Module having application-specific program stored therein

• US 20010037420A1
• Filed: 04/05/2001
• Published: 11/01/2001
• Est. Priority Date: 05/01/2000
• Status: Active Grant

• Current Assignee: Godo Kaisha IP Bridge 1 (IP Bridge, Inc.)
• Original Assignee: Matsushita Electric Industrial Company Limited (Panasonic Holdings Corporation)
• Inventors: Sakamoto, Kiyomi
• Granted Patent: US 6,779,066 B2
• Time in Patent Office: Days
• US Class Current: 710/301
• CPC Class Codes: G06F 1/1626 with a single-body enclosure integrating a flat display, e.g. Personal Digital Assistants [PDAs]
• CPC Class Codes: G06F 1/1632 External expansion units, e.g. docking stations
• CPC Class Codes: G06F 1/1656 Details related to functional adaptations of the enclosure, e.g. to provide protection against EMI, shock, water, or to host detachable peripherals like a mouse or removable expansions units like PCMCIA cards, or to provide access to internal components for maintenance or to removable storage supports like CDs or DVDs, or to mechanically mount accessories mounting of accessories to a computer display G06F1/1607; display hoods G06F1/1603; cooling arrangements for portable computers G06F1/203

Abstract

Once attached to a slot of a personal digital assistant PDA, a card module CM executes an application-specific program and transmits a result obtained thereby to the personal digital assistant PDA. Thus received execution result is outputted from an output part 26. Accordingly, the output part 26 can be provided for shared use among several card modules CM for output of the execution result.

Claims

1. A module attachable to data terminal equipment, comprising:

a first storage for storing an application-specific program;

a first processing unit for executing the program stored in said first storage;

a first bus through which an execution result from said first processing unit is transferred; and

a first communications controller for transmitting to the data terminal equipment the execution result transferred from said first bus to said data terminal equipment, wherein

said data terminal equipment outputs, from an internal output part, the execution result provided from said first communications controller.

2. The module according to

claim 1

, wherein said data terminal equipment further comprises:

a second storage for storing the execution result transmitted from said first communications controller; and

a second processing unit for instructing said output part to output the execution result stored in said second storage, and

when instructed by said second processing unit, said output part responsively outputs the execution result stored in said second storage.

3. The module according to

claim 1

, wherein

said first bus is of an m-bit width (wherein is a natural number),

said first communications controller adjusts the number of bits of the execution result transmitted, by m bits, from said first communications controller through said first bus, and transmits the execution result by n bits (where n is a natural number) to said data terminal equipment, and

said data terminal equipment comprises:

a second communications controller for receiving the execution result transmitted from said first communications controller by n bits;

a second bus of an n-bit width through which said execution result received by n bits by said second communications controller is transferred;

a second storage for storing, by n bits, said execution result transferred through said second bus; and

a second processing unit for instructing said output part to output said execution result stored in said second storage by n bits.

4. The module according to

claim 1

, wherein

said first bus is of an m-bit width (where m is a natural number),

said first communications controller transmits, to said data terminal equipment, the execution result transmitted through said bus by m bits,

said data terminal equipment comprises:

a second communications controller for changing, to n (where n is a natural number), the number of bits of the execution result transmitted from said first communications controller;

a second bus of an n-bit width through which said execution result changed to n bits by said second communications controller is transferred;

a second storage for storing, by n bits, said execution result transferred through said second bus; and

a second processing unit for instructing said output part to output said execution result stored in said second storage by n bits.