CN108090548A - Intermediate circuit for memory card access - Google Patents

Abstract

The invention discloses an intermediary circuit for memory card access, one embodiment of which comprises: a detection circuit for generating a detection result to indicate that a memory card signal conforms to a first or a second voltage specification; a control circuit for generating a switching control signal and a selection control signal according to the detection result; a conversion circuit for converting the memory card signal into a memory card end-to-system end conversion signal conforming to the second voltage specification according to the conversion control signal when the memory card signal conforms to the first voltage specification; and a selection circuit for outputting a conversion signal from the memory card end to the system end according to the selection control signal when the memory card signal conforms to the first voltage specification, the selection circuit being further used for outputting the memory card signal according to the selection control signal when the memory card signal conforms to the second voltage specification, thereby improving the compatibility of memory card access without changing the existing memory card access design.

Description

Intermediary circuit for memory card access

technical field

The present invention relates to memory card access, in particular to an intermediary circuit for memory card access.

Background technique

Generally speaking, the memory card is accessed through an independent card reader chip, or through a system on chip (SoC) or a chipset (Chipset) with a memory card access function. Based on the trend of multifunctional integration and miniaturization of electronic devices, system chips and chipsets with memory card access functions are becoming more and more popular. The way of accessing memory cards is shown in Figure 1. The system chip 110 or chipset 110 is through a The transmission interface 120 is connected with a memory card slot 130 to access the memory card in the card slot 130 .

Due to the continuous evolution of the manufacturing process of SoCs and chipsets, the operating voltage of SoCs and chipsets has gradually become lower, but many traditional memory cards still need to be accessed through higher voltages. The operation of the voltage requires more chip area in the design, which will increase the cost and is not conducive to miniaturization. Considering the above problems, certain groups (such as the Memory Card Association) have begun to discuss the Low Voltage Signal (Low Voltage Signal, LVS) protocol for memory card access. However, there are still many traditional devices operating at higher voltages on the market. In the current situation of the memory card (the protocol corresponding to such a higher voltage may be called a high voltage signal (High Voltage Signal, HVS) protocol), it is foreseeable that the LVS protocol will face a problem of product compatibility.

Contents of the invention

An object of the present invention is to provide an intermediate circuit to improve the compatibility problem of the prior art.

The invention discloses an intermediary circuit for memory card access, which can be used for the operation from a memory card end to a system end. An embodiment of the intermediary circuit includes a detection circuit, a control circuit, a conversion circuit and a selection circuit . The detection circuit is used to detect a memory card signal and generate a detection result accordingly. The detection result indicates that the memory card signal meets one of multiple signal voltage specifications, and the signal voltage specification includes a first voltage specification and A second voltage specification. The first voltage specification is associated with a first operating voltage. The second voltage specification is associated with a second operating voltage. The first operating voltage is higher than the second operating voltage. The control circuit is used for generating a conversion control signal and a selection control signal according to the detection result. The conversion circuit is used for converting the memory card signal into a memory card terminal-to-system conversion conforming to the second voltage specification according to the conversion control signal when the detection result indicates that the memory card signal complies with the first voltage specification Signal. The selection circuit is used to receive the conversion signal from the storage card end to the system end when the detection result indicates that the memory card signal conforms to the first voltage specification, and output the conversion signal from the memory card end to the system end according to the selection control signal As a system output signal, the selection circuit is also used to receive the memory card signal when the detection result indicates that the memory card signal conforms to the second voltage specification, and output the memory card signal according to the selection control signal as The system terminal outputs the signal.

The present invention also discloses an intermediary circuit for memory card access, which can be used for operations from a system end to a memory card end. An embodiment of the intermediary circuit includes a detection circuit, a control circuit, a conversion circuit and a selection circuit. circuit. The detection circuit is used to detect a memory card signal and generate a detection result accordingly. The detection result indicates that the memory card signal meets one of multiple signal voltage specifications, and the signal voltage specification includes a first voltage specification and A second voltage specification. The first voltage specification is associated with a first operating voltage. The second voltage specification is associated with a second operating voltage. The first operating voltage is higher than the second operating voltage. The control circuit is used for generating a conversion control signal and a selection control signal according to the detection result. The conversion circuit is used to convert a system terminal signal into a system terminal-to-memory card terminal conversion signal according to the conversion control signal as a memory card terminal when the detection result indicates that the memory card signal conforms to the first voltage specification Outputting signals, wherein the system-side signal complies with the second voltage specification, and the system-side-to-memory card-side conversion signal complies with the first voltage specification. The selection circuit is used to receive the system terminal signal when the detection result indicates that the memory card signal conforms to the first voltage specification, and output the system terminal signal to the conversion circuit according to the selection control signal to generate the system terminal signal to the conversion circuit. The conversion signal at the memory card end is used as the output signal at the memory card end, and the selection circuit is also used to receive the system end signal when the detection result indicates that the memory card signal conforms to the second voltage specification, and output the signal according to the selection control signal. The system-side signal is used as the memory card-side output signal.

