Electrical computers and digital data processing systems: input/ – Input/output data processing – Concurrent input/output processing and data transfer
Reexamination Certificate
1999-03-04
2002-06-18
Shin, Christopher B. (Department: 2182)
Electrical computers and digital data processing systems: input/
Input/output data processing
Concurrent input/output processing and data transfer
C710S030000, C710S036000, C710S062000, C710S072000, C707S793000, C707S793000, C707S793000, C707S793000, C707S793000, C709S241000, C709S200000, C709S216000, C709S217000, C709S218000, C709S219000, C709S223000, C709S225000, C709S232000, C709S241000, C709S241000, C709S241000
Reexamination Certificate
active
06408344
ABSTRACT:
BACKGROUND OF THE INVENTION
1. Field of the Invention
The present invention relates to method and apparatus for file transfer for transferring a file accessed for reading (hereinafter simply referred to as accessed) in a unit to another unit, and to a computer readable recording medium recording a file transfer program. More specifically, the present invention relates to method and apparatus for file transfer for automatically transferring an accessed file to a connected another unit, and to a computer readable recording medium storing the file transfer program.
Here, a file refers to a minimum unit of a resource addressed by a resource providing side.
2. Description of the Background Art
Conventionally, a technique referred to as “cache” for high speed accessing of a file provided by a server computer at a client computer through a communication network has been known and disclosed, for example, in Japanese Patent Laying-Open No. 4-313126.
In “cache” technique, an accessed file is stored in a hard disc of a client computer or in a hard disc of an alternate server (referred to as a gate way computer in the aforementioned Laid-Open Application) provided between the client computer and the communication network, and when there is an access request to the same file thereafter in the client computer, the stored content of the hard disc is accessed. This allows faster file access between the client computer and the server computer.
The function of the above described “cache” has been developed only for the purpose of increasing the speed of accessing to the same file the next time and thereafter. Therefore, the accessed file is not automatically transferred to various information units connected directly to the client computer, and file transfer has been done by manual operation of a user.
For this manual operation, it has been necessary for the user to determine to which connected information unit the accessed file is to be transferred and perform file transfer operation in accordance with the result of determination file by file. Such file transfer operation is troublesome and prone to mistakes.
SUMMARY OF THE INVENTION
An object of the present invention is to provide method and apparatus for file transfer allowing transfer and delivery of a file accessed in response to a request generated in the apparatus to that one of a plurality of units connected to the apparatus which requires the file, and to provide a computer readable recording medium recording a file transfer program.
The method of file transfer in accordance with the present invention is applied to an apparatus having one or more different device drivers and one or more different units connected through respective device drivers for delivering files to the one or more units through corresponding device drivers respectively, characterized by the following steps: a file access step for accessing a file in response to an access request generated in the apparatus; and a file delivery step for delivering, when it is determined for each of the one or more device drivers that the device driver is used for the delivery of the file accessed in the file access step, the file accessed in the access step to that unit which is connected through the device driver.
Therefore, when a file is accessed in the file access step in response to the access request generated in the apparatus, the accessed file is delivered in the file delivery step through the device driver used for the delivery of the file, to the unit connected thereto.
Therefore, when the file is accessed in response to an access request in the apparatus, the accessed file is automatically transferred to that unit which needs the file, without any operation by the user. Accordingly, files required by respective units can be transferred at high speed and erroneous transfer process by manual operation is avoided, and therefore process efficiency in transferring the accessed file to the unit requiring the file is improved.
In the above described method of file transfer, the step of file delivery may include a device driver determining step for determining, for each of the one or more device drivers, based on the data type of the file accessed in the file access step, whether the device driver is the one used for delivery of the file.
By the device driver determining step, the device driver which is used for file delivery, namely the unit requiring delivery of the file, can be easily determined based on the data type of the accessed file. Accordingly, without any operation by the user, among the files accessed in response to access requests in the apparatus, only the corresponding files required by respective ones of the plurality of units can be selected and automatically transferred and delivered in accordance with the types of data required.
The apparatus to which the above described file transfer method is applied further has a file selection table storing, for each of the one or more device drivers, data type of files of which delivery is requested by the unit connected to the device driver. The above described device driver determining step may be adapted such that for each of the one or more device drivers, when the data type of the file accessed in the file access step is stored in the corresponding file selection table, the device driver is determined to be that device driver which is used for delivery of the file.
Therefore, the unit requiring the file accessed in the file access step can be determined in accordance with the content of the file selection table, and the file can be transferred and delivered thereto. Accordingly, in accordance with the contents set in the file selection table, the unit which is the destination of delivery of the file accessed in the file access step can easily be determined.
The apparatus to which the above described file transfer method is applied further has a delivery procedure table storing, for each of the one or more device drivers, the procedure of delivering the file to the unit connected to the device driver. The file delivery step may be adapted such that in accordance with the content of the delivery procedure table corresponding to that device driver which has been determined in the device driver determining step to be the device driver used for the delivery of the file accessed in the file access step, the file is delivered to the unit connected to the device driver.
Accordingly, delivery of the file accessed in the file access step to each unit in the file delivery step is performed in accordance with the delivery procedure in the delivery procedure table provided for each of the one or more device drivers, that is, for each unit. Therefore, it is possible to easily transfer and deliver the file, which is the object of delivery, to each unit simply in accordance with the delivery procedure in the delivery procedure table.
The above described objects of the present invention is attained by the file transfer device having one or more different device drivers and one or more units connected through respective device drivers, for delivering files to the one or more units using corresponding device drivers respectively, characterized by a file access section for accessing a file in response to an access request generated in the apparatus, and a file delivery section. The file delivery section delivers, when it is determined for each of the one or more device drivers that the device driver is the one used for delivery of the file accessed by the file access section, the accessed file to that unit which is connected through the device driver.
Therefore, when a file is accessed by the file access section in response to an access request generated in the apparatus, the accessed file is delivered through the device driver used for the delivery of the file to the unit connected thereto, by the file delivery section.
Therefore, when the file is accessed in response to an access request in the apparatus, the accessed file is automatically transferred to the unit requiring the file, without any operation by the user. Therefore, the fi
Nguyen Tanh Q
Sharp Kabushiki Kaisha
Shin Christopher B.
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