Module having application-specific program stored therein

• US 6,779,066 B2
• Filed: 04/05/2001
• Issued: 08/17/2004
• Est. Priority Date: 05/01/2000
• Status: Expired due to Fees

• Current Assignee: Godo Kaisha IP Bridge 1 (IP Bridge, Inc.)
• Original Assignee: Matsushita Electric Industrial Company Limited (Panasonic Holdings Corporation)
• Inventors: Sakamoto, Kiyomi
• Primary Examiner(s): Vo, Tim
• Assistant Examiner(s): KING, JUSTIN
• Application Number:
  US09/825,927
• Publication Number:
  US 20010037420A1
• Time in Patent Office: 1,230 Days
• Field of Search: 710/300, 710/301, 710/305, 710/315, 710/306, 320/41, 361/683, 361/686, 600/300, 704/236, 702/2, 342/357.07
• US Class Current: 710/300
• 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. The thus received execution result is outputted from an output part. Accordingly, the output part 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, said module comprising:

a first storage operable to store an application-specific program;

a first processing unit operable to execute the application-specific program stored in said first storage;

a first bus operable to transfer an execution result from said first processing unit; and

a first communications controller operable to inquire as to a bit width of a second bus in the data terminal equipment from the data terminal equipment after the application-specific program is executed by said first data processing unit, register the bit width of the second bus returned from the data terminal equipment, adjust a number of bits of the execution result transferred from said first bus based on the registered bit width of the second bus, and transmit the execution result to the data terminal equipment, wherein

the data terminal equipment is to output, from an integral output part, the execution result provided by said first communications controller.

2. The module according to claim 1, wherein

said first bus has an m-bit width, where m is a natural number, and the second bus has an n-bit width, where n is a natural number, and

if m is greater than n, said first communications controller is operable to adjust the number of bits of the execution result such that the execution result is transmitted to said first communications controller by m bits through said first bus and transmitted by n bits to the data terminal equipment, and if m is less than or equal to n, said first communications controller transmits the execution result by m bits to the data terminal equipment and a second communications controller in the data terminal equipment changes the number of bits of the execution result transmitted from said first communications controller to n bits.

3. A system comprising:

data terminal equipment; and

a module attachable to said data terminal equipment,

wherein said module comprises;

a first storage operable to store an application-specific program;

a first processing unit operable to execute the application-specific program stored in said first storage;

a first bus operable to transfer an execution result from said first processing unit, said first bus having an m-bit width, where m is a natural number; and

a first communications controller operable to transmit the execution result transferred from said first bus to said data terminal equipment,

wherein said data terminal equipment comprises;

an output part operable to output information;

a second communications controller operable to receive the execution result transmitted from said first communications controller;

a second bus of an n-bit width, where n is a natural number, operable to transfer the execution result received by said second communications controller;

a second storage operable to store, by n bits, the execution result transferred through said second bus; and

a second processing unit operable to instruct said output part to output the execution result stored in said second storage by n bits, and

wherein when m is greater than n, said first communications controller adjusts a number of bits of the execution result such that the execution result is transmitted to said first communication controller by m bits through said first bus and transmitted by n bits to said data terminal equipment, and when m is less than or equal to n, said first communications controller transmits the execution result by m bits to said data terminal equipment and said second communications controller changes the number of bits of the execution result transmitted from said first communications controller to n bits.