JP4608174B2 - Entertainment device, information processing device, and portable storage device - Google Patents

Description

[0001]
BACKGROUND OF THE INVENTION
The present invention relates to an entertainment device, an information processing device used therefor, and a portable storage device that can be attached to and detached from the information processing device.
[0002]
BACKGROUND OF THE INVENTION
In an entertainment device that includes an information processing device and a memory card that can be attached to and detached from the information processing device, the memory card serves as an external storage device for the information processing device. This memory card includes a flash ROM, a control circuit, a clock generation circuit, and a connection terminal. When the memory card is connected to the information processing apparatus, the memory card communicates with the information processing apparatus through the connection terminal. The control circuit controls communication control and read / write control to the flash ROM. This control circuit is composed of a gate array. In addition, power for operating the memory card is supplied from the information processing apparatus through the connection terminal.
[0003]
The memory card stores information in units of files in the flash ROM. A specific area of the memory card is provided with a file management system for managing the file. The file management system manages the usage status of the flash ROM in association with the address of the flash ROM and the file stored in the flash ROM. The file management system is stored in a specific area on the flash ROM.
[0004]
In order for the information processing apparatus to access the memory card, first, the file management system is loaded from the flash ROM into the memory of the information processing apparatus main body. Then, referring to the information of the loaded file management system, the address of the target file or free area is acquired. When the information processing apparatus accesses the flash ROM, the information processing apparatus directly designates an address and reads / writes the address. When the information processing apparatus updates or deletes the file on the flash ROM, the state of the flash ROM changes. At this time, the information processing apparatus updates the file management system loaded in the information processing apparatus main body. Then, the contents of the updated new file management system are written back to the memory card.
[0005]
However, it takes a long time for the information processing apparatus to read from and write to the flash ROM as compared to accessing the memory of the information processing apparatus main body. For this reason, if the read / write of the flash ROM frequently occurs, the processing speed of the entire entertainment device is lowered. Therefore, once the file management system is read into the information processing apparatus, the file management system is not reloaded unless the state of the flash ROM changes. This prevents an unnecessary decrease in processing speed.
[0006]
[Problems to be solved by the invention]
The problem here is the insertion and removal of the memory card. The entertainment device allows the memory card to be freely inserted and removed even when the information processing device is powered on. This is because user convenience is taken into consideration. However, the file management system is unique to each memory card. For example, it is assumed that the file management system is loaded from the memory card to the information processing apparatus main body and then replaced with another memory card. The file management system loaded here is not the file management system of the inserted memory card. At this time, if the flash ROM of the memory card is accessed based on the information of the loaded file management system, the contents of the data may be inconsistent or the contents of the flash ROM may be destroyed.
[0007]
Therefore, the information processing apparatus needs to grasp the insertion / extraction of the memory card. As a method therefor, there is a method of providing a switch in the connector portion of the information processing apparatus. That is, the switch outputs an on signal when a memory card is inserted and an off signal when the memory card is removed. If these signals are transmitted to the CPU by interruption, the information processing apparatus can grasp the insertion / removal of the memory card in real time. However, in this case, it is necessary to provide a switch separately. For this reason, the number of parts increases and the cost increases accordingly.
[0008]
A method in which the CPU monitors the insertion / removal of the memory card at regular intervals is also conceivable. However, insertion and removal of memory cards does not occur very frequently under normal usage conditions. Therefore, in this method, most of the CPU time spent for monitoring processing is wasted. For this reason, the processing efficiency of the entertainment device as a whole decreases.
[0009]
The present invention does not require a special mechanism component and does not increase the processing load of the information processing apparatus, and can grasp the insertion / extraction of the portable storage device, and the portable type detachable from the information processing apparatus An object is to provide a storage device.
