US20050027792A1 - Gateway apparatus and network system - Google Patents

Abstract

In a network system, only text data is displayed on a portable telephone when access is made to a page which is made public on the Internet by use of the portable telephone. An image of the page and information indicating a URL of the page are stored into a predetermined folder according to an instruction for storage of the page from the portable telephone based on the operation by the user.

Description

CROSS-REFERENCE TO RELATED APPLICATIONS
• The present application is a continuation of U.S. application Ser. No. 09/943,067, filed Aug. 31, 2001, the entire contents of which are incorporated herein by reference.
• This application is based upon and claims the benefit of priority from the prior Japanese Patent Application No. 2000-316786, filed Oct. 17, 2000, the entire contents of which are incorporated herein by reference.
BACKGROUND OF THE INVENTION
• 1. Field of the Invention
• This invention relates to a gateway apparatus used for connecting a mobile terminal such as a portable telephone permitting a Web page and home page which is made public on the Internet to be read and a network system including the gateway apparatus.
• 2. Description of the Related Art
• Recently, mobile terminals such as portable telephones are widely used. Some of the mobile terminals have display sections constructed by small-sized liquid crystal display units and have electronic mail transmission/reception functions or Internet connection functions in addition to portable telephone communication functions.
• On the Internet, a lot of Web server apparatuses provide various pages. Most of the pages are created on the assumption that they will be displayed on a display of a personal computer and there are not so many pages which are provided for mobile terminals such as portable telephones. Further, pages other than the pages for the mobile terminals are often formed by use of image data having an extremely large data amount in comparison with text data.
• Therefore, the following problems occur when pages other than the pages for the mobile terminals on Internet are read or observed by use of the mobile terminal such as the portable telephone.
• (1) Since the mobile terminal has only a small display section, the page created on the assumption that it is displayed on the display section of the personal computer is difficult to be displayed on the display section of the mobile terminal.
• (2) Since the memory capacity of a memory provided in the mobile terminal is small, the memory capacity becomes insufficient in some cases if a page created by use of image data having a large data amount is simply received and stored therein.
• (3) In the mobile terminal such as the portable telephone, a charging system for making a charge according to a data amount of transmitted/received data is applied in many cases and if a page of a large data amount is received, communication traffic is increased, thereby causing the communication speed to be lowered or the communication cost to be raised. Further, if data of the page which cannot be displayed is fetched into the mobile terminal, the communication cost becomes wasteful for the reasons described in the above items (1), (2).
BRIEF SUMMARY OF THE INVENTION
• As described above, this invention has been made to solve the problem that communication traffic is increased and the communication cost becomes often wasteful if a page of a large data amount which is provided on Internet and is difficult to be displayed on the mobile terminal is fetched into the mobile terminal and an object of this invention is to provide a gateway apparatus and network system capable of displaying only displayable information on the mobile terminal and effectively utilizing information on Internet by use of a portable telephone while suppressing an increase in the communication traffic and preventing occurrence of the wasteful communication cost when a page provided on Internet is read by use of the mobile terminal.
• Further, another object of this invention is to provide a network system capable of giving the contents of a page which cannot be displayed on the mobile terminal to the user by printing the same by use of an image forming apparatus and providing an image which satisfies the requirement of the user by printing the image of a page obtained at the time of access by use of the mobile terminal or printing the newest contents of a page accessed by the mobile terminal in a case where the contents of the page is printed by use of the image forming apparatus.
• A gateway apparatus according to one aspect of this invention having a function of being connected to a mobile terminal and a function of being connected to a network, comprises a modem which makes data communication via the network; an interface which makes data communication with a mobile terminal; and a controller which extracts only data to be transmitted to the mobile terminal from a page which is made public on the network according to a request from the mobile terminal, transmits the extracted data to the mobile terminal and causes the entire page to be stored into a predetermined storage location if an instruction for storage of the entire page is issued from the mobile terminal.
• A network system according to another aspect of this invention comprises a first apparatus having a function of being connected to a mobile terminal and a function of being connected to a network; and a second apparatus capable of making data communication with the first apparatus; wherein the first apparatus includes a modem which makes data communication via the network, an interface which makes data communication with a mobile terminal, and a controller which extracts only data to be transmitted to the mobile terminal from a page which is made public on the network according to a request from the mobile terminal, transmits the extracted data to the mobile terminal and transmits data of the entire page and information indicating a predetermined storage location if an instruction for storage of the page is issued from the mobile terminal and the second apparatus includes a memory section which stores data of the entire page transmitted from the first apparatus into the storage location specified by the first apparatus.
• A data processing method according to still another aspect of this invention which is used by a gateway apparatus having a modem connected to a network and an interface which makes data communication with a mobile terminal, comprises downloading page data which is made public on the network by use of the modem according to a request from the mobile terminal connected via the interface; extracting only data to be transmitted to the mobile terminal from the page data downloaded in the above step; transmitting the data extracted in the above step to the mobile terminal; and causing data of the entire page to be stored into a predetermined storage location when an instruction for storage of the entire page is issued from the mobile terminal.
• Additional objects and advantages of the invention will be set forth in the description which follows, and in part will be obvious from the description, or may be learned by practice of the invention. The objects and advantages of the invention may be realized and obtained by means of the instrumentalities and combinations particularly pointed out hereinafter.
BRIEF DESCRIPTION OF THE SEVERAL VIEWS OF THE DRAWING
• The accompanying drawings, which are incorporated in and constitute a part of the specification, illustrate presently embodiments of the invention, and together with the general description given above and the detailed description of the embodiments given below, serve to explain the principles of the invention.
• FIG. 1 is a diagram showing the schematic construction of a network system according to an embodiment of this invention;
