JP2002351809A - Function expansion device by pc card - Google Patents

Abstract

PROBLEM TO BE SOLVED: To facilitate functional expansion with minimum cost and minimum size and capacity in expanding the function of peripheral devices by using a PC card. SOLUTION: An adapter module is composed of slots 31, 32 equipped with one or more PC cards are detachably, an interface 20 connected to an input/ output port of a peripheral device 10, and a necessary electronic device 33 for controlling input and output of data between the PC cards 40, 41 and the peripheral device 10. Software 50 performing input and output of data between the equipped PC cards 40, 41 and the peripheral device 10 is installed and simultaneously, an adapter module 30 is connected with the peripheral 10. Thereby, the functions of the peripheral device 10 are expanded in accordance with the kinds of PC cards 40, 41 attached to the adapter module 30.

Description

DETAILED DESCRIPTION OF THE INVENTION

[0001]

TECHNICAL FIELD The present invention relates to a printer, a CRT, and the like.
The present invention relates to a device for extending the function of a peripheral device, such as an output device such as a scanner, a copier, a projector, and a home electric appliance, which does not have a PCMCIA standard slot, by using a PC card.

[0002]

2. Description of the Related Art In recent years, with the spread of networks, various peripheral devices such as printers, CRTs, and other output devices, scanners, copiers, projectors, and home electric appliances have been connected to LANs (local area networks). There is a demand that peripheral devices be connected via the Internet and function as terminal devices of a network.

[0003] On the other hand, peripheral devices are used for a specific purpose, and therefore are not usually provided with functions such as network communication and a modem. Therefore, PCMCIA (Person
It is necessary to use a PC card (PCMCIA card) of the PC standard (PCMCIA card) of the standard of the Computer Association of the United States to expand the functions of peripheral devices.

However, these peripheral devices include PCMCI
A slot of the A standard is not mounted, and a PC card cannot be directly mounted.

[0005] Further, since these peripheral devices are used for specific purposes, unlike a personal computer, they do not have a general-purpose extension interface. Peripheral devices have special interfaces.

Therefore, in order to extend the functions of the peripheral device using the PC card, as shown in FIG.
Special interface (input / output port) 2 of the personal computer 3 and a general-purpose interface (input / output port) 4 of the personal computer 3 via a connection cable 8 and a connector 5 for conversion, and connected to the slot 6 of the personal computer 3. , The PC card 7 had to be inserted.

However, if the personal computer 3 and the conversion connector 5 are prepared only for the purpose of expanding the functions of the peripheral device 1, the cost increases. In addition, a place for installing the personal computer 3 and a place for laying the connection cable 8 are required, which increases the space. For this reason, the work and equipment for expanding the functions of the peripheral device 1 become large, and the function expansion cannot be performed easily.

Accordingly, an object of the present invention is to extend the functions of peripheral devices by using a PC card at a minimum cost and space, thereby facilitating the expansion of functions. .

[0009]

Means and Effects for Solving the Problems The first aspect of the present invention.
The invention provides a slot in which one or a plurality of PC cards are removably mounted, an interface connected to an input / output port of a peripheral device, and controls data input / output between the mounted PC card and the peripheral device. And an electronic module necessary for the adapter module, and the adapter module is installed with software for executing data input / output processing between the attached PC card and the peripheral device. An adapter module is connected to the peripheral device, and the function of the peripheral device is expanded according to the type of PC card mounted on the adapter module.

According to the first invention, as shown in FIG.
Alternatively, slots 31 and 32 in which a plurality of PC cards 40 and 41 are detachably mounted, an interface 20 connected to the input / output port 12 of the peripheral device 10, and a connection between the mounted PC cards 40 and 41 and the peripheral device 10. The adapter module 30 is composed of electronic components 33 necessary for controlling data input / output between them. Then, as shown in FIG. 4, software 50 for executing data input / output processing between the attached PC cards 40 and 41 and the peripheral device 10 is installed in the adapter module 30, and the adapter module 30 Connected to device 10. This allows the adapter module 30
The functions of the peripheral device 10 are expanded according to the types of the PC cards 40 and 41 attached to the PC.

