Patent Publication Number: US-2006010270-A1

Title: Portable Wireless Smart Hard-Disk Drive

Description:
CROSS-REFERENCE TO RELATED APPLICATIONS  
      This application is a continuation-in-part of U.S. patent application Ser. No. 10/908,383, Filed May 10, 2005, which is related to the following domestic applications: 
          1. Provisional Application Ser. No. 60/579,071, “Smart Hard-Disk Drive and Methods”, Filed Jun. 12, 2004;     2. Provisional Application Ser. No. 60/579,725, “Smart Hard-Disk Drive and Methods”, Filed Jun. 14, 2004;     3. Provisional Application Ser. No. 60/585,123, “Smart Hard-Disk Drive and Methods”, Filed Jul. 2, 2004;     4. Provisional Application Ser. No. 60/586,129, “Smart Hard-Disk Drive and Methods”, Filed Jul. 7, 2004;     5. Provisional Application Ser. No. 60/640,901, “HDD-Wireless Phone”, Filed Jan. 1, 2005;     6. Provisional Application Ser. No. 60/593,396, “Hard-Disk-Drive-Based Dual-Range Wireless Phone”, Filed Jan. 11, 2005;     and the following foreign applications:     1. China, P. R., Application Serial No. 200410022482.7, “Wireless Smart Hard-Disk Drive”, Filed May 10, 2004;     2. China, P. R., Application Serial No. 200410022672.9, “Smart Hard-Disk Drive and Methods”, Filed Jun. 1, 2004.        

    
    
     BACKGROUND  
      1. Technical Field of the Invention  
      The present invention relates to the field of electronic storage systems, more particularly to portable wireless smart hard-disk drive (pwsHDD).  
      2. Prior Arts  
      Multimedia devices (MD) are devices that record and/or play multimedia (e.g. audio/video, i.e. A/V) data. They can be categorized into recording device (RD), playing device (PD) and multi-function device. The RD comprises at least a recording function, which converts external analog signals into multimedia data before recording them onto a storage medium. Examples include digital still camera, digital camcorder, and digital voice recorder. The PD comprises at least a playing function, which converts multimedia data into perceptible analog signals. Examples include audio player (e.g. MP3-player, CD player), video player (or movie player, e.g. portable VCD/DVD player, microdisplay-based player), game machine (e.g. Xbox, GameBoy, Nintendo DS), and global positioning system (GPS). Multi-function devices comprise both recording and playing functions. Examples include personal versatile recorder (PVR), camera (or video) phones with built-in MP3 player, and personal digital assistant (PDA). In the present invention, recording function and recording function are collectively referred to as multimedia functions.  
      Small form-factor hard-disk drive (HDD) has a disc-platter diameter of no larger than 2.5″. It is also known as portable HDD (pHDD). Recently, the pHDD storage capacity increases tremendously: for 2.5″ pHDD, it has reached 100 GB (equivalent to ˜250 hours of MPEG4 movies; ˜50,000 digital photos; or, ˜25,000 MP3 songs); for 1.8″ pHDD, it has reached 60 GB (equivalent to ˜150 hours of MPEG4 movies; ˜30,000 digital photos; or, ˜15,000 MP3 songs). If it is only used for a single multimedia application, the huge capacity of a pHDD will be wasted (e.g. pHDD in an HDD-based music-player). Only when shared by a large number of MD&#39;s, will the pHDD capacity be fully exploited.  
      U.S. patent applications Ser. Nos. 10/685,887, 10/902,646 disclose a smart hard-disk drive (sHDD)  8  ( FIGS. 1A-1B ). It comprises a host function (e.g. USB host, or USB OTG) which enables direct data transfer between the sHDD  8  and an MD  4  (e.g. digital still camera  4   r  of  FIG. 1A , MP3 player  4   p  of  FIG. 1B ). Here, the word “direct” means no computer is needed as intermediary during data transfer. As a result, the sHDD  8  and its associated multimedia devices can be highly portable.  
