KR20060108028A - How to connect internal connector and external memory of mobile terminal and its mobile terminal - Google Patents

Abstract

The present invention relates to a connection device used in a portable terminal, and more particularly, to a device for connecting an external memory without installing a separate external memory connector on the portable terminal. In the connection device used in the mobile terminal according to the present invention, when the external memory is connected to the internal connector and the internal connector which are connected to a predetermined other module, the signal value of the internal connector is converted into the signal value of the external memory. It characterized in that it comprises a switching module for switching to a predetermined signal value corresponding to. According to the present invention, it is possible to minimize the size of the main board of the portable terminal by installing an external memory in the internal connector installed basically without installing a separate external connector in the portable terminal. In addition, according to the present invention, when the switching module is installed on the main board of the mobile terminal, when the external memory is connected to the internal connector, the MSM signal of the mobile terminal automatically switches to a signal value for synchronizing with the external memory. You can expect the effect.

Connector, External Memory, Motherboard, Gender, Mobile Terminal

Description

TECHNICAL FOR CONNECTING EXTERNAL MEMORY TO THE INTERNAL CONNECTOR OF MOBILE DEVICE AND THE MOBILE DEVICE}

1 is a block diagram illustrating a method of connecting a portable terminal and an external memory in a conventional portable terminal.

2 is a block diagram illustrating a method of connecting a portable terminal and an external memory according to an embodiment of the present invention.

3 is a diagram illustrating terminals that can be connected to an ICC connector and an ICC connector of a mobile terminal according to an embodiment of the present invention.

4 is a diagram illustrating an external memory to be mounted on an ICC connector and a gender for mounting an external memory according to an embodiment of the present invention.

FIG. 5 is a circuit diagram illustrating a principle in which a switching module converts a signal value of an ICC connector into a signal value corresponding to an external memory according to a GPIO signal of an MSM.

6 is a flowchart illustrating a signal value switching process of a switching module according to an embodiment of the present invention.

<Explanation of symbols for the main parts of the drawings>

210: mainboard

220: MSM

230: switching module

240: ICC connector

250: gender

260: external memory

The present invention relates to a device for connecting a portable terminal and an external memory, and more particularly, to a device for connecting an external memory without installing a connector for an external memory in the portable terminal.

Conventional portable terminals connect by using an external memory connector installed on the main board of the portable terminal when the external memory is mounted to load or store data. Therefore, the space occupied by the external memory connector on the motherboard increases the volume and weight of the portable terminal and increases the unit price. In particular, since the external external memory connector has a size three times larger than that of a general chip, it occupies a large part of the motherboard. In addition, as more chips are installed on the motherboard to improve the performance of the portable terminal, it may occur that the external memory connector cannot be included in the motherboard.

The field of application of the portable terminal is gradually diversified, and in particular, the function of storing and retrieving multimedia data which occupies a large capacity by using the memory card of the portable terminal is frequently used. The use of many memory cards to improve the memory capacity of the portable terminal or externally coupled and detached to upgrade the capacity of the memory card will be gradually increased in the future.

Therefore, in order to solve the space constraint problem of the motherboard and to use the functions of the mobile terminal more efficiently, the emergence of a new technology that can be equipped with an external memory using a port generally installed in the mobile terminal.

An object of the present invention is to minimize the size of the main board of the portable terminal by attaching an external memory to the connector installed basically without installing a separate connector on the portable terminal.

An object of the present invention is to provide a switching module on a main board of a portable terminal so that when the external memory is connected to the internal connector, the MSM signal of the portable terminal automatically switches to a signal value for synchronizing with the external memory. It is done.

In order to achieve the above object and solve the problems of the prior art, when the external memory is connected to the internal connector and the internal connector, which is a transmission / reception port connected to a predetermined other module, the signal value of the internal connector is converted into the external memory. It characterized in that it comprises a switching module for switching to a predetermined signal value corresponding to the signal value of.

Hereinafter, a method of connecting an internal connector and an external memory of a portable terminal according to the present invention and a portable terminal will be described in detail with reference to the accompanying drawings.

