KR100515263B1 - Method and Devices for Data Transfer - Google Patents

Abstract

Data transmission method and device

A storage device is proposed to facilitate wireless communication between a computer device and one or more external portable electronic devices, or between the external devices. The storage device includes a wireless transceiver for initiating communication with any of the above devices. When a storage device communicates with any device, it sends any data stored in its memory to the device for transmission to the device. The storage device may also receive data from the device for transmission to another device and transmit it to its memory.

Description

Method and device for data transfer {Method and Devices for Data Transfer}

The present invention relates to a method and apparatus for wireless transmission of data between a computer and one or more electronic devices external to the computer but capable of communicating data usefully to or from the computer. Examples of the electronic device include a camera, a video camera, an organizer, an MP3 player, or a personal digital assistant (PDA). The external electronic device is often referred to as a "slave device".

There is an increasing demand for portable devices that combine high power with small size and light weight. Although modern processors can be miniaturized while maintaining their ability to process large amounts of data, the size of a portable device limits its memory capacity. A user who requires more memory capacity must now transmit data to a separate memory medium, such as a compact flash card, a multimedia card, a memory stick, a smart medium, that is physically connected to the portable device. Compatibility is an important issue because very large storage media arrays can be used. When new portable devices are added to a computer system, it is particularly difficult to keep existing computer systems up to date and fully compatible.

Further preferred features of the present invention will be described through the following examples of the drawings:

1 shows a system comprising a master storage device, a PC and a plurality of slave devices according to the present invention;

2 illustrates the structure of the master storage device of FIG. 1;

3 is an operation flowchart of the master storage device of FIG. 1 when a write request signal is received from a slave device;

4 illustrates the operation of the master storage device of FIG. 1 to transmit data to a slave device;

FIG. 5 illustrates the operation of the master storage device of FIG. 1 to transmit data to a PC.

The present invention seeks to provide novel and useful methods and apparatus for transferring data between electronic devices, and in particular for facilitating communication between a computer device and one or more external electronic devices or between such external devices.

In general terms, the present invention proposes a data storage device including a wireless transceiver for selectively communicating with a computer device or one external electronic device. When a storage device communicates with any device, it can send any data stored in that memory to the device for transmission to the device. The storage device may also receive data from the device for relay to another device and transmit it to its memory.

Thus, the storage device places a "leg" between the external device and the computer device. Since the storage device is substantially dedicated to the storage of data, it can accommodate larger memory than most other portable electronic items, for example, 1 GB or more, 10 GB or more, or 20 GB or more. The memory of the storage device may be, for example, a magnetic disk drive or other suitable non-volatile memory device, such as an electrically erasable and programmable ROM (EEPROM), ferroelectric RAM (FRAM), magnetoresistive RAM (MRAM), or It may be another memory device available in the future.

The radio transceiver preferably operates by electromagnetic waves, most preferably by RF or infrared waves. In the former case, the transceiver may consist of an antenna and an RF interface circuit. Regardless of the radio wave used, the transceiver may use any protocol present or available in the future, for example, at least one of (i) IEEE802.11, (ii) Bluetooth, or (iii) irDA. The signal can be sent or received.

It is also possible for the storage device to be able to receive / transmit in multiple formats, thus converting between two slave devices using different formats.

Preferably, as the internal memory becomes full or at least the amount of data exceeding a predetermined limit, any external unit including the internal memory will initiate communication with the data storage device, so that the data is stored in the data storage device. Can be sent to.

All communication performed by the data storage device is received from another device (computer device or slave device) to compare the ID code with the ID code list (the ID code list is stored internally by the data storage device). It is preferable to include the step of using to verify the identity of the other device.

Specifically, the present invention relates to a computer device comprising at least one computer device and at least one external device, each of which comprises wireless communication means; A data transmission method in a system including a transmission device including a processor, a memory, and a wireless transmission / reception means,

The data transmission method according to the present invention

Transmitting, by a first device of the devices, a radio signal to a transmission and reception means including data for transmission to a second device of the devices,

The processor storing the data in memory, and

And transmitting, by the processor, the data to the second apparatus using the transmission and reception means.

Secondly, the present invention relates to a data transmission device for a computer device including wireless communication means and a system including at least one external electronic device.

The apparatus according to the present invention

Wireless transmitting and receiving means for receiving and transmitting a wireless signal;

A processor; And

Memory,

The processor stores the signal in a memory in response to receiving a radio signal by a transmitting / receiving means from a first of the devices, the data including the data to be relayed to a second of the devices, and then the second device. The data is transmitted to the second device as the communication with is established.

Referring to FIG. 1, a system implementing the present invention includes a PC 1 having an antenna 3. The system also includes a master storage device 5 with an antenna 7. The system further comprises a plurality of electronic (" slave ") devices 9 that are external to the computer device 1 and are spatially separated from the computer device 1, but which are connected to the PC 1 or the PC ( Data can be usefully communicated from 1). Each external device 9 has an antenna 11. For simplicity only two slave devices 9 are shown in FIG. 1. The master storage device 5 and each external device 9 are portable. For example, their weight is preferably less than 1 kilogram each, each preferably including an internal power source, for example a battery.