      For the prior-art sHDD, whenever the local storage of an MD  4  is nearly full (or empty), data transfer needs to be performed. At this time, a user needs to connect the MD  4  with the sHDD  8  by a wire  8   w . This wiring action needs user intervention and is inconvenient. Moreover, in order to reduce the number of wiring actions, the MD  4  needs a large local storage and this raises the MD cost. Accordingly, the present invention discloses a portable wireless smart hard-disk drive (pwsHDD). By directly and seamlessly communicating with at least one MD, it offers more user-convenience and lowers the system (more particularly, MD) cost.  
     OBJECTS AND ADVANTAGES  
      It is a principle object of the present invention to provide a portable universal multimedia storage platform which can directly and seamlessly communicate with at least one multimedia device (MD)—a portable wireless smart hard-disk drive (pwsHDD).  
      It is another object of the present invention to provide a wireless multimedia device (wMD) that can directly and seamlessly communicate with a pwsHDD.  
      It is another object of the present invention to provide a pwsHDD-phone which would be a personal communication, computation and storage hub.  
      In accordance with these and other objects of the present invention, a portable wireless smart hard-disk drive (pwsHDD) and its associated wireless multimedia devices (wMD) are disclosed.  
     SUMMARY OF THE INVENTION  
      To address the storage needs of multimedia devices (MD), the present invention discloses a portable wireless smart hard-disk drive (pwsHDD). It comprises a wireless communication means for directly and seamlessly transferring data with at least one wireless multimedia device (wMD). Here, the word “direct” means no computer intervention is needed during data transfer, i.e. the data-transfer process does not have to be controlled by a computer; the word “seamless” means no user intervention is needed during data transfer, i.e. a user does not need to take any action (e.g. connecting a wire, or clicking on a keypad) during data transfer. With a huge storage capacity, a single pwsHDD can store data for a number of MD&#39;s. It can replace various storage media (e.g. removable flash cards such as CF, MM, SD, MS, xD cards; videotapes such as VHS, 8 mm, Hi8, MiniDV, MicroMV; and optical discs such as CD, VCD, DVD) and become a universal multimedia storage platform.  
      To enable direct communication, either pwsHDD or wMD needs to comprise a host/master function or a host-like (e.g. peer-to-peer) function. There are three scenarios: A) when the wMD comprises a device/slave function, the pwsHDD needs to comprise a host/master function; B) when the pwsHDD comprises a device/slave function, the wMD needs to comprise a host/master function; or, C) both the wMD and pwsHDD comprise peer-to-peer functions.  
      To enable seamless communication, two conditions need to be met: A) wireless communication means is used; B) when the data stored inside the wMD local storage reach certain threshold, data transfer automatically starts between the pwsHDD and wMD. Condition A) eliminates wiring actions. It also enables simultaneous communication between a pwsHDD and multiple wMD&#39;s. This offers great flexibility and user-convenience. Condition B) eliminates the need for a user to manually start the data transfer by, e.g. clicking on a keypad. It can significantly lower the requirement on the capacity of the wMD local storage. To be more specific, the capacity of the wMD local storage can be smaller than the amount of data that the wMD records (or plays) during a user session. Here, a user session is the interval between two user actions (e.g. connecting a wire, or clicking on a keypad).  
      During normal usage, a user typically holds a wMD while the pwsHDD is placed in his pocket. The distance between the pwsHDD and wMD is small (e.g. ≦10 m, typically ≦3 m). Such a small distance means the wireless communication between them is a medium- to short-, preferably short-range wireless means. Compared with long-range wireless means (e.g. cellular phone), short-range wireless means is easier to design, have a faster speed, consumes less power and costs less.  
      Today, an MD records (or plays) data at a fast rate. For example, an MPEG4 player consumes data at ˜0.1 MB/s; a DVD player consumes data at ˜1 MB/s. Accordingly, the wireless communication means between the pwsHDD and wMD is a medium- to high-, preferably high-speed wireless means (e.g. ≧0.1 MB/s, typically ≧1 MB/s). For short-range wireless means, this speed value can be easily achieved. The wireless means that meet the above range and speed requirements include Bluetooth 2.0, Ultrawide Band (UWB), wireless USB, wireless 1394 and others.  
