Communication device having the capability of performing information exchange between a facsimile medium and an electronic information medium such as an e-mail medium

• US 6,898,627 B1
• Filed: 10/30/2000
• Issued: 05/24/2005
• Est. Priority Date: 07/25/1997
• Status: Expired due to Fees

• Current Assignee: Canon Kabushiki Kaisha (Canon Inc.)
• Original Assignee: Canon Kabushiki Kaisha (Canon Inc.)
• Inventors: Sekiguchi, Kenzou
• Primary Examiner(s): Maung, Zarni
• Assistant Examiner(s): DINH, KHANH Q
• Application Number:
  US09/698,255
• Time in Patent Office: 1,667 Days
• Field of Search: 709/217, 709/224, 709/227, 709/228, 709/200, 709/201, 709/220, 709/299, 709/204, 709/206, 709/222, 370/389, 707/200
• US Class Current: 709/217
• CPC Class Codes: H04L 51/066 Format adaptation, e.g. format conversion or compression
• CPC Class Codes: H04L 51/214 using selective forwarding
• CPC Class Codes: H04L 63/083 using passwords cryptographic mechanisms or cryptographic arrangements for entity authentication using a predetermined code H04L9/3226
• 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 1/00217 only involving computer data transmission protocols, e.g. SMTP, WAP or HTTP communication protocol aspects and techniques in packet data networks H04L69/00; network-specific arrangements or communication protocols supporting networked applications H04L67/00
• CPC Class Codes: H04N 1/32771 in response to a request, e.g. for a particular document
• CPC Class Codes: H04N 1/3278 using a protocol or handshaking signal, e.g. non-standard set-up [NSS]
• CPC Class Codes: H04N 2201/0013 Arrangements for the control of the connected apparatus by the still picture apparatus arrangements for the control of a still picture apparatus by the connected apparatus H04N2201/0074; control of image communication with the connected apparatus H04N2201/0015
• CPC Class Codes: H04N 2201/0067 Converting to still picture data

Abstract

A communication device allows a user to get access from the outside via an external public line to obtain e-mail data stored in a device connected to an internal system via a computer network such as a LAN without causing a reduction in security. More specifically, the communication device is connected to a LAN via a LAN I/F and also connected to the public line via a line I/F. If the communication device receives a remote operation command via the public line, a CPU of the communication device gets access to a post office of an e-mail server so as to get e-mail data in accordance with the remote operation command. The obtained e-mail data is converted to facsimile image data and transmitted by means of facsimile to a specified destination.

Claims

1. A communication device for receiving an e-mail stored in an e-mail server, said device comprising:

communication means for transmitting an e-mail transmission request to the e-mail server and receiving the e-mail transmitted from the e-mail server in response to the transmission request;

memory means for storing the e-mail received from the e-mail server;

acquisition means for acquiring from the e-mail server, before said communication means receives the e-mail from the e-mail server, size information of the e-mail located on the e-mail server;

determination means for determining, based on the size information of the requested e-mail acquired by said acquisition means and an available storage capacity of said memory means, whether the storage capacity of said memory means in the communication device is sufficient to store all data included in the e-mail, wherein, if it is determined that the available storage capacity of said memory means is sufficient to store all the data included in the e-mail, the e-mail server transmits the e-mail entirely to the communication device, otherwise the e-mail server transmits only header data of the e-mail to the communication device;

warning means for, if said determination means determines that the available storage capacity of said memory means of said communication device is not sufficient to store all the data included in the e-mail, visually outputting warning information to the communication device indicating that the e-mail stored in the e-mail server cannot be entirely received; and

recording means, wherein said warning means generates a report indicating the warning information and records it using said recording means,

wherein said communication device converts a received e-mail into image data and records that e-mail using said recording means.

2. A communication device according to claim 1, wherein, when a plurality of e-mails are stored in the e-mail server, said communication device executes reception of e-mails from the e-mail server in a predetermined order, until said determination means determines that it is impossible to receive an e-mail.

9. A communication device according to claim 1, further comprising:

delete request means for requesting deletion of an e-mail stored in the e-mail server based upon a determination by said determining means.