[0010]
[Means for Solving the Problems]
According to a first aspect of the present invention to achieve the above object,
An entertainment device comprising a portable storage device and an information processing device to which the portable storage device is detachably connected,
The portable storage device is:
A first storage unit having a property that stored contents are retained even when the information processing apparatus is in a disconnected state;
A second storage unit having a property that the stored content is not retained when the information processing apparatus is disconnected from the information processing apparatus;
The information processing apparatus includes:
Setting means for setting information indicating that the information processing device and the portable storage device are in a connected state in the second storage unit;
A determination unit that refers to the second storage unit and determines whether the referenced information matches the information set by the setting unit;
There is provided an entertainment apparatus comprising means for accessing the first storage unit.
[0011]
According to the second aspect of the present invention,
A portable storage device detachably connected to an information processing device,
A first storage unit having a property that stored contents are retained even when the information processing apparatus is in a disconnected state;
A second storage unit having a property that the set storage content is retained when connected to the information processing device, and the set storage content is not retained when the information processing device is disconnected; ,
A portable type comprising: a control circuit that controls reading / writing of information to / from the first storage unit and reading / writing of information to / from the second storage unit in response to an instruction sent from the information processing apparatus A storage device is provided.
[0012]
Furthermore, according to the third aspect of the present invention,
An information processing apparatus to which a portable storage device having a nonvolatile storage area and a volatile storage area is detachably connected,
Means for accessing the non-volatile storage area;
A reading means for reading specific information stored in a nonvolatile storage area of the portable storage device;
When the information processing apparatus and the portable storage device are in a connected state, setting means for setting information for identifying the identity in a volatile storage area of the portable storage device;
Determining means for referring to information for identifying the identity set in the volatile storage area, and determining whether the referred information matches the specific information set by the setting means; Prepared,
When the discriminating means does not match the set information, the information processing apparatus is provided that instructs the reading means to read the specific information again.
[0013]
DETAILED DESCRIPTION OF THE INVENTION
Hereinafter, embodiments of the present invention will be described with reference to the drawings. In the following embodiments, an information processing apparatus that can perform a game, video playback, sound playback, communication, and the like, and a memory card that is detachable from the information processing apparatus will be described as an example.
[0014]
When a game is played in the information processing apparatus, for example, when the game is interrupted, the operation history up to that point is written in the memory card and stored as data. When resuming the game, the game can be continued from the state at the time of interruption by using data such as the operation progress.
[0015]
FIG. 1 is an external configuration diagram of a memory card 100 and an information processing apparatus 200 according to the present embodiment. The memory card 100 is inserted into the memory card insertion hole 250 on the front surface of the information processing apparatus 200. In addition to these, a controller (not shown) and a TV monitor are connected to the information processing apparatus 200, and the entertainment apparatus 10 is configured as a whole. The controller is connected by inserting a cable and a plug connected to the cable (not shown) into the connector insertion hole 260.
[0016]
FIG. 2 is a hardware configuration diagram of the memory card 100 and the information processing apparatus 200 according to the present embodiment.
[0017]
The memory card 100 includes a connection terminal 110, a control circuit 120, a clock generation circuit 130, a flash ROM 140, and a housing 150 (see FIG. 1) that accommodates these.
[0018]
When the connection terminal 110 is inserted into the memory card insertion hole 250 of the information processing apparatus 200, the connection terminal 110 contacts the connection terminal 210 of the information processing apparatus 200. As a result, the information processing apparatus 200 and the memory card 100 are electrically joined.
[0019]
The control circuit 120 is configured with, for example, a gate array. One of the gate circuits is used as the register 121. The clock generation circuit 130 generates a clock signal for operating the memory card. Information sent from the information processing apparatus 200 is stored in the flash ROM 140 in file units. The flash ROM 140 is a nonvolatile memory. A file management system 141 is stored in a specific area of the flash ROM 140. The file management system 141 is information regarding the usage status of the flash ROM 140. For example, the file management system 141 stores the address of the flash ROM 140 in association with the file name stored at the address.
