Electronic document sender system and method with external address access

• US 20020198947A1
• Filed: 06/21/2001
• Published: 12/26/2002
• Est. Priority Date: 06/21/2001
• Status: Abandoned Application

• Current Assignee: Hewlett-Packard Development Company, L.P. (HP Inc.)
• Original Assignee: Hewlett-Packard Development Company, L.P. (HP Inc.)
• Inventors: Sesek, Robert
• Application Number:
  US09/887,833
• Publication Number:
  US 20020198947A1
• Time in Patent Office: Days
• US Class Current: 709/206
• CPC Class Codes: G06Q 10/107 Computer-aided management of electronic mailing [e-mailing]
• CPC Class Codes: H04L 51/48 Message addressing, e.g. address format or anonymous messages, aliases
• CPC Class Codes: H04L 51/58 Message adaptation for wireless communication
• CPC Class Codes: H04L 61/4557 Directories for hybrid networks, e.g. including telephone numbers
• CPC Class Codes: H04N 1/00204 with a digital computer or a digital computer system, e.g. an internet server programmed control between transmitter and receiver or between image input and image output device H04N1/32561
• 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 1/00962 Input arrangements for operating instructions or parameters, e.g. updating internal software program loading in general G06F9/445; network-specific protocols involving the movement of software or configuration parameters H04L67/34
• CPC Class Codes: H04N 1/0097 Storage of instructions or parameters, e.g. customised instructions or different parameters for different user IDs
• CPC Class Codes: H04N 2201/0049 By wire, cable or the like
• CPC Class Codes: H04N 2201/0055 By radio

Abstract

A method of electronic document sending comprises importing an electronic address of an electronic document receiver from a mobile computing device into an electronic document sender and sending an electronic document from the electronic document sender to the electronic address. An electronic document sender comprises a communication module configured for electronically sending an electronic document to an electronic address of an electronic document receiver and configured for importing the electronic address of the electronic document receiver from a mobile computing device.

Claims

1. A method of electronic document sending comprising:

sending an electronic document from an electronic document sender to an electronic document receiver having an electronic address; and

electronically obtaining the electronic address from an address book located externally of the electronic document sender.

2. The method of claim 1 wherein the obtaining step further comprises:

disposing the external address book in a mobile computing device.

3. The method of claim 1 and further comprising:

providing the electronic document sender as at least one of a multi-function printer, a scanner, and a digital sender.

4. The method of claim 1 and further comprising:

providing the mobile computing device as at least one of a personal digital assistant, a mobile phone, and a portable computer.

5. The method of claim 1 and further comprising:

providing the electronic document receiver as at least one of a facsimile machine, a multifunction printer, a desktop computer, a mobile phone, a personal digital assistant, a host server, a portable computer, and a digital sender.

6. The method of claim 1 and further comprising:

providing the electronic address as at least one of a facsimile number, an uniform resource locator, a host computer address, an network address, and an electronic mail address.

7. A method of document sending comprising:

importing an electronic address of an electronic document receiver from a mobile computing device into an electronic document sender; and

sending an electronic document from the electronic document sender to the electronic document receiver using the electronic address.

8. The method of claim 7 comprising:

performing the importing step through wireless communication between the electronic document sender and the mobile computing device.

9. The method of claim 7 and further comprising:

imaging a paper document with the electronic document sender to produce the electronic document.

10. The method of claim 7 and further comprising:

storing the imported electronic address in an internal address book of the electronic document sender.

11. The method of claim 7 and further comprising:

erasing the imported electronic address from at least one of an activity log and an internal address book of the electronic document sender.

13. The electronic document sender of claim 12 wherein the electronic document sender comprises at least one of a multi-function printer, a scanner, a digital sender, and a facsimile machine, each of which incorporate the imaging mechanism, the user interface, and wireless communication module.

14. The electronic document sender of claim 12 wherein the user interface is configured to request from the mobile computing device a distribution list comprising a plurality of electronic addresses of electronic document receivers and the communication module is configured to obtain the distribution list of electronic addresses and send the electronic document to each electronic address in the distribution list.

17. The user interface of claim 16 and further comprising:

an internal address book for storing the electronic address of the electronic document receiver.

12. An electronic document sender comprising:

an imaging mechanism configured for creating an electronic document from a paper document;

a user interface configured for activating the imaging mechanism, configured for requesting an electronic address of an electronic document receiver from a mobile computing device, and configured for initiating sending the electronic document to the electronic document receiver; and

a communication module configured for wirelessly obtaining the electronic address from the mobile computing device and configured for sending the electronic document to the electronic address of the electronic document receiver.

15. An electronic document sending system comprising:

an electronic document receiver having an electronic address;

a mobile computing device having an external address book with the electronic address of the electronic document receiver; and

an electronic document sender configured for sending an electronic document to the electronic address of the electronic document receiver and configured for obtaining the electronic address from the address book of the mobile computing device.

16. A user interface of an electronic document sender comprising:

a initiation mechanism configured for initiating sending an electronic document to an electronic document receiver at an electronic address; and

a communication module configured for requesting the electronic address of the electronic document receiver from a mobile computing device.

18. An address book of an electronic document sender comprising:

an internal storage and retrieval mechanism for maintaining a database of at least one electronic address of a electronic document receiver; and

an external retrieval mechanism configured for optionally obtaining the at least one electronic address of the electronic document receiver from a mobile computing device.

19. A mobile computing device comprising:

at least one of a portable computer, personal digital assistant, and a mobile phone, each of which includes;

an address book containing at least one electronic address of an electronic document receiver; and

a wireless communication module for transmitting the at least one electronic address from the mobile computing device to an electronic document sender.

20. An electronic document sender comprising:

an imaging mechanism configured for creating an electronic document from a paper document;

a user interface configured to perform the following tasks;

activating the imaging mechanism;

requesting an electronic address of an electronic document receiver from a mobile computing device; and

initiating sending the electronic document to the electronic document receiver; and

a communication module configured to perform the following tasks;

wirelessly obtaining the electronic address from the mobile computing device; and

sending the electronic document to the electronic address of the electronic document receiver.

21. A computer-readable medium having computer-executable instructions for performing a method of electronic document sending, the method comprising:

sending an electronic document from an electronic document sender to an electronic document receiver having an electronic address; and

electronically obtaining the electronic address from an address book located externally of the electronic document sender.

22. The method of claim 21 wherein the obtaining step further comprises:

disposing the external address book in a mobile computing device.

24. The method of claim 23 comprising:

performing the importing step through wireless communication between the electronic document sender and the mobile computing device.

25. The method of claim 23 and further comprising:

imaging a paper document with the electronic document sender to produce the electronic document.

23. A computer-readable medium having computer-executable instructions for performing a method of document sending, the method comprising:

importing an electronic address of an electronic document receiver from a mobile computing device into an electronic document sender; and

sending an electronic document from the electronic document sender to the electronic document receiver using the electronic address.