JPH05204493A - Recorder and electronic equipment - Google Patents

Abstract

PURPOSE:To provide a semiconductor disk device which can be extended so that various units can be connected at an optional position via an inside bus and that an optional semiconductor disk system fitted to a using purpose can be composed in a single device. CONSTITUTION:Plural connectors 7 of a same shape which are connected on a back board 6 are provided and the signal of the respective connectors is set to be common so that a control unit 8, a semiconductor memory unit 9, an HDD backup unit 10 and a battery unit 11 can selectively connected at the optional position of the connectors 7. Thus, inside unit constitution is freely selected/connected so that various systems can be constituted in the single device.

Description

Detailed Description of the Invention

[0001]

BACKGROUND OF THE INVENTION 1. Field of the Invention The present invention relates to a recording apparatus and electronic equipment, for example, a semiconductor disk device or a battery unit characterized in that various units are mixedly connected to an internal bus to provide expandability. The present invention relates to a semiconductor disk device which is also used as a part of a housing.

[0002]

[Prior Art]

Conventional example 1. FIG. 10 is a block diagram of a semiconductor disk device incorporating a conventional data backup mechanism disclosed in, for example, Japanese Patent Laid-Open No. 63-100555, and FIG. 11 is a circuit block diagram of the same device. Is a semiconductor memory, 2 is a 3.5-inch magnetic disk device, 3 is a battery, 4 is a peripheral circuit unit, and these are all housed in a housing 5.

The operation will be described. When the power is turned on, the data of the 3.5-inch magnetic disk device 2 is transferred to the peripheral circuit section 4
Is written on the semiconductor memory 1 via. A read / write operation is performed on this data. When the power is cut off, power is supplied from the battery 3 to the 3.5-inch magnetic disk device 2 and the semiconductor memory 1, and the data in the semiconductor memory 1 is saved to the 3.5-inch magnetic disk device 2 via the peripheral circuit section 4. ..

Conventional example 2. FIG. 12 is another configuration diagram of a semiconductor disk device incorporating a conventional data backup mechanism. In the figure, 5 is a housing of the semiconductor disk device, 11 is a battery unit, 26 is a battery built in the battery unit 11, and 28 is a battery unit connection cable connecting the semiconductor disk device 5 and the battery unit 11. In this example, the semiconductor disk device itself and the battery that supplies power to the semiconductor disk device are configured in separate housings.

Conventional example 3. FIG. 13 is a diagram showing the configuration of a conventional semiconductor disk device. In the figure, 23
Is an external power supply connector for connecting a power source from the outside, 25 is an engagement connector provided on the battery unit 11 side, 28 is an engagement connector provided on the housing side, 26
Is a battery provided inside the battery unit 11, 27
Is a mounting component provided inside the semiconductor disk device. In this example, the battery unit 11 is built in the housing 5, and the engagement connector 25 on the battery side is provided.
It is possible to supply electric power from the battery unit 11 to the main body by engaging the engagement connector 28 on the main body side with the engagement connector 28 on the main body side.

Conventional example 4. FIG. 14 shows a configuration diagram of the semiconductor disk device. In the figure, 26 is a small circular battery, 28 is an engaging connector for engaging the circular battery 26 provided on the mounting component 27. is there. In this example, the battery is directly mounted on the mounting component 27.

[0007]

Since the conventional semiconductor disk device having the built-in data backup mechanism is constructed as described above, the magnetic disk device, the semiconductor memory, the peripheral circuit section, and the battery are the constituent elements of the device. Since it is necessary to have all of them inside the housing and the type, capacity, size, quantity, and mounting position of the components are fixed, it is not possible to mount and use each component arbitrarily. There is. Further, the conventional semiconductor disk device is provided with a battery to have a data backup mechanism, and it is necessary to have a space for mounting the battery inside the semiconductor disk device or outside the semiconductor disk device. There is a problem in that the space inside the semiconductor disk device is limited by providing it, or a special battery device must be provided outside.

