U.S. patent application number 12/628836 was filed with the patent office on 2010-03-25 for method and devices for data transfer.
Invention is credited to Teng Pin Poo.
Application Number | 20100077119 12/628836 |
Document ID | / |
Family ID | 20428963 |
Filed Date | 2010-03-25 |
United States Patent
Application |
20100077119 |
Kind Code |
A1 |
Poo; Teng Pin |
March 25, 2010 |
Method and Devices for Data Transfer
Abstract
A storage apparatus is proposed for facilitating wireless
communication between a computer device and one or more external
portable electronic devices, or between those external devices. The
storage apparatus includes a wireless transceiver for entering
communication with any one of the devices. When the storage
apparatus is communicating with any of the devices, it can transmit
tot hat device any data stored in its memory for transmission to
that device. Furthermore, the storage apparatus can receive from
that device, and transmit to its memory, data to be relayed to
another of the devices.
Inventors: |
Poo; Teng Pin; (Singapore,
SG) |
Correspondence
Address: |
WHITE & CASE LLP;PATENT DEPARTMENT
1155 AVENUE OF THE AMERICAS
NEW YORK
NY
10036
US
|
Family ID: |
20428963 |
Appl. No.: |
12/628836 |
Filed: |
December 1, 2009 |
Related U.S. Patent Documents
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Application
Number |
Filing Date |
Patent Number |
|
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10481993 |
Jun 14, 2004 |
7650470 |
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12628836 |
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Current U.S.
Class: |
710/110 |
Current CPC
Class: |
G06F 13/36 20130101;
H04W 84/18 20130101 |
Class at
Publication: |
710/110 |
International
Class: |
G06F 13/00 20060101
G06F013/00 |
Foreign Application Data
Date |
Code |
Application Number |
Jun 28, 2001 |
SG |
PCT/SG01/00136 |
Claims
1. A method of transferring data within a system including a
computer device, a transfer apparatus and one or more external
devices, each of the computer device and external devices including
wireless communication means, and the transfer apparatus comprising
a processor, a memory and wireless transceiver means, the method
including the steps of: a first one of the devices transmitting a
wireless signal to the transceiver means including data for
transmission to a second one of the devices; the processor storing
the data in the memory; and the processor using the transceiver
means to transmit the data to the second device.
2. The method of claim 1 wherein the first device is one of the
external devices and the second device is the computing device.
3. The method of claim 1 wherein the first device is the computing
device and the second device is one of the external devices.
4. The method of claim 1 wherein the first device is a first said
external device and the second device is a second said external
device.
5. The method of claim 1 wherein the establishment of communication
between the data transfer apparatus and the first device includes
transmission by the first device to the data transfer apparatus of
an ID code using which the apparatus verifies the identity of the
first device.
6. The method of claim 1 wherein the establishment of communication
between the data transfer apparatus and the second device includes
transmission by the second device to the data transfer apparatus of
an ID code using which the apparatus verifies the identify of the
second device.
7. A method according to claim 5 in which the first device is one
of the external devices and the data is stored in a location in the
memory which depends on the identity of the first device.
8. The method of claim 2 wherein the first device establishes
communication with the data transfer apparatus upon determining
that an internal memory of the first device contains a
predetermined amount of data.
9. A data transfer apparatus for a system comprising a computer
device and one or more external electronic devices, each of the
computer device and external devices including wireless
communication means, the data transfer apparatus comprising:
wireless transceiver means for receiving and transmitting wireless
signals; a processor; and a memory; the processor being arranged,
upon receipt by the transceiver means of a wireless signal from a
first one of the devices containing data for relay to a second one
the devices, to store that signal in the memory, and, upon
subsequently establishing communication with the second device, to
transmit the data to the second device.
10. A system comprising a computer device having wireless
communication means, one or more external devices having respective
wireless communication means, and a data transfer apparatus
according to claim 9, the wireless communication means of the
computer device and of the external devices being for communication
with the transceiver means of the apparatus.
11. The system of claim 10 wherein at least one of the external
devices includes an internal memory and is arranged to initiate
communication with the data transfer apparatus to transmit the
signal to the data transfer apparatus, upon the amount of data
stored in the internal memory reaching or approaching the capacity
of the internal memory.
Description
FIELD OF THE INVENTION
[0001] The present invention relates to methods and apparatuses for
wireless transfer of data between a computer and one or more
electronic devices external to the computer but which can usefully
communicate data to and/or from the computer. Examples of such an
electronic device include a camera, a video camera, a organizer, an
MP3 player, or a PDA (personal assistant). Such external electronic
devices are frequently termed "slave devices."
