Electric device capable of being controlled based on data transmitted from cellular phone

• US 7,239,868 B2
• Filed: 01/30/2001
• Issued: 07/03/2007
• Est. Priority Date: 02/01/2000
• Status: Expired due to Term

• Current Assignee: Brother Kogyo Kabushiki Kaisha
• Original Assignee: Brother Kogyo Kabushiki Kaisha
• Inventors: Fukazawa, Koshi, Furukawa, Akihiro, Ohara, Kiyotaka, Hibino, Masaaki, Nogawa, Hideki
• Primary Examiner(s): Mehrpour; Naghmeh
• Application Number:
  US09/771,564
• Publication Number:
  US 20010019953A1
• Time in Patent Office: 2,345 Days
• Field of Search: 455/420, 455/418, 455/419, 455/28, 455/151.4, 455/92, 455/123, 455/161.2, 455/557, 455/79, 455/563, 455/575, 455/66, 455/151.1, 455/352, 455/556
• US Class Current: 455/420
• CPC Class Codes: G08C 17/00 Arrangements for transmitting signals characterised by the use of a wireless electrical link
• CPC Class Codes: G08C 2201/41 Remote control of gateways
• CPC Class Codes: G08C 2201/42 Transmitting or receiving remote control signals via a network
• CPC Class Codes: G08C 2201/61 Password, biometric
• CPC Class Codes: G08C 2201/93 Remote control using other portable devices, e.g. mobile phone, PDA, laptop
• CPC Class Codes: H04L 51/00 User-to-user messaging in packet-switching networks, transmitted according to store-and-forward or real-time protocols, e.g. e-mail
• CPC Class Codes: H04W 8/26 Network addressing or numbering for mobility support
• CPC Class Codes: H04W 84/042 Public Land Mobile systems, e.g. cellular systems

Abstract

An electric device includes a read only memory (ROM) storing a condition setting program which sets operation conditions and the like of the electric device in accordance with data. When a user changes the operation conditions and the like of the electric device, the user access a homepage of the electric device from his or her own cellular phone, inputs necessary information and command through the cellular phone. When the electric device receives the command, the condition setting program sets the operation conditions in accordance with the received command.

Claims

1. A control method of controlling an image forming device, comprising the steps of:

a) receiving image information from an external device;

b) storing the image information in a memory;

c) after storing the image information in the memory, outputting to a cellular phone a signal indicating that the image information is stored in the memory;

d) receiving an instruction to print the image information from the cellular phone after storing the image information in the memory, wherein the instruction is received from the cellular phone after the signal is outputted; and

e) executing printing of the image information in accordance with the received instruction.

2. The control method according to claim 1, wherein the instruction from the cellular phone is an e-mail message transmitted in an e-mail format.

3. The control method according to claim 1, wherein the instruction from the cellular phone is transmitted via a Web service.

4. The control method according to claim 3, wherein the image forming device has a URL, and the instruction is transmitted to the image forming device when the cellular phone accesses the URL.

5. The control method according to claim 1, wherein the signal is transmitted via an audio guidance.

6. The control method according to claim 5, wherein the instruction from the cellular phone is transmitted in response to the audio guidance.

7. The control method according to claim 1, further comprising the steps of:

f) detecting an e-mail address from the image information stored in the memory; and

g) sending an e-mail message to the detected e-mail address, the e-mail message urging a user of the cellular phone to transmit the instruction to the image forming device.

8. The control method according to claim 1, further comprising a step of:

h) judging whether the image information is confidential, wherein if the image information is confidential, executing printing when the instruction includes a predetermined code.

9. The control method according to claim 1, wherein the signal is output via an e-mail message capable of being received by the cellular phone, and, in response to the signal, the instruction is sent to the image forming device in an e-mail format.

10. The control method according to claim 1, wherein the signal identifies a URL associated with the image forming device, and the instruction is sent to the image forming device from the cellular phone by accessing the URL.

11. The control method according to claim 10, wherein the URL includes a link to a page to instruct the execution of the printing, and the instruction is sent to the image forming device from the cellular phone by accessing the link.

23. The control method according to claim 1, further comprising the steps of:

f) detecting telephone number from the image information stored in the memory; and

g) making a telephone call to the detected telephone number, the telephone call including audio guidance urging a user of the cellular phone to transmit the instruction to the image forming device.

12. A printing system comprising:

an image forming device, including;

a receiving unit that receives an image information from an external device;

a memory in which the image information is stored;

an output unit that outputs a signal to a cellular phone after the image information is stored in the memory, the signal indicating that the image information is stored in the memory;

a printing unit that executes printing of the image information; and

a controller that controls the printing unit to execute the printing; and

the cellular phone, including;

a communication unit that transmits an instruction to the image forming device after the image information is stored in the memory of the image forming device, and the communication unit transmits the instruction to the image forming device after receiving the signal output from the output unit of the image forming device;

wherein the controller controls the printing unit to execute the printing when the instruction is transmitted from the cellular phone.

13. The printing system according to claim 12, wherein the instruction from the cellular phone is an e-mail message transmitted in an e-mail format.

14. The printing system according to claim 12, wherein the instruction from the cellular phone is transmitted via a Web service.

15. The printing system according to claim 14, wherein the image forming device has a URL associated therewith, and the instruction is transmitted to the image forming device when the cellular phone accesses the URL.

16. The printing system according to claim 12, wherein the signal is transmitted via an audio guidance.

17. The printing system according to claim 16, wherein the instruction from the cellular phone is transmitted in response to the audio guidance.

18. The printing system according to claim 12, further comprising an e-mail address detector for detecting an e-mail address from the image information stored in the memory, wherein an e-mail message is sent to the detected e-mail address, the e-mail message urging a user of the cellular phone to transmit the instruction to the image forming device.

19. The printing system according to claim 12, wherein the image forming device determines whether the image information is confidential and the printing is executed when the instruction including a predetermined code is transmitted from the cellular phone.

20. The printing system according to claim 12, wherein the signal is output via an e-mail message to a detected e-mail address such that the e-mail message can be received via the cellular phone, and, in response to the e-mail message, the instruction is sent to the image forming device in an e-mail format.

21. The printing system according to claim 12, wherein the signal identifies a URL and the signal is sent to a detected e-mail address, and the instruction is sent to the image forming device from the cellular phone by accessing the URL.

22. The printing system according to claim 12, wherein the URL includes a link to a page to instruct execution of the printing, and the instruction is sent to the image forming device from the cellular phone by accessing the link.