Printing data held on a WWW server

• US 8,330,976 B2
• Filed: 05/09/2006
• Issued: 12/11/2012
• Est. Priority Date: 10/27/1997
• Status: Expired due to Fees

• Current Assignee: Canon Kabushiki Kaisha (Canon Inc.)
• Original Assignee: Canon Kabushiki Kaisha (Canon Inc.)
• Inventors: Yamaguchi, Koutaro, Sato, Hiroyuki, Shimizu, Yasushi
• Primary Examiner(s): Kau, Steven
• Assistant Examiner(s): McLean, Neil R
• Application Number:
  US11/430,230
• Publication Number:
  US 20060203285A1
• Time in Patent Office: 2,408 Days
• Field of Search: 358/1.13, 358/1.15, 358/1.16, 358/1.17, 358/1.18, 395/200, 395/114, 395/117, 395/615, 395/335, 395/106, 395/111, 707/26, 707/1, 345/352
• US Class Current: 358/1.15
• 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 3/1224 Client or server resources management
• CPC Class Codes: G06F 3/1236 Connection management
• CPC Class Codes: G06F 3/1288 in client-server-printer device configuration

Abstract

To enable data in a WWW server on a network to be directly obtained without passing through an information processing apparatus and to reduce a load which is applied to the network when the data obtained from the WWW server is printed, a digital copier has a function, namely, a Web Pull Printing function for actively accessing to the WWW server, obtaining data of an HTML format in the WWW server, and printing by a self printer. A Web print request to the digital copier by the user is executed through a print utility which is operating on a client.

Claims

1. A copying apparatus comprising:

a reading unit constructed to input image data by reading an original document;

a printing unit constructed to perform printing based on the image data input by the reading unit or externally received data;

an operation unit, including a display unit, constructed to accept an operation by a user, wherein a first soft key to be used by the user for selecting a copy mode and a second soft key to be used by the user for selecting a web mode are displayed on the display unit included in the operation unit;

a first display controlling unit constructed to cause the display unit to display a screen for inputting a parameter for a copying process when the first soft key displayed on the display unit is selected by the user, and to cause the display unit to display a setting screen for a web process when the second soft key displayed on the display unit is selected by the user;

a register unit constructed to register a URL input by a user into a storage unit, wherein the URL corresponds to data held in a WWW server, and the storage unit can register plural URLs;

a second display controlling unit constructed to cause the display unit to display a virtual keyboard and cause the display unit to display a URL input by the user with use of the virtual keyboard when a third soft key is selected by the user on the setting screen for the web process displayed on the display unit, and to cause the display unit to display a list of the plural URLs registered by the register unit and cause the display unit to display the URL selected by the user from the list when a fourth soft key is selected by the user on the setting screen for the web process displayed on the display unit; and

an obtaining unit constructed to access, directly by a WWW client provided in the copying apparatus, a WWW server through the network and obtain the data held in the WWW server, on the basis of the URL input by the user with use of the virtual keyboard or the URL selected by the user from the list.

2. A copying apparatus according to claim 1, further comprising a print setting unit constructed to execute a print setting for printing the data by said printing unit.

3. A copying apparatus according to claim 2, wherein said print setting unit sets, as the print setting, whether or not to print, together with the data held in the WWW server, the URL of said data.

4. A copying apparatus according to claim 2, wherein said print setting unit sets, as the print setting, whether or not to print, together with the data held in the WWW server, a title of said data.

5. A copying apparatus according to claim 2, wherein said print setting unit sets, as the print setting, in a case where the data held in the WWW server represents an image for drawing a background, whether or not to print the background.

6. A copying apparatus according to claim 2, wherein said print setting unit sets, as the print setting, a schedule for periodically obtaining the data held in the WWW server.

7. A copying apparatus according to claim 6, further comprising a judgment unit constructed to judge, in the case where the schedule is set by said print setting unit, whether or not the schedule is satisfied,

wherein, in a case where it is judged by said judgment unit that the schedule is satisfied, said obtaining unit accesses the WWW server through the network and obtains the data held in the WWW server.

