JP2885797B2 - Memory card storage case - Google Patents

Description

Description: BACKGROUND OF THE INVENTION 1. Field of the Invention The present invention relates to a memory card storage case for storing a memory card containing a data storage battery.

[Conventional technology]

2. Description of the Related Art Conventionally, a memory card provided with a RAM memory composed of a static RAM has a built-in data holding battery for holding data stored in the RAM memory. Among such memory cards, those having a small memory capacity such that the data holding battery does not need to be replaced during the actual use period are battery built-in cards in which the data holding battery is integrated. Configured as
In addition, those having a large memory capacity and requiring a large power supply for holding data are generally configured as a battery exchange type card in which a data holding battery can be replaced due to restrictions on the external dimensions of the card. .

FIG. 4 is a schematic plan view schematically showing the basic structure of such a memory card. In this figure, reference numeral 20 denotes a memory card having a substantially rectangular outer shape in plan view, 21 denotes a RAM memory, and 22 denotes a data holding device. Battery. The power supply (V _CC ) terminal of the RAM memory 21 is connected to one end of the battery 22 via a battery-side diode 23 and an overcurrent protection resistor 24, and is connected to the memory card 20 via a power-supply-side diode 25. One external power supply terminal 26 provided on the connector side end surface 20a
It is connected to the. Also, the ground (GN
D) The terminal is connected to the other end of the battery 22 and the other external power supply terminal 27 provided on the connector side end surface 20a. That is, in the memory card 20, power is supplied from the external power supply to the RAM memory 21 when the memory card 20 is connected to an external DC power supply (not shown), and the data holding battery 22 when the memory card 20 is not connected. Is switched by the switching operation of the two diodes 23 and 25.

Therefore, when the voltage of the external power supply is higher than the voltage of the battery 22, that is, during a read / write operation in which the memory card 20 is connected to the external power supply, the external power supply terminals 26 and 27 must be connected to the external power supply. As a result, power is supplied from the external power supply to the RAM memory 21. When the memory card 20 is not connected to an external power supply, that is, when storing the stored data, the power is supplied from the battery 22 to the RAM memory 21.

Reference numeral 28 in the drawing denotes a battery voltage detection terminal used for detecting and confirming the power supply voltage held by the data holding battery 22, and is a connector-side end surface of the memory card 20.
Located at 20a.

[Problems to be solved by the invention]

By the way, the general memory capacity of the above-mentioned memory card 20 is about 512 KB (kilobytes). With such a memory capacity, the data in the RAM memory 21 can be effectively used by supplying power from the data holding battery 22. The period that can be maintained, that is, the period when the battery 22 is depleted, is 1 in total.
Experience has shown that it is only a little over a year. And
The period during which such data can be held will be shortened as the memory capacity of the memory card increases.

Therefore, in these memory cards, it is necessary to replace the data holding battery before the above period elapses, and it is necessary to perform troublesome period management for that purpose. There is a problem that precious data is lost due to consumption of the battery 22.

The present invention has been made in order to solve such a problem, and can hold data stored in a RAM memory of a memory card for a long period of one year or more. It is an object of the present invention to provide a memory card storage case that can reduce the time and effort required for managing the replacement of the data holding battery and prevent data from disappearing due to the consumption of the data holding battery.

[Means and actions for solving the problem]

The memory card storage case according to the present invention includes a case body in which a memory card containing a data holding battery is housed, and a secondary battery having a higher voltage than the data holding battery and being chargeable by an external power supply. A backup battery that is electrically connected to the backup battery, and a connection terminal connected to an external power supply terminal of the stored memory card, and connected to the data retention battery via a switch;
A sensor for detecting a retained voltage of the data retention battery,
A display means for displaying the degree of battery consumption from the output of this sensor is provided.

In this case, the memory card stored in the case
Power is supplied to the RAM memory from a backup battery having a higher voltage than the data retention battery through an external power supply terminal and a connection terminal connected to the RAM memory. Since power is not supplied, consumption of the data retention battery is prevented during that time. Moreover, the backup battery is composed of a secondary battery and is charged by an external power supply, so that its voltage can be maintained at a required value or more for an extremely long time.

Therefore, the data stored in the RAM memory of the memory card will be held continuously for an extremely long time, and the time and effort for period management related to the replacement of the data holding battery built in the memory card will be reduced,
It is possible to effectively prevent data from disappearing due to consumption of the data retention battery.

