Patent Publication Number: US-2005120164-A1

Title: Pen drive for wireless wide bandwidth local network

Description:
BACKGROUND OF THE INVENTION  
      1. The Field of the Invention  
      The present invention relates to a pen drive for connecting to a wireless wide bandwidth local network, and more particularly relates to a pen drive for not only storing data of a host but also for enabling the host to link to a wireless network.  
      2. Description of the Related Art  
      Presently, the new device, pen drive, enables a user to save data into an external memory device and also as well read data stored therein, and also has the advantage of compactness and portability providing substantial convenience. The advantages of the pen drive have conquered the most of the conventional storage devices, for example, hard disk drive, and that is why the pen drive has become the most popular storage device.  
      But certain limitations has set the boundary for the pen drive for storing data of the computer or for the computer to read the data stored in the flash memory only. In other words, the drive is in idle state when the data transmission do not occur between the computer and the drive, and therefore it is a kind of waste of valuable resource, especially for those users who seldom need data transmission.  
      Therefore, a storage device, which has functions other than just connecting to the computer, can substantially be more valuable for the users.  
     SUMMARY OF THE INVENTION  
      Accordingly, in the view of the foregoing, the present inventor makes a detailed study of related art to evaluate and consider, and uses years of accumulated experience in this field, and through several experiments, to create a new pen drive. The present invention provides an innovated cost effective pen drive for connecting to a wireless wide bandwidth local network.  
      According to an aspect of the present invention, the pen drive comprises a control chip, a flash memory controller, at least one flash memory and a USB, a wireless wide bandwidth local network module and an antenna module. The pen drive can connect to a host equipped with a USB, such as a notebook computer, through its own USB. This allows the host to not only save or retrieve data (or command) to or from the flash memory, but also allows the use of wireless wide bandwidth local network module to link to a wireless wide bandwidth local network. Thus, the pen drive can store data of the host, as well as allows the host to link to the wireless network allowing the user to enjoy the convenience and value added features. 
    
    
     BRIEF DESCRIPTION OF THE DRAWING  
      For a more complete understanding of the present invention, reference will now be made to the following detailed description of preferred embodiments taken in conjunction with the following accompanying drawings.  
       FIG. 1  is a block diagram of a pen drive according to a preferred embodiment of the present invention. 
    
    
     DETAILED DESCRIPTION OF PREFERRED EMBODIMENTS  
      Reference will be made in detail to the preferred embodiments of the invention, examples of which are illustrated in the accompanying drawings. Wherever possible, the same reference numbers are used in the drawings and the description to refer to the same or like parts.  
      Referring to  FIG. 1 , is a block diagram of a pen drive according to a preferred embodiment of the present invention is shown. The pen drive  1  for connecting to a wireless wide bandwidth local network comprises a control chip  11 , a flash memory controller  12 , at least one flash memory  13 , a wireless wide bandwidth local network module  14 , an antenna module  15  and a USB  16 . The control chip  11  is for controlling the command and figures between the pen drive  1  and a host  21 , for example, but not limited to, a notebook computer or a PDA, also for controlling the figures of the array (or module) of the flash memory  13  and the figures (for example, internet protocol flow) required for the initialization of the wireless wide bandwidth local network module  14 . The control chip  11  can control the flash memory controller  12  to enable the host  21  to save/retrieve data (or command) to/from the flash memory  13 . The wireless wide bandwidth local network module  14  can be electrically connected to the host  21  through the USB  16 , and also to process the wireless network protocol, for example, WAP, to convert the digital protocol data signal into the analogue protocol data signal. The antenna module  15  is for receiving (or transmitting) the analogue protocol data signal. And furthermore, the flash memory  13  contains the initialization program for the wireless wide bandwidth local network module  14 .  
      Referring to  FIG. 1  again, when the pen drive  1  connects to the host  21  equipped with a USB  22  through its own USB  16 , the host  21  is not only capable of saving/retrieving data (or command) to/from the flash memory  13  of the pen drive  1 , but also allows the use of the wireless wide bandwidth local network module  14  and the antenna module  15  of the pen drive  1  to link to the wireless wide bandwidth local network. Thus the pen drive  1  can save/retrieve data of the host  21 , and also allows the host  21  to link to the wireless wide bandwidth local network.  
      In the present invention, the control chip  11  can be a 8051 single chip, and has a driving program burned or recorded therein, so when the pen drive  1  connects to the host  21 , the control chip  11  can control the flash memory controller  12  according to the commands of the host  21  for saving/retrieving data (or command) to/from the flash memory  13 , and also to manage the figures (for example, internet protocol flow) required for the initialization of the wireless wide bandwidth local network module  14 .  
      While the invention has been described in conjunction with a specific best mode, it is to be understood that many alternatives, modifications, and variations will be apparent to those skilled in the art in light of the foregoing description. Accordingly, it is intended to embrace all such alternatives, modifications, and variations in which fall within the spirit and scope of the included claims. All matters set forth herein or shown in the accompanying drawings are to be interpreted in an illustrative and non-limiting sense.