JPH09107493A - Extension card setting device - Google Patents

Abstract

PROBLEM TO BE SOLVED: To continue the work for an extension card even with an erroneous operation preventing cover open in the case of some extension card type. SOLUTION: The open/close state of an erroneous operation preventing cover member 4 of an operator 3 is detected by an open/close detection part 5, and the type of an extension card set to a card setting part 1 is discriminated by a discrimination part 6. Detection information from the open/close detection part 5 and discrimination information from the discrimination part 6 are sent to a control part 7, and the control part 7 controls the operation for the extension card 2 in accordance with the type of the extension card 2 and the open/ close state of the cover member 4. By this control, the operation of data read, data write, or the like of the extension card 2 is permitted in the case of some extension card type even if the cover member 4 is in the open state.

Description

Detailed Description of the Invention

[0001]

BACKGROUND OF THE INVENTION 1. Field of the Invention The present invention relates to an expansion card mounting device for mounting an expansion card, and more particularly to an expansion card mounting device configured to reduce the possibility of accidentally removing the expansion card. Is.

[0002]

2. Description of the Related Art In recent years, by connecting expansion cards such as hard disk cards, memory cards, modem cards, etc. in personal computers,
A method of expanding the function of a personal computer is widely used. Among these expansion cards, a so-called PC card has specifications and guidelines set by PCMCIA and JEIDA, and is a standard in the personal computer industry. Therefore, in order to easily exchange digital image information between a digital electronic camera and a personal computer, many digital electronic cameras use a PC card as an image recording medium. Such expansion cards
Generally, attachment / detachment is performed manually. 2. Description of the Related Art In a personal computer or the like, a discharge button or the like for removing an expansion card is provided at a place easily accessible by a user in order to facilitate attachment / detachment work. However, in data recording / playback devices such as digital electronic cameras, if the eject button of the expansion card is exposed, you accidentally operate the eject button while operating the camera through the viewfinder. There was a possibility that the expansion card would be ejected. For this reason, in the conventional digital electronic camera, a lid for covering the card slot and the card ejection button is provided, and when the lid is open, work such as writing data to the expansion card is prohibited.

[0003]

However, in the above-mentioned conventional digital electronic camera, regardless of the type of the expansion card, the operation for the expansion card is uniformly prohibited when the lid is open. For this reason, when the telephone line is connected to the modem card for use, the lid does not close, so that the modem card cannot be used. Therefore, it is an object of the present invention to provide an expansion card mounting device that can work on an expansion card even when the lid is open depending on the type of expansion card.

[0004]

In order to achieve the above object, an expansion card mounting device according to claim 1 releases a card mounting portion for mounting an expansion card and a mounting state of the expansion card in the card mounting portion. An operating member for opening and closing, a cover member configured to be openable and closable, and covering at least the operating member in a closed state, an open / close detecting means for detecting an open / closed state of the cover member, and the above-mentioned mounted on the card mounting portion. Discrimination means for discriminating the type of expansion card, and control for controlling the operation of the expansion card according to the type of the expansion card discriminated by the discrimination means and the open / closed state of the cover member detected by the open / close detection means. And means.

The expansion card mounting device according to claim 2 is
It is characterized by comprising storage means for storing control information according to the type of the expansion card, and the control means controls the operation for the expansion card using the control information stored in the storage means.

The expansion card mounting device according to claim 3 is
When the expansion card is mounted on the card mounting portion, the determining means determines the type of the expansion card regardless of the open / closed state of the cover member.

The expansion card mounting device according to claim 4 is
The insertion / removal detection means for detecting the attachment / detachment of the expansion card after the expansion card is attached to the card attachment portion is provided. When the attachment / detachment means detects the attachment / detachment of the expansion card, The feature is that the type of expansion card is determined again.

The expansion card mounting device according to claim 5 is
When the control means is an expansion card that is used by connecting a cable to the expansion card itself, the operation for the expansion card is not restricted according to the open / close state of the cover member.