The first invention has been made to solve the above-mentioned problems, and has expandability so that a system having an arbitrary configuration according to the purpose of use can be constructed in one device. It is an object of the present invention to provide a recording device having the same function. A second aspect of the present invention is made to solve the above problems, and provides an electronic device in which the battery unit is efficiently arranged in the electronic device to reduce the influence on other mounted components. With the goal.

[0009]

A recording apparatus according to a first aspect of the invention is configured such that various units can be mixedly connected to an internal bus in the apparatus. For example, a common internal bus in the apparatus can be used. Control unit, semiconductor memory unit,
The HDD backup unit and the battery unit can be connected at arbitrary positions.

In the electronic device according to the second aspect of the present invention, the battery unit is also used as a part of the housing of the electronic device. For example, a flat plate-shaped battery is attached instead of the back panel of the electronic device, and the battery itself is used instead of the back panel of the housing.

[0011]

In the recording apparatus according to the first aspect of the present invention, a plurality of connectors are mounted on a backboard having a common internal bus, and the bus signals between the connectors are made common, thereby limiting the connection position and type of the unit. Without doing so, it is possible to take an arbitrary configuration.

The electronic device according to the second aspect of the invention can be operated by being supplied with the electric power required for operating the electronic device from the battery unit that also serves as a part of the housing. Therefore, the influence of the battery unit on the mounted components mounted inside the housing can be avoided as much as possible, and the mounted components of the electronic device can be effectively arranged in the space of the housing.

[0013]

【Example】

Example 1. An embodiment of the first invention will be described below with reference to the drawings. 1 is a device configuration diagram, FIG. 2 is a circuit block diagram,
FIG. 3 is an example showing a part of the pin arrangement of the slot, and FIGS. 4, 5, and 6 are examples showing that an arbitrary configuration is possible. In the figure, 6 is a backboard, 7 is a connector, 8 is a control unit, 9 is a semiconductor memory unit, and 10 is a HD.
D backup unit, 11 is a battery unit, 1
2 is a microprocessor, 13 is a unit identification circuit, 1
Reference numeral 4 is an interface circuit, and 15 is a read / write circuit.

As shown in FIG. 1, the shapes of the connectors 7 of the slots 1 to 6 are the same, and the signals are all common except for the unit address signal unique to each slot. The control unit 8 is an essential unit in terms of system configuration. The microprocessor 12 of the control unit 8 checks the number and types of units connected to the bus, and the storing operation is performed when the apparatus is started.

This operation will be described with reference to the slot pin arrangement shown in FIG. A unique address number is given to each slot, and a 4-bit address number is sent to the unit inserted therein by using unit addresses 0 to 3. Also, each unit is given a 4-bit unit type indicating its type. A unit select signal is sent from the microprocessor 12 to each slot using unit select 0 to 3. When the address specified by the unit select signal by the unit identification circuit 13 matches the address number of the unit connected thereto, the unit type lines 0 to 3 are connected.
Send out your unit type above.

The microprocessor 12 sequentially designates the address number, recognizes the type of the unit connected to the slot by the unit type signal transmitted on the bus, and determines the device configuration.

Therefore, when the semiconductor memory unit 9 is connected to the slots 2 to 6 as shown in FIG. 4, it can be used as a large capacity semiconductor disk device, and as shown in FIG.
When the semiconductor memory unit 9 and the HDD backup unit 10 are connected to the slot 4, it can be used as a semiconductor disk device with an HDD backup mechanism for the purpose of data non-volatility.
When the semiconductor memory unit 9 is connected to 3 and 4 and the battery unit 11 is connected to the slot 5, it can be used as a semiconductor disk device with a power backup mechanism for the purpose of data protection against short-time power interruption.

When the configuration of the device is determined, the control unit 8 transfers the data by the interface circuit 14 for the host device and the read / write circuit 15 for the internal unit. As described above, any unit can be mixedly connected to the slots 1 to 6 as long as the shape of the connector and the bus signal match, and a free system configuration can be obtained.

