Image forming device capable of acquiring data from web server

• US 7,639,379 B2
• Filed: 02/21/2003
• Issued: 12/29/2009
• Est. Priority Date: 03/01/2002
• Status: Active Grant

• Current Assignee: Brother Kogyo Kabushiki Kaisha
• Original Assignee: Brother Kogyo Kabushiki Kaisha
• Inventors: Kondo, Yoshiyuki, Kokubo, Masatoshi, Aoki, Kazuma, Enomoto, Katsunori
• Primary Examiner(s): Haskins; Twyler L
• Assistant Examiner(s): Robinson; Myles D
• Application Number:
  US10/369,586
• Publication Number:
  US 20030164987A1
• Time in Patent Office: 2,503 Days
• Field of Search: None
• US Class Current: 358/1.14
• 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 1/00212 Attaching image data to computer messages, e.g. to e-mails
• CPC Class Codes: H04N 1/00244 with a server, e.g. an internet server fax-servers or the like for store and forward H04N1/324
• CPC Class Codes: H04N 1/00925 Inhibiting an operation
• CPC Class Codes: H04N 2201/0048 Type of connection
• CPC Class Codes: H04N 2201/0082 Image hardcopy reproducer H04N2201/0091 - H04N2201/0094 take precedence
• CPC Class Codes: H04N 2201/0086 Image transceiver H04N2201/0093 and H04N2201/0094 take precedence

Abstract

A facsimile device downloads data from a web server if a URL of the web server is not listed in an access prohibited database. If it is determined that the downloaded data is of the type for which image formation is prohibited, then a printing function is set to OFF. If the printing function is ON, then a display unit displays an outline of the downloaded data, enabling a user to determine whether or not the downloaded data should be printing out. If the user input a print instruction, then the downloaded data is printed out. On the other hand, if the user input a cancel instruction, then the downloaded data is not printed out.

Claims

1. An image forming device comprising:

an image forming unit that forms images on a recording medium;

a communicating unit that performs bi-directional communications with a web server provided on a wide area network;

a data acquiring unit that acquires web data from the web server corresponding to a specified address via the communicating unit;

a control unit that controls the image forming unit to form the images based on the web data acquired by the data acquiring unit;

a history data memory that stores history data indicating web data based on which the image forming unit has formed the images;

an identifying unit that identifies, based on the history data, whether or not the web data is of a type based on which the images have been formed previously; and

a determining unit that determines not to form the images based on the web data acquired by the data acquiring unit, if the identifying unit identifies that the web data is of the type based on which the images have been formed previously;

wherein the control unit prohibits the image forming unit from forming the images based on the web data when the determining unit determines that the images should not be formed based on the web data.

2. The image forming device according to claim 1, wherein the identifying unit includes:

a first memory that stores server data indicating web servers that provide web data based on which images should not be formed; and

a server identifying unit that identifies the type of web data that the web server corresponding to a specific address provides, based on the server data, prior to the data acquiring unit acquiring the web data.

3. The image forming device according to claim 1, wherein the identifying unit includes:

a second memory that stores keywords;

a searching unit that searches the web data for the keywords; and

a type identifying unit that identifies the type of the web data based on search results of the searching unit.

4. The image forming device according to claim 3, further comprising a harmful data notifying unit, wherein the keywords stored in the second memory includes keywords for identifying harmful data, and the harmful data notifying unit determines whether or not the web server is providing harmful web data based on search results of the searching unit and notifies an external party of the determination results when determines that the web server is providing the harmful web data.

5. The image forming device according to claim 1, wherein:

the determining unit includes an authorization notifying unit that determines, based on the type of the web data, whether or not the web data is of a type that requires user authorization, and that notifies the user of the determination results when the web data is determined to be of the type that requires the user authorization; and

the determining unit checks the user'"'"'s authorization based on authorization data that the user inputs via external operations within a predetermined period of time after the authorization notifying unit has notified the use of the determination result, and determines that images based on the web data should not be formed when authorization fails.

6. The image forming device according to claim 1, wherein the data acquiring unit includes a fourth memory that stores addresses of web servers and a periodic acquiring unit that acquires the web data from web servers corresponding to the addresses stored in the fourth memory at prescribed intervals.

7. The image forming device according to claim 6, wherein the periodic acquiring unit acquires the web data from the web server every time a notification is obtained from an external source indicating that the web data on the web server corresponding to the addresses stored in the fourth memory has been updated.

