JP2003186582A - Memory card controller and memory card control method - Google Patents

Abstract

<P>PROBLEM TO BE SOLVED: To maintain high performance and stability in a PC controller incorporating a conversion logic therein. <P>SOLUTION: To use a card other than a PC card by connecting it to a secondary side of the PC card controller, when the card other than the PC card or an adopter card having the card inserted is connected in the PC card controller incorporating an interface logic therefor, a register bit indicating that a 16-bit PC card is connected is set so that an external processor using the PC card controller identifies that a PC card is connected. <P>COPYRIGHT: (C)2003,JPO

Description

Detailed Description of the Invention

[0001]

BACKGROUND OF THE INVENTION 1. Field of the Invention The present invention relates to a card controller for a small memory card in a personal computer.

[0002]

2. Description of the Related Art As a storage device attached to a personal computer (hereinafter referred to as a personal computer), a small memory card has been widely used (interface 1999).
December issue, "Thorough research on utilization technology of memory cards" (C
Q Publisher) etc.). Its popularity is being spurred especially by digital still cameras.

A digital still camera requires a recording medium for storing image data, and a small memory card is often used as a standard in that portion. By the way, digital processing / processing of such image data is usually performed by a personal computer. When importing digital still camera image data to a PC,
An adapter card is set for a small memory card and is connected to a personal computer as a form of a so-called PC card.

Incidentally, the capacity of the small-sized memory card has recently increased, and it is becoming possible to handle not only still image data created by a digital still camera but also moving image data and music data.

First, the structure of a device for inputting / outputting data between a small memory card and a personal computer will be described.

The above data input / output system (personal computer)
The general overall configuration of includes a CPU, a chipset (which controls the local bus, etc.),
There is no difference from the general configuration of a general PC. Therefore, details are omitted here. The following explanation
Local bus connected to chipset (here, P
CI bus) and the lower layers, and particularly the PC card controller connected to the local bus. As will be described later, a small memory card is connected to this controller.

As an example, the card side has two slots, "P
CI-CardBus Bridge ”(hereinafter, PCI
This will be described using C).

FIG. 3 is a block diagram of a prior art PC card controller (PCIC) 2 that connects to a PCI bus. The PCIC2 includes a PCI bus interface block 4 on the primary side and a PCMCIA (Person).
al Computer Memory Card I
international Association)
A standard-compliant card interface block 6 is included. Furthermore, the PCIC2 has a PC card slot 8
(2) are provided. The PC card slot 8 is usually
Although a PC card (not shown) is inserted, in the case of FIG. 3, an adapter card 18 with a small memory card 16 attached is inserted.

As the small memory card 16, memory sticks (Sony Corporation), SD cards (Toshiba Corporation, Matsushita Electric Industrial Co., Ltd.), smart media (Toshiba Corporation), multimedia cards (Sandisk Corporation, etc.) are currently used. ) Is known. The adapter card 18 is manufactured for each of these small memory cards. This is because each small memory card 16 has a different shape and interface.

The corresponding adapter card 18 is P
A card interface compliant with the CMCIA standard,
A conversion logic unit 12 for converting the interface of the small memory card 16 and the interface is included. In addition, the adapter card 18 also includes an area called CIS which shows card information (for the small memory card 16). In FIG. 3, C
A reference numeral 14 is attached to the IS.

A rough flow of data processing in the PCIC 4 of FIG. 3 will be described. First, the adapter card 18 in which the small memory card 16 is installed is the PC card slot 8
, The personal computer detects that a PC card has been inserted. Then, the personal computer displays the card information (C
IS14) is read. Then, the personal computer recognizes which type of card is inserted based on the card information. Small memory card 16 via adapter card 18
In this case, it is generally recognized as a hard disk (hereinafter referred to as HDD) that complies with the ATA specifications of a 16-bit (bit) PC card. When it is recognized as an HDD, the personal computer adds one HDD drive display on the monitor screen. In this description, it is assumed that the E drive is added.

