Method and apparatus for file transfer and computer readable recording medium recording a file transfer program

• US 6,408,344 B1
• Filed: 03/04/1999
• Issued: 06/18/2002
• Est. Priority Date: 03/04/1998
• Status: Expired due to Term

• Current Assignee: Sharp Kabushiki Kaisha (Hon Hai Precision Industry Co., Ltd.)
• Original Assignee: Sharp Kabushiki Kaisha (Hon Hai Precision Industry Co., Ltd.)
• Inventors: Sakai, Tatsuya
• Primary Examiner(s): Shin, Christopher B.
• Assistant Examiner(s): Nguyen, Tanh Q
• Application Number:
  US09/262,347
• Time in Patent Office: 1,202 Days
• Field of Search: 707/1, 707/6, 707/10, 707/522-524, 707/526, 707/528, 707/529, 709/100, 709/200, 709/201, 709/213, 709/216-219, 709/223-225, 709/232, 709/300, 709/301-305, 710/15, 710/16, 710/17, 710/20, 710/30, 710/36, 710/62, 710/72, 710/73, 710/74
• US Class Current: 710/20
• CPC Class Codes: H04L 67/06 specially adapted for file transfer, e.g. file transfer protocol [FTP]
• CPC Class Codes: Y10S 707/99931 Database or file accessing
• CPC Class Codes: Y10S 707/99936 Pattern matching access

Abstract

A computer has one or more different device drivers, and one or more different devices are connected through respective device drivers. The devices to be connected include a storage device or an information processing device. In the computer, a file inside or outside of the computer is accessed in response to an access request generated inside. In the computer, based on data type of the file, which one of the device driver is to be used for the delivery of the file is determined. When a device driver used for the delivery of the file is specified among one or more device drivers as a result of determination, the file is transferred through the specified device driver to the unit connected to the device driver. Therefore, when a file is accessed in response to a request generated in the computer, the accessed file is automatically transferred and delivered to that device which requires the file, among one or more devices connected to the computer.

Claims

1. In an apparatus having one or more different device drivers and one or more different units connected through respective ones of said device drivers for supplying a file to one or more of said units through corresponding said device drivers, a file selection table for each of said one or more device drivers, storing a data type of a file of which delivery is requested by said unit connected to the device driver, a delivery procedure table for each of said one or more device drivers, storing procedures of delivery of the file to said unit connected to the device driver;

a method of file transfer, comprising the steps of

accessing, in a file access step, a file in response to an access request generated in said apparatus; and

delivering, in a file delivery step, when it is determined for each of said one or more device drivers that the device driver is the one used for delivery of the file accessed in said access step, the file accessed in said accessing step to that one of said units which is connected through said device driver, wherein

said file delivery step includes a device driver determining step for determining, for each of said one or more device drivers, based on data type of the file accessed in said file access step, that the device driver is the one used for delivery of the file,

wherein said device driver determining step determines, for each of said one or more device drivers, when a data type of a file accessed in said file access step is stored in said file selection table, that the device driver is the one used for delivery of the file,

and wherein in said delivery step, the file is delivered to said unit connected to said device driver in accordance with the contents of said delivery procedure table corresponding to that device driver determined in said device driver determining step to be the device driver used for the delivery of the file accessed in said file access step.

2. A file transfer apparatus having one or more different device drivers, and one or more different units connected through respective ones of said device drivers, for delivering a file to respective ones of said one or more units through corresponding said device drivers, comprising:

file access means for accessing a file in response to an access request generated in said apparatus;

file delivery means for delivering, when it is determined for each of said one or more device drivers that the device driver is the one used for delivery of the file accessed by said access means, the file accessed by said access means to said unit connected through the device driver,

wherein said file delivery means includes device driver determining means for determining, for each of said one or more device drivers, based on data type of the file accessed by said file access means, that the device driver is the one used for delivery of the file,

a file selection table for each of said one or more device drivers, storing said data type of the file of which delivery is required by said unit connected to the device driver;

wherein

said device driver determining means determines, for each of said one or more device drivers, when data type of the file accessed by said file access means is stored in corresponding said file selection table, that the device driver is the one used for the delivery of the file, and

a delivery procedure table for each of said one or more device drivers storing procedures of delivery of the file to said unit connected to the device driver;

wherein

said file delivery means delivers, in accordance with the contents of said delivery procedure table corresponding to that device driver which is determined by said device driver determining means to be the one used for delivery of the file accessed by said file access means, the file to said unit connected to the device driver.

