Data-sharing system and data-sharing method

• US 7,773,977 B2
• Filed: 05/02/2006
• Issued: 08/10/2010
• Est. Priority Date: 05/17/2005
• Status: Active Grant

• Current Assignee: Sony Corporation (Sony Group Corp.)
• Original Assignee: Sony Corporation (Sony Group Corp.)
• Inventors: Tominaga, Hirohisa
• Primary Examiner(s): Maung; Nay A
• Assistant Examiner(s): PEREZ, ANGELICA
• Application Number:
  US11/381,256
• Publication Number:
  US 20060264239A1
• Time in Patent Office: 1,561 Days
• Field of Search: 455/416, 455/558, 455/395, 370/260, 379/205.01, 379/202.01, 709/204
• US Class Current: 455/416
• CPC Class Codes: G06F 16/182 Distributed file systems

Abstract

A method for sharing a data file among devices is provided, wherein the data file corresponding to a first data file stored in any of information-processing devices is transmitted to a file server, when a mobile terminal controlling a data-file-sharing operation requests registration of the first data file, as an object to be used by the other device. The data file is stored in a management region. The file server transmits file-sharing information including location information and attribute information of the data file. The file-sharing information is transmitted from the information-processing device to the mobile terminal which selects a second data file for reception on the basis of the attribute information, accesses the file server on the basis of the location information corresponding to the second data file, and requests transmission of the second data file so that the second data file is transmitted.

Claims

1. A data-sharing system configured to share a data file among a plurality of devices, the data-sharing system comprising:

a plurality of information-processing devices which can store at least one data file;

a file server which manages the at least one data file; and

a mobile terminal which controls an operation performed, to share the at least one data file stored in one of the plurality of information-processing devices,

wherein the file server includes

file-management means for receiving and storing the at least one data file stored in the one of the plurality of information-processing devices, when it is requested that the at least one data file be registered, as an object to be used by an other of the plurality of information-processing devices;

shared-information transmission means for transmitting file-sharing information including location information and attribute information of the at least one data file stored by the file-management means; and

first file-transmission means for returning the at least one data file stored by the file-management means upon receiving an instruction to select the at least one data file stored by the file-management means, wherein

each of the plurality of information-processing devices includes

second file-transmission means for transmitting the at least one data file, which is stored in the respective information-processing device to the file server upon receiving request information transmitted from the mobile terminal, the request information indicating that it is requested that the at least one data file stored in the respective information-processing device be registered, as the object to be used by the other of the plurality of information-processing devices; and

shared-information transfer means for transferring the file-sharing information to the mobile terminal, the file-sharing information being transmitted from the file server, after the second file-transmission means transmits the at least one data file to the file server, and wherein

the mobile terminal includes

registration-request means for making a request of the one of the plurality of information-processing devices to register the at least one data file stored in the one of the plurality of information-processing devices, as the object to be used by the other of the plurality of information-processing devices; and

transmission-request means for selecting the at least one data file to be received on the basis of the attribute information included in the file-sharing information transmitted from the one of the plurality of information-processing devices, for accessing the file server on the basis of the location information corresponding to the selected at least one data file, and for making a request of the file server to transmit the selected at least one data file.

2. The data-sharing system according to claim 1, wherein the file server further includes reduced-image-data generation means, operated when the at least one data file includes image data that is transmitted from the one of the plurality of information-processing devices for generating a plurality of reduced-image-data items of different resolutions on the basis of the image data and for storing the plurality of reduced-image-data items in the file-management means,

wherein the mobile terminal further includes image-reproduction means for reproducing and showing the plurality of reduced-image-data items,

wherein the shared-information transmission means transmits the location information of the registered at least one data file, and location information and attribute information of each of the plurality of reduced-image-data items corresponding to the registered at least one data file, as the file-sharing information,

wherein the transmission-request means of the mobile terminal selects at least one of the plurality of reduced-image-data items, to receive the selected at least one of the plurality of reduced-image-data items, on the basis of the attribute information of the at least one of the plurality of reduced-image-data items included in the file-sharing information transmitted to the transmission-request means, accesses the file server on the basis of the location information corresponding to the selected at least one of the plurality of reduced-image-data items, and makes a request of the file server to return the selected at least one of the plurality of reduced-image-data items.

3. The data-sharing system according to claim 2, wherein the shared-information transmission means adds at least one of information about a resolution and information about a size of each of the plurality of reduced-image data items to the file-sharing information, as the attribute information of each of the plurality of reduced-image data items.

4. The data-sharing system according to claim 2, wherein the transmission-request means selects the at least one of the plurality of reduced-image-data items according to at least one of information about a production capacity of the image-reproduction means and information about a data-storage capacity of the mobile terminal on the basis of the attribute information of the plurality of reduced-image data items included in the file-sharing information transmitted to the transmission-request means.

5. The data-sharing system according to claim 1, wherein the mobile terminal further includes first request means for transmitting the file-sharing information to the other of the plurality of information-processing devices, to make a request of the other of the plurality of information-processing devices to receive the at least one data file transmitted from the file server, and the information-processing device further includes second request means for accessing the file server, to make a request of the file server to transmit the at least one data file on the basis of the location information included in the file-sharing information transmitted from the mobile terminal.