      Besides wireless means, a pwsHDD may further comprise wired communication means, e.g. USB, IEEE 1394 and Ethernet. This is particularly useful for large-volume data transfer. Besides storage function, a pwsHDD may further comprise at least one multimedia function. For example, a pwsHDD can have a built-in MP3 player, or a built-in digital camera. Moreover, a pwsHDD can also be a portion of a cellular phone. A pwsHDD-based cellular phone (pwsHDD-phone) would be a personal communication, computation and storage hub. It comprises at least two wireless communication means: a short-range wireless means (for high-speed, large-volume communication with wMD) and a long-range wireless means (for regular cellular communication). These two wireless means can share many system resources, e.g. microprocessor, memory, battery and display, thus lowering the overall system cost. 
    
    
     BRIEF DESCRIPTION OF THE DRAWINGS  
       FIGS. 1A-1B  illustrate a wired smart hard-disk drive (sHDD) and its usage models (prior arts);  
       FIG. 2  illustrates a preferred portable wireless smart hard-disk drive (pwsHDD) and its usage model;  
       FIG. 3  illustrates the usage of a pwsHDD as a universal multimedia storage platform, i.e. as a storage platform for a plurality of wireless multimedia devices (wMD);  
       FIGS. 4A-4B  are two cross-sectional views of a preferred pwsHDD;  FIG. 4C  is a circuit block diagram of a preferred pwsHDD;  FIG. 4D  is a printed-circuit board (PCB) layout of a preferred pwsHDD;  
       FIGS. 5A-5B  illustrates two preferred wireless recording devices (wRD);  FIG. 5C  is a circuit block diagram of a preferred wRD;  FIG. 5D  illustrates a preferred data-transfer process between a wRD and a pwsHDD;  
       FIG. 6A  illustrates a first preferred wireless playing devices (wPD); FIGS.  6 BA- 6 BB illustrate a second preferred wPD;  FIG. 6C  is a circuit block diagram of a preferred wPD;  FIG. 6D  illustrates a preferred data-transfer process between a wPD and a pwsHDD;  
      FIGS.  7 AA- 7 CB illustrates several preferred wireless data interfaces of the pwsHDD and its associated wMD;  
       FIGS. 8A-8C  illustrate several usage models of a preferred portable hybrid smart hard-disk drive (phsHDD);  FIG. 8D  is a circuit-block diagram of a preferred phsHDD;  
       FIG. 9  is a circuit-block diagram of a preferred pwsHDD with at least one multimedia function;  
       FIGS. 10A-10C  are several perspective views of a preferred pwsHDD-phone;  
       FIGS. 11A-11C  illustrate several usage models of a preferred pwsHDD-phone;  
       FIGS. 12A-12B  are circuit-block diagrams of a preferred pwsHDD-phone and its data interface;  
       FIG. 13  illustrates a preferred driver-management method in a pwsHDD;  
       FIGS. 14A-14C  illustrate the form factor, usage model and circuit blocks of a preferred interface-conversion apparatus. 
    
    
     DETAILED DESCRIPTION OF THE PREFERRED EMBODIMENTS  
      Those of ordinary skills in the art will realize that the following description of the present invention is illustrative only and is not intended to be in any way limiting. Other embodiments of the invention will readily suggest themselves to such skilled persons from an examination of the within disclosure.  
      The present invention discloses a portable wireless smart hard-disk drive (pwsHDD). It comprises a wireless communication means for directly and seamlessly transferring data with at least one wireless multimedia device (wMD). Here, the word “direct” means no computer intervention is needed during data transfer, i.e. the data-transfer process does not have to be controlled by a computer; the word “seamless” means no user intervention is needed during data transfer, i.e. a user does not need to take any action (e.g. connecting a wire, or clicking on a keypad) during data transfer.  
      Referring now to  FIG. 2 , a preferred pwsHDD  88  can directly download the captured data from a wireless recording device (wRD)  84   r  (e.g. a wireless digital still camera) through a wireless means  88   wl . It may also directly upload the needed data to a wireless playing device (wPD)  84   p  (e.g. a wireless MP3 player) through a wireless means  88   wl . Using wireless means eliminates wiring actions. Moreover, because it is wireless, the pwsHDD  88  can simultaneously communicate with at least two wMD&#39;s  84   r ,  84   p . In sum, “wireless” offers great flexibility and user-convenience.  