BACKGROUND
[0002] There is an increasing demand for portable devices which
combine high power with small size and lightness. Although modern
processors can be miniaturized while retaining their ability to
handle large volumes of data, the size of the portable devices
limits their memory capacity. Users who require a larger memory
capacity presently have to transfer the data to a separate memory
medium, such as a compact flash card, a multimedia card, a memory
stick, smart media, etc, having a physical connection to the
portable device. Since a vast array of storage media may be used,
compatibility is a serious issue. It may be particularly difficult
to keep an existing computer system up-to-date and fully compatible
when new portable devices are added to it.
SUMMARY
[0003] The present invention seeks to provide new and useful
methods and apparatus for transferring data between electronic
devices, and in particular to facilitate communication between a
computer device and one or more external portable electronic
devices, and/or between those external devices.
[0004] In general terms the invention proposes that a data storage
apparatus includes a wireless transceiver for selectively entering
communication with a computer device or one of the external
electronic devices. When the storage apparatus is communicating
with any of the devices, it can transmit to that device any data
stored in its memory for transmission to that device. Furthermore,
the storage apparatus can receive from that device, and transmit to
its memory, data to be relayed to another of the devices.
[0005] The storage apparatus may thus "bridge" the gap between the
external devices and the computer device. Since the storage
apparatus is substantially devoted to storage of data, it can
accommodate a memory which is larger than in most other portable
electronic items, for example a memory of at least 1 GB, at least
10 GB or at least 20 GB. The memory of the storage apparatus can
be, for example, a magnetic disk drive or any other suitable
non-volatile memory device, such as an electrically erasable
programmable read only memory (EEPROM), a ferroelectric random
access memory (FRAM), a magetoresistive random access memory
(MRAM), or any other memory device which may become available in
the future.
[0006] The wireless transceiver preferably operates by
electromagnetic waves, and most preferably by RF or infrared waves.
In the former case, the transceiver may consist of an aerial and RF
interface circuitry. Irrespective of the wireless waves employed,
the transceiver may use any protocol presently in existence or
which may become available in the future, for example it may be
capable of sending and/or receiving signals in at least one of (i)
IEEE 802.11, (ii) Bluetooth, or (iii) irDA.
[0007] It is also possible that the storage apparatus may be
capable of receiving/transmitting in multiple formats, so that it
can interpret between two slave devices which use different
formats.
[0008] Preferably, any external unit which includes an internal
memory is arranged, upon that internal memory becoming full, or at
least the amount of data passing a predefined limit, to initiate
communication with the data storage apparatus, so that the data can
be transferred to the data storage apparatus.
[0009] Preferably all communications carried out by the data
storage apparatus include a process of establishing the identify of
the other device (computer device or slave device) using an ID code
received from that device and compared with list of ID codes stored
internally by the data storage device.
[0010] Specifically, a first expression of the invention is a
method of transferring data within a system including a computer
device, a transfer apparatus and one or more external devices, each
the computer device and external devices including wireless
communication means, and the transfer apparatus comprising a
processor, a memory and wireless transceiver means, the method
including the steps of: [0011] a first one of the devices
transmitting a wireless signal to the transceiver means including
data for transmission to a second one of the devices, [0012] the
processor storing the data in the memory, and [0013] the processor
using the transceiver means to transmit the data to the second
device.
[0014] A second expression of the invention is a data transfer
apparatus for a system comprising a computer device and one or more
external electronic devices, each of the computer device and
external devices including wireless communication means, the
apparatus comprising: [0015] wireless transceiver means for
receiving and transmitting wireless signals; [0016] a processor;
and [0017] a memory; [0018] the processor being arranged, upon
receipt by the transceiver means of a wireless signal from a first
one of the devices containing data for relay to a second one of the
devices, to store that signal in the memory. and, upon subsequently
establishing communication with the second device, to transmit the
data to the second device.
BRIEF DESCRIPTION OF THE DRAWINGS
[0019] Further preferred features of the invention will now be
described for the sake of example only with reference to the
following figures, in which:
[0020] FIG. 1 shows a system including a master storage apparatus
according to the invention, a PC and a plurality of slave
devices;
[0021] FIG. 2 shows the structure of the master storage apparatus
of FIG. 1;
[0022] FIG. 3 is a flow diagram of the operation of the master
storage apparatus of FIG. 1 in the case that a write request signal
is received from a slave device;
[0023] FIG. 4 shows the operation of the master storage apparatus
of FIG. 1 transmitting data to a slave device; and
[0024] FIG. 5 shows the operation of the master storage apparatus
of FIG. 1 transmitting data to the PC.
