Extended SD and microSD hosts and devices with USB-like high performance packetized interface and protocol

• US 7,664,902 B1
• Filed: 10/26/2007
• Issued: 02/16/2010
• Est. Priority Date: 03/16/2004
• Status: Expired due to Fees

• Current Assignee: Super Talent Technology, Corporation
• Original Assignee: Super Talent Electronics, Inc.
• Inventors: Yu, Frank I-Kang, Shen, Ming-Shiang, Ma, Abraham C., Lee, Charles C., Chow, David Q.
• Primary Examiner(s): Rinehart; Mark
• Assistant Examiner(s): Spittle; Matthew D
• Application Number:
  US11/925,349
• Time in Patent Office: 844 Days
• Field of Search: 710/10, 710/16, 710/59, 710/301, 710/302, 710/303, 713/192
• US Class Current: 710/301
• CPC Class Codes: G06F 12/1416 by checking the object accessibility, e.g. type of access defined by the memory independently of subject rights G06F12/1458 takes precedence
• CPC Class Codes: G06F 13/385 for adaptation of a particular data processing system to different peripheral devices
• CPC Class Codes: G06K 19/07 with integrated circuit chips
• CPC Class Codes: G06K 19/07354 by biometrically sensitive means, e.g. fingerprint sensitive fingerprint sensors in general G06V40/12; biometrically activated access control G07C9/25
• CPC Class Codes: G06K 19/07732 the record carrier having a housing or construction similar to well-known portable memory devices, such as SD cards, USB or memory sticks housings for electrical equipment in general, see H05K5/02
• CPC Class Codes: G06V 40/1365 Matching; Classification
• CPC Class Codes: G07C 9/257 electronically G07C9/26 takes precedence
• CPC Class Codes: Y02D 10/00 Energy efficient computing, e.g. low power processors, power management or thermal management

Abstract

An extended Secure-Digital (SD) card has a second interface that uses some of the SD-interface lines. A card-detection routine on a host can initially use the SD interface to detect extended capabilities and command the card to switch to using the second interface. The extended SD card can communicate with legacy SD hosts using just the SD interface, or extended SD cards using the second interface. Also an extended Universal-Serial Bus (EUSB) host enters a suspend mode rather than polling an EUSB device that is busy performing a memory or other operations. Power is saved since polling is avoided. The busy EUSB device sends a not-yet signal back to the EUSB host to instruct the host to enter the suspend mode. When the EUSB device is ready to continue transfer with the host, the EUSB device wakes up the host by sending a ready signal back to the host.

Claims

1. A computer-implemented method communicating with a dual personality removable card interface, the method comprising:

detecting a removable card inserted into a dual-personality connector slot for connecting to a standard-protocol card and for connecting to an extended-protocol card, the dual-personality connector slot to accept the standard-protocol card and to accept the extended-protocol card, the dual-personality connector slot including standard metal contacts and extended metal contacts that both make contact with the standard-protocol card and both make contact with the extended-protocol card, wherein the removable card includes a multi-level cell (MLC) memory array;

applying power to the removable card via the standard protocol metal contacts;

interrogating the removable card to identify a type of the removable card in order to determine whether the removable card operates according to the extended protocol by sending one or more commands associated with the extended protocol to the removable card and examining a response from the removable card in view of the commands; and

invoking a corresponding protocol processing logic corresponding to the extended protocol to handle further communications between a host and the removable card if the removable card is determined to be an extended protocol card, including

enabling the host sending a request to the removable card for receiving a predetermined blocks of data from the removable card,

in response to the request, the removable card replying with a positive acknowledgement (ACK) and sending a first block of data to the host,

in response to the first block of data received from the removable card, enabling the host requesting a next block of data,

if the removable card is not ready, the removable card replying with a negative acknowledgement (NACK) indicating that the removable card is not ready to send further data,

in response to the NACK, enabling the host suspending requests for further data,

subsequently when the removable card is ready, the removable card sending a ready signal (RDY) to the host indicating that the removable card is ready to send further data, and

enabling the host replying an ACK to the removable card to receive further data until all of the predetermined blocks of data have been received.

2. The method of claim 1, further comprising:

enabling the host examining an error correction code (ECC) associated with a third block of data received from the removable card; and

if the ECC is incorrect, enabling the host sending an NACK to the removable card requesting resending the third block of data from the removable card.

3. The method of claim 2, further comprising:

enabling the host suspending operations related to receiving data from the removable card in an attempt to wait for the third block of data to be resent;

enabling the host periodically determining whether the suspension has exceeded a predetermined period of time; and

enabling the host aborting the operations to receiving further data from the removable card if the suspension has exceeded the predetermined period of time.

4. The method of claim 3, further comprising enabling the host retrying receiving the third block of data from the removable card if the suspension has not exceeded the predetermined period of time.

5. The method of claim 1, further comprising one of the mechanical form factors, including at least one of Secure-Digital, Multi-media Card, Micro Secure-Digital, or Memory Stick card.

6. A computer-implemented method communicating with a single personality removable card interface, the method comprising:

detecting a removable card inserted into a single-personality connector slot for connecting to a standard-protocol card and for connecting to an extended-protocol card, the single-personality connector slot to accept the standard-protocol card and to accept the extended-protocol card, the single-personality connector slot including standard metal contacts and extended metal contacts that both make contact with the standard-protocol card and both make contact with the extended-protocol card, wherein the removable card includes a multi-level cell (MLC) memory array;

applying power to the removable card via the standard protocol metal contacts;

interrogating the removable card to identify a type of the removable card in order to determine whether the removable card operates according to the extended protocol by sending one or more commands associated with the extended protocol to the removable card and examining a response from the removable card in view of the commands; and

invoking a corresponding protocol processing logic corresponding to the extended protocol to handle further communications between a host and the removable card if the removable card is determined to be an extended protocol card, including

enabling the host sending a request to the removable card for sending a predetermined blocks of data to the removable card,

enabling the host starting sending a first block of data to the removable card,

the removable card replying with a positive acknowledgement (ACK) to the host, indicating that the first block of data has been successfully received,

in response to the ACK, enabling the host sending a second block of data to the removable card,

if a receiving buffer is full, the removable card sending a negative acknowledgement (NACK) to the host indicating that the removable card is not ready to receive further data,

in response to the NACK, enabling the host suspending sending further data to the removable card,

subsequently when the removable card is ready to receive further data from the host, the removable card sending a ready (RDY) signal to the host, and

in response to the RDY signal, enabling the host sending further data to the removable card until all of the predetermined blocks of data have been sent to the removable card.

7. The method of claim 6, further comprising:

the removable card examining an error correction code (ECC) associated with a third block of data received from the removable card; and

if the ECC is incorrect, the removable card sending an NACK to the host requesting resending the third block of data from the host.

8. The method of claim 7, further comprising:

enabling the host resending the third block of data;

enabling the host periodically determining whether time to sending the third block of data has exceeded a predetermined period of time; and

enabling the host aborting the operations to sending further data to the removable card if the suspension has exceeded the predetermined period of time.

9. The method of claim 8, further comprising enabling the host retrying sending the third block of data to the removable card if the suspension has not exceeded the predetermined period of time.

10. The method of claim 6, further comprising one of the mechanical form factors, including at least one of Secure-Digital, Multi-media Card, Micro Secure-Digital, or Memory Stick card.