• FIG. 2 is a block diagram showing the schematic construction of a portable telephone;
• FIG. 3 is a block diagram showing the schematic construction of a gateway server;
• FIG. 4 is a block diagram showing the schematic construction of an Internet binder;
• FIG. 5 is a block diagram showing the schematic construction of a digital multifunctional peripheral (MFP);
• FIG. 6 is a diagram showing an example of the configuration of an address information database;
• FIG. 7 is a diagram showing an example of the configuration of a storage destination specifying database;
• FIG. 8 is a diagram showing an example of the configuration of a received mail database;
• FIG. 9 is a diagram showing an example of the configuration of a user information database;
• FIG. 10 is a diagram showing an example of the configuration of a storage destination database;
• FIG. 11 is a diagram showing an example of the configuration of a storage file information database;
• FIG. 12 is a diagram showing an example of the configuration of a printer information database;
• FIG. 13 is a diagram showing an example of the configuration of a printing history database;
• FIG. 14 is a diagram showing an example of a page provided on the Internet by a Web server;
• FIG. 15 is a diagram showing a display example when the contents of the page shown inFIG. 14 are displayed on the portable telephone;
• FIG. 16 is a diagram showing an example of a first page when the page ofFIG. 14 is optimized to a preset size;
• FIG. 17 is a diagram showing an example of a second page when the page ofFIG. 14 is optimized to a preset size;
• FIG. 18 is a diagram showing a display example by a display section of the portable telephone;
• FIG. 19 is a diagram showing a display example by the display section of the portable telephone;
• FIG. 20 is a diagram showing a display example by the display section of the portable telephone;
• FIG. 21 is a diagram showing a display example by a display section of the MFP;
• FIG. 22 is a diagram showing a display example by the display section of the MFP;
• FIG. 23 is a diagram showing a display example by the display section of the MFP;
• FIG. 24 is a diagram for illustrating data transmitted/received between the portable telephone, gateway server and Internet binder;
• FIG. 25 is a flowchart for illustrating the process of the gateway server; and
• FIG. 26 is a diagram for illustrating data transmitted/received between the Internet binder and MFP.
DETAILED DESCRIPTION OF THE INVENTION
• There will now be described an embodiment of this invention with reference to the accompanying drawings.
• FIG. 1 is a diagram showing the schematic construction of a network system according to an embodiment of this invention. As shown inFIG. 1, the network system includes a portable telephone (mobile terminal)1, gateway server (gateway apparatus, first apparatus)2, Internet binder (second apparatus)3, digital multifunctional processor (MFP, image forming apparatus)4, user PC5,Web server6 and the like.
• Theportable telephone1 is connected to the Internet (network) via thegateway server2. Therefore, theportable telephone1 can access or read a home page or Web page (which is hereinafter simply referred to as a page) provided by the Web server on the Internet via thegateway server2.
• In the present embodiment, theportable telephone1 is explained as a mobile terminal, but this is not limitative and a mobile terminal such as a mobile mail terminal or PDA (personal digital assistant) which can be connected to the Internet can also be used as the mobile terminal in the same manner.
• Thegateway server2 is a gateway apparatus consisting of a computer or the like. Thegateway server2 connects theportable telephone1 with the Internet6.
• TheInternet binder3 is an apparatus constructed by a computer. TheInternet binder3 transmits or receives data to or from a device such as thegateway server2,MFP4,user PC5 via the Internet. Further, theInternet binder3 holds (stores) data of a file, for example, received via the Internet.
• TheMFP4 is a digital copying machine including a printing device (printer) and image reading device (scanner) and is connected to a public communication line. TheMFP4 is thus connected to the Internet to transmit or receive data via the Internet. Further, theMFP4 includes aliquid crystal display43 containing a touch panel.
• Theuser PC5 is a personal computer (PC) for the user and is connected to the Internet.
• TheWeb server6 is a server apparatus existing on the Internet to provide (make public) a home page or Web page on the Internet. The above pages are constructed by a file described in HTML (Hyper Text Markup Language). Each page is assigned with a URL (Uniform Resource Locator) for specifying the page. The device which is connected to the Internet downloads the page by specifying the URL and permits the user to read the same.
• Further, in theWeb server6, each page specified by the URL may be updated by the operator of theWeb server6 in some cases. Therefore, the page downloaded on the Internet in the past does not always coincide with the present (newest) page specified by the URL. In a case where the downloaded page is read, the stored page can be read by temporarily storing the downloaded page and then reading out the stored page, but if the present page specified by the URL is read, it becomes necessary to specify the URL, newly download the page and then read the same.
• Next, the construction of theportable telephone1 is explained.
• FIG. 2 is a block diagram showing the schematic construction of the portable telephone. As shown inFIG. 2, theportable telephone1 includes acontrol section11,display section12, operatingsection13,memory14, receivingsection15, transmittingsection16,communication control section17,antenna section18 andpower supply section19.
• Thecontrol section11 controls the wholeportable telephone1. Thedisplay section12 consists of a liquid crystal display unit to display various messages. The operatingsection13 includes various types of keys such as a ten-key pad, and a cursor key to input operation instructions.
• Thememory14 includes a storage section used for storing preset data such as a control program and user information and a storage section used for temporarily storing various information, control data and the like. The receivingsection15 is a speaker for outputting a voice when conversation is made by use of the telephone function. The transmittingsection16 is a microphone for inputting a voice when conversation is made by use of the telephone function.
• Thecommunication control section17 controls communication with an external device via theantenna section18. Thepower supply section19 consists of a battery, for example, and supplies electric power to various sections of theportable telephone1.
• Next, the construction of thegateway server2 is explained.
• FIG. 3 is a diagram showing the schematic construction of thegateway server2. As shown inFIG. 3, thegateway server2 includes acontroller21,memory22, hard disk drive (HDD)23,modem24,portable telephone interface25 and the like.
• Thecontroller21 uses a CPU. Thecontroller21 controls all operations of thegateway server2 and is operated according to a program which is previously stored. Thememory22 is used to temporarily store various information items and control data when thecontroller21 is operated.
• TheHDD23 has previously set information stored therein and stores various data items when thegateway server2 is operated. Further, theHDD23 includesdatabases23a,23b,23cwhich will be described later. Themodem24 is an interface for connection with the Internet. Theportable telephone interface25 is an interface for connection with the portable telephone.
• Next, the construction of theInternet binder3 is explained.
