Removable mother/daughter peripheral card

• US 6,381,662 B1
• Filed: 06/21/2001
• Issued: 04/30/2002
• Est. Priority Date: 09/01/1993
• Status: Expired due to Term

• Current Assignee: SanDisk Technologies LLC (Western Digital Corporation)
• Original Assignee: SanDisk Corporation (Western Digital Corporation)
• Inventors: Harari, Eliyahou, Guterman, Daniel C., Wallace, Robert F.
• Primary Examiner(s): Follansbee, John A.
• Application Number:
  US09/887,197
• Time in Patent Office: 313 Days
• Field of Search: 710/102, 710/13, 710/62, 711/103, 711/115
• US Class Current: 710/301
• CPC Class Codes: G06F 13/4068 Electrical coupling
• CPC Class Codes: G06K 19/07741 comprising a first part operating as a regular record carrier and a second attachable part that changes the functional appearance of said record carrier, e.g. a contact-based smart card with an adapter part which, when attached to the contact card makes the contact card function as a non-contact card
• CPC Class Codes: H05K 5/0265 of PCMCIA type
• CPC Class Codes: H05K 5/0282 Adapters for connecting cards having a first standard in receptacles having a second standard

Abstract

A peripheral card having a Personal Computer (“PC”) card form factor and removably coupled externally to a host system is further partitioned into a mother card portion and a daughter card portion. The daughter card is removably coupled to the mother card. In the preferred embodiment, a low cost flash “floppy” is accomplished with the daughter card containing only flash EEPROM chips and being controlled by a memory controller residing on the mother card. Other aspects of the invention includes a comprehensive controller on the mother card able to control a predefined set of peripherals on daughter cards connectable to the mother card; relocation of some host resident hardware to the mother card to allow for a minimal host system; a mother card that can accommodate multiple daughter cards; daughter cards that also operates directly with hosts having embedded controllers; daughter cards carrying encoded data and information for decoding it.

Claims

1. A method of employing a type of memory system having a solid state memory and a controller therefore, comprising:

utilizing a mother card having a controller function and a daughter card having a solid state memory function without the controller function contained in the mother card, the daughter card being electrically and mechanically removably connectable with the mother card through a first type of interface, the solid state memory function of said daughter card operating with the controller function of the mother card when so connected,

electrically and mechanically connecting said daughter card directly through the first type of interface with a first host system without use of a mother card, wherein the controller function contained in the mother card is embedded within the first host system, and operating the first host system with the solid state memory function of said daughter card through the embedded controller function of the first host system,

causing the first host system to store data into the memory of the daughter card while connected therewith,

removing the daughter card from connection with the first host system,

electrically and mechanically connecting the mother card directly through a second type of interface with a second host system that does not include the controller function contained in the mother card embedded therein, electrically and mechanically connecting said daughter card directly with the mother card through the first type of interface, and operating the second host system by using a combination of the controller function contained in the mother card and the solid state memory function of the daughter card connected with the mother card, and

causing the second host system to read the stored data from said daughter card when connected therewith.

2. The method of claim 1, wherein connecting said daughter card with the first host system includes connecting said daughter card with a camera, and wherein causing the first host system to store data into the daughter card includes recording, in the memory function of said daughter card, data of a visual field observed by the camera.

3. The method of claim 2, wherein causing the second host system to read the stored data from said daughter card connected thereto includes reading said visual field data from said daughter card and displaying an image of the visual field observed by the camera.

4. The method of claim 2 wherein connecting the mother card with the second host system includes connecting the mother card with a personal computer.

5. The method of any one of claims 1-4, wherein the memory function of said at least one daughter card is implemented by flash EEPROM.

6. The method of any one of claims 1-4, wherein the solid state memory function of said daughter card is implemented by an array of non-volatile flash EEPROM cells that are individually programmable into more than two states in order to store more than one bit of data per cell.

7. The method of claim 5, additionally comprising writing data identifying the daughter card into the flash EEPROM thereof.

8. The method of any one of claims 1-4, wherein the first and second types of interfaces utilized are mechanically and electrically different from each other.

