Print terminal apparatus

• US 7,538,899 B2
• Filed: 12/30/2002
• Issued: 05/26/2009
• Est. Priority Date: 01/08/2002
• Status: Active Grant

• Current Assignee: Fujifilm Corporation (Fujifilm Holdings Corporation)
• Original Assignee: Fujifilm Corporation (Fujifilm Holdings Corporation)
• Inventors: Kawaoka, Yoshiki
• Primary Examiner(s): Safaipour; Houshang
• Application Number:
  US10/330,292
• Publication Number:
  US 20030129970A1
• Time in Patent Office: 2,339 Days
• Field of Search: 358/1.15, 358/407, 358/1.16, 358/462
• US Class Current: 358/1.15
• CPC Class Codes: B41J 3/44 Typewriters or selective printing mechanisms having dual functions or combined with, or coupled to, apparatus performing other functions
• 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: H04L 51/08 Annexed information, e.g. attachments
• CPC Class Codes: H04L 51/10 Multimedia information

Abstract

The print terminal apparatus can print an image exchanged via an electronic mail without preparing any printer personally. In printing an image attached to the electronic mail that a user received in the past, identification information of the user such as a portable telephone number (mail address) of the user is firstly input on a monitor with a touch panel for a print terminal apparatus installed in a shop front. The print terminal apparatus retrieves the image attached to the electronic mail addressed to the user from a mail server via a communication line interface into a storage on the basis of this identification information of the user, and displays a list of images on the monitor with the touch panel. If the image to be printed is selected on this monitor, and a charged amount of cash is thrown into a coin machine, a selected image is printed by a print engine.

Claims

1. A print terminal apparatus, comprising:

a communication device which communicates with a server, which stores an electronic mail with an image attached and which stores the electronic mail without the image attached;

an input device which inputs the identification information of a user, and a selection of an image to be printed;

an image retrieving device which retrieves only the electronic mail with the image attached from electronic mail, addressed to the user and stored on the server according to the identification information of the user, via the communication device on the basis of the identification information of the user input by the input device, and which retrieves the image attached to each of the retrieved electronic mail;

a display device which displays the retrieved images as a list of the retrieved images; and

a printing device which prints a selected image if a selection instruction for selecting the image to be printed from the list of images displayed on the display device is input by the input device.

2. The print terminal apparatus according to claim 1, further comprising a billing device which bills a print output by the printing device.

3. The print terminal apparatus of claim 1, wherein the display device displays a list of messages with images attached associated with the user.

4. The print terminal apparatus of claim 3, wherein the displayed messages are based on at least one of a tag and an extension, said at least one of the tag and the extension indicating that an image is attached to the message.

5. The print terminal apparatus of claim 3, wherein the messages are based on at least a tag indicating the presence of the image to the message and the tag is not displayed.

6. The print terminal apparatus of claim 1, wherein the deletion of message occurs after printing.

7. The print terminal apparatus of claim 6, wherein the deletion is based on a starting of a timer after print.

8. The print terminal apparatus of claim 1, wherein the print selection is from those messages have a print tag.

9. The print terminal apparatus of claim 1, wherein the printing device prints characters of the electronic mail along with the image.

10. A print terminal apparatus, comprising:

a communication device which communicates with a server, which stores an electronic mail with an image attached with a print request flag that is set, an electronic mail with the image attached with a print request flag that is not set, and an electronic mail without the image attached;

an input device which inputs the identification information of a user;

an image retrieving device which retrieves only the electronic mail with the image attached with the print request flag that is set from among electronic mails addressed to said user, which are stored on the server according to identification information of a user and a print request flag, from the server via the communication device on the basis of the identification information of the user input by the input device, and which retrieves the image attached to each of the retrieved electronic mail; and

a printing device which prints the retrieved image,

wherein the print terminal apparatus displays the retrieved images, and

wherein the user selects an image to be printed from the retrieved images.

11. The print terminal apparatus according to claim 10, further comprising a billing device which bills a print output by the printing device.

12. A print terminal apparatus, comprising:

a communication device which communicates with a server, which stores electronic mail with an image attached that is sent to a predetermined address of the print terminal apparatus;

an input device which inputs the identification information of a user;

an image retrieving device which retrieves the image attached to each of the electronic mail which the user transmits to the predetermined address of the print terminal apparatus via the communication device from the server on the basis of the identification information of the user input by the input device and the predetermined address of the print terminal apparatus;

a display device which displays the retrieved images, wherein the user selects an image to be printed from the retrieved images; and

a printing device which prints the selected image,

wherein the image retrieving device retrieves only electronic mail having an image attached.

13. The print terminal apparatus according to claim 12, further comprising a billing device which bills a print output by the printing device.

14. The print terminal apparatus according to claim 12, wherein the printing device prints characters of the electronic mail along with the image.

15. An image print system, comprising:

a mail server with a device storing an electronic mail with an image attached with a print request flag that is set, an electronic mail with the image attached and with a print request flag that is not set, and an electronic mail without the image attached, and a device setting a print request flag in regard to the electronic mail with an image attached; and

a print terminal apparatus with a communication device communicating with the mail server, input device for inputting identification information of the user, and a printing device, wherein;

the print terminal apparatus transmits the identification information of the user input by the input device to the mail server;

the mail server retrieves only the electronic mail with the image attached with the print request flag that is set from among electronic emails addressed to said user, which are stored in the server according to identification information of a user and a print request flag, on the basis of the identification information of the user received from the print terminal apparatus, and transmits the retrieved electronic mail with an image aft ached to the print terminal apparatus;

the print terminal apparatus displays the image attached to each of the received electronic mail and prints the image attached to each of the received electronic mail.

16. The print terminal apparatus of claim 15, wherein the display device displays a list of messages with images attached associated with the user.

17. The print terminal apparatus of claim 15, wherein the displayed messages are based on at least one of a tag and an extension, said at least one of the tag and the extension that an image is attached to the message.

18. The print terminal apparatus of claim 15, wherein the print selection is from those messages have a print tag.

19. An image print system, comprising:

a mail server with a device storing an electronic mail with an image attached that is sent to a predetermined address a print terminal apparatus; and

a terminal device with a communication device communicating with the mail server, an input device for inputting identification information of the user, and a printing device, wherein;

the print terminal apparatus transmits the identification information of the user input by the input device to the mail server;

the mail server retrieves an electronic mail with an image attached transmitted from said user to the predetermined address of the print terminal apparatus on the basis of the identification information of the user received from the print terminal apparatus, and transmits the retrieved electronic mail with an image attached to the print terminal apparatus; and

,

the print terminal apparatus prints the image attached to an electronic mail received from the mail server with the printing device;

a display device which displays the retrieved images, wherein the user selects an image to be printed from the retrieved images; and

wherein the user selects an image to be printed from the retrieved images, and

wherein the mail server retrieves only electronic mail having an image attached.

20. The image print system according to claim 19, wherein the printing device prints characters of the electronic mail along with the image.