Video-game memory card expansion connector

Abstract

A video-game memory card expansion connector includes a housing having a card slot for a memory card supplied by an original manufacturer of the video game to insert thereinto and a plug head adapted to plug onto a main unit of the video game, and an expansion circuit provided in the housing and including at least one data control element and at least one memory element, as well as at least a group of memory card contacts adapted to electrically connect to the memory card inserted into the card slot and a connecting head adapted to electrically connect to a circuit in the video-game main unit for connecting the expansion circuit to the video-game main unit. The at least one data control element enables the at least one memory element of the expansion circuit to read out and write in data and to be compatible with the memory card supplied by the original manufacturer of the video-game main unit, allowing the video-game main unit to have an expanded memory capacity.

What is claimed is:  
     
         1 . A video-game memory card expansion connector, comprising: 
 a housing being provided at two opposite ends separately with a card slot for a memory card supplied by an original manufacturer of the video game to insert thereinto and a plug head adapted to plug onto a main unit of the video game; and    an expansion circuit being provided in said housing at a predetermined position and including at least a group of memory card contacts corresponding to said card slot and a connecting head corresponding to said plug head, such that said memory card provided by the original manufacturer inserted into said card slot is connected to said memory card contacts in said housing and said connecting head connects said expansion circuit to said video-game main unit; and said expansion circuit also including at least one memory element and at least one data control element, said at least one data control element being capable of obtaining from said video-game main unit a driving code that is needed to enable a memory function of said video game, and then sending out a control signal to enable said at least one memory element to read out and write in data and to incorporate said at least one memory element into a data read-out and write-in function of said memory card supplied by the original manufacturer needed by said video-game main unit, making said memory card expansion connector workable to provide said video-game main unit an expanded memory.    
     
     
         2 . A video-game memory card expansion connector as claimed in  claim 1 , wherein said card slot at one end of said housing has a rectangular profile.  
     
     
         3 . A video-game memory card expansion connector as claimed in  claim 1 , wherein said expansion circuit includes a pair of said data control elements, a first data control element of which obtaining from said video-game main unit said driving code supplied by the original manufacturer and sending said driving code to a second data control element of said pair of data control elements, said second data control element, on receipt of said driving code, sending out a control signal to enable said at least one memory element to read out and write in data, making said memory card expansion connector workable to provide said video-game main unit an expanded memory.  
     
     
         4 . A video-game memory card expansion connector as claimed in  claim 1 , wherein said housing is in a form of a card and has a connecting case electrically connected to a first end of said housing via a power cord connected to said expansion circuit; said card-shaped housing having a second end adapted to plug into said card slot provided on said video-game main unit, and said connecting case being provided with a card slot into which said memory card supplied by the original manufacturer for said video-game main unit is inserted.  
     
     
         5 . A video-game memory card expansion connector as claimed in  claim 4 , wherein said connecting case is provided in said card slot with a group of memory card contacts for electrically connecting said memory card inserted into said card slot to said video-game main unit via said power cord and said expansion circuit in said housing.  
     
     
         6 . A video-game memory card expansion connector, comprising: 
 a housing being provided at two opposite ends separately with a card slot for a memory card supplied by an original manufacturer of the video game to insert thereinto and a plug head adapted to plug onto a main unit of the video game; and    an expansion circuit being provided in said housing at a predetermined position and including at least a group of memory card contacts corresponding to said card slot and a connecting head corresponding to said plug head, such that said memory card provided by the original manufacturer inserted into said card slot is connected to said memory card contacts in said housing and said connecting head connects said expansion circuit to said video-game main unit; and said expansion circuit also including at least one memory element and at least one data control element, said data control element, according to an internally stored driving code data, being capable of sending out a control signal to enable said at least one memory element to read out and write in data and to incorporate said at least one memory element into a data read-out and write-in function of said memory card supplied by the original manufacturer needed by said video-game main unit, making said memory card expansion connector workable to provide said video-game main unit an expanded memory.    
     
     
         7 . A video-game memory card expansion connector as claimed in  claim 6 , wherein said housing is in a form of a card and has a connecting case electrically connected to a first end of said housing via a power cord connected to said expansion circuit; said card-shaped housing having a second end adapted to plug into said card slot provided on said video-game main unit, and said connecting case being provided with a card slot into which said memory card supplied by the original manufacturer for said video-game main unit is inserted.  
     
     
         8 . A video-game memory card expansion connector as claimed in  claim 7 , wherein said connecting case is provided in said card slot with a group of memory card contacts for electrically connecting said memory card inserted into said card slot to said video-game main unit via said power cord and said expansion circuit in said housing.