KR100693678B1 - Flash memory with integrated male and female connectors - Google Patents

Abstract

The present invention relates to a circuit board, a male connector mounted on the circuit board, a female connector mounted on the circuit board, a flash memory chip mounted on the circuit board and electrically connected to the male connector and the female connector, and a flash memory chip. It is a flash memory drive including a download / copy logic chip that enables the transmission and reception of data. The female connector is combined with other male connectors to enable the transmission and reception of data from the flash memory chip.

Description

Flash Memory with Integrated Male and Female Connectors

1 is an exploded perspective view of a flash memory drive in accordance with an embodiment of the present invention.

2 is an assembled perspective view of the flash memory drive of FIG.

3 is a perspective view of two interactive flash memory embodiments.

Fig. 4 shows the flash memory drive of this embodiment interacting with a USB cable with male connectors;

Fig. 5A is an exploded perspective view of a flash memory drive of a second embodiment of the present invention.

FIG. 5B is an assembled perspective view of the flash memory drive of FIG. 5A

Fig. 6 is a perspective view of a flash memory of the third embodiment of the present invention.

<Description of Symbols for Main Parts of Drawings>

 1. Flash memory drive 3. Top cover

 5. Lower cover 7. Circuit board

 9. Male USB Connector 11. Female USB Connector

13. Flash Memory Chip 15. Download / Copy Logic Chip

17. Hub Logic Chip 19. Battery

The present invention relates to a flash memory drive, and more particularly, to a flash memory drive having an integrated male and female connector.

Flash memory drives are now typically non-mechanical devices capable of storing 8 to 1 gigabyte of data. Flash memory drives, such as compact flash drives, connect to a computer via a USB (Univesal Serial Bus) connector and can transfer data at speeds of over 1MB per second. Currently used flash memory drives have a male USB connector and are coupled to a female USB port provided in a desktop computer, a laptop computer or a portable device. The advantage of flash memory is that it is small in size, easy to carry, and has a strong storage capacity. A typical flash memory drive is about the size of a disposable lighter or gum container. The flash memory also hangs on the user's neck, hangs on a key holder, or hangs on a handbag.

Currently, flash memory devices do not have a means for transferring information between two flash memory devices without using a computer or a portable device. This limits the sharing performance of flash memory devices. Moreover, the use of such devices limits the number of available USB ports on computers used in printers, digital cameras, scanners, and the like.

Therefore, it is necessary to transfer data from a flash memory drive to another flash memory drive without using a computer. It is also necessary to be able to connect a device having a male USB connector to a flash memory drive.

The present invention has been proposed in view of the problems of the conventional flash memory drive as described above, and the present invention is to provide a flash memory drive having a new structure that can transfer data from the flash memory drive to another flash memory drive. .

Another object of the present invention is to provide a flash memory drive having a new structure, which enables a device having a male USB connector to be connected to a flash memory drive.

According to the present invention, there is provided a flash memory drive having an integrated male and female connector. The flash memory drive includes a circuit board, a male connector mounted on the circuit board, a female connector mounted on the circuit board and coupled to the male connector, and a flash mounted on the circuit board and electrically connected to the male connector and the female connector. A flash memory drive is provided that includes a memory chip and a means for transferring data between the flash memory chips. Female connectors can be combined with male connectors to transfer data from one flash memory chip to another.

The flash memory drive of the present invention includes a battery for supplying power to a flash memory chip, a means for transferring data from one flash memory chip to another flash memory chip, at least one of a male and a female connector and a cable or other drive or peripheral device. Means for facilitating electrical connection between at least one of the two. In the flash memory drive of the present invention, a switch for initiating data transfer between flash memory chips, a master / slave switch for setting the drive to transfer data between flash memory chips with a setting function of a master / slave switch, and data transfer are in progress. It includes an LED indicating that. In addition, an enclosure is provided for enclosing the circuit board and protecting the devices mounted on the circuit board.

The flash memory drive may further include a digital audio chip for retrieving (retrieving) the digital audio data from the flash memory chip, decoding the audio data, and converting the decoded audio data into analog audio data. An output connector such as a headphone jack may be provided to output an audio signal to the headphone or a speaker, and a button may be provided to control the digital audio chip. Buttons and switches will be used interchangeably as terms that refer to means capable of manually operating the functions of flash memory drives throughout the specification.

The flash memory drive also includes a display screen, such as an LCD or plasma screen, to provide the user with the device's status, such as music title, remaining time, whether the device is a master or slave, and other necessary information. Can be.

