A novel compatible hardware expansion method based on general memory interface

A new hardware expansion method based on memory card slot has been proposed in this paper, which can make the extended equipment more compatible with hosts that are running on different platforms. The main idea of our method is based on the fact that the logic interface between client devices and the higher level is memory card, and memory host controllers and drivers are all compatible with expansion memory cards; therefore, the driver of the extended equipment can communicate with the equipment smoothly through files in the operating system instead of employing API at the lower level. In this way, the host that supports memory cards will support the extended equipment, which brings much advantage in cross-platform compatibility and transportability. As an example to verify the proposed method, the hardware design framework for Zigbee transceiver based on SD slot is introduced. © 2009 IEEE.