• FIG. 4 is a diagram showing the schematic construction of theInternet binder3. As shown inFIG. 4, theInternet binder3 includes acontroller31,memory32, hard disk drive (HDD)33,modem34 and the like.
• Thecontroller31 uses a CPU. Thecontroller31 controls the whole operation of theInternet binder3 and is operated according to a program which is previously stored. Thememory32 is used to temporarily store various information items and control data when thecontroller31 is operated. TheHDD33 stores various data items of files, for example. TheHDD33 includesdatabases33a,33b,33c,33d,33ewhich will be described later. Themodem34 is an interface connected to the Internet.
• Next, the schematic construction of the digitalmultifunctional processor4 is explained.
• FIG. 5 is a diagram showing the schematic construction of the digitalmultifunctional processor4. As shown inFIG. 5, the digitalmultifunctional processor4 includes acontroller41,memory42,display section43, operatingsection44,scanner45,image processing section46,printer47,modem48 and the like and the respective constituting elements are connected to one another via abus49 with thecontroller41 set at the center.
• Thecontroller41 uses a CPU. Thecontroller41 controls the whole operation of the digitalmultifunctional processor4 and is operated according to a program which is previously stored. Thememory42 is used to temporarily store various information items and control data when thecontroller41 is operated. Thedisplay section43 is a display constructed by a liquid crystal display device containing a touch panel43a. The operatingsection44 includes hard keys such as a ten-key pad, cursor key and copy start key. Various operations in the digitalmultifunctional processor4 are effected by use of the hard keys of theoperating section44 and the touch panel43a.
• Thescanner45 optically scans a document and converts a document image into image data. Theimage processing section46 subjects the image data to various processes. Theprinter47 prints image data on paper. As theprinter47, various types of printers such as an electrophotographic printer or ink jet type printer may be considered, but in this embodiment, it is assumed that the electrophotographic printer is used. Themodem48 is an interface for connection with Internet.
• In the above network configuration, thegateway server2 andInternet binder3 are separately provided, but the storage destination of data which theInternet binder3 stores may be provided in thegateway server2 and thegateway server2 can have the function of theInternet binder3.
• Next, the database managed by thegateway server2 is explained.FIG. 6 is a diagram showing an example of the configuration of theaddress information database23astored in theHDD23 of thegateway server2. Theaddress information database23aindicates information of the user corresponding to the account name and an address of the portable telephone of the user.
• As shown inFIG. 6, theaddress information database23acontains items of an account name, an address of a portable telephone, password, user ID and the like.
• In the item of the account name, an account name given to each user is recorded. In the item of the address of the portable telephone, an address of the portable telephone of the user corresponding to the account name is recorded.
• In the item of the password, a password given to the user is recorded. In the item of the user ID, a user ID given to the user is recorded. The user ID may be the same as the account name or may be different from the account name.
• FIG. 7 is a diagram showing an example of the configuration of the storagedestination specifying database23bstored in theHDD23 of thegateway server2. The storagedestination specifying database23bspecifies a storage destination of data previously specified with respect to the account name.
• As shown inFIG. 7, the storagedestination specifying database23bcontains items of an account name and a folder name of the Internet binder.
• In the item of the account name, an account name given to each user is recorded. In the item of the folder name of the Internet binder, a folder name in theHDD33 of theInternet binder3 which is specified according to the account name is recorded. The folder name indicates a storage location used when image data of the downloaded page or mail addressed to the user corresponding to the account name is stored in theInternet binder3.
• FIG. 8 is a diagram showing an example of the configuration of the receiveddata database23cstored in theHDD23 of thegateway server2. The receiveddata database23crecords the history of received data such as pages downloaded by thegateway server2.
• As shown inFIG. 8, the receiveddata database23cis constructed by items of a serial number, account name, page data file, URL, transfer text file and the like.
• In the item of the serial number, a consecutive number as the serial number is recorded. The serial number is a number given in a recording order of a corresponding item. In the item of the account name, an account name given to each user is recorded. In the item of the page data file, a file of page data is recorded when the downloaded page is stored as image data. In the item of the URL, a URL of the page recorded in the item of the page data file on the Internet is recorded.
• In the item of the text file, a text file consisting only of text data extracted from the page downloaded by thegateway server2 is recorded. The file consists only of text data. The text file is a file of data transferred to theportable telephone1 when the page is accessed or read via thegateway server2 by use of theportable telephone1.
• Next, a database managed by theInternet binder3 is explained.
• FIG. 9 is a diagram showing an example of the configuration of the user information database33astored in theHDD33 of theInternet binder3. In the user information database33a, data used for authenticating the user when an external device is connected to theInternet binder3 is stored.
• As shown inFIG. 9, the user information database33aconsists of items of an account name, full name, password, user ID and the like.
• In the item of the account name, an account name given to each user is recorded. In the item of the full name, the name (full name) of the user is recorded. In the item of the password, a password given to the user is recorded. In the item of the user ID, a user ID of the user corresponding to the account name is recorded.
• FIG. 10 is a diagram showing an example of the configuration of thestorage destination database33bstored in theHDD33 of theInternet binder3. In thestorage destination database33b, a predetermined folder name with respect to the account name is recorded.
• As shown inFIG. 10, thestorage destination database33bconsists of an account name, folder name and the like.
• In the item of the account name, an account name given to each user is recorded. In the item of the folder name, a folder name in which user data corresponding to the account name is stored is recorded. For example, in the folder, image data of a page downloaded by thegateway server2 according to the operation of the portable telephone by the user is recorded.
• FIG. 11 is a diagram showing an example of the configuration of the storagefile information database33cstored in theHDD33 of theInternet binder3. The storagefile information database33cindicates the contents of data stored in each folder of theHDD33.
• As shown inFIG. 11, the storagefile information database33cconsists of a serial number, account name, folder name, page data file, URL, and the like.
• In the item of the serial number, a consecutive number as a serial number is recorded. The serial number is a number given in a recording order of corresponding items. In the item of the account name, an account name given to each user is recorded. In the item of the folder name, a folder name in theHDD33 for recording data received by the user corresponding to the account name is recorded.
