Memory card management system for writing data with usage and recording codes made significant

• US 5,590,306 A
• Filed: 07/20/1993
• Issued: 12/31/1996
• Est. Priority Date: 09/08/1992
• Status: Expired due to Term

• Current Assignee: Fujifilm Corporation (Fujifilm Holdings Corporation)
• Original Assignee: Fuji Photo Film Co Limited (Fujifilm Holdings Corporation)
• Inventors: Aoki, Akira, Saito, Osamu, Watanabe, Mikio
• Primary Examiner(s): Asta, Frank J.
• Application Number:
  US08/093,640
• Time in Patent Office: 1,260 Days
• Field of Search: 395/427, 395/430, 395/442, 395/481, 395/492
• US Class Current: 711/115
• CPC Class Codes: G06Q 20/341 Active cards, i.e. cards including their own processing means, e.g. including an IC or chip
• CPC Class Codes: G06Q 20/35765 Access rights to memory zones
• CPC Class Codes: G07F 7/1008 Active credit-cards provided with means to personalise their use, e.g. with PIN-introduction/comparison system
• CPC Class Codes: G11C 16/102 External programming circuits, e.g. EPROM programmers; In-circuit programming or reprogramming; EPROM emulators

Abstract

In an IC memory card control system including an IC memory card and an IC memory card control apparatus to which the IC memory card is detachably mounted to store therein management information as well as data, the management area of the IC memory card is provided with an identification area into which are written an occupation code indicative of recording of the data in the data area and a recording code indicative of an abnormal recording of the data in the data area. The IC memory card control apparatus provides such a control that when writing the data into the data area, prior to data writing, the occupation code and the recording code are written into the identification area in their significant states, and after having completed the data writing the recording code is absolved from the significant state.

Claims

1. An IC memory card control system comprising:

an IC memory card provided with a plurality of data areas in which data is stored and management areas in which management information is stored for managing recording of the data into the data areas; and

IC memory card control means, to which said IC memory card is detachably coupled, for storing in said IC memory card management information and the data,

the management areas of said IC memory card being provided with an identification area into which written are an occupation code indicative of recording of the data in a data area and a recording code indicative of an abnormal recording of the data in a data area,

said IC memory card control means providing such a control that when writing the data into a data area, prior to data writing, the occupation code and the recording code are written into the identification area in a first significant condition, and after having completed the data writing the recording code is cleared/reset from the first significant condition.

2. An IC memory card control system comprising:

an IC memory card provided with a plurality of data areas in which data is stored and management areas in which management information is stored for managing recording of the data into the data areas; and

IC memory card control means, to which said IC memory card is detachably coupled, for storing in said IC memory card management information and the data,

the management areas of said IC memory card being provided with an identification area into which written are an occupation code indicative of recording of the data in a data area and a recording code indicative of an abnormal recording of the data in a data area,

said IC memory card control means providing, upon detection of data containing the occupation code in a first significant condition and the recording code in a first significant condition from the management areas, such a control that corresponding pieces of information stored in the management areas and the data areas are saved, said IC memory card is initialized, thereafter normally recorded data are extracted on the basis of the occupation code and the recording code, and the management information corresponding to the extracted data is stored in the management areas, while the extracted data is stored in the data areas.

3. An IC memory card control system comprising:

an IC memory card, which is provided with a plurality of data areas in which data is stored and management areas in which management information is stored for managing recording of the data into the data areas,

said IC memory card being provided with an identification area into which written are an occupation code indicative of recording of the data in a data area and a recording code indicative of an abnormal recording of the data in a data area; and

IC memory card control means, to which said IC memory card is detachably coupled, for storing the management information and the data in said IC memory card, said IC memory card control means comprising

management information read means for reading out the management information stored in the management areas of said IC memory card,

management information updating means for updating the management information read out by said management information read means, and

data recording means for writing the data into said IC memory card,

said management information updating means providing such a control that when writing the data into a data area, prior to the data writing, the occupation code and the recording code are written into the identification area in a first significant condition, and after having completed the data writing the recording code is cleared/reset from the first significant condition.

