Memory card, memory card control method and memory card access control method

• US 20060039221A1
• Filed: 08/17/2005
• Published: 02/23/2006
• Est. Priority Date: 08/18/2004
• Status: Active Grant

• Current Assignee: Sony Corporation (Sony Group Corp.)
• Original Assignee: Sony Corporation (Sony Group Corp.)
• Inventors: Fukuda, Kunio
• Granted Patent: US 7,769,867 B2
• Time in Patent Office: Days
• US Class Current: 365/222
• CPC Class Codes: H04N 1/00132 in a digital photofinishing system, i.e. a system where digital photographic images undergo typical photofinishing processing, e.g. printing ordering
• CPC Class Codes: H04N 1/00137 Transmission
• CPC Class Codes: H04N 1/00161 Viewing or previewing
• CPC Class Codes: H04N 1/00291 with receiver circuitry television receiver circuitry per se H04N5/44
• CPC Class Codes: H04N 1/2158 using a detachable storage unit
• CPC Class Codes: H04N 2201/0055 By radio
• CPC Class Codes: H04N 2201/0062 Stand-alone interface device
• CPC Class Codes: H04N 2201/0084 Digital still camera
• CPC Class Codes: H04N 2201/0087 Image storage device

Abstract

A communication system in which data stored in a memory card mounted in a host apparatus, such as a digital camera, can be sent to an external apparatus with ease without relying on operations carried out on the host apparatus. The memory card includes a communication control section controllable by the external apparatus so that data can be read out from a memory of the memory card and sent to the external apparatus in accordance with control executed by the external apparatus. Even if the host apparatus is a mobile apparatus such as a digital camera, picture data stored by the digital camera in the memory card can be sent to the external apparatus by wireless communication without the need to change the digital camera serving as the mobile apparatus specially by, for example, installing driver software. That is to say, the memory card can be applied to contemporary digital cameras.

Claims

1. A memory card mountable onto an external apparatus, the memory card comprising:

a memory for storing data;

wire communication means freely mountable onto the external apparatus and freely dismountable from the external apparatus;

wireless communication means for carrying out communication operations with an external wireless apparatus through a wireless transmission line; and

memory/communication control means for controlling operations to access said memory by way of said wire communication means and said wireless communication means and for controlling wireless communication operations carried out by said wireless communication means.

2. The memory card according to claim 1, wherein said wireless communication means carries out communication operations to send data read out from said memory through the wireless transmission line to the external wireless apparatus independently of the external apparatus connected to said wire communication means.

3. The memory card according to claim 1, wherein said memory/communication control means receives power from the external apparatus in which the memory card has been mounted by way of said wire communication means.

4. The memory card according to claim 1, wherein said memory/communication control means controls operations to access said memory in accordance with a state of connection of said wireless communication means.

5. The memory card according to claim 4, wherein said memory/communication control means allows only one access to said memory to be made at one time in an operation carried out by either said wire communication means or said wireless communication means.

6. The memory card according to claim 4, wherein, while said wireless communication means is carrying out a wireless communication operation to access said memory, said memory/communication control means prohibits an access made by said wire communication means as an access to said memory.

7. The memory card according to claim 1, wherein said memory/communication control means allows said wireless communication means to request an operation to read out data from said memory, but not to request an operation to write data into said memory.

8. The memory card according to claim 1, wherein:

said memory is used for storing more than one file; and

when an external wireless apparatus requests a file stored in said memory or requests information on files stored in said memory through said wireless communication means, in response to said request, said memory/communication control means sends said requested file or said requested information on said files to the external wireless apparatus by way of said wireless communication means.

9. The memory card according to claim 1, wherein:

the external apparatus is an image pick-up apparatus for taking an image;

the memory card is connected to the image pick-up apparatus through said wire communication means;

an image taken by the image pick-up apparatus is stored in said memory by way of said wire communication means in accordance with control executed by said memory/communication control means; and

when a request for a desired image stored in said memory is received from an external wireless apparatus through said wireless communication means, in response to said request, data of the image is read out from said memory and transferred to the external wireless apparatus making said request by way of said wireless communication means.

10. The memory card according to claim 1, wherein said wireless communication means sends a reflected-wave signal, which has been modulated in accordance with data being sent, as a reflected wave of a received wave to the external wireless apparatus.

11. A memory-card control method for controlling a memory card having a memory for storing data, wire communication means freely mountable onto an external apparatus and freely dismountable from the external apparatus, and wireless communication means for carrying out communications with an external wireless apparatus through a wireless transmission line, said memory-card control method comprising:

controlling operations to access the memory by way of the wire communication means and the wireless communication means; and

controlling wireless communication operations carried out by the wireless communication means.

12. The memory-card control method according to claim 11, wherein, in the step of controlling wireless communication operations carried out by the wireless communication means, the wireless communication means carries out communication operations to send data read out from the memory through the wireless transmission line to the external wireless apparatus independently of the external apparatus connected to the wire communication means.

