JP2004272705A - Information storage device - Google Patents

Abstract

<P>PROBLEM TO BE SOLVED: To ensure a portable array of semiconductor memories and facilitate management of data stored in every semiconductor memory. <P>SOLUTION: A plurality of semiconductor memories 2 can be portably stored in a semiconductor memory storage part 3, and the semiconductor memory storage part 3 is loaded into a data exchange part 4 for data exchange with an external information processing device. The data exchange part 4 has a terminal changeover switch 44 for switching the connection between the external information processing device and the semiconductor memories 2, and a terminal changeover switch control part 45 for controlling the terminal changeover switch 44, and switches the terminal changeover switch 44 in dependence on the type of data and the type of data content. <P>COPYRIGHT: (C)2004,JPO&NCIPI

Description

[0001]
TECHNICAL FIELD OF THE INVENTION
The present invention relates to an information storage device, and more particularly, to an information storage device that houses a semiconductor memory and connects an external electronic device while the semiconductor memory is housed.
[0002]
[Prior art]
In recent years, a small and lightweight recording medium called a semiconductor memory has been developed. The semiconductor memory has a built-in flash memory and memory controller, is capable of rewriting data, and has a copyright protection function.
[0003]
In the semiconductor memory, a file format and a directory management method for recording data are specified in advance, and a plurality of types of formats such as still image data, moving image data, and audio data (music data) are recorded together. Can be. 2. Description of the Related Art Semiconductor memories are used as information recording devices for various information processing devices such as digital cameras and PDAs (Personal Digital Assistants). Due to the increase in information processing devices used, the number of users who possess a plurality of semiconductor memories increases. are doing.
[0004]
[Problems to be solved by the invention]
However, the semiconductor memory is small and light and easy to carry. Therefore, a storage case in which a plurality of semiconductor memories can be carried is provided.
[0005]
In addition, a user who owns a plurality of semiconductor memories can use semiconductor memories depending on the type of data to be recorded, such as a semiconductor memory for recording video data and a semiconductor memory for recording audio data, and a semiconductor memory for recording a movie and a semiconductor memory for recording movies. For example, a semiconductor memory is used depending on the content of data to be recorded, such as a semiconductor memory for recording data. However, such use of the semiconductor memory is very complicated for a user. In addition, it is not possible to determine the free space of the semiconductor memory from the appearance of the semiconductor memory, and at the time of data recording, there is a semiconductor memory having a free space for recording still image data and a free space for recording moving image data. It is very troublesome for the user to find a semiconductor memory or the like.
[0006]
Therefore, the present invention has been proposed in view of such a conventional situation, and enables a plurality of semiconductor memories to be carried in an organized state and facilitates management of data recorded for each semiconductor memory. An object of the present invention is to provide an information storage device.
[0007]
[Means for Solving the Problems]
In order to achieve the above-mentioned object, an information storage device of the present invention includes a semiconductor memory accommodating section accommodating a plurality of semiconductor memories, a semiconductor memory accommodating the semiconductor memory accommodating section, and a semiconductor memory accommodated in the semiconductor memory accommodating section. A data transmission unit that performs data transmission with an external electronic device.
[0008]
BEST MODE FOR CARRYING OUT THE INVENTION
An information storage device to which the present invention is applied includes a semiconductor memory storage unit that stores a plurality of semiconductor memories, and a data exchange table that exchanges data between the semiconductor memory stored in the semiconductor memory storage unit and an external information processing device. It is composed of
[0009]
The semiconductor memory storage is detachable from the data exchange table. The semiconductor memory storage section functions as a storage case for storing the semiconductor memory when detached from the data exchange section. Further, when the semiconductor memory storage section is mounted on the data exchange table, the semiconductor memory stored in the semiconductor memory storage section is exchanged with an information processing device such as a personal computer or a PDA (Personal Digital Assistants) via the data exchange table. Perform data exchange.
[0010]
Hereinafter, an information storage device 1 to which the present invention is applied will be specifically described with reference to the drawings. The information storage device 1 shown in FIGS. 1 and 2 includes a card-shaped semiconductor memory storage unit 3 and a data exchange table 4 on which the semiconductor memory 2 is mounted.