The present invention also provides a method of transferring information from a first flash memory drive having an integrated male connector to a second flash memory drive having an integrated female connector, the method comprising: a male connector of a first flash memory drive. Inserting the data into the female connector of the second flash memory drive, and transferring the information of the first flash memory drive to the second flash memory drive or vice versa.

Hereinafter, with reference to the drawings will be described a preferred embodiment of the present invention. 1 and 2, the flash memory drive 1 includes an upper cover 3, a lower cover 5, and a circuit board 7. The upper cover 3 and the lower cover 5 form a housing that surrounds and protects the circuit board 7. These covers may be made of various materials, but are preferably made of plastic or metal. The flash memory drive 1 also includes a male USB connector 9 and a female USB connector 11. The male USB connector 9 and the female USB connector 11 are mounted to the circuit board 7 by soldering, surface mounting, press fitting or other suitable means. The male USB connector 9 is configured to be coupled with a female USB connector such as a desktop computer, a laptop computer, a portable device, an interface cable, and the like. The female USB connector 11 is configured to be coupled with a male USB connector of another flash memory drive. Such another flash memory drive may be a flash memory drive according to a conventional method or may be a flash memory drive according to the present invention.

One or more flash memory chips 13, download / copy logic chips 15, hub logic chips 17, and batteries 19 may be mounted on the circuit board 7. In the following description, it is assumed that one flash memory chip 13 is provided, but is not limited thereto. The flash memory chip 13 may store 8 megabytes to 1 gigabyte of data. The download / copy logic chip 15 is electrically connected to the flash memory chip 13 to transfer the data stored therein to another flash memory chip. To facilitate transmission or vice versa. The hub logic chip 17 may include any one or both of the male USB connector 10 and the female USB connector 11 and other devices, such as a conventional flash memory drive, another flash memory drive according to the present invention, and a desktop. Promote connection to USB on computers, laptops, mobile devices, printers, digital cameras, scanners, etc. When the flash memory device 1 is not connected to the USB port of a self-powered device such as a computer or a portable device, the battery 19 is connected to the flash memory chip 13, the download / copy logic chip 15, and the hub logic chip. Provide power to 17. The battery 19 is a combination of the flash memory chip 13, the download / copy logic chip 15 and the hub logic chip 17, to receive data from the flash memory chip 13 without using a device having an external power source. It can be transferred to a flash memory chip of another flash memory drive connected to the USB connector 9 or the female USB connector 11 or vice versa. The logic chip (not shown) is electrically connected to the battery 19 so that when the male or female USB connector 11 of the flash memory drive 1 is connected to a device having an external power source, the battery 19 Allow to charge. In the present embodiment, the battery 19 is used, but alternatively, one or more solar cells or other power supply devices may be provided to supply power to the chips 13, 15, and 17 or the rechargeable battery 19. As described above, the download / copy logic chip 15, the hub logic chip 17, and the logic chips have been described as separate chips in order to charge the battery, but each function of these chips is one or two. Of course, it can be integrated into the above chip. Therefore, the number of chips described here is of course not limiting.

Referring to FIG. 3 together with FIGS. 1 and 2, the first flash memory drive 1a and the second flash memory drive 1b according to the present invention may be a male USB connector 9a of the first flash memory drive 1a. Is inserted into the female USB connector 11b of the second flash memory drive 1b and combined, thereby transferring data from the flash memory chip of the first flash memory drive 1a to the flash memory chip of the second flash memory drive 1b. You can send or copy, or vice versa.

Each flash memory drive 1 may include a master / slave switch 21 connected to the download / copy logic chip 15 to set the flash memory drive as a master or a slave. In the operation, the first flash memory drive 1a and the second flash memory drive 1b are combined with each other so that the flash memory drive set as the master is transferred from the flash memory chip to the flash memory chip of the flash memory drive set as the slave. Send it. For example, using the master / slave switch 21 of each flash memory drive, the first flash memory drive 1a is set as a master and the second flash memory drive 1b is set as a slave. Here, when the first flash memory drive 1a and the second flash memory drive 1b are coupled to each other, data is flashed from the flash memory chip of the first flash memory drive 1a to the flash of the second flash memory drive 1b. Transferred to the memory chip.

When the flash memory drive 1 according to the present invention is used together with a conventional flash memory drive having one male USB connector, the master / slave switch 21 of the flash memory drive 1 is used for the flash memory drive 1. By setting as a master, data can be transferred from the flash memory chip of the flash memory drive 1 to the flash memory chip of the conventional flash memory drive. In contrast, the master / slave switch 21 of the flash memory drive 1 according to the present invention sets the flash memory drive 1 as a slave so that data can be transferred from a flash memory chip of a conventional flash memory drive. It can be transferred to the flash memory chip 13 of the drive (1). Therefore, the flash memory drive 1 according to the present invention can be used together with another flash memory drive 1 according to the present invention or a conventional flash memory drive.

