Patent Application
20080189574
This application claims priority from Japanese Patent Application No. 2006-265321, filed on Sep. 28, 2006, the entire subject matter of which is incorporated herein by reference.
Aspects of the present invention relate to a data processing apparatus for reading or recording data on a non-contact tag, and relate to a recording medium equipped with a non-contact tag available for the data processing apparatus.
A non-contact tag such as a Radio Frequency Identification tag (RFID tag) is attached to (or embedded in) a recording medium such as sheet. An image is formed on such recording medium and at the same time, data is recorded on the non-contact tag. For example, JP-A-2002-3337426 describes to record software digital data on a non-contact tag and form an image indicating a manual of the software on a recording medium.
Generally, software is composed of a plurality of data (files), so that corruption of any one of them would cause a failure in the operation thereof. However, there is no way of finding out a storage location at which such corrupted data recorded on a non-contact tag is previously recorded in data source. Therefore, it is difficult to restore the corrupted data. On the other hand, even data other than software, a user may desire to check a storage location at which the data is stored in the data source in order to restore the data.
Aspects of the present invention relate to the above problem. According to at least one aspect of the invention, a image processing apparatus may be provided that reads or records data on a non-contact tag and facilitate restoration of data with at least location information stored on the non-contact tag.
According to an aspect of the invention, data processing apparatus includes a data reading unit that reads data from a non-contact tag, and a restoration unit that restores a file when the data reading unit reads, from the non-contact tag, (i) location information indicating a storage location where the file is previously stored and (ii) at least one of a flag indicating that the file is to be restored and a restoration program for restoring the file, in accordance with the read at least one of the flag and the restoration program.
In the accompanying drawings:
Next, embodiments of the present invention will be described below with reference to the accompanying drawings.
[Description of the configuration of the printer 1]
[Description of the Configuration of the Feeder Part 4]
As shown in
The sheet retainer plate 8, which can retain the sheets 3 stacked in layers, is pivotably supported at the distal end part relative to the feed roller 12, thereby the proximal end part is allowed to move up and down. The sheet retainer plate 8 is upwardly energized by a spring 8a on its back. The separation pad 13 is disposed to oppose the feed roller 12, so that a pad 13a composed of a member having a high friction coefficient is pushed against the feed roller 12 by a spring 13b.
On the other hand, the feed path 7 is formed in a curved shape by a pair of guide plates 7a and 7b for guiding the sheet 3. In addition, there are disposed at appropriate intervals on the feed path 7 sequentially from the upstream of the sheet feed direction, the feed roller 12; a pair of feed rollers 11 including a pair of a drive roller and a follower roller; a pair of feed rollers 10 including a pair of a drive roller and a follower roller; and a pair of registration rollers 9 including a pair of a drive roller and a follower roller disposed immediately before the image forming position P.
In the feeder part 4 configured as described above, the topmost sheet 3 of those stacked in layers on the sheet retainer plate 8 is pushed against the feed roller 12, and sandwiched between the feed roller 12 and the separation pad 13 by the feed roller 12 being rotated, thereby sheets are fed one by one. The thus fed sheet 3 is also fed by the feed rollers 11, and then sequentially by the feed rollers 10 and the registration rollers 9 to the image forming position P with a predetermined timing.
[Description of the Configuration of the Multi-Purpose Tray 14]
On the front part side of the main body case 2 above the feeder part 4, there are disposed the multi-purpose tray 14 which serves to supply the sheets 3 manually or automatically and a multi-purpose side sheet feed mechanism 15 for feeding the sheets 3 stacked in layers on the multi-purpose tray 14. The multi-purpose side sheet feed mechanism 15 includes a feed roller for the multi-purpose tray 15a and a multi-purpose side sheet feed pad 15b, and allows the multi-purpose side sheet feed pad 15b to be pushed against the feed roller for the multi-purpose tray 15a by a spring 15c disposed on the back of the multi-purpose side sheet feed pad 15b. In addition, the multi-purpose side sheet feed mechanism 15 includes a pair of feed rollers 15d including a pair of drive roller and a follower roller.
In the multi-purpose tray 14 configured as described above, the sheets 3 stacked in layers on the multi-purpose tray 14 are sandwiched between the feed roller for the multi-purpose tray 15a being rotated and the multi-purpose side sheet feed pad 15b, and then fed one by one to the registration rollers 9 via a pair of feed rollers 15d.
