Abstract:
A method of producing an electronic document from a multi-function printing device. The method includes the acts of creating an electronic document, configuring the device with a list of destinations including at least one domain name, formatting the electronic document to be delivered via an electronic mail message, addressing the electronic mail message with an address including a domain and determining if the domain name in the address matches the domain name included in the list of destinations.

Description:
BACKGROUND  
       [0001]     The present invention relates to multi-function printing devices and, more particularly, to multi-function printing devices capable of creating electronic documents and sending electronic mail messages.  
       SUMMARY  
       [0002]     In one embodiment, the invention provides a method of producing and delivering an electronic document from a multi-function printing device. The method includes creating an electronic document, configuring the device with a list of destinations including at least one domain name, formatting the electronic document to be delivered via an electronic mail message, addressing the electronic mail message with an address including a domain name and determining if the domain name in the address matches the domain name included in the list of destinations.  
         [0003]     In another embodiment, the invention provides a method of delivering an electronic document from a multi-function printer. According to the method, the electronic document is created by the multi-function printer. The method includes configuring the multi-function printer with a list of allowed destinations, formatting the electronic document to be delivered via an electronic mail message, addressing an address field of the electronic mail message with a first destination and determining if the first destination is included in the list of allowed destinations. The method also includes removing the first destination from the address field of the electronic mail message if the first destination is not included in the list of destinations.  
         [0004]     In a further embodiment, the invention provides a multi-function device operable to produce an electronic document. The device includes a controller configured to communicate to a server via a network and operable to send an electronic mail message. The controller also has a user-configurable setting, which includes a list of allowed destinations to which the controller can send electronic mail messages. The electronic mail message has an address field and includes the electronic document. Also, the controller is operable to parse the address field of the electronic mail message for a destination, compare the destination included in the address field to the list of allowed destinations and determine whether or not the destination is included in the list of allowed destinations.  
         [0005]     Other aspects of the invention will become apparent by consideration of the detailed description and accompanying drawings. 
     
    
     BRIEF DESCRIPTION OF THE DRAWINGS  
       [0006]      FIG. 1  is a schematic illustration of a multi-function printing device embodying the invention.  
         [0007]      FIG. 2  is a flowchart of operation of the multi-function printing device of  FIG. 1 .  
         [0008]      FIG. 3  is a schematic illustration of a configuration page of the multi-function of  FIG. 1 . 
     
    
     DETAILED DESCRIPTION  
       [0009]     Before any embodiments of the invention are explained in detail, it is to be understood that the invention is not limited in its application to the details of construction and the arrangement of components set forth in the following description or illustrated in the following drawings. The invention is capable of other embodiments and of being practiced or of being carried out in various ways. Also, it is to be understood that the phraseology and terminology used herein is for the purpose of description and should not be regarded as limiting. The use of “including,” “comprising,” or “having” and variations thereof herein is meant to encompass the items listed thereafter and equivalents thereof as well as additional items. Unless specified or limited otherwise, the terms “mounted,” “connected,” “supported,” and “coupled” and variations thereof are used broadly and encompass both direct and indirect mountings, connections, supports, and couplings. Further, “connected” and “coupled” are not restricted to physical or mechanical connections or couplings.  
         [0010]      FIG. 1  schematically shows a device  20  capable of performing one or several related tasks in the area of scanning, printing, duplicating and/or faxing documents. In some embodiments, the device  20  can be a multi-function printer (“MFP”) that can perform several processing functions, such as, for example, printing, scanning, electronic mailing, faxing, duplicating and other various functions. In other embodiments of the invention, the device  20  can be limited to a single document processing function, such as, for example, printing, scanning, duplicating or other related functions. For example, the device  20  can be a printer, a scanner, a copy machine or the like. In the construction shown in  FIG. 1 , the device  20  is an MFP.  
         [0011]     As shown in  FIG. 1 , the MFP  20  includes a controller  25 . In the illustrated construction, the controller  25  monitors operation of the MFP  20  and controls the various functions of MFP  20 , such as printing, scanning, duplicating and the like. The controller  25  also communicates with various document processing modules included in the MFP  20 , such as, for example, a printer  30  and a scanner  35 . The controller  25  may also communicate with various devices external to the MFP  20 , as discussed below.  
