Abstract:
A data drive for interfacing with an electronic device through a memory card reader is described. The memory card reader accepts a memory card, which stores data having a first format. The data drive includes a storage device for storing data having a second format, a connector that emulates the memory card&#39;s connections, an interface unit between the storage device and the connector, and a controller for controlling data transfers between the storage device and the interface unit. The interface unit converts data between the first and second formats. The data drive attaches to the memory card reader through the connector and transfers data between the storage device and the external device through the memory card reader. The storage device can be a hard disk drive, permitting a relatively inexpensive and large capacity storage area to be used to transfer data through the memory card reader.

Description:
BACKGROUND OF THE INVENTION 
       [0001]    Consumer electronic devices often require a huge storage space. For example, when users play games on video game consoles, they often need to save the video game data so that they can start at the point in the game where they left off. Still other applications for modern video game consoles, like photos, music, or downloaded games take up large amounts of space that cannot fit in the game console&#39;s internal storage. Further, it is desirable to have the storage device interface with standard computer interfaces such that the data can be stored on a computer or transmitted to other devices. 
         [0002]    Nowadays, a memory card (e.g., Secure Digital (SD) card) is often used to store data for such devices as video game consoles, cameras, and the like. The memory cards are often expensive, and are limited in the amount of data that can be stored on them. For example, a typical memory card stores 1 gigabyte (GB) or 2 GB of data. 
         [0003]    It is desirable to provide a device that can hold large amounts of additional data in a relatively inexpensive manner, and without having to manage dozens of little memory cards. 
       SUMMARY OF THE INVENTION 
       [0004]    In an exemplary embodiment according to the present invention, a data drive is provided. The data drive includes: a storage device for storing data having a second format; an interface unit for converting a format of the data between a first format of a memory card and the second format, the interface unit comprising a device that is insertable into an external memory card reader to emulate the memory card; and a controller for controlling data transfers between the storage device and the interface unit. 
         [0005]    In another exemplary embodiment according to the present invention, a method of transferring data between a storage device and an external device having a memory card reader is provided. The memory card reader transfers data having a first format, while the storage device transfers data having a second format. The method includes reading and storing. The reading includes: reading first data having the second format from the storage device; converting the first data having the second format into first data having the first format; and storing the first data having the first format to the external device through the memory card reader. The storing includes: reading second data having the first format from the external device through the memory card reader; converting the second data having the first format into second data having the second format; and storing the second data having the second format to the storage device. 
         [0006]    In yet another exemplary embodiment according to the present invention, a method of emulating a memory card to a memory card reader using a storage device is provided. The memory card stores data having a first format, while the storage device stores data having a second format. The method includes: coupling the storage device to the memory card reader using a connector emulating physical and electronic connections of the memory card; and interfacing the storage device with the connector, wherein the interfacing comprises converting a format of data between the first format and the second format. 
     
    
     
       BRIEF DESCRIPTION OF THE DRAWINGS 
         [0007]    The accompanying drawings illustrate embodiments of the present invention, and together with the description, serve to explain the principles of the embodiments of the present invention. 
           [0008]      FIG. 1  is a block diagram of a data drive in an exemplary embodiment according to the present invention. 
           [0009]      FIG. 2  is a perspective view of a data drive in an exemplary embodiment according to the present invention. 
           [0010]      FIG. 3  is a side view of the data drive of  FIG. 2  mounted on an external electronic device. 
           [0011]      FIG. 4  is a front view of the data drive of  FIG. 2  mounted on an external electronic device. 
           [0012]      FIG. 5  is a front view of a data drive according to another exemplary embodiment of the present invention, mounted on an external electronic device. 
           [0013]      FIG. 6  is a side view of a data drive coupled to an AC connector and mounted to an external electronic device in an exemplary embodiment according to the present invention. 
           [0014]      FIG. 7  is another side view of the data drive of  FIG. 6 . 
           [0015]      FIG. 8  is a schematic view of a data drive having a two-part design including a detachable mounting member according to an exemplary embodiment of the present invention. 
       
    
    
     DETAILED DESCRIPTION 
       [0016]    Now, exemplary embodiments of the present invention will be described in more detail with reference to the accompanying drawings. 
         [0017]    In exemplary embodiments according to the present invention, a data drive including a hard drive to memory card adapter is provided. In one embodiment, the hard drive is a Hard Disk Drive (HDD). Also, in one embodiment, the memory card is Secure Digital (SD). However, the present invention is not limited to HDD or SD. 