There is also disposed a tag reader 16 serving as data reading unit between the feed rollers 15d, 10 and the registration rollers 9. When the sheet 3 as shown in
[Description of the Configuration of a Scanner Unit 17]
The scanner unit 17 is disposed under a sheet discharging tray 36 in the upper part of the main body case 2, and includes a laser emitting part (not shown), a rotatably driven polygon mirror 20, lenses 21a and 21b, and a reflection mirror 22. The laser emitting part emits a laser beam and the laser beam is passing through or reflected from the polygon mirror 20, the lens 21a, the reflection mirror 22, and the lens 21b so that the scanner unit 17 allows a laser beam to illuminate and quickly scan across the surface of the photosensitive drum 23 of the process unit 18.
[Description of the Configuration of the Process Unit 18]
The process unit 18 includes the photosensitive drum 23 serving as an electrostatic latent image carrier, a scorotron type electrifier 37, a drum cartridge having the transfer roller 25 or the like, and a developing cartridge 24 detachably attached to the drum cartridge. The developing cartridge 24 includes a toner accommodating part 26, a developing roller 27, a layer thickness restricting blade 28, and a toner supply roller 29.
The toner accommodating part 26 is filled with positively charged non-magnetic one-composition polymeric toner as a developer. The toner is supplied by the toner supply roller 29 to the developing roller 27, at the time of which the toner is positively charged by friction between the toner supply roller 29 and the developing roller 27. Furthermore, the toner supplied onto the developing roller 27 is carried on the developing roller 27 in a thin layer of a uniform thickness by the layer thickness restricting blade 28 as the developing roller 27 rotates. On the other hand, the rotating photosensitive drum 23 is disposed opposite the developing roller 27, with the drum body being grounded and its surface being formed of a positively charged organic photosensitive material.
The scorotron type electrifier 37 is disposed above the photosensitive drum 23 with a predetermined gap there between so as not to be in contact with the photosensitive drum 23. The scorotron type electrifier 37 is a positively charging scorotron type electrifier which generates corona discharge from an electrifying wire such as of tungsten, and is designed to positively electrify the surface of the photosensitive drum 23 uniformly.
Then, as the photosensitive drum 23 rotates, the surface of the photosensitive drum 23 is first uniformly and positively charged by the scorotron type electrifier 37, and thereafter exposed to the laser beam from the scanner unit 17 during a quick scan, thereby an electrostatic latent image is formed based on the image data.
Subsequently, as the developing roller 27 rotates, the positively charged toner carried on the developing roller 27 is brought into contact with the photosensitive drum 23. At this time, the toner is supplied onto the electrostatic latent image formed on the surface of the photosensitive drum 23, i.e., onto the exposed part having a reduced potential due to the exposure to the laser beam on the uniformly and positively charged surface of the photosensitive drum 23. Thus, the toner is selectively carried to visualize the image, thereby a toner image is formed.
The transfer roller 25 is disposed below the photosensitive drum 23 to oppose the photosensitive drum 23, and supported rotatably in the clockwise direction in
[Description of the Configuration of the Fixing Unit 19]
As shown in
Furthermore, there is provided a tag writer 38, as an example of data recording unit capable of recording data on the above-described tag 3A, on the sheet feed path between the heating roller 31, the pressure roller 32, and the feed rollers 33. Consequently, when the sheet 3 equipped with the tag 3A is used, desired data can be recorded on the tag 3A of the sheet 3 after an image has been formed thereon.
[Description of the Control System of the Printer 1]
In addition, on the upper surface of the printer 1, there are provided various types of buttons (not shown) such as a tag reading button 220A or an operation panel 220 (see
A PC main body 810 of the PC 800 includes a CPU 811, a ROM 812, a RAM 813, and a hard disk drive (HDD) 814. In addition, the RAM 813 includes a tag writing data area 813A, a print data area 813B, and a restoration area 813C, to be described later. The PC main body 810 is connected to a display 820 such as a CRT, a keyboard 830, a mouse 840, a printer port interface (printer port I/F) 850 for connecting to the controller 200 of the printer 1, and the like.
