Patent Publication Number: US-2012047582-A1

Title: Data deleting method for computer storage device

Description:
BACKGROUND OF THE INVENTION 
     1. Field of the Invention 
     The present invention is related to a computer storage device, and in particular to a data deleting method for a computer storage device. 
     2. Description of Prior Art 
     No doubt, the computer is one of the greatest inventions in the 20 th  century. With its convenience, the computer is now widely used for everything and everywhere. 
     The most advantageous feature of the computer lies in that it is equipped with a storage device such as a hard disk driver, an optical disk driver and a memory disk to permanently store a user&#39;s data including documents, letters, photos, movies and audio files. With the advancement of the semiconductor industry, the capacity of the storage device is increased immensely. As a result, the user can store all the required data and files on a large scale in the storage device no matter what they are (whether the data and files are important or not). 
     Since the user desires to have a portable computer, more and more notebook computers are recently produced. Furthermore, various portable storage devices such as a USB flash drive (UFD), a memory card or an external hard disk are developed and become the most popular peripheral devices of the computer. However, since these portable storage devices can be freely and incautiously taken away by the user to the outdoors, the data security issue of them thereof must be taken into a serious consideration. For example, when the user uses his notebook computer or USB flash drive in an outdoor café, the notebook computer may be robbed or stolen, and the USB flash drive may be pulled out of the computer by other people. As a result, the data stored in the notebook computer or the USB flash drive may be exposed by someone with bad will. Therefore, in view of the above, it is an important issue for those skilled in this art to develop a storage device considering convenience, portability and security at the same time. 
     The current portable storage device for the computer usage such as a USB flash drive or memory card each has a function of setting a security lock, whereby the user has to input the correct key password to access the data stored therein to thereby protect the data. However, with the advancement of information technology, various programs for decrypting password are already developed and widely spread in the Internet. Further, many technically sophisticated hackers try to steal or browse other people&#39;s data stored in the computer via the Internet, the traditional way of protecting data only by a key password has become insufficient in terms of security. 
     According to the above, considering the convenience, even confidential or secret data may be inevitably stored in a notebook or other portable storage device for any purpose. Therefore, how to protect such confidential or secret data in any kind of storage device has become a general issue for computer professionals including the staff responsible for national security. 
     SUMMARY OF THE INVENTION 
     The present invention is to provide a data deleting method for a computer storage device, whereby the data stored therein can be automatically deleted when the storage device is powered on to thereby prevent the data from any thief or unauthorized usage. 
     According to the present invention, a default status is first set for a deletion record file in a storage device when the storage device is powered on, wherein the default status can be enable or disable. If the deletion record file is kept in the enable status before the storage device is powered off, the whole data stored in the storage device is automatically deleted when the storage device is powered on next time. This is because the enable status of the deletion record file is detected by a control unit within the storage device. 
     In comparison with the prior art, the present invention has advantageous features as follows. When the user is using a notebook computer or a portable storage device, the deletion record file of the storage device can be kept in the enable status by a control software. In this way, if the computer or the storage device is robbed or stolen so someone with a bad will have a chance to turn off the computer or remove the storage device from the computer, however, with the deletion record file kept in the enable status, any embedded storage device within the computer or the standalone storage device itself will automatically delete the data stored therein when the computer or the storage device is powered on next time. Thus, it is unnecessary for the user to delete the data stored in his computer or storage device regularly and his personal secrets or confidential data can be protected more firmly and easily. 
    
    
     
       BRIEF DESCRIPTION OF THE DRAWINGS 
         FIG. 1  is a concept diagram depicting a preferred embodiment of the present invention; 
         FIG. 2  is a block diagram depicting a preferred embodiment of the present invention; 
         FIG. 3A  is a concept diagram depicting the working memory of a preferred embodiment of the present invention; 
         FIG. 3B  is a concept diagram depicting the data memory of a preferred embodiment of the present invention; 
         FIG. 4  is a flow chart depicting a preferred embodiment of the present invention; 
         FIG. 5  is a block diagram depicting another preferred embodiment of the present invention; and 
         FIG. 6  is a flow chart depicting another preferred embodiment of the present invention. 