[0020]
Since the memory card 100 does not have a power supply, the memory card 100 is supplied with power from the information processing apparatus 200 via the connection terminal 110. Therefore, the power is turned on when the memory card 100 is connected to the information processing apparatus 200, and the power is turned off when the memory card 100 is removed. Further, the memory card 100 does not have a power backup function. For this reason, when the power is turned off, the contents of the control circuit 120 including the register 121 are not retained. In that sense, the control circuit 120 is a volatile storage device. As a result, the contents of the register 121 are changed.
[0021]
The information processing apparatus 200 includes at least a connection terminal 210, a power supply circuit 220, a main control device 230, an external storage device 240, and a disk drive device 250. The main control device 230 includes at least a CPU 231 and a main memory 232.
[0022]
The power supply circuit 220 supplies power to the information processing apparatus 200 and the memory card 100.
[0023]
Next, functional blocks of the main controller 230 are shown in FIG.
[0024]
Main controller 230 includes at least a memory card management unit 300 that manages a memory card and an application function (hereinafter referred to as “AP”) 400 that is realized by executing an application program. The memory card management unit 300 receives requests from the AP 400 and manages input / output of the memory card 100. The AP 400 issues a read / write request to the memory card management unit 300 in units of files.
[0025]
The memory card management unit 300 further includes a command generation unit 301, a communication control unit 302, and a file management system table 303.
[0026]
The file management system table 303 is loaded with the file management system 141 of the memory card 100.
[0027]
The command generation unit 301 receives a read / write request in file units from the AP 400 and issues a command for accessing the memory card. The command generation unit 301 refers to the file management system table 303 as necessary to acquire an address.
[0028]
The communication control unit 302 controls communication with the memory card 100.
[0029]
Next, a functional block diagram of the control circuit 120 is shown in FIG.
[0030]
The control circuit 120 includes at least a communication control unit 501, a command analysis unit 502, a buffer 503, and a read / write control unit 504.
[0031]
The communication control unit 501 receives a command from the information processing apparatus 200. Then, the communication control unit 501 returns a processing result or the like. The command analysis unit 502 analyzes the received command. Further, the command analysis unit 502 outputs a read / write instruction to the flash ROM 140 to the read / write control unit 504. Further, the command analysis unit 502 writes to the register 121 and refers to the register 121. The buffer 503 temporarily stores the contents of data to be read / written. The read / write control unit 504 controls reading / writing of data to / from the flash ROM 140.
[0032]
In the present embodiment, the control circuit 120 includes a gate array. Therefore, all the functions described above are realized by hardware logic. However, the memory circuit may be provided with a microcomputer and realized by software.
[0033]
Next, operations of the memory card 100 and the information processing apparatus 200 having the above configuration will be described.
[0034]
When the memory card 100 is inserted into the information processing apparatus 200, the connection terminals 110 and 210 are coupled to each other. Then, the memory card 100 is turned on. When the memory card 100 is turned on, the control circuit 120 is reset. At this time, the register 121 in the control circuit 120 is also reset. That is, a predetermined initial value is set in the register 121.
[0035]
Next, command generation and analysis procedures will be described with reference to FIG.
[0036]
First, an access request such as writing, reading, or erasing from the AP 400 to the memory card 100 is issued. Upon receiving this, the command generation unit 301 generates a command to be transmitted to the memory card 100 (S110, S120). At this time, the address is acquired by referring to the file management system table 303 as necessary. The generated command is sent to the memory card 100 via the communication control unit 302 (S130).
[0037]
In the memory card 100, the communication control unit 501 receives a command (S210). The command analysis unit 502 analyzes the contents of the received command (S220). In accordance with the analysis result, the read / write control unit 504 executes data accumulation in the buffer 503 and access processing to the flash ROM 140 (S230). Then, after the process is completed, the communication control unit 501 returns a notification of the completion of the process to the information processing apparatus 200 (S240).
[0038]
Next, a processing procedure from when the access request to the memory card 100 is issued from the AP 400 until the access is performed will be described with reference to FIG. In this process as well, the command generation, analysis, and execution procedure are as described above, and thus description thereof is omitted.