Next, it is assumed that the data stored in the small memory card 16 is loaded into the personal computer body (as described above, in the case of image data taken by a digital still camera, the data is loaded into the personal computer. Often.). At this time, the data of the small memory card 16 (E drive) is transferred to the HDD (C drive) of the personal computer body.
Will be copied to. As the operation on the personal computer,
All you have to do is the normal operation of dragging the desired data file in E drive and moving it to C drive.

During the above data flow, the personal computer issues a command to the PCIC 2 to read (read) the data in the small memory card 16. The data of the small memory card 16 is read (read) through the PCI bus interface block 4, the card interface block 6, and the conversion logic unit 12, and the data is written (written) in the HDD of the personal computer body. .

On the contrary, when copying the data in the HDD (C drive) of the personal computer to the small memory card 16 (E drive), the same procedure is performed.
Data is read (read), and the data is written to the small memory card 16 by the write (write) command via the PCI bus interface block 4, the card interface block 6, and the conversion logic unit 12 ( Will be written).

Also in the embodiment of the present invention described later, the data flow as described above is basically the same.

On the other hand, FIG. 4 is a block diagram of another conventional PC card controller (PCIC) 2. Figure 3
The conversion block unit 12 included in the adapter card 12 in the prior art shown in FIG. 4 is included in the PC card controller (PCIC) 2 in FIG. Furthermore, in the configuration of FIG.
A selector circuit (multiplex) 20 is included. The selector circuit 20 is arranged at a position closest to the card side, and it is possible to select (select) whether to use the conversion block unit 12 by applying the select signal SEL in the selector circuit 20. Has become. Here, when the selection not to use the conversion block unit 12 is made, the PC card slot 8 is attached similarly to the embodiment of FIG. 3, and the PC card is connected to the PC card slot 8.

When the conversion block 12 is selected, the connector on the card side is a PC card slot 8 (in this case, an adapter card 18 for the small memory card 16 is required) or a small memory card (here). Then, it is one of the dedicated small memory card slots 8 ′ (for example, smart media). However, in any case, it is necessary for the controller 2 to be able to detect that the small memory card 16 is connected. Regarding this function, PCM is currently
The standard is being deliberated by the CIA.

The PC card controller (PCI) of FIG.
C) An example of the operation of the personal computer using 2 is shown in the flow chart of FIG.

(ST52) When the small memory card 16 or its adapter card (in this case, an adapter in which the conversion logic unit is not mounted) 18 is inserted, P
The C card controller 2 detects that the small memory card 16 has been inserted.

(ST54) Upon detection of the above (ST52), a register bit for indicating it is set (note that the function of setting this register bit is PC
Currently being discussed by the MCIA. ). However, even if the register bits for the small memory card 16 are set in this way, the existing operating system (OS) (eg Microsoft Windows
ws xp (registered trademark)) does not check the register at all. Therefore, nothing happens in the OS, and the OS does not start anything.

(ST56) Therefore, the driver software for checking the register bits and controlling the input / output of data to / from the small memory card 18 is resident on the main memory (not shown) of the personal computer and operates. Must. That is, when the driver software detects that the register bit is set, it operates the card according to the protocol compatible with the card.

Compared to FIG. 3, in the PC card controller 2 of FIG. 4, the small memory card 16 can be directly connected through the small memory card slot 8'and P
Even in the case where the small memory card 16 is connected via the C card slot 8 and the adapter card 18, the configuration of the adapter card 18 can be further simplified.

However, as a problem of the PC card controller 2 in the form of FIG. 4, a small memory card not supported by the OS and driver software dedicated to this device (PC card controller) are stored in the main memory of the personal computer. It is necessary to stay resident. The resident driver software checks the register bit every predetermined time, and therefore generates a transaction for the check. This may cause a decrease in the original performance of the system or may reduce the stability of the system.

[0024]

SUMMARY OF THE INVENTION It is an object of the present invention to maintain high performance and stability in a PC card controller 2 having a conversion logic section 12 incorporated therein.

[0025]

The present invention has been made to achieve the above object. A card controller according to a first aspect of the present invention is a PC card controller having a built-in interface logic for connecting and using a card other than a PC card on the secondary side of the PC card controller. . When a card other than the PC card or an adapter card in which the card is inserted is connected in the card controller, a register bit indicating that the 16-bit PC card is connected is set, and the PC card controller is set. The external processor to be used is characterized in that the PC card is regarded as connected.