     
    
    
     DETAILED DESCRIPTION OF THE INVENTION 
     The preferred embodiments of the present invention will be described in more detail with reference to the accompanying figures. 
     Please refer to  FIG. 1 , which is a concept diagram depicting a preferred embodiment of the present invention. As shown in this figure, the present inventive method is applied between a computer  1  and a portable storage device  2  (referred as “storage device  2 ” hereinafter). The computer  1  shown in  FIG. 1  is a laptop computer, and the storage device  2  is a USB flash drive as an example. However, the computer  1  may be a desktop computer or any computer system, and the storage device  2  may be a memory card, a built-in hard disk drive or an external hard disk drive. Anyway, the computer  1  and the storage device  2  are not limited to the above. 
     Please refer to  FIG. 2 , which is a block diagram depicting a preferred embodiment of the present invention. The computer  1  includes a central processing unit  11 , a hard disk drive  12 , and a first I/O interface  13 . The storage device  2  includes a control unit  21 , a data memory  22 , and a second I/O interface  23 . The control unit  21  further includes a working memory  211 . The working memory  211  is a storage element of small capacity in the control unit  21  for storing program code and data necessary for the operation of the control unit  21 . The data memory  22  is another storage element of large capacity for storing the user&#39;s data. The computer  1  and the storage device  2  are electrically connected to each other via the first I/O interface  13  and the second I/O interface  23 . When the computer  1  is turned on, the first I/O interface  13  provides electricity to the storage device  2 , so that the storage device  2  can be powered on. The first I/O interface  13  and the second I/O interface  23  are configured as the transmission interface between the computer  1  and the storage device  2 . The standard of Universal Serial Bus (USB) or External Serial Advanced Technology Attachment (eSATA) may be as an interface example for the first I/O interface  13  and the second I/O interface  23 . 
     The control unit  21  is electrically connected to the data memory  22  and the second I/O interface  23 . The second I/O interface  23  received commands sent by the computer  1  and base on those commands to operate on the data memory  22 . 
       FIG. 3A  is a concept diagram depicting the working memory of a preferred embodiment of the present invention. The working memory  211  is stored therein with a start-up file D 1 , a deletion record file D 2 , and control software D 3 .  FIG. 3B  is a concept diagram depicting the data memory of a preferred embodiment of the present invention. The data memory  22  is configured to store the data D 4  of a user. Each time the storage device  2  is powered on again, the control unit  22  automatically executes the start-up file D 1  in the working memory  211 . The deletion record file D 2  will be read during the start-up file D 1  is executed. The deletion record file D 2  represents a delete-able status to indicate whether the data D 4  in the data memory  22  is allowed to be deleted or not. 
     It should be noted that, in addition to a file, the deletion record file D 2  may be a bit flag only within the working memory  211  as long as it can be used to record whether the data D 4  is allowed to be deleted or not. Thus, any other recording type for the deletion record file D 2  is possible for the present invention. 
     The control software D 3  is executed in the computer  1 . The central processing unit  11  sends a control command based on the control software D 3  to set the delete-able status of the deletion record file D 2  to become enable or disable. The control software D 3  can be stored in the working memory  211  and automatically loaded in the computer  1  for execution when the storage device  1  is connected to the computer  1 . Furthermore, the control software D 3  can be also stored in the hard disk drive  12  of the computer  1  and executed directly in the computer  1 . However, the storage place for the control software D 3  is not limited thereto. 
       FIG. 4  is a flow chart depicting a preferred embodiment of the present invention. First, the storage device  2  is connected to the computer  1  (step S 10 ). For example, a USB flash drive is inserted into a socket of a notebook computer. Then, with the computer  1  being turned on, the storage device  2  is powered on (step S 12 ). Further, the control unit  21  executes the start-up file D 1  within the working memory  211  (step S 14 ). In this way, the start-up file D 1  reads the deletion record file D 2 . Finally, the control unit  21  reads the delete-able status of the deletion record file D 2  to detect whether the deletion record file D 2  is in the enable state or not (step S 16 ). 