In the present specification, a personal portable device (Personal Portable Device) is a PDA (Personal Digital Assistant), cellular phone, PCS (Personal Communication Service) phone, hand-held PC (Hand-Held PC), CDMA-2000 (1X, 3X) Phone, Wideband CDMA (WCDMA) Phone, Dual Band / Dual Mode Phone, Global Standard for Mobile (GSM) Phone, Mobile Broadband System (MBS) Phone, Digital Multimedia Broadcasting (DMB) Phone, Smartphone A portable electric and electronic device such as a smart phone, a notebook computer, a WiBro terminal, a mobile phone, an MP3 player, etc. It can be provided with a communication module of, and by mounting a predetermined microprocessor for performing a multimedia playback function can be used as a concept of collectively a terminal having a predetermined computing power.

Hereinafter, a portable terminal according to the present invention will be described in detail with reference to the accompanying drawings.

Hereinafter, for convenience of description, the main board of the portable terminal integrates various components necessary for functions such as input / output of the portable terminal, but only the core parts related to the present invention will be described therein, and is commonly used in the industry such as MSM and ICC connector. I will use the terminology you describe.

1 is a block diagram illustrating a method of connecting a portable terminal and an external memory in a conventional portable terminal.

The mobile station modem (MSM) 120 is a core component of a mobile terminal manufactured by Qualcomm, USA, and is a device that controls the overall operation of the mobile terminal, such as a CPU of a personal computer. The MSM 120 is organically connected to the ICC connector 140 and the 4-pin connector 130 for the external memory.

The ICC connector 140 is an internal connector that is a transmission / reception port that can be connected to another module. The ICC connector 140 connects the portable terminal to a vehicle to charge the battery of the portable terminal or to make a call without using the portable terminal directly. It performs the send / receive port function of the connection terminal to connect with the hands-free device. In addition, a power terminal for connecting the portable terminal to a general power outlet, not a vehicle, via the ICC connector 140 to charge or a USB, UART cable terminal for moving data stored in the portable terminal to a personal computer. Can be used as a port to connect. The ICC connector 140 is a transmission / reception port of an external module installed in almost all portable terminals.

The 4-pin connector 130 for the external memory is a connection unit for connecting the external memory 160. In the conventional portable terminal, the external memory 160 is required to connect the external memory 160 with the portable terminal to use the functions of the external memory 160. Component. According to the type of the external memory 160, the size of the 4-pin connector 130 for the external memory installed in the motherboard 110 may be changed, and the number of pins of the 4-pin connector 130 for the external memory may vary. Since the 4-pin connector 130 for the external memory occupies a certain space of the main board 110, it reduces the area that the chips of the portable terminal can occupy and increases the volume or weight of the portable terminal.

The external memory 160 is a space for storing data, and is a storage module that can load data stored in the external memory 160 to the portable terminal or store new data using various communication means. In addition, the lack of internal memory capacity of the portable terminal can be easily upgraded, and a plurality of memory cards can be detached to compensate for the insufficient capacity or the memory card is required as a means for reducing the volume and weight of the portable terminal. You can only carry data. Examples of external memory include T-Flash, MMC, RS-MMC, SD, and the like.

2 is a block diagram illustrating a method of connecting a portable terminal and an external memory according to an embodiment of the present invention.

The switching module 230 is additionally installed on the main board 210 and is configured by removing a conventional 4-pin connector 130 (refer to FIG. 1) for an external memory. The switching module 230 performs a function of switching to a predetermined signal value corresponding to the external memory 260 when the external memory 260 is connected to the portable terminal, and between the MSM 220 and the ICC connector 240. Position and switch according to the signal of the MSM 220. When the external memory 260 is connected to the ICC connector 240 through the gender 250, the signal value of the ICC connector 240 is converted into a signal value suitable for the connection of the external memory 260 by the switching module 230. . More specific details of the operation of the switching module 230 are shown in FIG. 5.

FIG. 5 is a circuit diagram illustrating a principle in which a switching module converts a signal value of an ICC connector into a signal value corresponding to an external memory according to a GPIO signal of an MSM.

Referring to FIG. 2, the switching module 230 converts a signal value of the ICC connector 240 into a predetermined signal corresponding to the signal value of the external memory 260 according to a general purpose input / output (GPIO) signal value of the MSM. It can be manufactured so that switching is done by value.