As described above, in this embodiment, a plurality of connectors having the same shape are connected on the backboard, the signals of the respective connectors are common except for the unique address signal corresponding to the connector position, and any connector is used. Position, control unit, semiconductor memory unit, battery unit, H
The semiconductor disk device configured so that the DD backup unit can be selectively connected has been described.

Although the number of slots used is 6 in the above embodiment, the number is not limited. In addition to the above example, the unit may be an AC power supply unit, an FDD backup unit, or another unit. Further, there is no limitation on the capacity and dimensions of these semiconductor memory unit, HDD backup unit, and battery unit.

As a prior art relating to such a mixed connection, there is one disclosed in JP-A-3-30007. This describes a technique characterized in that a disk drive unit and a semiconductor memory unit in a personal computer can be connected to a connector in a compatible structure. However, in the case of this prior art, it is the invention of the computer itself, that a plurality of backup means can be connected to the dedicated slot only at a specific position with the same interface, and the mixed connection unit is limited to the storage device. On the other hand, the present invention is not a computer but an invention of a recording device, can be connected with any of a plurality of connectors (slots), and is a mixed connection unit other than a recording device such as a control unit or a battery unit. Because it includes things,
The prior art differs from the present invention.

Example 2. An embodiment of the second invention will be described below with reference to the drawings. FIG. 7 is a diagram showing an example of an electronic apparatus according to the present invention using a semiconductor disk device, and FIG. 7A is a perspective view of the semiconductor disk device.
7B is a perspective view of a battery unit used in the semiconductor disk device, and FIG. 7C is a sectional view taken along the line AA in FIG. 7A. In the figure, 5 is a housing of the semiconductor disk device or the main body of the semiconductor disk device, 11 is a battery unit, 23 is an external power supply connector for receiving power from the outside, and 24 is the battery unit 11 with respect to the housing 5. A battery unit fixing convex portion for attachment, 25 is an engaging connector provided in the battery unit 11, 26 is a thin plate battery provided in the battery unit 11, and 27 is a semiconductor provided in the housing 5. Mounted parts of the disk device, reference numeral 28 is an engaging connector provided on the main body side of the semiconductor disk device.

This example is characterized in that a battery unit 11 is mounted instead of the back cover as a power source backup mechanism for the volatile memory mounted in the main body. The battery unit 11 has the battery unit fixing convex portion 24, so that the battery unit fixing convex portion engages with the hole provided in the housing 5 so that the battery unit 11 can be easily attached and detached. Is becoming Further, the battery unit is the engaging connector 2
5, the engaging connector 25 engages with an engaging connector 28 on the main body side provided in a mounting component 27 such as a control unit for control provided inside the housing 5. As a result, the electric power in the battery unit is supplied to the main body. When this battery unit is attached to the main body 5, first, the engaging connector 25 and the engaging connector 28 are connected, and then the battery unit fixing convex portion 24 is engaged with the hole in the housing 5. Therefore, it becomes possible to easily mount it. When removing, by performing the reverse procedure,
It can also be easily removed. When the semiconductor disk device is used in a place where there is vibration, the battery unit 11 may fall off from the housing 5. In such a case, although not shown, The battery unit 11 may be screwed, taped, or bonded. Further, this battery unit is not limited to the case of supplying electric power to the main body, and may be one capable of receiving electric power and charging via the external power supply connector 23 on the main body side. Further, when the semiconductor disk device does not use a battery, it is not necessary to mount the battery unit 11, and a back cover which can be easily mounted and dismounted is separately prepared instead of the battery unit 11. The battery unit 11 may be attached instead of the battery unit 11. When the battery unit 11 is not attached, this semiconductor disk device operates only by supplying power from the external power supply connector 23.

