Patent Publication Number: US-2012026547-A1

Title: File management system

Description:
CROSS-REFERENCE TO RELATED APPLICATIONS 
     The application claims priority of U.S. provisional patent application Ser. No. 61/369,797 filed on Aug. 02, 2010, the contents of which are hereby incorporated by reference. 
    
    
     FIELD OF THE INVENTION 
     The present invention relates to a system, and more particularly to a file management system. 
     BACKGROUND OF THE INVENTION 
     Smart phone has more and more development and application dimension recently and become an efficient instrument for the life style of requiring convenient and fast. Generally, taking photo and linking the internet are the necessary basic functions in the smart phone. The common means to operate the smart phone is that the user uses a shoot function to take pictures of people, things, and objects on the go, and saves the pictures in the self mobile phone, even uploads the pictures to the social group website for sharing other people. 
     Although sharing information through the network is common means, not all information needed to upload and share openly. The instantaneity of some of data, such as text file or picture, has a commercial requirement, not being public on the network. For the commercial requirement, the information may be needed to send to an office or a meeting place immediately. Such the instantaneity cannot be satisfied by the conventional smart phone. 
     In addition, for dealing with body carrying requirement, the design of the smart phone directs light and thin. The defect of the light and thin design is that the memory of the smart phone is less than the memory of the portable computer or desktop computer. Additionally, the risk of losing the smart phone is higher than the computer. If the user wants to preserve the data saved into the smart phone well, it is rely on the user to backup the data into other storage device, so as to reduce the risk of losing data. 
     SUMMARY OF THE INVENTION 
     Therefore, the present invention is to provide a file management method, for managing files according to a user&#39;s requirement. 
     In addition, the present invention provides a method for on-line printing, for printing a file from a mobile device. 
     A method for controlling a host apparatus is provided by the present invention. When the host apparatus receives a sending message from a mobile device, the sending message is scanned by the host apparatus, so as to determine whether or not a requirement command is attached into the sending message. Wherein, a file is attached into the sending message. If the requirement command is attached into the sending message, the method would identify the requirement command. When the requirement command is a print requirement command, the method would make the host apparatus driving a printer connected to the host apparatus to print the file. 
     In one embodiment of the present invention, the sending message is an e-mail, and the file is probably a text file, an image file, a video file, or an audio file. 
     In addition, when the requirement command is a save requirement command, the method would make the host apparatus to save the file. 
     Furthermore, when the requirement command is an upload requirement command, the method would make the host apparatus to upload the file to a web site. 
     From another viewpoint, a method for on-line print is provided by the present invention. First, a sending message is generated according to a user&#39;s operating on a mobile device. Then, a print requirement command and a file are attached into the sending message according to the user&#39;s operating. In addition, the sending message is transmitted to a host apparatus from the mobile device, so as to make the host apparatus driving a printer to print the file scanning the sending message to obtain the print requirement command. 
     Since the present invention deals with the file according to a requirement command embedded into the sending message, the present invention can more flexible manage the file. In addition, because the file can attach on the sending message, the present invention can more immediate manage the file. 
    
    
     
       BRIEF DESCRIPTION OF THE DRAWINGS 
       The above objects and advantages of the present invention will become more readily apparent to those ordinarily skilled in the art after reviewing the following detailed description and accompanying drawings, in which: 
         FIG. 1  is a schematic diagram of a file management system according to one preferred embodiment of the present invention. 
         FIG. 2  is a schematic diagram of a host apparatus according to one preferred embodiment of the present invention. 
         FIG. 3  is a schematic diagram of a printer according to one preferred embodiment of the present invention. 
         FIG. 4  is a schematic diagram of a mobile device according to one preferred embodiment of the present invention. 
         FIGS. 5A and 5B  are flow charts of a file management method according to one preferred embodiment of the present invention. 
     