According to the first invention, the adapter module 3
Since the minimum necessary number of components are incorporated in the device 0, the number of components can be reduced and the cost can be reduced as compared with the case where the conventional personal computer 3 is used. Further, the adapter module 30 can be made compact, and the area can be reduced as compared with the case where the conventional personal computer 3 is used. Therefore, the function expansion of the peripheral device 10 can be easily performed without using the personal computer 3.

According to a second aspect of the present invention, there is provided a slot in which one or a plurality of PC cards are removably mounted, and an input / output port formed in accordance with an interface standard of a peripheral device and connected to an input / output port of the peripheral device. And an electronic module necessary for controlling input / output of data between the mounted PC card and the peripheral device, and constitutes an adapter module, wherein the mounted PC card and the peripheral device are mounted on the adapter module. Software for executing data input / output processing with a device is installed, the adapter module is connected to the peripheral device, and the peripheral device is connected to the adapter module according to the type of PC card mounted on the adapter module. The feature is to extend the function of.

According to the second aspect, the same effects as those of the first aspect can be obtained.

Further, according to the second invention, as shown in FIG. 2, the input / output port 21 of the adapter module 30A is formed in accordance with the standard of the interface of the peripheral device 10, so that the conversion connector as in the prior art is used. 5 can be connected to the peripheral device 10.

In a third aspect based on the first aspect or the second aspect, the software executes basic software for executing a process common to a plurality of PC cards, and processes corresponding to the functions of the PC cards. It comprises functional software, and the functional software is installed according to the function of the PC card mounted on the adapter module.

According to the third aspect, the same effects as those of the first or second aspect can be obtained.

Further, according to the third invention, FIG.
As shown in (b), the software 50 is composed of basic software 51 for executing a process common to PC cards having a plurality of functions, and functional software 52, 53 for executing a process corresponding to the function of each PC card. , 54..., And functional software 52, 53, 54... Are installed according to the functions of the PC card mounted on the adapter module 30.

For this reason, when creating the software 50, it is not necessary to newly create a portion corresponding to the basic software 51, and functional software 52, 53, 54,...
Since only the portion described above needs to be created, software development work can be performed quickly and easily.

[0019]

Embodiments of the present invention will be described below with reference to the drawings.

FIG. 1 shows an apparatus configuration of the embodiment.
In the embodiment, a printer, C,
Output devices such as RT, scanners, copiers, projectors, home appliances, and the like are assumed.

As shown in FIG. 1, the adapter module 30 is provided with a general-purpose or special extension interface 20 that can be connected to the peripheral device 10.

The adapter module 30 has slots 31 and 32 into which two PC cards 40 and 41 are inserted. For this reason, two P
The C cards 40 and 41 can be detachably mounted. The PC cards 40 and 41 are different types of cards. The PC cards 40 and 41 are, for example, a network card, a wireless card, a FAX modem card, an Ethernet card (Ethernet is a registered trademark), a memory card, a hard disk card, and the like.

The adapter module 30 incorporates a minimum of various electronic components 33 necessary for controlling the input and output of data between the PC cards 40 and 41 mounted and the peripheral device 10. Therefore, the adapter module 30
The number of various electronic components 33 incorporated in the personal computer 3 is smaller than the number of various electronic components incorporated in the conventional personal computer 3. The CPU 3 includes various electronic components 33.
3a and a ROM 34. In the ROM 34,
Software for processing data input / output between the mounted PC cards 40 and 41 and the peripheral device 10 is incorporated.

Therefore, the functions of the peripheral device 10 can be expanded according to the types of the PC cards 40 and 41 mounted on the adapter module 30.

FIG. 2 is a perspective view showing a first specific example of the adapter module 30 shown in FIG.