DETAILED DESCRIPTION
[0025] Referring to FIG. 1, a system embodying the invention
includes a PC 1 having an aerial 3. The system also includes a
master storage apparatus 5, having an aerial 7. The system further
includes a plurality of electronic ("slave") devices 9 which are
external to the computer device 1 and spatially separated from it,
but which may usefully communicate data to and/or from the PC 1.
Each external device 9 has an aerial 11. For simplicity only two
slave devices 9 are illustrated in FIG. 1. The master storage
apparatus 5 and each of the external devices 9 are portable. For
example, their weight is preferably less than 1 kilogram each, and
each preferably includes an internal power source such as a
battery.
[0026] The PC 1 and the master storage apparatus 5 can communicate
using the aerials 3, 7. Similarly, the master storage apparatus 5
and the external devices 9 can communicate using the aerials 7, 11.
Both forms of communication may be using any of the communication
protocols IEEE 802.11, Bluetooth, irDA, etc. As described below,
any of the slave devices 9 can send data selectively to the PC 1 or
to any of the other slave devices 9 via the master storage
apparatus 5. The PC 1 can send data to a selected one of the slave
devices 9 via the master storage apparatus 5. All of this
communication is digital, and the storage module 30 is for digital
data. In addition, it is possible that the data may be sent in an
encrypted form.
[0027] Note that at least one (and possibly all) of the slave
devices 9 may not require two-way communication with other slave
devices 9 or the PC 1. For example, in the case of a slave device 9
which is a digital camera, the data transmitted via the master
storage device 5 may largely (or exclusively) be from the digital
camera to the PC 1.
[0028] Turning to FIG. 2, the master storage apparatus 5 includes
an aerial 7, RF interface circuitry 10, a microcontroller 20 (e.g.
a microprocessor), and a storage module (memory) 30. Upon receipt
of a signal by the aerial 7, it is processed by the RF interface
circuitry 10, and transmitted to the microcontroller 20. The
microcontroller 20 controls writing of data to the storage module
30, and reading of data from the storage module 30. It can further
control the RF interface circuitry 10 to cause a signal to be
transmitted using the aerial 7.
[0029] Some (usually all) of the external devices 9 include an
internal memory having a capacity less than that of the storage
module 30. For example, the storage capacity of each of the
internal memories of the external devices 9 may be at most one
tenth of that of the storage module 30. In the case that one of the
external devices 9 accumulates an amount of data which threatens to
surpass the capacity of the internal memory of the slave device 9,
the slave device 9 emits a "write request" signal to the master
storage apparatus 5, requesting that communication is established
between that slave device 9 and the master storage apparatus 5 so
that data can be transferred to the storage module 30.
[0030] FIG. 3 is a flow diagram of the operation of the master
storage apparatus 5 in the case that the master storage apparatus 5
receives a "write request" signal from a slave device 9 indicating
that it has data to be written into the storage module 30.
Beginning at the top of FIG. 3, the master storage apparatus 5 is
initially in a "waiting state," in which the RF interface circuitry
10 is sensitive to signals, and the master storage apparatus 5 is
also sensitive to other commands, such as keystrokes on a keypad of
the master storage apparatus 5.
[0031] When the aerial 7 receives a "write request" signal from the
external device 9, the RF interface circuitry 10 receives it, and
sends it to the microcontroller 20. The microcontroller 20
recognizes the received signal as a "write request" signal
emanating from the slave device 9, indicating that the slave device
9 wishes to write data to the storage module 30. The
microcontroller 20 examines the write request signal to determine
whether a slave ID contained in the signal corresponds to one of a
predetermined list of ID signals. If it does not, then the master
storage apparatus 5 generates an error message. For example, this
may be an error message on a screen. Alternatively or additionally,
it may be a radio message transmitted from the master storage
apparatus 5, for example for recognition by the slave device 9
which sent the write request signal. Alternatively, if the ID
contained in the write request signal corresponds to one of the
predetermined list of IDs, then the micro-controller 20 has
established the identity of the slave device 9. In this case the
microcontroller 20 creates a directory in the storage module 30
associated with the slave device 9, establishes a communication
link to that slave device 9 to read data from it, and writes that
data into the directory for that slave device. The master storage
apparatus 5 then returns to the waiting state.
