Patent Publication Number: US-2009237710-A1

Title: Method of transmitting/receiving data between image forming device and portable storage device, and image forming device for performing the method

Description:
CROSS-REFERENCE TO RELATED APPLICATIONS 
     This application claims the benefit of Korean Patent Application No. 2008-25590, filed on Mar. 19, 2008, in the Korean Intellectual Property Office, the disclosure of which is incorporated herein by reference. 
     BACKGROUND OF THE INVENTION 
     1. Field of the Invention 
     Aspects of the present invention relate to a method of transmitting/receiving data between an image forming device and a portable storage device, and an image forming device that performs the method, and more particularly, to a method of resuming the transmitting/receiving of data between an image forming device and a portable storage device when the connection between the image forming device and the portable storage device is lost during the transmitting/receiving of data and is then restored, and an image forming device that performs the method. 
     2. Description of the Related Art 
     In general, multifunction products (MFPs) are office automation devices that can simultaneously perform various functions, such as the functions of a printer, a copier, a scanner, and a facsimile used in an office, within a single device. Since the MFP performs a variety of functions, scan data can be generated using a scan function, and the generated scan data can be stored in the MFP. Although data, such as the scan data, generated by the MFP and data previously stored in the MFP can be directly output from the MFP, the data can be used by other devices. 
     Thus, a portable storage device, such as a USB (universal serial bus) memory stick, may be connected to the MFP to use the internal data outside of the MFP, and the data may be stored in the portable storage device connected to the MFP. Also, to use the data stored in the portable storage device at the MFP, the data stored in the portable storage device is stored in the MFP. That is, the MFP and the portable storage device transmit and receive data between each other. 
     However, when the connection between the portable storage device and the MFP is lost during storing of the data in the portable storage device connected to the MFP, access to the portable storage device is denied so that a data transmitting/receiving job between the portable storage device and the MFP is canceled. Thus, when the portable storage device and the MFP are reconnected to continue the data transmitting/receiving job between the portable storage device and the MFP, the data needs to be inconveniently transmitted/received again from the beginning. This problem occurs not only to the MFP performing two or more functions but also to an image forming device. 
     SUMMARY OF THE INVENTION 
     To solve the above and/or other problems, aspects of the present invention provide a method of resuming transmitting/receiving data between an image forming device and a portable storage device without transmitting/receiving the data again from the beginning when the connection between the image forming device and the portable storage device is lost during the transmitting/receiving of data and is then restored. 
     Aspects of the present invention provide a computer-readable recording medium having recorded thereon a program for executing the method. 
     According to an aspect of the present invention, a method of transmitting/receiving data between an image forming device and a portable storage device includes reading information about the portable storage device from the portable storage device when the portable storage device is connected to the image forming device, transmitting/receiving data with respect to the portable storage device by using the read information, stopping the transmitting/receiving of data when the portable storage device is disconnected during the transmitting/receiving of data, and resuming the transmitting/receiving of data when the portable storage device is reconnected to the image forming device and the disconnected portable storage device and the reconnected portable storage device are the same. 
     According to another aspect of the present invention, a computer readable recording medium having recorded thereon a program for executing the above method and implemented by a computer is provided. 
     According to another aspect of the present invention, an image forming device includes an information reading unit reading information about a portable storage device from the portable storage device when the portable storage device is connected to the image forming device via a port, and a storage device connection unit transmitting/receiving data with respect to the portable storage device according to the read information, wherein the storage device connection unit stops transmitting/receiving of data when the image forming device is disconnected from the portable storage device during the transmitting/receiving of data, and resumes the transmitting/receiving of data when the portable storage device is reconnected to the image forming device and the disconnected portable storage device and the reconnected portable storage device are the same. 
     Additional aspects and/or advantages of the invention will be set forth in part in the description which follows and, in part, will be obvious from the description, or may be learned by practice of the invention. 
    
    
     
       BRIEF DESCRIPTION OF THE DRAWINGS 
       These and/or other aspects and advantages of the invention will become apparent and more readily appreciated from the following description of the embodiments, taken in conjunction with the accompanying drawings of which: 
         FIG. 1  illustrates the connection between an image forming device and a portable storage device; 
         FIGS. 2A and 2B  provide a flow chart explaining a method of transmitting/receiving data between the image forming device and the portable storage device according to an embodiment of the present invention; 
         FIG. 3  is a flow chart for explaining a step of transmitting/receiving data between the image forming device and the portable storage device according to an embodiment of the present invention; 
         FIG. 4  illustrates an interface provided when the connection between the image forming device and the portable storage device is lost according to an embodiment of the present invention; 
         FIG. 5  illustrates an interface provided when the connection between the image forming device and the portable storage device is restored according to an embodiment of the present invention; 
         FIG. 6  illustrates an interface provided when a portable storage device that is not the one that was initially connected to the image forming device is connected to the image forming device according to an embodiment of the present invention; and 
         FIG. 7  is a block diagram of an image forming device capable of performing the method of transmitting/receiving data between the image forming device and the portable storage device according to an embodiment of the present invention. 