3. A communication method of a communication device, for receiving an e-mail stored in an e-mail server, said method comprising the steps of:

transmitting an e-mail transmission request to the e-mail server and receiving the e-mail transmitted from the e-mail server in response to the transmission request;

storing the e-mail received from the e-mail server in a memory unit;

acquiring from the e-mail server, before receiving the e-mail from the e-mail server, size information of the e-mail located on the e-mail server;

determining, based on the size information of the requested e-mail acquired in said acquiring step and an available storage capacity of the memory unit, whether the storage capacity of the memory unit is sufficient to store all data included in the e-mail, wherein, if it is determined that the available storage capacity of the memory unit in the communication device is sufficient to store all the data included in the e-mail, the e-mail server transmits the e-mail entirely to the communication device, otherwise the e-mail server transmits only header data of the e-mail to the communications device; and

,

if it is determined in said determining step that the available storage capacity of the memory unit of the communication device is not sufficient to store all the data included in the e-mail, visually outputting warning information to the communication device indicating that the e-mail stored in the e-mail server cannot be entirely received,

wherein said step of visually outputting includes generating a report indicating the warning information and recording it using recording means, and

wherein a received e-mail is converted into image data and recorded using the recording means.

4. A communication method according to claim 3, wherein the size information includes a size of image data, when an e-mail received from the e-mail server contains image data.

5. A communication method according to claim 3, further comprising the step of, when a plurality of e-mails are stored in the e-mail server, executing reception of e-mails from the e-mail server in a predetermined order, until it is determined in said determining step that it is impossible to receive an e-mail.

10. A communication method according to claim 3, further comprising the step of requesting deletion of an e-mail stored in the e-mail server based upon a determination in said determining step.

6. A computer-readable memory medium storing executable code for performing a communication method of receiving an e-mail stored in an e-mail server, wherein the method comprises the steps of:

transmitting an e-mail transmission request to the e-mail server and receiving the e-mail transmitted from the e-mail server in response to the transmission request;

storing the e-mail received from the e-mail server in a memory unit;

acquiring from the e-mail server, before receiving the e-mail from the e-mail server, size information of the e-mail located on the e-mail server;

determining, based on the size information of the requested e-mail acquired in said acquiring step and an available storage capacity of the memory unit, whether the storage capacity of the memory unit in the communication device is sufficient to store all data included in the e-mail, wherein, if it is determined that the available storage capacity of the memory unit is sufficient to store all the data included in the e-mail, the e-mail server transmits the e-mail entirely to the communication device, otherwise the e-mail server transmits only header data of the e-mail to the communication device; and

,

if it is determined in said determining step that the available storage capacity of the memory unit of the communication device is not sufficient to store all the data included in the e-mail, visually outputting warning information to the communication device indicating that the e-mail stored in the e-mail server cannot be entirely received,

wherein said step of visually outputting includes generating a report indicating the warning information and recording it using recording means, and

wherein a received e-mail is converted into image data and recorded using the recording means.

7. A memory medium according to claim 6, wherein the size information includes a size of image data, when an e-mail received from the e-mail server contains image data.

8. A memory medium according to claim 6, wherein the method further comprises the step of, when a plurality of e-mails are stored in the e-mail server, executing reception of e-mails from the e-mail server in a predetermined order, until it is determined in said determining step that it is impossible to receive an e-mail.

11. A communication device for receiving an e-mail stored in an e-mail server, said device comprising:

a communication unit adapted to transmit an e-mail transmission request to the e-mail server and to receive the e-mail transmitted from the e-mail server in response to the transmission request;

a memory unit adapted to store the e-mail received from the e-mail server;

an acquisition unit adapted to acquire from the e-mail server, before said communication unit receives the e-mail from the e-mail server, size information of the e-mail located on the e-mail server;

a determination unit adapted to determine, based on the size information of the requested e-mail acquired by said acquisition unit and an available storage capacity of said memory unit, whether the storage capacity of said memory unit in the communication device is sufficient to store all data included in the e-mail, wherein, if it is determined that the available storage capacity of said memory unit is sufficient to store all the data included in the e-mail, the email server transmits the e-mail entirely to the communication device, otherwise the e-mail server transmits only header data of the e-mail to the communication device;

a warning unit adapted to, if said determination unit determines that the available storage capacity of said memory unit of said communication device is not sufficient to store all the data included in the e-mail, visually output warning information to the communication device indicating that the e-mail stored in the e-mail server cannot be entirely received; and

a recording unit, wherein said warning unit generates a report indicating the warning information and records it using said recording unit,

wherein said communication unit converts a received e-mail into image data and records that e-mail using said recording unit.