[0011]
The semiconductor memory storage unit 3 includes a plate-shaped main body 31 that stores the semiconductor memory 2 and a lid 32 that covers the main body 31.
[0012]
The lid 32 rotates around the long side of the main body 31 as an axis, and covers the surface of the main body 31. The lid 32 is transparent or translucent, and the semiconductor memory 2 stored in the semiconductor storage 3 can be viewed through the lid 32.
[0013]
A slot 33 into which the semiconductor memory 2 is inserted is provided on the surface of the main body 31. In this embodiment, four slots 33 are provided in parallel. The terminal side of the semiconductor memory 2 is inserted into the slot 33. Inside the slot 33, there is provided a conductive portion 35 that relays information transmission between the semiconductor memory 2 and the data exchange table 4 and connects the terminal 22 of the semiconductor memory 2.
[0014]
The main body 31 has substantially the same shape as the business card case (approximately 8 cm to 12 cm in width, approximately 5 cm to 8 cm in height, and 0.5 cm to 2.0 cm in thickness). The conductive portion 35 has a lower surface facing the upper surface, and the conductive portion 35 is formed linearly from the inside of the memory card insertion slot to the lower surface.
[0015]
As described later, the semiconductor memory 2 has a shape as shown in FIGS. 7A and 7B. Therefore, even if the semiconductor memory 2 is inserted into the slot 33, the thickness of the semiconductor memory storage unit 3 is reduced.
[0016]
Each slot 33 is provided with a light emitting section 34 indicating the use state of each slot 33. The light emitting portions 34 of the slots 33 emit light of different colors. The difference in the emission color of the light emitting section 34 is to facilitate identification of the semiconductor memory 2 used.
[0017]
The slots 33 are colored in the same color as the emission color of the light emitting unit 34. This is to facilitate identification of the slot 33. Furthermore, if a color or a sticker of the same color as that of the slot 33 or the light emitting section 34 is attached to the semiconductor memory 2, a mistake in insertion of the slot 33 by the user can be avoided.
[0018]
The data exchange table 4 supports the semiconductor memory storage unit 3 and exchanges data between the semiconductor memory 2 stored in the semiconductor memory storage unit 3 and the information processing device.
[0019]
On the upper part of the data exchange table 4, a storage section mounting groove 41 for mounting the semiconductor memory storage section 3 is provided. The storage section storage groove 41 has substantially the same width as the thickness of the semiconductor storage section 3, and the semiconductor storage section 3 is inserted therein. The semiconductor memory storage section 3 inserted into the storage section mounting groove 41 is set up with the slot surface facing the front. Therefore, when the semiconductor memory storage unit 3 is mounted on the data exchange table 4, the semiconductor memories 2 are arranged in a horizontal line, and the structure is easy for the user to see and take out (see FIG. 2).
[0020]
The data exchange table side terminal 42 is provided in the storage section mounting groove 41. The data exchange table side terminal 42 is provided at a position corresponding to the slot 33 of the semiconductor memory storage section 3, and is connected to the semiconductor memory 2 via the conductive section 35 of the slot 33. The semiconductor memory 2 is connected to a USB (Universal Serial Bus) cable 43 of the data exchange table 4 via the data exchange table side terminal 42.
[0021]
The data exchange table 4 includes a terminal switch 44 for switching the connection between the USB cable 43 and the semiconductor memory 2. The terminal changeover switch 44 switches the data exchange stand side terminal 42 connected to the USB cable. The terminal switch 44 is controlled by a terminal switch control unit 45.
[0022]
The operation of the terminal switch 44 will be described.
[0023]
First, an example in which the semiconductor memory 2 is switched based on the free space of the semiconductor memory 2 will be described. FIG. 4 shows functional blocks of the data exchange board 4. The data exchange table 4 includes a free space detection unit 46 for detecting the free space of the semiconductor memory 2 and a terminal switch control unit 45 for switching the terminal switch 44 according to the free space of the semiconductor memory 2.