[Process in the Control System (File Save Process In the PC 800)]
Now, description will be made to the process in the control system.
As shown in
In S2 subsequent to S1, it is sequentially determined file by file whether the specified file is specified for the file data save or the file location save. If it is determined that filed at a save is specified (S2: Y), then in S3, the location information, filename, and file data itself of the file are written as tag writing data onto the tag writing data area 813A, and then the process proceeds to S5. On the other hand, if it is determined that the file location save is specified (S2: N), then in S4, the location information and filename of the file are written as tag writing data onto the tag writing data area 813A, and then the process proceeds to S5. In S5, it is determined whether any other file has been specified. If any other file has been specified (S5: Y), then the process proceeds to S2 described above; if no other file has been specified (S5: N), the process proceeds to subsequent S6, respectively.
In S6, it is determined whether a restoration upon reading is specified to automatically restore data when data is read from the tag 3A. If the restoration upon reading has been specified (S6: Y), then in S7, a flag indicating that the file is saved for restoration and a file system restoration application software (herein after referred to as the restoration software or the restoration program) are written as tag writing data onto the tag writing data area 813A. If no restoration upon reading has been specified (S6:N), then the process proceeds to S10.
In S10, print image data (herein after simply referred to as print data) corresponding to the file name specified in S3 or S4 and location information is generated and then written onto the print data area 813B. For example, when the file data save and the file location save have been specified as shown in
In S11, tag writing data corresponding to the print page is set up to the storage capacity of the tag 3A. Note that the above-described flag and restoration software may be determined as data for the first page. On the other hand, the storage capacity of the tag 3A may be acquired via the tag reader 16 by the sheet 3 being fed immediately before the registration rollers 9. Alternatively, when the storage capacity of the tag 3A is standardized with its value stored in a predetermined area such as the HDD 814, the value may be read.
In S12, of the print data, the file to be written onto the tag is highlighted, and the data in the print data area 813B is consequently updated. For example, as shown in
When data corresponding to the page is written onto, e.g., two tags 3A, the process of S12 is repeated twice by the process described below, so that as shown in
In S13, the data set in S11 of the tag writing data written on the tag writing data area 813A, and the print data written on the print data area 813B and updated as required is sent to the printer 1. Then, the process proceeds to S14.
In S14, it is determined whether or not a data not written in the same page yet is present, which has not been able to be written onto the tag 3A within its storage capacity in S11. If the data not written yet is not present (S14: N), then in S15, it is determined whether print data of the next page is present. If no print data of the next page is present (S15: N), the process ends. If print data of the next page is present (S15: Y), then the process proceeds to S10 described above to generate print data of the next page.
On the other hand, if data not written in the same page yet is present (S14: Y), the process proceeds to S16, where as in S11, the remaining tag writing data corresponding to the page is set up to the storage capacity of the tag 3A. Then, the process proceeds to S12 described above. In this case, in S12, newly set data is highlighted as described above, and the previous highlighting set through the process of S12 is released. Then, if all the tag writing data corresponding to the page has completely been set (S16, S11) and sent to the printer (S13)(S14:Y), the process proceeds to S15 described above.
Through the processes, the print data corresponding to an image as shown in
[Process in the Control System (Process in the Printer 1)]
Next,
As shown in
In S204, it is determined whether the received data is tag writing data. If the received data is tag writing data (S204: Y), then in S205, the tag writing data is written onto a tag write buffer defined in the RAM 203. On the other hand, if the received data is not tag writing data (S204: N), the process proceeds to S206. Note that in S205, the print data is also written as tag writing data onto the tag write buffer. In S206, it is determined whether the data from the PC 800 has completely been received. If the data has not completely been received (S206: N), the process proceeds to S201, so that the processes of S201 to S205 described above will be repeated.
On the other hand, if the data has completely been received from the PC 800 (S206: Y), the process proceeds to S207, where printing on the sheet 3 is started by driving the scanner unit 17, the process unit 18 and the like in accordance with the print data. In S208, it is determined whether the sheet 3 has been transported to the tag write position at which the tag writer 38 can write data onto the tag 3A. If the sheet 3 is not at the tag write position (S208: N), the process proceeds to S210. If the sheet 3 is at the tag write position (S208: Y), then in S209, the tag writing data is written onto the tag 3A, and thereafter, the process proceeds to S210.
