Patent Application
20100262776
Consumer electronic devices often require a huge storage space. For example, when users play games on video game consoles, they often need to save the video game data so that they can start at the point in the game where they left off. Still other applications for modern video game consoles, like photos, music, or downloaded games take up large amounts of space that cannot fit in the game console's internal storage. Further, it is desirable to have the storage device interface with standard computer interfaces such that the data can be stored on a computer or transmitted to other devices.
Nowadays, a memory card (e.g., Secure Digital (SD) card) is often used to store data for such devices as video game consoles, cameras, and the like. The memory cards are often expensive, and are limited in the amount of data that can be stored on them. For example, a typical memory card stores 1 gigabyte (GB) or 2 GB of data.
It is desirable to provide a device that can hold large amounts of additional data in a relatively inexpensive manner, and without having to manage dozens of little memory cards.
In an exemplary embodiment according to the present invention, a data drive is provided. The data drive includes: a storage device for storing data having a second format; an interface unit for converting a format of the data between a first format of a memory card and the second format, the interface unit comprising a device that is insertable into an external memory card reader to emulate the memory card; and a controller for controlling data transfers between the storage device and the interface unit.
In another exemplary embodiment according to the present invention, a method of transferring data between a storage device and an external device having a memory card reader is provided. The memory card reader transfers data having a first format, while the storage device transfers data having a second format. The method includes reading and storing. The reading includes: reading first data having the second format from the storage device; converting the first data having the second format into first data having the first format; and storing the first data having the first format to the external device through the memory card reader. The storing includes: reading second data having the first format from the external device through the memory card reader; converting the second data having the first format into second data having the second format; and storing the second data having the second format to the storage device.
In yet another exemplary embodiment according to the present invention, a method of emulating a memory card to a memory card reader using a storage device is provided. The memory card stores data having a first format, while the storage device stores data having a second format. The method includes: coupling the storage device to the memory card reader using a connector emulating physical and electronic connections of the memory card; and interfacing the storage device with the connector, wherein the interfacing comprises converting a format of data between the first format and the second format.
The accompanying drawings illustrate embodiments of the present invention, and together with the description, serve to explain the principles of the embodiments of the present invention.
Now, exemplary embodiments of the present invention will be described in more detail with reference to the accompanying drawings.
In exemplary embodiments according to the present invention, a data drive including a hard drive to memory card adapter is provided. In one embodiment, the hard drive is a Hard Disk Drive (HDD). Also, in one embodiment, the memory card is Secure Digital (SD). However, the present invention is not limited to HDD or SD.
In an exemplary embodiment according to the present invention, the adapter functions according to the following. A memory card connector of the data drive is inserted into a memory card reader, which is itself connected to or is an internal component of an external electronic device such as a computer, camera, video game console, etc. It should be noted that while the term memory card “reader” is used, it is understood from common parlance that the device also functions as a memory card writer. The memory card connector is connected through the memory card adapter to an internal HDD of the data drive using an industry standard interface (e.g., through Integrated Device Electronics (IDE), Serial Advanced Technology Attachment (SATA), etc.). The HDD is able to read or write data through the memory card connector from or to the external device that the memory card reader is connected to. In essence, this allows the HDD to communicate with an external device by having the memory card connector emulate a memory card to the external device's memory card reader.
Referring now to the figures, and
The external device 200 includes a controller 202 and a memory card reader 208. The memory card reader 208 and the controller 202 are external to the data drive 100, and are coupled to or are integral parts of the external device 200.
The external device 200 may be any suitable consumer electronics device, such as, for example, a video game console, such as the Nintendo Wii console. The memory card reader 208 may be any suitable memory card reader. In one embodiment, the memory card reader 208 is a Secure Digital (SD) card reader, but the present invention is not limited thereto.
The data drive 100 includes a hard disk drive (HDD) 104 and a controller 102 for controlling the HDD 104. The HDD stores images of memory cards, which are also referred to as pages. The controller 102 receives an external sync signal for synchronizing a page of the HDD 104. Data from this page can then be transferred between the HDD 104 and the external device 200 through the memory card reader 208. In one embodiment, the controller receives signals from control buttons 118 on the exterior of the data drive 100. These activate certain functions like synchronizing a page of the HDD, copying a memory card to the HDD 104, or confirming a command.
The data drive 100 can emulate a memory card to the memory card reader 208 when the data drive 100 is connected to the memory card reader 208 through the connector 117. In another embodiment, the controller 102 has the ability to reformat the HDD 104, for example, to a different block size, page size, or data organization. In still other embodiments, the storage device may not be a hard disk drive, but it may be any other suitable storage medium known to those skilled in the art. For example, the storage device in other embodiments may be a solid state drive (SSD). For the convenience of description, the data drive 100 will be described herein with an HDD as the storage device.
The data drive 100 also includes a display 110, which may include a liquid crystal display (LCD). The display 110 may, for example, display the page number for the hard disk drive area being accessed. As a possibility, if HDD 104 is a 100 gigabyte (100 GB) hard disk drive, a two-digit display may display between 00 and 99, each page corresponding to a gigabyte of disk space (the equivalent of a 1 GB memory card). The display 110 may be a monochrome or color display, and may be used to display other information for interface between the user and the data drive 100.
In other embodiments, the data drive may not include a liquid crystal display. As can be seen in
In addition to displaying page numbers, the display 110 includes one or more additional LEDs 111. Example functions for these LED indicators include indicating the status of the data drive 100 or an access indicator to notify when the HDD 104 is currently being accessed.
