JP2004005725A - File management device, file management method, recording medium, and file management system - Google Patents

Abstract

<P>PROBLEM TO BE SOLVED: To facilitate management for a directory and a file, and to remarkably reduce a burden for processing in the management. <P>SOLUTION: This device/system/method is provided with the files having a file number, a storage means for storing the directory having a directory entry comprising the file number and group information in the every file, and a management means for managing the file indicated by the file number of the directory entry of the stored one directory, or the directory, to be on a hierarchy subordinate to the one directory. The management means collects the respective files the group by the group to be displayed, based on the group information of the one directory read out from the storage means. <P>COPYRIGHT: (C)2004,JPO

Description

The present invention relates to a file management device, a file management method, a recording medium, and a file management system that manage each file according to a hierarchical structure of directories and files.

2. Description of the Related Art Conventionally, a file including data such as images and sounds has been managed by a hierarchical structure of directories and files. In such a hierarchical structure, each directory or each file has its own directory name or file name, and it is necessary to hold information on the names of the upper and lower directories and files. Therefore, when a file stored in an external storage device is not given a name, a normal computer manages each file after giving a name to the file.
JP-A-4-335784

However, some files, such as images and music, can be easily handled without naming them, and the computer requires all files and directories to have their own Managing all files and the like using names is not an efficient process, and may increase the processing load. Further, in the file management method as described above, since information for managing each file is concentrated in the directory, an area for managing the information of the directory becomes large, and further, when the directory is destroyed. It was impossible to restore the above hierarchical structure.

と Also, when the number of files in the directory increases, there are times when you want to group these files according to use or type. At this time, in the conventional hierarchical structure, it is necessary to further provide a directory or change the file name of the file to be grouped. However, providing a directory for simple grouping requires a large processing load. Further, even if each file is given a file name unique to the group for file grouping, if the file name is changed again, the group cannot be divided.

Also, conventional directories and files do not have use / type information indicating, for example, images taken by a camera, and are managed after determining how to use them in an application format. Processing load was heavy.

The present invention has been proposed in view of such a situation, and a file management apparatus and a file management apparatus which can easily manage directories and files and greatly reduce the processing load when managing them. It is an object to provide a method, a recording medium, and a file management system.

A file management device according to the present invention includes a storage unit that stores a file having a file number, a directory having a directory entry including a file number and group information for each file, and a directory entry of one stored directory. Management means for managing the file or directory indicated by the file number in a hierarchy below the one directory, the management means based on the group information of the one directory read from the storage means, Collect and display files in groups.

The file management method according to the present invention stores a file having a file number and a directory having a directory entry made up of the file number and the group information for each file, and the file number of the stored directory entry of one directory is The file or directory indicated is managed so as to be in a hierarchy below the one directory, the group information of the one directory is read, and each file is collected for each group based on the read group information of the one directory. To display.

The recording medium according to the present invention records a file having a file number, and a directory having a directory entry for each file, the directory entry including a file number and group information for managing the files by distinguishing each file. The file or directory indicated by the file number of the directory entry of the directory is managed so as to be in a hierarchy below the one directory, the group information of the one directory is read, and the read group of the one directory is read. Based on the information, the files are collected and displayed in groups.

A file management system according to the present invention includes a recording medium for recording a file having a file number, a directory having a directory entry including a file number and group information for each file, and a file read from the storage unit. A management unit having storage means for storing a directory, and management means for managing a file or a directory indicated by a file number of a directory entry of one directory so as to be in a hierarchy below the one directory; The management unit of the unit collects and displays the files for each group based on the group information of the one directory read from the storage unit.

The file management method according to the present invention records a file having a file number, and a directory having a directory entry composed of a file number and group information for each file on a recording medium, and from the recording medium, the file, the directory, And stores the read file and directory, and manages the file or directory indicated by the file number of the directory entry of the stored one directory so that the file or directory is in a lower hierarchy than the one directory. Each file or directory is collected and displayed for each group based on the group information of the directory.

According to the present invention, each file can be grouped without providing a new directory on the recording medium. Therefore, it is possible to execute the grouping of each file which is equivalent to the function of the directory, while avoiding the processing load of the management unit and the increase in the amount of data in the recording medium due to the provision of the new directory.

Hereinafter, embodiments of the present invention will be described with reference to the drawings.

The present invention is applied to the memory card system 1 having the configuration shown in FIG. The memory card system 1 includes a host computer 10 and a memory card 20.

Specifically, as shown in FIG. 1, the host computer 10 includes a hard disk 11 that stores various files such as still images and audio, a directory that collectively manages the files, a file from the hard disk 11 and the like. (Random Access Memory) 12 for temporarily storing data and a first serial interface (hereinafter referred to as a “first serial I / F”) for transmitting and receiving data to and from the memory card 20 via three lines. The system includes a CPU 13 and a CPU (Central Processing Unit) 14 that controls each circuit. For example, files such as images and sounds stored in the hard disk 11 can be managed in a hierarchical structure using directories.

The RAM 12 temporarily stores a file stored in the hard disk 11, for example, and supplies the file to the first serial I / F 13 via a bus as needed.

(1) The first serial I / F 13 transmits data to the memory card 20 and receives data stored in the memory card 20 via three lines. Specifically, the first serial I / F 13 transmits, via the first line, the serial clock SCK for transmitting the control data and the file. The first serial I / F 13 outputs a chip select signal CS indicating a state at that time according to switching of serial data such as a file or control data on the first line via the second line. . Further, the first serial I / F 13 transmits a file to be written to the memory card 20 and control data, and receives a file read from the memory card 20 via the third line.

The CPU 14 reads a file from the RAM 12 or the hard disk 11, controls writing of a file to the RAM 12, or the like, and controls transmission and reception of a file and the like to and from the memory card 20. For example, the CPU 14 issues a register instruction for determining whether the write protection of an erroneous erasure prevention switch (not shown) of the memory card 20 is turned on, or specifies an address to the memory card 20 to specify a predetermined file. Issue a write instruction.

