type may implement a wireless LAN card for a memory card as described above.

The main purpose of such a product is to provide a memory card function and a wireless LAN function at the same time through a single expansion slot because a notebook or PDA device emphasizes portability and lacks an expansion slot as compared to a desktop device.

However, the wireless LAN card combined with the memory card plays a role of performing a lower communication protocol such as the physical layer, and can be used only when the user host installed directly supports a higher communication protocol corresponding to an application layer such as TCP / IP. In most home appliances such as digital cameras, MP3 players, and digital TVs that do not directly support a communication function in the user host, there is a problem in that the communication function cannot be directly used only by a lower communication protocol of the WLAN card.

Accordingly, the present invention has been made to solve the above-mentioned conventional problems, the object of the present invention is not only to serve as an expansion memory card that can store data handled in a digital home appliance, but also the digital home appliance has a communication function There is provided a composite memory card having a communication function capable of transmitting stored data to an external device even if it is not present, and a driving method thereof.

The composite memory card with a built-in communication function of the present invention for achieving the above object,

A memory card interface unit for inputting / outputting various data signals with a user host;

A memory unit capable of storing digital data;

Controls data input and output between the memory card interface and the memory unit using an internal memory card protocol, converts the data stored in the memory unit into a signal that can be communicated according to an internal communication protocol, or inputs it through a network communication network. A central processing unit converting the converted communication signal into data that can be stored in a memory according to an internal communication protocol and storing the converted communication signal in the memory unit; And

It characterized in that it comprises a communication interface for outputting the signal received from the central processing unit to a separate external server through a network communication network.

In addition, the method of driving a composite memory card with a built-in communication function of the present invention for achieving the above object,

A step 100 of determining, by the central processing unit, a communication connection state between the composite memory card and the external server;

A step 200 of determining, by the central processing unit, whether a request signal for data input / output is input from an external server when the composite memory card is connected to the external server in step 100;

In step 200, when a request signal for data input / output is input from an external server, the composite memory card operates in an external communication mode for inputting / outputting data with the external server through a network communication network; And

If the composite memory card and the external server are not connected to each other in step 100 or if a request signal for data input / output from the external server is not input in step 200, the composite memory card may request data input / output from the user host. And a step 400 of operating in a memory card mode for inputting / outputting data with the user host.

Hereinafter, a composite memory card having a communication function and a driving method thereof according to an embodiment of the present invention will be described in detail with reference to the accompanying drawings.

Fig. 1 is a block diagram schematically showing the configuration of a composite memory card incorporating a communication function according to the first embodiment of the present invention.

As shown in FIG. 1, the composite memory card 10 is connected to a user host 20 and a network communication network 30. Here, the user host 20 refers to various types of digital home appliances such as a digital camera, an MP3 player, a digital TV, and the like, and the network communication network 30 refers to a computer data communication network using wired or wireless.

The composite memory card 10 is largely comprised of a memory card interface unit 11, a memory unit 12, a central processing unit 13, and a communication interface 14.

The memory card interface unit 11 electrically connects the user host 20 and the memory unit 12 of the compound memory card 10 when the compound memory card 10 is mounted in the memory card slot of the user host 20. It is possible to move the various electrical signals to the state, the composite memory card 10 allows the power from the user host (20).

The memory card interface unit 11 may include a universal serial bus (USB), a compact flash (CF), a secure digital (SD), a multimedia card (MMC), and a memory. It can be configured in various ways such as a stick. The movement of data between the user host 20 and the memory unit 12 through the memory card interface unit 11 is performed in the form of memory card input / output by the memory card protocol 131 rather than transmission according to the communication protocol. That is, the user host 20 recognizes the composite memory card 10 only as an expansion memory card. The memory card protocol 131 depends on the implementation form of the memory card interface unit 11, and if the memory card interface unit 11 is implemented as a universal serial bus (USB), the memory card protocol 131 USB Mass Storage Protocol is used.