In S210, it is determined whether printing of data on the sheet 3 and writing of data on the tag 3A have been finished. If not completed yet (S210: N), the process proceeds to S207, so that the processes of S207 to S209 described above will be repeated. If printing onto the sheet 3 and writing onto the tag 3A are finished (S210: Y), then the process is once ended. Through the foregoing processes, the file image as described above is printed on the sheet 3 and the corresponding tag writing data is written onto the tag 3A.
Furthermore, the controller 200 executes the following tag data reading process when the controller 200 has received from the PC 800 an instruction for reading data on the tag 3A or when the tag reading button 220A of the operation panel 220 is pressed.
In S252 that follows, it is determined whether the tag reader 16 can communicate with the tag 3A. If they cannot communicate with each other (S252: N), the process proceeds to S254. If they can communicate with each other (S252: Y), then in S253, data is read from the tag 3A via the tag reader 16 and written onto the tag buffer in the RAM 203, and then the process proceeds to S254. In S254, it is determined whether the tail end of the sheet 3 has passed and the sheet 3 is ejected onto the sheet discharging tray 36. If the tail end of the sheet has not passed (S254: N), the process proceeds to S251 described above, where the processes of S251 to S253 will be repeated. If the tail end of the sheet has passed (S254: Y), the process proceeds to S255 that follows. In S255, the data read from the tag 3A in S253 is sent to the host (in this case, the PC 800), and the process ends.
Note that when data is read from the tag 3A attached to the sheet 3 held in the multi-purpose tray 14, it is not always necessary to read the data while the sheet 3 is being fed. For example, the data may be read (read out) from the tag 3A attached to the sheet 3 with the sheet 3 held (placed) in the multi-purpose tray 14.
[Process in the Control System (File Restoration Process in the PC 800)]
Now,
As shown in
On the other hand, if the flag is present in the data from the printer 1 (S33: Y), then in S37, the restoration software is installed. In S38, a message is displayed on the display 820 to execute a restoration location selecting process for allowing the user to select the restoration location of files. In S39, it is determined that whether a specified folder has been selected or an original location has been selected in the restoration location selecting process. Note that the specified folder may be selected on the tree folder structure displayed on the display 820 or by directly inputting the location information on the keyboard 830. Then, if the specified folder is selected as the restoration location (S39: Specified folder), then in S40, the data is saved in the specified folder. On the other hand, if the original location is selected as the restoration location (S39: Original location), then in S50, the data is saved at the original location. Then, the process ends.
Note that when the restoration program is not stored in the tag 3A, the restoration software may not be installed. In this case, the process of S37 in the file restoration process may be omitted.
Note that it may be determined whether the restoration software is present in the data from the printer 1 in S33 instead of determining whether the flag is present in the data from the printer 1. And when the restoration software is present in the data, the software program is installed in S37.
That is, the restoration may be performed when either one of the flag and the restoration program would be stored in the tag 3A.
If the data contains only location information or a filename (S403: Y), the data is restored into the original file data as follows. That is, in this case, first in S404, the file corresponding to the location information or filename is searched. This search is carried out by the process in the PC 800 when the location information indicates a predetermined area in the PC 800; however, the search may also be conducted according to a URL via a network 700.
In S405 that follows, it is determined whether the file is found. If the file is found (S405: Y), then in S406, the data of the file is acquired. If the file is not found (S405: N), then in S407, a fault report is generated as failure information indicating that the file data could not be acquired. After that, the process proceeds to S408.
In S408, the data having been acquired is saved in the specified folder. For example, if the file data has been acquired (S406), then the file data and the location information or filename read in S402 are saved in the specified folder. On the other hand, if the file has not been found (S405: N), then nothing may be saved or an empty file may be saved. Alternatively, only the location information or the filename having been read in S402 may be saved in the form of a file.
Furthermore, if it is determined in S403 that the data does contain not only location information or a filename (S403: N), the data is the file itself or a flag, which does not require to search for a file to be restored. Thus, in this case, the process directly proceeds from S403 to S408, where the data having been read in S402 is saved in the specified folder.