Here, as shown in FIG. 1, the memory card 20 includes a second serial I / F 21 that serially transmits and receives files and control data from the host computer 10, a flash memory 22 that stores files and directories, A controller 23 for controlling reading or writing of files and the like stored in the flash memory 22;

The flash memory 22 is, for example, a NAND type. As shown in FIG. 2, a file transmitted from the host computer 10 is divided into blocks (for example, 8 kbytes or 16 kbytes) serving as an erasing unit and stored. I do. Each of the blocks 0, 1, 2,..., N is composed of one page (= 512 bytes + 16 bytes) formed by a data area for storing 512 bytes of files and the like and a 16-byte redundant area. The redundant area stores distribution management information for managing data in the data area of the block. When these pieces of distributed management information are collected, set management information (set management file) is configured. The collective management file is composed of several blocks and collectively manages the recording state of the data of all the blocks. For example, a part of the distributed management information of each block in the flash memory 22 is collectively managed. It has a bitmap table.

Here, there are two types of files: a user file format used for images and sounds, and a system file format for system management. It is stored in the data area of one or more blocks.

As shown in FIG. 3, the file in the user file format includes a 512-byte header part as attribute information of the file and a data part as main information. The header section has a 128-byte OS header that is information for managing the file in the memory card 20 and a general-purpose OS header that can be handled by a normal personal computer or the like, and has a 240-byte indispensable management information. And a 144-byte entry area. The data section has a table data area and four entry data. In the data section shown in FIG. 3, up to four entry data are stored. That is, a file in the user file format is configured from a maximum of four entry data. Further, in FIG. 3, the index data, the image data, and the two auxiliary data are taken as examples of the entry data, but the entry data is not particularly limited, and may be other audio data.

Specifically, as shown in FIG. 4, the OS header includes "file ID" (2 bytes), "file version" (2 bytes), "file size" (4 bytes), and "number of used blocks" (2 bytes). Byte), "number of links" (1 byte), "date" (8 bytes), "manufacturer / model code" (4 bytes), "initial registration directory number" (2 bytes), "application category" (1 byte) , "File name" (11 bytes), "keyword registration number" (1 byte), "keyword character code" (1 byte), "keyword character string" (32 bytes), "0 reset reserve" (4 bytes), It has “individual data” (32 bytes) and an unused area “reserve”.

“File ID” indicates the type (use) of a file, and the file header has the same type. The “file version” indicates a so-called version number, and is used to determine whether the host computer 10 or the memory card 20 can process the file. “File size” indicates the total size of the file including the header part and the data part in bytes. The “number of used blocks” indicates the number of blocks using the file in the flash memory 22. The “number of links” indicates the number of directories or files referencing the file. The “number of links” includes the directory to which the file belongs. For example, a file that is not referenced from another directory is linked only to the directory to which it belongs, so the “number of links” is one. "Date" indicates the date when the file was created or the date when the file was updated. The “maker / type code” indicates the manufacturer name and the model of the device that wrote the file to the memory card 20. The “initial registration directory number” indicates the directory number registered first, and is not updated even when a file is moved to another directory. “Application category” indicates a category of an application in which this file is used. The “file name” is a file name used when managing files in the host computer 10, and is not particularly used in the memory card 20. The “keyword registration number” indicates the number of registered keywords. “Keyword character code” indicates the character code of the keyword. The "keyword character string" can specify a plurality of keywords by determining a keyword and a separator. "0 reset reserve" is always set to 0 at the time of rewriting. The “individual data” is used for management for each file ID, and is data used for a purpose determined by the file ID, for example, and can be used freely by the user.

Specifically, as shown in FIG. 5, the file header includes "standard identification data" (8 bytes), "file standard identification data" (8 bytes), "file ID" (2 bytes), and "file version". (2 bytes), “Application creation date” (8 bytes), “Application update date” (8 bytes), “Creation maker / model code” (4 bytes), “Update maker / model code” (4 bytes), “ “0 reset reserve” (16 bytes), “number of data entries” (1 byte), “number of tables” (1 byte), “character code” (1 byte), “title character string” (128 bytes), and unused It has an area "reserve".

規格 “Standard identification data” indicates that the flash memory 22 stores a file according to a predetermined standard. “File standard identification data” indicates that the file has been created in accordance with the predetermined standard. The “file ID” indicates the type of a file, and the OS header has the same type. “File version” indicates a version number. The “application creation date” indicates the date on which the application was created, and the “application update date” indicates the date on which the application was updated. The “creating maker / type code” indicates the maker that created the file and its model name, and the “updated maker / type code” indicates the maker that updated the file and its model name. The “number of data entries” indicates the number of entry data described later. The “number of tables” indicates the number of data in the table data area. “Character code” indicates an input character by a predetermined code number. "Title character string" indicates a title character.

(4) The entry area stores data (hereinafter, referred to as “entries”) for managing four entry data in the data section.

Each entry in the entry area is provided corresponding to four entry data. As shown in FIG. 5, for each of the four entry data, a “start address” (4 bytes) and a “data size” (4 bytes) ), “Data type ID” (1 byte), “reserved” (1 byte), and “individual data” (26 bytes). For example, the “start address” of entry 1 indicates the leading logical address of “entry data 1 index” shown in FIG. 3, and the “start address” of entry 2 indicates the leading logical address of “entry data 2 image data”.

On the other hand, as a file in the system file format, for example, a directory file corresponds, and the configuration of the header portion is different from that in the user file format.

Here, one directory is composed of one file, that is, one directory file, and has a maximum size of 8 kbytes. The directory file is composed of a header part and a data part, and each file is managed mainly by directory information of the header part and a directory entry list of the data part.

As shown in FIG. 6, the header part of the directory file includes “OS header” (128 bytes), “file header” (240 bytes), “system entry area” (48 bytes), and “directory information” (96 bytes). ). The “OS header” and the “file header” are the same as those in the user file format described above.

The “system entry area” is almost the same as the user file format, but no individual data is provided for each entry. Specifically, as shown in FIG. 7, for each entry, “start address” (4 bytes), “data size” (4 bytes), “data type ID” (1 byte), “reserve” (3 bytes) ). For example, the “start address” of one entry indicates the head logical address of the group information described later, and the “start address” of the other entry indicates the head logical address of the directory entry described later.

“Directory information” manages directory information. As shown in FIG. 8, “directory ID” (2 bytes), “target file ID” (1 byte), “number of groups” (1 byte) , "Parent directory" (2 bytes), "number of directories" (2 bytes), "number of files (all files)" (2 bytes), "number of target files" (2 bytes), "access point" (2 bytes) , "Number of directory entries" (2 bytes), "Number of directory entries for system" (2 bytes), "Number of used system directory entries" (2 bytes), "Number of reserved blocks" (2 bytes), "Number of used blocks" (2 bytes) and an unused area “reserve” (72 bytes).