[0024]
The terminal changeover switch control unit 45 controls switching of the terminal changeover switch 44 according to the available capacity. This control is performed during data recording. During data recording, the information processing device outputs the recording data via the USB cable 43, and the semiconductor memory 2 connected to the USB cable 43 records the input recording data one after another. The free space of the semiconductor memory 2 decreases as recording data is recorded in the semiconductor memory 2. The terminal changeover switch 44 performs a process of switching the terminal changeover switch 44 when the free space of the semiconductor memory 2 becomes lower than a predetermined threshold. The semiconductor memory 2 connected to the USB cable 43 continues the recording process.
[0025]
As described above, the information storage device 1 can treat the plurality of semiconductor memories 2 as one storage capacity by combining them, and can increase the total capacity of the semiconductor memory 2. Some of the current semiconductor memories 2 have a capacity of giga units, but in general, those of several tens to several hundreds of megabytes are widely used. It is difficult to record large-capacity data such as video data in the small-capacity semiconductor memory 2. The information storage device 1 holds a plurality of semiconductor memories 2 and switches the semiconductor memories 2 according to the free space of the semiconductor memories 2, thereby enabling recording of large-capacity data. Further, the information storage device 1 can avoid recording omission of recording data due to lack of free space in the semiconductor memory 2.
[0026]
In this example, the terminal changeover switch control unit 45 automatically selects the semiconductor memory 2 according to the detection result of the free space detection unit 46. However, the user specifies the switching order of the semiconductor memory 2 in advance, and The switching may be performed according to the designation.
[0027]
Next, an example in which the terminal switch 44 is switched for each type of data will be described. As shown in FIG. 5, the data exchange table 4 in this example includes a data type detection unit 47 for detecting the type of data transmitted between the semiconductor memory 2 and the information processing device; A terminal switch control unit 45 for controlling the terminal switch 44 according to the result.
[0028]
The data types include still image data, video data, audio data, and the like. The terminal switch 44 switches the semiconductor memory 2 for transmitting data according to the type of data.
[0029]
Specifically, the semiconductor memory 2 is used as a recording medium for a digital camera, a digital video camera, an audio player, and the like. Therefore, it is more efficient in terms of data management to record still image data in the semiconductor memory 2 dedicated to the digital camera and record audio data in the semiconductor memory 2 dedicated to the audio player.
[0030]
Therefore, the information storage device 1 has a slot 33a for recording video data, a slot 33b for recording still image data, a slot 33c for recording audio data, and the like. The types of data to be recorded are separated. The terminal switch 44 switches the data exchange base terminal 42 according to the detection result of the data type detection unit 47.
[0031]
Note that the function of the data type detection unit 47 and the function of selecting the slot 33 may be performed by the connected information processing device. Further, an information processing device identification unit for identifying the type of the connected information processing device may be provided, and the terminal switch 44 may be switched according to the type of the connected device.
[0032]
Next, an example in which the slot 33 is switched according to the type of data content to be recorded will be described. The information storage device 1 inputs the type of data content from the connected information processing device, and switches the semiconductor memory 2 according to the type of the input data content.
[0033]
The content of the data to be recorded is, for example, the genre of video data, and the slots of the semiconductor memory storage unit 3 are slots such as a slot 33a for recording a drama, a slot 33b for recording a movie, and a slot 33c for recording news. The data is classified according to the genre of the data to be recorded for each 33. As shown in FIG. 6, the data exchange table 4 is connected to an external information processing device and a terminal changeover switch control section 45. The terminal changeover switch control section 45 has a genre of data input from the information processing apparatus. The slot 33 to be connected is switched according to.
[0034]
This feature can be used to record television programs. For example, the user can record a continuous drama in one semiconductor memory 2 collectively, or record a movie and news in different semiconductor memories. Further, the classification of the slots 33 is not limited to the above-described example, and a slot 33a for recording work-related data, a slot 33b for recording other data, and the like may be set, and the terminal switch 44 may be switched. Further, the configuration may be such that the user can directly specify the slot 33.