     
    
    
     DETAILED DESCRIPTION OF THE EMBODIMENTS 
     Reference will now be made in detail to the present embodiments of the present invention, examples of which are illustrated in the accompanying drawings, wherein like reference numerals refer to the like elements throughout. The embodiments are described below in order to explain the present invention by referring to the figures. 
       FIG. 1  illustrates the connection between an image forming device and a portable storage device. Referring to  FIG. 1 , a portable storage device  110 , such as a USB memory stick, is inserted into a port  102  of an image forming device  100 . The portable storage device  110  is connected to the image forming device  100  by being inserted into the port  102  of the image forming device  100 . The image forming device  100  is not limited thereto such that the image forming device  100  may be a multifunction product (MFP), a desktop or a laptop computer, a handheld, portable, or other device having an appropriate port. Further, although the portable storage device  110  is described as being inserted into the port  102  of the image forming device  100 , aspects of the present invention are not limited thereto such that the portable storage device  110  may be connected to the image forming device  100  via a wireless port, such as via a Wi-Fi, a Wi-Max, an HSPA, a UMTS, a GSM, a wireless network, a Bluetooth connection, an infrared connection, or a radio connection, or the like. 
       FIGS. 2A and 2B  provide a flow chart illustrating a method of transmitting/receiving data between an image forming device and a portable storage device according to an embodiment of the present invention. Referring to  FIG. 2A , in operation  200 , the image forming device  100  reads out information about the portable storage device  110  connected to the image forming device  100 . In detail, when the image forming device  100  and the portable storage device  110  are connected by inserting the portable storage device  110  in a port  120  of the image forming device  100 , the image forming device  100  reads out information about the type, identification, and file system of the portable storage device  110  connected to the image forming device  100 . The portable storage device  110  may be a universal serial bus (USB) memory stick or a portable hard disk drive (HDD), which are portable and can be connected to and disconnected from the image forming device  100 . Also, the ID information of the portable storage device  110  may be a device ID or a serial number that is intrinsic information which can be electrically identified and separately assigned to a device. 
     In operation  205 , the image forming device  100  stores the information read out from the portable storage device  110 . The image forming device  100  may store the information read out from the portable storage device  110  in a storage unit of the image forming device  100 . In operation  210 , the image forming device transmits/receives data with the portable storage device  110 . 
       FIG. 3  is a flow chart illustrating aspects of operation  210  of  FIG. 2A  and the transmitting/receiving data between the image forming device  100  and the portable storage device  110  according to an embodiment of the present invention. 
     In operation  211 , file information to be generated in the portable storage device  110  is generated. In general, data that can be output from the image forming device  100  is stored in the storage unit of the image forming device  100 . The data may be, for example, scan image data generated by scanning an image in the image forming device  100 . The image forming device  100  generates the file information to be generated from the portable storage device  110  based on the data stored in the image forming device  100  and the structure of the file system of the portable storage device  110 . The file information may include information about the name of a file to be generated and the physical position where data is to be stored and the position of the file in the file system of the portable storage device  110 . 
     In operation  212 , the file system of the portable storage device  110  is updated with the file information generated in the image forming device  100 . The image forming device  100  accesses the file system of the portable storage device  110  to update the file system of the portable storage device  110  with the file information generated in operation  211 . 
     In operation  213 , the size of a data block in which data may be stored in the portable storage device  110 , for the one-time transmitting/receiving of data, is calculated based on the file system of the portable storage device  110 . The calculated size of the data block is set to a particular size based on characteristics of the file system of the portable storage device  110 . Also, the size of the data block may be calculated in units of bytes for convenience of calculation. 
     In operation  214 , the data in the image forming device  100  is transmitted/received with respect to the portable storage device  110  in the units of blocks according to the calculated size, based on the file information generated by the image forming device  100 . The data in the units of blocks is sequentially stored at a physical position where the data included in the file information is stored. However, aspects of the present invention are not limited thereto such that the data may be stored in the portable storage device  110  according to other methods of data storage. 