According to a second aspect of the present invention, a card controller according to the present invention internally includes a card information section related to a card other than a PC card that can be connected, and an external processor stores data of a card other than the PC card and data. When it is detected that the register bit indicating the event that the 16-bit PC card is connected is set during input / output, it is recorded in the above card information section as the information of the connected card. The card controller according to claim 1, wherein the data is read by the external processor.

In the card controller according to the third aspect of the present invention, in the access to the card information section, the access procedure relating to the standard of the card side other than the PC card is omitted, thus shortening the access processing time. The card controller according to claim 2, wherein

A computer system according to a fourth aspect of the present invention uses the card controller according to any one of the first to third aspects, and operates driver software for operating a card other than a PC card as an operation program. It is characterized by not being resident in the operating system operating environment.

A card controller according to a fifth aspect of the present invention is a 16-bit PC for an external processor.
The card controller according to any one of claims 1 to 3, characterized in that a 32-bit PC card is regarded as connected instead of being regarded as connected.

In the card controller according to the sixth aspect of the present invention, when it is considered that a 32-bit PC card is connected, a PCI bus type is used as a card information section.
Configur that can be accessed by e1 access
The card controller according to claim 5, wherein the card controller has an ation space.

According to a seventh aspect of the card control method of the present invention, in order to connect and use a card other than the PC card on the secondary side of the PC card controller, the PC having the interface logic therein is incorporated. In the card controller, when a card other than the PC card or an adapter card in which the card is inserted is connected, the register bit indicating the event that the 16-bit PC card is connected is set, and thus the PC
This is a card control method in which an external processor using a card controller is considered to be connected to a PC card, and data is transmitted and received between the external processor and a card other than the PC card.

A card control method according to a eighth aspect of the present invention includes a card information unit related to a card other than a PC card that can be connected, and an external processor stores a card and a data other than the PC card. If a register bit indicating that a 16-bit PC card has been connected is set during input / output, the data recorded in the above card information section will be used as the information of the connected card. 8. The card control method according to claim 7, wherein the card is read by an external processor.

According to a ninth aspect of the card control method of the present invention, in the access to the card information section, an access procedure relating to a standard of a card other than a PC card is omitted, thus shortening the access processing time. 9. The card control method according to claim 8, which is realized.

According to a tenth aspect of the card control method of the present invention, instead of assuming that a 16-bit PC card is connected to an external processor, the card control method is set to three.
The card control method according to any one of claims 7 to 9, wherein a 2-bit PC card is regarded as connected.

In the card control method according to the eleventh aspect of the present invention, when it is considered that a 32-bit PC card is connected, the Conf that can be accessed by Type 1 access of the PCI bus as a card information section.
The card control method according to claim 10, wherein the card control method has an ignition space.

[0036]

DETAILED DESCRIPTION OF THE PREFERRED EMBODIMENTS Preferred embodiments of the present invention will be described below with reference to the drawings.

Embodiment 1. FIG. 1 is a block diagram of a PC card controller 2 according to a preferred first embodiment of the present invention. PC according to the preferred first embodiment of the present invention
The card controller 2 has almost the same configuration as the PC card controller 2 shown in FIG.
Therefore, the substantially same parts are designated by the same reference numerals, and the description thereof will be omitted.

In the PC card controller 2 according to the preferred embodiment of FIG. 1, not only the conversion logic unit 12 but also
The CIS 14 is also included in the inside. The CIS 14 is connected to the card interface block 12.

The PC card controller (PCI) shown in FIG.
C) An example of the operation of a personal computer using 2 is shown in the flow chart of FIG.

(ST02) When the small memory card 16 or its adapter card (in this case, an adapter in which the conversion logic unit is not mounted) 18 is inserted, P
The C card controller 2 detects that the small memory card 16 has been inserted.

(ST04) In the first embodiment, the register bit for the small memory card is not
The 16-bit PC Card bit is set. This register bit is a register bit for a 16-bit PC card and is supported by the OS.
The CMCIA driver is the target of the check. At this point, no driver software for small memory cards is needed.