• In the item of the page data file, a file of image data of a page downloaded by thegateway server2 according to the operation by the user corresponding to the account name is recorded. In the item of the URL, the URL of a page recorded in the item of the page data file on the Internet is recorded. In the item of the page data file or URL, information indicating one of the page data file and URL which is utilized by the user is recorded.
• The user information database33a,storage destination database33band storagefile information database33care databases used by theInternet binder3 to manage image data of the page and URL of the page.
• FIG. 12 is a diagram showing an example of the configuration of theprinter information database33dstored in theHDD33 of theInternet binder3. Theprinter information database33ddetermines a printer which can be used by theInternet binder3. Further, in theprinter information database33d, the functions of the available printer are indicated.
• As shown inFIG. 12, theprinter information database33dconsists of an available printer name, address of the printer, printer ability and the like.
• In the item of the available printer name, an available printer name or names are recorded. In the item of the address of the printer, an address indicating the location of the printer recorded in the item of the available printer name on the network is recorded. In the item of the printer ability, information indicating the ability of the printer recorded in the item of the available printer name is recorded. For example, as the ability of the printer, information indicating color or monochrome printing, printing resolution, printable paper size and the like is recorded.
• FIG. 13 is a diagram showing an example of the configuration of theprinting history database33estored in theHDD33 of theInternet binder3. Theprinting history database33eindicates the data printing history stored in theInternet binder3. Therefore, data indicating the printing history is recorded in theprinting history database33eeach time printing is performed.
• As shown inFIG. 13, theprinting history database33econtains items of an account name, printer name, time of use of the printer and the like.
• In the item of the account name, an account name given to a user who has used the printer is recorded. In the item of the printer name, the name of the printer used for printing is recorded. In the item of the time of use, time at which printing has been done (time at which the printer has been used) is recorded.
• Next, a case wherein access is made from the portable telephone to a page provided by the Web server is explained.
• FIG. 14 is a diagram showing an example of apage70 provided by theWeb server6 on the Internet. Thepage70 shown inFIG. 14 is constructed by a banner “1”71, banner “2”72,text73,advertisement banner74 and the like. Thepage70 provided on the Internet is created by assuming that it will be displayed on displays of personal computers.
• The page is formed in HTML (Hypertext Markup Language), for example. The banner “1”71, banner “2”72 andadvertisement banner74 are formed to carry advertisements and are created as image information. Thetext73 is formed by use of a character code.
• The page is provided with a URL on the Internet and the Web server is permitted access to it,6 by specifying the URL.
• Assume now that the user specifies the URL by use of theportable telephone1 to access the page provided by theWeb server6 via thegateway server2. In this case, the entire page of the specified URL cannot be displayed on thedisplay section12 of theportable telephone1. Therefore, thegateway server2 extracts only text data from the page of the accessed URL and transfers the same to theportable telephone1. As a result, theportable telephone1 displays only the text data in the page of the specified URL on thedisplay section12.
• For example, if the URL of thepage70 as shown inFIG. 14 is accessed from theportable telephone1 via thegateway server2, thegateway server2 extracts only thetext73 as text data from thepage70 and transfers the same to theportable telephone1. Further, thegateway server2 transfers information indicating that no text is present to the portable telephone if no text data is extracted from data of the downloaded page.
• That is, thegateway server2 distinguishes image data and text data while downloading the page of the URL specified by theportable telephone1 and extracts the text data. In this case, thegateway server2 determines data received in the form of image data such as gif, jpg, for example, as image data and determines data based on character data such as a character code as text data.
• As described above, thegateway server2 extracts only text data from the page of the specified URL and transfers the same to theportable telephone1 when the URL is specified from theportable telephone1. As a result, data of an amount which cannot be displayed on the display of the portable telephone is not transferred, no wasteful communication traffic occurs and only displayable data can be efficiently displayed on the portable telephone.
• Next, a case wherein the page accessed by theportable telephone1 is printed by use of theMFP4 is explained.
• FIGS. 16 and 17 are diagrams showing print examples when thepage70 shown inFIG. 14 is printed by theMFP4.
• Assume now that the user specifies a desired URL by use of theportable telephone1 to access a page provided by theWeb server6 via thegateway server2. Then, as described above, thegateway server2 transfers only text data of the page of the specified URL to theportable telephone1. Therefore, only the text data of the page of the specified URL is displayed on thedisplay section12 of theportable telephone1 as shown inFIG. 15.
• Further, if the user specifies storage of the page on theportable telephone1 side, theportable telephone1 makes a request of storage of the page with respect to thegateway server2. In response to the request, thegateway server2 performs the process for storing the page which is specified to be stored from the portable telephone. When receiving the page storage request from the portable telephone, thegateway server2 stores the image data of the downloaded page and the URL of the page in theInternet binder3. At this time, the image data of the downloaded page is converted into image data which is optimized to be efficiently accommodated in a preset size and then stored into theInternet binder3.
• The image data of the page stored in theInternet binder3 by the above storage process (the image of the page at the time of storage) or the image of the page specified by the URL (the image of the present page) can be read out and printed on paper by theMFP4.
• FIGS. 16 and 17 are diagrams showing print examples when the page shown inFIG. 14 is printed by theMFP4.
• For example, if it is assumed that thepage70 shown inFIG. 14 is printed in an A4 size or B5 size, the image of thepage70 is converted (optimized) to be accommodated in a preset size, for example, A4 size or B5 size as shown inFIGS. 16 and 17. The optimized image is printed on A4 size or B5 paper by theMFP4.
• That is, when receiving an instruction for storage of the entire page from the user who accessed the URL by use of the portable telephone, thegateway server2 stores the image data of the downloaded page and the URL of the page into theInternet binder3. After this, if the user attempts to print the image of the page stored in theInternet binder3 or the image of the present page by use of theMFP4, the image of the stored page or the image of the present page based on the URL is printed by operating theMFP4.
• As a result, the image data of the page printed by theMFP4 has been optimized according to a preset size by thegateway server2. That is, the image of the page stored in theInternet binder3 is optimized by thegateway server2 when it is stored into theInternet binder3. Further, in a case where the image of the present page based on the URL is printed, thegateway server2 downloads the page from the URL when a printing instruction is made by theMFP4 and then the image is optimized by thegateway server2 when the downloaded data is transmitted to theMFP4.