6. The data-sharing system according to claim 5, wherein the file-management means stores a plurality of data files corresponding to one another, the data files being different from one another in operating systems and versions thereof, and the shared-information transmission means adds identification information to the file-sharing information, as the attribute information of each of the plurality of data files, the identification information identifying at least one of a respective operating system and a version that correspond to each of the plurality of data files stored by the file-management means.

7. The data-sharing system according to Claim 1, wherein each of the information-processing devices further includes:

detection means for detecting the mobile terminal according to a short-range communication scheme; and

authentication means for performing an authentication for the mobile terminal detected by the detection means, and for allowing for communicating with the mobile terminal, when the mobile terminal is authenticated.

8. A mobile terminal which controls an operation performed, to share at least one data file among a plurality of devices, the mobile terminal comprising:

registration-request means for making a request of one of a plurality of information-processing devices to transmit at least one predetermined data file stored in the one of the plurality of information-processing devices to a file server so that the at least one predetermined data file is registered with the file server, as an object to be used by an other of the plurality of information-processing devices; and

transmission-request for receiving file-sharing information including location information and attribute information of the registered at least one predetermined data file, the file-sharing information being transmitted from the file server via the one of the plurality of information-processing devices, for selecting the at least one predetermined data file on the basis of the attribute information included in the transmitted file-sharing information, for accessing the file server on the basis of the location information, and for making a request to the file server to transmit the selected at least one predetermined data file.

9. A data-sharing method adapted to share a data file among a plurality of devices, the data-sharing method comprising:

transmitting the data file stored in one of a plurality of information-processing devices to a file server by using the one of the plurality of information-processing devices, when a mobile terminal configured to control a data-file-sharing operation makes a request of the one of the plurality of information-processing devices to register the data file, as an object to be used by an other of the plurality of information-processing devices;

storing the data file in a management region, the storing being performed by the file server;

transmitting file-sharing information including location information and attribute information of the data file stored in the management region, by the file server;

transferring the file-sharing information from the one of the plurality of information-processing devices to the mobile terminal after the one of the plurality of the information-processing devices receives the file-sharing information, the one of the plurality of information-processing devices functioning as a transmission source of the data file stored in the management region;

receiving the file-sharing information, selecting the data file for a reception on the basis of the attribute information included in the file-sharing information, accessing the file server on the basis of the location information and making a request of the file server to transmit the data file by using the mobile terminal; and

transmitting the data file for which the mobile terminal made the request from the file server to the mobile terminal, after the file server reads the data file from the management region, by the file server.

10. A data-sharing system configured to share a data file among a plurality of devices, the data-sharing system comprising:

a plurality of information-processing devices which can store at least one data file;

a file server which manages the at least one data file; and

a mobile terminal which controls an operation performed, to share the at least one data file stored in one of the plurality of information-processing devices, wherein

the file server includes

a file-management unit configured to receive and to store the at least one data file stored in the one of the plurality of information-processing devices, when it is requested that the at least one data file be registered, as an object to be used by an other of the plurality of information-processing devices;

a shared-information transmission unit configured to transmit file-sharing information including location information and attribute information of the at least one data file stored by the file-management unit; and

a first file-transmission unit configured to return the at least one data file stored by the file-management unit upon receiving an instruction to select the at least one data file stored by the file-management unit, wherein

each of the information-processing devices includes

a second file-transmission unit which transmits the at least one data file stored in the one of the plurality of information-processing devices to the file server upon receiving request information transmitted from the mobile terminal, the request information indicating that it is requested that the at least one data file stored in the one of the plurality of information-processing devices be registered, as the object to be used by the other of the plurality of information-processing devices; and

a shared-information transfer unit which transfers the file-sharing information to the mobile terminal, the file-sharing information being transmitted from the file server after the second file-transmission unit of the one of the plurality of information-processing devices transmits the at least one data file to the file server, and wherein

the mobile terminal includes

a registration-request unit which makes a request of the one of the plurality of the information-processing devices to register the at least one data file stored in the one of the plurality of information-processing devices, as the object to be used by the other of the plurality of information-processing devices; and

a transmission-request unit configured to select the at least one data file on the basis of the attribute information included in the file-sharing information transmitted from the one of the plurality of information-processing devices, to access the file server on the basis of the location information, and to make a request of the file server to transmit the selected at least one data file.

11. A mobile terminal which controls an operation performed, to share at least one data file among a plurality of devices, the mobile terminal comprising:

a registration-request unit which makes a request of one of a plurality of information-processing devices to transmit at least one predetermined data file stored in the one of the plurality of information-processing devices to a file server so that the at least one predetermined data file is registered with the file server, as an object to be used by an other of the plurality of information-processing devices; and

a transmission-request unit configured to receive file-sharing information including location information and attribute information of the at least one registered predetermined data file, the file-sharing information being transmitted from the file server via the one of the plurality of information-processing devices, to select the at least one predetermined data file on the basis of the attribute information included in the transmitted file-sharing information, to access the file server on the basis of the location information, and to make a request of the file server to transmit the selected at least one predetermined data file.