Expansion card

Details Expansion card Expansion card

1998-11-25

2001-03-27

Thai, Xuan M. (Department: 2181)

Electrical computers and digital data processing systems: input/

Intrasystem connection

Bus access regulation

C710S011000, C710S014000, C710S105000, C713S001000

Reexamination Certificate

active

06209050

ABSTRACT:

The present invention relates to an expansion card as set forth in the appended claim
1
, a method for controlling the expansion card as set forth in the appended claim
5
, and a mobile station as set forth in the appended claim
10
.
In connection with data processors, modem cards are used for transmitting information via a telecommunication network between data processors which can be even very far from each other. There are internal modems which are formed as modem cards to be inserted in an expansion slot, external modems which can be connected to the data processor e.g. via a serial port, and particularly for portable data processors, modem cards have been developed in card form according to the PCMCIA standard. Irrespective of the type of the modem, the modems can almost without exception be controlled with so-called AT commands. The AT commands are defined e.g. in the standard 07.07 formulated by the European Telecommunications Standards Institute ETSI. By means of these AT commands, the data communications application program can determine various function parameters for the modems, give the telephone number to be selected, etc. The AT commands are used in a way that the data communication application program started in the data processor generates a character string starting with the letters AT followed by the actual command to be carried out. For example, the selection of the telephone number 123456 can be gives as the command ATDT123456, where the letter D indicates that it is a selection for dialling a telephone number and the last letter T indicates that the telephone number is generated on the basis of the voice-frequency method. Another alternative is the selection of a pulse string (ATDP . . . ).
The formed AT command is transmitted from the connection interface of the data communication application program (data communication application interface) advantageously via a so-called device driver to the modem, where the command is received and interpreted. This device driver can control cards or serial ports or the like connected with the data processor. There are different types of device drivers for different use purposes, which is prior art known to an expert in the field and which does not need to be described further in this context.
The purpose of the data communication application interface is e.g. to generate AT commands on the basis of information given by the user, to be transmitted to the modem, and to give the user information coming through the modem, e.g. a message transmitted from another data processor on the display of the user's data processor. Thus, the user does not necessarily need to know anything about these AT commands.
The PCMCIA connection (Personal Computer Memory Card International Association) is a known connection used with electronic devices for connecting expansion cards, such as memory cards (e.g. FLASH memory cards), modems and various input/output cards (I/O) with the electronic device. Thus, the electronic device and the PCMCIA card are provided with connectors complying with the PCMCIA standard so that the connector of the electronic device is a so-called male connector, i.e. it has connector pins, and the card connector is a so-called female connector, i.e. it has conductor sockets, wherein when the PCMCIA card is connected with the PCMCIA connector of the electronic device, an electric coupling is formed between each connector pin and the corresponding conductor socket. The PCMCIA standard defines the usual functions for each connector pin and corresponding conductor socket. Consequently, for example in an application where the PCMCIA connection is implemented in a computer, each data line in the data bus of the computer is connected to one connector pin in the PCMCIA connector. Further, at least some of the address and control lines are conducted to the connector.
The PCMCIA cards have the size of a credit card (85.6 mm×54 mm), but the thickness of the cards may be 3.3 mm (type I), 5.0 mm (type II) or 10.5 mm (type III). Electrically, the PCMCIA cards are connected with the electronic device in an 8/16 bit I/O connection or memory. The card complying with the PCMCIA standard has a memory space which is readable to the electronic device and contains information for identifying the card, an information structure data file (card information structure, CIS).
Particularly in connection with portable data processors (Laptop PC), mobile station applications have been developed in which at least the transmitter/receiver unit of the mobile station is arranged in the PCMCIA standard card form. The unit used for controlling the operation of the card is advantageously a microcontroller (MCU) comprising e.g. a processor, a memory (RAM, ROM), and I/O lines for connecting the microcontroller with the other electronics of the card. Further, an external memory can be connected to the microcontroller.
The transmitter comprises e.g. a modulator for modulating the signal to be transmitted, filters particularly for attenuating spurious emissions, a mixer where the modulated signal is mixed with the local oscillator frequency for generating a radio-frequency signal, and a power amplifier for amplifying the signal to be transmitted. The amplified signal is transmitted to an antenna which is coupled to the card e.g. via a cable. The receiver comprises e.g. filters for filtering received signals, a mixer for converting the received radio-frequency signal to an intermediate frequency or, in a direct conversion type receiver, to a baseband frequency; and a detector for demodulating the received signal.
This kind of an expansion card can be advantageously used e.g. for the transmission of data between data processors via a mobile communication network, such as a GSM mobile communication network. Consequently, the expansion card is used as a modem for the data processor. It is thus advantageous to control such an expansion card by using above-mentioned standardised AT commands. This improves compatibility between different data communication application programs and modems and reduces dependency on certain modem solutions. On the other hand, there is an increasing need for such wireless communication, and it is thus advantageous to implement this wireless communication device so that it can be easily entered into a data communication connection with the data processor.
Below in this specification, the term expansion card refers particularly to such cards that can be used as modems, but the present invention is not limited solely to such modem applications.
However, modem applications and expansion cards of this kind can be provided with, in addition to said standardised AT function mode, one or several other function modes in which the expansion card can be controlled in a different way than with said AT commands. In this case, however, it is advantageous that the expansion card, in connection with turning on, is set in this AT function mode, wherein the function mode can be changed by means of a mode switching command or the like defined for this purpose.
When these kinds of expansion cards are connected with an electronic device, situations may occur when the expansion card is, for some reason or another, unexpectedly reset to its initial state. If such an unexpected turning on takes place in a situation when the expansion card is in another mode than the AT function mode, the expansion card, when turned on, may not necessarily be capable of understanding control commands transmitted by the data communication application interface. Thus, the whole data communication application interface may be stopped and data transmission interrupted. In some situations, it may even be possible that the expansion card connected to the data processor is unexpectedly reset to its initial state, possibly causing also a functional failure (jam) in the data processor, even though the expansion card is not used at the time. As a result, maybe the whole data processor must be turned on again, which is time consuming, and important information may be lost in t

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