[0035]
As described above, the information storage device 1 according to the present invention carries a plurality of semiconductor memories 2 while being stored in the semiconductor memory storage unit 3, and further connects the semiconductor memory 2 with the semiconductor memory 2 while being stored in the semiconductor memory storage unit 3. And a plurality of semiconductor memories can be handled as one recording medium.
[0036]
The information storage device 1 further includes a terminal switch 44 for switching the slot 33 connected to the information processing device, and switches the slot 33 connected to the USB cable 43 according to the type of data and the content. Therefore, even if the connection is made via the information storage device 1, data transmission suitable for each semiconductor memory 2 can be performed.
[0037]
Since the surface of the slot 33 into which the memory is inserted is colored, the user can easily identify each slot 33. Further, since the light emitting portion 34 of the slot 33 emits light in the same color as the coloring of the surface of the slot 33, the user can easily determine which slot 33 is in use.
[0038]
It should be noted that the present invention is not limited to the above-described embodiment, and modifications and improvements within the scope including the gist of the present invention are included in the present invention. For example, in the above-described embodiment, the semiconductor memory accommodating section 3 is a card type in which the semiconductor memories 2 are arranged in parallel. However, a structure in which the semiconductor memories 2 are stacked in the thickness direction may be adopted.
[0039]
The detection of free space by the free space detection unit, the detection of data type by the data type detection unit, the identification of content by the content identification unit, and the like may be performed by the information processing device.
[0040]
Hereinafter, the semiconductor memory 2 used in the present embodiment will be described. The semiconductor memory 2 has an appearance as shown in FIGS. 7A and 7B, for example. That is, the semiconductor memory 2 includes, for example, a housing 21 having a vertical dimension of 50 mm, a horizontal dimension of 21.5 mm, and a thickness dimension of 2.8 mm, and shows a state of a serial bus when the semiconductor memory 2 is mounted on the data transfer device 1. A 10-pin terminal 22 for inputting / outputting a bus state, various data, and a clock is provided. Further, the semiconductor memory 2 includes an erroneous erasure prevention switch 23 for preventing erroneous erasure of recorded data.
[0041]
As shown in FIG. 8, the semiconductor memory 2 has a flash memory 24 having a storage capacity of, for example, several megabytes to several tens of megabytes for storing various data and the like from the data transfer device 1, and a content of the flash memory 24. It includes a memory controller 25 that performs management and the like, and an interface unit 26 that is attached to the data transfer device 1 and that inputs and outputs various data and the like.
[0042]
The semiconductor memory 2 uses only the three-pin terminals for data, clock, and bus state among the ten-pin terminals 22 to exchange the data, clock, and bus state with the data transfer device 1. Send and receive. Here, the clock and the bus state are supplied from the data transfer device 1, and data is transmitted and received to and from the data transfer device 1 by bidirectional half-duplex transfer. When transmitting / receiving a control packet as data to / from the data transfer device 1, the semiconductor memory 2 performs transfer by, for example, setting the maximum frequency of the clock to 20 MHz and adding an error check code on a 512-byte basis. .
[0043]
The semiconductor memory 2 controls the flash memory 24 by performing processing according to the protocol of the serial interface by the memory controller 25.
[0044]
Specifically, for example, when the flash memory 24 includes a plurality of flash memories, the semiconductor memory 2 controls each flash memory by the memory controller 25. When the semiconductor memory 2 is composed of a plurality of flash memories of different types of flash memories, for example, the memory controller 25 controls the respective flash memories by absorbing the characteristic difference between the various flash memories, Error correction processing according to the error characteristics of Further, the semiconductor memory 2 performs a process of converting parallel data into serial data by the memory controller 25.
[0045]
The semiconductor memory 2 can be any flash memory 24 that currently exists or any flash memory 24 that will appear in the future, by performing processing in accordance with the protocol of the serial interface using such a memory controller 25. It is possible to respond.
[0046]
The semiconductor memory 2 adopts DCF (Design rule for Camera File system) standardized by JEIDA (Japan Electronic Industry Development Association) as a format of still image data, and uses ITU-T (International Telecommunications) as a format of audio data. Union) Recommendation G. 726 ADPCM (Adaptive Differential Pulse Code Modulation).