         [0018]    In an exemplary embodiment according to the present invention, the adapter functions according to the following. A memory card connector of the data drive is inserted into a memory card reader, which is itself connected to or is an internal component of an external electronic device such as a computer, camera, video game console, etc. It should be noted that while the term memory card “reader” is used, it is understood from common parlance that the device also functions as a memory card writer. The memory card connector is connected through the memory card adapter to an internal HDD of the data drive using an industry standard interface (e.g., through Integrated Device Electronics (IDE), Serial Advanced Technology Attachment (SATA), etc.). The HDD is able to read or write data through the memory card connector from or to the external device that the memory card reader is connected to. In essence, this allows the HDD to communicate with an external device by having the memory card connector emulate a memory card to the external device&#39;s memory card reader. 
         [0019]    Referring now to the figures, and  FIG. 1  in particular, in an exemplary embodiment according to present invention, a data drive  100  is provided. The data drive  100  interfaces with an external (electronic) device  200  through a memory card reader  208  using a connector  117  that emulates the physical and electronic connections of a memory card. The data drive  100  may be mounted on the external device  200 , possibly with the use of a detachable mounting member  130  (shown in  FIG. 2 ). 
         [0020]    The external device  200  includes a controller  202  and a memory card reader  208 . The memory card reader  208  and the controller  202  are external to the data drive  100 , and are coupled to or are integral parts of the external device  200 . 
         [0021]    The external device  200  may be any suitable consumer electronics device, such as, for example, a video game console, such as the Nintendo Wii console. The memory card reader  208  may be any suitable memory card reader. In one embodiment, the memory card reader  208  is a Secure Digital (SD) card reader, but the present invention is not limited thereto. 
         [0022]    The data drive  100  includes a hard disk drive (HDD)  104  and a controller  102  for controlling the HDD  104 . The HDD stores images of memory cards, which are also referred to as pages. The controller  102  receives an external sync signal for synchronizing a page of the HDD  104 . Data from this page can then be transferred between the HDD  104  and the external device  200  through the memory card reader  208 . In one embodiment, the controller receives signals from control buttons  118  on the exterior of the data drive  100 . These activate certain functions like synchronizing a page of the HDD, copying a memory card to the HDD  104 , or confirming a command. 
         [0023]    The data drive  100  can emulate a memory card to the memory card reader  208  when the data drive  100  is connected to the memory card reader  208  through the connector  117 . In another embodiment, the controller  102  has the ability to reformat the HDD  104 , for example, to a different block size, page size, or data organization. In still other embodiments, the storage device may not be a hard disk drive, but it may be any other suitable storage medium known to those skilled in the art. For example, the storage device in other embodiments may be a solid state drive (SSD). For the convenience of description, the data drive  100  will be described herein with an HDD as the storage device. 
         [0024]    The data drive  100  also includes a display  110 , which may include a liquid crystal display (LCD). The display  110  may, for example, display the page number for the hard disk drive area being accessed. As a possibility, if HDD  104  is a 100 gigabyte (100 GB) hard disk drive, a two-digit display may display between 00 and 99, each page corresponding to a gigabyte of disk space (the equivalent of a 1 GB memory card). The display  110  may be a monochrome or color display, and may be used to display other information for interface between the user and the data drive  100 . 
         [0025]    In other embodiments, the data drive may not include a liquid crystal display. As can be seen in  FIG. 5 , for example, a data drive  100 ′ includes a display  110 ′ that includes a number of light emitting diode (LED) indicators, each associated with a digit. Through the combination of digits next to the lighted LED indicators, the page number can be shown. 
         [0026]    In addition to displaying page numbers, the display  110  includes one or more additional LEDs  111 . Example functions for these LED indicators include indicating the status of the data drive  100  or an access indicator to notify when the HDD  104  is currently being accessed. 
         [0027]    The data drive  100  also includes a memory card reader  108 , which is used to read from and write to a memory card using a compatible format with the memory card reader  208  of the external device  200 . In one embodiment, the memory card reader  108  can emulate the memory card reader  208  when the data drive  100  is connected to the memory card reader  208  through the connector  117 . The memory card reader  108  receives instructions from the controller  102 , possibly at the direction of control buttons  118 , to transfer data between a memory card in the memory card reader  108  and the HDD  104 . In one embodiment, the memory card reader  108  is a Secure Digital (SD) card reader, but the present invention is not limited thereto. 