The ICC connector 240 may be connected to various connection terminals and require respective connection signal values according to the signal characteristics of the connection terminals. Therefore, when the ICC connector 240 and the connection terminals are connected, the switching should be made to a signal value required for communication of the connection terminals, and the switching module 230 controls the operation of the switching by the signal of the MSM 220. Make it as possible.

The switching module 230 enables USB and Universal Asynchronous Receiver Transmitter (UART) communication by setting the signal value of the internal connector 240 as a default signal value when the strength of the GPIO signal is lower than the reference value based on a predetermined threshold. When the strength of the GPIO signal is higher than the reference based on a predetermined threshold, the signal value of the internal connector 240 may be switched. For example, in FIG. 5, the GPIO signal may be designed to have a value of 1 when the strength of the GPIO signal is greater than or equal to the reference value based on a predetermined threshold and to have a value of 0 when the GPIO signal is less than the reference value. If the C_det value is 0 when the GPIO signal is called C_det, the switching module 230 causes the signal value of the ICC connector 240 to maintain the default signal value. When the MSM 220 connects the external memory 260 to the ICC connector 240, the MSM 220 determines that the strength of the GPIO signal is higher than the reference value, so that the C_det value is 1 and the switching module 230 uses the external memory at the default signal value. Control to switch to a signal value suitable for (260). In addition, when the switching module 230 terminates the connection between the ICC connector 240 and the external memory 260, the switching module 230 returns to the default signal value according to the signal of the MSM 220 from the signal value corresponding to the external memory 260. The design of the switching operation can be added. The predetermined threshold may be set differently by an embodiment of the present invention according to various matters such as the characteristics of a component constituting the portable terminal and a communication environment.

One terminal of the gender 250 may be manufactured to be connected to the ICC connector 240, and the other terminal may be manufactured to be connected to the external memory 260, and as a result, the gender 250 Connects the ICC connector 240 and the external memory 260. In this case, the ICC connector 240 may use a method of installing the gender 250 after mounting a separate ICC plug inside the ICC connector 240 for connection with the gender 250.

3 is a diagram illustrating terminals that can be connected to an ICC connector and an ICC connector of a portable terminal according to an embodiment of the present invention, and FIG. 4 is an external memory to be mounted to the ICC connector according to an embodiment of the present invention. And a gender for mounting an external memory.

ICC connector 310 is located at the bottom of the mobile terminal 300, the ICC connector 310 includes a predetermined form that can be connected to the gender 410, USB 370, UART and power 360 terminal. have. The USB 370 cable is used as a connection means when transmitting data stored in the mobile terminal 300 to another device or receiving data stored in the other device, and the power supply 360 terminal supplies power to the mobile terminal 300. It is used as a means. One side of the gender 410 is configured to connect with the ICC connector 310, and the other side is configured to connect with the external memory 450 to store data stored in the external memory 450 in another device. It is used as a connection means when sending to or receiving data stored in another device.

6 is a flowchart illustrating a signal value switching process of a switching module according to an embodiment of the present invention.

In step S610, the ICC connector 240 maintains the signal value of the ICC connector 240 as the default signal value. Since the external memory 260 is not connected to the ICC connector 240, the switching module 230 does not switch the signal value of the ICC connector 240 according to the signal of the MSM 220. When the ICC connector 240 maintains the default signal value, the ICC connector 240 may be manufactured to enable power terminal connection, USB, and UART communication.

In step S620, the external memory 260 is connected to one side of the gender 250 and the ICC connector 240 is connected to the other side of the gender 250. Accordingly, the external memory 260 and the ICC connector 240 are indirectly connected with the gender 250 therebetween. Steps S620 and S640 are steps performed by a person.

In operation S630, the switching module 230 adjusts a communication sink between the ICC connector 240 and the external memory 260 according to the signal of the MSM 220. Accordingly, the switching module 230 switches the default signal value of the ICC connector 240 to a predetermined signal value corresponding to the external memory 260 when the external memory 260 is connected to the ICC connector 240. .