8. The image forming device according to claim 6, wherein the determining unit determines that images based on the web data should not be formed, regardless of the type of the web data, during an output prohibit period between when the user inputs a prohibit instruction and when the user inputs a release instruction.

9. The image forming device according to claim 8, wherein the control unit stores the web data that the data acquiring unit acquired during the output prohibit period into a fifth memory.

10. The image forming device according to claim 1, wherein the control unit stores the web data, based on which the control unit prohibits the image forming unit from forming images, into a fifth memory.

11. The image forming device according to claim 1, further comprising a transferring unit, wherein the communicating unit performs bi-directional communications with a LAN terminal provided on a local area network, and the transferring unit transfers the web data to the LAN terminal via the communicating unit.

12. The image forming device according to claim 11, wherein:

the identifying unit determines whether or not the web data is a conforming-type data that is of a type conforming to an image forming capacity of the image forming unit;

the determining unit determines that images based on the web data should not be formed when the identifying unit determines that the web data is not the conforming-type data; and

when the identifying unit determines that web data is not the conforming-type data and the determining unit determines that images based on the web data should not be printed, the control unit controls the transferring unit to transfer the web data determined not the conforming-type data to the LAN terminal having an image forming function.

13. The image forming device according to claim 1, further comprising:

a display unit that displays an outline of the web data when the determining unit determines that images based on the web data should be formed, enabling the user to input an instruction on whether or not images should be formed based on the web data; and

a user authorization unit that determines whether or not images based on the web data should be formed according to the instruction from the user;

wherein the control unit prohibits the image forming unit from forming images based on the web data when the user authorization determining unit determines that image based on the web data should not be formed.

14. The image forming device according to claim 1, further comprising:

a sixth memory that stores a plurality of addresses;

a storing unit that stores memo data in association with corresponding addresses into the sixth memory,

a display unit that displays a list of the memo data; and

a selecting unit that enables the user to select one of the memo data from the displayed list, wherein

the control unit controls the data acquiring unit to acquire web data from the web server corresponding to the address stored in association with the memo data that the user has selected through the selecting unit.

15. The image forming device according to claim 1, wherein the data acquiring unit fails to acquire the web data, whose address is specified by the user, if the determining unit determines that images should not be formed.

16. A computer-readable medium encoded with a control program of controlling an image forming device, the image forming device including an image forming unit that forms images on a recording medium, a communicating unit that performs bi-directional communications with a web server provided on a wide area network, a data acquiring unit that acquires web data from the web server corresponding to a specified address via the communicating unit, a control unit that controls the image forming unit to form images based on the web data acquired by the data acquiring unit, and a history data memory that stores history data indicating web data based on which the image forming unit has formed images, the program comprising instructions for:

a) acquiring web data from the web server corresponding to the specified address via the communicating unit;

b) identifying, based on the history data, whether or not the web data is of a type based on which images have been formed previously;

c) determining not to form images based on the web data, acquired by the data acquiring unit, if the identifying instruction identifies that the web data is of the type based on which images have been formed previously; and

d) prohibiting the image forming unit to form images based on the web data when it is determined in the program c) that images should not be formed based on the web data.

17. The computer-readable medium according to claim 16, wherein a) fails to acquire the web data, whose address is specified by the user, if it is determined in c) that images should not be formed.

18. A control method of controlling an image forming device, the image forming device including an image forming unit that forms images on a recording medium, and-a communicating unit that performs bi-directional communications with a web server provided on a wide area network, a data acquiring unit that acquires web data from the web server corresponding to a specified address via the communicating unit, a control unit that controls the image forming unit to form images based on the web data acquired by the data acquiring unit, and a history data memory that stores history data indicating web data based on which the image forming unit has formed images, the control method comprising the steps of:

a) acquiring web data from the web server corresponding to the specified address via the communicating unit;

b) identifying, based on the history data, whether or not the web data is of a type based on which the images have been formed previously;

c) determining not to form the images based on the web data acquired by the data acquiring unit, if the identifying step identifies that the web data is of the type based on which images have been formed previously; and

d) prohibiting the image forming unit to form images based on the web data when it is determined in the step c) that images should not be formed based on the web data.

19. The control method according to claim 18, wherein a) fails to acquire the web data, whose address is specified by the user, if it is determined in c) that images should not be formed.