9. The method of any one of claims 1-4, wherein utilizing a mother card includes utilizing a mother card with said second type of interface being a PCMCIA interface.

10. The method of any one of claims 1-4, wherein utilizing a mother card includes utilizing a mother card with a slot in which the daughter card is retained within outside boundaries of the mother card when the mother and daughter cards are mechanically and electrically connected through said first type of interface.

11. A method of employing a solid state memory system including flash EEPROM, comprising:

utilizing a mother unit including a first controller providing a controller function and a card including flash EEPROM without said controller function being included within the card, wherein the card is electrically and mechanically removably connectable with the mother unit through a first type of interface, the flash EEPROM operating with the first controller of the mother unit when so connected,

electrically and mechanically connecting the card through the first type of interface directly to a first host system without use of said mother unit, wherein said controller function is provided by a second controller embedded within the first host system,

operating the first host system to transfer data between the first host system and the flash EEPROM of the card through the second controller,

removing the card from connection with the first host system,

electrically and mechanically connecting the mother unit directly with a second type of interface of a second host system that does not include said controller function embedded therein, the first and second types of interfaces being different from each other,

electrically and mechanically connecting said card directly with the mother unit through the first type of interface, and

operating the second host system to transfer said data between the second host system and the flash EEPROM of the card through the first controller,

thereby to exchange said data between the first and second host systems through the use of the card.

12. The method of claim 11, wherein connecting said card with the first host system includes connecting the flash EEPROM of said card with a camera, and wherein causing the first host system to store said data into the flash EEPROM of the card includes storing the data of a visual field observed by the camera.

13. The method of claim 12, wherein causing the second host system to read the stored data from the card connected thereto includes reading said visual field data from the flash EEPROM of said card and displaying an image of the visual field observed by the camera.

14. The method of claim 13 wherein connecting the mother unit with the second host system includes connecting the mother unit with a personal computer.

15. The method of claim 11, additionally comprising writing data identifying the card into the flash EEPROM thereof.

16. The method of any one of claims 11-14, wherein utilizing a mother unit includes utilizing a mother card with said second type of interface being a PCMCIA interface.

17. The method of claim 16, wherein utilizing the mother card includes utilizing a mother card with a slot in which the flash EEPROM card is retained within outside boundaries of the mother card when the mother and flash EEPROM cards are mechanically and electrically connected through said first type of interface.

18. The method of any one of claims 11-14, wherein utilizing the card includes operating the flash EEPROM by programming individual cells of the flash EEPROM into one of more than two states in order to store more than one bit of data per cell.

19. A method of employing a solid state memory system including flash EEPROM, comprising:

utilizing a mother unit including a first controller providing a controller function and a card including flash EEPROM without said controller function being included within the card, wherein the card is electrically and mechanically removably connectable with the mother unit through a first type of interface, the flash EEPROM operating with the first controller of the mother unit when so connected,

electrically and mechanically connecting the card through the first type of interface directly to a camera without use of said mother unit, wherein said controller function is provided by a second controller embedded within the camera,

recording a visual field by the camera as data in the flash EEPROM of the card through the second controller,

removing the card from connection with the camera,

thereafter electrically and mechanically connecting the mother unit directly with a second type of interface of a host system that does not include said controller function embedded therein, said first and second types of interfaces being different from each other,

electrically and mechanically connecting said card directly with the mother unit through the first type of interface, and

operating the host system to transfer said data between the second host system and the flash EEPROM of the card through the first controller,

whereby the visual field recorded by the camera may be viewed.

20. The method of claim 19, wherein utilizing a mother unit includes utilizing a mother card with said second type of interface being a PCMCIA interface.

21. The method of claim 20, wherein utilizing the mother card includes utilizing a mother card with a slot in which the flash EEPROM card is retained within outside boundaries of the mother card when the mother and flash EEPROM cards are mechanically and electrically connected through said first type of interface.

22. The method of any one of claims 19-21, wherein utilizing the card includes operating the flash EEPROM by programming individual cells of the flash EEPROM into one of more than two states in order to store more than one bit of data per cell.