JP2011118620A - File management device - Google Patents

Abstract

<P>PROBLEM TO BE SOLVED: To enable access to a file using a folder classified based on additional information of the file without being accompanied by setting by a user. <P>SOLUTION: An year folder and a month folder are created based on the photographing date of an image file saved in a memory card when the memory card is inserted (S100-S140), and a folder configuration (cluster configuration) is created by classifying image files into the created folders, and is saved on a RAM (S150). When a file access command is received from a user PC, the cluster contents of the cluster number specified using the cluster configuration created on the RAM are transmitted. Therefore, without requiring a special operation from the user PC side, access to the file is allowed using a directory structure classified according to the photographing date. <P>COPYRIGHT: (C)2011,JPO&INPIT

Description

  The present invention relates to a file management apparatus.

  Conventionally, as this type of file management apparatus, a device that creates a folder structure based on information specified by a user and classifies target files based on the created folder structure has been proposed (for example, see Patent Document 1). . In this device, character data is extracted from the additional data of the target file in accordance with the extraction condition (information component) specified by the user and an information component arrangement order configuration is created, and a folder is created based on the extracted character data and the arrangement order configuration. Create a configuration, create file path data indicating the arrangement of folders up to the target file using the created folder configuration, and classify the target file based on the created file path data. The file can be easily classified even if the number of files increases.

JP 2008-269079 A

  However, when the number of files further increases, some users may feel that the task of setting conditions for creating a folder structure is troublesome, and further reduction of the work load is required for these users.

  The main object of the file management apparatus of the present invention is to be able to acquire a file classification result without any user setting.

  The file management apparatus of the present invention employs the following means in order to achieve the main object described above.

The first file management apparatus of the present invention
A file management device for managing files stored in a removable storage device,
Classification means for acquiring a file stored in the storage device according to the mounting of the storage device, and classifying the acquired file without moving the file to a folder;
Notification means for notifying the classification result of the file stored in the storage device;
It is a summary to provide.

  In the first file management device of the present invention, the files stored in the storage device are acquired in accordance with the installation of the storage device, the acquired files are classified without moving the files to folders, and stored in the storage device. Notify the classification result of the stored file. Thus, the classification result of the file stored in the storage device can be obtained without requiring a special operation or activation of the application from the notified side.

  In such a first file management apparatus of the present invention, the classification means sets the storage location of the file main body stored in the storage device as the reference destination of the classified file, and a file access request is made. Sometimes, it may further comprise an access response means for reading and responding to the file body stored in the corresponding storage device from the set reference destination. In this way, the file body can be accessed from the classified file without newly storing the file body.

  In the file management apparatus of the present invention for managing image files as files, the classification means creates a folder based on the shooting time when the acquired image file was shot by a shooting apparatus or the manufacturer of the shooting apparatus, and The image file may be a means for classifying the image file into folders based on the photographing time or the manufacturer of the photographing device.

The second file management apparatus of the present invention
A file management device for managing files,
An acquisition unit for acquiring a plurality of files from the removable first storage unit;
A classification unit for classifying a plurality of files acquired from the first storage unit into a plurality of groups according to the mounting of the first storage unit;
Rewriting to rewrite the data information of the file system so that files classified into groups exist in a folder corresponding to each of a plurality of groups and existing in a second storage unit different from the first storage unit And
A receiving unit that receives an acquisition instruction corresponding to a file in a folder existing in the second storage unit;
An acquisition handling unit that, when receiving the acquisition instruction, causes the acquisition unit to acquire a file that is the target of the acquisition instruction from the first storage unit;
It is a summary to provide.

  In the second file management device of the present invention, a plurality of files are acquired from the first storage unit detachable by the acquisition unit, and the plurality of files acquired from the first storage unit according to the mounting of the first storage unit The files are classified into a plurality of groups, and the files classified so as to exist in a folder corresponding to each of the plurality of groups and existing in a second storage unit different from the first storage unit exist. Rewrite data information of the system, accept an acquisition instruction corresponding to a file in a folder existing in the second storage unit, and if the acquisition instruction is accepted, store the file that is the target of the acquisition instruction in the acquisition unit in the first storage Get from the department. Thereby, the classified file can be acquired from the second storage unit without rewriting the first storage unit.

1 is a configuration diagram of a print system 10 according to an embodiment of the present invention. Explanatory drawing which shows an example of the folder structure of memory card MC. The flowchart which shows an example of a folder structure construction process. Explanatory drawing which shows an example of the cluster structure of the image file of memory card MC. Explanatory drawing which shows an example of the cluster structure of the image file produced on RAM. Explanatory drawing which shows an example of a directory entry. The flowchart which shows an example of an access response process. Explanatory drawing which shows a mode that the memory card MC is accessed from user PC.