The invention further discloses an intermediary circuit for memory card access, which can be used for the operation from a memory card end to a system end, and can also be used for the operation from the system end to the memory card end. An embodiment of the intermediary circuit includes a conversion circuit for receiving a memory card signal according to a first voltage specification, and converting the memory card signal into a memory card terminal meeting a second voltage specification to the terminal of the memory card. The system end transforms the signal to output to a system end, and the conversion circuit is used to receive a system end signal according to the second voltage specification, and convert the system end signal to a system end conforming to the first voltage specification to the memory card The terminal converts the signal to output to a memory card terminal, wherein the first voltage specification is associated with a first operating voltage, the second voltage specification is associated with a second operating voltage, and the first operating voltage is higher than the second operating voltage.

Regarding the characteristics, implementation and technical effects of the present invention, preferred embodiments are described in detail as follows in conjunction with the accompanying drawings.

Description of drawings

FIG. 1 is a schematic diagram of accessing a memory card in the prior art;

Figure 2a is a schematic diagram of an embodiment of the intermediary circuit of the present invention;

FIG. 2b is a schematic diagram of the intermediary circuit in FIG. 2a being used for the operation from the memory card end to the system end;

FIG. 2c is a schematic diagram of the intermediary circuit in FIG. 2a used for the operation from the system end to the memory card end;

FIG. 3 is a schematic diagram of an embodiment of the conversion circuit of FIG. 2a; and

FIG. 4 is a schematic diagram of another embodiment of the intermediate circuit of the present invention.

Explanation of reference signs:

110 SoC or chipset

120 transmission interface

130 memory card slot

200 intermediary circuits

210 detection circuit

220 control circuit

230 conversion circuit

232 converter

234 teleporter

236 Receiver

240 selection circuit

400 intermediary circuits

410 conversion circuit

Detailed ways

The invention discloses an intermediate circuit for memory card access, which can improve the compatibility of memory card access without changing the existing memory card access design.

Please refer to FIG. 2 a , which is a schematic diagram of an embodiment of the intermediary circuit of the present invention. The intermediary circuit 200 of Fig. 2 a comprises a detection circuit 210, a control circuit 220, a conversion circuit 230 and a selection circuit 240, the intermediary circuit 200 can be used for the operation of a memory card end to a system end, also can be used for this system end operation to the memory card side. The transmission signal between the memory card end and the intermediary circuit 200 conforms to one of various signal voltage specifications. An embodiment of the multiple signal voltage specifications includes a low voltage signal (low voltage signal, LVS) specification and a high voltage signal specification. The voltage signal (High Voltage Signal, HVS) specification, of course, the inventor who implements the present invention can adopt other appropriate specifications as the various signal voltage specifications according to the requirement. The transmission signal between the system end and the intermediary circuit 200 conforms to a specific signal voltage specification. An embodiment of the specific signal voltage specification is an LVS specification. Of course, the inventor who implements the present invention can use other signal voltage specifications as the specific signal voltage specification according to his needs. Signal voltage specification, but the specific signal voltage specification should be one of the aforementioned multiple signal voltage specifications.

Please refer to Figure 2b, which shows the signal transmission operation from the memory card side to the system side. The detection circuit 210 detects a memory card signal from the memory card terminal and generates a detection result accordingly. The detection result indicates that the memory card signal conforms to one of various signal voltage specifications, and the signal voltage specifications are determined by different transmission protocols ( For example, an HVS protocol and a LVS protocol are defined, so the detection circuit 210 can detect according to the protocol to generate the detection result, for example, the detection circuit 210 detects whether a signal pattern (pattern) conforms to one of the protocols A specification of the pattern of a particular signal, which may relate to the magnitude, period, variation, etc. of the signal voltage. In another embodiment, the detection circuit 210 or the detection result can also be directly set or set by the manufacturer according to the actual application status of the product. In other words, the detection circuit 210 can be independent from the intermediary circuit 200, or after the detection result has If set, the detection circuit 210 can be omitted. In this embodiment (that is, the embodiment of FIG. 2b), the signal voltage specification includes a first voltage specification and a second voltage specification, and the first voltage specification is associated with a first operating voltage (for example, not less than 3 volts voltage, such as 3.3 volts), the second voltage specification is associated with a second operating voltage (for example, a voltage not greater than 2 volts, such as a voltage between 1.2 volts and 1.8 volts), the first operating voltage is high As for the second working voltage, it should be noted that the actual voltage values of the first and second working voltages may vary with the change of the load, but usually remain above the minimum voltage required by the protocol to which the working voltage belongs, To ensure the normal operation of memory card access.

