JP4533700B2 - Memory card - Google Patents

Description

  The present invention relates to a memory card on which image data, music data, and the like are recorded.

  Memory cards that are used by being mounted on various electronic devices are known. For example, in a digital camera, image data obtained by shooting is recorded and stored in a memory card, and a shot image is reproduced by reading the recorded image data from the memory card.

  The memory card includes a memory unit that stores data and a control circuit (controller) that controls writing and reading of data to and from the memory unit according to an external input, and receives power from the mounted electronic device. Works. A nonvolatile memory (for example, a flash memory) is used for the memory unit, and data is retained even when the memory unit is detached from the electronic device.

  Utilizing the property that an electromotive force is generated when light is emitted to the light emitting diode, two light emitting diodes are provided, and light is emitted to one of the light emitting diodes to generate an electromotive force to the memory card. A memory card that performs two-way optical communication using the other light emitting diode is known (Patent Document 1).

  Also, when power is supplied from the outside, or by turning on the switch, power is supplied from a built-in paper battery, solar battery, etc. There is known a credit card for displaying a name and a name (Patent Document 2).

JP 2001-209765 A Registered Utility Model No. 3046222

  By the way, although the memory card as described above is small and easy to handle, it is difficult to understand the state of the memory card, the mounting position is difficult to understand in the dark, and the visibility is difficult to find in the stored bag. There were difficulties.

  The present invention has been made in consideration of the above-described problems, and an object thereof is to provide a memory card having excellent visibility even in a dark place.

In order to achieve the above object, the memory card according to claim 1 is responsive to a power storage member that is charged by receiving power from an electronic device, a light-emitting unit that is lit by receiving power, and being removed from the slot. The light emitting unit is turned on by supplying power from the power storage member, and the light emitting unit is turned on in response to an open signal of the slot lid of the electronic device that can be opened and closed between a closed position that covers the slot and an open position that is exposed to the outside. And a control circuit to be operated.

The memory card of claim 2, in which so as to turn off the light emitting portion when the opening signal of the slot cover is continuously inputted a predetermined time.

In the memory card according to claim 3 , the control circuit is configured to light the light emitting unit when normal insertion into the slot is detected while the opening signal of the slot lid is input . In the memory card according to claim 4 , while the memory card is mounted, the lighting mode of the light emitting unit is changed according to the access state to the memory unit while the opening signal of the slot cover is being input . Is.

6. The memory card according to claim 5 , wherein the control circuit is configured to turn on the light emitting unit according to the recording state of the memory unit while the slot lid opening signal is input when the memory card is not installed or is being installed. In the memory card according to claim 6 , the lighting mode of the light emitting unit is changed in accordance with the remaining recordable data capacity of the memory unit.

The memory card of claim 7, the control circuit, Ru der those to vary the lighting mode of the light emitting portion in accordance with the type of data recorded in the memory unit.

In the memory card according to the eighth aspect, the lighting form is changed according to the lighting pattern and lighting pattern or lighting color of the light emitting section.

  According to the memory card of the present invention, when the electronic device is not mounted, since the light emitting unit is turned on by power supplied from the power storage member under the control of the control unit, visibility in a dark place is improved and handling is improved. be able to. Further, by turning on the light emitting unit in response to the opening of the slot lid of the electronic device, the visibility in the mounted state can be further improved. Furthermore, various states of the memory card can be easily known by changing the lighting mode of the light emitting unit according to the mounting state, the access state and recording state of the memory unit, and the set setting information.

  An appearance of a digital camera embodying the present invention is shown in FIG. On the front surface of the camera body 2 of the digital camera, a photographing lens 3, a strobe light emitting unit 4, an objective window 5a of an optical viewfinder 5, and a lens barrier 6 are provided. The lens barrier 6 is slidable between a closed position that covers the photographing lens 3 and the strobe light emitting unit 4 and a retracted position that is retracted from the front surface of the photographing lens 3 and the stroboscopic light emitting unit 4 so that the photographing is possible. It has become.