     Referring back to  FIG. 2 , in operation  220 , while data is transmitted and received with respect to the portable storage device  110 , it is checked whether the connection of the portable storage device  110  is lost. When the connection of the portable storage device  110  is duly maintained, the step of transmitting/receiving data is completed after the transmitting/receiving of data between the image forming device  100  and the portable storage device  110  is fully completed and the method is finished. In contrast, when the connection of the portable storage device  110  is lost, the method proceeds to operation  225 . 
     In operation  225 , the transmitting/receiving of data is stopped when it is determined that the connection between the image forming device  100  and the portable storage device  110  is lost. According to the method of transmitting/receiving data from the image forming device  100  to the portable storage device  110  according to an embodiment of the present invention, the transmitting/receiving of data from the image forming device  100  to the portable storage device  110  is performed in units of blocks, and when the connection of the portable storage device  110  is lost, the transmitting/receiving of data blocks from the image forming device  100  to the portable storage device  110  is stopped. 
     A message  400  indicating that the connection of the image forming device  100  and the portable storage device  110  is lost may be indicated through a user interface unit. In operation  230 , an interface communicates the message  400  and the user can select cancellation of the transmitting/receiving is provided. The image forming device  100  can provide an interface requesting whether to select cancelation of the transmitting/receiving through the user interface unit. 
       FIG. 4  illustrates the message  400  provided when the connection between the image forming device  100  and the portable storage device  110  is lost in the method of transmitting/receiving data between the image forming device  100  and the portable storage device  110  according to an embodiment of the present invention. As shown in  FIG. 4 , when the connection between the image forming device  100  and the portable storage device  110  is lost, the message  400  communicates that the connection is lost. The transmitting/receiving job may or may not be canceled according to the selection between a button “YES”  410  or a button “NO”  420 . 
     Referring back to  FIG. 2 , in operation  235 , the selection of the cancelation of the transmitting/receiving is input. When the message  400  is provided through the user interface unit as shown in  FIG. 4  and the button “YES”  410  is selected in the provided interface, the cancelation of the transmitting/receiving is input and then operation  240  is performed. In contrast, when the button “NO”  420  is selected so that the cancelation of the transmitting/receiving is not input, operation  245  is performed. 
     In operation  240 , the transmitting/receiving job is canceled. The file information generated in the image forming device  100  is erased so that the transmitting/receiving of the data from the image forming device  100  to the portable storage device  110  is canceled. 
     In operation  245 , it is checked whether the portable storage device  110  is connected to the image forming device  100 . operation  245  for checking the connection of the portable storage device  110  to the image forming device  100  is repeatedly performed until the portable storage device  110  is determined to be connected to the image forming device  100 , in which case operation  250  is performed. 
     In operation  250 , information about a connected portable storage device  110  is read out. In detail, when the portable storage device  110  is connected to the image forming device  100 , the image forming device  100  reads out information about the type, identification, and file system of the portable storage device  110  from the connected portable storage device  110 . The portable storage device  110  may be a USB memory stick or a portable HDD, which is portable and can be connected to and disconnected from the image forming device  100 . Also, the ID information of the portable storage device  110  may be a device ID or a serial number that is intrinsic information which can be electrically identified and separately assigned to a device. 
     In operation  255 , it is determined whether the disconnected portable storage device  110  and a newly connected portable storage device  110  are the same device. Whether the disconnected portable storage device  110  and the newly connected portable storage device  110  are the same device is determined by comparing the information (first information) stored in the image forming device  100  in operation  205  and the information (second information) read out in operation  250 . As a result of the comparison, when the first information and the second information are the same, the devices are determined to be the same. Otherwise, the devices are determined to be different from each other, i.e., when the first information and the second information are determined to be different. When the devices are determined to be the same, operation  260  is performed. When the devices are determined to be different from each other, operation  265  is performed. 
     In operation  260 , the transmitting/receiving of the blocks for which transmitting/receiving was previously stopped in operation  225  is continued. When the connection of the portable storage device  110  is lost and the transmitting/receiving of data is stopped in operation  225 , the file information at the time when the final data block is stored and data blocks to be transmitted/received after the connection is lost are kept in the image forming device  100 , and information about the position where the data block for which transmitting/receiving is stopped is to be stored in included in the file information. Thus, the blocks for which transmitting/receiving is stopped can be stored in the portable storage device  110 . When the file system of the portable storage device  110  is damaged, the file system of the portable storage device  110  is reconfigured or updated based on the file information read out in operation  200 . According to the above operations, an error in the file system due to the disconnection can be solved. When the transmitting/receiving resumes, the final data block and the data blocks to be transmitted/received may be transmitted/received, or only the data blocks not previously transmitted/received may be transmitted/received, or a partial data block and the data blocks not previously transmitted/received may be transmitted/received, and the file information of portable storage device  110  may indicate such. Also, even when data is continuously stored in the portable storage device  110  in operation  260 , the operation of checking whether the connection of the portable storage device  110  in operation  220  is performed. As the portable storage device  110  that is disconnected from the image forming device  100  is reconnected, a message indicating the continuation of the storage job may be indicated. 
