Facsimile and static presentation processing – Static presentation processing – Communication
Reexamination Certificate
1998-05-13
2001-10-30
Coles, Edward (Department: 2722)
Facsimile and static presentation processing
Static presentation processing
Communication
C358S001130, C358S402000, C358S434000, C358S437000, C709S206000
Reexamination Certificate
active
06310694
ABSTRACT:
BACKGROUND OF THE INVENTION
1. Field of the Invention
The present invention relates to a mail transmission/reception system provided to a computer system capable of transmitting mail to and receiving mail from another computer system via a communication line.
2. Description of the Related Art
Data in the form of electronic mail is transferred between personal computers via a communication network system such as the Internet.
When mail sent from one computer is received by another computer, the received data is temporarily stored as mail data in a storage device, such as a hard disk drive, provided to the receiving end computer. The user on the receiving end can extract the contents of the received mail. In some cases, the user starts an application program on the computer in order to read data attached to the received mail and then to print the contents of the received mail and the attached file using a printer connected to the computer.
SUMMARY OF THE INVENTION
A user located at one computer can therefore supply printed material to another user at a remote computer through transmitting electronic mail to the remote computer through the communication network and then let the user at the remote computer to control his/her own computer to print out the received mail data.
However, this method of supplying printed material to a remote user via the communication network system is time-consuming. At the receiving end, the user has to start an application program, such as a word processor program, on his/her own personal computer. The user controls the application program to first read data from the electronic mail message and then to print the data by a printer connected to the computer.
According to one conceivable solution, the computer at the transmitting end creates the electronic mail so that the electronic mail includes print data which is prepared by a printer driver or the like. The computer on the receiving end can directly extract the print data from the mail and then output that data directly to the printer. It is possible to eliminate any intermediate processes such as starting an application program or controlling the application program to read in data. By allowing the receiver to directly obtain printed material of the received mail data from the printer, the sender can more effectively provide printed material to the receiver.
It is conceivable to design a system on the receiving end so that the system can automatically recognize mail, containing print data, from among the plurality of sets of received mail. This system then automatically prints the print data. The system will attain advantages of being used as a facsimile machine.
With this system, when mail is transmitted to a system at a remote user, that system will automatically print the mail. It is impossible for the user at the transmitting end to prevent the system from printing that mail even when the user has mistakenly sent mail containing incorrect data.
In view of the foregoing, it is an object of the present invention to provide a mail transmission system and a mail reception system capable of preventing the system at the receiving end from printing mail even after the mail is transmitted to the receiving end.
In order to attain the above and other objects, the present invention provides a mail transmission device capable of transmitting mail to a destination mail reception device via a communication line, the mail transmission device comprising: mail transmitting means capable of transmitting mail to mail reception devices via a communication line; mail designating means for designating mail that has been already transmitted to a certain destination mail reception device and that a user of the mail transmitting device does not wish to be printed on the destination reception device; cancel mail creating means for creating cancel mail including an instruction to cancel printing by the destination mail reception device of mail designated by the mail designating means; and cancel mail transmitting means for transmitting, via the communication line, the cancel mail to the destination mail reception device, to which the designated mail has been transmitted.
According to another aspect, the present invention provides a mail transmission system, provided in a computer system capable of transmitting mail to destination computer systems via a communication line, the mail transmission system comprising: mail transmitting means capable of transmitting mail to destination computer systems via a communication line; mail designating means for designating mail that has already been transmitted to a certain destination computer system and that a user of the transmitting computer system does not wish to be printed on the destination computer system; cancel mail creating means for creating cancel mail including an instruction to cancel the printing on the destination computer system of mail designated by the mail designating means; and cancel mail transmitting means for transmitting the cancel mail to the destination computer system, to which the designated mail has been transmitted.
According to a further aspect, the present invention provides a mail reception device capable of receiving mail from a mail transmission device via a communication line, the mail reception device comprising: a printer capable of printing mail; mail receiving means capable of receiving mail via a communication line; cancel mail determining means for determining whether mail, received via the communication line, is cancel mail containing an instruction to cancel printing of at least one set of previously-received mail and information designating the at least one set of mail desired not to be printed; and mail printing preventing means for, when the cancel mail determining means determines that the received mail is cancel mail, preventing the printer from printing the at least one set of mail designated by the cancel mail.
According to still another aspect, the present invention provides a mail reception system, provided in a computer system capable of receiving mail from another computer system via a communication line, the mail reception system comprising: cancel mail determining means for determining whether mail, received via the communication line, is cancel mail containing an instruction to cancel printing of at least one set of previously-received mail and information designating the at least one set of mail desired not to be printed; and mail printing preventing means for, when the cancel mail determining means determines that the received mail is cancel mail, preventing a printer, connected to the computer system, from printing the at least one set of mail designated by the cancel mail.
According to another aspect, the present invention provides a program storage medium capable of being read by a computer system capable of transmitting mail to destination computer systems via a communication line, the program comprising: a program of transmitting mail to destination computer systems via a communication line; a program of designating mail that has already been transmitted to a certain destination computer system and that a user of the transmitting computer system does not wish to be printed on the destination computer system; a program of creating cancel mail including an instruction to cancel the printing on the destination computer system of mail designated by the mail designating means; and a program of transmitting the cancel mail to the destination computer system, to which the designated mail has been transmitted.
According to another aspect, the present invention provides a program storage medium capable of being read by a computer system capable of receiving mail from another computer system via a communication line, the program comprising: a program of determining whether mail, received via the communication line, is cancel mail containing an instruction to cancel printing of at least one set of previously-received mail and information designating the at least one set of mail desired not to be printed; and a program of, when
Funahashi Hiroyuki
Okimoto Satoshi
Brother Kogyo Kabushiki Kaisha
Coles Edward
Oliff & Berrigde PLC
Pokrzywa Joseph R.
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