Meanwhile, the memory unit 12 stores data input from the central processing unit 13 at the request of the central processing unit 13 or vice versa and outputs the stored data to the central processing unit 13. At this time, the data movement between the memory unit 12 and the central processing unit 13 for data transmission with the external server 40 is in the form of file input / output, the specific format of which is provided in the central processing unit 13 It follows the standard of its own file system 133. Here, the file system 133 may be implemented in various ways such as FAT12 / 16/32, NTFS, LinuxFS, NFS, and the like, but is not limited to any one method.

The central processing unit 13 determines whether the communication interface 14 is connected to the network communication network 30. As a result of the determination, when the communication interface 14 is connected to the network communication network 30, the central processing unit 13 is set inside the communication protocol 132 using the communication protocol 132 provided in the central processing unit 13. The communication between the external server 40 and the composite memory card 10 is controlled based on the information on the external server 40. When the information on the external server 40 is changed, it is possible to maintain communication with the external server 40 by downloading and updating a new communication protocol from the outside.

At this time, the communication protocol 132 may be implemented in hardware in the central processing unit 13, or stored in the form of a program in the memory unit 12, the central processing unit (13) by request to the central processing unit 13 ( 13) may be loaded.

The communication protocol 132 can download and update a new communication protocol program from the outside of the composite memory card 10. That is, the communication protocol is updated by recording a new communication protocol program from the user host 20 through the memory card interface unit 11, or a new communication protocol program from the external server 40 through the communication interface 14. By downloading the update of the communication protocol can be made.

In general, communication protocols consist of several layers, each of which plays an independent role. Communication protocols such as TCP / IP, which are widely used in computer-based data communication, are composed of four or more layers of network access layer, IP layer, transport layer, and application process layer, like the OSI reference model developed by the International Organization for Standardization. The lower layer corresponds to the network access layer, and the higher layer corresponds to the application process layer.

Looking at the role of each communication protocol layer, the lower layer is responsible for the physical signaling of data, the higher layer is dealing with data at the application level such as FTP, TELNET, RLOGIN. Therefore, the composite memory card 10 processes the digital data stored in the memory unit 12 in a packet-transmissible form according to the corresponding communication protocol standard without the help of a separate device, and meets the specifications of the communication interface unit 14. Converts and outputs to the external network communication network 30, the signal input from the external network communication network 30 in the form of digital data that can be stored in the memory unit 12 in accordance with the corresponding communication protocol standard to the memory unit 12 In order to store, all layers of the communication protocol must be provided in the composite memory card 10. For this reason, the central processing unit 13 of the composite memory card 10 of the present invention includes both the physical layer of the communication protocol and all layers including the upper layer. At this time, the communication protocol can be implemented in various ways such as TCP / IP, IPX / SPX, NetBIOS, AppleTalk, and the like, but is not limited to any one method.

The communication interface 14 receives a signal processed and modified by the communication protocol 132 from the central processing unit 13 and outputs it to a separate external server 40 through the network communication network 30, while the external server 40 ) Provides a signal input through the network communication network 30 to the central processing unit (13). In this case, the communication interface 14 may be implemented by applying any one of a wired LAN, a wireless LAN, a wired modem, and a wireless modem, but is not limited to any one method.

FIG. 2 is a block diagram schematically showing a configuration of a composite memory card having a communication function, wherein a separate program memory unit is provided according to a second embodiment of the present invention.

As shown in FIG. 2, the memory unit 12 is divided into two areas, the data memory unit 121 and the program memory unit 122, and the data memory unit 121 is connected to the memory card interface unit 11; While all are connected to the central processing unit 13, the program memory unit 122 is connected only to the central processing unit 13. Other configurations are the same as those of the first embodiment shown in FIG.

The data memory unit 121 may store data in a digital form, and is responsible for storing data input and output through the memory card interface unit 11 and the central processing unit 13. The data memory unit 121 is mainly implemented using a NAND type memory.

The program memory unit 122 converts the data stored in the data memory unit 121 into a communication signal in the central processing unit 13 and outputs the communication signal to the external server 40, and receives the communication signal from the external server 40 to receive the data memory. It is responsible for storing the communication protocol required to restore the digital data in a form that can be stored in the unit 121. The program memory unit 122 is mainly implemented using a NOR type memory.