       FIG. 5  illustrates an interface provided when the connection between the image forming device  100  and the portable storage device  110  is restored in the method of transmitting/receiving data between the image forming device  100  and the portable storage device  110  according to an embodiment of the present invention. Referring to  FIG. 5 , when the portable storage device  110  that is disconnected from the image forming device  100  is reconnected, a message  500  indicating that the portable storage device  110  is reconnected to the image forming device  100  so that the storage job can be continued is indicated, thus making a user aware of the reconnection of the portable storage device  110 . 
     Referring back to  FIG. 2 , in operation  265 , it is indicated that another portable storage device  110  different from the initially connected portable storage device  110  is connected. The image forming device  100  provides an interface indicating that another portable storage device  110  that is different from the portable storage device  110  for which a data transmitting/receiving job is discontinued is connected to the image forming device  100 , through the user interface unit, and receives an input of a selection of whether to perform the transmitting/receiving job with respect to the connected portable storage device  110  through the provided interface in operation  270 . Further, when a memory of the portable storage device  110  is full, a second portable storage device  110  may be connected to the image forming device  100  and the data transmission/receipt may continue according to the operation  270 . 
       FIG. 6  illustrates an interface provided when a portable storage device  110  that is not the one initially connected to the image forming device  100  is connected to the image forming device  100  in the method of transmitting/receiving data between the image forming device  100  and the portable storage device  110  according to an embodiment of the present invention. As shown in  FIG. 6 , when another portable storage device  110  that is different from the initially connected portable storage device  110 , is connected to the image forming device  100 , a message  600  indicating that a different portable storage device  110  is connected and enabling a selection of whether to use the connected portable storage device  110  is provided. According to the selection of either a button “YES”  610  or a button “NO”  620 , the transmitting/receiving job may be performed or not with respect to the connected portable storage device  110 . 
     Referring back to  FIG. 2 , in operation  270 , a selection of whether to perform the data transmitting/receiving job for the connected portable storage device  110  is input. The message  600  of  FIG. 6  for selecting whether to transmit/receive data with respect to the portable storage device  110  that is presently connected is provided in operation  265 . When the button “YES”  610  is selected from the provided interface  600  and thus a selection to perform the data transmitting/receiving with respect to the connected portable storage device  110  is input, operation  200  is performed. In contrast, when the button “NO”  620  is selected and thus a selection of not transmitting/receiving data with respect to the connected portable storage device  110  is input, the process of transmitting/receiving data with the portable storage device  110  is completed. 
       FIG. 7  is a block diagram of an image forming device  700  that performs the method of transmitting/receiving data between the image forming device and the portable storage device according to an embodiment of the present invention. Referring to  FIG. 7 , the image forming device  700  includes an information reading unit  710 , a storage unit  720 , a storage device connection unit  730 , a file system management unit  740 , a central processing unit  750 , and an interface unit  760 . The image forming device  700  is not limited thereto such that the image forming device may be a multifunction product as described above. 
     When a portable storage device  800  is connected via a port, the information reading unit  710  reads out information on the connected portable storage device. The information about the portable storage device includes information about the type, ID, and file system of a portable storage device  800 . Also, the ID information of the portable storage device  800  may be a device ID or a serial number that is intrinsic information which can be electrically identified and separately assigned to a device. The read information is transferred to the storage unit  720 . Also, after the portable storage device  800  is disconnected from the information reading unit  710  and then reconnected, the information about the reconnected portable storage device  800  is read out. That is, the information reading unit  710  reads out the information about the connected portable storage device  800  whenever the portable storage device  800  is connected. However, the read information is transferred to the storage unit  720  only when the read information is not stored in the storage unit  720 . 
     The storage unit  720  receives the read information from the information reading unit  710  and stores the received information. Also, the storage unit  720  stores data generated by the image forming device  700  and data that can be output from the image forming device  700 . 