The PC 1 and the master storage device 5 can communicate using the antennas 3, 7. Similarly, the master storage device 5 and the external device 9 can also communicate using the antennas 7, 11. Both types of communication may use any communication protocol IEEE802.11, Bluetooth, irDA, or the like. As will be described later, any slave device 9 may optionally transmit data to the PC 1 or any other slave device 9 via the master storage device 5. The PC 1 can transmit data to the selected one of the slave devices 9 via the master storage device. All such communications are digital and storage module 30 is for digital data. It is also possible to transmit data in encrypted form.

At least one (possibly all) slave device 9 will not require bidirectional communication with another slave device 9 or PC 1. For example, in the case of the slave device 9 which is a digital camera, the data transmitted via the master storage device 5 mostly (or entirely) enters the PC 1 from the digital camera.

In FIG. 2, the master storage device 5 includes an antenna 7, an RF interface circuit 10, a micro-controller 20 (eg, a microprocessor), and a storage module (memory) 30. . Upon receiving a signal from the antenna 7, it is processed by the RF interface circuit 10 and transmitted to the micro-controller 20. The microcontroller 20 controls writing data to the storage module 30 and reading data from the storage module 30. It also controls the RF interface circuit 10 so that the signal is transmitted using the antenna 7.

Some (typically all) external devices 9 include internal memory having a smaller capacity than storage module 30. For example, the storage capacity of each internal memory of the external device 9 may be one tenth or less of the storage module 30. When one external device 9 accumulates the amount of data exceeding the capacity of the internal memory of the slave device 9, the slave device 9 sends a "write request" signal to the master storage device 5. By requesting a communication setting between the slave device 9 and the master storage device 5, data may be transmitted to the storage module 30.

3 shows a master storage device 5 when the master storage device 5 receives a "write request" signal from the slave device 9 indicating that the slave device 9 has data to be written to the storage module 30. ) Is a flow chart. Starting from the top of FIG. 3, the master storage device 5 is initially a “standby state” in which the RF interface circuit 10 senses a signal, and the master storage device 5 also has other commands, for example a storage device. Detect keystrokes on the keypad.

When the antenna 7 receives the write request signal from the external device 9, the RF interface circuit 10 receives it and transmits it to the micro-controller 20. The micro-controller 20 recognizes the received signal as a write request signal from the slave device 9 indicating that the slave device 9 wants to write data to the storage module 30. The micro-controller 20 examines the write request signal to determine whether the slave ID included in the signal corresponds to one of the predetermined ID signal lists. If not, the master storage device 5 generates an error message. For example, this may be an error message on the screen. Alternatively or additionally, it can be, for example, a radio message transmitted from the master storage device 5, for example for the slave device 9 to which it has sent a write signal. Instead, if the ID included in the write request signal corresponds to one of the predetermined ID lists, the micro-controller 20 confirms the identity of the slave device 9. In this case, the micro-controller 20 creates a directory in the storage module 30 in association with the slave device 9 and establishes a communication link to the slave device 9 for reading data from the slave device 9. Set and write the data to the directory for the slave device. The master storage device 5 then returns to the standby state.

In FIG. 4, the process by which the master storage device 5 transmits data to the slave device 9 is shown. As in FIG. 3, the master storage device 5 is initially in a standby state. The user enters a key with a command to transfer data to one of the slave devices 9 using the keypad on the master storage device 5, and this ID is sent to the micro-controller. The micro-controller 20 instructs the RF interface to transmit a " provide read " signal to the indicated slave device 9 using the antenna 7, the indicated slave device 9 having its ID code. Will respond by sending a " read " The micro-controller 20 compares the ID code with a predetermined list of ID signals, thereby confirming the identity of the slave device 9. If the identity of the slave device 9 cannot be determined, the master storage device 5 generates an error message and returns to the standby state. Instead, once the identity of the slave device 9 is determined, the micro-controller 20 retrieves the storage module 30 and extracts the data stored there for transmission to the slave device 9. The micro-controller 20 then controls the RF interface circuit 10 to send the data to the slave device 9.

In Fig. 5, an operation flowchart of the master storage device 5 when writing data to the PC 1 is shown. As shown in FIGS. 3 and 4, the initial state of the master storage device 5 from above in FIG. 5 is a standby state. When a command is keyed into the master storage device 5, the micro-controller 20 "provides a read" to the RF interface 10 indicating that the master storage device 5 wants to send data to the PC 1. Instructs transmission of a signal to the PC 1. If the PC 1 can accept the data, the PC 1 generates a "read allowed" signal including the ID of the PC. The signal is received by the antenna 7 and transmitted by the RF interface circuit 10 to the micro-controller 20. Micro-controller 20 compares the ID with a copy of its own memory. In case of inconsistency as a result of the comparison, the master storage device 5 generates an error message and, for example, controls the RF interface circuit 10 to transmit the error message to the PC 1. Instead, when the ID of the PC 1 is recognized, the micro-controller 10 accesses the storage module 30 and the RF interface circuit 10 is in the storage module 30 to be relayed to the PC 1. Control to send all data. The PC 1 reads a directory on the master storage device 5 and can select some or all files from the device 5.