Please refer to FIG. 2b. After the detection result is generated, the control circuit 220 generates a conversion control signal and a selection control signal according to the detection result. In more detail, when the detection result indicates that the memory card signal meets the aforementioned first voltage specification When the conversion control signal will instruct the conversion circuit 230 to perform a conversion operation, the selection control signal will instruct the selection circuit 240 to output a conversion signal provided by the conversion circuit 230; when the detection result indicates that the memory card signal conforms to the aforementioned second voltage specification , the selection control signal will instruct the selection circuit 240 to output the memory card signal. At this time, whether the conversion operation is performed or not does not affect it. 230 signal. When the detection result indicates that the memory card signal conforms to the first voltage specification, the conversion circuit 230 converts the memory card signal into a memory card-to-system conversion signal conforming to the second voltage specification according to the conversion control signal. For example, when the first voltage specification is defined by the HVS protocol and the second voltage specification is defined by the LVS protocol, the conversion circuit 230 can convert the memory card signal conforming to the HVS protocol into a signal conforming to the LVS protocol according to the signal specifications specified by different protocols. The conversion signal from the memory card side to the system side, and then, the selection circuit 240 receives the conversion signal from the memory card side to the system side, and outputs the conversion signal from the memory card side to the system side according to the selection control signal to the system side as a system When the detection result indicates that the memory card signal conforms to the LVS protocol, the selection circuit 240 receives the memory card signal, and outputs the memory card signal according to the selection control signal as the system output signal.

It is worth noting that, for the system side, the intermediary circuit 200 plays the role of the memory card side; for the aforementioned memory card side, the intermediary circuit 200 plays the role of the system side. In other words, due to the configuration of the intermediary circuit 200 , neither the system side nor the memory card side needs to be changed in design, but this is not the implementation limitation of the present invention. In addition, the initialization (initialization) and negotiation (negotiation) procedure between the intermediary circuit 200 and the aforementioned system end is similar to the initialization and negotiation procedure between the general memory card end and the system end, or can be carried out according to the aforementioned protocol, intermediary The initiation and negotiation procedure between the circuit 200 and the aforementioned memory card end is the same as the initiation and negotiation procedure between the general system end and the memory card end, or can be carried out according to the aforementioned protocol, because the above-mentioned initiation and negotiation procedure belongs to this The prior art in the field may be easily deduced from the prior art, so the details thereof are omitted here.

As mentioned above, when the detection circuit 210 detects that the signal voltage specification used by the memory card connected to the memory card terminal is different from the signal voltage specification used by the system terminal, the conversion circuit 230 will perform conversion. At this time, the conversion circuit 230 must pass Appropriate transmission and reception mechanisms are used to communicate with the aforementioned system terminals. As shown in FIG. Labeled RX) 236 for conversion, transmission and reception operations, respectively. In detail, when the detection result indicates that the memory card signal conforms to the first voltage specification, the converter 232 converts the memory card signal into a memory card end-to-system end conversion signal to be transmitted according to the conversion control signal and transmits The device 234 is used to output the conversion signal from the memory card end to the system end to the selection circuit 240, and the receiver 236 is used to output a signal to be converted to the converter 232 according to the system end signal provided by the selection circuit 240, and then the converter 232 converts the signal to the converter 232. The signal to be converted is outputted as a system-side-to-memory card-side converted signal as a memory card-side output signal, which is output to the aforementioned memory card side. It is worth noting that if the detection circuit 210 judges that the signal voltage specification used by the memory card end is consistent with the system end, the conversion circuit 230 does not need to perform signal conversion, and the selection circuit 240 directly outputs the memory card signal to the system end according to the selection control signal. Or directly output the system-side signal to the memory card; at this time, the intermediary circuit 200 can transmit and receive the memory card signal and the system-side signal without a receiver and a transmitter. Please also note that if a signal does not need to be converted, the detection circuit 210 (or a bypass (bypass) circuit or its equivalent circuit) can choose to directly transmit the memory card signal to the selection circuit 240, and can choose to directly transmit the memory card signal from the selection circuit 240. The system side signal of the circuit 240 is transmitted to the memory card side.