         [0012]     As mentioned previously, in some constructions, the MFP  20  includes various document processing modules, such as the printer  30  and the scanner  35 . The printer  30  is operable to receive an electronic document representing a desired image from the controller  25 . The printer  30  is also operable to print a hard copy of that desired image on a print medium, such as a sheet of paper (not shown). For example, the printer  30  communicates with the controller  25  and can receive an electronic document in a printer format from the controller  25  and instructions that cause the printer to print in a desired manner, as is known in the art.  
         [0013]     The scanner  35  includes a scanning area (not shown) on which an original document can be placed either manually or automatically by being sequentially fed from a feeder tray or automatic document feeder unit (not shown) under the control of the controller  25 . For example, if the original includes multiple pages, an automatic feeder function (not shown) of the device  20  sequentially feeds the pages to the scanning area from the feeder tray. Different types of scanners which include various different sensors for producing an electronic document of scanned image data are known in the art. An illumination system (not shown) provides proper light such that the sensors can obtain accurate readings of the original document. The scanned image data represents the original document. The controller  25  is also operable to convert scanned image data from the scanner  35  into an electronic document in a printer format.  
         [0014]     In the construction shown, the MFP  20  can also include a user interface  40 . The user interface  40  can allow a user to control and monitor the various document processing functions. The user interface  40  includes at least one user control  45  to prompt the device  20  to perform a function or to modify a particular function. In some constructions, the user control  45  includes one or more push buttons. In other constructions, the user control  45  includes a keypad or a mouse.  
         [0015]     In the construction illustrated in  FIG. 1 , the user interface  40  can also include a display  50 . The display  50  can relay information to the user through various menus and screens, as discussed below. In some constructions, such as the construction illustrated in  FIG. 1 , the display  50  is separate from the user control  45 . In other constructions, the display  50  can be combined with the user control  45 , such as a touch-screen display.  
         [0016]     In the illustrated construction, the controller  25  is operable to communicate with one or more devices. For example, as shown in  FIG. 1 , the controller  25  can communicate with a host computer  60 . The host computer  60  can send information (such as, for example, an electronic document in a printer format), commands, code and the like to the controller  25  of the MFP  20 , and in turn, the controller  25  can also send information to the host computer  60 . Communication can take place between the controller  25  and the host computer  60  via a first link  65 . In some constructions, the link  65  can include a network, such as a wireless network, a wired network or a combination of both. In other constructions, the link  65  can be a phone line, a serial cable, a parallel cable or another similar wired or wireless link.  
         [0017]     Still referring to  FIG. 1 , the controller  25  is also operable to communicate with additional devices, such as, a server  70 . In some constructions, the MFP  20  can be configured to format and send electronic mail (“e-mail”) messages through the server  70 . For example, the MFP  20  can create an electronic document, such as an electronic document produced by the scanner  35 , and can include the electronic document in an e-mail to be sent to one or more destinations  72 . As shown in  FIG. 1 , the e-mail message can be sent to one or more destinations  72  via the server  70 . Destinations  72  can include specific e-mail addresses, distribution groups, specific IP addresses, etc. In one construction, the server  70  can include an SMTP server. In yet other constructions, the controller  25  may communicate directly with additional devices and send electronic mail messages without the use of a server.  
         [0018]     Communication can take place between the controller  25  and the server  70  via a second link  75 . In some constructions, the second link  75  can also be the same network which links the MFP  20  with the host computer  60 . In other constructions, the second link  75  can be separate from the first link  65 , such as, for example, a second wireless network, a second wired network, a second combination of both, a second phone line, a second serial cable, a second parallel cable or another similar wired or wireless link.  