      Currently, a digital photo needs ˜2 MB, an MP3 song needs ˜4 MB, and one hour of MPEG4 video needs ˜400 MB of storage. A typical “on-the-go” person needs ˜10-100 GB of storage space. This storage requirement can be easily satisfied by a portable HDD (pHDD): the storage capacity of a 2.5″ PHDD is now 100 GB, and 1.8″ PHDD is now 60 GB (and will soon reach 100 GB). Accordingly, a pwsHDD can be used as a universal multimedia storage platform. As is illustrated in  FIG. 3 , the pwsHDD can be used as a storage platform for a plurality of MD&#39;s, e.g. digital camera  84   a , MP3 player  84   b , digital camcorder  84   c , game machine  84   d , global position system (GPS)  84   e , personal digital assistant (PDA)  84   f , digital video player (e.g. DVD/VCD player)  84   g . It can replace various storage media (e.g. removable flash cards such as CF, MM, SD, MS, xD cards; videotapes such as VHS, 8 mm, Hi8, MiniDV, MicroMV; and optical discs such as CD, VCD, DVD).  
       FIGS. 4A-4B  are two cross-sectional views of a preferred pwsHDD  88 .  FIG. 4A  is a cross-sectional view from the top (with top panel lifted). It can be observed that the pwsHDD comprises a head-disk assembly (HDA)  17 , which includes at least one disc-platter  15   p , rotor  15   r , head  15   h  and arm  15   a .  FIG. 4B  is its cross-sectional view from the front (with front panel removed). It can be observed that the pwsHDD comprises HDA  17 , printed-circuit board (PCB)  16   b , and battery  16 B. To be portable, a pwsHDD  88  preferably satisfies at least one of the following conditions: 
          A) its disc-platter diameter is no larger than 2.5″;     B) its largest dimension is no larger than 20 cm;     C) its volume is no larger than 2000 cm 3− ;     D) its weight is no more than 1000 g.        
       FIG. 4C  is a circuit block diagram of a preferred pwsHDD  88 . It comprises a microprocessor (uP)  18   u P, firmware  18 FW, RAM  18 M, HDD circuitry  18 C and wireless data interface  18 WL. These circuit blocks communicate via the system bus  18   bs . The uP  18   u P and firmware  18 FW are the “heart” of the pwsHDD  88 . They enable direct and seamless communication between the pwsHDD  88  and wMD  84 . The RAM  18 M acts as a buffer for the pwsHDD  88 . Its capacity is preferably large enough to enable “intermittent access” mode, which will be explained in the next paragraph. The HDD circuitry  18 C include HDD controller, servo circuit and read channel. The wireless data interface  18 WL provides communication channel between the pwsHDD and wMD. Its details are disclosed in FIGS.  7 AA- 7 CB.  
      The “intermittent access” mode can be applied to both read and write. During read, a large amount of data are read out once from the HDA  17  and stored in the buffer  18 M first. While these data are read out piecewise at a later time, the HDA  17  stays at standby. During write, data are written to the buffer  18 M first. Only when the buffer  18 M is almost full, the HDA  17  is turned on and all data in the buffer  18 M are written to the HDA  17  once. The “intermittent access” mode can shorten the running time of the HDA  17  and lower its power consumption, provided the following condition is satisfied: 
 
 S   M   &gt;E   HDA   /{P   HDA *(1 /R   MD −1 /R   HDA )}, 
 
 where, S M  is the capacity of the buffer  18 M; E HDA  is the energy consumption to start the HDA  17 ; P HDA  is the power consumption during active read or write of the HDA  17 ; R MD  is the rate at which an MD  84  records or plays multimedia data; and R HDA  is the rate at which the HDA  17  reads or writes data. 