         [0028]    The data drive  100  also includes an interface unit  120 . The interface unit  120 , for example, together with the connector  117 , make up a memory card adapter. The interface unit  120  interfaces between the HDD  104  and the memory card reader  208  of the external device  200  through the connector  117 . As the data format for the HDD  104  is different from that of a memory card, the interface unit  120  converts the data format between that suitable for the HDD  104  and that which is compatible with the memory card. 
         [0029]    The interface unit  120  includes a control interface  112 , a switch  113 , an HDD interface  114 , a format converter  115 , an external memory card interface  116 , and an internal memory card interface  119 . The external memory card interface  116  and the connector  117  may also be referred to as a “pseudo memory card,” for the external memory card interface  116  emulates the storage and logic of a memory card, while the memory card connector  117  emulates the physical and electronic connections of the memory card. This allows the pseudo memory card to connect physically to and interface electronically with the memory card reader  208 . Consequently, the pseudo memory card substantially emulates the memory card to the memory card reader  208 . 
         [0030]    The internal card interface  119  is used to read from and write to the memory card reader  108  of the data drive. The HDD interface  114  is used to read from and write to the HDD  104 . The external memory card interface  116  is used to read to and write from the memory card reader  208  through the connector  117 . The format converter  115  converts a data format between the HDD data format and the memory card data format. The switch  113  serves as a hub for exchanging data between the different components, including the internal card interface  119 , the HDD interface  114 , the format converter  115 , and the controller  102 . The controller  102  controls the interface unit  120  through the control interface  112 . The control interface  112  exchanges control information between the controller  102  and other interface unit components such as the internal card interface  119 , the HDD interface  114 , and the switch  113 . 
         [0031]    The data drive  100  also includes a power supply  150  that receives an external power to provide power to the memory card reader  108 , the interface unit  120 , the controller  102 , the display  110 , and the HDD  104 . The power supply  150  may receive an external AC or DC power. The power supply  150  may include an AC/DC converter to convert an input AC power to DC power to provide to the components of the data drive  100 . 
         [0032]    The external power may be received from an AC outlet (for AC power). For instance,  FIG. 6  depicts an AC adapter  140  that converts AC power from a conventional AC power outlet to DC power for input through a power cord to the power supply  150 . In other embodiments, the external power may be received from an electronic device, such as the external device  200 . By providing an external power independent of the external device  200 , the data drive  100  can continue to operate properly even when not connected to the external device or when the external device is turned off. The power supply  150  may also include a power storage device (e.g., rechargeable battery) instead of or in addition to other sources of power, such as an AC outlet or the external device  200 . The power storage device may be used to power the data drive  100  when the other sources of power are not supplying power for a period of time (such as when traveling). 
         [0033]    The data drive  100  may physically mount to the external device  200 . A detachable mounting member  130  (see  FIG. 2 , for example) can facilitate this mounting. In one embodiment, the mounting member  130  includes a releasable locking tab  132  to facilitate attaching the mounting member  130  to or detaching the mounting member  130  from the data drive  100 . In addition, the mounting member  130  may further include a power cord path  134  to help secure and hide the power cord attached to the adapter  140  used to deliver the external power to the data drive  100 . 
         [0034]    In operation, the external memory card interface  116  uses the connector  117  that has the form factor and external electrical connections of the desired memory card. This allows the connector  117  to be inserted into the memory card reader  208  of the external device  200  and thus, connect the memory card reader  208  of the external device  200  to the external memory card interface  116  of the data drive  100 . The external device  200  may be a computer, camera, video game console, or any other suitable electronic device. The data drive  100  may mount to the external device  200  to further secure the connection, possibly with the aid of a detachable mounting member  130 . 
         [0035]    The pseudo-memory card (connector  117  and external memory card interface  116 ) is connected to the HDD  104  (e.g., through IDE, SATA, etc.) through the format converter  115 , the switch  113 , and the HDD interface  114 . Because of this, the HDD  104  is able to read or write through the pseudo-memory card to the external device  200  through the memory card reader  208  using the connector  117 . In essence, this allows the HDD  104  to communicate with another device (i.e., the external device  200 ) through the memory card reader  208  by emulating a memory card inserted into the memory card reader  208  of the other device. 
         [0036]    The internal memory card interface  119  interfaces with the memory card reader  108  in the data drive  100  to transfer data between the HDD  104  and a memory card inserted in the data drive memory card reader  108 . Here, the internal memory card interface  119  provides an interface between the memory card in the memory card reader  108  of the data drive  100  and the HDD  104  through the switch  113 , the format converter  115 , and the HDD interface  114 . The format converter  115  converts the data format between a format that is compatible with the HDD  104  and the format that is compatible with the memory card. This way, the contents of the memory card inserted in the memory card reader  108  is copied easily for storage on the HDD  104 . 