     The file system management unit  740  generates file information generated at the portable storage device  800  based on the information and data stored in the storage unit  720 . The file information includes information about the name of a file to be generated, the position of a file in the file system of the portable storage device  800 , and the physical position where data is stored. The generated file information is transferred to the storage device connection unit  730 . Also, the file system management unit  740  includes a data block size calculation unit  742 . The data block size calculation unit  742  receives an updated file system of the portable storage device  800  from the storage device connection unit  730  and calculates the size of a data block in which data may be stored in the connected portable storage device  800  for one-time transmitting/receiving of data based on the received file system of the portable storage device  800 . The data block size calculation unit  742  transfers the calculated block size to the storage device connection unit  730 . 
     The storage device connection unit  730  includes a storage device updating unit  732  which updates the file system of the connected portable storage device  800  with the file information received from the file system management unit  740 . The storage device connection unit  730  updates the file system of the portable storage device  800  using the storage device updating unit  732  and transfers the updated file system of the portable storage device  800  to the file system management unit  740 . Also, the storage device connection unit  730  transmits/receives the data stored in the storage unit  720  in units of blocks to the connected portable storage device  800  based on the file information received from the file system management unit  740 . In detail, the storage device connection unit  730  transfers the data stored in the storage unit  720  in units of blocks according to the size calculated by the data block size calculation unit  742  to the connected portable storage device  800  based on the file information received from the file system management unit  740 . When the connection of the portable storage device  800  connected via the port is removed, the storage device connection unit  730  stops the data transmitting/receiving of the data blocks after the connection is lost. Also, when the portable storage device  800  is reconnected, the storage device connection unit  730  notifies the central processing unit  750  about the reconnection. 
     When receiving the reconnection of the portable storage device  800  from the storage device connection unit  730 , the central processing unit  750  receives the information (first information) stored in the storage unit  720  and the information (second information) read out by the information reading unit  710  and compares the received first and second information. As a result of the comparison, when the first and second information are the same, it is determined that the reconnected portable storage device  800  is the same as the disconnected portable storage device  800 . Otherwise, it is determined that the reconnected portable storage device  800  is not the same as the disconnected portable storage device  800 . Also, the central processing unit  750  transfers the result of the comparison to the storage device connection unit  730  and the interface unit  760 . 
     The interface unit  760  receives from the central processing unit  750  the result of the comparison as to whether the disconnected portable storage device  800  and the reconnected portable storage device  800  are the same. When receiving from the central processing unit  750  the comparison result that the disconnected portable storage device  800  and the reconnected portable storage device  800  are not the same, the interface unit  760  indicates the connection of a different portable storage device  800  and provides a message to receive a selection of whether to store data in the reconnected portable storage device  800 . The interface unit  760  may provide the message of  FIG. 6 . Then, the button “YES”  610  or “NO”  620  is selected from the provided message and the selected result is transferred to the storage device connection unit  730 . When receiving from the central processing unit  750  the comparison result that the disconnected portable storage device  800  and the reconnected portable storage device  800  are the same, as shown in  FIG. 5 , a message  500  indicating that the connection of the portable storage device  800  is restored and that the storage job is continuing is provided. 
     The storage device connection unit  730  receives from the central processing unit  750  the comparison result as to whether the disconnected portable storage device  800  and the reconnected portable storage device  800  are the same. When receiving the comparison result that the disconnected portable storage device  800  and the reconnected portable storage device  800  are the same, the storage device connection unit  730  resumes the storing of the data blocks for which transmitting/receiving was previously stopped. The data blocks for which transmitting/receiving is stopped are transmitted/received with respect to the portable storage device  800  by referring to the file information of the final data blocks that were transmitted/received at the moment when the data transmitting/receiving is stopped. That is, the storage device connection unit  730  performs the data transmitting/receiving with respect to the portable storage device  800  by matching the data blocks for which transmitting/receiving is stopped to the physical position where the data included in the file information is to be stored. 
     Aspects of the present invention can also be embodied as computer readable codes on a computer readable recording medium. The computer readable recording medium may be any data storage device that can store data that can be thereafter read by a computer system. Examples of the computer readable recording medium include read-only memory (ROM), random-access memory (RAM), CD-ROMs, magnetic tapes, floppy disks, optical data storage devices, etc. The computer readable recording medium can also be distributed over network coupled computer systems so that the computer readable code is stored and executed in a distributed fashion. 
     As described above, according to aspects of the present invention, even when the connection between an image forming device and a portable storage device is lost, and thus the transmitting/receiving of data from the image forming device to the portable storage device is stopped, the transmitting/receiving of data between the image forming device and the portable storage device can resume when the connection is restored. 
     Although a few embodiments of the present invention have been shown and described, it would be appreciated by those skilled in the art that changes may be made in this embodiment without departing from the principles and spirit of the invention, the scope of which is defined in the claims and their equivalents.