• As described above, in this embodiment, the preset size optimized is a predetermined size, but this is not limitative and the size can be optimized to a size which the user specifies by use of theportable telephone1 orMFP4.
• FIGS. 16 and 17 are diagrams showing examples when the page shown inFIG. 14 is optimized according to a preset size. Thegateway server2 forms image data by enlarging or reducing constituting elements of the page, or re-arranging them to change the layout and efficiently arrange them in a preset size.
• In the example shown inFIG. 14, the banner “1”71, banner “2”72 andadvertisement banner74 are downloaded as image data and thetext73 is downloaded as character data such as a character code.
• When a page having the constituting elements formed of the image data and the constituting elements formed of the text data is optimized, thegateway server2 enlarges or reduces the constituting elements of the image data and efficiently arranges them to accommodate them in a preset size. Further, thegateway server2 determines an area in which the text data of the page is arranged and arrange the text document in the area.
• For example, when the image of thepage70 shown inFIG. 14 is optimized as shown inFIGS. 16 and 17, thegateway server2 changes magnification of the length of the banner “1”71 in the lateral direction so that the length of the banner in the lateral direction can be accommodated in the length in the lateral direction of an area P1 of preset size. The thus changed banner “1”71ais arranged in the upper portion of the area P1 of preset size.
• Further, thegateway server2 changes magnification of the length of the banner “2”72 in the longitudinal direction so that the length of the banner “2”72 in the longitudinal direction can be accommodated in a space of the area P1 in which the banner “1”71 has been arranged. The thus changed banner “2”72ais arranged in the left-side portion of the space of the area P1 in which the banner “1”71 has been arranged.
• Next, thegateway server2 determines an area in which thetext73 is displayed in a space of the area P1 in which the banner “1”71aand banner “2”72ahave been arranged. The area in which thetext73 is displayed is acquired on the right side of the banner “2”72a. In this case, the text which cannot be accommodated in the space of the area P1 of preset size is arranged in an area P2 of preset size. Thus, an image having the banner “1”71a, banner “2”72aandtext73barranged as image data of the first page is formed in the area P1 of preset size. Further, atext73cwhich cannot be accommodated in the area P1 of preset size is arranged in the upper position of the area P2 of preset size as image data of the second page.
• Finally, thegateway server2 determines the position in which theadvertisement banner74 is arranged. Theadvertisement banner74 is arranged in a space of the area P2 in which thetext73chas been arranged. In this case, thegateway server2 changes magnification of the length of theadvertisement banner74 in the lateral direction so that it can be accommodated in the length of preset size in the lateral direction. The thus changedadvertisement banner74ais arranged in a position directly below thetext73c. As a result, thetext73candadvertisement banner74aare arranged in the area P2 of preset size.
• As described above, thegateway server2 stores an image of the page which is optimized according to the paper size used in theMFP4 into theInternet binder3 when an instruction for storage of the page is issued from the portable telephone. The MFP reads out and prints a stored and optimized image. Thus, theMFP4 can provide a printed image obtained by printing the page accessed by the portable telephone in an optimized form for the user.
• Further, when the URL is specified by theMFP4, thegateway server2 downloads the present page of the URL, optimizes the downloaded page according to the paper size used in theMFP4 and then transmits the same to theMFP4. TheMFP4 receives the image of the optimized page from thegateway server2 and prints the same. Thus, a printed image obtained by printing the page of the URL specified by the MFP in an optimized form can be provided for the user.
• Next, a display example displayed on thedisplay section12 of theportable telephone1 is explained.
• FIG. 18 is a diagram showing a display example of a log-in screen displayed on thedisplay section12 when log-in is made from theportable telephone1 to the Internet via thegateway server2. In the log-in screen ofFIG. 18, a user ID input column, password input column, selection column of “OK” and the like are displayed.
• On the above display screen, the user inputs the user ID and password by operating theoperating section13. At this time, data items input as the user ID and password are displayed on the respective input columns. If the user ID and password are satisfied, the user selects “OK”. As a result, theportable telephone1 starts the process for connection to the Internet via thegateway server2.
• FIG. 19 shows an example in which an address (URL) input screen is displayed which is used for accessing a page provided by theWeb server6 on the Internet from theportable telephone1 after theportable telephone1 logs in thegateway server3.
• In the display example shown inFIG. 19, an address (URL) input column and “OK” selection column are displayed. On the above display screen, the user inputs an address by operating theoperating section13. At this time, the URL input as the address is displayed in the address input column. If the address displayed in the input column is satisfied, the user selects “OK”. As a result, theportable telephone1 starts the process for connection to the URL via thegateway server2.
• FIG. 20 is a diagram showing an example in which the page of an address specified on the address input screen is displayed on thedisplay section12 of theportable telephone1.
• In the display example shown inFIG. 20, only the text of the page specified on the address input screen is displayed on thedisplay section12.
• On the display screen shown inFIG. 20, if the user specifies a “storage” selection column, thegateway server2 optimizes the downloaded page according to the preset size. The optimized image data and information indicating the URL are stored in theInternet binder3.
• At this time, it is assumed that the storage destination in theInternet binder3 is previously set for each user by the storage destination specifying table23b. Further, in this case, the folder name of the storage destination is fixedly set by a predetermined folder, but it is possible for the user to specify the folder of the storage destination by use of theportable telephone1. At this time, the folder name of the storage destination is instructed together with storage of information to be stored from theportable telephone1 to thegateway server2. In theInternet binder3 which has received the above instruction, data received from thegateway server2 is stored into the specified folder irrespective of the predetermined folder.
• Next, a case wherein the image of the present page in the URL or the image of the page stored in theInternet binder3 is printed by theMFP4 is explained.
• FIGS.21 to23 are diagrams showing display examples of thedisplay section43 of theMFP4 when the attached file is printed by use of theMFP4.
• First, the user inputs a user ID and password by operating the touch panel43aandoperating section44 when the image of the present page in the URL or the image of the page stored in theInternet binder3 is printed by use of theMFP4.