  Next, a first embodiment of the present invention will be described with reference to the drawings. FIG. 1 is a configuration diagram showing an outline of a configuration of a print system 10 according to an embodiment of the present invention. The print system 10 of this embodiment is configured such that a user computer (hereinafter referred to as user PC) 20 and a printer 30 are connected by a USB cable 50 as shown in the figure.

  The printer 30 optically reads a document placed on a document table, a main controller 31 that controls the entire apparatus, a printer unit 40 that performs printing by discharging ink as a colorant onto the recording paper S, and the like. A memory card controller 37 that controls input / output of data between the scanner unit 45 that generates image data and the memory card MC inserted in the memory card slot 37a, and a mode selection button for selecting a power button and an operation mode. , And an operation unit 38 including a start button and the like, and these are electrically connected via a bus 39. The operation mode that can be selected by the mode selection button includes a scan mode for reading a document on the platen, a copy mode for reading a document on the platen for printing, and scanning by reading image data stored in the memory card MC. There are memory card modes to perform.

  The printer unit 40 includes a printer ASIC 42 and a printer engine 44. The printer ASIC 42 is an integrated circuit that controls the printer engine 44. Upon receiving a print command from the main controller 31, the printer ASIC 42 controls the printer engine 44 to print on a sheet based on an image file that is a target of the print command. The printer engine 44 is configured as a well-known inkjet color printer mechanism that performs printing by discharging ink from a print head onto paper. Note that ASIC is an abbreviation for Application Specific Integrated Circuit.

  The scanner unit 45 includes a scanner ASIC 46 and a scanner engine 48. The scanner ASIC 46 is an integrated circuit that controls the scanner engine 48. Upon receiving a scan command from the main controller 31, the scanner ASIC 46 controls the scanner engine 48 so as to read a document placed on a document table as image data. The scanner engine 48 is configured as a well-known image scanner, and the reflected light after being emitted toward the document is separated into red (R), green (G), and blue (B) colors to obtain scan data. A known color image sensor is provided.

  The memory card controller 37 exchanges data with the memory card MC inserted in the memory card slot 37a, thereby reading out the file stored in the memory card MC and transmitting it to the main controller 31 or the main controller 31. Data is written to the memory card MC in response to a command from 31. FIG. 2 shows an example of the folder structure of image files stored in the memory card MC. As shown in the figure, the folder structure of the memory card MC stores the folder “100ABC” indicating the manufacturer of the digital camera photographed in the folder “DCIM” indicating that the image is captured by the digital camera. Image files “IMG0001.JPG”, “IMG0002.JPG”, and “IMG0003.JPG” are stored in the folder “100ABC”. In this embodiment, the image files “IMG0001.JPG”, “IMG0002.JPG”, and “IMG0003.JPG” are stored in an Exif (EXchangeable Image File) format, and the shooting date and the shooting date are taken in the file. Additional information such as the model name and manufacturer name of the digital camera is included.

  The USB controller 36 is a controller that controls the exchange of data with the user PC 20 via the USB cable 50 by connecting the USB cable 50 to the connection terminal 36 a. The connection terminal 36a is configured as a standard B receptacle capable of connecting two power supply system lines of the VBUS line and the GND line and two signal system lines of the D + line and the D− line.

  The main controller 31 is configured as a microprocessor centered on a CPU 32, and includes a ROM 33 that stores various processing programs, a RAM 34 that temporarily stores data, and a timer 35 that measures polling time. The RAM 34 is provided with a reception buffer for storing a command received from the user PC 20. The main controller 31 receives a command from the user PC 20 by executing a polling process for repeatedly confirming whether or not the command is stored in the reception buffer every predetermined time.

  The user PC 20 is a general-purpose personal computer including a controller 21, a display unit 25 as a display, a USB controller 26, and an interface (I / F) 28, and a program (printer driver) installed in an HDD (not shown). Thus, various commands are transmitted to the printer 30 and responses from the printer 30 are received. Various commands to be transmitted to the printer 30 include a file access command for accessing a file stored in the memory card MC mounted in the memory card slot 37a of the printer 30 in addition to a print command for performing printing. The USB controller 26 is a controller that controls the exchange of data with the printer 30 via the USB cable 50 by connecting the USB cable 50 to the connection terminal 26 a. The connection terminal 26a is configured as a standard A receptacle that can connect two power supply system lines of the VBUS line and the GND line and two signal system lines of the D + line and the D− line.