The central processing unit 13 calls out the communication protocol 132 stored in the program memory unit 122 when the communication interface 14 and the network communication network 30 are connected. Thereafter, the data is read from the data memory unit 121, transformed into a packet-type communication signal in accordance with the communication protocol 132, and output to the communication interface unit 14. In addition, the central processing unit 13 restores the communication signal input from the communication interface unit 14 into a form of data that can be stored in the memory in accordance with the communication protocol 132 called out from the program memory unit 122 and the data memory unit 121. Save the restored data.

The communication protocol stored in the program memory unit 122 may download and update a new program from the outside, and the update may be performed through any medium of the user host 20 or the external server 40.

The communication interface 14 is responsible for electrically connecting the central processing unit 13 and the network communication network 30 so that the composite memory card 10 can exchange communication signals with the external server 40. Receives the signal modified by the communication protocol 132 from the central processing unit 13 and outputs to the separate external server 40 through the network communication network 30, while the network communication network 30 from the external server 40 Provides a signal input through the central processing unit (13). In this case, the communication interface 14 may be implemented by applying any one of a wired LAN, a wireless LAN, a wired modem, and a wireless modem, but is not limited to any one method.

3 is a flowchart schematically showing a method of driving a composite memory card incorporating a communication function of the present invention.

As shown in FIG. 3, the central processing unit 13 of the composite memory card 10 first determines whether the composite memory card 10 operates in an external communication mode or a memory card mode. The communication connection state between the composite memory card 10 and the external server 40 is determined (S100). In this case, the communication connection between the composite memory card 10 and the external server 40 may be in the form of wired communication or wireless communication.

As a result of the determination in step 100 (S100), if the composite memory card 10 and the external server 40 is connected through a network communication network and communication between them is possible, the central processing unit 13 from the external server 40 It is determined whether a request signal for data input / output is input (S200). At this time, the request signal for data input and output from the external server 40 may be an upgrade request signal for the communication protocol 132 in the composite memory card 10, or may be a request signal for transmission of data other than the communication protocol. .

When the request signal for data input / output is input from the external server 40 as a result of the determination in step 200 (S200), the central processing unit 13 controls the composite memory card 10 to operate in an external communication mode (S300). ). When the composite memory card 10 operates in the external communication mode, input / output of data is performed through communication with the external server 40 through the network communication network 30, and data input / output with the user host 20 is not performed. After all data transmission with the external server 40 through the network communication network 30 is finished, the central processing unit 13 determines whether the composite memory card 10 operates in the external communication mode or the memory card mode. In order to determine, the process from step 100 (S100) is repeated again.

However, even if the composite memory card 10 is not in communication with the external server 40 in step 100 (S100) or is in communication, the composite memory card 10 is connected to the external server in step 200 (S200). If the request signal for data input / output is not detected from the 40, the communication with the external server 40 is not made, so the central processing unit 13 controls the composite memory card 10 to operate in the memory card mode ( S400). When the composite memory card 10 operates in the memory card mode, input / output of data is performed only between the composite memory card 10 and the user host 20, and the data between the composite memory card 10 and the external server 40. There is no communication. When a specific reason occurs in the composite memory card 10 operating in the memory card mode, a switch is made to an external communication mode. If a specific reason does not occur, data input / output is performed between user hosts while continuing to operate in the memory card mode. A process of switching from the memory card mode to the external communication mode will be described in detail with reference to FIG. 4.

FIG. 4 is a flowchart illustrating an operation process of operation 400 of operating a memory card mode in a method of driving a composite memory card having a communication function according to an embodiment of the present invention in more detail.

Even when the composite memory card 10 is operating in the memory card mode, there is a case where switching to the external communication mode is required as described above. While the composite memory card 10 receives data from the user host 20 or outputs data to the user host 20, a data input / output request signal may be received from the external server 40. At this time, it should be determined whether to keep data input / output with the user host 20 or stop data input / output with the user host 20 and start communication with the external server 40.

Here, the composite memory card 10 may operate according to whether the composite memory card 10 operates in a data input mode for receiving data from the user host 20 or in a data output mode for outputting data to the user host 20. How 10 responds to the data input / output request signal received from the external server 40 is determined.