“Directory ID” indicates the type of directory, and “Target file ID” indicates the target file ID. That is, these do not indicate the names of the directories themselves or the files themselves, but indicate applications such as images and audio. The “target file ID” describes the upper one byte of the “file ID” of the target file of the directory. As a result, a file ID for identification by the “target flag” can be specified. If only the “target file ID” is changed, the file type of the directory can be easily changed. The “number of groups” is the number of groups registered when a plurality of files in the directory are grouped. The “parent directory” indicates the parent directory, that is, the directory number of the next higher hierarchy. “Number of directories” indicates the total number of directories included, and “number of files (all files)” indicates the number of all files included in the directory. “Number of target files” indicates the number of files that can be handled in the directory, that is, the number of target files included. “Access point” indicates a directory entry to be accessed first when access to the directory is started. The “number of directory entries” indicates the number of directory entries in the user area described later. The “number of system directory entries” indicates the number of directory entries in the system directory area. Specifically, as shown in FIG. 9, each directory file is provided with a system directory area and a user area. Note that these areas can be set for each directory. The system directory area is an area for handling a special file required for the system such as a management file, and the area is fixed by a directory entry. That is, the first to the predetermined number of directory entries correspond to the system directory area, and the other directory entries correspond to the user area. Therefore, “the number of directory entries for the system” indicates the number of directory entries for the system. The root directory has 256 system directories. On the other hand, in the user area, each directory entry is arranged without a gap from the start position of the area. “Number of used system directory entries” indicates the number of directory entries actually used in the system directory area. The “number of reserved blocks” indicates the number of blocks of the flash memory 22 that the application wants to reserve, and the “number of used blocks” indicates the number of blocks used by the application.

The data section of the directory file has “group information” (variable length) as entry data 1 and “directory entry list” (variable length) as entry data 2 as shown in FIG.

As shown in FIG. 10, "group information" includes "group number" (1 byte), "group information size" (1 byte), "directory ID" (2 bytes), and "0 reset reserve" (1 byte). , “Reserve” (3 bytes), “date” (8 bytes), “individual data” (8 bytes), and “title” (variable length).

"Group information" is information for grouping desired files in a directory. As will be described later in detail, a pseudo directory is provided substantially in a hierarchy below the directory. The “group information size” indicates the size of the group information, and has a fixed length of 24 bytes plus an arbitrary number of bytes of “title”. “Directory ID” is an ID assigned to each directory type, and “0 reset reserve” is always set to 0 when it is corrected. “Reserved” is set to 0 when the file is created. "Date" indicates the creation date of the file, which can be changed by the user. "Individual data" is not particularly defined, and "Title" indicates the title of the directory file.

The “directory entry list” indicates the elements belonging to the directory, and as shown in FIG. 11, is constituted by a plurality of directory entries. One directory entry is 4 bytes. The directory entry is composed of “file number” (2 bytes), “attribute information” (1 byte), and “group number” (1 byte).

As shown in FIG. 12, the "file number" has "0" in the first bit of 2 bytes, and the remaining 15 bits indicate the head logical address of the file or directory. When “0xffff” is indicated, it means that it is not used.

As shown in FIG. 13, the “attribute information” includes “directory / file” (1 bit), “target flag” (1 bit), “mark 1” (1 bit), “mark 2” (1 bit), It has information of “continuous recording” (2 bits) and “reserve” (2 bits). “Directory / file” indicates that there is a further directory below the directory when it is 1, and that there is a file when it is 0. When the "target flag" is 1, it indicates that the file has the target file ID specified by the directory information described above, and when it is 0, it indicates that the file is another file. For example, the file is used to determine whether the file is an image or a file other than an image. "Mark 1" indicates that mark 1 has been designated when it is 1, and that there is no such designation when it is 0. “Mark 2” is the same as “mark 1”. “Mark 1” and “Mark 2” are marking flags that can be specified by the user. “Continuous recording” is used to indicate any continuous set such as continuous shooting and simple moving images. This continuous recording requires that the directory entries be adjacent, that is, that the files be continuous. Specifically, "00" indicates a normal file, "11" indicates the head of a continuous file, and "10" indicates a continuously specified file. For example, in FIG. 14, each 2-bit number indicates the value of “continuous recording” of the file indicated by each directory entry. For example, files 2 to 5, and files 6 to 9 are continuously recorded. Note that the files grouped as a continuous record need to have consecutive directory entries of the parent directory and have the same “group number”. By giving each file two bits of information, a group of files in the directory can be identified as being continuously recorded. It should be noted that a case where one of the continuously recorded files is deleted or a new file is inserted will be described later in detail.

As shown in FIG. 15, the "group number" is a group number represented by 8 bits and indicating a one-level pseudo directory. Thus, files having the same group number in the same directory are treated as one group. It should be noted that the file having the group number 0 is not classified into any group, and is handled as a file immediately below the directory.

Here, it is assumed that nine files, file 1 to file 9, exist in the same directory. Further, files 1, 5, and 7 belong to group 1, files 2 and 4 belong to group 2, files 3 and 6 belong to group 3, and files 8 and 9 belong to group 0.

At this time, as shown in FIG. 16, the group 1 to the group 3 are located at a lower level of the directory and simulate the role of the directory. The files 8 and 9 belonging to the group 0 are handled as those immediately below the directory.

That is, by providing a "group number" of only one byte per entry, a group function as if a directory was further provided under the parent directory can be exhibited. In addition, since directory information may be provided with group information, it is possible to name each group, and the group function has a function comparable to a normal directory.

Note that, as shown in FIG. 17, for example, each group does not need to be handled like a pseudo directory, but may be handled simply as indicating files having a group relationship.

The grouping function as shown in FIGS. 16 and 17 is compatible between a host computer that can handle groups and a host computer that cannot handle groups. That is, files and directories stored in a host computer having a grouping function (hereinafter, referred to as “host computer 10A”) are transmitted to a host computer having no grouping function (hereinafter, referred to as “host computer 10B”). Even if it does not cause any problems. Such compatibility will be described below with reference to a case where the application is a camera directory. Note that the host computer 10A has a function of rearranging each directory entry in the directory entry list shown in FIG. 11 and a function not having the function, and each will be described.

