Data communication apparatus

• US 20020118396A1
• Filed: 09/28/2001
• Published: 08/29/2002
• Est. Priority Date: 02/28/2001
• Status: Active Grant

• Current Assignee: Panasonic Communications Company Limited (Panasonic Holdings Corporation)
• Original Assignee: Matsushita Graphic Communication Systems, Inc. (Panasonic Holdings Corporation)
• Inventors: Kawai, Shinichi
• Granted Patent: US 7,027,192 B2
• Time in Patent Office: Days
• US Class Current: 358/402
• CPC Class Codes: H04L 51/48 Message addressing, e.g. address format or anonymous messages, aliases
• CPC Class Codes: H04N 1/00209 Transmitting or receiving image data, e.g. facsimile data, via a computer, e.g. using e-mail, a computer network, the internet, I-fax
• CPC Class Codes: H04N 1/00387 Multiple functions per key
• CPC Class Codes: H04N 1/00411 the display also being used for user input, e.g. touch screen
• CPC Class Codes: H04N 1/32058 Abbreviated dialing, e.g. one-touch dialing
• CPC Class Codes: H04N 2201/0086 Image transceiver H04N2201/0093 and H04N2201/0094 take precedence
• CPC Class Codes: Y10S 707/99936 Pattern matching access

Abstract

When characters are input, the input information is sequentially displayed on a first display, an e-mail address, which is registered in a one-touch key registration area, is retrieved by using the input information, and the retrieved e-mail address is displayed on a second display. Further, when an @ mark is input after a character string input, the information displayed on the second display is switched to a domain name read from the domain name registration area. Thus, the @ mark key, which is always used to input e-mail addresses, is also utilized to switch the display information. Accordingly, the data communication apparatus is capable to prevent the inconvenience of inputting the entire e-mail addresses and to prevent input errors.

Claims

1. A data communication apparatus that transmits data to an input e-mail address via internet, comprising:

a first input section that inputs at least one character as a character string;

a second input section that inputs an @ mark;

a first registration section that pre-registers a destination;

a second registration section that pre-registers a domain name;

a display section that displays input information from the first and second input sections;

a retrieving section that retrieves the destination from the first registration section using the character string input by the first input section; and

a controller that simultaneously displays the input information and the destination retrieved by the retrieving section on the display section, and, when an @ mark is input from the second input section, displays the domain name read from the second registration section on the display section.

3. The data communication apparatus according to claim 1, further comprising:

a selection section that selects a desired domain name from the domain name displayed by the display section, wherein, when the desired domain name is selected by the selection section, the controller concatenates the desired domain name and the character string input by the first input section and displays the concatenated domain name and the character string on the display section.

4. The data communication apparatus according to claim 3, wherein, when the selection section is operated after the desired domain name is selected by the selection section, the controller displays again the domain name read from the second registration section.

6. The data communication apparatus according to claim 1, wherein the first registration section comprises a one-touch key, which provides, when the key is pressed, an e-mail address corresponding to the key.

7. The data communication apparatus according to claim 1, wherein the first registration section comprises a speed dial, which provides, when an abbreviated character string is input, an e-mail address corresponding to the input abbreviated character.

2. A data communication apparatus that transmits data to an input e-mail address via internet, comprising:

a first input section that inputs at least one character as a character string;

a second input section that inputs an @ mark;

a first registration section that pre-registers a destination;

a second registration section that pre-registers a domain name;

a display section that displays the input information from the first and second input sections and includes a first display and a second display adjacent to each other;

a retrieving section that retrieves the destination from the first registration section using the character string input by the first input section; and

a controller that simultaneously displays the input information on the first display of the display section and the destination retrieved by the retrieving section on the second display, when an @ mark is input from the second input section, reads the domain name from the second registration section, and displays the read domain name on the second display.

5. The data communication apparatus according to claim 2, wherein, when the desired domain name is selected by the selection section, the controller clears currently displayed information and displays the domain name read from the second registration section on the second display.

8. A data communication apparatus that transmits data to an input e-mail address via internet, comprising:

a first input section that inputs at least one character as a character string;

a second input section that inputs an @ mark;

a first registration section that pre-registers a destination in association with a key;

a second registration section that pre-registers at least one domain name;

a display section that displays input information from the first and second input sections;

a selection section that selects a desired domain name from the second registration section; and

a controller that reads a domain name from the second registration section, and displays the read domain name with the input information on the display section, the controller determining, when a desired domain name is selected by the selection section, whether there is an @ mark in the input information, the controller concatenating, when there is an @ mark, the input information and the desired domain name and registering the concatenated input information and the desired domain name in the first registration section.

9. The data communication apparatus that transmits data to an input e-mail address via internet, comprising:

a first input section that inputs at least one character as a character string;

a second input section that inputs an @ mark;

a first registration section that pre-registers a destination in association with a key;

a second registration section that pre-registers at least one domain name;

a display section that displays input information from the first and second input sections;

a selection section that selects a desired domain name from the second registration section; and

a controller that reads a domain name from the second registration section and displays the read domain name with the input information on the display section, the controller determining, when a desired domain name is selected by the selection section, whether there is an @ mark in the input information, and the controller concatenating, when there is not an @ mark, to generate the destination, the input information and the desired domain name by inserting an @ mark there between, and registering the generated destination in the first registration section.