 
       FIG. 4D  is a PCB layout of a preferred pwsHDD  88 . In order to lower the overall system cost, an “HDD integration” method is used. Details of this method are disclosed in U.S. patent application Ser. No. 10/902,646, “Smart Hard-Disk Drive”, filed Jul. 28, 2004 by the same inventor. According to this method, at least a portion of the HDD chips  88 C (e.g. HDD controller, servo, and read channel) is integrated on the same PCB  88 P with at least a portion of the system chips (e.g. uP chip  88   u P, memory chip  88 M and wireless data interface chip  88 WL). This method can lower the overall system cost and improve the data-transfer speed.  
       FIGS. 5A-5B  illustrate two preferred wireless recording devices (wRD)  84   r . They are preferably portable.  FIG. 5A  is a wireless digital camera  84   r  and  FIG. 5B  is a wireless digital camcorder  84   r . They can both download the captured data to a pwsHDD  88  through a wireless means  88   wl . From  FIG. 5C , a wRD  84   r  preferably comprises a wRD uP  38   u P, firmware  38 FW, lens  38 L, image sensor  38 S, data compressing block  38 ED, wRD buffer (RDB)  38 RB and wireless data interface  84 WL. The wRD uP  38   u P and firmware  38 FW are the “heart” of the wRD  84   r . They enable direct and seamless communication between the pwsHDD  88  and wRD  84   r . The lens  38 L, image sensor  38 S and data compressing block  38 ED capture and converts images into multimedia data. The RDB  38 RB uses the local storage of the wRD  84   r  and temporarily stores these multimedia data. The wireless data interface  84 WL provides data communication channel between the pwsHDD  88  and wRD  84   r . Its details are disclosed in FIGS.  7 AA- 7 CB. Apparently, this circuit block diagram can also be applied to other wRD, e.g. digital voice recorder.  
       FIG. 5D  illustrates a preferred data-transfer process between a pwsHDD  88  and a wRD  84   r . It comprises the following A)-E) steps: STEP A) Turn on the wRD  84   r ; the pwsHDD  88  stands by (step  102 ); STEP B) The wRD  84   r  captures multimedia data and store them in the RDB  38 RB (step  104 ); STEP C) If 1) the amount of data in the RDB  38 RB exceeds a pre-determined threshold RDB_TH, or, 2) the wRD  84   r  is idle, then the wRD  84   r  sends out a wireless “WAKEUP” signal  28 WS (step  106 ); STEP D) Signal  28 WS activates the pwsHDD  88 ; data in the RDB  38 RB are downloaded into the pwsHDD  88  (step  108 ); STEP E) Once data are downloaded, the pwsHDD  88  go back to standby (step  110 ).  
      FIGS.  6 A- 6 BB illustrate two preferred wireless playing devices (wPD)  84   p . They are preferably portable.  FIG. 6A  is a preferred wireless MP3 player  84   p  and it can upload the needed data from a pwsHDD  88  through a wireless means. FIGS.  6 BA- 6 BB are the perspective and side views of a preferred microdisplay-based wPD. It comprises a microdisplay chip  54  and an eyeglass structure  53 . Microdisplay is a mature technology (referring to Wright et al. “Die-sized displays enable new applications”, Semiconductor International, September 1998). Being much lighter and smaller, microdisplay can form images as good as from conventional displays. The microdisplay-based player (wireless or wired) will make a revolutionary change to the video-watching experience, as much as the MP3 player did to the music-listening experience.  
      From  FIG. 6C , a wPD  84   p  preferably comprises a wPD uP  48   u P, firmware  48 FW, wireless data interface  84 WL, wPD buffer (PDB)  48 PB, A/V decoder  48 ED, and D/A converter  48 D. The wRD uP  48   u P and firmware  48 FW are the “heart” of the wPD  84   p . They enable direct and seamless communication between the pwsHDD  88  and wPD  84   p . The wireless data interface  84 WL provides communication channel between the pwsHDD  88  and wPD  84   p . Its details are disclosed in FIGS.  7 AA- 7 CB. The PDB  48 PB uses the local storage of the wPD  84   p  and temporarily stores multimedia data uploaded from the pwsHDD  88 . The A/V decoder  48 ED and D/A converter  48 D decode and convert these multimedia data into analog outputs  480 . Apparently, this circuit block diagram can be applied to other wPD, e.g. audio player, video player, game machine, and GPS.  