For example, as shown in FIG. 18A, it is assumed that there are nine files, file 1 to file 9, in the camera directory, and the files are classified into groups 0 to 3. Files 1, 5, and 7 are classified into group 1 as family photos, files 2 and 4 are classified into group 2 as hobby photos, files 3 and 6 are classified into group 3 as company relationships, and files 8, 9 Are classified into group 0 as unclassified. Note that group 0 is handled as that immediately below the camera directory. At this time, in the directory entry list shown in FIG. 11 described above, the directory entries are arranged in the order of file 1, file 2, file 3, and so on. That is, in the directory entry list, the directory entries of each file are arranged in the order shown in FIG.

Here, in the host computer 10A, the CPU 14 can rearrange the directory entries of the camera directory file stored in the RAM 12 as shown in FIG. 18B. That is, the CPU 14 rearranges the directory entries so that the same group is continuously arranged in the directory entries. As a result, as shown in FIG. 19, the files 1 to 9 are grouped and arranged in groups such as family photos and hobby photos.

Then, when the host computer 10A transmits the directory file of the camera directory and each file of the file 1 to the file 9 to the host computer 10B, the host computer 10B, as shown in FIG. Arrange the files. Specifically, since the host computer 10B arranges the files according to the order of the directory entries in the directory file for the camera directory, the files can be arranged in the same order as the order of the files in the host computer 10A. Therefore, also in the host computer 10B, the files are grouped and arranged.

As described above, when the host computer 10A has the grouping function and has the function of rearranging the directory entry list for each group, the host computer 10B without the grouping function also performs the grouping and stores each file. Can be lined up.

On the other hand, even in the host computer 10A having no function of rearranging directory entries for each group, as shown in FIG. 19, each file in the camera directory can be grouped.

However, when the host computer 10A transmits the directory file for the camera directory and the files 1 to 9 to the host computer 10B, the host computer 10B arranges the files as they are as shown in FIG. That is, the host computer 10B arranges the files according to the arrangement of the directory entries in the directory file for the camera directory, and arranges the files in the order of files 1, 2, 3,....

In the memory card system 1 configured as described above, the CPU 14 of the host computer 10 stores the directory file of the root directory of the logical address 0 (hereinafter, referred to as “root directory file”) from the flash memory 22 of the memory card 20 and others. By reading the directory file and the header of the necessary file, each file can be managed. Specifically, when the start-up is started, the CPU 14 starts the process of step S1 shown in FIG.

In step S <b> 1, the CPU 14 sends a command for reading the file at the logical address 0 to the memory card 20 via the first serial I / F 13. In the memory card 20, the controller 23 reads the file of the logical address 0 from the flash memory 22 according to the above command, and transmits the file to the host computer 10 via the second serial I / F 21. The CPU 14 stores the file received by the first serial I / F 13 in the RAM 12, checks whether this is a root directory file, and proceeds to step S2.

In step S2, it is determined whether the root directory file exists in the flash memory 22. If the root directory file exists, the process proceeds to step S3. If not, the process proceeds to step S7.

に お い て In step S3, the user checks his / her own application directory and proceeds to step S4. For example, if the host computer 10 is a camera device having an image pickup unit (not shown), it is checked whether a directory of “camera” exists at a predetermined position of the root directory. When the memory card 20 is present, it is determined that the memory card 20 is used in the camera device, and the processing of step S4 and step S5 described later is performed. That is, a directory determined for each application category is provided in the root directory. For example, in the case of a camera, a directory called “camera” is provided at a predetermined position.

In step S4, it is determined whether or not an application directory of itself, for example, a "camera" directory exists. If the application directory exists, the process proceeds to step S5; otherwise, the process proceeds to step S9.

In step S5, the contents of the application directory are read, and the flow advances to step S6.

In step S6, the directory entry of the directory file in the application directory is checked to access files necessary for the application such as an album image list and a song list, and application processing is started.

On the other hand, in step S7 when it is determined in step S2 that the root directory file does not exist, it is determined whether to create a root directory file. If so, the process proceeds to step S8. If not, the startup is stopped. Here, the case where the root directory is not created corresponds to, for example, the case where the memory card 20 is write-protected.

In step S8, a root directory file having a logical address 0 is created, and the flow advances to step S9.

In step S9, it is determined whether or not to create an own application directory. If so, the process proceeds to step S10. If not, the process is stopped. That is, when there is no “camera” directory, it is necessary to create a “camera” directory as in the processing of step S10 described later, or to temporarily stop the processing and replace the user with another memory card 20. .

In step S10, an application directory is created in the root directory file, and the process proceeds to step S5. Then, the processing of the application is started through the processing of steps S5 and S6.

As described above, for example, when starting up, the host computer 10 including the imaging unit (not shown) first checks the existence of the root directory and then checks the predetermined application directory, here, the “camera” directory. , Is processing the contents of that directory.

Next, the operation of the CPU 14 when performing the directory creation processing will be described. When instructed to create a directory file, the CPU 14 of the host computer 10 starts the process of step S11 shown in FIG.

In step S11, the CPU 14 checks a free logical address and proceeds to step S12.

In step S12, it is determined whether there is a free logical address. If there is no free space, an error occurs because a directory cannot be created, and if there is a free space, the process proceeds to step S13.

In step S13, the directory information of the directory file to be created is set to an initial value. Furthermore, when all directory entries are initialized and group information is prepared, all the areas are cleared, and the process proceeds to step S14.

In step S14, it is checked whether each block in the flash memory 22 included in the memory card 20 has a free space for storing a directory file, and the process proceeds to step S15.

(4) In step S15, it is determined whether there is a free space in the block. If there is no free space, an error occurs.

In step S16, the CPU 14 transmits a command for writing the contents together with the directory file to the memory card 20, and proceeds to step S17. At this time, in the memory card 20, the controller 23 writes the directory file to the flash memory 22 according to the command.

(4) In step S17, the bitmap table of the set management file stored in the RAM 12 is updated, and the process proceeds to step S18.

In step S18, the created directory is registered in the parent directory, which is one layer above the created directory, and the process proceeds to step S19. For example, in the directory file of the parent directory, the “directory number” of the directory information is updated, or a directory entry for the created directory is created.

