Patent Publication Number: US-2006018223-A1

Title: Image forming apparatus and method to print a plurality of files stored in portable recording medium

Description:
CROSS-REFERENCE TO RELATED APPLICATIONS  
      This application claims under 35 U.S.C, §119 the benefit of Korean Patent Application Nos. 2004-58294 filed on Jul. 26, 2004; and 2004-101484 filed on Dec. 4, 2004, in the Korean Intellectual Property Office, the disclosures of which are incorporated herein by reference.  
     BACKGROUND OF THE INVENTION  
      1. Field of the Invention  
      The present general inventive concept relates to an image forming apparatus and a method to print a plurality of files, and more particularly, to an image forming apparatus and a method to extract printable files among a plurality of files existing within a selected directory stored in a portable recording medium connectable with an image forming apparatus and to print the extracted files.  
      2. Description of the Related Art  
      An image forming apparatus prints files generated within the image forming apparatus or stored in a recording medium onto one or more sheets of printing paper. A developer, such as, a toner is used to print the files onto the printing paper. Typical examples of the image forming apparatus are printers, photocopiers, scanners, facsimiles, and multi-function peripheral (MFP) machines into which multi-functions are implemented complexly.  
      The recording medium stores to-be-printed files and includes a hard disc drive (HDD) installed inside of the image forming apparatus and a portable recording medium connectable with the image forming apparatus.  
      The portable recording medium is attachable to and detachable from the image forming apparatus. The portable recording medium includes HDDs, random access memory (RAM) cards, flash memory cards, memory sticks, and the like.  
      Recently, digital cameras, mobile terminals installed with digital cameras, moving picture experts group 3 (MP3) players, and the like have been commercialized to be used as the portable recording medium capable of storing files and attachable to and detachable from the image forming apparatus.  
      A universal serial bus (USB) mode is one of interface modes for connecting the portable recording medium with the image forming apparatus. As the image forming apparatus is connected with the portable recording medium through the USB mode, it is possible to print out the files stored in the portable recording medium on the printing paper.  
      In a conventional image forming apparatus connectable with the portable recording medium through the USB mode, a user is compelled to search for files stored in the portable recording medium and select the files individually to print the stored files of the portable recording medium.  
      In more detail, as the image forming apparatus is connected with the portable recording medium, information on the files stored in the portable recording medium is read and displayed. Then, the user selects one of the files to be printed when the files are displayed. After the selection of the one file, as the user authenticates a print instruction to the image forming apparatus, the image forming apparatus prints the selected file. If the number of the files to be printed is more than one, it is necessary to repeat the above described steps in order to print a number of files.  
      Therefore, it is complicated for the user to search for the information on files stored in the portable recording medium one by one and individually select each of the files to be printed. Also, the user has to authenticate the print instruction repeatedly to print the selected files. As a result of this individual selection of the files to be printed, it may take longer to print the plurality of files intended to be printed.  
     SUMMARY OF THE INVENTION  
      The present general inventive concept provides an image forming apparatus capable of printing a plurality of printable files simultaneously among files stored in one directory selected among directories stored in a portable recording medium and a method of printing the plurality of the selected printable files.  
      Additional aspects and advantages of the present general inventive concept 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 general inventive concept.  
      The foregoing and/or other aspects of the present general inventive concept may be achieved by providing an image forming apparatus to receive files stored in a connectable portable recording medium, the image forming apparatus comprising an interface unit to provide a communication interface with the portable recording medium, and a control unit connectable with the portable recording medium through the interface unit to control the interface unit to receive the files stored in one selected directory among directories of the portable recording medium through the interface unit.  
      The image forming apparatus may further comprise a display unit to display directories having the files stored in the portable recording medium to select at least one directory among the directories.  
      The image forming apparatus may further comprise a key input unit to authenticate a request signal to select the at least one directory among the directories having the files stored in the portable recording medium.  
      The control unit may extract printable files among the files stored in the selected directory on the basis of information on the files stored in the selected directory.  
      The image forming apparatus may further comprise a print unit to print the files according to a user selection among the extracted files as being controlled by the control unit.  
      The information on the files may be one of file extensions and contents of headers of the files.  
      If the directory of the portable recording medium is not selected, files to be printed are selected among the files stored in the portable recording medium.  
      the foregoing and/or other aspects of the present general inventive concept may also be achieved by providing a method of printing a plurality of files in an image forming apparatus to receive the files stored in a connectable portable recording medium, the method comprising providing a communication interface with the portable recording medium, and receiving the files stored in a selected directory among directories in which the files are stored in the portable recording medium, through the communication interface.  
      The method may further comprise displaying directories in which files of the portable recording medium are stored in order to select at least one directory among the directories.  
      The method may further comprise authenticating a request signal to select at least one directory among directories in which the files are stored in the portable recording medium.  
      The method may further comprise extracting printable files among the files stored in the selected directory on the basis of information on the files of the selected directory.  
      The method may further comprise printing files among the extracted files according to a user selection.  
      The information on the files of the selected directory may be one of file extensions and contents of headers of the files.  
      The method may further comprise selecting files to be printed among the files stored in the portable recording medium if the selected directory is determined not to be printed. 
    