In operation S640, the external memory 260 terminates the connection with the ICC connector 240. The connection may be terminated by removing the external memory 260 from the gender 250 or by removing the gender 250 from the ICC connector 240. When the connection is terminated, the switching module 230 returns the signal value of the ICC connector 240 to the default signal value according to the signal of the MSM 220.

According to the present invention, the method for switching the signal value of the switching module according to the signal of the MSM may be implemented in the form of program instructions that can be executed by various computer means and recorded in a computer readable medium. The computer readable medium may include program instructions, data files, data structures, etc. alone or in combination. Program instructions recorded on the media may be those specially designed and constructed for the purposes of the present invention, or they may be of the kind well-known and available to those having skill in the computer software arts. Examples of computer-readable recording media include magnetic media such as hard disks, floppy disks, and magnetic tape, optical media such as CD-ROMs, DVDs, and magnetic disks, such as floppy disks. Magneto-optical media, and hardware devices specifically configured to store and execute program instructions, such as ROM, RAM, flash memory, and the like. The medium may be a transmission medium such as an optical or metal wire, a waveguide, or the like including a carrier wave for transmitting a signal specifying a program command, a data structure, and the like. Examples of program instructions include not only machine code generated by a compiler, but also high-level language code that can be executed by a computer using an interpreter or the like. The hardware device described above may be configured to operate as one or more software modules to perform the operations of the present invention, and vice versa.

As described above, the present invention has been described by way of limited embodiments and drawings, but the present invention is not limited to the above-described embodiments, which can be variously modified and modified by those skilled in the art to which the present invention pertains. Modifications are possible. Accordingly, the spirit of the present invention should be understood only by the claims set forth below, and all equivalent or equivalent modifications thereof will belong to the scope of the present invention.

According to the present invention, it is possible to minimize the size of the main board of the portable terminal by installing an external memory in a connector basically installed without installing a separate connector in the portable terminal.

According to the present invention, when the switching module is installed on the main board of the portable terminal, when the external memory is connected to the internal connector, the MSM signal of the portable terminal automatically switches to a signal value for synchronizing with the external memory. You can expect

Claims (9)

In the connection device used in the mobile terminal, An internal connector that is a transmission / reception port connected to any other module; And When the external memory is connected to the internal connector, the switching module switches the signal value of the internal connector to a predetermined signal value corresponding to the signal value of the external memory. Connection device used in the mobile terminal, characterized in that it comprises a. The method of claim 1, The internal connector is a connection device used in a portable terminal, characterized in that formed in a predetermined form that is connected to any one of the gender, USB, UART and power terminals. The method of claim 2, One terminal of the gender is produced in a form that can be connected to the internal connector, the other terminal is used in a portable terminal, characterized in that the form is connected to the external memory. The method of claim 3, The switching module is configured to switch the signal value of the internal connector to a predetermined signal value corresponding to the signal value of the external memory according to the General Purpose Input / Output (GPIO) signal of the mobile station modem (MSM). Connection device used in the terminal. The method of claim 4, wherein The switching module sets a signal value of the internal connector as a default signal value when the strength of the GPIO signal is lower than the reference based on a predetermined threshold value, and sets the signal value of the internal connector when the strength of the GPIO signal is higher than the reference value. And a signal value is switched to a predetermined signal value corresponding to the signal value of the external memory. The method of claim 1, And the switching module returns a signal value of the internal connector to a predetermined default signal value by a signal of an MSM when the connection of the internal connector and the external memory is terminated. In the method of connecting an external memory to a mobile terminal, Connecting the internal connector of the portable terminal to the external memory; The internal connector is a transmit / receive port connected to any other module; And Switching the signal value of the internal connector to a predetermined signal value corresponding to the signal value of the external memory Method of connecting an external memory to the mobile terminal, comprising the. The method of claim 7, wherein Maintaining a signal value of the internal connector at a predetermined default signal value; When a gender is connected between the external memory and the internal connector, switching a signal value of the internal connector to a predetermined signal value corresponding to the signal value of the external memory according to a signal of an MSM; And When the connection between the internal connector and the external memory is terminated, the switching module returns a signal value of the internal connector to the predetermined default signal value according to a signal of the MSM; The method of connecting an external memory to the mobile terminal further comprises. A computer-readable recording medium having recorded thereon a program for executing the method of claim 7.

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