(ST06) When the PCMCIA driver detects that the above 16-bit PC card bit is set, it acquires the information (card maker, type, etc.) of the inserted card, and the CIS of the card is acquired. I am in the process of reading out. However, as it is, PCMCI
Assuming that a 16-bit PC card is connected, the A driver will try to read the CIS of the 16-bit PC card using the protocol related to the 16-bit PC card. I can't read the CIS of a small memory card to connect.

(ST08) Therefore, in the present embodiment,
CIS14 installed inside the PC card controller 2
Is set to read. In other words, from the personal computer side, it is no different from accessing a 16-bit PC card, but at the time of card information acquisition, the CIS 14 in the PC card controller 2 is set to be read. Of course, at this time, no signal is output to the card side (small memory card 16 side).

Thus, access to the CIS 14 is
The access is limited to the inside of the PC card controller 2 and is not restricted by the external (PC card, small memory card, etc.) standards. Therefore, the access to the CIS 14 according to the first embodiment is performed by two clocks (eg, PC) for decoding an address input from a personal computer and storing data in an output buffer.
With the I bus, the speed can be increased to about 60 nsec).

The format of the contents of CIS14 is PC
It has been standardized by the MCIA, and details are omitted here.

(ST10) It is assumed that the CIS 14 has the contents indicating that it is the PC card controller 2 according to the present embodiment. When the information on the CIS 14 is obtained, the system (personal computer) calls a driver that matches the information. Here, the driver software for the small memory card is called for the first time. Here, the PC card controller 2 indicates that a 16-bit PC card is connected to the personal computer. Therefore, in a personal computer, the driver needs to be treated as driver software for a 16-bit PC card.

(ST12) When the above driver is called, thereafter, the driver operates the small memory card 16.

As described above, the dedicated driver for the small memory card does not need to be resident in the main memory of the personal computer because it operates only after the small memory card 16 is inserted.

In the block diagram of the PC card controller 2 of FIG. 1, the small memory card 16 is set so that it can be connected only to the slot on one side (upper side in the figure), but of course (including the lower side. ) A logic unit capable of connecting the small memory card 16 may be incorporated in the portions related to both slots.

<< Other Embodiments >> In the above embodiment, the 16-bit PC card bit is set, and the personal computer is regarded as a 16-bit PC card and the small memory card is actually operated. The present invention can be implemented by setting a 32-bit PC card (Card bus) bit here.

As described above, when the card is recognized as the Card bus, the CI is set in the PC card controller 2.
Instead of having S14, Co for small memory cards
An nfiguration space may be provided to support this. In this case, the access to this space needs to be the Configuration1 configuration access. (Regarding Type 0 access and Type 1 access, the access method is determined by the PCI bus standard.)

[0052]

By utilizing the present invention, the following effects can be achieved.

Normally, when a small memory card and its adapter are inserted into a slot of a PC card controller, a register bit inside the controller indicating that the small memory card has been inserted is set. It is assumed in the prior art that a personal computer (system) constantly monitors its register bits by dedicated driver software and, when set, accesses a small memory card. However, in the present invention, it is not necessary to make the dedicated driver software resident in the personal computer system. Therefore, there is no fear that the performance or stability of the system will deteriorate. In some cases, it is possible that the existing driver software can be used for operation without creating dedicated driver software itself.

The PC card controller of the first embodiment considers that a 16-bit PC card is inserted,
The personal computer system has the same CI as a normal PC card.
Read S. Here, in the PC card controller, the CIS set therein is read out, and the contents of the CIS inform the system that it is the PC card controller according to the present invention. Therefore, the driver software for the small memory card can be called up in the personal computer system without causing the system to hang up.

When reading the CIS, no signal is output to the card side, and the operation is performed only inside the PC card controller. Therefore, 32-bit data can be read out by decoding the address and sending the data to the internal buffer, that is, in about 2 clocks (clock) (60 nsec). Even if the header portion of the PCI bus is taken into consideration, the CIS reading can be speeded up more than twice.

16-bit PC for PC card controller
When it looks like a card has been inserted (Embodiment 1)
May use the ISA interrupt (IRQn) of the system, the processing may be complicated.
In the case of supporting the d-bus (that is, it looks as if a 32-bit PC card is inserted), P is used instead of IRQn.
CI interrupts INTA # to INTD # can be used, and the system configuration can be simplified.

