Patent Application
20080300785
1. Field of the Invention
The invention relates to a memory card; in particular, it relates to a memory card with a global positioning system (GPS) module.
2. Description of the Prior Art
With the advance of technology, more and more applications of GPS have been developed. GPS can be used for car navigation; besides, GPS integrated in a camera can record longitude and latitude information of where the photo is taken. Nowadays, a GPS recorder for recording positional and time information of where the user locates has been developed. Additionally, a photo of a digital camera generally is fit for exchangeable image file format (Exif), and the information of the photo such as camera type, date and image size can be obtained. Therefore, both information recorded by the GPS recorder and photos can be inputted into a computer; moreover, positional information of a photo can be attached to the photo. Afterward, users can upload the photo attached with positional information to Google Map or Google Earth website. Accordingly, the relation between places and photos can be presented by Google Map and Google Earth websites.
However, the GPS recorder nowadays can not directly connect with the memory card storing image files, and an electronic apparatus (e.g. a digital camera or a card reader) can not configure with a memory card, either. Namely, when a photo is taken by users, positional information can not be immediately attached to the photo. If users want to attach positional information to the photo (e.g. an image file), an independent device such as a computer is required. In other words, users must utilize computer and take additional time to attach positional information received from the GPS recorder to the photo. It is not convenient for users at all.
If the positional information can be immediately attached to an image file while the image file is being stored into a memory card, it will be very convenient for users. Furthermore, if the memory card is capable of providing a set of controlling commands which can be utilized by a host to get instantaneous GPS information, the memory card will be applied to more and more applications.
Therefore, the scope of the invention is to provide a memory card with a GPS module to solve the aforesaid problems.
A scope of the invention is to provide a memory card with a GPS module. When a user takes an image file by a digital camera, the positional information received by the GPS module of the memory card will be immediately attached to the image file.
According to a preferred embodiment, the memory card of the invention comprises a GPS module, a storage unit, and a card controller. The GPS module is used for receiving a plurality of positional information. When an image file is being generated, the card controller is used for storing the image file to the storage unit and for immediately attaching the positional information to the image file.
According to another preferred embodiment, the memory card of the invention comprises a GPS module, a storage unit, a card controller, and micro-controlling unit (MCU). The GPS module is used for receiving a plurality of positional information. When an image file is being generated, the card controller is used for storing the image file to the storage unit. The micro-controlling unit is used for immediately attaching the positional information to the image file.
Therefore, according to the memory card with the GPS module of the invention, when the image file is being generated, the positional information will be immediately and automatically attached to the image file. It is very convenient for user without additional operation..
The advantage and spirit of the invention may be understood by the following recitations together with the appended drawings.
Please refer to
In this embodiment, the GPS module 12 is used for receiving a plurality of positional information (not shown). When an image file 140 is being generated, the card controller 16 is used for storing the image file 140 to the storage unit 14 and for immediately attaching the positional information to the image file 140. It should be noticed that the positional information comprises a coordinate and/or place name.
For example, when a user takes the image file 140 at Taipei, the positional information received by the GPS module 12 is “Taipei” correspondingly. Therefore, while the image file 140 is stored into the storage unit 14 by the card controller 16, the card controller 16 will immediately attach the positional information (Taipei) to the image file 140. Similarly, when the user takes another image file at different position, the card controller 16 will also immediately attach the positional information received by the GPS module 12 to the corresponding image file.
Please refer to
In this embodiment, the GPS module 32 is used for receiving a plurality of positional information (not shown). When an image file 340 is being generated, the card controller 36 is used for storing the image file 340 to the storage unit 34. The micro-controlling unit 38 is used for immediately attaching the positional information to the image file 340. It should be noticed that the positional information comprises a coordinate and/or place name.
For example, when a user takes the image file 340 at Taipei, the positional information received by the GPS module 32 is “Taipei” correspondingly. Therefore, while the image file 340 is stored into the storage unit 34 by the card controller 36, the micro-controlling unit 38 will immediately attach the positional information (Taipei) to the image file 340. Similarly, when the user takes another image file at different position, the micro-controlling unit 38 will also immediately attach the positional information received by the GPS module 32 to the corresponding image file.
Compared to the prior art, according to the memory card with the GPS module of the invention, when the image file is being generated, the positional information will be immediately and automatically attached to the image file. It is very convenient for user without additional operation.
With the example and explanations above, the features and spirits of the invention will be hopefully well described. Those skilled in the art will readily observe that numerous modifications and alterations of the device may be made while retaining the teaching of the invention. Accordingly, the above disclosure should be construed as limited only by the metes and bounds of the appended claims.
| Number | Date | Country | Kind |
|---|---|---|---|
| 096119283 | May 2007 | TW | national |
