JPH08263390A - Backup method for data in memory card - Google Patents

Abstract

PURPOSE: To faithfully back up the constitution in a card by such control that data to be backed up can be retrieved in the directory unit in a route directory area or a single file. CONSTITUTION: Components for backup are a PC card (memory card) recognition processing part 1, a PC card access processing part 2, and an interface processing part 4. First, a device driver is built in at the time of inserting a PC card, and the PC card recognition processing part 1 confirms that the device driver gets effective. Next, it is discriminated whether the inserted card can use this function or not. Physical head data in the memory card is read once to recognize the format. With respect to the last work, all data in the card is read by the interface processing part 4 and is written in the designated directory in a host system.

Description

Detailed Description of the Invention

[0001]

BACKGROUND OF THE INVENTION The present invention relates to an OS of an information processing device.
Used as (operating system), for example, Windows developed by Microsoft
ws) above, relates to a method for automatically backing up data in a memory card with an improved internal data backup function when the memory card is used.

[0002]

2. Description of the Related Art Conventionally, a hard disk drive (HDD) has been widely used as an external storage device of information processing equipment such as a workstation and a personal computer. Recently, as an external storage device replacing the HDD, a device equipped with a slot for a memory card / PC card as standard equipment or an external PC, although gradually.
Card R / W (reader / writer) is beginning to be widely used.

The HDD is a floppy disk device (FD).
Although it has been widely used as a large-capacity storage device instead of a storage device having a small capacity such as D), as the information processing equipment becomes smaller and portable, a problem with shock resistance has arisen. .

Therefore, in recent years, the problem that the HDD has has been compensated by using a PC card, and the problem is being solved. Further, since the PC card is highly portable, it can handle a file having a larger capacity than a floppy disk (FD) and is convenient for moving between terminals or carrying it.

Further, as an OS of an information processing apparatus that can handle these PC cards, Windows is becoming popular as a form of replacing conventional DOS (disk operating system). Among them, a memory card can handle a capacity of FD or more, and has been developed as a film substitute for a digital still camera, for example.

[0006]

In the conventional memory card described above, a block device is used and drives are assigned to OSs according to the number of sockets, and data is read / written from the drives. But O
With the evolution of S and the spread of information processing equipment, there is a problem that it is insufficient in functionality.

Further, when a memory card is used in a special way, for example, when it is used as a film for a digital still camera, the function of bringing data to an information processing device cannot play a sufficient role. .

Therefore, the present invention has been made in consideration of the above circumstances, and solves the above-mentioned inconvenience, and the plug and play (P
On the next-generation OS (operating system) advocating nP), a method is defined for the automatic backup function of the data in the memory card, assuming that the device driver is installed when the card is inserted. It is an object of the present invention to provide a method for automatically backing up data in a memory card that defines

[0009]

In order to achieve the above object, the present invention provides a memory card recognition processing means for detecting the insertion of a memory card into a host system, and a command for the inserted memory card. A memory card access processing means for transmitting the data and the like, an interface processing means for interfacing with the operating system section of the host system and a command transmission are provided so that the data in the inserted memory card can be backed up and controlled. A method for automatically backing up data in a memory card is characterized by the following.

In order to achieve the above object, the present invention provides an automatic data backup method for a memory card, wherein data to be backed up is controlled so that it can be searched in a directory unit or a single file in a root directory area. The card data search processing means is provided so that the internal structure of the card can be faithfully backed up.

Further, in order to achieve the above object, the present invention provides an automatic data backup method for a memory card, wherein data to be backed up is designated by a file name or designated from a file list so as to be searchable. I have tried to do it.

Further, in order to achieve the above object, the present invention provides an automatic data backup method for a memory card, wherein data to be backed up is controlled to be searched by a file extension, and the data in the card is classified. The purpose is to control the backup separately.

In order to achieve the above object, the present invention provides an automatic data backup method for a memory card, wherein data to be backed up can be searched by the date and time when the file was created, The purpose is to control the data so that it can be backed up at each stored date or time.

Further, in order to achieve the above object, the present invention provides an automatic data backup method for a memory card, wherein data to be backed up can be searched by the date and time when the file was created. This is to control only newly updated data so that it can be backed up.

[0015]

[Function] According to the above configuration, plug and play (PnP)
When a memory card formatted by a known file system on the operating system (OS) proposed by is inserted into an information processing device, a backup function is automatically called from the device driver and a backup can be taken according to usage.