In step S19, the CPU 14 transmits a command instructing the update of the collective management file to the memory card 20 at a sharp timing such as when predetermined arithmetic processing ends, and ends the processing. At this time, in the memory card 20, the controller 23 writes the updated portion of the collective management file to the flash memory 22 according to the command.

As mentioned above, when creating a directory, instead of creating a directory name, assign a free logical address.

Next, the operation of the CPU 14 when a file is created and registered in its parent directory will be described. When instructed to create a file, the CPU 14 of the host computer 10 starts the process of step S21 shown in FIG.

In step S21, the CPU 14 checks whether there is a free directory entry in the parent directory of the newly created file, and proceeds to step S22.

In step S22, it is determined whether there is a directory entry in the parent directory. If there is a space, the process proceeds to step S23. If there is no space, an error occurs and the process of registering the file in the directory is stopped.

In step S23, a header portion of the file to be created is created and stored in the RAM 12, and the process proceeds to step S24.

In step S24, a command for writing the file in each block is transmitted to the memory card 20, and the process proceeds to step S25. Therefore, in the memory card 20, the controller 23 writes a new file in the flash memory 22 according to this command. When writing the file in two or more blocks, a connection address indicating a connection state between the blocks is written as distributed management information of each block.

In step S25, it is determined whether the writing of the file to the flash memory 22 has been completed. If the writing has been completed, the process proceeds to step S26. If the writing cannot be performed, an error occurs and the registration of the file in the directory is stopped. I do.

In step S26, the CPU 14 writes the leading logical address of the file into an empty directory entry for the directory file of the parent directory of the file. Further, "group number" and "attribute information" are written in this directory entry as necessary, and the process proceeds to step S27.

In step S27, the directory information of the directory file is updated, and the process proceeds to step S28.

In step S28, the CPU 14 transmits a command for writing the directory file to the memory card 20, and ends the process. At this time, in the memory card 20, the controller 23 writes the directory file to the flash memory 22 according to the command.

As described above, when registering a file in a directory, a 4-byte directory entry including a file number (first logical address), attribute information, and a group number is registered instead of registering the file name in the directory. ing. As a result, it is possible to prevent a large amount of information from being concentrated in the directory, and to prevent the amount of information in the directory from becoming too large even when registering a large number of files. The recording area can be used effectively.

Next, the operation of the CPU 14 when checking whether a file is suitable for the use of the parent directory, that is, when checking the use of the file by the “target flag” shown in FIG. 13 will be described. The CPU 14 of the host computer 10 starts the process of step S31 shown in FIG. 25 when an instruction to investigate the use of a file belonging to a certain directory is issued.

In step S31, the CPU 14 checks the "target flag" of the use information of the directory entry to be checked for the directory file of the parent directory, and proceeds to step S32.

に お い て In step S32, it is determined whether the “target flag” is “1”. If “1”, the process proceeds to step S33, and if not, the process proceeds to step S34.

In step S33, since the file indicated by the "target flag" matches the purpose of the directory, the CPU 14 performs a predetermined process on this file.

In step S34, since the file indicated by the "target flag" does not match the purpose of the directory, the CPU 14 regards this file as not being processed and ends the processing.

In this way, the CPU 14 can easily determine whether the usage of the file matches the purpose of the parent directory by simply looking at the 1-bit “target flag”, and can quickly access a predetermined file. Can be.

If there is no “target flag”, the CPU 14 starts the process of step S41 shown in FIG.

In step S41, the CPU 14 checks the "file number" of the directory entry to be checked for the directory file in the parent directory, and proceeds to step S42.

In step S 42, an instruction to read only the header portion of the file indicated by the “file number”, that is, the head logical address, is transmitted to the memory card 20, and the data of the header portion transmitted from the memory card 20 is stored in the RAM 12. Then, the process proceeds to step S43.

In step S43, the "file ID" of the read header portion is compared with the "target file ID" shown in FIG. 8 of the directory information of the parent directory, and the flow advances to step S44.

In step S44, it is determined whether or not the upper 1 byte of the read “file ID” matches the “target file ID”. If they match, the process proceeds to step S45, and if they do not match, the process proceeds to step S46.

In step S45, since this file matches the purpose of the directory, the CPU 14 performs a predetermined process on this file.

In step S46, since this file does not match the purpose of the directory, the CPU 14 regards this file as not to be processed and ends the processing.

As described above, even when there is no “target flag”, the CPU 14 can determine whether the purpose of the file matches the purpose of the parent directory.

Next, the processing of the CPU when reading the n-th image file in the directory will be described. When an instruction to read the nth image file is issued, the CPU 14 of the host computer 10 starts the processing of step S51 shown in FIG.

In step S51, the CPU 14 transmits a command for reading a target directory file to the controller 23 of the memory card 20. Specifically, a command for reading data from the block corresponding to the logical address of the designated number is transmitted, and the process proceeds to step S52.

In step S52, the controller 23 reads data from the block in which the target directory file is stored from the flash memory 22, and transmits the data to the host computer 10. In the host computer 10, the CPU 14 stores the transmitted data in the RAM 12, stores directory information, group information, a directory entry list, and the like shown in FIG. 6, and proceeds to step S53.

In step S53, the process goes to the first directory entry of the user area in the directory entry list of the directory file shown in FIG. 9 and proceeds to step S54.

In step S54, the "target flag" shown in FIG. 13 of the directory entry is checked, and the flow advances to step S55.

In step S55, the CPU 14 determines whether the file indicated by the first directory entry is an image or not an image based on the “target flag”. If the file is an image, the process proceeds to step S56. Proceed to S61.

In step S56, it is determined whether or not the file number indicated by the directory entry is the specified file number n. If the file number is the specified file number, the process proceeds to step S57, and if not, the process proceeds to step S60.

In step S57, the CPU 14 performs the process of acquiring the file number, and proceeds to step S58.

In step S58, the CPU 14 transmits to the memory card 20 a command to read the 512-byte header of the file based on the obtained file number (head logical address). Then, the CPU 14 checks the “start address” and “data size” of each entry data such as an index and an image based on the entry list of the header section transmitted from the memory card 20, and proceeds to step S59.

In step S59, the CPU 14 transmits a command to read out each entry data such as an index and an image to the memory card 20 based on the “start address” and “data size”. In the memory card 20, the controller 23 reads out each entry data according to the above-mentioned command, and transmits it to the host computer 10. When the entry data is stored in a plurality of blocks, the entry data is read from each block based on the “link address”.

