Abstract:
A multi-swap communication module includes a motherboard and a daughterboard. The motherboard is provided with a plurality of necessary components for maintaining the operation of a wireless communication card and the daughterboard is connectable with the motherboard. The daughterboard is a modular add-on card swappable according to different requests, while the motherboard reads control data selectively either in the motherboard or in the daughterboard by means of a swapping action of the daughterboard.

Description:
BACKGROUND OF THE INVENTION  
       [0001]     1. Field of the Invention  
         [0002]     The present invention relates generally to a communication module, and particularly to a multi-swap communication module that enables a conventional elementary wireless communication unit to swap the functions thereof.  
         [0003]     2. The Prior Arts  
         [0004]     To follow the development and progress of science, the transmission mode of information has been changed from a wire-mode to a wireless-mode of which the data portability and the convenience of transmission are significantly enlarged. It also makes the distance between people shorter and shorter such that data transmission and data receipt are no longer restricted at some predetermined positions. Instead, people can do the same in almost everywhere even under a moving state to make an instant remote communication and data exchange possible.  
         [0005]     The wireless communication system more often applied nowadays includes the Global System for Mobile Communications (GSM), the General Packet Radio Service (GPRS), Bluetooth, and Wireless LAN.  
         [0006]     The existing wireless communication card for wireless transmission is commonly applied in a portable computer or a Personal Digital Assistant (PDA) to serve as an expansion facility for wireless transmission to allow the connection with the INTERNET through a mobile phone system. In a conventional portable wireless communication card, the necessary device such as a wireless communication module (GSM, GPRS, Wireless network card or Bluetooth wireless card) is usually disposed on a motherboard module and connected with some other systems via a specified connection interface (Compact Flash interface, for example). Unfortunately, due to different interfaces of the wireless communication module, the wireless communication card occasionally fails to connect with other systems or a connection could be done only under the assistance of a personal computer (PC) or PDA that increases the cost but provides no convenient service.  
       SUMMARY OF THE INVENTION  
       [0007]     The primary object of the present invention is to provide a multi-swap communication module capable of increasing the function of a conventional wireless communication card by means of a modular daughterboard having different functions.  
         [0008]     Another object of the present invention is to save the cost of wireless communication by means of modular components.  
         [0009]     In order to realize above objects, a multi-swap communication module of the present invention comprises a motherboard having basic components and a daughterboard to be connected with the motherboard, in which the daughterboard is a modular appended card swappable according to different requests, and the motherboard is supposed to read the control data either in the components thereof or in the components of the daughterboard by means of a swapping action of the daughterboard.  
         [0010]     In accordance with the multi-swap communication module of the present invention, a multi-function controller is disposed on the motherboard for control of reading data on the daughterboard. This controller is employed to control reading of control data either on the motherboard or on the daughterboard selectively, and increase the functions of a wireless communication card of the motherboard by the modular daughterboard having various functions.  
         [0011]     For more detailed information regarding advantages or features of the present invention, at least an example of preferred embodiment will be described below with reference to the annexed drawings. 
     
    
     BRIEF DESCRIPTION OF THE DRAWINGS  
       [0012]     The related drawings in connection with the detailed description of the present invention to be made later are described briefly as follows, in which:  
         [0013]      FIG. 1  is a schematic view of a GPRS (General Packet Radio Service) multi-swap communication module according to the present invention;  
         [0014]      FIG. 2  is a schematic view of another embodiment of the GPRS multi-swap communication module according to the present invention;  
         [0015]      FIG. 3  is a schematic view of yet another embodiment of the GPRS multi-swap communication module according to the present invention; and  
         [0016]      FIG. 4  is a schematic view of yet another embodiment of the GPRS multi-swap communication module according to the present invention. 
     