In addition, a sensor for detecting the stored voltage of the data retention battery via a switch and a display means for displaying the degree of battery consumption from the output of the sensor are provided. Can be displayed
It is possible to take all possible measures to prevent the data loss of the memory card, and to prevent waste of power for displaying the voltage by switching the switches.

〔Example〕

 Hereinafter, embodiments of the present invention will be described with reference to the drawings.

FIG. 1 is a schematic plan view schematically showing a memory card storage case according to an embodiment of the present invention. In FIG.
Is a card storage unit, 4 is a backup battery which is a rechargeable secondary battery, and 5 and 6 are backup batteries 4 respectively.
The connection terminals 7 and 8 are provided inside the case main body 2 and have high power supply voltages held by the backup battery 4 and the data holding battery 22 built in the memory card 20. A voltage sensor 9 for detecting the voltage is provided on the surface of the case body 2 and is a voltage display section composed of an LED. Since the memory card itself housed in the case 1 has the same structure as that shown in the conventional example of FIG. 4, the same or corresponding parts and parts are denoted by the same reference numerals. The detailed illustration and description are omitted.

On one end side (right side in the figure) of the case main body 2 having a substantially rectangular outer shape in plan view, a concave card storage portion 3 in which the memory card 20 is inserted and stored is formed, and the other end side is formed. A backup battery 4 having a higher voltage than the data retention battery 22 built in the memory card 20 is provided therein. The backup battery 4 is replaceable via a cover (not shown) provided on the case body 1. A pair of connection terminals 5 and 6 connected to the external power supply terminals 26 and 27 of the memory card 20 are exposed on the inner end surface 3a of the card storage portion 3 with which the connector side end surface 20a of the stored memory card 20 abuts. It is arranged in the state where it did.

Therefore, when the memory card 20 is inserted and stored in the card storage section 3 of the case 1, the external power supply terminals 26 of the memory card 20 are connected to the connection terminals 5 and 6 which are provided in conduction with the backup battery 4. , 27 are contacted and connected, and power supply from the backup battery 4 is started via these terminals 26, 27, 5, 6.
In this case, since the voltage held by the backup battery 4 is higher than the voltage of the data holding battery 22,
A reverse bias acts on the battery-side diode 23 in the memory card 20 shown in FIG. 4, and the power supply from the data holding battery 22 to the RAM memory 21 is cut off. As a result, power is supplied from the backup battery 4 to the RAM memory 21 via the power supply side diode 25.

Therefore, if the backup battery 4 is appropriately charged in the manner described later, the power supply from the data holding battery 22 to the RAM memory 21 is performed as long as the memory card 20 is stored in the case 1. Without
The consumption of the data storage battery 22 can be prevented. Since the backup battery 4 is not limited by the external dimensions of the memory card 20 like the data retention battery 22, for example, a battery having a large capacity expressed in mAH units is selected. RAM for as long as several years corresponding to its capacity
There is an advantage that data in the memory 21 can be held.

By the way, one voltage sensor 7 provided inside the case main body 2 to detect the voltage held by the backup battery 4.
Are connection terminals 5 provided on both ends of the battery 4, that is, on the inner end face 3 a of the card storage section 3 in the case body 2.
6 are connected via a switch 10. The other voltage sensor 8 for detecting the voltage held by the data holding battery 22 built in the memory card 20 is provided on the inner end face 3a of the card storage unit 3 and has a battery voltage detecting terminal of the memory card 20.
The connection terminal 11 is connected to the connection terminal 28 via the switch 12.

Therefore, in this embodiment, when the switch 10 is closed (ON), the retained voltage of the backup battery 4 is changed by turning on, blinking, or turning off the LED that constitutes the voltage display unit 9, for example, as shown in FIG. In this manner, the quality of the backup battery 4 can be easily determined. Also, a data retention battery
The retained voltage of 22 is also expressed in the same manner as above by closing (ON) the switch 12.

The voltage display means in the voltage display unit 9 is not limited to the LED display. For example, a voltage value is displayed, and a warning buzzer sounds when the voltage value is equal to or less than a predetermined value. It is also possible to configure. In this embodiment, the voltage sensors 7 and 8 for individually detecting the voltages held by the backup battery 4 and the data holding battery 22 have been described. However, for example, the connection terminals 11 and 11 are connected via the switch 12. Is connected to the voltage sensor 7 so that the voltage held by both of them can be detected by one voltage sensor 7. Further, a configuration may be adopted in which the data is more likely to be lost due to battery exhaustion, that is, at least only the voltage held by the data holding battery 22 can be detected and confirmed.