       FIG. 6D  illustrates a preferred data-transfer process between a pwsHDD  88  and a wPD  84   p . It comprises the following A)-E) steps: STEP A) Turn on the wDP  84   p  and select a playlist; the pwsHDD  88  stands by (step  112 ); STEP B) The wDP  84   p  plays multimedia data in the PDB  48 PB (step  114 ); STEP C) If 1) the amount of needed data in the PDB  48 PB falls below a pre-determined threshold PDB_TH, or, 2) another playlist is selected, then the wPD  84   p  sends out a wireless “WAKEUP” signal  28 WS (step  116 ); STEP D) Signal  28 WS activates the pwsHDD  88 ; data are uploaded from the pwsHDD  88  (step  118 ); STEP E) Once data are uploaded, the pwsHDD  88  go back to standby (step  120 ).  
      In the pwsHDD  88  and wMD  84 , firmwares  18 FW ( FIG. 4C ),  38 FW ( FIG. 5C ) and  48 FW ( FIG. 6C ) are designed in such a way that, when the amount of data in the wMD buffer ( 38 RB,  48 PB) reaches a pre-determined threshold (RDB_TH, PDB_TH), data transfer will automatically start ( FIGS. 5D, 6D ). As a result, a user does not need to manually start the data transfer by, e.g. clicking on a keypad. Combined with wireless means, this design approach will realize seamless data transfer.  
      One important consequence of the seamless data transfer is that the wMD local storage ( 38 RB,  48 PB) can have a small capacity. To be more specific, it can be smaller than the amount of data that the wMD  84  records (or plays) during a user session. Here, a user session is the interval between two user actions (e.g. connecting a wire, or clicking on a keypad). Moreover, because it is used as a buffer ( 38 RB,  48 PB) for temporary data storage, the wMD local storage may use volatile memory (e.g. DRAM), not the more expensive non-volatile memory. In sum, the wMD local storage can have a small capacity and/or use a volatile memory. This can significantly lower the wMD cost.  
      To enable direct communication, either a pwsHDD or its associated wMD needs to comprise a host/master function or a host-like (e.g. peer-to-peer) function. There are three scenarios and they are illustrated in FIGS.  7 AA- 7 CB. In scenario A) (FIGS.  7 AA- 7 AB), the pwsHDD  88  acts as host and comprises an antenna  88 A, a wireless transceiver  88 WT and a wireless host controller  88 HC ( FIG. 7A A); the wMD  84  acts as device/slave and comprises an antenna  84 A, a wireless transceiver  84 WT, and a wireless device controller  84 DC ( FIG. 7A B). In this preferred embodiment, the pwsHDD  88  issues data-transfer commands. In scenario B) (FIGS.  7 BA- 7 BB), the pwsHDD  88  acts as device/slave and comprises a wireless device controller  88 DC, among others ( FIG. 7B A); the wMD  84  acts as host and comprises a wireless host controller  84 HC, among others ( FIG. 7B B). In this preferred embodiment, the wMD  84  issues data-transfer commands. In scenario C) (FIGS.  7 CA- 7 CB), peer-to-peer wireless communication is used. Both the pwsHDD  88  and the wMD  84  have a wireless peer-to-peer controller  88 PP,  84 PP. Consequently, both can issue data-transfer commands. As a universal multimedia storage platform, the pwsHDD  88  preferably supports at least some host function.  
      During normal usage, a user typically holds a wMD while the pwsHDD is placed in his pocket. The distance between the pwsHDD and wMD is small (e.g. ≦10 m, typically ≦3 m). Such a small distance means the wireless communication between them is a medium- to short-, preferably short-range wireless means. Compared with long-range wireless means (e.g. cellular phone), short-range wireless means is easier to design, have a faster speed, consumes less power and costs less.  
      Today, an MD records (or plays) data at a fast rate. For example, an MPEG4 player consumes data at ˜0.1 MB/s; a DVD player consumes data at ˜1 MB/s. Accordingly, the wireless communication means between the pwsHDD and wMD is a medium- to high-, preferably high-speed wireless means (e.g. ≧0.1 MB/s, typically ≧1 MB/s). For short-range wireless means, this speed value can be easily achieved.  