As shown in FIG. 2, the adapter module 30A includes various electronic components 33 including a ROM 34, an input / output port 21, slots 31, 3
2 are arranged.

The input / output port 21 is formed in a shape directly connected to the input / output port (I / O port) 12 of the peripheral device 10. That is, the number of the input / output ports 21 depends on the interface standard of the peripheral device 10,
The port shape, port position, etc. are formed.

The adapter module 30A has a slot 3
It is formed in a shape and size that can be built into the housing 11 of the peripheral device 10 except for the insertion ports 1 and 32. When the adapter module 30A is built in the housing 11 of the peripheral device 10, the input / output port 21 of the adapter module 30A
Is connected to the input / output port 12 of the peripheral device 10, and the insertion ports of the slots 31 and 32 of the adapter module 30 </ b> A are located in the opening 11 a of the housing 11.

According to the first configuration example shown in FIG. 2, various electronic components 33 and input / output ports 21
And the adapter module 30A by arranging the minimum number of parts such as the slots 31 and 32, so that the number of parts can be reduced and the cost can be reduced as compared with the case where the conventional personal computer 3 is used. Can be.

According to the first configuration example shown in FIG. 2, since the input / output port 21 is formed in accordance with the standard of the interface of the peripheral device 10, the conversion connector 5 is not used as in the prior art. It can be connected to the peripheral device 10.

According to the first configuration example shown in FIG. 2, since the adapter module 30A is built in the housing 11 of the peripheral device 10, the personal computer 3 is installed as compared with the prior art. There is no need for a place or a place where the connection cable 8 is laid, and the floor space can be reduced. Therefore, according to the first configuration example, the peripheral device 1
0 can be easily extended.

FIG. 3 is a perspective view showing a second specific example of the adapter module 30 shown in FIG.

As shown in FIG. 3, the adapter module 30B is configured as a housing 36. Case 3
2, a module in which various electronic components 33 including a ROM 34, an input / output port 21 ', and slots 31 and 32 are arranged on a substrate 35, as in the first configuration example of FIG. Have been. The housing 36 has an input / output port 2
Openings 37 and 38 are formed to open the 1 ′ and the insertion openings of the slots 31 and 32 to the outside of the housing 36.

The input / output port 21 'and the input / output port of the peripheral device 10 are connected via a cable. The input / output port 21 'is connected to the peripheral device 10 as in the first configuration example of FIG.
The input / output port may be an input / output port conforming to the standard of the interface, or may be an input / output port of a general-purpose interface. When the input / output port 21 ′ is configured as a general-purpose interface, it is connected to the input / output port of the peripheral device 10 via the conversion connector 5.

According to the second configuration example shown in FIG. 3, similar to the first configuration example in FIG. 2, the adapter module 30B is configured by incorporating a minimum number of components in the housing 36. Therefore, the number of parts can be reduced and the cost can be reduced as compared with the case where the conventional personal computer 3 is used. Adapter module 30B
Can be made compact, and the area can be reduced as compared with the case where the conventional personal computer 3 is used.

Next, the adapter module 30 described above is used.
The software incorporated in the ROM (30A, 30B) will be described with reference to FIG.

FIG. 4A conceptually shows software 50 incorporated in the ROM 34.

That is, the software 50 includes basic software 51 for executing processes common to PC cards having a plurality of functions, and functional software 52, 53, 54,... For executing processes corresponding to the functions of each PC card. It consists of firmware.

The basic software 51 is an ADK (Applic
ation Developer Kit) or SDK (Software Deve
loper Kit).

FIG. 4B conceptually shows a procedure for incorporating the software 50.

When the extended functions required by the peripheral device 10 are determined, the software development device (for example, a personal computer) 60
Using ADK or SDK, functional software 52, 53 is created for each required function. In this case, since ADK or SDK is used, the basic software 51 is used.
There is no need to newly create a portion corresponding to. As a result, software development work can be performed quickly and easily.

The functional software 5 created in this way
2 and 53 are combined with the basic software 51 to form a firmware 50, which is incorporated in the ROM 34.