In S409, it is determined whether the next saved data is still present in the restoration area 813C. If the next data is present (S409: Y), then the process proceeds to S402 described above, so that the processes of S402 to S408 are executed on the next data. If the processes of S402 to S408 described above are completely performed on all data in the restoration area 813C (S409: N), then in S411, the fault report is saved (only when the fault report is present), and then the process ends.
Now,
If the data read in S502 contains only location information or a filename (S503: Y), the corresponding file is acquired (S504 to S506). When the file cannot be acquired, a fault report is generated (S507), and then the process proceeds to S510. On the other hand, if the data read from the restoration area 813C does not contain only location information or a filename (S503: N), then it is not necessary to search for a file to be restored, and thus the process proceeds directly from S503 to S510.
In S510, it is determined whether or not a folder structure defined by the location information is present in the PC 800. If no such folder structure is present (S510: N), then in S511, the folder structure is made based on the location information. In this step, in some cases, for example, it is made from Root A shown in
In S514, as in S409 described above, it is determined whether the next data is present. If the next data is present (S514: Y), the process proceeds to S502 described above. On the other hand, if it is determined that a folder structure could not be made in S512 (S512: N), then in S515, the process generates a fault report as failure information indicating that a folder structure could not be made, and then the process proceeds to S514 described above. If the processes of S502 to S515 described above have completely been performed on all data in the restoration area 813C (S514: N), then in S516, the fault report is saved (only when the fault report is present), and then the process ends.
As described above, in this embodiment, the data recorded on the tag 3A can be readily restored as a file with only location information or a filename, and then saved in a desired specified folder or at the original location. In addition, when the data of the tag 3A is attached with the flag, this process can be automatically executed. Note that saving data in the specified folder (S40) will provide easy access to the restored file, while saving data at the original location (S50) will provide further improved convenience when the data is used in other applications or the like. In addition, in the latter case, even when a folder structure itself corresponding to the original location has been lost, the folder structure is regenerated to save the data (S511), thereby convenience is further improved.
Furthermore, in this embodiment, since a fault report is generated when the process has failed to restore a file or make a folder structure, the user can quickly take countermeasures. In addition, since the print data of an image printed on the sheet 3 is also saved (S401 and S502), the image can be easily printed on another sheet 3.
Note that in the embodiment, the processes of S404 to S406 and S504 to S506 correspond to the restoration unit; the process of S408 corresponds to the first saving unit; the processes of S511 to S513 correspond to the second saving unit; the processes of S407, S507, and S515 correspond to the failure information generation unit; the processes of S401 and S502 correspond to the image data saving unit; the process of S1 corresponds to the data specifying unit; and the process of S2 corresponds to the recording control unit, respectively.
The present invention is not limited to the above-described embodiment but may also be implemented in various forms without deviating from the scope and spirit of the present invention. For example, the present invention is also applicable to such a system that has no printing function and only reads and writes data on a tag 3A. In this case, the tag 3A may not be attached to the sheet 3.
Furthermore, in the process of saving data in the specified folder, the process of S408 may also be changed as follows.
That is, after file data is acquired (S406) and other processes have been performed, the process proceeds to S480, where it is determined whether a folder structure defined by the location information is present in the specified folder. If the folder structure is not present (S480: N), then in S481, the folder structure is made based on the location information. In this case, the folder structure may also be made from Root, in the case of which for example, the name of Root is changed as appropriate as shown in
Furthermore, file data may be restored in the printer 1.
If the data contains only location information or a filename (S271: Y), then in S272, the file corresponding to the location information or filename is searched. This search is carried out, for example, according to a URL or the like via the network 700 when the network 700 is connected with a plurality of PCs 800 or servers.
In S273 that follows, it is determined whether the file is found. If the file is found (S273: Y), then in S274, the data of the file is acquired, and the process proceeds to S275. If the file is not found (S273: N), then the process proceeds to S275.
In S275, the data having been acquired at that time is saved in a transmission buffer. For example, if file data has been acquired (S274), then the file data and the location information or filename read in S270 are saved in the transmission buffer. On the other hand, if the file has not been found (S273: N), only the location information or the filename having been read in S270 are saved in the transmission buffer.
Furthermore, if it is determined in S271 that the data does not contain only location information or a filename (S271: N), the data is the file itself or a flag, which does not require to search for a file to be restored. Thus, in this case, the process directly proceeds from S271 to S275, where the data having been read in S270 is saved in the transmission buffer.