    
    
     DETAILED DESCRIPTION OF PREFERRED EMBODIMENTS 
     The present invention will now be described more specifically with reference to the following embodiments. It is to be noted that the following descriptions of preferred embodiments of this invention are presented herein for purpose of illustration and description only. It is not intended to be exhaustive or to be limited to the precise form disclosed. 
       FIG. 1  is a schematic diagram of a file management system according to one preferred embodiment of the present invention. Referring to the  FIG. 1 , the file management system  100  can linking with a mobile device  122  through a network  120 , such as the internet. Furthermore, the file management system  100  also can link with a website  124  through the network  120 . In this exemplary embodiment, the file management system  100  has a host apparatus  102  and a printer  104 . The host apparatus  102  is probably a desktop computer or a portable computer. In addition, the host apparatus  102  connects to the printer  104  through a data transmission interface  110 . In some embodiments, the data transmission interface  110  is a USB interface. 
     In some embodiments, the host apparatus  102  further connects with an external storage device  106  through the data transmission interface  110 . Wherein, the external storage device  106  is probably an external hard-disk driver or an external flash memory device. 
       FIG. 2  is a schematic diagram of a host apparatus according to one preferred embodiment of the present invention. Referring to the  FIG. 2 , the host apparatus  102  comprises a processing module  202  and a control software  204 . The control software  204  can be implemented by a program production, such as an application program or a firmware. The processing module  202  can communicate with the control software  204 . Additionally, the host apparatus  102  also has a network  206  and a connection module  208 . Both the network module  206  and the connection module  208  are coupled with the processing module  202 . The network module  206  is probably a network card for linking with the network  120 . 
     In addition, the connection module  208  has at least one connection port, such as the connection ports  212  and  214 . In this exemplary embodiment, the connection ports  212  and  214  are probably USB ports. In addition, the host apparatus  102  further comprises a internal storage unit which is coupled with the processing module  202 , and configured for providing a store space for the control software  204 . The internal storage unit  210  is probably an internal hard-disk driver or a flash memory. 
       FIG. 3  is a schematic diagram of a printer according to one preferred embodiment of the present invention. Referring to the  FIG. 3 , the printer  104  comprises a processing unit  302  and a printing module  304 . Wherein, the processing unit  302  is coupled to the printing module  304 . In addition, the printer  104  in this embodiment further has a USB male connector  308 , a storage unit  310 , a card reader module  312 , and a connection module  314 , and all couples to the processing unit  302 . 
     In the  FIG. 3 , the USB male connector  308  is coupled to the processing unit  302  through the USB cable  306  and configured for inserting into the USB port of the host apparatus  102 , such as the USB port  212  or  214 . Additionally, the storage unit  310  is probably a hard-disk driver or a flash memory. Furthermore, the card reader module  312  has a memory card slot  322  for containing a memory card, such like the memory card  324 . In some embodiments, the memory card  324  is probably a PCMCIA card, a CF card, a SD card, a mini SD card, a micro SD card, a SDHC card, SDXC card, a T Flash card, a MMC card, a MMCplus card, a HC MMCplus card, a RS-MMC card, a MS card, a SM card, an xD card, a SDXC card, a MS XC card, or a Eye-Fi card. In this embodiment, the card reader module  312  is coupled to the process unit  302  via a pict-bridge interface  316 . 
     In addition, the connection module  314  also has at least one connection port, such as the USB ports  332  and  334 . Therefore, some peripheral devices can links with the printer  104  through the USB ports  332  and  334 . In some embodiments, the peripheral devices comprise an external storage device  336  or a card reader  338 . Wherein, the card reader  338  also has a memory slot  340  for containing a memory card, such as the memory card  342 . The specification of the memory card  342  is probably the same as the memory card  324 . 
       FIG. 4  is a schematic diagram of a mobile device according to one preferred embodiment of the present invention. Referring to the  FIG. 4 . The mobile device  122  comprises a processing module  402  and a control software  404 . In this embodiment, the control software  404  can communicate with the control software  204  shown in the  FIG. 2 . Additionally, the processing module  402  can communicate with the control software  404 . 
