Data output control device and portable terminal

• US 7,099,928 B2
• Filed: 09/12/2001
• Issued: 08/29/2006
• Est. Priority Date: 01/12/2000
• Status: Active Grant

• Current Assignee: Seiko Epson Corporation (Seiko Group)
• Original Assignee: Seiko Epson Corporation (Seiko Group)
• Inventors: Taniguchi, Shinya, Aoki, Mikio
• Primary Examiner(s): Maung, Zarni
• Assistant Examiner(s): Tiv, Backhean
• Application Number:
  US09/949,667
• Publication Number:
  US 20020026479A1
• Time in Patent Office: 1,812 Days
• Field of Search: 709/205, 709/213, 709/217, 709/226, 709/229, 710/5, 710/65
• US Class Current: 709/217
• CPC Class Codes: G06F 3/1204 resulting in reduced user or operator actions, e.g. presetting, automatic actions, using hardware token storing data
• CPC Class Codes: G06F 3/1226 Discovery of devices having required properties
• CPC Class Codes: G06F 3/1232 Transmitting printer device capabilities, e.g. upon request or periodically
• CPC Class Codes: G06F 3/126 Job scheduling, e.g. queuing, determine appropriate device
• CPC Class Codes: G06F 3/1292 Mobile client, e.g. wireless printing
• CPC Class Codes: G06F 3/1293 Printer information exchange with computer
• CPC Class Codes: H04L 67/51 Discovery or management thereof, e.g. service location protocol [SLP] or web services
• CPC Class Codes: H04L 67/52 specially adapted for the location of the user terminal
• CPC Class Codes: H04W 4/02 Services making use of location information
• CPC Class Codes: H04W 4/029 Location-based management or tracking services

Abstract

The present invention to provides a portable terminal and data output control device suitably used for readily obtaining detailed information on a network. The data output control terminal communicably connects a user-owned portable terminal, printing devices situated at various locations for outputting data, and WWW servers, via the Internet, receives data printing requests containing portable terminal position data generated by the portable terminal from the portable terminal, searches printing device position data of a storage device based on portable terminal position data contained in the data printing request, selects a printing device which is considered to be closest either distance-wise or time-wise with the position of the portable terminal as a reference, and outputs data relating to the data printing request to the selected printing device.

Claims

1. A data output control device, which communicably connects to a user-owned portable terminal which is portable and sends data output requests, at least one data format converting terminal, and a plurality of output terminals situated at various locations for outputting data, via a network, so as to receive data output requests from said portable terminal, and output data relating to said data output requests to said output terminals, the at least one data format converting terminal converting the output data into at least one data format that is printable by at least one of the output terminals, the data output control device comprising:

a storage device that stores output terminal position data for specifying the output terminal installation location for each output terminal;

a selecting device that searches output terminal position data of said storage device based on the portable terminal position data for specifying the position of said portable terminal, and selects an output terminal that is capable of rendering a data format converted by the at least one data format converting terminal, and is considered to be closest, either distance-wise or time-wise, with the position of said portable terminal as a reference; and

an output device for outputting data relating to said data output request to the output terminal selected by said selecting device,

wherein said portable terminal position data is generated based on position data relating to the position of said portable terminal from base stations to which said portable terminal connects.

2. A data output control device, which communicably connects to a user-owned portable terminal which is portable and sends data output requests, at least one data format converting terminal, and a plurality of output terminals situated at various locations for outputting data, via a network, so as to receive data output requests from said portable terminal, and output data relating to said data output requests to said output terminals, the at least one data format converting terminal converting the output data into at least one data format that is printable by at least one of the output terminals, the data output control device, comprising:

a storage device that stores output terminal position data for specifying the output terminal installation location for each output terminal;

a selecting device that searches output terminal position data of said storage device based on the portable terminal position data for specifying the position of said portable terminal, and selects an output terminal that is capable of rendering a data format converted by the at least one data format converting terminal, and is considered to be closest, either distance-wise or time-wise, with the position of said portable terminal as a reference; and

an output device that outputs data relating to said data output request to the output terminal selected by said selecting device,

wherein the portable terminal position data is generated by said portable terminal.

3. The portable terminal which uses the data output control device according to claim 2, comprising:

a position measuring device that measures the position of said terminal;

a position data generating device that generates said portable terminal position data based on the position measured with said position measuring device; and

a data output request originating device that sends said data output requests containing portable terminal position data generated by said position data generating device to said data output control device.

4. The portable terminal which uses the data output control device according to claim 2, comprising:

a position data obtaining device that obtains position data relating to the position of said terminal from base stations to which said terminal connects;

a position data generating device that generates said portable terminal position data based on the position data obtained by said position data obtaining device; and

a data output request originating device that sends said data output requests containing the portable terminal position data generated by said position data generating device to said data output control device.