Preferably, when the male USB connector 9 is inserted into a female USB connector such as a computer or a portable device, the transmission of data from the flash memory chip 13 or to the flash memory chip 13 is carried out by a known method. It can be controlled through. Therefore, preferably, only when the master / slave switch 21 sets the flash memory drive 1 as a master, the flash memory drive 1 operates to control the transfer of data from the flash memory chip 13. Can be. This is because the master / slave switch 21 sets the flash memory drive 1 as a slave, and under the control of another flash memory drive according to the present invention, the flash memory drive 1 transfers data from a conventional flash memory drive. This is in contrast to being transmitted to the chip 13 or to the flash memory chip 13 under the control of a computer or a portable device.

A pushbutton switch 23 is provided on the circuit board 7 to manually activate the transfer of data between the coupled flash memory drives accessed from the top cover 3. For example, according to the operation of the pushbutton switch 23 of the first flash memory drive 1a set as the master by the master / slave switch 21, the download / copy logic chip of the first flash memory drive 1a. (15) The second flash memory drive 1b or the conventional flash memory drive (not shown) connected with the data from the flash memory chip 13 of the first flash memory drive 1a to the first flash memory drive 1a. To transmit. However, other types of control means may be used in addition to the pushbutton switch 23 to initiate data transfer between flash memory drives. For example, the flash memory drive 1 responds to the setting of the master / slave switch 21, when the flash memory drive 1 is coupled to another flash memory drive or a conventional flash memory drive according to the present invention. Data can be transferred to the flash memory chip or vice versa.

Each flash memory drive 1 has an LED 25 to emit light when data is transmitted or received. The LED 25 will be selected from suitable light emitting devices suitable for such use.

Referring to FIG. 4 in conjunction with FIGS. 1 and 2, the flash memory drive 1 may be used to increase the USB port available in a computer or a portable device. Specifically, the male USB connector 9 of the flash memory drive 1 can be inserted into the USB port of a computer (not shown). Then, the female USB connector 11 can accommodate the male USB connector 27 of the USB cable. This allows peripherals such as cameras, printers, scanners or other flash memory drives to use the same USB port of the computer as the flash memory drive 1.

5A and 5B, the flash memory drive 1 according to the second embodiment of the present invention may include a digital audio chip 29 and an output connector 31 such as a headphone jack. The digital audio chip 29 includes a digital signal processor (DSP), an amplifier, and a digital-to-analog converter (DAC). The DSP retrieves the digital audio signal from the flash memory chip 13 and uses a decompression algorithm that decompresses the digital audio data stored in the compression format in the flash memory chip 13, such as an mp3 or wma decompression algorithm. Decode the digital audio signal. The DAC then restores the decompressed audio data to analog data. Finally, the amplifier doubles the signal and sends it to the sound output connector 31. A button 33 is provided on the upper cover 3 to control the digital audio chip 29. The button 33 plays digital audio data, or stops, pauses, skips, rewinds, or the like. Although pushbutton switch 23 is shown, the functionality provided by pushbutton switch 23 is incorporated into one or more buttons 33 such that pushbutton 23 is shown in the embodiment shown in FIGS. 5A and 5B. May be omitted.

Referring to FIG. 6, the flash memory drive 1 according to the third embodiment of the present invention includes a display screen 35 visible through the top cover 3. The display screen 35 may be connected to an appropriate circuit mounted on the circuit board 7 to visually display the title of the digital audio data, the remaining time of the music, or other useful information. This embodiment may replace pushbutton 23 and / or master / slave switch 21 with button 33. The flash memory drive 1 may be programmed such that the download / copy logic chip 15 reacts to the activation of one or more buttons 33 that set the device as a master or slave. A visual indication such as "Master" or "Slave" may be provided on the display screen 33. When the other of the buttons 33 is pressed, a signal can be sent to the download / copy logic chip 15 to initiate data transfer to or from the flash memory chip 13.

A visual indication such as "Transfer in Progress" may be provided on the display screen 35 so that the LED 25 may be unnecessary. The display screen 35 may be an LCD or a plasma screen.