[0039]
First, the information processing apparatus 200 confirms whether the memory card 100 is connected (S310). As a method for confirming the connection, here, a reset command is issued, and the presence / absence of a response is determined. However, connection confirmation is not necessarily limited to the above method using a reset command. That is, an arbitrary command may be issued to the memory card 100, and if there is no response within a certain time, it may be determined that the memory card 100 is not connected.
[0040]
When the connection of the memory card 100 is confirmed, the information processing apparatus 200 writes an authentication value for identifying the identity of the memory card 100 in the register 121 (S320). The authentication value is a specific value different from the initial value.
[0041]
The information processing apparatus 200 reads the file management system 141. Then, the read file management system 141 is loaded into the file management system table 303 of the information processing apparatus 200 (S330).
[0042]
When the processing up to S330 is completed, the memory card management unit 300 can access the memory card 100. Then, the memory card management unit 300 waits for a request from the AP 400 (S140).
[0043]
When the memory card management unit 300 receives an access request from the AP 400, the memory card management unit 300 refers to the contents of the register 121 (S350). Then, the referred content and the authentication value set in S320 are compared to determine whether they are the same (S360). If they are not the same, it is determined that the memory card 100 loaded with the file management system 141 in the information processing apparatus 200 and the currently connected memory card 100 are different cards. Then, the processes of S320 and S330 are performed, and the file management system 141 is reloaded into the file management system table 303.
[0044]
As described above, when the memory card 100 is removed from the information processing apparatus 200, the power of the memory card 100 is turned off. For this reason, the property that the contents of the register 121 are not retained when the power is turned off is utilized. Further, when the memory card 100 is inserted and the power is turned on, the contents of the register 121 are initialized, so that they do not coincide with each other.
[0045]
Then, after confirming that the file management system 141 loaded in the file management system table 303 is that of the currently connected memory card 100, the memory is determined based on the contents of the file management system table 303. A command is issued to the card 100 (S370).
[0046]
When the memory card is updated in S370, the contents of the flash ROM 140 are rewritten. Therefore, the file management system table 303 is updated, and the file management system 141 is updated by writing back to the flash ROM 140 (S180, S190).
[0047]
In the present embodiment, when reading (reading) or erasing data from the flash ROM 140, or when writing (writing) data to the flash ROM 140, a command set including a plurality of commands is used. Do. That is, each of the read command set and the write command set has an address setting command for setting an address to be accessed, a transmission / reception command for performing data transmission / reception, and an execution command for instructing execution of access. The erase command set has an address setting command and an execution command. Each command is sent from the information processing apparatus 200 to the memory card 100.
[0048]
In each command set, the address setting command specifies the address of the flash ROM 140 in which data to be read or erased is stored or the address of the flash ROM 140 to which data is to be written.
[0049]
In the read command set, the transmission / reception command causes the information processing apparatus 200 to receive data read from the flash ROM 140. In the write command set, the transmission / reception command transmits data to be written to the flash ROM 140 to the memory card 100. Data transmitted to the memory card 100 is temporarily stored in the buffer 503.
[0050]
The following processing is performed according to the execution command.
[0051]
In the case of the write command set, the data stored in the buffer 503 is written into the flash ROM 140 by the execution command, and the contents of the flash ROM 140 are updated. In the case of a read command set, reading of data from the flash ROM 140 is terminated. In the case of an erase command set, data in a predetermined area of the flash ROM 140 is erased. That is, a series of processing for each command set of reading, writing, and erasing is completed by the execution command.
[0052]
Here, in the memory card 100 that has received the address command, when the processing of the address command ends, the memory card 100 notifies the information processing apparatus 200 of the end. The information processing apparatus 200 issues the next command after receiving this end notification. Therefore, this end notification is essential. Therefore, the contents of the register 121 may be included in the end notification of the address command. Then, the processing performed independently in S350 can be included in the processing of the address setting command. As a result, the number of communications between the information processing apparatus 200 and the memory card 100 can be reduced.
