Mountable memory card and method for communicating, controlling, accessing and/or using the same

• US 7,769,867 B2
• Filed: 08/17/2005
• Issued: 08/03/2010
• Est. Priority Date: 08/18/2004
• Status: Expired due to Fees

• Current Assignee: Sony Corporation (Sony Group Corp.)
• Original Assignee: Sony Corporation (Sony Group Corp.)
• Inventors: Fukuda, Kunio
• Primary Examiner(s): Bruckart; Benjamin R
• Assistant Examiner(s): Baturay; Alicia
• Application Number:
  US11/206,322
• Publication Number:
  US 20060039221A1
• Time in Patent Office: 1,812 Days
• Field of Search: 709217-219, 709227-229
• US Class Current: 348/231.9
• 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:

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

a memory for storing external apparatus data received from the external apparatus through the wire communication means;

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 said external apparatus by way of said wire communication means and by said external wireless apparatus by way of said wireless communication means and for controlling wireless communication operations carried out by said wireless communication means,

wherein said memory/communication control means is adapted to allow said wireless communication means and wire communication means to request an operation to read out data from said memory, and allow said wire communication means but not said wireless communication means to request an operation to write data into said memory;

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

wherein said address in said address storage means being acquirable by said external wireless apparatus to enable said external wireless apparatus to identify from said address a file most recently accessed through said wireless communication means, and to issue a request for that file to said memory/communication control means via said wireless communication means;

wherein said memory/communication control means is adapted to control operations to access said memory in accordance with a state of connection of said wireless communication means;

wherein said external apparatus is an image pick-up apparatus for taking an image;

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

said image taken by said 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 said external wireless apparatus making said request by way of said wireless communication means.

2. The memory card according to claim 1, wherein said wireless communication means is adapted to carry out communication operations to send data read out from said memory through said wireless transmission line to said 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 is adapted to receive power from said external apparatus in which said 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 is adapted to allow 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.

5. The memory card according to claim 1, wherein, while said wireless communication means is carrying out a wireless communication operation to access said memory, said memory/communication control means is adapted to prohibit an access made by said wire communication means as an access to said memory.

6. 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 is adapted to send said requested file or said requested information on said files to the external wireless apparatus by way of said wireless communication means.

7. The memory card according to claim 1, wherein, in response to said request received from said external wireless apparatus through said wireless communication means for said address indicating a most recently accessed location in said memory, said memory/communication control means is adapted to send said address to the external wireless apparatus.

8. The memory card according to claim 1, wherein said wireless communication means is adapted to carry out an operation to send data read out from said memory to said external wireless apparatus through a wireless communication line without relying on said external apparatus connected to said wire communication means.

9. A memory-card control method, comprising:

controlling a memory card, wherein the memory card comprises;

a wire communication means freely mountable onto an external apparatus and freely dismountable from said external apparatus, a memory for storing external apparatus data received from said external apparatus through said wire communication means, a wireless communication means for carrying out communications with an external wireless apparatus through a wireless transmission line, and an address storage means for storing an address indicating a most recently accessed location in said memory, and wherein controlling said memory card comprises;

accessing said memory by way of the wire communication means and said wireless communication means;

controlling wireless communications operations carried out by the wireless communication means, including allowing the wireless communication means and wire communication means to request an operation to read out data from said memory, and allowing said wire communication means but not said wireless communication means to request an operation to write data into said memory;

acquiring, from said address storage means employed by said memory card, said address indicating a most recently accessed location in said memory;

identifying a most recently accessed file based on said acquired address;

requesting said memory card through and wireless communication means to send data including said identified file to said external wireless apparatus;

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;

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.

10. The memory-card control method according to claim 9, 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.

11. The memory-card control method according to claim 9, 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 either by the wire communication means or the wireless communication means.

12. The memory-card control method according to claim 9, 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.

13. The memory-card control method according to claim 9, 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 said wireless communication means.

14. A non-transitory computer program readable by a computer, said program being executable by said computer to execute an access control method, said method comprising:

controlling a memory card, wherein said memory card comprises;

a wire communication means freely mountable onto an external apparatus and freely dismountable from the external apparatus, a memory for storing external apparatus data received from said external apparatus through said wire communication means, a wireless communication means for carrying out communications with an external wireless apparatus through a wireless transmission line, and an address storage means for storing an address indicating a most recently accessed location in said memory and accessible from said external wireless apparatus through said wireless communication means, and wherein controlling the memory card comprises;

accessing the memory by way of said wire communication means and said wireless communication means,

controlling wireless communications operations carried out by the wireless communication means, including allowing the wireless communication means and wire communication means to request an operation to read out data from said memory, and allowing said wire communication means but not said wireless communication means to request an operation to write data into said memory;

acquiring, from said address storage means in said memory card, said address indicating a most recently accessed location in said memory;

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

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

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;

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.

15. A non-transitory computer program readable by a computer, the program being executable by the computer to execute memory-card control method, the method comprising:

controlling a memory card, wherein said memory card comprises;

a wire communication means freely mountable onto an external apparatus and freely dismountable from the external apparatus, a memory for storing external apparatus data received from said external apparatus through said wire communication means, and a wireless communication means for carrying out communications with an external wireless apparatus through a wireless transmission line, and wherein controlling the memory card comprises;

accessing said memory by way of said wire communication means and said wireless communication means,

controlling wireless communications operations carried out by the wireless communication means, including allowing the wireless communication means and wire communication means to request an operation to read out data from said memory, and allowing said wire communication means but not said wireless communication means to request an operation to write data into said memory;

acquiring, from an address storage means employed by said memory card, an address indicating a most recently accessed location in said memory;

identifying a most recently accessed file based on said acquired address;

requesting said memory card through said wireless communication means to send data including said identified file to said external wireless apparatus,

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;

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.