In S276 that follows S275, it is determined whether the saved next data is still present in the tag buffer. If the next data is present (S276: Y), then the process proceeds to S270 described above, so that the processes of S270 to S275 are executed on the next data. If the processes of S270 to S275 described above are completely performed on all data in the tag buffer (S276: N), then the data in the transmission buffer is sent to the host (in this case, the PC 800), and then the process ends. In this case, the load on the PC 800 can be alleviated, thereby prevented is adverse effects on other processes in the PC 800.
Note that in the printer printing process shown in
Furthermore, the tag 3A attached to the sheet 3 may be held over a tag reader, which is provided on the upper surface of the main body case 2 of the printer 1, thereby the data is read (read out) from the tag 3A. In order to successively read the data of the tag 3A on a plurality of sheets 3, the sheets 3 may be held one by one over the tag reader for the reading operation. Alternatively, a so-called anti-collision function may be used to sequentially read data from the tag 3A with a plurality of sheets 3 tied in a bundle.
Furthermore, for example, in the case of a multi function device including a scanner (original document read) function, a copy function, a facsimile function in addition to the printer function, the data recorded in the tag 3A may be read with a tag reader which is disposed along the feed path while the sheet 3 attached with the tag 3A is being fed with an automatic document feeding mechanism (so-called ADF mechanism) included in the scanner function.
Furthermore, as the non-contact tag of the present invention, it is also possible to employ a tag which utilizes infrared light to transmit and received at a. On the other hand, when the printer 1 includes the operation panel 220 of a moderate size and a folder structure in the internal storage area, all the processes that are executed by the PC 800 in the embodiment may be executed in the controller 200. In this case, the printer 1 as a single unit can constitute the data processing apparatus of the present invention.
Furthermore, the embodiment implements restorations using a flag or restoration program; however, the restoration can also be performed anyway without using a flag or restoration program.
The present invention provides illustrative, non-limiting embodiments as follows:
A data processing apparatus includes: a data reading unit that reads data from a non-contact tag; and a restoration unit that restores a file when the data reading unit reads, from the non-contact tag, location information indicating a storage location where the file is previously stored and a flag indicating that the file is to be restored or a restoration program for restoring the file, in accordance with the read at least one of the flag and the restoration program.
According to the above configuration, the data reading unit reads data from the non-contact tag. Then, when the data reading unit reads, from the non-contact tag, location information indicating a storage location of a file and a flag or a restoration program for restoring the file, the restoration unit restores the file in accordance with the flag or the restoration program.
According to the above configuration, when the location information indicating the storage location of the file and the flag or the restoration program for restoring the file are recorded on a non-contact tag attached to a recording medium, it may be possible to readily restore the file. Note that the data of the file itself may or may not be recorded on the non-contact tag of the recording medium.
The data processing apparatus may include a first saving unit that saves the file restored by the restoration unit in a specified storage location. In this case, the first saving unit may enable the data restored by the restoration unit to be saved at the pre-specified storage location. Consequently, this facilitates access to the restored data.
The first saving unit may make a folder structure defined by the location information in the specified storage location and saves the file restored by the restoration unit in the storage location indicated by the location information in the specified storage location. In this case, the restored data is saved at the specified storage location together with the folder structure corresponding to the previous storage location. This can be done without affecting an original folder structure.
The data processing apparatus may further include a second saving unit that saves the file restored by the restoration unit at the storage location indicated by the location information. In this case, the restored data can be saved at the previous storage location, thereby convenience is further improved when the data is used by other applications or the like.
When the storage location indicated by the location information is not present, the second saving unit may make a folder structure defined by the location information and saves the file restored by the restoration unit in the storage location indicated by the location information. In this case, even when a folder structure itself corresponding to the previous storage location has been lost, the entire folder structure can be restored, thereby convenience is further improved.
The data processing apparatus may include a terminal including the data reading unit, and a host including the first or second saving unit. In this case, the restoration unit may be provided in the terminal or in the host. In the former case, data can be more positively restored, while in the latter case, it can be inhibited to have an adverse effect on other processing in the host.