[0032] Turning to FIG. 4, the process is illustrated in which a
master storage apparatus 5 sends data to a slave device 9. As in
FIG. 3, the master storage apparatus 5 is initially in a waiting
state. A user keys in a command to transmit data to one of the
slave devices 9 using a keypad on the master storage apparatus 5,
and this is sent to the microcontroller 20. The microcontroller 20
instructs the RF interface circuitry 10 to send a "read offer"
signal using the aerial 7 to the indicated slave device 9, which
may respond by transmitting back to the RF interface circuitry 10 a
"read accept" signal including its ID code. The microcontroller 20
compares the ID code with a predetermined list of ID signals,
thereby confirming the identity of the slave device 9. If the
identity of the slave device 9 cannot be determined, the master
storage apparatus 5 generates an error message and returns to the
waiting state. Alternatively, if the identity of the slave device 9
has been determined, then the microcontroller 20 searches the
storage module 30 and extracts data stored there for transmission
to that slave device 9. The microcontroller 20 then controls the RF
interface circuitry 10 to broadcast the data to the slave device
9.
[0033] Turning to FIG. 5, a flow diagram of the operation of the
master storage apparatus 5 is shown in the case of writing data to
the PC 1. As in FIG. 3 and FIG. 4 the initial state of the master
storage apparatus 5, at the top of FIG. 5 is a waiting state. Upon
a command being keyed into the master storage device 5, the
microcontroller 20 instructs the RF interface circuitry 10 to send
a "read offer" signal to the PC 1, indicating that the master
storage apparatus 5 wishes to transmit data to the PC 1. If the PC
1 is able to accept the data, the PC 1 generates a "read accept"
signal including the ID of the PC 1. The signal is received by the
aerial 7 and sent by the RF interface circuitry 10 to the
microcontroller 20. The microcontroller 20 compares the ID with a
copy in its own memory. If the comparison is incorrect, the master
storage apparatus 5 generates an error message, such as by
controlling the RF interface circuitry 10 to broadcast an error
message to the PC 1. Alternatively, if the ID of the PC 1 is
recognized, the microcontroller 20 accesses the storage module 30,
and controls the RF interface circuitry 10 to broadcast all of the
data in the storage module 30 which is to be relayed to the PC 1.
The PC 1 can read a directory on master storage apparatus 5 and
select some or all of the files from the master storage apparatus
5.
[0034] The process of writing data from the PC 1 to the master
storage apparatus 5 is broadly similar to that described above in
relation to FIG. 3. The PC 1 sends a write request signal to the
master storage apparatus 5 containing an ID code for the PC 1. The
master storage apparatus 5 verifies the identity of the PC 1 by
comparing the ID code with an internal record of the ID code for
the PC 1 (if the two do not match an error message is sent). The
master storage apparatus 5 then enters communication with the PC 1
in which data is sent to the master storage apparatus 5 and
transmitted to the storage module 30.
[0035] Although the invention has been explained above with
reference to only a single embodiment, many variations are possible
within the scope of the invention as will be clear to a skilled
person.
[0036] For example, the master storage apparatus 5 may be capable
of communicating in multiple communication protocols (standards).
according to which protocol(s) are acceptable to the device with
which it is communicating at any moment. For example, if the PC 1
requires communication in a first protocol, one or more of the
slave devices 9 require communication in a second protocol, and one
or more other of the slave devices 9 require communication in a
third protocol, the master storage apparatus 5 may be capable of
communication in any of these protocols. As described above, the
process of establishing communication with the PC 1 or any of the
slave devices 9 includes establishing the identity of the PC 1 or
that slave device 9, and the master storage apparatus may use this
identity to determine the protocol which should be used. For
example, the master storage apparatus 5 may include a look-up table
of communication protocols appropriate for each of its possible
communication partners, and, having established the identity of the
PC 1 or slave device 9 with which it is presently communicating,
the master storage apparatus 5 may access the look-up table to
determine the corresponding communication protocol. That
communication protocol may then be used to control the operation of
the RF interface circuitry 10.
[0037] Furthermore, although the mode of wireless communication
used in the embodiment is radio communication, the communication
may alternatively be conducted by any other form of communication
which does not employ wires (or other cables), such as infrared
signaling or microwave signaling. It may even employ ultrasound
signaling. In the case that the PC 1 and the external devices do
not all employ the same wireless communication mode (e.g. the PC
may use RF communication, while one or more of the external devices
may use infra-red signals, and one of more others use microwave
signaling), the master storage apparatus of the invention may be
provided with multiple transceiver means, each for a respective
wireless communication mode.
* * * * *