  A CCD image sensor is disposed on the ridge of the photographing lens 3, and the photographed subject image is displayed as a so-called through image on an LCD (liquid crystal display) provided on the back surface of the digital camera 2. A release button 7 is provided on the upper surface of the camera body 2. By pressing the release button 7, a still image is taken by the CCD image sensor.

  A slot lid 8 is provided on the side surface of the camera body 2. As shown in FIG. 1, the slot lid 8 can be opened and closed between an open position where the card slot 9 is exposed to the outside and a closed position which covers the card slot 9. In the state where the slot lid 8 is opened, the memory card 10 can be arbitrarily attached to and detached from the card slot 9. A connector 11 (see FIG. 3) is provided at one end of the memory card 10, and this connector 11 is connected to the connector 12 (on the digital camera side provided in the slot when the memory card 10 is inserted into the card slot 9). 3) and is electrically connected to an internal circuit of the digital camera.

  In the vicinity of the card slot 9, an eject button 9a for ejecting the memory card 10 attached to the card slot 9 is provided. By pressing the eject button 9a, the memory card 10 is pushed outward from the inside of the slot, the connection between the connectors 11 and 12 is released, and the other end protrudes from the card slot 9. Thereafter, the other end of the memory card 10 can be pinched and pulled out from the card slot 9.

  An image photographed by the digital camera is converted into image data and recorded on the memory card 10 mounted in the card slot 9. In addition, by reading out image data that has been taken from the memory card 10, the image can be reproduced on the LCD of the digital camera.

  On the back of the camera body 2, in addition to the LCD described above, an eyepiece window 5b of the optical viewfinder 5, a zoom operation button for zooming the photographing lens 3, various operation buttons for selecting an image to be reproduced and various settings, etc. Is arranged.

  As shown in FIG. 2, the memory card 10 is provided with a light emitting unit 14. The light emitting unit 14 is provided at the other end opposite to the connector 11 so that the light emitting unit 14 can be visually recognized even when the light emitting unit 14 is mounted in the card slot 9. The light emitting unit 14 is turned on in response to the electrical connection between the memory card 10 and the digital camera being released. Therefore, it lights up when the card slot 9 is not inserted.

  FIG. 3 shows the configuration of the digital camera and the memory card 10. Each part of the digital camera includes a CPU in which a CPU, a control program, reference data, and the like are stored, a RAM that serves as a work area for performing various arithmetic processes of the CPU, and a control circuit (hereinafter referred to as a camera-side control circuit). And 16). The operation unit 17 includes various operation buttons such as the release button 7, and the camera side control circuit 16 controls each unit based on a signal from the operation unit 17.

  The photographing unit 18 includes a CCD image sensor and a signal processing circuit that performs various processes on the photographing signal from the CCD image sensor, and converts the photographed image into image data and outputs the image data. The playback unit 19 includes an LCD and its driver, and drives the LCD based on the image data output from the photographing unit 18 and the image data read from the memory card 10. As a result, the image being photographed or the photographed image recorded on the memory card 10 is displayed on the LCD.

  The power supply unit 20 supplies power to each unit of the digital camera using, for example, a battery built in the camera body 2 as a power source. The power supply unit 20 also supplies power to the memory card 10 installed in the card slot 9. The camera side control circuit 16 and the power supply unit 20 are electrically connected to the memory card 10 via the connector 12 in the card slot 9.

  When the memory card 10 is inserted into the card slot 9 as described above, its connector 11 is connected to the connector 12 on the digital camera side. A control circuit (hereinafter referred to as a card-side control circuit) 21 of the memory card 10 reads and writes data to and from the memory unit 22 based on instructions from the camera-side control circuit 16. The memory unit 22 is, for example, a flash memory that does not require a data holding operation.

  When recording image data obtained by digital camera shooting on the memory card 10, the camera-side control circuit 16 instructs the card-side control circuit 21 to write data for one frame to be recorded. Is sent to the memory unit 22 under the control of the card-side control circuit 21.

