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AssigneeTEAC Corporation
InventorsHiroshi Tsuyuguchi, Tsuyoshi Osawa, Satoshi Nakamura, Sadao Yabuki
Estimating the term…
A flexible magnetic disk drive is disclosed which is linked to a computer via a universal serial bus interface having firmware held on a read-only memory. In order to facilitate the upgrading of the firmware, an electrically erasable, programmable ROM is employed for firmware storage. Each new firmware version is issued in the form of a flexible magnetic disk which may be loaded in the disk drive just like an ordinary data disk, only with the disk drive disconnected from the computer as far as data transmission is concerned. The EEPROM is preprogrammed to identify the loaded firmware disk, erase the old firmware version on the ROM, and write the new version thereon. In another embodiment a self-testing program disk is employed in place of the firmware disk, for performing a set of tests on the disk drive including the interface. The tests are conducted automatically as the self-testing program disk is loaded in the disk drive, again with the disk drive disconnected from the computer.
A data storage device to be connected to a computer via connector means, for interchangeable use with a first kind of storage medium for storing data used by the computer and a second kind of storage medium storing data not used by the computer, the data storage device comprising:
A data storage device to be connected to a computer via connector means, for interchangeable use with a data storage medium and one or more prescribed software storage media, the data storage device comprising:
A data storage device to be connected to a computer via connector means, for interchangeable use with a data storage medium and a firmware storage medium, the latter holding a new version of interfacing firmware, the data storage device comprising:
A data storage device to be connected to a computer via connector means, for interchangeable use with a data storage medium and a self-testing program storage medium, the latter medium having prewritten thereon a set of tests to be conducted on the data storage device, the data storage device comprising:
In a computer system having a data storage device connected to, and disconnected from, a computer, a method of making interchangeable use of the data storage device both with a data storage medium for holding data for use by the computer and with one or more prescribed software storage media for holding softwares for use by the data storage device, which method comprises:
In a computer system having a data storage device connected to, and disconnected from, a computer, the data storage device being for use with a data storage medium for holding data used by the computer, a method of upgrading or otherwise rewriting firmware for adapting the data storage device to the computer, which method comprises:
In a computer system having a data storage device connected to, and disconnected from, a computer, a method of making interchangeable use of the data storage device both with a data storage medium for holding data for use by the computer and with a self-testing program storage medium having prewritten thereon a set of tests to be conducted on the data storage device, which method comprises:
Dependencies are inferred from the claim text.