• FIG. 21 shows a display example of an input screen of the user ID and password. On the input screen shown inFIG. 21, a user ID input column and password input column are displayed on thedisplay section43 and a “return” key and “log-in” key are displayed by a touch panel43a. While the above input screen is being displayed, the user inputs a user ID and password. Then, if the input user ID and password meet the requirement, the user touches the “log-in” key by use of the touch panel43a.
• Then, thecontroller41 of theMFP4 transmits the user ID and password as log-in data to theInternet binder3 by use of themodem48. In theInternet binder3, the user authentication process is effected by use of the log-in data received based on the user information table33a. If the user is authenticated by the user authentication process, theInternet binder3 makes connection with theMFP4. TheInternet binder3 which has made connection with theMFP4 reads out a page data file and URL by use of the table33cbased on the user ID transmitted from theMFP4. Then, theInternet binder3 transmits the file name of the readout page data file and URL to theMFP4.
• Then, as shown inFIG. 22, theMFP4 displays a selection screen (document selection screen) used for selecting a page to be printed on thedisplay section43 based on the received file name and URL. On the selection screen, file names are displayed on the touch panel43aas titles used for specifying the page and URL of the page. The user selects the page displayed on the selection screen by use of the touch panel43aand then touches the “selection” key.
• Then, theMFP4 displays a print setting screen as shown inFIG. 23 on thedisplay section43. On the print setting screen, various settings at the time of printing are made and whether an image of the page at the time of storage or an image of the present page based on the URL is printed as a page to be printed is determined.
• For example, on the print setting screen shown inFIG. 23, a “storage-time”key81 and “present” key82 can be selected by use of the touch panel43a. The “storage-time”key81 is used for instructing printing of a page obtained when the page is downloaded from theWeb server6. Further, the “present” key82 is used for instructing printing of the newest page according to the URL instead of the page obtained when the page is downloaded from theWeb server6.
• That is, there is always a possibility that the page provided on the Internet by theWeb server6 is updated. Therefore, even if the page is a page specified by the same URL, the contents of the page at the actual downloading time and the contents of the present page are different from each other in some cases. For example, there is a strong possibility that a page of news or weather forecast may be frequently updated. There seems a possibility that the user who has accessed such a page by use of theportable telephone1 wants to see either the page displayed at the access time or the newest page.
• That is, in a case where the user wants to see the news displayed when access is made by use of theportable telephone1, the user cannot get information which he wants to get in some cases even if the newest page is printed, but the user can get information which he wants to get if the page at the time of access is printed.
• Further, in a case where the user wants to get the newest information such as weather forecast or traffic information, the newest information cannot be obtained in some cases if the page downloaded at the time of access by use of theportable telephone1 is printed, but the user can get the newest information if the newest information is printed based on the URL.
• As described above, in a case where a page is printed by theMFP4 after the page provided by theWeb server6 is accessed by use of theportable telephone1, it is permitted to select printing of the page obtained at the time of access or printing of the newest page. Therefore, the contents of the page satisfying the user's requirement can be printed.
• Next, data transmitted/received between theportable telephone1,gateway server2 andInternet binder3 is explained.
• FIG. 24 is a diagram for illustrating data transmitted/received between theportable telephone1,gateway server2 andInternet binder3. Further,FIG. 25 is a flowchart for illustrating the process of thegateway server2. In this example, the operation for storing a URL specified by theportable telephone1 and information of the page of the URL into theInternet binder3 is explained.
• First, the user selects a function of connection to Internet on a menu screen (not shown) of theportable telephone1. Then, theportable telephone1 makes a connection request to thegateway server2 so as to be connected to the Internet. Thus, if theportable telephone1 makes a request for connection (step S1), thegateway server2 transfers a log-in screen to be displayed on thedisplay section12 of theportable telephone1 as shown inFIG. 18 to the portable telephone1 (step S2).
• When theportable telephone1 receives the log-in screen from thegateway server2, it displays the log-in screen as shown inFIG. 18 on thedisplay section12 and suggests inputting the user ID and password to the user. If the user inputs the user ID and password on the log-in screen, theportable telephone1 transmits log-in data to thegateway server2 based on the input user ID and password (step S3).
• When receiving the log-in data from theportable telephone1, thegateway server2 determines permission or non-permission of the log-in according to whether or not the received user ID and password coincide with the user ID and password recorded on theaddress information database23a. If the log-in is permitted in the above determination step, thegateway server2 determines that connection with theportable telephone1 is set up and the process for connection with theportable telephone1 is completed (step G1).
• If it is determined in the above determining step that the log-in of theportable telephone1 is permitted, thegateway server2 transfers an address input screen to be displayed on thedisplay section12 of theportable telephone1 as shown inFIG. 19 to the portable telephone1 (step S4).
• When receiving the address input screen from thegateway server2, theportable telephone1 displays the address input screen as shown inFIG. 19 on thedisplay section12 and suggests inputting an address (URL) to the user. If the user inputs a URL on the address input screen, theportable telephone1 transmits the input URL to the gateway server2 (step S5).
• When receiving the URL from the portable telephone1 (step G2), thegateway server2 accesses the page of the URL and downloads the page (step G3). When downloading the page, thegateway server2 extracts only text data from data of the downloaded page and forms a file of text data (step G4). When extraction of text data from the entire page is completed, thegateway server2 transmits the extracted text data as the display contents to the portable telephone1 (step S6, step G5). At this time, thegateway server2 transmits a message indicating that there is no text as the display contents to theportable telephone1 if no text data is extracted from the page at all.
• When receiving the display contents from thegateway server2, theportable telephone1 displays the received display contents on thedisplay section12 as shown inFIG. 20. If the user instructs storage of the page by selecting the “storage” selection column75 in the display state as shown inFIG. 20, theportable telephone1 transmits an instruction for storage of the page to the gateway server2 (step S7).
• When receiving the instruction for storage from the portable telephone1 (step G6), thegateway server2 starts the process for storing the page into the Internet binder3 (step G7). In the process for storing the page, thegateway server2 optimizes the downloaded page according to a preset size. When forming data of the optimized page, thegateway server2 transmits a request for user authentication with respect to the user who has issued the instruction for storage to the Internet binder3 (step S8). At this time, the user ID and password transmitted from theportable telephone1 as the log-in data in the step S3 are transmitted as data used for user authentication from thegateway server2 to theInternet binder3.
