IMAGE FORMING APPARATUS, INFORMATION NOTIFYING METHOD, AND NON-TRANSITORY COMPUTER-READABLE RECORDING MEDIUM STORING INSTRUCTIONS THEREFOR

• US 20180234560A1
• Filed: 02/14/2018
• Published: 08/16/2018
• Est. Priority Date: 02/15/2017
• Status: Active Grant

• Current Assignee: Brother Kogyo Kabushiki Kaisha
• Original Assignee: Brother Kogyo Kabushiki Kaisha
• Inventors: OKUNO, Tetsuya, TAKASAKI, Hironori, LEE, Tony, ENOMOTO, Katsunori, ADACHI, Toyoshi, LIU, Yuqing
• Granted Patent: US 10,326,893 B2
• Time in Patent Office: Days
• CPC Class Codes: G06F 16/9554 by using bar codes
• CPC Class Codes: H04N 1/00206 Transmitting or receiving computer data via an image communication device, e.g. a facsimile transceiver H04N1/00236 takes precedence
• CPC Class Codes: H04N 1/00233 details of image data reproduction, e.g. network printing or remote image display using an image reproducing device as a local output from a computer H04N1/00238; digital output from computer to printer unit G06F3/12
• CPC Class Codes: H04N 1/32128 attached to the image data, e.g. file header, transmitted message header, information on the same page or in the same computer file as the image for information embedded in the image H04N1/32144

Abstract

In an image forming apparatus, a controller is configured to receive an e-mail stored in a mail server through a network interface, generate identification information corresponding to image data attached to the received e-mail, store, in a storage, the identification information, a transmission source address of the e-mail to which to the image data corresponding to the identification information is attached, and the image data corresponding to the identification information, in an associated manner, cause a printer to print a particular image corresponding to the identification information, identify the identification information in the particular image read by an image reader, retrieve, from the storage, the transmission source address of the e-mail to which the image data corresponding to the identification information identified in the identifying process, and transmit an e-mail addressed to the transmission source address retrieved in the address retrieval step to the mail server.

Claims

1. An image forming apparatus, comprising:

a printer;

a communication device configured to communicate with a mail server;

an image reader;

a storage; and

a controller,

wherein the controller is configured to execute;

an e-mail reception process of receiving an e-mail stored in the mail server by controlling the communication device;

a generating process of generating identification information corresponding to image data attached to the e-mail received in the e-mail reception process;

a storing process of storing the identification information, a transmission source address of the e-mail, and the image data in the storage in an associated manner;

an image forming process of controlling the printer to print a particular image corresponding to the identification information and an image of the image data corresponding to the identification information on a sheet;

an identifying process of identifying the identification information corresponding to the particular image on the sheet read by the image reader, and;

an address retrieval process of retrieving, from the storage, the transmission source address of the e-mail corresponding to the identification information identified in the identifying process; and

an e-mail transmission process of controlling the communication device to transmit an e-mail to the transmission source address retrieved in the address retrieval process through the mail server.

2. The image forming apparatus according to claim 1,

wherein the storage stores status information corresponding to the identification information, and

wherein, in the storing process, the controller further stores the status information corresponding to the identification information retrieved and identified in the identifying process as the status information indicating a particular status after execution of the identifying process.

3. The image forming apparatus according to claim 2,

wherein the storing process causes the storage to store the status information indicating a first status in association with the identification information when the image forming process is executed, and

wherein the storing process changes the status information corresponding to the identification information identified by the identifying process to the status information indicating a second status after execution of the identifying process, the address retrieval process and the e-mail transmitting process.

4. The image forming apparatus according to claim 3,

wherein the controller is configured to:

execute, after execution of the identifying process, a status retrieving process of retrieving the status information corresponding to the identification information identified by the identifying process;

when the status information retrieved by the status retrieving process indicates the first status, cause the storing process to store the status information by causing the storing process to change the status information to the status information indicating the second status after execution of the address retrieving process and the e-mail transmitting process; and

when the status information retrieved by the status retrieving process does not indicate the first status, not execute the address retrieval process nor the e-mail transmitting process, and not cause the storing process to store the status information by causing the storing process to change the status information to the status information indicating the second status.

5. The image forming apparatus according to claim 2,

wherein the controller is configured to:

execute, after execution of the identifying process, a status retrieving process of retrieving the status information corresponding to the identification information identified by the identifying process; and

when the status information retrieved by the status retrieving process indicates a first status, change the status information to status information indicating a second status; and

when the status information retrieved by the status retrieving process indicates the second status, change the status information to status information indicating a third status.

6. The image forming apparatus according to claim 5,

wherein the controller is configured to:

form, in the image forming process, a first particular image and a second particular image, as the particular images, the fist particular image including the identification information and a command to change the status information corresponding to the identification information stored in the storage to the second status information, the second particular image including the identification information and a command to change the status information corresponding to the identification information stored in the storage to the third status information;

when the identification information is identified from the first particular image by the identifying process, change, in the storing process, the status information corresponding to the identification information stored in the storage to the status information indicating the second status in accordance with the command included in the first particular image and store the status information indicating the second status in the storage; and

when the identification information is identified from the second particular image by the identifying process, change, in the storing process, the status information corresponding to the identification information stored in the storage to the status information indicating the third status in accordance with the command included in the second particular image and store the status information indicating the third status in the storage.