         [0019]     In some constructions, the controller  25  is also operable to include various settings that can be configured by a user. As shown in  FIG. 3 , the controller  25  includes one or more settings which can be accessed by a user through one or more configuration pages  80  of the device  20 . In one construction, the configuration pages  80  can be accessed by a user through the user interface  40 . In another construction, the configuration pages  80  can be accessed by a user through the host computer  60 . In further constructions, the configuration pages  80  can be accessed by a user remotely through a device (not shown) connected to the MFP  20  via a network, such as the Internet. In some constructions, the configuration pages  80  can only be accessed by certain users that have clearance to modify the settings, such as, for example, systems administrators.  
         [0020]     In the illustrated construction, the configuration pages  80  include a setting  82  that restricts the destinations of e-mail messages. The setting  82  includes a list  85  of destinations to which the MFP  20  can send e-mail messages. For example, if a user inputs a destination into the address field of an e-mail message and that destination is not included in the list  85  of allowed destinations, the controller  25  will remove that destination from the address field of the message prior to sending the e-mail message to the server  70 . In some constructions, the list  85  of destinations can be created and modified by a user through the configuration pages  80 .  
         [0021]     In one example, the list  85  of destinations includes a list of domain names which are included in email addresses, such as mybusiness.com or vendor.com. In this example, the controller  25  is configured to send e-mail messages to any e-mail address including the domain name “mybusiness.com” or “vendor.com”. In this example, if a user inputs the destination of “johndoe@buyer.com” in the address field of the message, the controller  25  will remove that destination from the address field because “buyer.com” is not a domain name included in the list  85  of allowed destinations. In other constructions, the controller  25  may delete the electronic message if the destination is not an allowed destination.  
         [0022]     In another example, the list  85  of destinations includes a list of specific e-mail addresses, such as johndoe@mybusiness.com and janedoe@vendor.com. In this example, the controller  25  is configured to send e-mail messages to only those e-mail addresses that match the addresses included in the list  85 .  
         [0023]     The controller  25  can also be configured, via the configuration pages  80 , to generate an error report. In some constructions, the error report is generated when the controller  25  removes destinations from the address field of an e-mail message. The error report can include the destinations entered by the user that were removed from the address field of the message. The error report can also include the reasons why the e-mail message was not delivered to those destinations. In some constructions, the error report is automatically sent to the host computer  60 , the user&#39;s workstation (not shown) or the user&#39;s e-mail address. In other constructions, the error report is displayed on the display  50  of the user interface  40 .  
         [0024]      FIG. 2  is a flowchart detailing operation  100  of the MFP  20  using the limit destination setting. The process begins by the controller  25  formatting an e-mail message to be sent to one or more destinations, such as one or more e-mail addresses, at step  105 . In some constructions, a user prompts the MFP  20  to create an e-mail message and then the user inputs destinations into the address field (e.g., the To field) of the e-mail message. At step  110 , the controller  25  parses the address field of the e-mail message for each destination and compares each destination to the list  85  of allowed destinations.  
         [0025]     At step  115 , the controller  25  determines if the destinations included in the address field of the message are also included in the list  85  of destinations. If the destination being compared to the list  85  is included in the list  85  at step  115 , such as, for example, if the destination is an e-mail address containing a domain name found in the list  85  of allowed domain name destinations, then the controller  25  keeps the allowed destination in the address field of the message at step  120 .  
         [0026]     If a destination is not included in the list  85  at step  115 , such as, for example, if the destination is an e-mail address which does not contain a domain name found in the list  85  of allowed domain name destinations, then the controller  25  removes that particular destination from the address field at step  125 . Once the controller  25  compares all the destinations to the list  85  at step  110 , determines whether or not each destination is an allowed destination at step  15  and either keeps or removes each destination from the address field at steps  120  and  125 , the controller  25  sends the e-mail message including the allowed destinations (if applicable) to the server  70  for delivery to the destinations  72  at step  130 . If the address field of the message does not include any destinations (e.g., all destinations were removed from the To field), the controller  25  deletes the message at step  130 . Then, if applicable, the controller  25  generates an error report at step  135 . The error report indicates that the message was not sent to those destinations and explains why those destinations were removed from the address field.  
         [0027]     Thus, the invention provides, among other things, a multi-function printing device having a limit destination setting. Various features and advantages of the invention are set forth in the following claims.