The expansion card mounting device according to claim 6 is
In the case where the control means is an expansion card configured to perform optical communication by itself, the control means does not limit the operation of the expansion card according to the open / close state of the cover member.

The expansion card mounting device according to claim 7 is
A card mounting section for mounting an expansion card, an operator for releasing the mounted state of the expansion card to the card mounting section, a first cover configured to be openable and closable, and covering the operator in a closed state A member, a second cover member configured to be openable and closable, and covering the card mounting portion in a closed state,
An open / close detecting means for detecting the open / closed state of the first cover member, and a control means for permitting the operation to the expansion card only when the open / close detecting means detects that the first cover member is closed. And having.

The expansion card mounting device according to claim 8 is
It is characterized in that the second cover member has a light transmitting portion capable of transmitting light used for optical communication.

The expansion card mounting device according to claim 9 is
The second cover member is configured to be removable.

[0013]

According to the first aspect of the present invention, when the expansion card is mounted in the card mounting portion, the discriminating means detects the type of the mounted expansion card. On the other hand, the opening / closing detection means detects the opening / closing of the cover member that covers at least the operator for releasing the mounted state of the expansion card to the card mounting portion. The control unit controls the expansion card according to the type of the expansion card determined by the determination unit using the control information stored in the storage unit and the open / closed state of the cover member detected by the open / close detection unit. Decide how to get the expansion card working. With such a configuration, it is possible to permit the operation of a specific type of expansion card even when the cover member is open.

According to the invention of claim 7, the cover member comprises:
It is divided into a first cover member that protects the operator from erroneous operation and a second cover member that covers the card mounting portion, and is controlled only when the opening / closing detection means detects that the first cover member is closed. Since the operation of the expansion card is permitted by the means, it is possible to use various expansion cards while surely preventing the erroneous operation of the operator.

[0015]

DETAILED DESCRIPTION OF THE PREFERRED EMBODIMENTS An embodiment in which the expansion card mounting device of the present invention is applied to a digital electronic camera will be described below with reference to the drawings.

FIG. 10 is a block diagram showing the elemental features of the present invention. In FIG. 1, the expansion card 2 is attached to and detached from the card mounting portion 1, and the detachment of the expansion card 2 from the card mounting portion 1 is instructed by the operation of the operator 3.

The cover member 4 is constructed so as to be openable and closable, and when it is closed, it covers the operating element 3 to prevent erroneous operation of the operating element 3. The cover member 4 may be configured to cover both the operator 3 and the mounting opening of the card mounting portion 1, as indicated by a phantom line.

The open / closed state of the cover member 4 is detected by the open / close detection unit 5, and the type of the expansion card 2 mounted in the card mounting unit 1 is determined by the determination unit 6. The detection information from the open / close detection unit 5 and the discrimination information from the discrimination unit 6 are sent to the control unit 7, and the control unit 7 operates the expansion card 2 according to the type of the expansion card 2 and the open / closed state of the cover member 4. Control. For example, even if the cover member 4 is left open, this control allows the operations such as reading and writing of data with respect to the expansion card 2 depending on the type of the expansion card.

The storage unit 8 stores control information according to the type of the expansion card 2, that is, control information such as what kind of control is performed according to the open / close state of the cover member 4 for each type of the expansion card 2. Remembered

The attachment / detachment detecting section 9 detects attachment / detachment of the expansion card 2 to / from the card attaching section 1 after the extension card 2 is attached to the card attaching section 1, and when the detection is made, the extension section detects the extension card again. Two types of discrimination are made.

The discriminating unit 6, the control unit 7, the storage unit 8 and the attachment / detachment detecting unit 9 are the CPU 106 and the ROM 1 which will be described later.
09, Flash Memory 108 and expansion card I
/ F110.