7. The image forming apparatus according to claim 5,

wherein the controller is configured to:

form, as the particular image, the identification information and a frame image on the sheet in the image forming process;

identify, in the identifying process, the identification information and the frame image in the particular image;

determine whether an image surrounded by the frame image identified in the identifying process is same as the image within an area surrounded by a frame image formed in the image forming process; and

when the controller determines that an image surrounded by the frame image identified in the identifying process is different from an image within an area surrounded by a frame image formed in the image forming process, not execute the address retrieval process nor the e-mail transmission process, and stores the status information corresponding to the identification information identified in the identifying process as the status information indicating the third status.

8. The image forming apparatus according to claim 2,

wherein, in the storing process, the controller stores date/time information corresponds to the status information and indicating date and time when the status information was stored, in the storage, and

wherein, when the status information stored in the storage is changed, the controller changes the date/time information corresponding to the status information which is changed to information indicating date and time when the status information was changed.

9. The image forming apparatus according to claim 2,

wherein, in the storing process, the controller stores date/time information corresponding to the status information and indicating date and time when the status information was stored in the storage, and

wherein, when the status information stored in the storage is changed, the controller additionally stores the date/time information corresponding to the updated status information in the storage.

10. The image forming apparatus according to claim 1,

wherein, after execution of the e-mail transmission process, the controller is configured to execute a deleting process of deleting a transmission source address of the e-mail to which the image data corresponding to the identification information identified in the identifying process is attached and the image data corresponding to the identification information identified in the identifying process from the storage.

11. The image forming apparatus according to claim 10,

wherein, after execution of the e-mail transmission process, the controller is configured to control the communication device to transmit a transmission source address of the e-mail to which the image data corresponding to the identification information identified in the identifying process is attached and information regarding the image data corresponding to the identification information identified in the identifying process to an external device, and the deleting process after completion of transmission of the transmission source address and the information regarding the image data to the external device.

12. The image forming apparatus according to claim 6,

wherein, when the status information stored in the storage is changed from the status information indicating the second status to the status information indicating the third status in the storing process, the controller is configured to execute a deleting process of deleting the e-mail transmission source address of the e-mail attaching the image data corresponding to the identification information identified in the identifying process and the image data corresponding to the identification information identified in the identifying process from the storage.

13. The image forming apparatus according to claim 1,

wherein the image reader includes a barcode reader,

wherein the controller is configured to:

in the image forming process, form an image of a barcode corresponding to the identification information as the particular image on the sheet; and

in the identifying process, when the controller controls the barcode reader to read an image of the barcode formed on the sheet in the image forming process, identify the identification information in the image of the barcode read by the barcode reader.

14. The image forming apparatus according to claim 1,

further comprising an operation device,

wherein the controller is configured to control the image reader, when the operation device receives an operation to instruct reading of the particular image, to read the particular image from the sheet on which an image is formed in the image forming process.

15. The image forming apparatus according to claim 1,

further comprising

an operating device,

wherein, when the operation device receives an operation instructing formation of an image of a particular image data, the controller is configured to retrieve the particular image data, and the identification information corresponding to the particular image data;

and

control the printer to print a particular image corresponding to the retrieved identification information and an image corresponding to the retrieved image data.

16. The image forming apparatus according to claim 15,

wherein the storage is configured to store status information corresponding to the identification information,

wherein, when new identification information is stored in the storage, the storing process stores the status information corresponding to the new identification information in the storage as status information indicating a fourth status, and

wherein, when an image corresponding to the image data is formed in the image forming process, the status information corresponding to the identification information corresponding to the image data is changed from the status information indicating the fourth status to the status information indicting the first status.

17. An information notifying method comprising:

an e-mail reception step of receiving an e-mail stored in a mail server through a network interface,

a generating step of generating identification information corresponding to image data attached to the received e-mail;

a storing step of storing, in a storage, the identification information, a transmission source address of the e-mail, and the image data, in an associated manner,

a printing step of causing a printer to print a particular image corresponding to the identification information;

an identifying step of identifying the identification information in the particular image read by an image reader;

an address retrieval step of retrieving, from the storage, the transmission source address of the e-mail to which the image data corresponding to the identification information identified in the identifying step; and

an e-mail transmission step of transmitting an e-mail addressed to the transmission source address retrieved in the address retrieval step to the mail server through the network interface.

18. A non-transitory computer-readable recording medium storing instructions for an image forming apparatus,

wherein the instructions cause, when executed by a computer, the image forming apparatus to execute:

an e-mail reception process of receiving an e-mail stored in a mail server through a network interface,

a generating process of generating identification information corresponding to image data attached to the received e-mail;

a storing process of storing, in a storage, the identification information, a transmission source address of the e-mail, and the image data, in an associated manner,

a printing process of causing a printer to print a particular image corresponding to the identification information;

an identifying process of identifying the identification information in the particular image read by an image reader;

an address retrieval process of retrieving, from the storage, the transmission source address of the e-mail to which the image data corresponding to the identification information identified in the identifying step; and

an e-mail transmission process of transmitting an e-mail addressed to the transmission source address retrieved in the address retrieval step to the mail server through the network interface.