• TheInternet binder3 performs the user authentication process based on the user ID and password received from thegateway server2. The user authentication process is performed by determining whether or not the user ID and password received from thegateway server2 coincide with the contents recorded on the user information database33a. When the user is authenticated by the user authentication process, theInternet binder3 transmits notification indicating that the user has been authenticated to the gateway server2 (step S9).
• When receiving information indicating that the result of the user authentication is “OK” from theInternet binder3, thegateway server2 transmits an instruction for storage of storage information including the URL and the data of the optimized page to the Internet binder3 (step S10). As the instruction for storage, information used for specifying a folder of the storage destination based on the storagedestination specifying database23bis transmitted.
• When receiving the instruction for storage of the storage information, theInternet binder3 determines whether or not the storage information can be stored in the specified storage destination based on the account name and folder name recorded on thestorage destination database33b. If it is determined in the above determination process that the storage information can be stored in the specified storage destination, theInternet binder3 transmits notification for permitting (giving “OK” for) storage of the storage information to the gateway server2 (step S11).
• When receiving notification of permission of storage from theInternet binder3, thegateway server2 transfers the storage information to the Internet binder3 (step S12). After this, when thegateway server2 terminates transfer of the storage information, it transmits notification indicating termination of transfer of the storage information to the Internet binder3 (step S13).
• While the storage information is being transferred thereto from thegateway server2, theInternet binder3 sequentially stores the information indicating the URL and image data of the optimized page into a specified folder. When receiving notification indicating termination of transfer of the storage information from thegateway server2, theInternet binder3 records the respective items of the storagefile information database33cand transmits notification indicating completion of storage of the storage information to thegateway server2.
• As described above, when a page provided on the Internet by the Web server is accessed by the portable telephone, only text data is displayed on the portable telephone and information indicating the URL of the page and the image of the page is stored into the predetermined folder in response to the page storage instruction from the portable telephone based on the operation by the user.
• As a result, only text data displayable on the portable telephone is extracted from the page and transmitted to and displayed on the portable telephone without transmitting data of the entire page to the portable telephone. Further, information of the page can be stored so that the page can be read or printed according to the instruction from the portable telephone. Accordingly, only data which can be utilized on the portable telephone can be transmitted without transmitting useless data which cannot be used on the portable telephone and there occurs no useless communication. Further, information of the page can be stored according to the instruction from the portable telephone and the applicability thereof is enhanced.
• Next, transmission/reception of data between theInternet binder3 and theMFP4 is explained.
• FIG. 26 is a diagram for illustrating data transmitted/received between theInternet binder3 and theMFP4. In this example, the operation effected when the user prints a present page based on the URL or image data of a page stored in theInternet binder3 is explained.
• First, when a present page based on the URL or image data of a page stored in theInternet binder3 is printed, the user performs the log-in operation on the log-in screen as shown inFIG. 21 in theMFP4. Log-in data input on the log-in screen is transmitted to the Internet binder3 (step S21).
• TheInternet binder3 performs the user authentication process based on the log-in data transmitted from theMFP4. At the time of authentication of the user, theInternet binder3 transmits information indicating the URL and a file name indicating image data of the page which the user stores as document information to theMFP4 based on the storagefile information database33c(step S22).
• When receiving the document information from theInternet binder3, theMFP4 displays a document selection screen for selecting one of pages (documents) to be printed as shown inFIG. 22 on thedisplay section43 based on the received document information. The user selects one of the pages to be printed on the document selection screen.
• Then, theMFP4 displays a print setting screen as shown inFIG. 23 on thedisplay section43. The user selects the “storage-time” key81 used for selecting printing of image data on the page at the time of storage into theInternet binder3 or the present key82 used for selecting printing of the image of the present page in the URL and then specifies the “print” key.
• Then, theMFP4 transmits a document selection instruction including information indicating the selected page (document) and information indicating which one of the image of the stored page and the image of the present page in the URL is printed to the Internet binder3 (step S23). When receiving the document selection instruction from theMFP4, theInternet binder3 transmits printing data of the selected page to theMFP4. As a result, theMFP4 prints the page received as printing data from theInternet binder3.
• Further, in the above example, thegateway server2 downloads data of a page based on the URL and optimizes the downloaded page when an image of the present page is printed, but theMFP4 can perform the process for downloading data of a page based on the URL and optimizing the downloaded page.
• As described above, an image of a page accessed by the portable telephone is stored in a predetermined folder and the stored page is printed by use of the image forming apparatus. As a result, even if the entire page cannot be displayed on the portable telephone, the image of the page can be printed by use of the image forming apparatus and the user can read the entire page by use of the printed page.
• Further, since the image of the page printed by theMFP4 is optimized according to the printing size, the contents of the page can be provided in an easily observable form for the user.
• Information of a page accessed by the portable telephone and the address of the page are stored and whether the contents of the page at the storage time are printed or the present page of the above page is printed can be selectively determined.
• Therefore, the contents of the page at the storage time or the newest contents of the stored page can be selectively printed according to selection by the user and the applicability thereof by the user can be enhanced.
• Additional advantages and modifications will readily occur to those skilled in the art. Therefore, the invention in its broader aspects is not limited to the specific details and representative embodiments shown and described herein. Accordingly, various modifications may be made without departing from the spirit or scope of the general inventive concept as defined by the appended claims and their equivalents.