On the other hand, when it is determined in step S56 that the file number indicated by the directory entry is not the target file number n, in step S60, the CPU 14 increments the number of directory entries by one, and proceeds to step S61.

In step S61, the CPU 14 proceeds to the processing of the next directory entry, and proceeds to step S62.

In step S62, the CPU 14 determines whether or not the processing of the last directory entry has been completed. If it is determined that the processing has been completed, the CPU 14 determines that there is no corresponding file, ends the series of processing, and if not, returns to step S54. Then, the process for the next directory entry in step S61 is performed.

As described above, in the memory card system 1, the host computer 10 can read a desired file from the flash memory 22 even if each file does not have a file name. Specifically, the CPU 14 of the host computer 10 sequentially checks the directory entry list provided in each directory. When a directory entry indicating a desired file is found, a command for reading the desired file is transmitted to the memory card 20 in accordance with the logical address indicated by the entry, and a file reading process is performed. This eliminates the need for character string processing based on file names and directory names, so that an area for storing character strings does not need to be provided in each directory, the directory management area is reduced, and more data is stored in the flash memory 22. Can be memorized.

Next, the processing of the CPU when deleting the n-th image file in the directory will be described. When an instruction to delete the n-th image file is issued, the CPU 14 of the host computer 10 starts the process of step S71 shown in FIG.

In step S71, the CPU 14 transmits a command for reading a target directory file to the controller 23 of the memory card 20. Specifically, a command for reading a block corresponding to the logical address of the designated number is transmitted, and the process proceeds to step S72.

In step S72, the controller 23 reads data from the block in which the target directory file is stored from the flash memory 22, and transmits the data to the host computer 10. In the host computer 10, the CPU 14 stores the transmitted data in the RAM 12, and proceeds to step S73. Therefore, the RAM 12 stores directory information, group information, a directory entry list, and the like shown in FIG.

In step S73, the process goes to the first directory entry of the user area in the directory entry list of the directory file shown in FIG. 9 and proceeds to step S74.

In step S74, the "target flag" shown in FIG. 13 of the directory entry is checked, and the flow advances to step S75.

In step S75, the CPU 14 determines whether the file indicated by the first directory entry is an image or not an image based on the “target flag”. If the file is an image, the process proceeds to step S76. Proceed to S83.

In step S76, it is determined whether or not the file number indicated by the directory entry is the specified file number n. If the file number is the specified file number, the process proceeds to step S77. If not, the process proceeds to step S82.

In step S77, the CPU 14 performs a process of acquiring the file number, and proceeds to step S78.

In step S78, the CPU 14 transmits a command indicating a file deletion process of the designated file number to the memory card 20, and proceeds to step S79. On the other hand, in the memory card 20, the controller 23 clears the block storing the file specified according to the command.

In step S79, the CPU 14 deletes a directory entry relating to the deleted file from the directory entry list of the target directory. At this time, the CPU 14 updates the directory entry list by filling in the deleted directory entries, and proceeds to step S80.

In step S80, the CPU 14 updates the directory information in accordance with the deletion of the directory entry. For example, the “number of files (all files)”, “number of target files”, “number of directory entries” and the like are updated, and the process proceeds to step S81.

In step S81, since the directory entry list and the directory information constituting the header of the directory file have been changed as described above, the CPU 14 sends to the memory card 20 a command indicating that a new header of the directory file is to be written. Send. In the memory card 20, the controller 23 updates the directory file header of the flash memory 22 according to the command.

On the other hand, in step S82 when it is determined in step S76 that the file number indicated by the directory entry is not the target file number n, the CPU 14 increments the number of directory entries by one, and proceeds to step S83.

In step S83, the CPU 14 proceeds to the processing of the directory entry in the next order, and proceeds to step S84.

In step S84, the CPU 14 determines whether or not the processing of the last directory entry has been completed. If it is determined that the processing has been completed, the CPU 14 determines that there is no corresponding file and ends the series of processing. Returning to step S74, the process for the next directory entry in step S83 is performed.

As described above, in the memory card system 1, the host computer 10 can delete a desired file stored in the flash memory 22 even if a file name is not provided for each file. That is, the CPU 14 of the host computer 10 sequentially searches the directory entry list provided in each directory to find a directory entry indicating a desired file, and issues a command for deleting the desired file according to the logical address to the memory card 20. Send to As a result, the file stored in the flash memory 22 is deleted. This eliminates the need for character string processing based on file names and directory names, so that an area for storing character strings does not need to be provided in each directory, the directory management area is reduced, and more data is stored in the flash memory 22. Can be done.

Next, the processing of the CPU when deleting a directory will be described. When the directory to be deleted is instructed, the CPU 14 of the host computer 10 starts the process of step S91 shown in FIG.

In step S91, the CPU 14 transmits to the memory card 20 a command for instructing the directory file of the directory designated for deletion to be read from the flash memory 22, and proceeds to step S92. In the memory card 20, the controller 23 reads a directory file from the flash memory 22 based on the command, and transmits the directory file to the host computer 10 via the second serial I / F 21.

In step S92, the CPU 14 stores the directory file from the memory card 20 in the RAM 12, checks each directory entry in the directory entry list, and proceeds to step S93.

In step S93, the CPU 14 determines whether there is a directory entry designating a file or a directory, that is, whether a file or another directory exists in a lower hierarchy. If there is a directory entry designating a file or the like, it is determined that an error has occurred, and this directory deletion processing is terminated. If there is no directory entry, the process proceeds to step S94. Is transmitted to the memory card 20, and the process proceeds to step S95.

In step S95, the controller 23 of the memory card 20 deletes the data in the block of the flash memory 22 storing the directory file to be deleted, and proceeds to step S96. Note that a flag of “erased” may be set in the distribution management information of the block, and data in the block may be erased after predetermined processing is completed.

In step S96, it is determined whether the erasure has been completed normally. If the erasure has been completed normally, the process proceeds to step S97. If the erasure has not been completed normally, it is determined that an error has occurred, and the directory deletion process is stopped.

In step S97, the CPU 14 updates the part of the collective management file stored in the RAM 12 that has been changed by the directory deletion, and proceeds to step S98.