  Further, when playing back a captured image, the card-side control circuit 21 is provided with a read instruction and image information to be read from the camera-side control circuit 16 to the card-side control circuit 21. The memory unit 22 is accessed, image data for one frame is read, and the image data is sent to the reproducing unit 16 via the card side control circuit 21 and the camera side control circuit 16.

  The configuration for reading and writing data and the configuration for transferring data to and from the digital camera may be the same as those of the conventional memory card and digital camera, and this is also the case in this example.

  When the memory card 10 is mounted in the card slot 9, the storage battery 23 serving as a power storage member is charged by receiving power from the power supply unit 20 of the digital camera, and the memory card 10 is not mounted, that is, electric with the digital camera. When the general connection is released, power for lighting the light emitting unit 14 is supplied. As this storage battery 23, a small and thin battery is used.

  The light emitting diode 24 is incorporated in the light emitting unit 14, and turning on / off the light emitting diode 24 turns on / off the light emitting unit 14. The light emitting diode 24 is driven by a drive circuit 25 controlled by the card side control circuit 21. When the card-side control circuit 21 detects that the memory card 10 is not attached due to, for example, no direct power supply from the power supply unit 20 of the digital camera, and detects a change to the non-attached state, The light emitting diode 14 is turned on via the drive circuit 25, that is, the light emitting unit 14 is turned on.

  In this example, the card-side control circuit 21 operates by receiving power directly from the digital camera when the memory card 10 is mounted, and operates by receiving power from the storage battery 23 when the memory card 10 is not mounted. The light-emitting diode 14 may be turned on when the card-side control circuit 21 stops operating in response to the power supply from the camera being lost. Further, other light emitting elements may be used to light up the light emitting unit 14, but those with low power consumption are preferable.

  Next, the operation of the above configuration will be described with reference to FIG. In a state where the memory card 10 is inserted in the card slot 9, the connector 11 on the memory card 10 side and the connector 12 on the digital camera side are connected, and the card side control circuit 21 operates by power supply from the power supply unit 20. Therefore, communication between the camera side control circuit 16 and the card side control circuit 21 is possible. In addition, power supply from the power supply unit 20 is also performed on the storage battery 23, and the storage battery 23 is charged.

  As with conventional digital cameras and memory cards, if an image is selected by operating the operation unit of the digital camera in the playback mode, an instruction to read image data corresponding to the image is sent from the camera-side control circuit 16 to the card. This is performed on the side control circuit 21. As a result, the image data instructed from the memory unit 22 is read by the card side control circuit 21, sent to the camera side control circuit 16 via the connectors 11 and 12, and further sent to the playback unit 19. Thereby, the captured image recorded in the memory card 10 is displayed on the LCD of the digital camera.

  When shooting is performed by pressing the release button 7 in the shooting mode, image data obtained by the shooting is sent from the shooting unit 18 to the camera-side control circuit 16, and the camera-side control circuit 16 sends a write instruction. It is sent to the memory card 10. As a result, the card-side control circuit 21 writes image data obtained by photographing in the memory unit 21.

  When the memory card 10 is mounted in the card slot 9, the card side control circuit 21 performs transmission / reception of image data to / from the camera side control circuit 16, access to the memory unit 22, etc. as described above, and driving. The circuit 25 is prohibited from turning on the light emitting diode 14. Therefore, when the memory card 10 is inserted in the card slot 9, the light emitting unit 24 is not lit.

  When taking out the memory card 10 from the card slot 9, the slot lid 8 is set to the open position and the takeout button 9a is pressed. Then, the memory card 10 is pushed and moved in the removing direction, the connection with the connectors 11 and 12 is released, and the other end side of the light emitting unit 14 protrudes from the card slot 9.

