Memory card device

• US 9,854,198 B2
• Filed: 01/05/2012
• Issued: 12/26/2017
• Est. Priority Date: 01/05/2011
• Status: Active Grant

• Current Assignee: Freebit
• Original Assignee: Freebit
• Inventors: Oizumi, Hiroshi
• Primary Examiner(s): Spinks, Antoinette
• Application Number:
  US13/976,890
• Publication Number:
  US 20140016003A1
• Time in Patent Office: 2,182 Days
• Field of Search: 3482319, 709250
• CPC Class Codes: G06F 2213/3804 Memory card connected to a computer port directly or by means of a reader/writer
• CPC Class Codes: G06F 2213/3814 Wireless link with a computer system port
• CPC Class Codes: H04L 63/0272 Virtual private networks
• CPC Class Codes: H04L 67/141 Setup of application sessions admission control or resource allocation in data switching networks H04L47/70
• CPC Class Codes: H04N 5/76 Television signal recording
• CPC Class Codes: H04W 12/02 Protecting privacy or anonymity, e.g. protecting personally identifiable information [PII]
• CPC Class Codes: H04W 12/47 using near field communication [NFC] or radio frequency identification [RFID] modules

Abstract

Provided is a method capable of performing bi-directional communication by only a memory card device and without depending on the environment of the connecting device and the like. This memory card device has a housing in which a wireless communication module and memory module are mounted, and in the this memory module are provided a system area that cannot be access by a digital device in which the memory card device is mounted, and a user area that can be accessed by the digital device; wherein an operation system (OS), a file server program that operates together with the operation system to control data that is stored in the user area, and a communication module that connects the server program to a virtual network by way of a relay server on the Internet, and makes it possible to control the data that is stored in the user area from the Internet side by way of the server program are installed in the system area.

Claims

1. A memory card device removably inserted in a digital device and used as an add-on external memory of said digital device when inserted, said memory card capable of independent wireless communication without relying on said digital device'"'"'s network communication function, comprising:

a housing insertable to said digital device;

said housing having a communication and power-supply interface capable of communicating with said digital device and connected so as to be able to supply power to said memory card device from said digital device;

a microprocessor unit connected to the communication and power-supply interface through a communication bus;

a wireless communication circuit capable of transmitting and receiving a wireless signal; and

a memory that is connected to the microprocessor unit;

said memory having;

a system area inaccessible by said digital device in which said memory card device is inserted; and

a user area accessible by said digital device;

said system area having installed thereon;

an operating system (OS) having a local communication protocol stack which performs communication by connecting said memory card device to a wireless communication network via the wireless communication circuit;

an application program that operates together with the operating system to control data stored in said user area; and

a communication program for connecting said application program with a virtual network through a relay server on the Internet; and

wherein said communication program interposes between said application program and the local communication protocol stack of the operating system, stores an address on said virtual network for said application program, and, by performing tunneling processing, transmits packets destined to said virtual network from said application program to said relay server via the local communication stacks;

has protocol stacks that are independent of the local communication protocol stack and that are necessary for said application program for performing communication via said virtual network; and

stores a global IP address of said relay server on the Internet, and based on the global IP address of said relay server, establishes a tunneling connection between said communication program and said relay server;

wherein said application program further comprises a server program that provides a File Transfer Protocol (FTP) interface or a Hypertext Transfer Protocol (HTTP) interface to a user over the Internet through said relay server to enable read and write access to the user area of the memory by the user;

wherein when the memory card is inserted in the digital device and the power is supplied to the memory card, a RAMDISK is built in the microprocessor unit, the operating system is deployed on the RAMDISK, the application program is executed, the wireless communication circuit and the communication program are activated so as to connect the wireless communication network, and the tunneling connection to the relay server is established by connecting the virtual network using the global IP address stored in the communication program.

2. The memory card device according to claim 1, wherein

said communication program captures a request packet from the server program, encapsulates said packet with a virtual network address for the server program as a transmission source address, and transmits the packet to said relay server by way of the tunneling connection;

and

decapsulates packets addressed to said communication program received via the local communication protocol stack, and passes the decapsulated packet to the server program.

3. The memory card device according to claim 1, wherein

said communication program connects to a tunnel-broker server that is provided on the Internet, and receives a global address for the relay server from this broker server.

4. The memory card device according to claim 1, wherein

said communication program receives and stores an IP address for the server program on said virtual network from said relay server on the Internet.

5. The memory card device according to claim 1, wherein

said communication program can receive and store a MAC address and IP address for connecting to said virtual network for the server program from said relay server on the Internet.

6. The memory card device according to claim 1, wherein

said communication program is provided as a library program that can be called by the server program.

7. The memory card device according to claim 1, wherein

said communication program has an initialization section configured to generate all of Layer 2, 3 and 4 protocol stacks when establishing a Layer 2 connection with said relay server, and generate only Layer 3 and 4 protocol stacks, but not Layer 2 protocol stack when establishing a Layer 3 connection with said relay server.

8. The memory card device according to claim 1, wherein

the server program is provided with an instruction for calling and incorporating said communication program as a communication interface, wherein the server program is configured to have an IP address independent of the computer, and the IP address is received from the relay server and is set for the server program by said communication program.

9. The memory card device according to claim 1, wherein

the server program has a power consumption management unit for actively managing a power consumption of a Wi-Fi module, and making operation at low power consumption possible.