3. The file transfer apparatus according to claim 2, wherein said one or more units include one or more input/output units for inputting/outputting information or one or more storage units for storing information;

and

said one or more device drivers include one or more input/output device drivers for connecting said one or more input/output units to said file transfer apparatus or one or more storage device drivers for connecting said one or more storage units to said file transfer apparatus.

4. The file transfer apparatus according to claim 3, wherein said delivery procedure of said delivery procedure table corresponding to each of one or more said storage device drivers includes a duplication process procedure for duplicating said file to said storage unit connected to the storage device driver;

and

said delivery procedure of said delivery procedure table corresponding to each of said one or more input/output device drivers includes a transfer process procedure for transferring said file to said input/output unit connected to the input/output device driver.

5. The file transfer apparatus according to claim 4, wherein said file delivery means further includes connection determining means for determining whether said input/output unit is connected to said input/output device driver corresponding to that device driver which is determined by said device driver determining means to be the device driver used for delivery of said file, and

file saving means for duplicating and saving, when the input/output unit is determined to be not connected by said connection determining means, data related to the file accessed by said file access means to said storage unit connected to said storage device driver, in accordance with said duplication processing procedure corresponding to a prescribed said storage device driver.

6. The file transfer apparatus according to claim 5, wherein the file accessed by said file access means corresponding to said data saved by said file saving means is transferred, when said input/output unit is connected to corresponding each of said one or more input/output device drivers among said one or more device drivers, to said input/output unit using corresponding said transfer processing procedure through the input/output device driver.

7. The file transfer apparatus according to claim 2, wherein said file delivery means further includes

application file delivery means for delivering, when said file is delivered, an application file related to processing of the file through the device driver determined by said device driver determining means to said unit connected to the device driver, together with said file as needed.

8. The file transfer apparatus according to claim 7, wherein said file delivery means converts, when said file is delivered, contents or format of said file to prescribed contents or format in advance as needed.

9. The file transfer apparatus according to claim 2, wherein said file access means accesses a file inside or outside of said apparatus, in response to said access request.

10. The file transfer apparatus according to claim 2, wherein contents of at least one of said delivery procedure table and said file selection table corresponding to respective ones of said one or more device drivers can be changed arbitraily by external operation.

11. The file transfer apparatus according to claim 2, wherein said data type is indicated by information included in an identifier for specifying the file accessed by said file access means.

13. The file transfer apparatus according to claim 7, wherein said file access means accesses a file inside or outside of said apparatus, in response to said access request.

14. The file transfer apparatus according to claim 7, wherein said data type is indicated by information included in an identifier for specifying the file accessed by said file access means.

12. A computer readable recording medium recording a file transfer program allowing a computer to execute a file transfer method in an apparatus having one or more different device drivers, and one or more different units connected through respective ones of said device drivers, for delivering a file using said device driver corresponding to respective one of said one or more units, a file selection table for each of said one or more device drivers, storing a data type of the file of which delivery is requested by said unit connected to the device driver, a delivery procedure table for each of said one or more device drivers, storing delivery procedures of the file to said unit connected to the device driver,

wherein said file transfer file transfer method includes

accessing, in a file access step, a file in response to an access request generated in said apparatus,

delivering, in a file delivery step, when it is determined for each of said one or more device drivers that the device driver is the one used for delivery of the file accessed in said access step, the file accessed in said access step to said unit connected through said device driver,

wherein said file delivery step includes a device driver determining step for determining, for each of said one or more device drivers, based on data type of the file accessed in said file access step, that the device driver is the one used for delivery of the file,

wherein, in said device driver determining step, it is determined, for each of said one or more device drivers, when a data type of the file accessed in said file access step is stored in said file selection table, that the device driver is the one used for delivery of the file, and

wherein in said file delivery step, in accordance with contents of said delivery procedure table corresponding to that device driver which is determined by said device driver determining step to be the device driver used for delivery of the file accessed in said file access step, the file to said unit connected to the device driver.