In one embodiment, the aforementioned memory card signal is a Secure Digital (SD) memory card signal. In one embodiment, the aforesaid HVS protocol is, for example, a default speed (Default Speed, DS) transmission protocol of an SD memory card, a high-speed (High Speed, HS) transmission protocol of an SD memory card, and a first-generation ultra-high-speed transmission protocol of an SD memory card. (Ultra High Speed-I, UHS-I) transmission protocol, or the second-generation ultra-high speed (Ultra High Speed-II, UHS-II) transmission protocol of the Secure Digital (Secure Digital, SD) memory card.

Please refer to Figure 2c, which shows the signal transmission operation from the system side to the memory card side. The detection circuit 210 detects a memory card signal and generates a detection result accordingly. The detection result indicates that the memory card signal meets one of multiple signal voltage specifications, and the signal voltage specification includes a first voltage specification and a second voltage specification. A voltage specification, the first voltage specification is associated with a first operating voltage, the second voltage specification is associated with a second operating voltage, and the first operating voltage is higher than the second operating voltage. The control circuit 220 generates a conversion control signal and a selection control signal according to the detection result. When the detection result indicates that the memory card signal conforms to the first voltage specification, the conversion circuit 230 converts a system-side signal into a system-side-to-memory card-side conversion signal according to the conversion control signal as a memory card-side output signal, Wherein the system terminal signal complies with the second voltage specification, and the system terminal-to-memory card terminal conversion signal complies with the first voltage specification. When the detection result indicates that the memory card signal conforms to the first voltage specification, the selection circuit 240 receives the system terminal signal, and outputs the system terminal signal to the conversion circuit according to the selection control signal to generate the system terminal to the memory card terminal. The conversion signal is used as the output signal of the memory card; when the detection result indicates that the memory card signal complies with the second voltage specification, the selection circuit 240 receives the system-side signal, and outputs the system-side signal according to the selection control signal as the storage Card output signal.

Since those skilled in the art can refer to the description of the operation from the memory card end to the system end to understand the implementation details and changes of the operation from the system end to the memory card end, that is, the technical features in the foregoing descriptions can be reasonably applied here, therefore, Under the premise of not affecting the disclosure requirements and practicability, repetitive and redundant descriptions are omitted here.

Another embodiment of the intermediary circuit of the present invention may only include a conversion circuit to match other circuit designs, such as a design that does not include a detection circuit, a control circuit, and a selection circuit. Such a design is applicable to a memory card, for example. The signal voltage specification between the terminal and the intermediate circuit is different from the signal voltage specification between the system terminal and the intermediate circuit. In this situation, since the conversion circuit always performs the conversion operation, the detection, control and selection operations are unnecessary. However, this is only an example, not a limitation of the present invention. In detail, another embodiment above is shown in FIG. 4 . The intermediary circuit 400 includes a conversion circuit 410 for receiving a memory card signal according to a first voltage specification and converting the memory card signal to a second voltage. A standard memory card-side to system-side conversion signal is output to a system side. The conversion circuit 410 is also used to receive a system-side signal according to the second voltage specification, and convert the system-side signal to conform to the first voltage specification. Converting signals from a system terminal to a memory card terminal to output to a memory card terminal, the first voltage specification is associated with a first operating voltage, the second voltage specification is associated with a second operating voltage, and the first operating voltage is higher than the Second operating voltage. An embodiment of the conversion circuit 410 is the conversion circuit 230 of FIG. 3 .

Since those skilled in the art can refer to FIGS. 2a-2c and the relevant disclosure content of the intermediary circuit 200 in FIG. 3 to understand the implementation details and changes of the intermediary circuit 400 in FIG. In the circuit 400 , therefore, on the premise of not affecting the disclosure requirements and practicability, repetitive and redundant descriptions are omitted here.

To sum up, the intermediary circuit of the present invention can improve the compatibility of memory card access without changing the existing memory card access design.

Although the embodiments of the present invention are as described above, the embodiments are not intended to limit the present invention, and those skilled in the art can make changes to the technical characteristics of the present invention according to the explicit or implicit content of the present invention, all of which Changes may all belong to the scope of patent protection sought by the present invention. In other words, the scope of patent protection of the present invention must be defined by the claims in this specification.