[0053]
In S310, the memory card 100 is reset as a connection confirmation of the memory card 100. Since the reset is performed before the communication between the memory card 100 and the information processing apparatus 200 is started, S320 and S330 may be incorporated in a part of the reset process.
[0054]
As described above, according to the present embodiment, the insertion / extraction of the memory card can be confirmed with a simple and inexpensive configuration without providing a switch in the memory card insertion hole. Therefore, the number of parts of the entertainment device can be reduced, and the cost can be reduced.
[0055]
Furthermore, even if the insertion / extraction of the memory card is not constantly monitored, it is possible to prevent data contradiction and destruction of the memory card.
[0056]
【The invention's effect】
According to the present invention, it is possible to grasp the insertion / extraction of the portable storage device without requiring special mechanism parts and without increasing the processing load of the entertainment device.
[Brief description of the drawings]
FIG. 1 is an external view of an information processing apparatus and a memory card according to the present invention.
FIG. 2 is a hardware configuration diagram of an information processing apparatus and a memory card according to the present invention.
FIG. 3 is a functional block diagram of a main controller in the information processing apparatus according to the present invention.
FIG. 4 is a functional block diagram of a control circuit in information processing according to the present invention.
FIG. 5 is an explanatory diagram of a communication method between an information processing apparatus and a memory card according to the present invention.
FIG. 6 is an explanatory diagram showing a procedure for accessing a memory card from the information processing apparatus according to the present invention;
[Explanation of symbols]
DESCRIPTION OF SYMBOLS 100 ... Memory card, 110 ... Connection terminal, 120 ... Control circuit, 121 ... Register, 130 ... Clock generation circuit, 140 ... Flash ROM, 141 ... File management system, 200 ... Information processing apparatus, 210 ... Connection terminal, 220 ... Power supply Circuit 230, main controller 240, external storage device 250 disk drive device 300 memory card management unit 301 command generation unit 302 communication control unit 303 file management system table 400 AP 501 ... Communication control unit, 502 ... Command analysis unit, 503 ... Buffer, 504 ... Read / write control unit.

Claims (2)

A portable storage device detachably connected to an information processing device,
One of an initial value indicating that the portable storage device is in an initial state and an authentication value different from the initial value indicating that the information processing device and the portable storage device are in a connected state. A volatile first storage unit having a predetermined area for storage;
Storage content identification information indicating what kind of information is stored for each storage area, and information related to addresses at which information specified by the storage content identification information is stored. A non-volatile second storage unit in which storage unit information is stored;
A control circuit that controls writing of information transmitted from the information processing device and reading of information requested from the information processing device to the first storage unit and the second storage unit; Prepared,
The control circuit includes:
When the portable storage device is connected to the information processing device, it receives an instruction from the information processing device to set the initial value in the predetermined area, and overwrites the initial value in the predetermined area;
After setting the initial value, an instruction to set the authentication value in the predetermined area is received from the information processing apparatus, and the authentication value is overwritten in the predetermined area.
An instruction to refer to the predetermined area is received from the information processing apparatus, and a value set in the predetermined area is transmitted to the information processing apparatus.
When the information processing apparatus determines that the value referenced from the predetermined area does not match the authentication value, the instruction to set the authentication value in the predetermined area is received from the information processing apparatus; The authentication value is overwritten in the area, and then an instruction to refer to the storage unit information is received from the information processing device, and the storage unit information held in the second storage unit is transmitted to the information processing device To
A portable storage device characterized by that. The portable storage device according to claim 1,
The control circuit includes:
Before receiving from the information processing apparatus an instruction to write information to the second storage unit or to read information from the second storage unit, the instruction to refer to the predetermined area is received from the information processing apparatus. , Transmitting the value set in the predetermined area to the information processing apparatus,
A portable storage device characterized by that.

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