Claims (7)

1. A network system having a server and an image forming apparatus, characterized in that the server comprises:

first communication means for interfacing with a mobile terminal;

second communication means for acquiring data of a page which is made public on a network in response to a request from the first communication means for acquiring a page which is made public on the network; and

control means for storing data of a page acquired by the second communication means in the predetermined storage location where the mobile terminal instructs storage of data of the page and the image forming apparatus comprises:

third communication means for acquiring data of the page acquired by the server from the network, from the storage location; and

printing means for printing on an image forming medium based on the data of page acquired by the third communication means.

2. A network system according toclaim 1, wherein the control means further extracts data that can be displayed by the mobile terminal from the data of the page acquired by the second communication means and transmits it to the mobile terminal using the first communication means.

3. A network system according toclaim 1, wherein the server further comprises storage means for storing information in relation to the mobile terminal,

the control means further executes authentication processing on the mobile terminal, on the basis of authentication data supplied by the first communication means from the mobile terminal and information stored in the storage means, and

when the control means stores the data of the page, the control means judges a storage location corresponding to the mobile terminal authenticated by the authentication processing based on the storage means, and stores the data of the page in the storage location.

4. A network system according toclaim 1, wherein the control means stores access information to the page in the storage location, together with the data of page acquired from the network,

the image forming apparatus further comprises operating means into which a user inputs instructions for operation,

the printing means prints data of the page stored in the storage location where print of data of a stored page is instructed by the operating means, and

the printing means prints the present page, accessing the present page in accordance with the access information stored in the storage location, the printing of the present page among the pages stored in the storage location being instructed by the operating means.

5. A network system according toclaim 1, wherein the control means optimizes the data of the page acquired by the network and storing the data in the storage location.

6. A network system according toclaim 1, wherein the image forming apparatus further comprises image processing means for optimizing the data of the page acquired from the network.

7. A network system according toclaim 1, further comprising storage means for storing user information,

wherein, when acquiring data from the storage location, user authentication is executed based on user information stored in the storage means and information input by the user.

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