Further, the CIS occupies a considerably large area (tens of bytes) even at the minimum necessary, which may cause a cost increase. However, when the CIS is compatible with the Card bus, the CIS is deleted. Shifigurashi
If the embodiment with n space is adopted, Ven
Areas of 10 bytes or less such as dorID, DeviceID, etc. may be enough. When this is realized, L
The gate scale as SI can be reduced.

[Brief description of drawings]

FIG. 1 is a block diagram of a PC card controller according to a preferred embodiment of the present invention.

FIG. 2 shows an operation of a personal computer using the PC card controller of FIG.

FIG. 3 is a block diagram of a prior art PC card controller that connects to a PCI bus.

FIG. 4 is a block diagram of another prior art PC card controller.

5 shows an operation of a personal computer using the PC card controller of FIG.

[Explanation of symbols]

2 ... PC card controller, 4 ... PCI interface block, 6 ... Card interface block, 8 ... PC card slot, 8 '... Small memory card slot, 10 ... PCI bus, 12・
..Conversion block part, 14 ... CIS, 16 ... Small memory card, 18 ... Adapter card, 20 ...
-Selector circuit.

   ─────────────────────────────────────────────────── ─── Continued front page    (72) Inventor Hiromasa Kusakabe             1-3-3 Nakamagome, Ota-ku, Tokyo Stocks             Company Ricoh F term (reference) 5B058 CA23 KA02 KA04 KA21 YA20                 5B065 BA09 CA17 CA40 CC08 CE04

Claims (11)

[Claims] 1. A secondary side of a PC card controller,
In order to connect and use a card other than a PC card, a 16-bit card is connected to a PC card controller that incorporates the interface logic when a card other than the PC card or an adapter card in which the card is inserted is connected. P
A card controller characterized in that a register bit indicating that the C card is connected is set, and that the PC card is regarded as connected by an external processor utilizing the PC card controller. 2. A 16-bit PC card includes a card information section for a card other than a PC card that can be connected, when an external processor inputs / outputs data to / from a card other than the PC card. When it detects that the register bit indicating the event of being connected is set, it causes the external processor to read the data recorded in the above card information section as the information of the connected card. The card controller according to claim 1, wherein: 3. The method according to claim 2, wherein, in accessing the card information section, an access procedure relating to a card-side standard other than a PC card is omitted, thereby shortening the access processing time. Card controller. 4. The card controller according to claim 1, wherein driver software for operating a card other than a PC card is not made resident in the operating system operating environment. A computer system. 5. A 16-bit P for an external processor
The card controller according to any one of claims 1 to 3, wherein a 32-bit PC card is considered to be connected instead of being considered to be connected to a C card. 6. When a 32-bit PC card is regarded as connected, a PCI bus Ty is used as a card information section.
Configu that can be accessed by pe1 access
The card controller according to claim 5, having a relation space. 7. On the secondary side of the PC card controller,
To connect and use a card other than a PC card, in a PC card controller that incorporates the interface logic, when a card other than the PC card or an adapter card in which the card is inserted is connected, 16 bits P
By setting the register bit indicating the event that the C card is connected, it is considered that the PC card is connected to the external processor that uses the PC card controller. Card control method that allows you to send and receive data with other cards. 8. A 16-bit PC card is connected when an external processor inputs / outputs data to / from a card other than the PC card, including a card information section related to cards other than the PC card that can be connected. The external processor is caused to read the data recorded in the card information section as the information of the connected card when the register bit indicating the event of being set is set. Card control method. 9. The card control method according to claim 8, wherein in the access to the card information section, an access procedure relating to a standard on a card side other than a PC card is omitted, thereby shortening the access processing time. 10. Instead of assuming to the external processor that a 16-bit PC card is connected, 32
The card control method according to any one of claims 7 to 9, wherein a bit PC card is regarded as connected. 11. When it is considered that a 32-bit PC card is connected, as a card information part, a Config that can be accessed by Type 1 access of a PCI bus.
The card control method according to claim 10, wherein the card control method has a space for guration.