In step S98, the CPU 14 transmits the collective management file to the memory card 20 and transmits a command instructing to write the file when it is time to cut the data such as after completion of the predetermined arithmetic processing. Therefore, in the memory card 20, the controller 23 performs a process of writing the collective management file to the flash memory according to the command.

As described above, in the memory card system 1, the host computer 10 can delete a desired directory file stored in the flash memory 22 even if a file name is not provided for each file. In other words, even if the directory to be deleted does not have information such as the file names of the files under the directory, the CPU 14 of the host computer 10 can use the directory entry list provided in the directory to delete the directory under the directory to be deleted. Can be checked for any files. This eliminates the need for character string processing based on file names and directory names, so that an area for storing character strings does not need to be provided in each directory, the directory management area is reduced, and more data is stored in the flash memory 22. Can be memorized.

Next, the operation of the CPU 14 when performing a change process during continuous recording and editing will be described. The CPU 14 of the host computer 10 starts the process of step S101 shown in FIG. 30 when the process of changing the “continuous recording” of the attribute information of the directory entry is instructed.

In step S101, the CPU 14 determines whether or not an instruction to delete continuously recorded files has been issued. If it is determined that the file is to be deleted, the process proceeds to step S102. If not, the process proceeds to step S106.

In step S102, a file deletion command is transmitted to the memory card 20 by transmitting a command of the specified file deletion processing, and the process proceeds to step S103.

In step S103, it is determined from the directory entry list of the parent directory whether the “continuous record” of the directory entry of the deleted file is “11”. If "continuous recording" is "11", the process proceeds to step S104, and if not "11", the process is terminated.

In step S104, it is determined whether the “continuous record” of the directory entry next to the directory entry of the deleted file is “10”, and if “10”, the process proceeds to step S105. The process ends.

In step S105, the "continuous recording" of the next directory entry is changed to "11", and the file indicated by the next directory entry is set as the head of the continuous recording, and the process ends.

Therefore, as shown in FIG. 14 described above, when the file 2 to the file 5 are continuously recorded, if the file 2 is deleted, the processing of the steps S102 to S105 indicates the file 3 as shown in FIG. The continuous record of the directory entry is changed to “11”. That is, only when deleting the first file of the continuous recording and when the file next to the file to be deleted is in the middle of the continuous recording, the “continuous recording” of the next file is changed to “11”. change. Thus, even when a file of continuous recording is deleted, the state of continuous recording of each file that has not been deleted can be maintained.

On the other hand, in step S106 when it is determined in step S101 that it is not a deletion process, it is determined whether or not a new file insertion process has been instructed between continuously recorded files, and in the case of a file insertion process, the process proceeds to step S110. If not, the process proceeds to step S107.

In step S107, it is determined whether or not the above-described group change processing shown in FIG. 19 and the like has been instructed. If the group change processing has been performed, the process proceeds to step S108; otherwise, the process ends.

In step S108, the “group number” of the directory entry list indicating the file for which the group is to be changed is changed from the directory entry list of the parent directory, and the process proceeds to step S109.

In step S109, it is determined whether or not "continuous recording" of the directory entry is "00". If it is "00", the process is terminated. Then, the processes of steps S104 and S105 are performed.

Therefore, a file whose group has been changed is out of the state of continuous recording except for a normal file whose “continuous recording” is “00”. If the “continuous recording” of the immediately following file is “10”, The “continuous record” of the directory entry of the file immediately after that is set to “11”. As a result, the file immediately after the file whose group has been changed can be set as the head of continuous recording, and the state of continuous recording of each file without group change can be maintained.

On the other hand, in step S110 when it is determined in step S106 that insertion processing is to be performed, a file to be inserted is actually inserted, and the flow advances to step S111.

In step S111, it is determined whether or not “continuous recording” of the directory entry corresponding to the file next to the inserted file is “10”. If “10”, the process proceeds to step S112. Goes to step S113.

に お い て In step S112, the “continuous recording” of the inserted file is set to “10”, and the process ends.

(4) In step S113, “continuous recording” of the inserted file is set to “00”, and the process ends.

For example, in FIG. 14, when the file 5.5 is inserted between the file 5 and the file 6, the “continuous recording” of the next file 6 is “11” as shown in FIG. By the processing of S113, “continuous recording” of the inserted file becomes “00”. Further, when the file 7.5 is inserted between the file 7 and the file 8, the “continuous recording” of the next file 8 is “10”, and thus the “continuous recording” of the inserted file is performed by the processes of steps S111 and S112. Becomes "10".

Therefore, when a file is inserted immediately before continuous recording of each file, the file is set to a normal state, and when a file is inserted during continuous recording, the file is set to continuous recording. .

As described in detail above, the present invention can read, write, and delete a file without using a file name or a directory name, and can manage a directory or a file with a smaller data amount. This is suitable for recording a file or the like on a recording medium having a relatively small storage capacity, such as the flash memory 22, for example.

In the present embodiment, a memory card including a flash memory has been described as an example of a recording medium. However, the present invention is not limited to this, and may be applied to a medium such as a magnetic disk or an optical disk. It is, of course, applicable.

FIG. 1 is a block diagram illustrating a configuration of a memory card system to which the present invention has been applied. FIG. 3 is a diagram for explaining a configuration of data stored in a flash memory in a memory card of the memory card system. FIG. 4 is a diagram for explaining a configuration of a user format file stored in the flash memory. FIG. 3 is a diagram for describing a configuration of an OS header of the file. FIG. 3 is a diagram for explaining a configuration of a file header and an entry area of the file. FIG. 3 is a diagram for explaining a configuration of a directory file. FIG. 4 is a diagram for explaining a configuration of a system entry area of the directory file. FIG. 4 is a diagram for explaining the structure of directory information of the directory file. FIG. 3 is an explanatory diagram of a system directory area and a user area determined by the directory information. FIG. 4 is a diagram for explaining the structure of group information of the directory file. FIG. 4 is a diagram for explaining a configuration of a directory entry list of the directory file. FIG. 4 is a diagram for explaining a file number of each directory entry. FIG. 4 is a diagram for explaining attribute information of each directory entry. FIG. 4 is an explanatory diagram of a state of continuous recording of each file. FIG. 4 is a diagram for explaining a group number of each directory entry. FIG. 6 is a diagram for explaining handling of groups in a directory. FIG. 6 is a diagram for explaining handling of groups in a directory. FIG. 4 is a diagram illustrating a relationship between each file and a group. FIG. 4 is an explanatory diagram of a hierarchical structure when supporting a group. FIG. 4 is an explanatory diagram of a hierarchical structure when a group is not supported. FIG. 4 is an explanatory diagram of a hierarchical structure when a group is not supported. 9 is a flowchart illustrating a process when starting an application. It is a flowchart which shows the process at the time of creating a directory. 9 is a flowchart illustrating processing when registering a file. It is a flowchart which shows the process when there exists a target flag. It is a flowchart which shows a process when there is no target flag. 9 is a flowchart illustrating processing when reading an image file. 9 is a flowchart illustrating processing when deleting an image file. It is a flowchart which shows the process at the time of deleting a directory. 9 is a flowchart illustrating a process for changing a state of continuous recording. FIG. 11 is a diagram illustrating a state of continuous recording when one file is deleted. FIG. 11 is a diagram illustrating a state of continuous recording when a file is inserted.

