Exemplary embodiments of the present invention relate generally to digital devices, such as digital cameras, and related systems and methods for sending files or other data wirelessly from a host digital device to an external digital location by, for example, utilizing the host device's existing media card slot.
Devices such as digital still cameras (“DSCs”) often rely on removable, non-volatile media cards to store image and other data (e.g., metadata concerning the image data). Other digital media devices such as audio/video recorders/players (e.g., mobile phones, personal digital assistants, MP3 players, digital video cameras, trail cameras, etc.) also use such media cards to store a variety of digital media (e.g., images, movies, audio, etc.). Several media card formats exist, including Secure Digital (SD) cards, Multi Media Cards (MMC), Compact Flash (CF) I and II cards, Memory Sticks (MS), and xD Picture (xD) cards. As used herein, the term media card is intended to refer to all such digital media storage devices, regardless of physical format.
Commonly, in order to extract images or other data from these media cards, a tethered serial connection (such as USB) to a personal computer (or similar device) is required, or the card must be removed and inserted into a personal computer (or similar device). For example, images can be uploaded to personal computers via card readers or wired connections between the cameras hosting the media cards and the personal computers.
More recently, digital cameras having wireless network connectivity have become available. These cameras permit connectivity with wireless networks (usually such networks are compliant with IEEE 802.11 a/b/g/n standards) to transfer the data from the media card to an external digital location such as a personal computer. However, such cameras are typically more expensive than non-wireless network capable DSCs.
In addition, companies such as Eye-FI, Toshiba, and others are producing media cards that have wireless network connectivity. As used herein, the term wireless media card is intended to refer to all such media cards that have wireless connectivity, regardless of manufacturer. However, wireless media cards generally have limited range as compared to commercially available wireless routers and other wireless technologies such as XBee and ZigBee that use low frequency RF to cover longer distances. In addition, wireless media cards consume power from the host device in order to transmit/receive data. This power consumption causes the host device to have a shortened battery life as compared to a host device using a non-wireless media card. These disadvantages are difficult to overcome because the manufacturer is limited to the space allotted to a media card slot on the host device. Without extra space, longer range wireless technologies and battery packs cannot be included in a typical wireless media card design.
In view of the shortcomings of the known art, there is a need for a system and method for transferring images and other data from a digital device to an external location that does not require a hard-wired connection to the external location. There is also a need for a system and method for transferring images or other data from a digital device that does not require removal of the media card from the digital device. In addition, there is a need for a system and method for transferring images and other data from a digital device that is not subject to or otherwise improves upon the aforementioned limitations of known wireless technologies.
An exemplary embodiment of the present invention may address one or more of the aforementioned needs. In an exemplary embodiment, a system and method of the present invention is able to connect to a host digital device by using a media card connection cable that may comprise a pseudo media card and a connection cable. The cable is connected to a processing circuit. In an exemplary embodiment, the processing circuit may share the use of at least one media card that may store data from the host device. An exemplary embodiment of the processing circuit may be in electrical communication with at least one wireless source such that the at least one wireless source is adapted to transmit an image or other data to a desired external location or locations. Furthermore, in an exemplary embodiment, the processing circuit may be housed in a case that is also large enough to house a power circuit and the at least one wireless source. An example of the power circuit may include at least one battery such that the system is adapted to overcome the aforementioned current/power limitations in the known market. Furthermore, an exemplary embodiment of the at least one wireless source may have a longer range than the aforementioned known wireless technologies. For example, an embodiment of the at least one wireless source may be in association with a cellular and/or web network.
In an exemplary embodiment, a user may be able to use an intuitive setup sequence to program the system to send files from the host device to any number of external digital locations including, but not limited to, e-mail, mobile phone, personal computer, remote storage device, or any other locations. Additionally, in an exemplary embodiment, a transmission sequence may be such that data is never lost if a transmission fails. Instead, the file or other data may be located on at least one media card at least until a transmission is successful. Furthermore, an example of a power circuit may be designed so that the battery life is not expended when the unit is not transmitting files from the host device. An exemplary embodiment may also include a novel arrangement of at least one switch (e.g., transistors, MOSFETs, bus switches, digital switches, integrated circuit switches, microprocessors, etc.) in the processing circuit that allows for efficient sharing of the at least one media card between the host device and the processing circuit to facilitate the transfer of image or other data.
In addition to the novel features and advantages mentioned above, other benefits will be readily apparent from the following descriptions of the drawings and exemplary embodiments.