Claims (10)

1. An intermediary circuit for memory card access, characterized in that it comprises: A detection circuit is used to detect a memory card signal and generate a detection result accordingly. The detection result indicates that the memory card signal conforms to one of multiple signal voltage specifications, and the signal voltage specification includes a first voltage specification and a second voltage specification, the first voltage specification is associated with a first operating voltage, the second voltage specification is associated with a second operating voltage, and the first operating voltage is higher than the second operating voltage; A control circuit, used to generate a conversion control signal and a selection control signal according to the detection result; A conversion circuit, used for converting the memory card signal into a memory card end-to-system end conversion conforming to the second voltage standard according to the conversion control signal when the detection result indicates that the memory card signal complies with the first voltage specification signal; and A selection circuit, used to receive the conversion signal from the memory card end to the system end when the detection result indicates that the memory card signal conforms to the first voltage specification, and output the memory card end to system end conversion signal according to the selection control signal As a system output signal, the selection circuit is also used to receive the memory card signal when the detection result indicates that the memory card signal conforms to the second voltage specification, and output the memory card signal according to the selection control signal as The system terminal outputs the signal. 2. The intermediary circuit as claimed in claim 1, wherein the conversion circuit comprises: a converter for converting the memory card signal into a memory card-to-system conversion signal to be transmitted according to the conversion control signal when the detection result indicates that the memory card signal conforms to the first voltage specification; and A transmitter is used for outputting the memory card-to-system transition signal according to the memory card-to-system transition signal to be transmitted when the detection result indicates that the memory card signal conforms to the first voltage specification. 3. The intermediate circuit as claimed in claim 1, wherein the difference between the first operating voltage and the second operating voltage is not less than 1 volt. 4. The intermediate circuit as claimed in claim 3, wherein the first operating voltage is not less than 3 volts, and the second operating voltage is not greater than 2 volts. 5. An intermediary circuit for memory card access, characterized in that it comprises: A detection circuit is used to detect a memory card signal and generate a detection result accordingly. The detection result indicates that the memory card signal conforms to one of multiple signal voltage specifications, and the signal voltage specification includes a first voltage specification and a second voltage specification, the first voltage specification is associated with a first operating voltage, the second voltage specification is associated with a second operating voltage, and the first operating voltage is higher than the second operating voltage; A control circuit, used to generate a conversion control signal and a selection control signal according to the detection result; A conversion circuit, used to convert a system terminal signal into a system terminal-to-memory card terminal conversion signal according to the conversion control signal as a memory card terminal when the detection result indicates that the memory card signal conforms to the first voltage specification outputting a signal, wherein the system-side signal complies with the second voltage specification, and the system-side-to-memory card-side conversion signal complies with the first voltage specification; and a selection circuit, used to receive the system terminal signal when the detection result indicates that the memory card signal conforms to the first voltage specification, and output the system terminal signal to the conversion circuit according to the selection control signal to generate the system terminal to The conversion signal at the memory card end is used as the output signal at the memory card end, and the selection circuit is also used to receive the system end signal when the detection result indicates that the memory card signal conforms to the second voltage specification, and output the signal according to the selection control signal. The system-side signal is used as the memory card-side output signal. 6. The intermediate circuit as claimed in claim 5, wherein the difference between the first operating voltage and the second operating voltage is not less than 1 volt. 7. The intermediate circuit as claimed in claim 6, wherein the first operating voltage is not less than 3 volts, and the second operating voltage is not greater than 2 volts. 8. The intermediary circuit as claimed in claim 5, wherein the conversion circuit comprises: a receiver for outputting a signal to be converted to a converter according to a system terminal signal when the detection result indicates that the memory card signal complies with the first voltage specification; and The converter is used for converting the signal to be converted into a converted signal from the system end to the memory card end according to the conversion control signal when the detection result indicates that the memory card signal conforms to the first voltage specification. 9. An intermediary circuit for memory card access, characterized in that it comprises: A conversion circuit, used to receive a memory card signal according to a first voltage specification, and convert the memory card signal into a memory card terminal-to-system terminal conversion signal conforming to a second voltage specification for outputting to a system terminal. The conversion circuit is also used to receive a system-side signal according to the second voltage specification, and convert the system-side signal into a system-side-to-memory card-side conversion signal conforming to the first voltage specification to output to a memory card side, wherein The first voltage specification is associated with a first operating voltage, the second voltage specification is associated with a second operating voltage, and the first operating voltage is higher than the second operating voltage. 10. The intermediate circuit as claimed in claim 9, wherein the difference between the first operating voltage and the second operating voltage is not less than 1 volt.