The data processing apparatus may further include a failure information generation unit that generates failure information indicating that the restoration unit fails in restoration processing or the first or second saving unit fails in storage processing. In this case, based on the failure information generated by the failure information generation unit, the user can find out that the restoration unit has failed in restoration processing or the first or second saving unit has failed in storage processing. This makes it possible to take countermeasures quickly.
The restoration unit may access a storage location indicated by the location information, thereby the data is restored. In this case, it is possible to restore similar data very quickly in a simple process when the data is present at the previous storage location.
When the data read by the data reading unit includes a flag indicating that the file is to be restored, the restoration unit may automatically execute the restoration, where as if the flag is not included, it displays the data read by the data reading unit to wait until the user provides an instruction. In this case, based on whether or not the data of the non-contact tag includes the flag, it is possible to allow the restoration to be executed automatically or decided by the user.
When the data read from the non-contact tag by the data reading unit includes the flag indicating that the file is to be restored and the restoration program for restoring the file, the restoration unit may automatically installs the restoration program and restores the file with using the restoration program. In this case, a newly installed restoration program is used to execute the restoration, thereby data can be restored further reliably.
The data processing apparatus may further include an image data saving unit that, when the data read by the data reading unit includes either one of image data and original data of the image data corresponding to an image formed on a surface of a recording medium equipped with the non-contact tag, saves the either one of the image data and the original data. In this case, based on the data saved by the image data saving unit, the image formed on the surface of the recording medium attached with the non-contact tag can be formed again on another recording medium.
The non-contact tag may be attached to a recording medium on which an image based on contents of the data stored in the non-contact tag.
A data processing apparatus include: a data recording unit that records data on a non-contact tag attached to a recording medium including a surface on which an image is capable to be formed; a data specifying unit that specifies a file to be recorded by the data recording unit on the non-contact tag, and a recording control unit that controls the data recording unit to selectively record either one of: (i) at least data of the specified file and location information indicating a storage location where the specified file is stored; (ii) at least a file name of the specified file and the location information; (iii) at least the data of the specified file, the location information, and at least one of a flag that indicates that the specified file is to be restored and a restoration program for restoring the specified file; and (iv) at least the file name of the specified file, the location information and at least one of the flag and the restoration program.
According to the above configuration, specifying data by the data specifying unit would allow the data recording unit to record the data on a non-contact tag attached to a recording medium capable of having an image formed on a surface thereof. In addition, at this time, the recording control unit selectively allows the data recording unit to record either one of (i) at least data of the specified file and location information indicating a storage location where the specified file is stored; (ii) at least a file name of the specified file and the location information; (iii) at least the data of the specified file, the location information, and at least one of a flag that indicates that the specified file is to be restored and a restoration program for restoring the specified file; and (iv) at least the file name of the specified file, the location information and at least one of the flag and the restoration program. When the (i) or (iii) is selected, the specified file can be directly read from the non-contact tag. On the other hand, when (ii) or (iv) is selected the specified data can be readily restored by the data processing apparatus with the restoration unit, and the capacity of the non-contact tag can also be ensured.
The data processing apparatus may further include: an image forming unit that forms, on the surface of the recording medium, an image based on contents of data to be saved in the non-contact tag.
A data processing apparatus includes: a data reading unit that reads data form a non-contact tag, and a restoration unit that restores a file when the data reading unit reads, from the non-contact tag, location information indicating a storage location where the file is previously stored, based on the read location information.
According to the above configuration, the data reading unit reads data from the non-contact tag. Then, when the data reading unit reads the location information indicating the previous storage location of the file from the non-contact tag, the restoration unit restores the file in accordance with the location information.
Consequently, according to the embodiments it may be possible to readily restore the data when the recording medium has recorded the location information indicating a previous storage location of the data.
A recording medium includes: a non-contact tag storing location information indicating a storage location where a file is previously stored, and at least one of a flag indicating that the file is to be restored and a restoration program for restoring the file; and a surface on which an image indicating a relationship between the storage location and other file and folder is formed.
According to the above configuration, the data processing apparatus with the restoration unit can readily restore data by reading the location information and the flag or restoration program recorded on the non-contact tag. In addition, the relationship between the previous storage location of the data and other data and folder saved on the indication surface of the recording medium is available, thereby clearly shown is the location of the data in the system.
| Number | Date | Country | Kind |
|---|---|---|---|
| 2006-265321 | Sep 2006 | JP | national |