[0016]

An embodiment of the present invention will be described below with reference to the drawings. FIG. 1 is a block diagram showing the configuration of a main processing unit according to an embodiment of the present invention. In FIG. 1, reference numeral 1 denotes a PC card (memory card) recognition processing unit. This card recognition processing unit 1 detects that a PC card is inserted into a socket of a host machine, incorporates a device driver, and validates it. It is for In the present embodiment, the processing unit 1 determines whether or not the inserted PC card can use the functions of the present embodiment, and transfers the result to the PC card access process. Originally, this function may be added to the device driver of the PC card.

Reference numeral 2 is a PC card access processing unit,
The result of acceptance of acceptance by the C card recognition processing unit 1 is accepted here, and the access (command issue / transmission) to the PC card is performed from here. After the PC card is recognized, the main function of the processing unit 2 is to determine which file system the memory card is formatted in and pass the result to the data search processing unit. When a special search method is designated, the search means is also passed to the data search processing unit. Furthermore, if the PC card recognition processing unit 1 gives a result indicating that the file cannot be used or if the file is formatted in an incomprehensible file system, an error is passed to the operating system (OS) and the processing is terminated.

Reference numeral 3 denotes a PC card data search processing section,
This is the main part of this embodiment, and has a method of searching a plurality of file systems in the processing section. In this embodiment, an example of a memory card formatted by the FAT file system which is most frequently used will be described. The search methods that can be processed by this processing unit are as follows. That is, (1) search by directory (root directory), (2) file name search, (3) search by file extension, (4) search by time stamp of file creation date. The result of the data divided by the above search method is passed to the interface processing unit 4.

Reference numeral 4 denotes an interface processing section, and this processing section 4 serves as an interface section with the OS. It mainly issues errors and issues commands depending on the file system (creates a directory in the hard disk device (HDD) and issues read / write to the host system). Here, all the processing required when starting the backup is performed, and the data transfer from the memory card to the HDD of the host system is performed together with the PC card access processing unit 2.

The processing operation of the above configuration will be described with reference to the flowcharts shown in FIGS. 3 to 6 and the root directory structure diagram shown in FIG. The main premise of the embodiment of the present invention is a plug-and-play (PnP) OS and its OS.
It operates on the above, and the device driver corresponding to PnP is incorporated.

Further, in the present embodiment, for the sake of simplicity, the explanation will be given on the assumption that the FAT file system is used. First, as a minimum necessary component for taking a backup, of the configuration shown in FIG.
It can be realized by using the PC card (memory card) recognition processing unit 1, the PC card access processing unit 2, and the interface processing unit 4. The PC card data search processing unit 3
It is used when adding as another function.

First, the device driver is installed when the PC card is inserted. Then, the PC card recognition processing unit 1 confirms that the device driver is valid (step S201 in FIG. 2).

Next, it is determined whether or not the inserted card can use the function of the present invention (step S202). As a typical example, a data file that describes whether a PC card and support can be used is provided on the host system side, or that it is written in the card attribute information that must be written in the PC card. Can be mentioned.

The PC card access processor 2 reads the physical head data in the memory card once to recognize the format (step S20).
3). The known file system has format information written at the head in order to maintain compatibility with DOS (step S204).

In some cases, format information may be written in the card attribute information (step S205). In the method of this time that does not use a specific search method (N in step S205), the work performed by this processing unit is as described above.

The final work is the interface processing unit 4
Then, all of the data in the card is read and written in the designated directory in the host system (step S206).

Since the data in the inserted memory card is backed up in the host system regardless of what is in the data, the above is the basic processing (step S2).
07). The flow of basic processing is as shown in the flowchart shown in FIG. 2 described above.

Next, a backup method in which the functions are set in more detail will be described. Various search methods are realized by linking each search process with the basic process. After the PC card access processing unit 1 confirms the file format, if the search method is specified, the format and the search means to be used are passed to the search processing unit 3.

Here, a description will be given of each search method given in the explanation of FIG. 1 and what kind of backup means can be realized thereby. After passing the search result to the interface processing unit 4, the flow is the same as the basic processing flow described above. However, only the data extracted according to the search result is backed up. The search result and the like have a buffer in the system, and the interface unit refers to the buffer for backup processing. In short, a search by directory (root directory), a file name search, a search by a file extension, a search by a time stamp of the file creation date, and the like. (1) Search by directory (see FIG. 3) Search files and directories stored in the root directory area in the memory card.