4. The IC memory card control system according to claim 3, said IC memory card control means further comprising:

detecting means for detecting the recording code in the first significant condition from the read management information;

data read means for reading out the data stored in the data areas and for saving the read data; and

initialization means for initializing the data and management areas,

said management information updating means reading the management information from the management areas read out by said management information read means and making up management information for recording in the management areas data containing the occupation code in the first significant condition and the recording code cleared/reset from the first significant condition so as to update the management information,

said data recording means writing, on the basis of the updated management information, the saved data into the data areas of said IC memory card initialized by said initialization means.

5. A memory card management system for managing recording and reproduction of data for a memory card which is detachably coupled to a host apparatus, wherein

said memory card is provided with a management area in which management information for managing data is recorded, said management area including at least a header area in which header information indicating an occupation state of a data area is stored, a data identification area in which format information indicating a format for reading or writing data is stored, and a data allocation information area in which data allocation information indicating a continuity state between the data is stored,

said host apparatus being operative, upon recording of the data into said memory card, to provide such a control that a recording start flag indicative of a recording start is written into the header area, and thereafter substantial contents of the header information is written into the header area,

said host apparatus being operative to write, after having written the header information into the header area, data identification information including an abnormality detection flag for abnormality detection into the data identification area,

said host apparatus being operative to record, following the data identification information, data allocation information including a data allocation check code indicative of a normality of the information in the data allocation information area, and

said host apparatus being operative to record data in the data area after normal writing has been effected in said management area and to clear/reset the abnormality detection flag after the recording of the data, the recording start flag being cleared/reset for successive data recording into said memory card.

6. The memory card management system according to claim 5, wherein said host apparatus is operative, when said memory card is coupled thereto, to detect which of the management information is involved in an abnormality on the basis of the recording start flag, the abnormality detection flag and the identification code.

7. The memory card management system according to claim 6, wherein when the recording start flag of the management information is detected and no abnormality detection flag is detected, said host apparatus determines that the header area is involved in an abnormality and restores information of the header area on the basis of the management information following the header area.

8. The memory card management system according to claim 6, wherein when the recording start flag of the management information and the abnormality detection flag are both detected, said host apparatus determines a normality of the identification code included in the data allocation information, and detects an abnormality of the data allocation information.

9. The memory card management system according to claim 8, wherein when the abnormality of the data allocation information is detected, said host apparatus provides such a control that only normal data are saved, abnormal data are erased, allocation information related to the erased data is rewritten, and the header information is rewritten based on the rewritten allocation information, so that said memory card is restored.

10. The memory card management system according to claim 5, wherein said data allocation check code is a serial code on each data.

11. The memory card management system according to claim 5, wherein said data allocation check code is a random number.

12. The memory card management system according to claim 5, wherein said data allocation check code is a result from a logical operation made on a logical state of the data allocation information.

13. A memory card provided with a management area into which management information for recorded data is written and being detachably coupled to host equipment, said memory card comprising:

a relatively small capacity first storage element providing the management area; and

a relatively large capacity second storage element providing a data area in which data are recorded,

said first storage element being provided with at least a header area in which header information indicating an occupation state of the data area is stored, a data identification area in which data identification information indicating a format for reading or writing data is stored, and a data allocation information area in which data allocation information indicating a continuity state between the data is stored,

said header area including a first effective bit corresponding to a recording start flag indicative of a recording start, said data identification area including a second effective bit corresponding to an abnormality detection flag for detection of an abnormality during recording, the data allocation information area being provided with a code area consisting of a plurality of bits which form a data allocation check code for confirming a normality of the information.

14. A memory card management system to which a memory card capable of storing plural pieces of management information together with data is detachably coupled, in which recording of data in said memory card is managed, the memory card management system comprising:

management information read means for sequentially reading the pieces of management information when said memory card is coupled to the memory card management system;

flag detection means for detecting an abnormality flag included in the read management information; and

management information updating means for detecting abnormal portions of the management information on the basis of the abnormality flag detected by said flag detection means to restore the detected abnormal portions of the management information.

15. The memory card management system according to claim 14, further comprising:

medium coupling means for detachably coupling a secondary recording medium to the memory card management means for backing up normal data when an abnormality of the management information is detected;

erasing means for erasing data stored in recording areas of said memory card after backing up of the normal data; and

recording means for recording the backup data and the management information restored by said management information updating means in the erased recording areas of said memory card.