  When the connection with the connectors 11 and 12 is released, the electrical connection between the memory card 10 and the digital camera is cut, and charging of the storage battery 23 is stopped. Further, it is detected by the card-side control circuit 21 that the card has not been inserted due to the absence of power supply. Then, the drive circuit 25 is operated by the card side control circuit 21, and the light emitting diode 24 is turned on using the storage battery 23 as a power source.

  As described above, when the light emitting diode 24 is turned on, the light emitting unit 14 provided in the portion protruding from the card slot 9 is turned on. For this reason, even when the memory card 10 is taken out in a dark place, for example, the other end of the memory card 10 can be easily found using the lit light emitting part 14 as a mark, and can be taken out from the card slot 9.

  The memory card 10 is also lit even when it is removed from the card slot 9. For this reason, you can use it as a landmark to search for a bag. When the memory card 10 is installed in the card slot 9, the card-side control circuit is supplied with power, so that the installation is detected and the light emitting diode 24, that is, the light emitting unit 14 is turned off.

  5 and 6 show a second embodiment. In the second embodiment, lighting of the light emitting portion of the memory card is controlled by opening and closing the slot lid of the digital camera. In addition, except being demonstrated below, it is the same as the said embodiment, The same code | symbol is attached | subjected to the substantially same structural member, and the description is abbreviate | omitted.

  As shown in FIG. 6, the digital camera is provided with an opening / closing detection switch 31 that detects opening / closing of the slot lid 8, and this opening / closing detection switch 31 is turned on / off in accordance with the opening / closing of the slot lid 8. . The camera side control circuit 16 sends on / off of the open / close detection switch 31 as a lid open / close signal to the card side control circuit 21 of the mounted memory card 10.

  The card side control circuit 21 detects opening / closing of the slot lid 8 of the digital camera based on the lid opening / closing signal. As shown in FIG. 7, in the state where the memory card 10 is inserted, when the slot cover 8 is opened, the card control circuit 21 lights the light emitting diode 24, that is, the light emitting unit 14 for a certain period of time. When is closed, the light emitting unit 24 is turned off.

  According to the above configuration, when the slot lid 8 is opened, the light emitting unit 14 of the memory card 10 mounted in the card slot 9 is lit, so that the position of the memory card 10 or the card slot 9 can be adjusted even in a dark place. It is possible to know and facilitate the insertion and removal of the card.

  10 shows an embodiment of the third embodiment shown in FIGS. In the third embodiment, the lighting mode of the light emitting unit is changed according to the recording state and the access state of the memory unit. In addition, except being demonstrated below, it is the same as that of 2nd Embodiment, The same code | symbol is attached | subjected to the substantially same member, and the description is abbreviate | omitted.

  As shown in FIG. 7, the memory card 10 is provided with light emitting portions 14a to 14c, and correspondingly, as shown in FIG. 8, a red light emitting diode 24a that outputs red light, and a green light that outputs green light. A light emitting diode 24b and a blue light emitting diode 24c for outputting blue light are incorporated. As a result, the light emitting unit 14a is lit red, the light emitting unit 14b is lit green, and the light emitting unit 14c is lit blue.

  Lighting of the light emitting diodes 24 a to 24 c is controlled by the card side control circuit 21. As shown in FIG. 9, when the memory card 10 is inserted in the card slot 9 and normally connected to the digital camera side, the green light emitting diode 24b, that is, the light emitting portion 14b is turned on. When the memory card 10 is removed from the card slot 9, the blue light emitting diode 14c is turned on and the light emitting unit 14c is turned on in blue. Note that whether or not the connection is normal can be detected, for example, based on whether or not normal communication is possible between the card-side control circuit 21 and the camera-side control circuit 16.

  Further, the card-side control circuit 21 monitors the remaining recordable data capacity as the recording state of the memory unit 21, and when the recordable remaining data capacity becomes equal to or less than a predetermined capacity, the green light emitting diode 24b is turned on. Blink. Thereby, the user can know that the remaining recordable data capacity has decreased by watching the green flashing of the light emitting unit 24b.