8. A copying apparatus according to claim 2, wherein said print setting unit sets, as the print setting, according to a hyper-link in regard to the data held in the WWW server, whether or not to print the data at a hyper-linked destination.

9. A copying method executed by a copying apparatus comprising:

a reading step of inputting image data by reading an original document;

a printing step of printing based on the image data input by the reading step or externally received data;

an operation step, including a display step, of accepting an operation by a user, wherein a first soft key to be used by the user for selecting a copy mode and a second soft key to be used by the user for selecting a web mode are displayed on a display unit in the display step included in the operation step;

a first display controlling step of causing the display unit to display a screen for inputting a parameter for a copying process when the first soft key displayed on the display unit is selected by the user, and to cause the display unit to display a setting screen for a web process when the second soft key displayed on the display unit is selected by the user;

a registering step of registering a URL input by a user into a storage unit, wherein the URL corresponds to data held in a WWW server, and the storage unit can register plural URLs;

a second display controlling step of causing the display unit to display a virtual keyboard and causing the display unit to display a URL input by the user with use of the virtual keyboard when a third soft key is selected by the user on the setting screen for the web process displayed on the display unit, and causing the display unit to display a list of the plural URLs registered by the register step and causing the display unit to display the URL selected by the user from the list when a fourth soft key is selected by the user on the setting screen for the web process displayed on the display unit; and

an obtaining step of accessing, directly by a WWW client provided in the copying apparatus, a WWW server through the network and obtaining the data held in the WWW server, on the basis of the URL input by the user with use of the virtual keyboard or the URL selected by the user from the list.

10. A method according to claim 9, further comprising a print setting step constructed to execute a print setting for printing the data by said printing step.

11. A method according to claim 10, wherein said print setting step sets, as the print setting, whether or not to print, together with the data held in the WWW server, the URL of said data.

12. A method according to claim 10, wherein said print setting step sets, as the print setting, whether or not to print, together with the data held in the WWW server, a title of said data.

13. A method according to claim 10, wherein said print setting step sets, as the print setting, in a case where the data held in the WWW server represents an image for drawing a background, whether or not to print the background.

14. A method according to claim 10, wherein said print setting step sets, as the print setting, a schedule for periodically obtaining the data held in the WWW server.

15. A method according to claim 14, further comprising a judgment step of judging, in the case where the schedule is set by said print setting step, whether or not the schedule is satisfied,

wherein, in a case where it is judged by said judgment step that the schedule is satisfied, said obtaining step accesses the WWW server through the network and obtains the data held in the WWW server.

16. A method according to claim 10, wherein said print setting step sets, as the print setting, according to a hyper-link in regard to the data held in the WWW server, whether or not to print the data at a hyper-linked destination.

17. A non-transitory computer-readable storage medium on which is stored code for a computer-executable program executable by a copying apparatus to execute a printing method comprising:

a reading step of inputting image data by reading an original document;

a printing step of printing based on the image data input by the reading step or externally received data;

an operation step, including a display step, of accepting an operation by a user, wherein a first soft key to be used by the user for selecting a copy mode and a second soft key to be used by the user for selecting a web mode are displayed on a display unit by the display step included in the operation step;

a first display controlling step of causing the display unit to display a screen for inputting a parameter for a copying process when the first soft key displayed on the display unit is selected by the user, and causing the display unit to display a setting screen for a web process when the second soft key displayed on the display unit is selected by the user;

a registering step of registering a URL input by a user into a storage unit, wherein the URL corresponds to data held in a WWW server, and the storage unit can register plural URLs;

a second display controlling step of causing the display unit to display a virtual keyboard and causing the display unit to display a URL input by the user with use of the virtual keyboard when a third soft key is selected by the user on the setting screen for the web process displayed on the display unit, and causing the display unit to display a list of the plural URLs registered by the register step and causing the display unit to display the URL selected by the user from the list when a fourth soft key is selected by the user on the setting screen for the web process displayed on the display unit; and

an obtaining step of accessing, directly by a WWW client provided in the copying apparatus, a WWW server through the network and obtaining the data held in the WWW server, on the basis of

the URL input by the user with use of the virtual keyboard or the URL selected by the user from the list.