      The wireless means that meet the above range and speed requirements include Bluetooth 2.0, Ultrawide Band (UWB), wireless USB, wireless 1394 and others. Bluetooth 2.0 is a short-range, low-power and low-cost wireless technology. Its transfer speed is 3.8˜11.4 Mb/s, suitable for pwsHDD. Wireless USB (or 1394) is a short-range, low-power, low-cost and high-speed (up to ˜480 Mb/s) wireless technology. UWB is proposed as its PHY layer. Besides these, a pwsHDD may also use wireless technologies defined in, e.g. IEEE 802.11, IEEE 802.15, and IEEE 802.16.  
      When a large amount of data (˜GB) needs to be transferred, wired communication has certain advantages. Accordingly, the present invention discloses a portable hybrid smart hard-disk drive (phsHDD). It comprises both wireless and wired communication means. The usage model of the wireless means is similar to  FIG. 2 . The usage models of the wired means include: phsHDD-device, phsHDD-storage and phsHDD-computer.  
      The phsHDD-device model refers to wired data transfer between a phsHDD  88   h  and an MD  84 . One example is illustrated in  FIGS. 1A-1B . By connecting a phsHDD  88   h  with an MD  84  by a wire  8   w , direct data transfer is realized. Examples of communication protocols include USB, IEEE 1394 and Ethernet. Another example is illustrated in  FIG. 8A . Here, the body of an MD  84  (e.g. a digital camcorder) is large enough to hold a phsHDD  88   h  (through a slot  84   s ). In this configuration, data are constantly transferred between the phsHDD  88   h  and MD  84 . As a result, the MD  84  may use a small and/or volatile local storage, thus lowering its cost.  
      The phsHDD-storage model refers to wired data transfer between a phsHDD  88   h  and a removable storage  84   c , which is used by an MD  84 . As is illustrated in  FIG. 8B , the phsHDD  88   h  has a built-in card slot  88   s . The removable storage (e.g. a CF card)  88   c  can be inserted into said card slot  88   s  and directly communicate with the phsHDD  88   h . Here, the removable storage could be any type of removable flash cards, such as CF, MM, SD, MS, and xD cards.  
      The phsHDD-computer model refers to wired data transfer between a phsHDD  88   h  and a computer  2 . As is illustrated in  FIG. 8C , a wire  8   w ′ connects the phsHDD  88   h  with the computer  2 . The computer  2  has more processing power for multimedia data, faster access to multimedia content (e.g. optical-discs and internet); it also has better input/output (e.g. a large keyboard and display). In general, a phsHDD  88   h  (or sHDD  8 , pwsHDD  88 ) needs to download multimedia content from a computer  2 , or upload the recorded data to a computer  2 . Because the volume of data transfer could be large, wired means is preferred, although wireless means is also feasible.  
       FIG. 8D  is a circuit block diagram of a preferred phsHDD. Compared with  FIG. 4C , its data interface block  18 DI further comprises a wired data interface  18 WD. Examples of wired data interface include various wired controllers (e.g. USB controller, 1394 controller), various storage-card controllers (e.g. CF-card controller, MM-card controller) and others.  
      Besides storage function, a pwsHDD may further comprise at least one multimedia function  18 MF ( FIG. 9 ). It could be a recording function, a playing function, or both. For example, a pwsHDD could comprise a built-in MP3 player, which directly plays the audio files stored in the pwsHDD; it could also comprise a built-in digital camera, which saves photos directly onto the pwsHDD.  
      A pwsHDD can also be a portion of a cellular phone. A pwsHDD-based cellular phone (pwsHDD-phone) would be a personal communication, computation and storage hub. It comprises at least two wireless communication means: a short-range wireless means (for high-speed, large-volume communication with wMD) and a long-range wireless means (for regular cellular communication). Short-range wireless means is faster and consumes less power than the long-range means, thus it is more suitable for data transfer between the pwsHDD-phone and wMD.  