If the composite memory card 10 is operating in the data input mode, once the data stored in the memory unit 12 is completely changed to the new data input from the user host 20, communication with the external server 40 is established. Should be done. Accordingly, when the data input mode is operated, the data input mode is maintained unless the data input from the user host 20 is cut off.

However, when the composite memory card 10 is operating in the data output mode, data input / output between the composite memory card 10 and the user host 20 should be performed after new data input from the external server 40 is applied. Before the data is applied, the data obtained from the compound memory card 10 by the user host 20 is not necessary. Therefore, even if the user host 20 is receiving data from the composite memory card 10, the movement of the data is stopped and communication between the composite memory card 10 and the external server 40 is started.

In this manner, the composite memory card 10 undergoes the following process in order to operate by being switched from the memory card mode to the external communication mode.

As shown in FIG. 4, the composite memory card 10 receives a data input / output request signal from the user host 20, receives data from the user host 20, and stores the data in the memory unit 12. When the data stored in the memory input unit 12 needs to be output to the user host 20, the data output mode operates in operation S410.

Thereafter, the composite memory card 10 determines whether a request signal for data input / output is input from the external server 40, and if there is no request signal, the previous step to continue data input / output with the user host 20. The process proceeds to step 410 (S410).

However, when the request signal for data input / output is input from the external server 40 in step 420 (S420), the communication with the external server 40 in accordance with the data movement direction between the composite memory card 10 and the user host 20 The decision is made. Since a process of detecting a signal from the external server 40 is performed during data movement between the composite memory card 10 and the user host 20, when a signal is received from the external server 40 at any time during data movement, The next step is determined by determining the operation mode of the memory card 10.

As a result of determination, if the composite memory card 10 is not in the data input mode for receiving data from the user host 20, the composite memory card 10 may be operating in the data output mode or may have no data movement at all. . Therefore, in this case, as described above, the conventional data movement must be stopped and communication with the external server 40 must be started. Therefore, the composite memory card 10 operates in an external communication mode for inputting / outputting data with the external server 40. The process proceeds to step 300 (S300) (S430).

However, if the current composite memory card 10 is a data input mode for receiving data from the user host 20 in operation 430 (S430), the composite memory card 10 may store data for more than a predetermined time from the user host 20. The next step is determined by determining whether the input has been interrupted. As a result of the determination, if there is no input of data for a predetermined time, it is regarded that there is no further input of data, and the composite memory card 10 operates in an external communication mode for inputting / outputting data with the external server 40 (S300). Proceed. However, if data is input within a certain time, since data is continuously input from the user host 10, the memory card mode must be maintained as described above. Therefore, the composite memory card 10 proceeds to step 410 (S410) in which data is input and output to and from the user host 20 (S440).

As such, the external communication mode and the memory card mode of the composite memory card 10 are mutually exclusive, and the two types of modes are not simultaneously executed. That is, data is not moved between the composite memory card 10 and the user host 20 while communication between the composite memory card 10 and the external server 40 is performed. While the card 10 is recognized as a memory card and the data is stored in the compound memory card 10 or data is being loaded, communication is not performed between the compound memory card 10 and the external server 40.

If the user host 20 supports the communication protocol, the external communication mode and the memory card mode of the composite memory card 10 do not need to be mutually exclusive. That is, when the external communication mode and the memory card mode described above are mutually exclusive, the communication function is not provided in the user host 20, and the composite memory card 10 needs to control communication with the external server 40. Corresponds to If the user host 20 has a communication protocol, the user host 20 inputs and outputs data to and from the compound memory card 10 and simultaneously stores data stored in the user host 20 in the compound memory card 10. Data may be transmitted to the external server 40 using a lower layer of the communication protocol, that is, a physical layer. This corresponds to a technique known in the art.

Accordingly, when the user host 20 is equipped with a communication function, communication with the external server 40 may be performed in the same manner as in the prior art, and even when the user host 20 is not equipped with a communication function, Accordingly, the data stored in the user host 20 can be transmitted to the external server 40 through the network communication network 30 in a manner in which the external communication mode and the memory card mode operate mutually exclusively. In addition, the variation of the operation method according to the communication function of the user host 20 may be implemented in one composite memory card 10.