13. The memory-card control method according to claim 11, wherein the step of controlling wireless communication operations carried out by the wireless communication means includes controlling operations to access the memory in accordance with the state of connection of the wireless communication means.

14. The memory-card control method according to claim 13, wherein the step of controlling wireless communication operations carried out by the wireless communication means includes allowing only one access to the memory at one time in an operation carried out by either the wire communication means or the wireless communication means.

15. The memory-card control method according to claim 13, wherein the step of controlling wireless communication operations carried out by the wireless communication means includes not allowing the wire communication means to access the memory while the wireless communication means is carrying out a wireless communication operation to access the memory.

16. The memory-card control method according to claim 11, wherein the step of controlling wireless communication operations carried out by the wireless communication means includes allowing the wireless communication means to request an operation to read out data from the memory, but not to request an operation to write data into the memory.

17. The memory-card control method according to claim 11, wherein

the memory is used for storing more than one file, and

in the step of controlling wireless communication operations carried out by the wireless communication means when an external wireless apparatus requests a file stored in the memory or requests information on files stored in the memory through the wireless communication means, in response to the request, the requested file or the requested information on the files is sent to the external wireless apparatus by way of the wireless communication means.

18. The memory-card control method according to claim 11, wherein:

the external apparatus is an image pick-up apparatus for taking an image;

the memory card is connected to the image pick-up apparatus through the wire communication means;

the step of controlling operations to access the memory includes storing an image taken by the image pick-up apparatus in the memory by way of the wire communication means; and

in the step of controlling wireless communication operations carried out by the wireless communication means, when a request for a desired image stored in the memory is received from an external wireless apparatus through the wireless communication means, in response to the request, data of the image is read out from the memory and transferred to the external wireless apparatus making the request by way of the wireless communication means.

19. The memory-card control method according to claim 11, wherein the step of controlling wireless communication operations carried out by the wireless communication means includes sending a reflected wave signal which has been modulated in accordance with data being sent from the wireless communication means to the external wireless apparatus as a reflected wave of a received wave.

20. A memory card mountable onto an external apparatus, the memory card comprising:

a memory for storing data;

wire communication means freely mountable onto the external apparatus and freely dismountable from the external apparatus;

wireless communication means for carrying out communication operations with an external wireless apparatus through a wireless transmission line;

memory/communication control means for controlling operations to access said memory by way of said wire communication means and said wireless communication means and for controlling wireless communication operations carried out by said wireless communication means; and

address storage means for storing an address in said memory indicating a location most recently accessed through said wire communication means.

21. The memory card according to claim 20, wherein in response to a request received from the external wireless apparatus through said wireless communication means for an address indicating a most recently accessed location in said memory, said memory/communication control means sends said address to the external wireless apparatus.

22. The memory card according to claim 20, wherein said wireless communication means carries out an operation to send data read out from said memory to the external wireless apparatus through a wireless communication line without relying on the external apparatus connected to said wire communication means.

23. The memory card according to claim 20, wherein said wireless communication means sends a reflected wave signal modulated on the basis of data being sent as a reflected wave of an incoming wave.

24. A memory card mountable onto an external apparatus, the memory card comprising:

a memory for storing data;

wire communication means freely mountable onto the external apparatus and freely dismountable from the external apparatus;

memory/communication control means for controlling operations to access said memory by way of said wire communication means; and

address storage means for storing an address in said memory indicating a location most recently accessed through said wire communication means.

25. The memory card according to claim 24, wherein in response to a request received from the external apparatus through said wire communication means for an address indicating a most recently accessed location in said memory, said memory/communication control means sends said address to the external apparatus by way of said wire communication means.

26. An access control method for controlling accesses to a memory card having a memory for storing data and accessible from an external apparatus through communication means, and address storage means for storing an address indicating a most recently accessed location in the memory, said access control method comprising:

acquiring an address from the address storage means in the memory card;

identifying a most recently accessed file on the basis of the acquired address; and

requesting the memory card through the communication means to send data composing the identified file to the external apparatus.

27. The access control method for controlling accesses to a memory card in accordance with claim 26, wherein the communication means carries out a reflected-wave communication by sending a wave to the memory card and receiving a reflected wave sent by the memory card as a wave obtained as a result of a process carried out by the memory card to modulate the wave sent by the communication means before reflecting the sent wave to the communication means.

28. A recording medium recorded with a computer program readable by a computer to execute an access control method for controlling accesses to a memory card having a memory for storing data and accessible from an external apparatus through communication means, and address storage means for storing an address indicating a most recently accessed location in the memory and accessible from the external apparatus through the communication means, said access control method comprising:

acquiring an address from the address storage means in the memory card;

identifying a most recently accessed file on the basis of the acquired address; and

requesting the memory card through the communication means to send data composing the identified file to the external apparatus.