As described above, if a voltage sensor capable of detecting the level of the power supply voltage held by at least the data holding battery 22 built in the memory card 20 is provided in the case main body 2, the data holding battery can be detected by this sensor. It is possible to determine and confirm the acceptability of No. 22, and it is possible to take an appropriate action such as battery replacement based on the result of the determination.

Furthermore, the backup battery 4 in this embodiment
Is a secondary battery, the backup battery 4 can be charged by an external charger having a predetermined structure. FIG. 3 is a schematic side view showing an example of such an external charging device. In FIG. 3, reference numeral 13 denotes an AC adapter as a charging device, and. Connector part connected to
15 is an outlet for an adapter. That is, according to this external charging device, when the adapter outlet 15 is connected to an AC commercial power supply, a built-in DC power supply unit (not shown) converts an AC voltage into a charging DC voltage, and the voltage is changed. The battery is supplied to the backup battery 4 via a DC output terminal (not shown) of the connector section 14 and an external charging terminal (not shown) provided on the case body 2 to be charged.

In this way, the battery can be charged while the backup battery 4 is attached to the case body 2, so that the charging operation does not have to be troublesome. Moreover, as shown in FIG. 3, the AC adapter 13 is provided with a plurality of connector portions 14, so that a plurality of backup batteries 4 can be charged simultaneously, and an inexpensive AC commercial power supply is used as a power supply. In addition, efficient charging with low running cost is realized.

In addition, as shown in FIG.
Can be stored in case 1, even if this charging takes a long time,
There is no danger that the data stored in the 20 RAM memories 21 will be lost, and data integrity is ensured.

〔The invention's effect〕

As described above, the memory card storage case according to the present invention provides a predetermined backup battery in the case main body, and a connection terminal for connecting the backup battery and an external power supply terminal of the memory card. Since the predetermined sensor and display means are provided, the RAM memory of the memory card housed in the case main body is provided with an external power supply terminal and a connection terminal connected to the external power supply terminal.
Power is supplied from a backup battery that has a higher voltage than the data retention battery, and power is not supplied from the data retention battery built into the memory card, thereby preventing consumption of the data retention battery during that time It is easy to know the degree of battery consumption,
By appropriately charging the backup battery based on this, it is possible to completely prevent data loss of the memory card.

Therefore, the data stored in the RAM memory of the memory card will be held continuously for an extremely long time, and the time and effort for period management related to the replacement of the data holding battery built in the memory card will be reduced,
It is possible to effectively prevent data from disappearing due to consumption of the data retention battery.

Furthermore, since the memory card is housed in the case body, it is possible to effectively prevent dust and the like from adhering to the connector portion of the memory card such as an external power supply terminal. There is an additional effect that the reliability of the memory card can be improved by preventing the occurrence of the problem.

In addition, a sensor for detecting the stored voltage of the data storage battery via a switch and a display means for displaying the degree of battery consumption based on the output of the sensor are provided. Can be displayed
It is possible to ensure the measures for preventing data loss of the memory card and to prevent waste of power for displaying the voltage by switching.

[Brief description of the drawings]

FIG. 1 is a schematic plan view schematically showing a memory card storage case according to an embodiment of the present invention, FIG. 2 is an explanatory diagram showing an example of a display state on a voltage display section, and FIG. FIG. 4 is a schematic side view showing an example, and FIG. 4 is a schematic plan view showing a basic configuration of a memory card. In the figure, reference numeral 1 is a memory card storage case, 2 is a case body, 4 is a backup battery, 5, 6, and 11 are connection terminals, 7, 8 are voltage sensors, 13 is an AC adapter, 14 is a connector, and 15 is a connector. An adapter outlet, 20 is a memory card, 22 is a data retention battery, and 26 and 27 are external power terminals. The same reference numerals in the drawings denote the same or corresponding parts and portions.

Claims (1)

(57) [Claims] 1. A backup battery comprising a secondary battery having a higher voltage than the data storage battery and chargeable by an external power supply, in a case main body in which a memory card containing a data storage battery is housed. And a connection terminal connected to the external power supply terminal of the stored memory card which is electrically connected to the backup battery and connected to the data retention battery via a switch to detect a voltage held by the data retention battery. A memory card storage case, comprising: a sensor; and display means for displaying a degree of battery consumption based on an output of the sensor.