         [0037]    In another embodiment, instead of or in addition to interfacing with the HDD  104 , the memory card reader  108  emulates the memory card reader  208  when the data drive  100  is connected to the memory card reader  208  through the connector  117 . This way, full functionality with the HDD  104  and the memory card reader  208  is maintained when the data drive  100  is connected to the memory card reader  208  through the connector  117 . That is, a user can use the HDD  104  or a memory card inserted into the memory card reader  108  of the data drive to transfer data with the external device  200 . 
         [0038]    In one embodiment, the HDD  104  can be reformatted to have a different number of pages or organization. For example, a software driver in the controller in one embodiment allows the HDD  104  to be formatted to have higher capacity blocks, or larger or smaller pages. 
         [0039]    In other embodiments, the HDD  104  in the data drive  100  can be connected to a Personal Computer (PC) or Macintosh computer (Mac) through a communication port  106  using an industry standard interface like Universal Serial Bus (USB), FireWire (Institute of Electrical and Electronics Engineers (IEEE) 1394), etc. This way, the files stored on the HDD  104  can also be stored on the computer, thereby allowing users to share with others (e.g., friends) using e-mail or other electronic communication methods. The communication port  106  links to the HDD  104  through the controller  102 . 
         [0040]      FIG. 2  is a perspective view of a data drive  100  in an exemplary embodiment according to the present invention. As can be seen in  FIG. 2 , the data drive  100  has a mounting member  130  for physically mounting the data drive  100  to an external electronic device  200 . 
         [0041]      FIG. 3  is a side view of the data drive  100  of  FIG. 2  mounted on an external electronic device  200 . Here, the data drive  100  is mounted at a side of the external device  200  using the mounting member  130  to secure the data drive  100  from behind the external device  200 . The releasable locking tab  132  allows the mounting member  130  to be securely attached to and quickly released from the data drive  100 . The cord path  134  secures and conceals the AC power cord to the data drive  100 . Some of the control buttons  118  and display LEDs  111  can also be seen from this view. 
         [0042]      FIG. 4  is a front view of the data drive  100  of  FIG. 2  mounted on an external electronic device  200 . The external device  200  in this case is a Nintendo Wii console in one embodiment. However, the present invention is not limited thereto. A sync button  118  can be used to send a synchronization signal to the controller  102  to synchronize the HDD  104  to a particular page of storage (as though a memory card holding the contents of the page of storage was inserted in the memory card reader of the external device). The data drive  100  has a display  110  for showing a page number of the hard disk drive area being accessed, for example, as well as an access LED  111  to indicate when the HDD  104  is currently being accessed. The data drive  100  also has a memory card reader  108 . 
         [0043]      FIG. 5  is a front view of a data drive  100 ′ in another exemplary embodiment according to the present invention. In this embodiment, instead of the digital display  110  in  FIG. 4 , an alternative display  110 ′ including a number of light emitting diode (LED) indicators associated with digits is shown for indicating page numbers. 
         [0044]      FIG. 6  is a side view of a data drive  100  coupled to an AC adapter  140  through a power cord in an exemplary embodiment according to the present invention. The data drive  100  is also depicted mounted to the external device  200  using a detachable mounting member  130  with a releasable locking tab  132  to secure the mounting member  130  to the remainder of the data drive  100 . A power cord path  134  is provided to help secure and hide the power cord of the adapter  140 . 
         [0045]      FIG. 7  is another side view of the data drive  100  of  FIG. 6 . As can be seen in  FIG. 7 , the physical memory card can be emulated by a memory card connector  117  that connects to an external device  200  (not shown) through a memory card reader  208 . An AC adapter  140  with a power cord provides an independent power source for the data drive  100 . 
         [0046]      FIG. 8  is a schematic view of a data drive  100  having a two-part design in an exemplary embodiment according to the present invention. The two-part design allows for easy and secure assembly and removal of the data drive  100  from the external device  200  using a detachable mounting member  130 . The mounting member  130  uses a releasable locking tab  132  to securely attach to and quickly detach from the data drive  100  for securing to the external device  200  (not shown). 
         [0047]    Although certain exemplary embodiments of the present invention have been disclosed for illustrative purposes, those skilled in the art will appreciate that various modifications, additions and substitutions are possible, without departing from the scope and spirit of the invention as disclosed in the accompanying claims.