15. A file transfer apparatus having one or more different device drivers, and one or more different units connected through respective ones of said device drivers, for delivering a file to respective ones of said one or more units through corresponding said device drivers, comprising:

file access circuitry for accessing a file in response to an access request generated in said apparatus;

file delivery circuitry for delivering, when it is determined for each of said one or more device drivers that the device driver is the one used for delivery of the file accessed by said access circuitry, the file accessed by said access circuitry to said unit connected through the device driver,

wherein said file delivery circuitry includes device driver determining circuitry for determining, for each of said one or more device drivers, based on data type of the file accessed by said file access circuitry, that the device driver is the one used for delivery of the file,

a file selection table for each of said one or more device drivers, storing said data type of the file of which delivery is required by said unit connected to the device driver;

wherein

said device driver determining circuitry determines, for each of said one or more device drivers, when data type of the file accessed by said file access circuitry is stored in said file selection table, that the device driver is the one used for the delivery of the file, and

a delivery procedure table for each of said one or more device drivers storing procedures of delivery of the file to said unit connected to the device driver;

wherein said file delivery circuitry delivers, in accordance with the contents of said delivery procedure table corresponding to that device driver which is determined by said device driver determining circuitry to be the one used for delivery of the file accessed by said file access circuitry, the file to said unit connected to the device driver.

16. The file transfer apparatus according to claim 15, wherein said one or more units include one or more input/output units for inputting/outputting information or one or more storage units for storing information;

and

said one or more device drivers include one or more input/output device drivers for connecting said one or more input/output units to said file transfer apparatus or one or more storage device drivers for connecting said one or more storage units to said file transfer apparatus.

17. The file transfer apparatus according to claim 16, wherein said delivery procedures of said delivery procedure table corresponding to each of one or more said storage device drivers include a duplication process procedure for duplicating said file to said storage unit connected to the storage device driver;

and

said delivery procedures of said delivery procedure table corresponding to each of said one or more input/output device drivers include a transfer process procedure for transferring said file to said input/output unit connected to the input/output device driver.

18. The file transfer apparatus according to claim 17, wherein said file delivery circuitry further includes

connection determining circuitry for determining whether said input/output unit is connected to said input/output device driver corresponding to that device driver which is determined by said device driver determining circuitry to be the device driver used for delivery of said file, and

file saving circuitry for duplicating and saving, when the input/output unit is determined to be not connected by said connection determining circuitry, data related to the file accessed by said file access circuitry to said storage unit connected to said storage device driver, in accordance with said duplication processing procedure corresponding to a prescribed said storage device driver.

19. The file transfer apparatus according to claim 18, wherein the file accessed by said file access circuitry corresponding to said data saved by said file saving circuitry is transferred, when said input/output unit is connected to corresponding each of said one or more input/output device drivers among said one or more device drivers, to said input/output unit using corresponding said transfer processing procedure through the input/output device driver.

20. The file transfer apparatus according to claim 15, wherein said file delivery circuitry further includes

application file delivery circuitry for delivering, when said file is delivered, an application file related to processing of the file through the device driver determined by said device driver determining circuitry to said unit connected to the device driver, together with said file as needed.

21. The file transfer apparatus according to claim 20, wherein said file delivery circuitry converts, when said file is delivered, contents or format of said file to prescribed contents or format in advance as needed.

22. The file transfer apparatus according to claim 15, wherein said file access circuitry accesses a file inside or outside of said apparatus, in response to said access request.

23. The file transfer apparatus according to claim 15, wherein contents of at least one of said delivery procedure table and said file selection table corresponding to respective ones of said one or more device drivers can be changed arbitrarily by external operation.

24. The file transfer apparatus according to claim 15, wherein said data type is indicated by information included in an identifier for specifying the file accessed by said file access circuitry.

25. The file transfer apparatus according to claim 20, wherein said file access circuitry accesses a file inside or outside of said apparatus, in response to said access request.

26. The file transfer apparatus according to claim 20, wherein said data type is indicated by information included in an identifier for specifying the first accessed by said file access circuitry.