    
     BRIEF DESCRIPTION OF THE DRAWINGS  
      These and/or other aspects and advantages of the present general inventive concept 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  is a block diagram showing a printing system having an image forming apparatus according to an embodiment of the present general inventive concept; and  
       FIG. 2  is a flowchart showing a method of printing out a plurality of files of an image forming apparatus according to an embodiment of the present general inventive concept. 
    
    
     DETAILED DESCRIPTION OF THE PREFERRED EMBODIMENTS  
      Reference will now be made in detail to the embodiments of the present general inventive concept, 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 general inventive concept while referring to the figures.  
       FIG. 1  is a block diagram showing a printing system having an image forming apparatus according to an embodiment of the present general inventive concept.  
      As shown in  FIG. 1 , the printing system includes a portable recording medium  10  and an image forming apparatus  100 .  
      Image files including pictures and photographs and text files including documents are stored in the portable recording medium  10 . More specifically, the image and text files are stored in corresponding directories constituted according to contexts related files or to-be-printed files.  
      Table 1 provided below represents exemplary files stored in each constituted directory of the portable recording medium  10 .  
                               TABLE 1                                   Directory 1   Directory 2   Directory 3                          picture1.gif   document2.HML   text2.HLT           document1.hwp   photograph2.jpg   picture3.gif           photograph1.jpg   document2-1.TXT   —           Text1.bkg   photograph2-1.jpg   —                      
 
