JPH04367090A - Memory card with display - Google Patents

Abstract

PURPOSE:To confirm the title of data by a card single body and to correctly search the purpose card even when there are many memory cards of the same format and the memory card is inserted into a main body every time and the content is not confirmed. CONSTITUTION:A liquid crystal displaying part 2 is provided on a memory card 1, the data such as a title are stored in a displaying content storing part 6, a power switch 4 attached to the card is pushed, and thus, the data such as the stored title are displayed at a liquid crystal displaying part.

Description

[Detailed description of the invention]

0001

BACKGROUND OF THE INVENTION 1. Field of the Invention The present invention relates to a memory card as an external storage medium, and more particularly to a memory card with a display device suitable for checking the contents stored on the memory card.

0002

2. Description of the Related Art In recent years, memory cards have been attracting attention as a medium for storing or moving data in the field of new small electronic devices. In the conventional method, data on the memory card is transferred to the built-in RAM via the CPU, or data is transferred from the built-in RAM to the memory card via the CPU, as described in Japanese Patent Application Laid-Open No. 168755/1983. It was only a matter of transferring. However, nowadays, individuals carry around multiple memory cards of the same format, and when checking the contents of each one,
Each time, I had to turn off the power to the CPU, insert the memory card into the main body, turn on the power to the CPU again, and then access the data to check the contents of the data on the main body. There is also a way to check the data by pasting a display sticker on the memory card to show the contents of the data, but the memory card is small and there are cases where it is not possible to put a sticker on the card, and there are cases where it is not possible to put a sticker on the card. There is a drawback that mistakes are likely to occur due to writing and erasing many times.

0003

[Problems to be Solved by the Invention] The above-mentioned conventional technology merely transfers data on a memory card to an internal storage device via the CPU, or transfers data on an internal storage device to a memory card for backup. However, there was a problem in that once the memory card was removed from the main body, it was impossible to check the contents of the memory card.

[0004] An object of the present invention is to provide a display device on a memory card so that the contents can be quickly retrieved using a single memory card, without having to repeatedly insert the card into the CPU main body and check the contents of the data. The object of the present invention is to efficiently use a memory card by knowing the data contents inside the memory card.

[0005]

[Means for Solving the Problems] In order to achieve the above object, the present invention provides a storage section for a title representing the content of data in a part of the RAM section of a memory card, and indicates whether or not there is data in this area. An identification signal and a data title are stored, and the identification signal is referenced to display the title content on a display device when data is available and power is supplied from a solar cell or the like.

[0006]

[Operation] When the power for the display device is turned on, the display content storage section stored in a part of the RAM section in the memory card is first searched, and if there is a signal indicating this area, the display device is turned on. drive it and display its information. As a result, even if there are many memory cards of the same type, the user can accurately search for the desired card based on the displayed information.

[0007]

DESCRIPTION OF THE PREFERRED EMBODIMENTS FIG. 1 is a perspective view of a memory card according to an embodiment of the present invention in which a liquid crystal display section is provided on the memory card and the title of the card can be displayed on the liquid crystal display section.

The memory card 1 includes a liquid crystal display section 2 for displaying information such as the title of the card, a solar cell 3 as a power source for driving the liquid crystal, and a power source for turning on and off the liquid crystal.
It is equipped with a power switch 4 for turning off the power, and a connector section for connecting to the main body CPU. FIG. 2 shows a system block diagram of this memory card.

A liquid crystal controller 9 is connected to the liquid crystal display section 2 of the memory card, and the liquid crystal controller and the liquid crystal display section can receive power from the solar cell 3 through the power switch 4. Further, this liquid crystal controller 9 is capable of accessing data to a display content storage section 6 which is a part of the RAM section 5. The RAM section 5 is connected to the CPU main body through the connector 8, and thereby reading and writing of stored data is performed. In addition, the RAM section 5 receives power from the battery 7.
It is constantly receiving data and always retains its stored data. Note that the power switch 4 may be a switch that is automatically turned on when the solar cell can generate sufficient power, so that the display automatically starts due to illumination.

Now, the data processing procedure will be explained with reference to FIG. 3 in the case where this system having this configuration is provided with an external device, such as a power switch or a light.

When the power supply to the solar cell 3 starts, the liquid crystal controller 9 accesses the display content storage section 6 (step 11), identifies the presence or absence of data content in the card (step 12), and displays this area. If so, the display device is activated. (Step 13).Then, the content of the data is converted into dot data for display, and characters are displayed on the liquid crystal display (Step 12).At this time, check whether the number of characters in the liquid crystal is greater than a certain number. (step 14), and if it is less than a certain number, always
All the characters are displayed (step 16), and when the number exceeds a certain number, the characters on the liquid crystal are sequentially shifted and displayed (step 18). FIG. 4 shows a display example in the case of shift display. Also, if power is supplied from a solar battery or power switch, characters will continue to be displayed on the LCD (steps 17 and 1).
9) After that, after a certain period of time or when the power supply from the solar battery stops, the power is automatically turned off (step 22) and the display is stopped. Furthermore, when a no-recording detection signal is detected in the display content storage area, it is determined that there is no title data, and the absence of data is displayed on the liquid crystal display section (step 15). Characters are displayed on the liquid crystal display until the power supply runs out. The display continues (step 21), and then the power is turned off.

According to this embodiment, it is not necessary to insert the card into the CPU main body each time to check the contents of the card, and a user who owns many memory cards of the same format can easily insert the desired memory card. You can easily find it by looking at the LCD display on the card. Furthermore, when the number of characters is more than a certain value, the characters are displayed in sequence, which can be used even when the amount of titles is large, so that a sufficient amount of data can be displayed as a title. In addition, by using a memory card with a display device that displays a title in a part of the memory, data such as a salesman's daily route and report can be collected through the memory card into a host computer for overall management. In such systems, when writing data to a memory card in advance,
By operating the system so that the owned salesman's name and date are automatically entered into the display content storage area, it is possible to automatically update the date, etc., and improve the operation of the salesman support system. There are advantages such as

[0013]

[Effects of the Invention] According to the present invention, a user who owns a large number of memory cards of the same format can check the data contents of the memory card without pasting a sticker on the card and writing in it with a ballpoint pen or the like. However, since the contents are displayed on the display device of the memory card, the desired card can be quickly and accurately found just by checking the display section.

[0014] Furthermore, if a solar battery is used as a power source for driving the display device when displaying, instead of using a RAM backup battery, the backup battery will not be consumed, and the conventional backup power source can be used instead. The memory card can be used at any time.

[Brief explanation of drawings]

[Fig. 1] Perspective view of a memory card.

[Figure 2] System block diagram,

[Fig. 3] Explanatory diagram of data processing procedure,

FIG. 4 is an explanatory diagram of an example of shift display.

[Explanation of symbols]

1...Memory card 2...Liquid crystal display section 3...Solar cell

Claims (3)

[Claims] 1. A card-type IC memory backup system including a memory element for storing and retaining data and a battery for backing up the memory, comprising a display device for informing the contents of the memory. Memory card. 2. A memory card with a display device according to claim 1, further comprising a solar cell as a power source for driving said display device. 3. The memory card with a display device according to claim 1, wherein the display device is driven by means for pressing a power switch to display the contents and to automatically turn off the power to the display device after a few seconds. .