[First Embodiment] FIG. 1 shows a configuration of a digital electronic camera according to a first embodiment of the present invention. In FIG. 1, 101 is an imaging lens, 102 is a shutter, 103 is an image sensor, and 104 is an image sensor 103.
A / D converter for converting an analog signal output from the A / D converter into a digital signal, 105 is a signal processing circuit for processing the digital signal output from the A / D converter 104 to create digital image data, and 106 CP that controls each part of this digital electronic camera and processes digital image signals
U is a RAM 107 is a work area used when the CPU 106 performs processing, 108 is a flash memory which is an internal storage device for holding digital image data and programs, and 109 is a digital electronic device. Reference numeral 110 denotes a ROM in which a program for operating the camera is stored, 110 is an interface for connecting an expansion card to the digital electronic camera, and 111 is an expansion card connected to the digital electronic camera through the expansion card I / F 110. And 112
Is the lid 60 of the card slot into which the expansion card 111 is inserted.
It is a lid opening / closing detection switch attached to 2
Is an external bus I / F for transmitting digital image data to an external computer (not shown) or the like.

Further, CPU 106, RAM 107, Fl
The ash Memory 108, the ROM 109, the expansion card I / F 110, the external bus I / F 113, and the signal processing circuit 105 are connected to each other by an internal bus.

(Photographing Operation of Digital Electronic Camera) The photographing operation of the digital electronic camera having the above configuration will be described with reference to the flowchart of FIG.

When an image capturing / recording command is issued to the CPU 106 from a switch (not shown) (or when an image capturing / recording command is input from an external computer or the like (not shown) via the external bus I / F 113 or the expansion card I / F 110). , CPU
Reference numeral 106 executes an image pickup recording operation. That is, shutter 1
02 is driven to perform exposure (S201), and the image sensor 103
Is read (S202). And A / D converter 1
04 to perform analog-digital conversion of the signal (S
203), the signal processing circuit 105 performs predetermined correction and processing to create digital image data (S2).
04). The created digital image data is RAM107
Is temporarily recorded in (S205). After this, expansion card 1
Whether or not there is a storage medium in 11 is determined by means to be described later (S206), and if there is, digital image data is recorded in that storage medium (S207). If the expansion card 111 does not have a storage medium, Flash Me
The digital image data is recorded in the memory 108 (S
208).

(Function of Discriminating Expansion Card) Next, an example of the internal structure of the expansion card 111 will be described with reference to FIG. In FIG. 3, reference numeral 301 denotes an expansion card controller incorporated in the expansion card 111 for controlling signal exchange between the expansion card I / F 110 on the digital electronic camera side and the expansion card 111. Reference numeral 302 denotes a card information ROM in which information related to the function of the expansion card 111 is recorded. A card function unit 303 provides the function of the expansion card 111. The card function part differs depending on the type of expansion card. For example, in the case of a hard disk card, a card function unit is composed of a hard disk controller and a hard disk drive, and in the case of a modem card, it is composed of a serial communication controller and a modem signal processing circuit. Access from the CPU 106 of the digital electronic camera to the card function unit 303 and control of the card function unit 303 are performed via the expansion card controller 301.

Next, the function of the expansion card I / F 110 is shown in FIG.
It will be described according to. In FIG. 4, the expansion card I / F1
10, a data bus 409 for exchanging data and control commands, a card interrupt signal line 407 for transmitting an interrupt signal from the card function unit 303, and an expansion card controller 301 in the expansion card 111. Card detection signal line 4 that carries a card detection signal that becomes active when an expansion card is inserted
No. 08 is provided, and the expansion card I / F 110 and the expansion card controller 301 exchange information through these signal lines 407, 408, and 409. Further, a data bus 406 for exchanging data and control commands and an interrupt signal line 405 for transmitting an interrupt signal from the expansion card I / F 110 are provided between the expansion card I / F 110 and the CPU 106 of the digital electronic camera. Set up.