The data drive 100 also includes a memory card reader 108, which is used to read from and write to a memory card using a compatible format with the memory card reader 208 of the external device 200. In one embodiment, the memory card reader 108 can emulate the memory card reader 208 when the data drive 100 is connected to the memory card reader 208 through the connector 117. The memory card reader 108 receives instructions from the controller 102, possibly at the direction of control buttons 118, to transfer data between a memory card in the memory card reader 108 and the HDD 104. In one embodiment, the memory card reader 108 is a Secure Digital (SD) card reader, but the present invention is not limited thereto.
The data drive 100 also includes an interface unit 120. The interface unit 120, for example, together with the connector 117, make up a memory card adapter. The interface unit 120 interfaces between the HDD 104 and the memory card reader 208 of the external device 200 through the connector 117. As the data format for the HDD 104 is different from that of a memory card, the interface unit 120 converts the data format between that suitable for the HDD 104 and that which is compatible with the memory card.
The interface unit 120 includes a control interface 112, a switch 113, an HDD interface 114, a format converter 115, an external memory card interface 116, and an internal memory card interface 119. The external memory card interface 116 and the connector 117 may also be referred to as a “pseudo memory card,” for the external memory card interface 116 emulates the storage and logic of a memory card, while the memory card connector 117 emulates the physical and electronic connections of the memory card. This allows the pseudo memory card to connect physically to and interface electronically with the memory card reader 208. Consequently, the pseudo memory card substantially emulates the memory card to the memory card reader 208.
The internal card interface 119 is used to read from and write to the memory card reader 108 of the data drive. The HDD interface 114 is used to read from and write to the HDD 104. The external memory card interface 116 is used to read to and write from the memory card reader 208 through the connector 117. The format converter 115 converts a data format between the HDD data format and the memory card data format. The switch 113 serves as a hub for exchanging data between the different components, including the internal card interface 119, the HDD interface 114, the format converter 115, and the controller 102. The controller 102 controls the interface unit 120 through the control interface 112. The control interface 112 exchanges control information between the controller 102 and other interface unit components such as the internal card interface 119, the HDD interface 114, and the switch 113.
The data drive 100 also includes a power supply 150 that receives an external power to provide power to the memory card reader 108, the interface unit 120, the controller 102, the display 110, and the HDD 104. The power supply 150 may receive an external AC or DC power. The power supply 150 may include an AC/DC converter to convert an input AC power to DC power to provide to the components of the data drive 100.
The external power may be received from an AC outlet (for AC power). For instance,
The data drive 100 may physically mount to the external device 200. A detachable mounting member 130 (see
In operation, the external memory card interface 116 uses the connector 117 that has the form factor and external electrical connections of the desired memory card. This allows the connector 117 to be inserted into the memory card reader 208 of the external device 200 and thus, connect the memory card reader 208 of the external device 200 to the external memory card interface 116 of the data drive 100. The external device 200 may be a computer, camera, video game console, or any other suitable electronic device. The data drive 100 may mount to the external device 200 to further secure the connection, possibly with the aid of a detachable mounting member 130.
The pseudo-memory card (connector 117 and external memory card interface 116) is connected to the HDD 104 (e.g., through IDE, SATA, etc.) through the format converter 115, the switch 113, and the HDD interface 114. Because of this, the HDD 104 is able to read or write through the pseudo-memory card to the external device 200 through the memory card reader 208 using the connector 117. In essence, this allows the HDD 104 to communicate with another device (i.e., the external device 200) through the memory card reader 208 by emulating a memory card inserted into the memory card reader 208 of the other device.
The internal memory card interface 119 interfaces with the memory card reader 108 in the data drive 100 to transfer data between the HDD 104 and a memory card inserted in the data drive memory card reader 108. Here, the internal memory card interface 119 provides an interface between the memory card in the memory card reader 108 of the data drive 100 and the HDD 104 through the switch 113, the format converter 115, and the HDD interface 114. The format converter 115 converts the data format between a format that is compatible with the HDD 104 and the format that is compatible with the memory card. This way, the contents of the memory card inserted in the memory card reader 108 is copied easily for storage on the HDD 104.
In another embodiment, instead of or in addition to interfacing with the HDD 104, the memory card reader 108 emulates the memory card reader 208 when the data drive 100 is connected to the memory card reader 208 through the connector 117. This way, full functionality with the HDD 104 and the memory card reader 208 is maintained when the data drive 100 is connected to the memory card reader 208 through the connector 117. That is, a user can use the HDD 104 or a memory card inserted into the memory card reader 108 of the data drive to transfer data with the external device 200.
In one embodiment, the HDD 104 can be reformatted to have a different number of pages or organization. For example, a software driver in the controller in one embodiment allows the HDD 104 to be formatted to have higher capacity blocks, or larger or smaller pages.
In other embodiments, the HDD 104 in the data drive 100 can be connected to a Personal Computer (PC) or Macintosh computer (Mac) through a communication port 106 using an industry standard interface like Universal Serial Bus (USB), FireWire (Institute of Electrical and Electronics Engineers (IEEE) 1394), etc. This way, the files stored on the HDD 104 can also be stored on the computer, thereby allowing users to share with others (e.g., friends) using e-mail or other electronic communication methods. The communication port 106 links to the HDD 104 through the controller 102.
Although certain exemplary embodiments of the present invention have been disclosed for illustrative purposes, those skilled in the art will appreciate that various modifications, additions and substitutions are possible, without departing from the scope and spirit of the invention as disclosed in the accompanying claims.