       FIGS. 10A-10C  illustrate several perspective views of a preferred pwsHDD-phone  110 .  FIG. 10A  is its front view. It comprises a display  112 , input  114 , and antenna  116 .  FIG. 10B  is its back view. It further comprises an HDD  118  and a battery  120 . The HDD  118  can be either detached from the phone  110  or integrated into the phone  110 .  FIG. 10C  is a side view of the HDD  118  from the tail end of the phone. The HDD  118  comprises an interface  118   i . This interface  118   i  could be used to provide a wired communication channel with an MD or a computer.  
       FIGS. 11A-11C  illustrate three usage models of a preferred pwsHDD-phone  110 .  FIG. 11A  illustrates a long-range wireless communication model. The pwsHDD-phone  110  communicates with a base station  130  in the cellular network through a long-range wireless communication means  110   lwl .  FIG. 11B  illustrates a short-range wireless communication model. The pwsHDD-phone  110  directly and seamlessly communicates with a wMD  84  through a short-range wireless communication means  110   swl .  FIG. 11C  illustrates a wired communication model. After inserting the HDD  118  (or the pwsHDD-phone  110 ) into a slot  84   s  on the MD  84  (e.g. a digital camcorder), constant communication is established between the pwsHDD-phone  110  and MD  84 .  
       FIG. 12A  is a circuit block diagram of a preferred pwsHDD-phone  110 . It comprises a uP  122 , system memory (RAM/ROM)  124 , battery  120 , display  112 , input  114 , HDD  118  and data interface  100 . One advantage of the pwsHDD-phone is that short- and long-range communication means can share many system resources, e.g. uP, system memory, battery, display and input, thus lowering the overall system cost.  FIG. 12B  is a detailed circuit block diagram of the data interface  100 . It comprises a long-range wireless interface  210 , a short-range wireless interface  220 , and a wired data interface  230 . The long-range wireless interface  210  provides regular cellular function through antenna  216 A. The short-range wireless interface  220  provides high-speed data-transfer capabilities between the phone  110  and wMD  84  through antenna  216 B. The wired data interface  230  provides wired data-transfer capabilities between the phone  110  and MD  84  (or computer). It is suitable for large-volume data transfer.  
      Referring now to  FIG. 13 , a preferred driver-management method is disclosed. As a universal multimedia storage platform, a pwsHDD  88  needs to support a large number of MD&#39;s. Their drivers ( 18 Da,  18 Db . . . ) may require a large storage space. In prior art, these drivers are burnt into the system ROM, which could be expensive and inflexible. Using this driver-management method, all drivers ( 18 Da,  18 Db . . .  18 Dx) are stored in the HDA  17 . When an MD  84  is connected to the pwsHDD  88 , it is first enumerated and then the appropriate driver  18 Dx is uploaded to the system memory  18 M. Accordingly, there is one driver  18 Dx in the system memory  18 M. Apparently, this method is more flexible and can lower the system cost.  
      Referring now to  FIGS. 14A-14C , a preferred interface-conversion apparatus  888  is illustrated. This interface-conversion apparatus  888  can convert a wired communication into a wireless communication. Using this apparatus  888 , a legacy MD  84   o  (e.g. a legacy digital camera), which does not have wireless capabilities, can directly and seamlessly communicate with a pwsHDD  88 . In this preferred embodiment, the interface-conversion apparatus  888  is CF-card-like. To be more specific, it has the same form factor and interface  888 A as a conventional CF card ( FIG. 14A ). After being inserted into the CF-card slot of a legacy MD  84   o  ( FIG. 14B ), it can convert data from the CF-format  386 A, which is the legacy format between the MD  84   o  and its CF card, to a wireless format  386 D, which enables seamless communication. From  FIG. 14C , this apparatus  888  comprises a CF-card interface  384 A, an interface-conversion block  384 B, and a wireless interface  384 C. Besides CF card, it can also provide interface conversion for other removable storage (e.g. MM, SD, MS, xD cards . . . ), or videotapes (e.g. VHS, 8 mm, Hi8, MiniDV, MicroMV . . . ).  
      While illustrative embodiments have been shown and described, it would be apparent to those skilled in the art that may more modifications than that have been mentioned above are possible without departing from the inventive concepts set forth therein. The invention, therefore, is not to be limited except in the spirit of the appended claims.