     After the step S 16 , if the control unit  21  detects that the delete-able status of the deletion record file D 2  is in the enable state, it means that the central processing unit  11  does not send the control command based on the control software D 3  to disable the delete-able status of the deletion record file D 2  normally before the storage device  2  is powered off (e.g. the USB flash drive is removed from the computer  1 ). As a result, the data stored in the storage device  2  is deleted (step S 18 ). More specifically, in the step S 18 , the whole data D 4  stored in the data memory  22  of the storage device  2  is deleted while the files of the working memory  211  are maintained. In this way, after the step S 18 , the storage device  2  after the data memory  22  being reformatted can still execute the data deleting method of the present invention by means of the star-up file D 1 , the deletion record file D 2 , and the control software D 3 . However, it should be noted that, after the whole data D 4  in the data memory  22  is deleted, if the data memory  22  is used to store data again, the user has to format the data memory  22  first. Since the files in the working memory  211  are not deleted by the method of the present invention, it is unnecessary to format the working memory  211  and the working memory  211  is ready for use. 
     After the step S 16 , if the control unit  21  detects that the delete-able status of the deletion record file D 2  is in the disable state, it means the central processing unit  11  disables the delete-able status of the deletion record file D 2  via the control software D 3  before the storage device  2  is powered off. Therefore, the data D 4  in the data memory  22  will not be deleted when the storage device  2  is powered on again. 
     For a normal operation, if the data deleting method of the present invention is to be used, the control software D 3  will be opened and executed by the computer  1  (step S 20 ) after the storage device  2  is powered on and the data D 4  without being deleted. Before the data memory  22  can be accessed, a key password by the user of the computer  1  must be authenticated by the control software D 3  (step S 22 ). After the key password is authenticated as a correct password, the central proceeding unit  11  sends the control command to the control unit  21  via the control software D 3  too, so that the control unit  21  will allow the legal usage of the data memory  22  and set (sets) a default status of the deletion record file D 2  based on the control command (step S 24 ). As a result, the storage device  2  can be normally operated by the user (step S 26 ). 
     As mentioned in the above, the default status of the deletion record file D 2  may be set as an enable or a disable state based on the user&#39;s need. For example, the user can select to disable the delete-able status of the deletion record file D 2  last time even with the default status being enable before the storage device  2  is powered off, as such, the delete-able status of the deletion record file D 2  will be determined as at a disable state in the step S 16  when the storage device  2  is powered on next time, so that the step S 18  will not be executed. However, after the steps S 20  and S 22  are executed completely, the delete-able status of the deletion record file D 2  will be set as the default status again which might be enable or disable. Finally, at the end of use, the storage device  2  is powered off (step S 262 ). 
     It should be noted that, after the steps S 26  and before the step S 262 , the user of the computer  1  can execute via the control software D 3  repeatedly to check the status of the delete-able status of the deletion record file D 2  after the key password is authenticated (step S 264 ). Furthermore, following Step  264 , the user can select to keep or switch the delete-able status of the deletion record file D 2  based on his need (Step S 266 ). More specifically, the user checks the current delete-able status of the deletion record file D 2  and decides whether the current status should be kept or switched based on the result of check. In this way, before the step S 262 , the user can set the delete-able status of the deletion record file D 2  as desired regardless of the default status set at the step S 24  via the control software D 3 . 
