Systems and methods for flexible data transfers in SDIO and/or MMC
AssigneeMatsushita Electrical Industrial Co., Ltd.
InventorFernando Zayas
Life of this patent
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Abstract
The data communication protocols between a host and a device, such as SDIO and MMC, have been extended to include devices using embedded/external/portable HDD in addition to SD Memory Card and Multimedia Card. Instead of allowing only the host to unilaterally decide the data transfer size, embodiments of the present invention offer improvements over various ways data can be transferred under SDIO and MMC by allowing the host and the device to negotiate a data transfer size that both sides agrees upon similar to a hand-shaking protocol. This description is not intended to be a complete description of, or limit the scope of, the invention. Other features, aspects, and objects of the invention can be obtained from a review of the specification, the figures, and the claims.
Claims20
A method for flexible data transfer using SDIO and/or MMC protocol, comprising:
- issuing a read or write command from a host to a card or embedded device, wherein the command may contain a first size of data to be transferred;
- accepting the command and examining the first data transfer size;
- informing the host of a second data transfer size determined by the card;
- examining the second data transfer size;
- issuing a data transfer command from the host to the card, wherein the data transfer command may contain a third size of data to be transferred;
- and
- transferring the data associated with the read or write command and providing the result of the command execution to the host.
A system for flexible data transfer using SDIO and/or MMC protocol, comprising:
- a host comprising at least one of:
- a SD slot operable to plug in a card or embedded SD/SDIO interface;
- a SD host controller operable to perform at least one of:
- issuing a read or write command to the card, wherein the command may contain a first size of data to be transferred;
- examining a second data transfer size sent by the card;
- and
- issuing a data transfer command to the card, wherein the data transfer command may contain a third size of data to be transferred;
- and
- said card comprising at least one of:
- a storage medium operable to store data;
- a buffer operable to store data read from or written to the storage medium during read and/or write operation;
- and
- a card-side controller operable to perform at least one of:
- accepting the command and examining the first data transfer size;
- informing the host of the second data transfer size preferred by the card;
- and
- transferring the data associated with the read or write command and providing the result of the command execution to the host.
A system for flexible data transfer over SDIO and/or MMC protocol, comprising:
- means for issuing a read or write command from a host to a card, wherein the command may contain a first size of data to be transferred;
- means for accepting the command and examining the first data transfer size;
- means for informing the host of a second data transfer size determined by the card;
- means for examining the second data transfer size;
- means for issuing a data transfer command from the host to the card, wherein the data transfer command may contain a third size of data to be transferred;
- and
- means for transferring the data associated with the read or write command and providing the result of the command execution to the host.
Dependencies are inferred from the claim text.