The present invention is for a disc having a center core with an embedded flash memory to store information and a drive for writing into and reading the information from the disc flash memory.
Discs that store digital information are well known. Discs are of different construction and use different formats to store different types of information such as data, computer application programs, and music and video media. For equal physical size of the different discs a video disc usually stores the greatest amount of data, often several hundred megabytes. In today's environment, digital video discs (DVDs) and High Definition DVDs also are being used as the source of various types of games both for computer operated games and games operated from dedicated systems or consoles, such as Sony Play Station, Microsoft X Box and similar systems.
In game playing use, a user inserts the DVD disc into the game console and starts playing. However, in using the discs an inconvenience sometimes is present. This is that a user of the disc often generates custom information that he might wish to access at a later time. Such custom information might be the level of the game being played, point of stopping, data of competition where several people are playing the game from the same disc, and others. For gaming systems, the custom information acquired while playing the game usually is stored on the game console itself. If a game disc is brought to another console, all custom data previously used is not present. Sometimes the game console has a separate memory card that stores the custom information and the user manually moves the memory card over to the new console. However, this means that the memory cards must be purchased and carried together with the game disc to the new console. This is somewhat inconvenient in that the user has two different items to purchase and to transport and mate with each other. A similar problem exists with discs that store other types of data, such as application programs, where it would be desirable to be able to easily access custom settings to operate the program. Accordingly, a need exists for an inexpensive and scalable way to combine a disc for distribution with the ability to keep custom setting information with the disc.
The invention provides a disc that includes a flash memory and a disc drive that communicates with the disc flash memory. The disc has the physical size and uses the standard formats for storing information as conventional discs, such as a DVD disc. In the disc of the invention the plastic interior rim, or core, at the disc center is replaced by a core that includes an embedded flash memory. Flash memory is a conventional non-volatile computer memory that can be electrically erased and reprogrammed. It is a specific type of EEPROM (electrically erasable programmable memory) that is erased and programmed in large blocks and is used in applications such as PDAs (personal digital assistants) and laptop computers, digital audio players, digital cameras and mobile phones.
The disc having the flash memory is inserted into a compatible disc drive that has the necessary electronic components for reading from and writing to the disc flash memory. The disc has contacts that are connected to its flash memory and the drive has mating contacts connected to its electronic components so that the drive can “talk to” the disc flash memory. In one embodiment the spindle of the disc drive has contacts on its periphery that mate with contacts on the disc extending from the flash memory onto the peripheral wall of the disc core center hole. In another embodiment the disc has a tab that extends into a disc alignment slot on the spindle with the mating contacts being on the disc tab and in the spindle slot. In still a further embodiment the contacts from the flash memory are on the bottom of the disc and mate with contacts on the drive spindle hub. All of these embodiments make it possible to write information to or read it from the disc flash memory even while the disc is playing. The information that can be written into and read from the flash memory includes all of the custom information referred to above. Other customization information includes the last location in a movie, extras of the movie already viewed, other custom information about movie watching experience, etc. The disc of the invention is backward compatible with prior art drives since it has the same or compatible physical characteristics as standard discs.
In another embodiment of the invention, the disc core having the flash memory can be removed and placed inside another disc in the event the first disc gets scratched, or if the user wants to upgrade to more storage flash memory capacity for use with the media on his disc. It also permits the custom data stored in the disc core to be transported by moving only the core.
In another embodiment of the invention is a method that includes providing a disc having an outer section on which digital data is recorded and an inner core having a central hole and a flash memory with electrical contacts. The electrical contacts of the flash memory are engaged with drive electrical contacts of a motor spindle or a hub of a disc drive, and while rotating the disc in the disc drive about the motor spindle that extends into said central hole, data is read from or written data to the flash memory via the drive electrical contacts. In particular embodiments, one or any combination may also be employed: the contacts of the disc core extend onto the periphery of a wall of the core that forms the central hole and the drive electrical contacts are accessible from the outer periphery of said drive spindle; the core may have an alignment tab extending from into the central hole and the core electrical contacts are on this tab, and the drive spindle has a vertical slot into which the alignment tab fits and the drive electrical contacts are in the spindle slot; the core electrical contacts may be on a surface of the core and the drive electrical contacts are on the hub; and further while rotating the disc, data is simultaneously optically read from the disc outer section and electrically read from the flash memory.
Other objects and advantages of the present invention will become more apparent upon reference to the following specification and annexed drawings, in which:
In the present invention, as shown in
The drive shown in
In operation of the invention, the disc 20 is loaded into the tray 34 with the contacts 26 to the flash memory 24 of the disc core engaged with the contacts 46 on the drive spindle 42 or on the spindle base 43. There can be indicia on the tray and/or disc to aid in proper alignment and engagement of the disc and spindle contacts 26 and 46. Another manner of obtaining alignment is to place a vertical slot in the drive spindle and a mating tab extending from the disc core 22 into the center hole 14 to fit in the spindle slot. Such a drive would still be backward compatible for conventional discs.
All types of conventional data can be recorded onto and read from the media section 16 of the disc 20 and any desired data can be written into and read from the flash memory. In a modification of this the media section 16 can be made read only and the flash memory 24 be read/write. A display of the drive properties would show the disc media section 16 as being full and the flash drive 24 having whatever free memory being available to be written into.
Other uses of the disc 22 would be where the media section 16 has an application program and content is written back to the flash memory for storage in proximity to the application itself. Applications could add additional content to the flash memory portion of the disc at any time to aid in securing the content. Updates can be added to the flash memory so that when an application is installed from the disc media the user doesn't have to immediately download the updates. This is especially useful on a stand-alone system that is not connected to the Internet. A music album can be burned onto the disc as well as contain digital versions on the flash memory. Digital signatures can be stored on the flash memory showing ownership of the music on the disc. Licensing information can be listed in the flash memory and updated when new licenses are acquired. It is seen as particularly advantageous for a gaming environment where users move from one console to another at different times.
While the disc is spinning, data can be read and written to the embedded flash memory via the connectors. To the computer it will appear as an additional removable media drive (F: drive, for example) with an indicator that the drive is embedded into the disc located in DVD Drive E. Over time computers would be enhanced to show the new DVD/Flash drive but current computers could be accommodated. The flash drive generally has the same dimensions and similar weight to the plastic interior of a traditional disc so these discs are entirely compatible with existing drives. The inside rim contains the connectors to communicate with the spindle that holds the disc in place and spins it. Because the connectors are securely fitted to the spindle in the disc drive, the flash drive can be written to while the disc is in use. The flash drive can be popped out of one disc and put inside another disc, making it portable and upgradable.
Specific features of the invention are shown in one or more of the drawings for convenience only, as each feature may be combined with other features in accordance with the invention. Alternative embodiments will be recognized by those skilled in the art and are intended to be included within the scope of the claims. Accordingly, the above description should be construed as illustrating and not limiting the scope of the invention. All such obvious changes and modifications are within the patented scope of the appended claims.
This is a divisional patent application of U.S. patent application Ser. No. 11/969,416, filed Jan. 4, 2008, now U.S. Pat. No. 8,234,667.
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Number | Date | Country | |
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Parent | 11969416 | Jan 2008 | US |
Child | 13527009 | US |