The process of writing data from the PC 1 to the master storage device 5 is generally similar to that described above in connection with FIG. 3. The PC 1 transmits a write request signal to the master storage device 5 holding the ID code for the PC 1. The master storage device 5 checks the identity of the PC 1 by comparing the code with the internal recording of the ID code for the PC 1 (if the two do not match, an error message is sent). Thereafter, the master storage device 5 starts communication with the PC 1 so that data is transmitted to the master storage device 5 and transmitted to the storage module 30.

While the invention has been described above with respect to only one embodiment, it will be apparent to those skilled in the art that many variations are possible within the scope of the invention.

For example, the master storage device 5 may communicate in multiple communication protocols (standard), in accordance with the protocol (s) acceptable to the device that can communicate at any moment. For example, the PC 1 requires communication in a first protocol manner, one or more slave devices 9 require communication in a second protocol manner, and the one or more other slave devices 9 in a third manner. If communication in a protocol manner is required, the master storage device 5 can communicate in any of the above protocols. As described above, the process of establishing communication with the PC 1 or any slave device 9 includes identification of the PC 1 or the slave device 9, and the master storage device determines the protocol to be used. This identity can be used to do so. For example, the master storage device 5 may comprise a lookup table of communication protocols suitable for each of its possible communication partners who have identified the identity of the PC 1 or slave device 9 with which it is currently communicating. Can access the lookup table to determine the corresponding communication protocol. The communication protocol can then be used to control the operation of the RF interface circuit 10.

In addition, the wireless communication scheme used in the above embodiment is radio communication, but the communication may alternatively be any other form of communication without using a wire (or other cable), for example, an infrared signal or a microwave signal. It can be performed by. It can also use ultrasonic signals. If the PC and the external device do not all use the same wireless communication scheme (for example, the PC uses RF communication while one or more external devices may use an infrared signal, and one or more others use a microwave signal). ), The master storage device of the present invention may be provided with respective multiple transmission and reception means for each wireless communication scheme.

Claims (11)

A computer device comprising wireless communication means; One or more secondary devices external to the computer device, including wireless communication means; And a portable transmission device having a processor, a nonvolatile memory having a capacity of at least 1 gigabyte, and a wireless transmission / reception means, comprising: a data transmission method between a plurality of electronic devices; Transmitting, by a first device of the device, a radio signal to the transmission and reception means including data for transmission to a second device of the device, The processor storing the data in the memory, and And sending, by the processor, the data to the second device using the transmission and reception means. 2. The method of claim 1, wherein the first device is one of the secondary devices and the second device is a computer device. The method of claim 1 wherein the first device is a computer device and the second device is one of the secondary devices. The method of claim 1 wherein the first device is a first secondary device and the second device is a second secondary device. The communication setting according to any one of claims 1 to 4, wherein the communication setting between the data transmission device and the first device includes an ID code used by the data transmission device to verify the identity of the first device. And transmitted by the first device to the data transmission device. 2. The communication setting according to claim 1, wherein the communication setting between the data transmission device and the second device is such that an ID code used by the data transmission device to verify the identity of the second device is transmitted by the second device. Transmitting to the device. 6. The method of claim 5, wherein the first device is one of the secondary devices, and wherein the data is stored in a location in memory in accordance with the identity of the first device. 8. A method according to any one of claims 2, 4 or 7, wherein the first device determines whether the internal memory of the first device contains a predetermined amount of data to establish communication with the data transmission device. Characterized in that the method. A portable data transmission device for transferring data between a computer device including wireless communication means and a plurality of electronic devices including at least one secondary electronic device external to the computer device, the wireless communication means comprising: Wireless transmitting and receiving means for receiving and transmitting a wireless signal; A processor; And A nonvolatile memory having a capacity of at least 1 gigabyte, The processor stores the signal in the memory as a wireless signal is received by the transmitting and receiving means, which includes data to be relayed from a first of the devices to a second of the devices, and then the second And transmit the data to the second device as communication with the device is established. A system comprising a computer device with wireless communication means, each of at least one secondary device with wireless communication means, and the data transmission device according to claim 9, wherein the wireless communication means of the computer device and the secondary device. Is for communication with a transmission / reception means of the data transmission apparatus. 11. The apparatus of claim 10, wherein the at least one secondary device comprises an internal memory and the signal is transmitted as the amount of data stored in the internal memory exceeds a predetermined limit or the internal memory is full. Initiate communication with the data transmission device for transmission to the device.