Read/write device using modular electronic memory

Claim 1

A device for writing and reading data, said device being of the type in which a modular electronic memory unit in the form of a flat rectangular package is capable of being put into co-operation with a read/write apparatus including a housing suitable for receiving said package, the device including the improvements whereby: said memory unit comprises a plurality of hybrid integrated circuits including electronic memory chips, and defining a memory capacity of at least about 0.25 megabits; said package includes a male connector portion at the rear thereof, said connector portion being connected to said internal hybrid circuits and including at least 8 data pins, 15 address pins, 4 write pins, together with power supply pins, erasure pins and enable pins; said male connector being suitable for co-operating with a corresponding female connector cushion-mounted at the end of the housing in the read/write apparatus; said package includes slideways on its small side faces, said slideways being at least partially electrically conductive and being suitable for co-operating with guide members mounted opposite thereto in said housing and fitted with conductive portions coming into contact with the conductive portions of the slideways, and connected to the apparatus' electrical ground; co-operating centering means are provided on the package and in the housing in the apparatus, on either side of their respective connector portions; the memory package includes, at the front end of one of its slideways, a rack segment suitable for co-operating with a segment of toothed wheel rotatably mounted opposite thereto and in the read/write apparatus, said apparatus further including means for controlling said toothed wheel in order to insert and to extract said memory package; and said read/write apparatus which includes electronic means for reading from and for writing to said hybrid circuits, is provided with at least one presence detector for detecting when a memory package is fully inserted, said detector being connected in such a manner that when a package is not fully inserted writing data to the memory package is inhibited, and preferably all data interchange therewith is inhibited.

Claim 2

A device for writing and reading data, said device being of the type in which a modular electronic memory unit in the form of a flat rectangular package is capable of being put into co-operation with a read/write apparatus including a housing suitable for receiving said package, the device including the improvements whereby: said memory unit comprises a plurality of hybrid integrated circuits including electronic memory chips, and defining a memory capacity of at least about 0.25 megabits; said package includes a male connector portion at the rear thereof, said connector portion being connected to said internal hybrid circuits and including at least 8 data pins, 15 address pins, 4 write pins, together with power supply pins, erasure pins and enable pins; said male connector being suitable for co-operating with a corresponding female connector cushion-mounted at the end of the housing in the read/write apparatus; said package includes slideways on its small side faces, said slideways being at least partially electrically conductive and being suitable for co-operating with guide members mounted opposite thereto in said housing and fitted with conductive portions coming into contact with the conductive portions of the slideways, and connected to the apparatus' electrical ground; co-operating centering means are provided on the package and in the housing in the apparatus, on either side of their respective connector portions; the memory package includes, at the front end of one of its slideways, a rack segment suitable for co-operating with a segment of toothed wheel rotatably mounted opposite thereto and in the read/write apparatus, said apparatus further including means for controlling said toothed wheel in order to insert and to extract said memory package; and said read/write apparatus which includes electronic means for reading from and for writing to said hybrid circuits, is provided with at least one presence detector for detecting when a memory package is fully inserted, said detector being connected in such a manner that when a package is not fully inserted writing data to the memory package is inhibited, and preferably all data interchange therewith is inhibited.