     For example, if the default state for the delete-able status of the deletion record file D 2  is selected as enable after the step S 24 , the user can check the deletion record file D 2  in the step S 264  and switch the delete-able status of the deletion record file D 2  to a disable state in the step S 266 . As a result, when the storage device  2  is powered on next time, the data D 4  in the data memory  22  will not be deleted. On the other end, if the default state for the delete-able status of the deletion record file D 2  is selected as enable after the step S 24 , the user can check the deletion record file D 2  in the step S 264  and keep the delete-able status of the deletion record file D 2  as enable in the step S 266 . As a result, when the storage device  2  is powered on next time, the whole data D 4  will be deleted in the step S 18 . 
     In addition to being applied to the storage device  2 , the data deleting method of the present invention can be directly applied to a hard disk drive  12  within the computer  1 . The hard disk drive  12  may be a traditional mechanical hard disk drive or a Solid State Disk (SSD), which will be described later.  FIG. 5  is a block diagram depicting another preferred embodiment of the present invention. The storage device  2  used in the previous embodiment is replaced by the hard disk drive  12 . The hard disk drive  12  is electrically connected to the central processing unit  11  and has a second control unit  121  and a second data memory  122 . The second control unit  121  further includes a second working memory  1211 . The second working memory  1211  has the same arrangement as that of the working memory  211  shown in  FIG. 3A . The second data memory  122  has the same arrangement as that of the data memory  22  shown in  FIG. 3B . If the hard disk drive  12  is a traditional mechanical hard disk drive, the second data memory  122  is embodied as a magnetic disk region (not shown). 
     Please refer to  FIG. 6 , which is a flow chart depicting another preferred embodiment of the present invention. If the method of the present invention is used within the computer  1 , the computer  1  has to be turned on first (step S 40 ), so that the hard disk drive  12  can be powered and activated by the computer  1  (step S 42 ). After the hard disk drive  12  is activated, the second control unit  121  executes the star-up file D 1  in the second working memory  1211  (step S 44 ). The start-up file D 1  reads the deletion record file D 2 , whereby the second control unit  121  can detect whether the delete-able status of the deletion record file D 2  is in the enable state or not (step S 46 ). 
     After the step S 46 , if the second control unit  121  detects that the delete-able status of the deletion record file D 2  is in the enable state, the second control unit  121  immediately deletes the data storage in the hard disk drive  12  (step S 48 ). More specifically, the second control unit  121  deletes the whole data D 4  in the second data memory  122 . 
     After the step S 46 , if the second control unit  21  detects that the delete-able status of the deletion record file D 2  is in the disable state, the data D 4  stored in the second data memory  122  will not be deleted this time after the hard disk drive  12  is powered on. 
     Next, if the data deleting method of the present invention is to be used in the normal operation of the hard disk drive  12 , the hard disk drive  12  opens the control software D 3  after it is powered on (step S 50 ) and authenticates the key password (step S 52 ). In the present embodiment, the control software D 3  is stored in the second working memory  1211  and executed in the computer  1 . After the key password is authenticated as a correct password, the central processing unit  11  sends a control command to the second control unit  121  via the control software D 3 . The second control unit  121  sets the default status of the deletion record file D 2  based on the control command (step S 54 ). Finally, the user can operate the hard disk driver  12  normally (step S 56 ) and turn off the computer  1  at the end of use (step S 562 ), so that the hard disk drive  12  can be powered off (step S 564 ). 
     After the step S 56  and before the step S 562 , the user can check the delete-able status of the deletion record file D 2  repeatedly (step S 566 ), and decides to keep or switch the delete-able status of the deletion record file D 2  based on the result of check (step S 568 ). Before the step S 562 , the user checks whether the delete-able status of the deletion record file D 2  is in the enable or the disable state, and sets the delete-able status of the deletion record file D 2  as a desired state, thereby deciding whether the data D 4  in the second data memory  122  is deleted or not when the hard disk driver  12  is powered on next time. 
     Although the present invention has been described with reference to the foregoing preferred embodiments, it will be understood that the invention is not limited to the details thereof. Various equivalent variations and modifications can still occur to those skilled in this art in view of the teachings of the present invention. Thus, all such variations and equivalent modifications are also embraced within the scope of the invention as defined in the appended claims.