      As shown in Table 1, in the directory 1, various types of to-be-printed files, such as the picture1, the document1, the photograph1 and the text1 are stored. The context related files, such as the document2, the photograph2, the document 2-1, and the photograph2-1, are stored in the directory 2. In the directory 3, files as the text2 and the picture3 are stored. A user of the portable recording medium  10  can set and change names of the directories and files.  
      As the portable recording medium  10  is connected with the image forming apparatus  100 , the image forming apparatus  100  prints out the files stored in one directory selected by a user among the directories of the portable recording medium  10 , on one or more sheets of printing paper. Also, the image forming apparatus  100  prints out each of the files selected by the user among the files stored in the portable recording medium  10  on the sheets of the printing paper.  
      The portable recording medium  10  and the image forming apparatus  100  are connected with each other through a universal serial bus (USB) cable  150 . As the portable recording medium  10  is connected with the image forming apparatus  100  through the USB cable  150 , the portable recording medium  10  transfers the files stored in the selected directory to the image forming apparatus  100  through the USB cable  150  in a USB interface mode.  
      The image forming apparatus  100  includes an interface unit  110 , an operation panel block  120 , a print unit  130 , and a control unit  140 .  
      The interface unit  110  is configured to interface the image forming apparatus  100  with the portable recording medium  10 . Particularly, the interface unit  110  transfers files and allows the portable recording medium  10  and the image forming apparatus  100  to communicate with each other for exchanging information.  
      In more detail, when the portable recording medium  10  is connected with the image forming apparatus  100  by employing the interface unit  110 , the interface unit  110  transfers information on the directories of the portable recording medium  10  and information on the files stored in the directories to the control unit  140 . Also, the interface unit  110  transfers the files of the selected directory to the control unit  140 , so that the print unit  130  can print the transferred files stored in the selected directory of the portable recording medium  10 .  
      The operation panel block  120  serves a role in displaying an operation status of the image forming apparatus  100  or in receiving an instruction input by a user. The operation panel block  120  includes a display unit  122  and a key input unit  124 .  
      The display unit  122  displays an operation status of the image forming apparatus  100  and is formed by using a liquid crystal display (LCD) or a light emitting diode (LED) display.  
      When the portable recording medium  10  is connected with the image forming apparatus  100 , the display unit  122  displays a connection status of the portable recording medium  10 . Also, the display unit  122  displays the information on the directories of the portable recording medium  10  and the information on the files stored in the respective directories both being transferred through the interface unit  110 .  
      As a user selects one of the directories, the display unit  122  displays a message to ask the user about a directory print, i.e., the message to determine whether to print all of the files stored in the selected directory. Also, the display unit  122  displays a list of printable files among the files stored in the selected directory and a print status of the files while being printed.  
      The user selects a directory to be printed among the directories stored in the portable recording medium  10  using the key input unit  124 . Also, as a selection window showing the above message about the directory print of the files appears on the display unit  122 , the user selects whether to print the directory print using the key input unit  124 .  
      Also, if it is determined not to print the files stored in the selected directory, the user uses the key input unit  124  to select files to be printed among the files stored in the portable recording medium  10 .  
      The print unit  130  prints out a plurality of printable files among the files stored in the selected directory of the portable recording medium  10  on the sheets of the printing paper.  
      The control unit  140  controls configuration elements of the image forming apparatus  100  and makes the files stored in the selected directory of the portable recording medium  10  printed.  
      More particularly, when the portable recording medium  10  is connected with the interface unit  110  through the USB interface mode, the control unit  140  detects the connection of the portable recording medium  10 .  
      As the connection of the portable recording medium  10  is detected, the control unit  140  controls the interface unit  110  to read the information on directories of the portable recording medium  10  and the information on the files stored in the directories.  
      Also, as the user selects a directory of the portable recording medium  10 , the control unit  140  makes a window to select the directory print displayed by the display unit  122 .  
      If the directory print is selected, the control unit  140  controls the interface unit  110  to receive the files stored in the selected directory. Also, on the basis of the information on the files of the selected directory, the control unit  140  extracts the files that can be printed out among all files stored in the selected directory. The information on the files of the selected directory includes file extensions, contents of headers of the files and the like. The file extension is a set of letters placed after the punctuation of period in a file name to classify the type of file. Examples of the file extensions for the printable files are ‘*.jpg,’ ‘*.hwp,’ ‘*.HLT,’ ‘*.HML,’ ‘*.TXT’ and so forth. Here, the symbol ‘*’ represents a file name. The header is a group of letters placed before a data file and contains information on contents of the file, characteristics and so on.  
      The control unit  140  controls the print unit  130  and makes the extracted printable files printed on the sheets of the printing paper.  
       FIG. 2 . is a flowchart showing a method of printing out a plurality of files in a printing system having an image forming apparatus according to an embodiment of the present general inventive concept.  
      Referring to  FIGS. 1 and 2 , at operation S 200 , the control unit  140  detects whether the portable recording medium  10  is connected with the interface unit  110  of the image forming apparatus  100 . Depending on the communication between the interface unit  110  and the portable recording medium  10  through the USB mode, the control unit  140  detects whether the portable recording medium  10  is connected with the image forming apparatus  100 . That is, the control unit  140  detects the connection between the portable recording medium  10  and the image forming apparatus  100  when the portable recording medium  10  communicates with the interface unit  110  through the USB mode.  
      Next, at operation S 210 , as the connection of the portable recording medium  10  is detected, the control unit  140  makes directories stored in the portable recording medium  10  displayed. The control unit  140  controls the interface unit  110  to read the information on the directories of the portable recording medium  10  and the information on the files stored in the directories of the portable recording medium  10 .  
      After the displayed directories are searched, at operation S 220 , a user selects a directory in which the files desired to be printed are stored, using the key input unit  124 .  
      As the directory is selected, the control unit  140  determines whether or not the selected directory is printed at operation S 230 . Also, the control unit  140  makes a window showing a message asking about a print of the selected directory displayed. If the print of the selected directory is decided, i.e., if it is intended to print a plurality of the files stored in the selected directory, the user selects the print of the selected directory by using the key input unit  124 . If it is not necessary to print all of the files stored in the selected directory, the user does not select the print of the selected directory.  
      At operation S 240 , if the print of the directory is not selected, the user selects a file to be printed among the files stored in the selected directory using the key input unit  124 .  
      If the to-be-printed file is selected, at operation S 250 , the control unit  140  controls the print unit  130  to print the selected file onto the sheet of the printing paper.  
      If the print of the directory is selected at operation S 230 , the control unit  140  extracts printable files among the files stored in the selected directory and generates a list of the printable files at operation S 260 . At this time, the control unit  140  extracts the printable files based on the information on the files of the selected directory including file extensions, contents of headers of the files and so on.  
      At operation S 270 , the control unit  140  converts the files in the list into a form of printable data. The control unit  140  converts the files, stored in a form of a bit map at the portable recording medium  10  and transferred through the interface unit  110 , into analog data for printing.  
      At operation S 280 , the control unit  140  controls the print unit  130  to print the files converted into the analog data onto the sheet of the printing paper. The control unit  140  prints the files sequentially as in the list.  
      The control unit  140  determines whether the files in the list are printed onto the sheets of the printing paper at operation S 290 . If it is determined that all of the files in the list are not completely printed, the control unit  140  repeats the operations S 270  to S 280 .  
      In the above embodiment of the present general inventive concept, the use of the USB interface mode is exemplified as an interface for connecting the portable recording medium with the image forming apparatus. However, the present invention is still applicable to such connection modes as a plug and play (PnP) mode and an IEEE1394 interface mode.  
      The above method of  FIG. 2  may be implemented in a computer readable recording medium, such as any type of semiconductor memory devices, magnetic or optical recording discs, or a data storage medium. The computer readable recording medium used with the image forming apparatus may include codes to perform the printing method of providing a plurality of directories each having a plurality of files, selecting one of the plurality of the directories, and printing printable files of the plurality of files contained in the selected one of the plurality of directories according to the selection of the one of the plurality of directories.  
      As described above, a desired directory is selected without individually selecting to-be-printed files among files stored in the portable recording medium, and thus, among files stored in the selected directory, a plurality of printable files are printed at once. This simultaneous printing of the selected files provides convenience to users. Also, it is possible to reduce a time taken for printing out the selected files.  
      Although a few embodiments of the present general inventive concept have been shown and described, it will be appreciated by those skilled in the art that changes may be made in these embodiments without departing from the principles and spirit of the general inventive concept, the scope of which is defined in the appended claims and their equivalents.