Apparatus and method for controlling access to contents stored in card like electronic equipment
AssigneeKabushiki Kaisha Toshiba
InventorTakafumi Ito
Life of this patent
Estimating the term…
Abstract
Card like electronic equipment, such as a security digital (SD) memory card, includes a CPU, a real time clock (RTC) for counting time data; a FLASH ROM for storing the time data read out from the RTC into a covered RAM area of the ROM; and a lithium ion battery for supplying driving power to the RTC even when the SD memory card is not connected to a host personal computer, in order to enhance security of the contents data, e.g. copyright, protected by the CPU in the SD memory card.
Claims13
A card like electronic device that is detachably connectable to a data processing device, comprising:
- a timer circuit for counting time data;
- a control unit for accessing the timer circuit to read the time data;
- and
- a nonvolatile memory, including a covered area that can be accessed by the control unit, for storing the time data read by the control unit or control data generated by the control unit based on the time data.
Detachable card like electronic equipment for coupling to host equipment, comprising:
- a control unit;
- a timer circuit, accessed by the control unit, for counting time data;
- a nonvolatile memory, including a covered area and accessed by the control unit only, for storing time data read out from the timer circuit or control data generated by the control unit based on the time data, the covered area only being accessible by the control unit;
- and
- a backup power source coupled to the timer circuit, for supplying a driving power source to the timer circuit when the card like electronic equipment is not coupled to the data processing device.
Card like electronic equipment that is detachably connectable to a data processing device, comprising:
- a CPU;
- a timer circuit for counting time data, wherein only the CPU can access the timer circuit;
- a backup power source for supplying a driving power source to the timer circuit when the card like electronic equipment is not connected to the data processing device;
- and
- a nonvolatile memory for storing a state of designation of the time data in the timer circuit.
Card like electronic equipment that is detachably connectable to a data processing device, comprising:
- a card like body;
- a timer circuit provided in the body;
- a backup power source provided in the body for driving the timer circuit;
- and
- conducting control means that prohibits a change of a current-carrying state, between the backup power source and the timer circuit, to a non-current carrying state after the current-carrying state is established.
A method for controlling access to digital contents stored in card like electronic equipment that includes a control unit;
- a timer circuit, accessed by the control unit, for counting time data;
- and a nonvolatile memory having a covered area, the control unit having access to the covered area, the method comprising the steps of:
- receiving a request from a data processing device for recording contents that have limited use during a specified time period;
- reading out the time data in the timer circuit by the control unit when the request for recording is received;
- and
- storing the read out time data and the specified time period in the covered area of the nonvolatile memory.
Dependencies are inferred from the claim text.