     In some embodiments, the mobile device  122  further has a linking module  406 , an operation module  408 , and a storage unit  410 , which are coupled to the processing module  402 . The linking module  406  links with the network  120  through a transmission interface  412 , such like 3G interface, Wimax, LTE, TD-LTE, or WiFi. In addition, the operation module  408  has at least one operation unit, for example a real key, a touch-control panel, a joystick, a roll wheel, a trackball, etc. Furthermore, the storage unit  410  is probably a flash memory. In some embodiments, the control software  404  is saved in the storage unit  410 . 
       FIGS. 5A and 5B  are a flow chart of a file management method according to one preferred embodiment of the present invention. Referring to the  FIGS. 4 and 5A , first, in this exemplary embodiment, when the control software  404  is started, the control software  404  can performs the step S 502  to generate a sending message MSG according to a user&#39;s operating through the operation module  408 . In this embodiment, the sending message MSG is probably an e-mail. Meanwhile, the control software  404  can attach a file and a requirement command into the sending message MSG according to the user&#39;s operating, as the description in the step S 504 . Wherein, the file is probably a text file, an image file, a video file, or an audio file. Additionally, the requirement command is probably a predetermined string. Then, the control software  404  controls the processing module  402  transmitting the sending message MSG to the host apparatus  102  via the network  120 , as description in the step S 506 . 
     Next, referring to the  FIGS. 1 ,  2  and  5 B, when the host apparatus  102  receives the sending message MSG, the control software  204 , as the description in the step S 510 , would scan the sending message, so as to execute the step S 512  to determine whether or not a requirement command is attached into the sending message MSG. When the requirement command is found in the step S 512  (i.e., “Yes” labeled in the step S 512 ), the control software  204  would identify the requirement command attached into the sending message MSG, as the description in the step S 514 . 
     For example, when the control software  204  checks that the requirement command is a print requirement command, the control software  204  would control the processing module  202  to generate a control command CTR_CMD. The control command CTR_CMD, then, is transmitted to the printer  104  from the connection module  212 . In addition, the processing module  202  also transmits the file attached on the sending message MSG to the printer  104  through the data transmission interface  110 . 
     Referring to the  FIGS. 1 ,  2  and  3 , when the control command CTR_CMD and the file are transmitted to the printer  104 , the processing unit  302  would receive those through the USB male connector  308  and the USB cable  306 . Meanwhile, the processing unit  302  controls the printing module  208  to print the file. 
     Additionally, if the control software  204  checks that the requirement command embedded into the sending message MSG is an upload requirement command, the control software  204  would control the host apparatus  102  to log in the website  124 , as the description in the step S 518 , so as to build a data transmission link. Therefore, the control software  206  would control the host apparatus  102  uploading the file attached on the sending message MSG to the website  124  via the data transmission link. In the exemplary embodiment, the website  124  is a social group web site. 
     In addition, if the control software  204  checks that the requirement command attached into the sending message MSG is a save requirement command, the control software  204  would saves the file attached on the sending message MSG, as the description in the step S 522 . For example, the control software  204  would save the file into the internal storage unit  210 . In other embodiments, the control software  204  would control the processing module  202  saving the file into the external storage device  106 . Moreover, the control software  204  would control the processing module  202  generate the control command CTR_CMD to the printer  104 , so as to save the file into the storage unit  310  in the printer  104  or the external storage device  336  connecting the USB port  332  of the printer  104 . 
     In summary, because the present invention would attach a file on the sending message and embed a requirement command into the sending message, the file can be dealt according to the user&#39;s requirement. The process of dealing with the file is immediate. 
     While the invention has been described in terms of what is presently considered to be the most practical and preferred embodiments, it is to be understood that the invention needs not be limited to the disclosed embodiment. On the contrary, it is intended to cover various modifications and similar arrangements included within the spirit and scope of the appended claims which are to be accorded with the broadest interpretation so as to encompass all such modifications and similar structures.