Reference numeral 401 denotes a plurality of registers provided inside the expansion card I / F 110. This register 401
Through the CPU 106, a control command for controlling the operation of the expansion card I / F 110 is sent to the expansion card 111 or the state of the expansion card 111 is checked. In particular, the Ch register set in the CS register 402 inside the expansion card I / F 110 when the card detection signal line 408 changes.
An age bit 403 is provided. Change Bit 4
03 is a command from CPU 106 or expansion card I /
Allow reset only when F110 is reset. Also, it is set when the card detection signal line 408 becomes active, and the card detection signal line 408 is set.
An InOut bit 404 is also provided in the CS register 402 that is reset when is no longer active. As a result,
By referring to the contents of the CS register 402, it is possible to detect whether or not the expansion card 111 is connected to the digital electronic camera and whether or not the expansion card 111 is inserted / removed within a predetermined period.

The condition that the interrupt signal line 405 becomes active can be set by the register 401. As conditions that can be set, when the card interrupt signal line 408 becomes active, the CS register 402
It is possible that the value has changed. This allows the CPU 1 to perform a predetermined process according to the insertion / removal of the expansion card 111
It can be performed by the interrupt processing of 06.

The operation of determining the function (type) of the expansion card 111 when the expansion card 111 is inserted into the card slot 601 of the digital electronic camera in the above configuration will be described with reference to the flowchart of FIG.

The function discrimination operation of the expansion card 111 is performed by the open / close detection switch 112 of the lid 602 of the card slot 601.
It starts when the expansion card 111 is inserted into the card slot 601 of the digital electronic camera regardless of the state.

First, the InOut bit 404 of the CS register 402 is checked to see if the expansion card 111 has been inserted (S501). If the expansion card 111 is inserted, change the CS register 402
Bit 403 is reset (S502) and expansion card 1
Card information is read from the card information ROM 302 of No. 11 into the RAM 107 of the digital electronic camera (S503).
Next, the change bit 403 of the CS register 402
It is checked whether or not is set (S504). CS
If the Change bit 403 of the register 402 is set, the expansion card 111 is inserted / removed while the card information is being read into the RAM 107. Therefore, the card information read into the RAM 107 is invalid, and the processing is restarted from S501. Performs expansion card function determination operation.

If the Change bit 403 of the CS register 402 is not set, the card information read in the RAM 107 is valid, and this card information is analyzed to determine the function of the inserted expansion card 111 ( S505). Then, the determined result is the RAM 107.
Alternatively, it is registered in a predetermined format in a predetermined address of the Flash Memory 108 (S506). On the digital electronic camera side, the program required to identify the type of the inserted expansion card 111 based on the registered determination result and operate the expansion card 111 is Fla.
It is checked whether or not it exists in the sh Memory 108 or the ROM 109 (S507), and if it exists, the program is executed (S508), and if it does not exist, the work of determining the type of the expansion card function ends.

(Operation Control by Opening / Closing the Expansion Card Slot Lid) Next, FIG. 6 is a perspective view showing the appearance of the digital electronic camera main body of the present embodiment. In FIG. 6, 601 is a card slot into which an expansion card is inserted, 602 is a cover of the card slot, and 603 is a card slot 60.
It is a card ejection button for taking out the expansion card 111 from 1. The lid opening / closing detection switch 112 in FIG. 1 is configured to be turned on / off in association with opening / closing of the lid 602.

In the above structure, the operation of the expansion card 111 is controlled according to the opening / closing of the lid 602 and the type of the expansion card 111. Information regarding which kind of expansion card 111 and how the limitation is applied (hereinafter, referred to as “WSD information”) is stored in the Flash Memory 108 and the R.
Described in OM109. Basic expansion card 111
The WSD information regarding the above is written in the ROM 109. RO
For the WSD information regarding the expansion cards 111 not described in M109, the device driver of each expansion card 111 is the flash memory of the digital electronic camera.
Flash Memory108 together with the device driver program when installing on ory108
Write to.

Next, the operation limiting method for each type of expansion card will be described below.

(In the case of a storage medium card) When a hard disk card or a memory card is inserted in the card slot 601, the operation for the expansion card 111 is restricted as shown in FIG.

That is, when the lid 602 is closed, data can be written and read.
When 2 is open, only the reading of data is possible and the writing of data is not possible.

