US 2007/0168668 A1 · Media card with command pass through mechanism

Abstract

The present invention presents techniques for transmitting application specific instruction between a host and a memory card. The commands for the application specific protocol are embedded along with a signature in the data portion of a transmission protocol that is used to communicate between the host the memory card. This allows for the transmission of application specific commands that lack a corresponding command in the transmission protocol to still be transmitted in that protocol. The method can be implemented on the host side either at the device driver level or the file level. In order to implement a read command in the application specific protocol, a write command in the first protocol with an embedded read command is first sent to a logical address, followed by a second read command to the same logical address.

Claims12

Dependent claims

A memory card structure, comprising:

a non-volatile memory;
a front layer for exchanging instructions with a host to which the card is connected according to a first protocol, wherein the first layer determines whether the data portion of an incoming instruction in the first protocol contains a signature and, in response to determining the absence of said signature, accessing the memory according to the instruction in the first protocol;
and,
an application layer, wherein in response to determining that an incoming instruction in the first protocol contains a signature, the incoming instruction is transferred from the front layer to the application wherein an instruction in a second protocol is extracted from the data portion of the incoming instruction and the memory is accessed according to the instruction in the second protocol.

1 more element

Dependencies are inferred from the claim text.

Media card with command pass through mechanism

Life of this patent

Media card with command pass through mechanism

Life of this patent

Abstract

Claims12