    
     DETAILED DESCRIPTION OF THE PREFERRED EMBODIMENTS  
       [0017]     With reference to  FIG. 1 , which shows a GPRS (General Packet Radio Service) multi-swap communication module according to the present invention, the multi-swap communication module of the present invention comprises a motherboard  1  and a daughterboard  2 . A plurality of components is disposed on the motherboard  1 , including at least a multi-function controller  11 , an Electrically Erasable Programmable Read Only Memory (E 2 PROM)  12 , a Solid Static Disk device bridge chip (SSD)  13 , a wireless communication module  14 , and a first connector  15 . The multi-function controller  11  comprises firs and second flat cables  111  and  112 . The wireless communication module  14  comprises a replaceable module comprising preferably at least a wireless network, GSM, GPRS, or a Bluetooth wireless module. A plurality of components is disposed on the daughterboard  2 , including at least an E 2 PROM  24  and a second connector ( 25 ). Upon requests, a battery pack  21  (see  FIG. 2 ), and/or a memory card adapter  22  (see  FIG. 3 ), and/or a wireless communication module  23  (see  FIG. 4 ) may be further provided to form a modular daughterboard  2  in various combinations.  
         [0018]     The foregoing memory card adapter  22  can be, but not necessarily be, applied for a Multi Media card (MMC), a Safe Digital card (SD), or a Memory Stick Card (MS). The wireless communication module  23  preferably comprises a wireless network card or a Bluetooth wireless card. Or alternatively, the wireless communication modular  23  is replaced by a Global Positioning System (GPS) chip.  
         [0019]     The possible combinations of the components on the daughterboard  2  can be, but not necessary be, any of: (a) a battery pack only; (b) a memory card adapter only; (c) a wireless network card only; (d) a memory card adapter plus a battery pack; (e) a battery pack plus a Bluetooth wireless card; (f) a battery pack plus a wireless network card; or, (g) a battery pack plus a GPS card.  
         [0020]     Therefore, a multi-swap communication module is formed by coupling a motherboard having a communication module with a modular daughterboard. The combination example of the motherboard and the daughterboard may include: (a) wireless network for motherboard; memory card (SD, MMC, or MS) adapter for daughterboard; (b) GSM or GPRS for motherboard; wireless network for daughterboard; (c) Bluetooth wireless card for motherboard; memory card (SD, MMC, or MS) adapter plus battery pack for daughterboard; (d) GSM or GPRS for motherboard; GPS plus battery pack for daughterboard; (e) wireless network for motherboard; memory card (SD, MMC, or MS) for daughterboard. Before the connection of the motherboard and the daughterboard is made, the motherboard ( 1 ) itself is started to read the data stored in advance in the E 2 PROM  12  through the multi-function controller  11 . Then, after operation, an instruction is transmitted through the flat cable  112  to the wireless communication module  14  for the latter to proceed the wireless transmission operation.  
         [0021]     When the modular daughterboard  2  is joined together with the motherboard  1 , the information thereof enter the motherboard  1  through a channel provided by the connectors  15  and  25 . A chip-selection pin (CS pin, not shown) is then enabled or disabled to conduct ON/OFF operation of the E 2 PROM  12  on the motherboard  1  by taking advantage of the swapping action of the daughterboard  2  so that the prestored data either in the E 2 PROM  12  on the motherboard  1  or in the E 2 PROM  24  on the daughterboard  2  will be read selectively via the multi-function controller  11 .  
         [0022]     The mentioned multi-function controller  11  may support various working modes as indicated in Table 1, in which modes  1 - 3  are all multiplex modes while modes  4 - 6  are all simplex modes. The multiplex modes  11  make use themselves on swap of the modules.  
         [0023]     The data fetched from the daughterboard  2 , that is, from the E 2 PROM  24  or the memory card adapter  22  or the wireless communication module  23 , could be transmitted through the first connector  15 , and then the flat cable  111  to reach the multi-function controller  11  for the controller to operate a wireless communication card. This can be done via any of two paths, in which the fetched data may go through the first connector  15  and then a bus  162 , the Solid Static Disk device bridge chip  13 , and another bus  161  to reach the multi-function controller  11  along one path; and along the other, the data is supposed to go this time through also the first connector  15  and then a bus  163  to reach the multi-function controller  11  without passing by the Solid Static Disk device bridge chip  13 . The path for transmitting data from the daughterboard  2  to the motherboard  1  is to be chosen by a switching chip (not shown).  
         [0024]     The Solid Static Disk device bridge chip  13  is employed generally to transmit the data of the swappable daughterboard  2 , namely the SD, MMC, MS, to the True Integrated Drive Electronics (True IDE), and it works just like a PCMCIA (Personal Computer Memory Card Interface Adapter).  
         [0025]     Moreover, the E 2 PROM  12 ,  24  function to: (1) store the Card Information Structure (CIS) of PCMCIA and (2) store a setting value for configuring the multi-function controller  11  to determine the working mode thereof. For example, there are 256 bytes in an E 2 PROM 93C56, in which CIS is addressed in 00-EF to store the setting value of the E 2 PROM 93C56 as indicated in Table 2. When the electric power is applied, all the data of the E 2 PROM 93C56 is supposed to be inputted into the multi-function controller, in which 240 bytes of CIS data would reside in a RAM buffer and the rest 16 bytes are employed for setting the multi-function controller, then the system host will effect a reset signal to determine the working mode of the multi-function controller and decide the function thereof when the CIS of PCMCIA works in an operating system. In other words, the function of the CIS of PCMCIA is determined first by the data of those 16 bytes and the reset signal of the system host, then the operating system will define the function thereof in Win98/2K/CE.  
         [0026]     In the above described, at least one preferred embodiment has been described in detail with reference to the drawings annexed, and it is apparent that numerous changes or modifications may be made without departing from the true spirit and scope thereof, as set forth in the claims below.  
                                                                                   TABLE 1                           Various modes supported by the multi-function controller                Mode   Mode   Mode   Mode   Mode   Mode               1   2   3   4   5   6   . . .                        First flat   UART   PIO   True   X   PIO   True   . . .       cable           IDE           IDE       Second flat   UART   UART   UART   UART   X   X   . . .       cable                 ART: Universal Asynchronous Receiver/Transmitter            PIO: Programmed Input/Output            True IDE: True Integrated Drive Electronics             
 
         [0027]    
       
         
               
             
               
               
               
               
               
               
             
           
               
                 TABLE 2 
               
               
                   
               
               
                   
               
               
                 Setting values of CIS in E 2 PROM 93C56 
               
               
                   
               
             
             
               
                   
               
             
          
           
               
                 Setting value 
                 001 
                 010 
                 100 
                 101 
                 . . . 
               
               
                 First Flat Cable 
                 UART 
                 PIO 
                 True IDE 
                 X 
                 . . . 
               
               
                 Second Flat Cable 
                 UART 
                 UART 
                 UART 
                 UART 
                 . . . 
               
               
                 Mode 
                 Multiplex 
                 Multiplex 
                 Multiplex 
                 Simplex 
                 Simplex