If the lid is opened during the writing operation, the processing is performed according to the flowchart of FIG. Less than,
The flowchart of FIG. 8 will be described.

First, the write operation is interrupted (S8).
01). Next, the information necessary for restarting the writing operation is recorded in the RAM 107 or the Flash Memory 108 of the digital electronic camera body (S80).
2). The information necessary for resuming the writing operation includes a file name, file size, file creation date, directory recording status, volume serial number of the storage medium of the expansion card, and the like. Next, the lid 6
It waits until 02 is closed (S803).

When the lid 602 is closed, it is checked whether the information for which writing has been interrupted has been updated. If it is not updated, it is checked whether an expansion card of the same type as that when the writing is interrupted is inserted in the card slot 601. If it is an expansion card of the same type, it is checked whether the volume serial number is the same as the information saved in S802, and it is checked whether or not there is a file for which the writing operation has been interrupted. If there is a file for which writing has been suspended previously (S804), the writing operation is restarted based on the information saved in S802 (S805). If the write operation cannot be resumed, the information saved in S802 is discarded (S806).

(In the case of an expansion card for connecting a cable)
In a modem card or the like, a cable such as a telephone line is connected to the expansion card 111 when using the function of the expansion card 111. In the case of the expansion card which may be used by connecting the cable as described above, the operation is not restricted according to the opening / closing of the lid 602.

(In the case of expansion card for optical communication) In the case of the expansion card 111 for communication using light such as infrared rays, the operation is not restricted according to the opening / closing of the lid 602.

[Second Embodiment] A second embodiment will be described with reference to FIG. In FIG. 9, 901 is a first lid that covers only the card ejection button 603, and 902 is a second lid that covers only the card slot 601. In this case, the lid opening / closing detection switch 112 is operated in conjunction with opening / closing of the first lid 901. In this embodiment, the operation of the expansion card 111 is permitted only when the first lid 901 is closed. In an expansion card that is used by connecting a cable, only the second lid 902 is opened to connect the cable.

The second lid 902 may be provided with a window 903 through which light of a wavelength used for optical communication is transmitted, the second lid 902 may be detachable, or the digital electronic camera main body may be detached. The side or the second lid 902 side may be provided with a gap 904 that allows the cable to be connected to the expansion card inserted in the slot 601.

In the above embodiments, the expansion card mounting device of the present invention is applied to a digital electronic camera. However, the present invention is applicable to a VTR with a built-in camera, an electronic notebook, a portable data transmitting / receiving device, a computer and other electronic devices. It can be applied to equipment.

Further, the card mounting portion may be a mounting portion having various structures instead of the slot type as in the above-mentioned embodiment.

[0048]

As described above, according to the first and second aspects of the present invention, it is possible to operate a specific type of expansion card even when the cover member that covers the operator is left open.

Further, according to the invention of claim 3, the type of the expansion card is discriminated regardless of the opened / closed state of the cover member, and the operation for the expansion card is controlled according to the discrimination result, so that the cover member is operated. In the case of a structure that covers both the child and the card mounting portion, even when an expansion card whose cover member cannot be closed during use is mounted, it is possible to permit operation of the expansion card.

According to the fourth aspect of the present invention, after the type of the expansion card mounted in the card mounting portion is determined, even if another type of expansion card is mounted, the newly mounted expansion card is It is possible to surely perform appropriate operation control according to the type.

According to the fifth aspect of the present invention, even if the cable connected to the expansion card interferes and the cover member cannot be closed, the expansion card can be operated.

According to the invention of claim 6, even when the cover member cannot be closed for optical communication, the expansion card can be operated.

According to the invention of claim 7, it is possible to use various expansion cards while surely preventing erroneous operation of the operator.

According to the invention of claim 8, even when an expansion card having a structure for performing optical communication by itself is attached, optical communication is inconvenient via the light transmitting portion with the second cover member closed. Can be done without.

According to the ninth aspect of the present invention, the second cover member can be removed when using the expansion card, which must be used with the second cover member left open.
The second cover member does not get in the way during use.

