Information providing system and apparatus and methods therefor

• US 7,133,142 B2
• Filed: 07/19/2001
• Issued: 11/07/2006
• Est. Priority Date: 07/24/2000
• Status: Expired due to Fees

• Current Assignee: Canon Kabushiki Kaisha (Canon Inc.)
• Original Assignee: Canon Kabushiki Kaisha (Canon Inc.)
• Inventors: Inoue, Atsushi, Satomi, Hiroshi, Ito, Kosuke, Matsuura, Kenichiro, Igeta, Satoshi
• Primary Examiner(s): Williams, Kimberly
• Assistant Examiner(s): SINGH, SATWANT K
• Application Number:
  US09/909,040
• Publication Number:
  US 20020044294A1
• Time in Patent Office: 1,937 Days
• Field of Search: 709/203, 709/206, 709/230, 358/1.15, 358/1.13, 705/40, 710/105, 455/566
• US Class Current: 358/1.13
• CPC Class Codes: H04L 51/066 Format adaptation, e.g. format conversion or compression
• CPC Class Codes: H04L 51/214 using selective forwarding
• CPC Class Codes: H04L 51/58 Message adaptation for wireless communication
• CPC Class Codes: H04N 1/00214 details of transmission
• CPC Class Codes: H04N 1/00217 only involving computer data transmission protocols, e.g. SMTP, WAP or HTTP communication protocol aspects and techniques in packet data networks H04L69/00; network-specific arrangements or communication protocols supporting networked applications H04L67/00
• CPC Class Codes: H04N 1/00408 Display of information to the user, e.g. menus
• CPC Class Codes: H04N 1/00416 Multi-level menus
• CPC Class Codes: H04N 1/00472 using a pop-up window
• CPC Class Codes: H04N 2201/0065 Converting image data to a format usable by the connected apparatus or vice versa
• CPC Class Codes: H04N 2201/0098 User intervention not otherwise provided for, e.g. placing documents, responding to an alarm
• CPC Class Codes: H04N 2201/3205 of identification information, e.g. name or ID code H04N2201/3209 takes precedence
• CPC Class Codes: H04N 2201/3207 of an address
• CPC Class Codes: H04N 2201/3208 of an e-mail or network address
• CPC Class Codes: H04N 2201/3209 of a telephone number

Abstract

A net database retains a user conversion setting table for designating the destination of electronic mail for each user. Based on the contents of the user conversion setting table of the user, a determination module determines the destination of electronic mail received via a mail server. The determination module uses an appropriate conversion module to convert the data of the electronic mail so as to match the output format of the destination. The determination module provides the converted data to the designated destination. Since the contents of the transmission information are converted into a data format corresponding to the capacity of a receiving-side terminal, appropriate information can be provided to the receiving-side terminal.

Claims

1. An information providing apparatus capable of executing a communication via a network, comprising:

registering means for registering one or more terminal and a permission/inhibition of charge, for each user;

reception means for receiving transmission information to a user from an external terminal;

decision means for deciding, from the one or more terminal registered for the user by said registering means, a destination terminal of the transmission information received by said reception means;

selection means for selecting a conversion module which converts a format of the transmission information into a format which matches processing ability of the decided destination terminal;

designation means for sending the transmission information to the selected conversion module so as to make the selected conversion module convert the transmission information; and

transferring means for transferring the converted transmission information to the decided destination terminal; and

inhibiting means for, when a user sets to inhibit charge, inhibiting said selection means from selecting conversion module which accrues charge.

2. The apparatus according to claim 1, wherein

the apparatus further comprises division means for dividing the data contained in the transmission information in accordance with types of contents of the data,

said selection means selects a conversion module for each divided data, and

said transferring means integrates the data whose formats are converted by selected conversion module and transfers the integrated data to the destination.

3. The apparatus according to claim 2, wherein the transmission information is electronic mail, and the data divided in accordance with the types are attached files contained in the electronic mail.

4. The apparatus according to claim 2, wherein said transferring means integrates the converted data in accordance with a data order of the transmission information.

5. The apparatus according to claim 1, wherein said selection means selects a conversion module on the basis of a data format of the data contained in the transmission information and a data format of the destination.

6. The apparatus according to claim 5, wherein when the destination is a World Wide Web information providing apparatus, said selection means selects a conversion module which converts image data contained in the transmission information into JPEG data and converts wordprocessor document data into HTML format data.

7. The apparatus according to claim 5, wherein when the destination is a portable terminal, said selection module selects a conversion module which converts image data contained in the transmission information into a format displayable on the portable terminal and converts wordprocessor document data into text string data representing a subject of the document.

8. The apparatus according to claim 5, further comprising charging means for, when said conversion module executes conversion which accrues charge, executing charge processing.

9. An information providing method comprising:

a reception step of receiving transmission information to a user from an external terminal;

a decision step of deciding, from one or more terminal registered for the user in registering unit, a destination terminal of the transmission information received in the reception step;

a selection step of selecting a conversion module which converts a format of the transmission information into a format which matches processing ability of the decided destination terminal;

a designation step of sending the transmission information to the selected conversion module so as to make the selected conversion module convert the transmission information; and

a transferring step of transferring the converted transmission information to the decided destination terminal; and

an inhibiting step of, when a user sets to inhibit charge, inhibiting said selection step from selecting conversion module which accrues charge.

10. A computer-readable storage medium which stores a control program for causing a computer to execute an information providing method comprising:

a reception step of receiving transmission information to a user from an external terminal;

a decision step of deciding, from one or more terminal registered for the user in registering unit, a destination terminal of the transmission information received in the reception step;

a selection step of selecting a conversion module which converts a format of the transmission information into a format which matches processing ability of the decided destination terminal;

a designation step of sending the transmission information to the selected conversion module so as to make the selected conversion module convert the transmission information; and

a transferring step of transferring the converted transmission information to the decided destination terminal; and

an inhibiting step of, when a user sets to inhibit charge, inhibiting said selection step from selecting conversion module which accrues charge.