For example, when the peripheral device 10 is to function as an access point, a wireless card and an Ethernet card are mounted on the adapter module 30 as PC cards 40 and 41. For this purpose, functional software 52 and 53 are created for each wireless function and Ethernet function, and are incorporated in the ROM 34.

As described above, by using ADK or SDK, it is possible to easily and quickly develop a unique application in which PC cards of various functions are freely combined.

FIG. 5 illustrates the processing procedure of the software 50 taking the case where the peripheral device 10 is a printer as an example.

That is, when the PC cards 40 and 41 are mounted, the functions of the mounted PC cards 40 and 41 are recognized (step 101), and the PC cards 40 and 41 are initialized (step 102). Next, PC card 4
Data is extracted from 0 and 41 (step 103),
The data is output to the printer 10 (step 104).
Further, data is extracted from the printer 10 (step 1).
05), and outputs the data to the PC cards 40 and 41 (step 106).

In the above-described embodiment, the adapter module 30 is provided with two slots 31 and 32 so that two PC cards can be mounted. However, the adapter module 30 is provided with three or more slots. You may be comprised so that three or more PC cards can be mounted.

Alternatively, only one slot may be provided in the adapter module 30 to mount only one PC card.

An example of function expansion will be described by taking the case where the peripheral device 10 is a printer as an example.

The adapter module 30 is connected to the printer 10, and the PC card 40 is connected to the adapter module 30.
By attaching a FAX modem card, the printer can function as a FAX server.

The adapter module 3 is attached to the printer 10.
0, and by mounting an Ethernet card as the PC card 40 to the adapter module 30,
The printer can function as a print server. Further, by connecting the adapter module 30 to the printer 10 and attaching a wireless card as the PC card 40 to the adapter module 30, the printer can function as a wireless print server.

The adapter 10 is attached to the printer 10.
By connecting a memory card to the adapter module 30 as the PC card 40 by connecting the adapter card 30 to the adapter module 30, the adapter module 30 can function as an external storage device of the printer.

[Brief description of the drawings]

FIG. 1 is a diagram showing a device configuration of an embodiment.

FIG. 2 is a perspective view showing a first configuration example of an adapter module.

FIG. 3 is a perspective view showing a first configuration example of the adapter module.

FIG. 4A is a conceptual diagram of software to be installed in an adapter module, and FIG. 4B is a diagram conceptually showing a procedure for incorporating software into a ROM.

FIG. 5 is a diagram illustrating processing contents of software;

FIG. 6 is a diagram illustrating a conventional technique.

[Explanation of symbols]

 10 Peripheral device 20 Interface 30 (30A, 30B) Adapter module 40, 41 PC card

Claims (3)

[Claims] 1. A slot in which one or a plurality of PC cards are detachably mounted, an interface connected to a peripheral device, and a controller for controlling data input / output between the mounted PC card and the peripheral device. An adapter module is constituted by necessary electronic components. Software for executing data input / output processing between the attached PC card and the peripheral device is installed in the adapter module, and the adapter module is installed in the adapter module. A function expansion device using a PC card, wherein the function of the peripheral device is expanded according to the type of the PC card attached to the adapter module. 2. An input / output port which is formed in accordance with a standard of an interface of a peripheral device and which is connected to an input / output port of the peripheral device. P attached
An adapter module is constituted by electronic components necessary for controlling the input and output of data between the C card and the peripheral device, and the adapter module is provided on the adapter module with data between the attached PC card and the peripheral device. Installing the software for executing the input / output processing of the adapter module, connecting the adapter module to the peripheral device, and expanding the functions of the peripheral device according to the type of the PC card attached to the adapter module. A function expansion device using a PC card. 3. The software comprises basic software for executing a process common to a plurality of PC cards,
And functional software for executing processing according to the function of the C card.
3. The function expansion device using a PC card according to claim 1, wherein the function software is installed according to a function of the C card.