A method of transferring data to or from a flash memory chip of a flash memory drive in which a male and female connector according to the present invention is integrally described will be described. First, the male connector of the first flash memory drive is inserted into the female connector of the second flash memory drive. Each master / slave switch is then used to set the first drive as master and the second drive as slave. The pushbutton switch is operated to start data transfer from the flash memory chip of the first flash memory drive to the flash memory chip of the second flash memory drive. Finally, data is transferred from the flash memory chip of the first drive to the flash memory chip of the second drive. This method is exemplary for explaining the transfer of data between two flash memory drives according to the present invention, and the present invention is not limited to this description. The data transfer method between the flash memory drive according to the present invention and a conventional flash memory drive, a computer, a portable device, a laptop, etc. may be sufficiently predicted. For example, when the male connector of a conventional flash memory drive is inserted into the female connector of the flash memory drive according to the present invention, the master / slave switch of the flash memory drive according to the present invention is set as a master, and the flash according to the present invention is Data is transferred from a flash memory chip of a memory drive to a flash memory chip of a conventional flash memory drive. As another example, when the male connector of the flash memory drive according to the present invention is inserted into a female connector such as a computer or a portable device, the transfer of data to or from the flash memory chip of the flash memory drive according to the present invention is known. According to the method, the control is performed under the control of a computer, a mobile device, or the like.

Although the preferred embodiment of the present invention has been described above, various modifications and changes can be made within the scope of the technical idea of the present invention. Accordingly, the illustrated embodiments are presented by way of example and should not be interpreted as limiting. It is intended that the scope of the invention be defined by the claims appended hereto, and various modifications equivalent thereto.

According to the present invention described above, there is provided a flash memory drive that can easily transfer data from the flash memory drive to another flash memory drive. In addition, a flash memory drive is provided for easily connecting a device having a male USB connector to a flash memory drive.

Claims (10)

Circuit Board, A male connector mounted on the circuit board, A female connector mounted on the circuit board and adapted to be coupled to a male connector; A flash memory chip mounted on the circuit board and electrically connected to the male connector and the female connector, and And a means for transmitting or receiving a flash memory chip and data, said female connector being adapted to be coupled with another male connector for transmitting or receiving data from a flash memory chip. 2. The flash memory chip and data of claim 1, further comprising: a battery for supplying power to the flash memory chip, means for facilitating an electrical connection between at least one of a female connector and a male connector, and at least one of a cable, another drive, and a peripheral device. And a master / slave switch for setting the drive to transmit or receive data from the flash memory, an LED indicating that data is in progress, and an enclosure surrounding the circuit board. Flash memory drive. 3. The apparatus of claim 2, further comprising: means for retrieving digital audio data from a flash memory chip; Means for decoding the retrieved digital audio data; Means for converting the decoded digital audio data into an analog signal, and The flash memory drive further comprises an output connector for outputting an analog signal. 4. The flash of claim 3, further comprising: a plurality of buttons accessible through the enclosure for controlling the digital audio chip, the display screen being visible through the enclosure and visually displaying information about the digital audio data. Memory drive. A method for transferring data from a first flash memory drive having an integral male connector to a second flash memory drive having an integrated female connector, the method comprising: Inserting the male connector of the first flash memory drive into the female connector of the second flash memory drive; And transmitting or receiving data from a flash memory chip of the first flash memory drive to a flash memory chip of the second flash memory drive. The memory device of claim 5, wherein the first flash memory drive includes a master / slave switch set to either a master or a slave, and the second flash memory drive includes a master / slave switch set to the other of the master or a slave. The master / slave switch of the first flash memory drive as the master sets the first flash memory drive to transmit data from its flash memory chip to the flash memory chip of the second flash memory drive, and the second flash memory as the slave. The master / slave switch of the drive is configured to set the second flash memory drive to receive data from the flash memory chip of the first flash memory drive. 6. The method of claim 5, wherein when the switch is pressed, the at least one first flash memory drive further comprises a switch that initiates sending or receiving data from the first flash memory drive to the second flash memory drive. The drive includes an integrated female connector and the second flash memory drive includes an integrated male connector. Enclosure, A male USB connector disposed at least partially within the enclosure; A female USB connector at least partially disposed within the enclosure; A flash memory chip disposed in the enclosure and electrically connected to a male connector and a female connector, and Means disposed in the enclosure and configured to transmit or receive data from a flash memory chip, And the male USB connector is coupled with another female USB connector to transmit or receive data with the flash memory chip. The master / slave according to claim 8, further comprising: a battery for supplying power to a flash memory chip, a switch for starting to transmit or receive data to a flash memory chip, and a master / slave for transmitting or receiving data to a flash memory chip with a switch setting function. Flash memory drive further comprises a switch. 10. The flash memory of claim 8, further comprising means for facilitating electrical connection of at least one of the female USB connector and the male USB connector to each of the other male USB connector and the other female USB connector of another device. drive.

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