As described above, in this embodiment, the battery unit 11 has the thin or plate-shaped battery 26, and the battery unit 11 itself can be formed in the plate shape. An example is shown in which the unit 11 is used as a part of the housing 5.

Example 3. Next, another embodiment of the present invention will be described with reference to FIG. 8, the same reference numerals as those in FIG. 7 indicate the same or corresponding portions, and detailed description thereof will be omitted. In FIG. 8, what is particularly characteristic is that the battery unit 11 has an L-shaped shape, not a flat or plate shape. This L-shaped battery unit can be used as both a back cover and a side cover for the housing 5 of the semiconductor disk device as shown in FIG. 8A. If only the back cover is used as shown in FIG. 7, the battery capacity may be insufficient. In such a case, the battery may be used as the side cover as shown in FIG. By forming the unit 11, the capacity of the battery can be doubled or tripled. If the same idea is used, not only the back cover and the side cover but also the front cover, the top cover, or the bottom cover may be used. By doing so, the battery unit 11 can be used for any arbitrary surface of the housing 5.

Example 4. Next, another embodiment of the present invention will be further described with reference to FIG. 9, the same reference numerals as those shown in FIG. 7 indicate the same or corresponding parts, and the description thereof will be omitted here. In FIG. 9, what is different from that shown in FIG. 7 is that the battery unit 11 does not cover the entire back surface, but in this example, a half portion is covered. When the capacity of the battery unit 11 is not required so much, the size of the battery unit 11 is reduced so that the battery unit 11 does not need to be used for all of one surface of the semiconductor disk device.
For example, the battery unit 11 that covers a half portion as in this example may be used.

As a prior art of mounting such a battery on an electronic device, there is one as shown in FIG. FIG. 15 is a view showing a part of the housing of the electronic device disclosed in Japanese Utility Model Laid-Open No. 58-74766, in which 5 is a housing of the electronic device, 50 is a battery storage portion, and 58 is a cushion. A member, 59 is a non-slip member, and 60 is a bottom plate. Although the dry battery is housed in the bottom of the housing of the electronic device in this manner, there is a common point with the above embodiment, but as shown in FIG. 15, the bottom plate 60 exists in addition to the dry battery. This is different from the above-described embodiment of the present invention in that a bottom plate is required to accommodate this dry battery.

FIG. 16 is a diagram showing a conventional portable wireless device, in which 5 is a housing of the portable wireless device, 1
Reference numeral 1 is a battery case connected to the housing 5.
The battery case 11 can be slid in the direction of arrow X, and the housing 5 can be slid in the direction of arrow Y to separate the two. In this example, the battery case 11 is present at the bottom of the housing 5 of the portable wireless device, which is common to the above-described embodiments of the present invention, but the battery case 11 itself is a portable wireless device. Front, back,
This is different from the above-described embodiment in that the side surface and the like are formed, and the inside of the front surface, the back surface, and the side surface formed by the battery case are all batteries.

Further, FIG. 17 shows the actual construction of Sho 58-158475.
It is a battery-driven electronic device case shown in FIG. In the figure, 5 is an electronic device case, and 11 is a battery case. In this figure, the battery case 11 is shown in FIG.
Similarly to the above, the front, back, side, and bottom of the electronic device case are formed, and at the same time, the inside surrounded by the front, back, side, and bottom is a battery, which is different from the above-described embodiment.

FIG. 18 is a view showing a conventional electronic equipment casing structure shown in Japanese Utility Model Laid-Open No. 3-76. In the figure,
Reference numeral 5 is a housing of the electronic device, and 11 is a battery cover. Also in the example shown in FIG. 18, the battery cover 11 forms a part of the housing of the electronic device, and the battery exists inside the battery cover. As described above, the inside of the battery cover is filled with the battery, and this example is also different from the embodiment described in the present invention.