  Next, the operation of the printer 30 of this embodiment configured as described above, particularly the operation when accessing the memory card MC of the printer 30 from the user PC 20 will be described. FIG. 2 is a flowchart illustrating an example of a folder configuration construction process executed by the main controller 31 of the printer 30. This routine is executed when the memory card MC is inserted into the memory card slot 37a of the printer 30.

  When the folder configuration construction process is executed, the CPU 32 of the main controller 31 first reads an image file stored in the memory card MC via the memory card controller 37 and inputs the shooting date (step S100). ), It is determined whether or not a year folder with the same shooting year as the input shooting date has been created (step S110), and if not, a year folder of the shooting year is created on the RAM 34 (step S120). ) If it has been created, the process proceeds to the next process. Subsequently, it is determined whether or not a month folder having the same shooting month as the input shooting date and shooting year has been created (step S130), and if it has not been created, the month folder of the shooting month is set to the year of shooting year. A folder under the folder is created on the RAM 34 (step S140), and when it has been created, the process proceeds to the next process. Then, the image files to be processed are classified by storing them in the month folder in the year folder on the corresponding RAM 34 (step S150). When the image files are classified, it is determined whether or not there is an unprocessed image file in the memory card MC (step S160). If there is an unprocessed image file, the process returns to step S100 and steps S100 to S150 are performed. The processing is repeated, and when there is no unprocessed image file, the contents of the memory card MC are notified to the user PC 20 as the contents of the memory card MC instead of the actual contents of the memory card MC ( Step S170), the folder structure construction process is terminated.

  FIG. 4 shows an example of the cluster configuration of image files stored in the memory card MC, and FIG. 5 shows an example of the cluster configuration of image files created on the RAM 34 based on the memory card MC of FIG. “DCIM ¥ (2)”, “100ABC ¥ (3)”, “IMG0001.JPG (4)”, “IMG0002.JPG (6)”, “IMG0003.JPG (8)” in FIG. “2008 (2)”, “2009 (3)”, “January (4)”, “October (5)”, “November (6)”, “IMG0001.JPG (7)”, “IMG0002” .JPG (9) "and" IMG0003.JPG (11) "are directory entries. Here, the numbers in parentheses in FIG. 4 indicate the cluster numbers of the memory card MC as a reference destination, and the numbers in parentheses in FIG. 5 indicate the cluster numbers on the RAM 34 as the reference destination. FIG. 6 shows the structure of the directory entry. As shown in the figure, the directory entry has a file name, attribute, reservation, file creation time (millisecond part), file creation time, file creation date, file access date, and cluster number (upper 16 bits) where the file body exists. , File update date, cluster number (lower 16 bits) in which the file body exists, file size, and the like.

  FIG. 7 is a flowchart illustrating an example of an access response process executed by the main controller 31. This process is executed when an access command is received from the user PC 20. In the access response process, first, after the polling time elapses (step S200), it is confirmed whether or not the command is stored in the reception buffer of the RAM 34 (step S210), and the file access command is stored. If it is not, it is determined that it is other processing or a command is not accepted, and the processing is terminated. If it is a command other than the file access command, processing according to the command is performed. When the file access command is stored, the cluster contents of the cluster number designated by the file access command or the reference cluster number of the designated file are transmitted using the cluster configuration created on the RAM 34 in FIG. (Step S230), and this process is terminated. FIG. 8 is an explanatory diagram showing a state in which the user PC 20 accesses the memory card MC. In this manner, a folder structure is created on the RAM 34 that classifies files with shooting dates different from the folder structure of image files stored in the memory card MC when the memory card MC is inserted into the memory card slot 37a. When a file access command is received from the user PC 20, the contents corresponding to the command are returned using the folder configuration created on the RAM 34, so that no special operation or application is activated from the user PC 20 side. Files can be accessed using a directory structure sorted by shooting date. In addition, when a file creation instruction is made based on the directory structure classified by shooting date at this time, it is unclear in which directory on the memory card MC the file should actually be created. An error is assumed.

  Here, the correspondence between the components of the present embodiment and the components of the present invention will be clarified. The memory card controller 37 of the present embodiment and the main controller 31 that executes the folder configuration construction process of FIG. 3 correspond to the “classification means” of the present invention, and the main controller that executes the access response process of FIG. 7 of the present embodiment. Reference numeral 31 corresponds to “notification means” of the present invention. Further, the main controller 31 that executes the access response process of FIG. 7 of the present embodiment also corresponds to the “access response means” of the present invention.