Explanation of reference numerals

Reference Signs List 1 memory card system, 10 host computer, 11 hard disk, 12 RAM, 13 first serial I / F, 14 CPU, 20 memory card, 21 second serial I / F, 22 flash memory, 23 controller

Claims (26)

Storage means for storing a file having a file number, and a directory having, for each file, a directory entry comprising a file number and group information;
Management means for managing the file or directory indicated by the file number of the directory entry of the stored one directory so as to be in a hierarchy below the one directory,
The file management device, wherein the management means collects and displays each file for each group based on the group information of the one directory read from the storage means. The storage means stores, as the directory, a directory having a directory entry including a file number and group information for each file, and a directory having group information including a group name for each group information.
The management means manages the files having different group information by assigning names corresponding to the group information based on the group information of the one directory read from the storage means and the group information information corresponding thereto. The file management device according to claim 1, wherein: 2. The file management apparatus according to claim 1, wherein the management unit has a function of rearranging directory entries recorded in the storage unit based on the group information of the one directory read from the storage unit. The management unit generates a pseudo directory for each group based on the group information of the one directory read from the storage unit, and classifies and displays each file as belonging to the pseudo directory. The file management device according to claim 1, wherein 2. The file management device according to claim 1, wherein the directory is created for each application. Storing a file having a file number and a directory having a directory entry for each file, the directory entry including a file number and group information;
Manage the file or directory indicated by the file number of the directory entry of the stored one directory so as to be in a hierarchy below the one directory,
Read the group information of the one directory,
A file management method comprising: collecting and displaying each file for each group based on the read group information of the one directory. As the directory, a directory having group information including a group name for each group information and having a directory entry including a file number and group information for each file is stored,
Reading the group information of the one directory and the group information information corresponding thereto,
7. The file management system according to claim 6, wherein, based on the read group information of the one directory and the group information information corresponding thereto, files having different group information are managed by giving names corresponding to the group information. File management method. 7. The file management method according to claim 6, wherein the recorded directory entries are rearranged based on the read group information of the one directory. 7. The file management according to claim 6, wherein a pseudo directory is generated for each group based on the read group information of the one directory, and each file is classified and displayed so as to belong to the pseudo directory. Method. 7. The file management method according to claim 6, wherein the directory is created for each application. Record a file having a file number, and a directory having a directory entry for each file including a file number and group information for distinguishing and managing the files,
The file or directory indicated by the file number of the directory entry of the stored one directory is managed so as to be in a hierarchy below the one directory,
The group information of the one directory is read,
A recording medium characterized in that files are collected and displayed for each group based on the read group information of the one directory. 12. The recording medium according to claim 11, wherein a directory having a directory entry including a file number and group information for each file and recording a group having group information including a group name for each group information is recorded as the directory. Claims: It is possible to mount to a host device having a function of classifying files by the group information, and to be mountable to a host device having no function of classifying files by the group information. Item 12. The recording medium according to Item 11. 12. The recording medium according to claim 11, wherein the recorded directory entries are rearranged based on the read group information of the one directory. 12. The pseudo directory according to claim 11, wherein a pseudo directory is generated for each group based on the read group information of the one directory, and each file is classified and displayed as belonging to the pseudo directory. recoding media. 12. The recording medium according to claim 11, wherein the directory is created for each application. A recording medium for recording a file having a file number, and a directory having a directory entry for each file including a file number and group information;
Storage means for storing the files and directories read from the storage means, and management means for managing the files or directories indicated by the file numbers of the directory entries of the one directory so as to be in a hierarchy below the one directory And a management unit having
A file management system, wherein the management unit of the management unit collects and displays each file for each group based on the group information of the one directory read from the storage unit. The recording medium records a directory having, as the directory, a directory entry including a file number and group information for each file and group information including a group name for each group information,
The storage unit of the management unit stores the file and the directory read from the recording medium, and the management unit stores the group information of the one directory read from the storage unit and the group information corresponding thereto. 18. The file management system according to claim 17, wherein files having different group information are managed by giving names corresponding to the group information based on the group information. 18. The file management system according to claim 17, wherein the management unit has a function of rearranging directory entries recorded in the storage unit based on the group information of the one directory read from the storage unit. The management unit generates a pseudo directory for each group based on the group information of the one directory read from the storage unit, and classifies and displays each file as belonging to the pseudo directory. The file management system according to claim 17, wherein 18. The file management system according to claim 17, wherein the directory is created for each application. Recording a file having a file number and a directory having a directory entry for each file including a file number and group information on a recording medium,
Reading the file and the directory from the recording medium,
Memorize the read file and directory,
Manage the file or directory indicated by the file number of the directory entry of the stored one directory so as to be in a hierarchy below the one directory,
A file management method comprising: collecting and displaying each file or directory for each group based on the group information of the one directory. The recording medium, as the directory, has a directory entry including a file number and group information, and records a directory having group information including a group name for each group information,
Read files and directories from the recording medium,
Memorize the read file and directory,
23. The file management system according to claim 22, wherein, based on the read group information of the one directory and the corresponding group information information, files having different group information are managed by giving names corresponding to the group information. File management method. 23. The file management method according to claim 22, further comprising a function of rearranging recorded directory entries based on the read group information of the one directory. 23. The file management according to claim 22, wherein a pseudo directory is generated for each group based on the read group information of the one directory, and each file is classified and displayed as belonging to the pseudo directory. Method. The file management method according to claim 22, wherein the directory is created for each application.

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