As described above, the second aspect of the invention is particularly characterized in that the battery itself or the battery unit containing the battery itself forms the surface of the housing, and the battery itself or the battery unit itself is formed. It is characterized in that a part of the housing is replaced by the battery unit because it is formed into a thin plate shape or a flat shape. By using such a thin plate-shaped battery, it becomes possible to effectively use the battery space that has conventionally occupied a considerable space inside the housing or a part of the inside of the housing with other parts. Is.

[0032]

As described above, according to the first aspect of the present invention, various recording devices can be configured by freely selecting and connecting the internal unit configuration while the device has the same external dimensions as the conventional recording device. Therefore, there is an effect that the system can be upgraded and the system can be easily changed while adding or changing each unit according to the work to be used.

As described above, according to the second aspect of the present invention, the battery unit can be used instead of the back cover or the like, that is, as a part of the housing, so that it has an effect on other mounted components in the electronic device. There is an effect that it decreases. That is, there is an effect that it is possible to obtain an electronic device in which the area that can be used for other mounted components can be kept in a limited size.

[Brief description of drawings]

FIG. 1 is a device configuration diagram of a semiconductor disk according to an embodiment of the present invention.

FIG. 2 is a circuit block diagram of a semiconductor disk according to an embodiment of the present invention.

FIG. 3 is a diagram showing an example of a part of pin arrangement of slots of a semiconductor disk according to an embodiment of the present invention.

FIG. 4 is a diagram showing a device configuration example of a semiconductor disk according to an embodiment of the present invention.

FIG. 5 is a diagram showing another device configuration example of a semiconductor disk according to an embodiment of the present invention.

FIG. 6 is a diagram showing another device configuration example of a semiconductor disk according to an embodiment of the present invention.

FIG. 7 is a device configuration diagram of a semiconductor disk according to an embodiment of the present invention.

FIG. 8 is a device configuration diagram of a semiconductor disk according to another embodiment of the present invention.

FIG. 9 is a device configuration diagram of a semiconductor disk according to an embodiment of the present invention.

FIG. 10 is a device configuration diagram of a conventional semiconductor disk.

FIG. 11 is a circuit block diagram of a conventional semiconductor disk.

FIG. 12 is a device configuration diagram of a conventional semiconductor disk.

FIG. 13 is a device configuration diagram of a conventional semiconductor disk.

FIG. 14 is a device configuration diagram of a conventional semiconductor disk.

FIG. 15 is a diagram showing a housing of a conventional electronic device.

FIG. 16 is a diagram showing a configuration of a conventional portable wireless device.

FIG. 17 is a view showing a conventional battery-driven electronic device case.

FIG. 18 is a diagram showing a housing structure of a conventional electronic device.

[Explanation of symbols]

 1 Semiconductor Memory 2 3.5-inch Magnetic Disk Unit 3 Battery 4 Peripheral Circuit Section 5 Housing / Main Body 6 Backboard 7 Connector 8 Control Unit 9 Semiconductor Memory Unit 10 HDD Backup Unit 11 Battery Unit 12 Microprocessor 13 Unit Identification Circuit 14 Interface Circuit 15 read / write circuit 23 external power supply connector 24 battery unit fixing convex portion 25 battery unit side engaging connector 26 battery 27 in-body mounted component 28 main body side engaging connector

Claims (2)

[Claims] 1. A recording device having the following elements: (a) a board having a common bus and a plurality of connectors connected to the common bus, and (b) an arbitrary connector among the plurality of connectors of the board. A control unit for controlling a unit connected to the other connector and (c) at least one of the following units, other than the connector to which the control unit is connected: (C1) a volatile recording unit for storing data in a volatile recording medium, (c2) a non-volatile recording unit for storing data in a non-volatile recording medium, and (c3) power for supplying electric power. Supply unit. 2. An electronic device having the following elements: (a) an operating part for performing a predetermined operation, (b) a casing covering a part of the operating part, and (c) the operating part accommodating a flat battery. A power supply unit that is attached to the housing so as to cover the other part and supplies power to the operation unit.