Virtual Storage Area Creation for Networked Image Forming Apparatus
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Solution Overview
Problem
Existing image forming apparatuses lack a seamless method for creating and managing virtual storage areas across multiple devices, leading to inefficiencies in document data storage, retrieval, and deletion processes.
Innovation Solution
An image forming apparatus is designed with a memory to create a second storage area associated with identifying information for another device, allowing for the creation, management, and synchronization of virtual and actual confidential boxes across a network, enabling efficient storage, retrieval, and deletion of document data.
Engineering Contradictions & Design Principles
Engineering Contradiction Analysis
1Adaptability or versatility
If a storage area is created in one image forming apparatus, then document data can be stored and managed locally, but the ability to seamlessly access and manage the same storage area from multiple devices is limited
Solution Approach 1:
The patent creates a virtual storage area that is copied across multiple image forming apparatuses. Each apparatus maintains a local copy of the storage area metadata, enabling seamless access from any device without requiring complex real-time synchronization of actual storage content. This virtual copy approach resolves the contradiction by providing multi-device accessibility while avoiding the complexity of full data synchronization systems.
Solution Approach 2:
The patent introduces a virtual storage area as an intermediary layer between physical storage locations and user access points. This virtual layer abstracts the underlying storage architecture, allowing multiple devices to access the same storage area through a unified interface without needing to understand or manage the complex distributed storage infrastructure directly.
2Reliability
If document data is stored in multiple locations across networked devices, then data accessibility and redundancy improve, but the complexity of tracking and managing storage locations increases
Solution Approach 1:
The virtual storage area is replicated across multiple image forming apparatuses with consistent metadata. This copying approach ensures data accessibility from any device while maintaining a unified view of storage location, eliminating the need for complex tracking mechanisms to monitor where data resides in the distributed system.
Solution Approach 2:
The patent segments storage management into two independent parts: the virtual storage area metadata (which is replicated and managed centrally) and the actual document data (which can be distributed). This segmentation simplifies tracking by separating the management of storage locations from the actual data storage, allowing reliable multi-device access without complex location tracking.
3Productivity
If a unified storage area is created across multiple devices, then data management efficiency improves, but the complexity of synchronizing storage operations between devices increases
Solution Approach 1:
The patent uses virtual copying of storage area metadata across devices, which enables unified data management and high productivity without requiring complex synchronization. Each device has a copy of the metadata that reflects the current state, allowing immediate access and operation without waiting for synchronization cycles or managing synchronization conflicts.
Solution Approach 2:
The virtual storage area metadata is preliminarily replicated to all relevant devices before actual data operations begin. This preliminary action ensures that all devices have the necessary information about storage locations and structure upfront, eliminating the need for continuous synchronization during data management operations and significantly improving productivity.
Data Source
AI summary
An image forming apparatus includes: a memory that memorizes a storage area storing document data; a receiving unit that receives an instruction for creating a second storage area corresponding to a first storage area created by another image forming apparatus; and a creating unit that creates the second storage area associated with information for identifying another image forming apparatus in the memory when the receiving unit receives the instruction to create the second storage area.