[Brief description of the drawings]

FIG. 1 is a block diagram showing an overall configuration of a first exemplary embodiment of the present invention.

FIG. 2 is a flow chart when an image is taken in the first embodiment of the present invention.

FIG. 3 is a block diagram showing an internal configuration of an expansion card according to the first embodiment of the present invention.

FIG. 4 is an expansion card I / in the first embodiment of the present invention.
It is a block diagram which shows the internal structure of F.

FIG. 5 is a flow chart for performing expansion card function determination in the first embodiment of the present invention.

FIG. 6 is a perspective view of the digital electronic camera according to the first embodiment of the present invention.

FIG. 7 is a diagram showing a limitation of operation by opening and closing a lid in the expansion card having the storage medium built therein according to the first embodiment of the present invention.

FIG. 8 is a flowchart of a process when the cover is opened during the writing operation in the expansion card having the storage medium built therein according to the first embodiment of the present invention.

FIG. 9 is a perspective view of a digital electronic camera according to a second embodiment of the present invention.

FIG. 10 is a block diagram showing elemental features of the present invention.

[Explanation of symbols]

 DESCRIPTION OF SYMBOLS 1 Card mounting part 2 Expansion card 3 Operator 4 Cover member 5 Opening / closing detection part 6 Discrimination part 7 Control part 8 Storage part 9 Attachment / detachment detection part 106 CPU 107 RAM 108 Flash Memory 109 ROM 110 Expansion card I / F 111 Expansion card 112 Lid Open / close detection switch (open / close detection means) 301 Expansion card controller 302 Card information ROM 303 Card function section 401 Register 402 CS register 601 Card slot (card mounting section) 602 Lid (cover member) 603 Card ejection button (operator)

Claims (9)

[Claims] 1. A card mounting portion for mounting an expansion card, an operator for releasing the mounted state of the expansion card to the card mounting portion, and an openable / closable operator at least the operator in a closed state. A cover member that covers the cover member, an open / close detection unit that detects the open / closed state of the cover member, a determination unit that determines the type of the expansion card mounted in the card mounting portion, and the expansion card that is determined by the determination unit. An expansion card mounting device, comprising: a control unit that controls the operation of the expansion card in accordance with the type and the opening / closing state of the cover member detected by the opening / closing detection unit. 2. A storage unit for storing control information according to the type of the expansion card, wherein the control unit controls the operation for the expansion card using the control information stored in the storage unit. The expansion card mounting device according to claim 1. 3. The discriminating means discriminates the type of the expansion card when the expansion card is mounted in the card mounting portion, regardless of whether the cover member is open or closed. Expansion card mounting device. 4. An attachment / detachment detection means for detecting attachment / detachment of the expansion card after the extension card is attached to the card attachment portion, and when the attachment / detachment means detects attachment / detachment of the extension card, 2. The expansion card mounting device according to claim 1, wherein the type of the expansion card is discriminated by the discriminating means again. 5. The control means, in the case of an expansion card that is used by connecting a cable to the expansion card itself, does not limit the operation of the expansion card according to the open / closed state of the cover member. The expansion card mounting device according to claim 1, which is characterized in that. 6. The control means, when the expansion card itself is an expansion card configured to perform optical communication, does not limit the operation of the expansion card according to the open / closed state of the cover member. The expansion card mounting device according to claim 1. 7. A card mounting portion for mounting an expansion card, an operator for releasing the mounted state of the expansion card to the card mounting portion, and an openable / closable operator for operating the operator in a closed state. A first cover member for covering; a second cover member configured to be openable and closable and covering the card mounting portion in a closed state; an open / close detecting means for detecting an open / closed state of the first cover member; An expansion card mounting apparatus comprising: a control unit that permits an operation to the expansion card only when the detection unit detects that the first cover member is closed. 8. The expansion card mounting device according to claim 7, wherein the second cover member has a light transmitting portion through which light used for optical communication can be transmitted. 9. The expansion card mounting device according to claim 7, wherein the second cover member is configured to be removable.