  During access, that is, when writing and reading image data, the red light emitting diode 24a is continuously lit when the card side control circuit 21 is normally transferring data between the camera side control circuit 16 and the memory unit 22. When a data error occurs, the red light emitting diode 24a blinks repeatedly turning on and off. Thereby, it is possible to know the access state by lighting or blinking red of the light emitting unit 24a.

  In the second embodiment, the light emitting unit is lit for a certain period of time while the slot lid is open. In the third embodiment, the light is always lit as described above while the slot lid is open. (Blinking) may be performed. Further, the lighting form, that is, the lighting pattern and color is not limited to the above.

  A fourth embodiment is shown in FIG. In the fourth embodiment, the card-side control circuit 21 is provided with a small-capacity memory 21a. Data corresponding to the user input by the operation on the digital camera side is written in the memory 21a. When the memory card 10 is not loaded, the card side control circuit 21 turns on one of the light emitting diodes 24a to 24c according to the contents of the memory 21a. Thereby, it is possible to identify who the user of the memory card 10 is based on the color of the light emitting unit. Note that the user may be displayed with a combination of colors to be lit. Moreover, you may display information other than a user with the same method. For example, the type of recorded data, for example, image data, music data, a difference in file format, or the like may be displayed.

  In each of the above embodiments, the lighting of the light emitting unit is controlled by the control circuit of the memory card. However, the lighting control at the time of mounting such as during access may be performed on the digital camera side. In the above description, a digital camera has been described as an example of an electronic device to which a memory card is attached. However, a memory card used in an electronic device such as a personal computer or a mobile phone may be used.

It is a perspective view which shows the digital camera which implemented this invention. It is a perspective view which shows a memory card. It is a block diagram which shows the structure of a digital camera and a memory card. It is a flowchart which shows the procedure of lighting control. It shows an example in which the light emitting unit is turned on for a certain period of time when the slot lid is opened. It is a flowchart which shows the procedure of the lighting control in the example which lights a light emission part for a fixed time. The external appearance of the memory card in the example which changes a lighting form is shown. It is a block diagram of the memory card in the example which changes a lighting form. It is a flowchart which shows the procedure of the lighting control in the example which changes a lighting form. The example which changes the color to light by a user is shown.

Explanation of symbols

8 slot cover 9 card slot 10 memory card 14 light emitting part 21 control circuit 22 memory part 23 storage battery 24 light emitting diode

Claims (8)

In a memory card that is detachably mounted in a slot of an electronic device and data is input / output to / from the memory unit by the electronic device,
A power storage member that is charged by receiving power from an electronic device, a light-emitting unit that is turned on by receiving power supply, a light-emitting unit that is lit by power supply from the power storage member in response to being removed from the slot, and a slot A memory card comprising: a control circuit that turns on the light emitting unit in response to an open signal of a slot cover of an electronic device that can be opened and closed between a closed position that covers and an open position that is exposed to the outside . Wherein the control circuit, a memory card of claim 1, wherein the turning off the light emitting portion when the opening signal of the slot cover is continuously inputted a predetermined time. 2. The memory card according to claim 1, wherein the control circuit turns on the light emitting unit when a normal attachment to the slot is detected while a slot lid opening signal is input . The control circuit changes a lighting mode of the light emitting unit according to an access state to the memory unit while a slot lid opening signal is input while the memory card is mounted. The memory card described. The control circuit changes the lighting mode of the light emitting unit according to the recording state of the memory unit while the slot lid opening signal is input when the memory card is not installed or is being installed. The memory card according to claim 1. 6. The memory card according to claim 5 , wherein the control circuit changes a lighting mode of the light emitting unit according to a remaining recordable data capacity of the memory unit. 6. The memory card according to claim 5 , wherein the control circuit changes a lighting mode of the light emitting unit according to the type of data recorded in the memory unit. The memory card according to any one of claims 4 to 7, wherein a lighting mode is changed according to a lighting pattern and a lighting pattern or a lighting color of the light emitting unit.

Images