  According to the printer 30 of the present embodiment described above, a year folder and a month folder are created on the basis of the shooting date of the image file stored in the memory card MC, and the image file is created on a yearly and monthly basis. The folder structure (cluster structure) is constructed by classifying the data into the RAM 34 and stored on the RAM 34. When a file access command is received from the user PC 20, the cluster number specified using the cluster structure created on the RAM 34 is stored. Since the cluster contents are transmitted, the user PC 20 can access the file using the directory structure classified by the shooting date without requiring any special operation. In addition, the contents of the memory card MC will not change even if classified by shooting date, so when the memory card MC is returned to the digital camera, the digital camera can store the image file taken as a continuation before the classification. Processing can be continued as a continuation.

  Next, a second embodiment of the present invention will be described. In the first embodiment, each file IMG0001. JPG, IMG0002. JPG, IMG0003. The file body of the JPG is stored on the RAM 34 of the main controller 31, and the cluster number of the RAM 34 which is the storage location is stored in the directory entries "IMG0001.JPG (7)", "IMG0002.JPG (9)", "IMG0003.JPG ( In this embodiment, instead of storing the file body of each file on the RAM 34 of the main controller 31, the memory card storing the corresponding file body is stored in this embodiment. Create a directory entry using the MC cluster number as a reference. As a result, it is not necessary to store a relatively large image file body in the RAM 34, and the size of the RAM 34 can be saved. When the file access command is stored in the reception buffer in the access response process, the cluster number specified by the file access command or the reference cluster number of the specified file is used instead of step S230 of the first embodiment. The content stored in the cluster of the memory card MC indicated by is returned. Other parts are the same as those in the first embodiment.

  In the above embodiment, the image file is classified according to the shooting date. However, the present invention is not limited to this, and the digital camera used for shooting an image that is one of the additional information (Exif information). It is good also as what classifies for every manufacturer and classify | categorizes for every model name. In addition, files other than image files may be classified, and any information may be used as long as the information can be acquired from the file.

  In the above embodiment, the contents of the memory card MC are replaced with actual ones, and the folder configuration and cluster configuration on the RAM 34 are notified as the contents of the memory card MC. It may be notified as the contents, or may be notified as the contents of a virtual memory card different from the memory card MC that actually exists. In this way, the user can confirm both the folder structure of the memory card MC that actually exists and the classified folder structure.

  In the above embodiment, the printer is configured as a multi-function printer including the printer unit 40 and the scanner unit 45. However, only the printer unit 40 may be included, or only the scanner unit 45 may be included. The file management apparatus of the present invention is not limited to a printer or a scanner, and may be applied to other devices such as a FAX device and a viewer.

  It goes without saying that the present invention is not limited to the above-described embodiments, and can be implemented in various modes as long as they belong to the technical scope of the present invention.

  10 Print System, 20 User Computer (User PC), 21 Controller, 22 CPU, 24 ROM, 26 RAM, 25 Display Unit, 26 USB Controller, 26a Connection Terminal, 28 Interface (I / F), 30 Printer, 31 Main Controller , 32 CPU, 33 ROM, 34 RAM, 35 timer, 36 USB controller, 36a connection terminal, 37 memory card controller, 37a memory card slot, 38 operation unit, 39 bus, 40 printer unit, 42 printer ASIC, 44 printer engine, 45 Scanner unit, 46 Scanner ASIC, 48 Scanner engine, 50 USB cable, MC memory card.

Claims (4)

A file management device for managing files stored in a removable storage device,
Classification means for acquiring a file stored in the storage device according to the mounting of the storage device, and classifying the acquired file without moving the file to a folder;
Notification means for notifying the classification result of the file stored in the storage device;
A file management apparatus comprising: The file management device according to claim 1,
The classification means sets the storage location of the file body stored in the storage device as a reference destination of the classified file,
A file management apparatus further comprising an access response means for reading and responding to a file body stored in the corresponding storage device from the set reference destination when a file access request is made. The file management apparatus according to claim 1 or 2, wherein an image file is managed as the file.
The classifying means creates a folder based on the shooting time when the acquired image file was shot by the shooting device or the manufacturer of the shooting device, and based on the shooting time or the manufacturer of the shooting device A file management device that is a means of classifying folders. A file management device for managing files,
An acquisition unit for acquiring a plurality of files from the removable first storage unit;
A classification unit for classifying a plurality of files acquired from the first storage unit into a plurality of groups according to the mounting of the first storage unit;
Rewriting to rewrite the data information of the file system so that files classified into groups exist in a folder corresponding to each of a plurality of groups and existing in a second storage unit different from the first storage unit And
A receiving unit that receives an acquisition instruction corresponding to a file in a folder existing in the second storage unit;
An acquisition handling unit that, when receiving the acquisition instruction, causes the acquisition unit to acquire a file that is the target of the acquisition instruction from the first storage unit;
A file management device.

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