Although the present invention described above has been described with reference to the preferred embodiments, those skilled in the art can variously modify the present invention without departing from the spirit and scope of the present invention as set forth in the claims below. It will be appreciated that this can be changed.

As described above, according to the composite memory card having a built-in communication function according to the present invention, communication with the outside can be made by mounting a memory card so that the digital home appliance and a portable product that do not consider the communication function at the time of production can be easily The data communication function can be given. Accordingly, there is an effect that can directly transmit the data stored in the memory card to the external server connected by communication.

In addition, when applied to a digital camera, there is an effect that can directly transfer digital image data to a digital photo studio without a PC. In addition, when connected to an electronic picture frame, a digital audio device and a digital TV, the user can regularly view and store photos, music, and video contents received from a specific service provider at a desired time.

Claims (11)

delete delete A memory card interface unit for inputting / outputting various data signals with a user host; A memory unit capable of storing digital data; Controls data input and output between the memory card interface and the memory unit using an internal memory card protocol, converts the data stored in the memory unit into a signal that can be communicated according to an internal communication protocol, or outputs the data through a network communication network. A central processing unit converting a communication signal into data that can be stored in a memory according to an internal communication protocol and storing the communication signal in the memory unit; And A communication interface unit for outputting a signal received from the central processing unit to a separate external server through a network communication network; It is configured to include, And the central processing unit comprises an internal file system for storing data input through a network communication network in a form recognizable by a user host. The method of claim 3, wherein And a memory area capable of embedding a communication protocol of all layers including a physical layer and an upper layer in the memory unit. The method of claim 4, wherein The communication protocol built in the memory unit is a composite memory card with a built-in communication function, characterized in that the update from the user host. The method of claim 4, wherein The communication protocol built in the memory unit is a composite memory card with a built-in communication function, characterized in that the update from the external server. The method according to any one of claims 3 to 6, And the memory card further comprises a program memory unit connected to the central processing unit and storing a communication protocol of all layers including a physical layer and an upper layer thereof. The method according to any one of claims 3 to 6, The memory card interface may include a universal serial bus (USB), a compact flash (CF), a secure digital (SD), a multimedia card (MMC: MultiMedia Card) and a memory stick (MS: Memory Stick). A composite memory card with a built-in communication function, characterized by applying any one of). The method according to any one of claims 3 to 6, The communication interface is a composite memory card with a built-in communication function, characterized in that for applying any one of the wired LAN, wireless LAN, wired modem and wireless modem. A step 100 of determining, by the central processing unit, a communication connection state between the composite memory card and the external server; A step 200 of determining, by the central processing unit, whether a request signal for data input / output is input from an external server when the composite memory card is connected to the external server in step 100; In step 200, when a request signal for data input / output is input from an external server, the composite memory card operates in an external communication mode for inputting / outputting data with the external server through a network communication network; And If the composite memory card and the external server are not connected to each other in step 100 or if a request signal for data input / output from the external server is not input in step 200, the composite memory card may request data input / output from the user host. Step 400 of operating in a memory card mode for inputting / outputting data with the user host; Method of driving a composite memory card with a communication function, characterized in that it comprises a. The method of claim 10, In step 400, the composite memory card receives a data input / output request signal from a user host, and operates in a data input mode for receiving data from the user host or in a data output mode for outputting data to the user host. Step 410; In step 420, the composite memory card determines whether a request signal for data input / output is input from an external server, and if there is no request signal, proceeds to step 410; When a request signal for data input / output from the external server is input in step 420, it is determined whether the current composite memory card is in a data input mode, and if it is not in the data input mode, step 300 is performed; And If the current composite memory card is in the data input mode in step 430, if data is not input from the user host for more than a predetermined time, the process proceeds to step 300. If the data is input within a predetermined time, the process proceeds to step 410. Step 440; Method of driving a composite memory card with a communication function, characterized in that it comprises a.

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