[0047]
By using such a semiconductor memory 2 as an external storage device, a user can mutually use one semiconductor memory 2 between a plurality of electronic devices that handle data of different formats.
[0048]
Further, in the above embodiment, the types of data are still image data, video data, and audio data, but the types of data are not limited thereto, and include other types of data such as text data and map data. It is.
[0049]
Furthermore, in the above-described embodiment, the type of content has been described as an example of content related to television programs such as dramas, movies, news, etc., but is not limited to this, and includes genres of music.
[0050]
【The invention's effect】
According to the information storage device of the present invention, a plurality of semiconductor memories can be carried in a state of being stored in the semiconductor memory storage unit, and data can be transmitted to and from an external electronic device in a state of being stored in the semiconductor memory storage unit. A plurality of semiconductor memories can be carried in an organized state.
[0051]
According to the information storage device of the present invention, the semiconductor memory mounting section is provided for each type of data to be recorded in the semiconductor memory, the content of the data, and the type of the electronic device to be connected, and the semiconductor memory mounting portion to be connected to the external electronic device. Since the units are switched, it is possible to save the trouble of searching for an appropriate semiconductor memory simply by mounting the semiconductor memory in a predetermined semiconductor memory mounting unit in advance.
[0052]
Further, according to the information storage device of the present invention, the semiconductor memory to be connected to the external electronic device is switched according to the free space of the semiconductor memory. ing. Further, it is possible to increase the total capacity of the semiconductor memory and record data having a large capacity.
[Brief description of the drawings]
FIG. 1 is a diagram illustrating an appearance of an information storage device to which the present invention has been applied.
FIG. 2 is a diagram showing an appearance of a semiconductor memory storage section to which the present invention is applied.
FIG. 3 is a diagram showing an internal configuration of a data exchange table.
FIG. 4 is a diagram showing an internal configuration of a data exchange table that switches a semiconductor memory according to an available capacity.
FIG. 5 is a diagram showing an internal configuration of a data exchange table that switches a semiconductor memory according to the type of data.
FIG. 6 is a diagram showing an internal configuration of a data exchange table that switches a semiconductor memory according to data contents.
FIG. 7 is a diagram showing an appearance of a semiconductor memory.
FIG. 8 is a diagram showing an internal configuration of a semiconductor memory.
[Explanation of symbols]
REFERENCE SIGNS LIST 1 information storage device, 2 semiconductor memory, 3 semiconductor memory storage section, 4 data exchange table, 31 main body section, 33 slot, 34 light emitting section, 41 storage section mounting groove, 42 data exchange table side terminal, 43 USB cable, 44 Terminal changeover switch, 45 Terminal changeover switch control section, 46 Free space detection section, 47 Data type detection section

Claims (7)

A semiconductor memory storage unit that stores a plurality of semiconductor memories;
An information storage device, comprising: a data transmission unit mounted with the semiconductor memory storage unit and configured to transmit data between the semiconductor memory stored in the semiconductor memory storage unit and an external electronic device. The data transmission unit includes:
2. The information storage device according to claim 1, further comprising connection switching control means for switching a semiconductor memory connected to the external electronic device. The connection switching control means includes:
3. The information storage device according to claim 2, wherein a semiconductor memory connected to the external electronic device is switched based on a free space of the semiconductor memory. The connection switching control means includes:
3. The information storage device according to claim 2, wherein a connected semiconductor memory is switched according to a type of data transmitted between the external electronic device and a data transmission unit. The connection switching control means includes:
3. The information storage device according to claim 2, wherein a semiconductor memory to be connected is switched according to a type of an electronic device connected to the data transmission unit. The connection switching control means includes:
3. The information storage device according to claim 2, wherein the semiconductor memory to be connected is switched according to the content of data transmitted between the external electronic device and the data transmission unit. 2. The information storage device according to claim 1, further comprising: a light-emitting unit indicating a semiconductor memory connected to an external electronic device among the plurality of semiconductor memories.

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