By performing this search, it is possible to create a directory with the same name as the directory in the memory card on the backup side and back up all subdirectories and files under it.

The interface section can obtain a directory name or a file name and follow the data chain in the FAT area to perform backup. Alternatively, a copy (copy) command may be issued to the OS with a file name (including a directory) to copy with the same file name.

This search method is effective when the data in the memory card is faithfully backed up. (2) File name search (see FIG. 4) This means is a method in which a user who uses the function of the present invention performs a search by designating a file name and makes a backup. When this search function is specified, the search will not start until a file name is input or a list of file names is specified.

When a single file name is designated, the FAT is searched for the file name, and if there is the same file name, it is extracted. When a list of file names is specified, both the root directory and FAT are compared and the list is displayed.

When this function is selected, it is possible to store the data in a storage device such as a hard disk while making a confirmation for more reliable backup. (3) Search by file extension (see FIG. 5) This means takes a backup divided into data types by searching for an extension part that can express the type of data used in DOS etc. Will be possible. This search means also extracts only the extension part from the part in which the FAT file name is stored. Pick up and back up files with the extension specified as the search target.

When this function is selected, backup for each data type is possible. That is, a directory can be created for each data type on the host system side and backup can be performed. For example, when a voice or image is recorded with a digital still camera, it becomes available as a convenient function. (4) Search by time stamp of file creation date (see Fig. 6) This method can search by specifying a date or time with a time stamp, and can back up only files created on a certain special day become. This information is also F
It is stored as information in the AT and can be searched. By using this function, you can backup each file on a specific date as described above, and if there is already a file with the same file name on the host system side, the content is updated. In that case, you can change the file name or overwrite it to make a backup. This saves the trouble of copying the same file name.

The main search functions have been described above, and the backup means for each application has been described. A flowchart is shown by each search means, and the parameter part of FAT is shown in FIG. 7 for reference.

The above embodiment has been described on the premise that the function of performing a backup immediately after the insertion of the PC card operates and that the FAT file system and the OS advocating PnP are used. However, the present invention is not limited to this, and can be applied to a system capable of recognizing a card or a file system having parameters required for each search as data. However, it may not be possible to automatically activate this function immediately after inserting the card.

[0038]

As described above in detail, according to the present invention, a memory card used for data storage in a mobile device system such as a portable device can be effectively handled, and the data can be stored / stored.
Backup can be easily performed in the information processing device on the host side. In addition, the organization of data and the creation of a database can be promoted.

[Brief description of drawings]

FIG. 1 is a block diagram showing the configuration of an embodiment of the present invention.

FIG. 2 is a flowchart for explaining the flow of basic processing in the same embodiment.

FIG. 3 is a flowchart for explaining search by a directory in the same embodiment.

FIG. 4 is a flowchart for explaining a file name search in the embodiment.

FIG. 5 is a flowchart for explaining a search based on a file extension in the embodiment.

FIG. 6 is a flowchart for explaining a search by time stamp of the file creation date in the embodiment.

FIG. 7 is a diagram for explaining a parameter portion of FAT in the embodiment.

[Explanation of symbols]

1 ... PC card recognition processing unit, 2 ... PC card access processing unit, 3 ... PC card data search processing unit, 4 ... Interface processing unit.

Claims (6)

[Claims] 1. A memory card recognition processing means for detecting insertion of a memory card into a host system, and a memory card access processing means for transmitting a command or the like to the memory card recognized by the memory card recognition processing means. And an interface processing means for transmitting a command and an interface with the operating system section of the host system to enable backup control of data in the inserted memory card. Data backup method. 2. A card data search processing means for controlling the data to be backed up to be searched in directory units or a single file in the root directory area so that the internal structure of the card can be faithfully backed up. The method for backing up data in a memory card according to claim 1, wherein 3. The data backup method in a memory card according to claim 1, wherein the data to be backed up is designated by a file name or designated from a file list so that the data can be searched. 4. The memory card according to claim 1, wherein the data to be backed up is controlled so that it can be searched by the extension of the file, and the data in the card is classified so that it can be backed up. Data backup method in. 5. The data to be backed up can be searched by the date and time when the file was created, and the data in the card can be controlled to be backed up by the stored date or time. A method for backing up data in a memory card according to claim 1. 6. The data to be backed up can be searched by the date and time when the file was created, and only newly updated data in the card can be backed up. Item 1. A method of backing up data in a memory card according to item 1.