GB2429872A

GB2429872A - Transferring electronic document data

Info

Publication number: GB2429872A
Application number: GB0517705A
Authority: GB
Inventors: Wilson Chiu; Andrew Daborn; Yuan Shao
Original assignee: Canon Inc
Current assignee: Canon Inc
Priority date: 2005-08-31
Filing date: 2005-08-31
Publication date: 2007-03-07
Also published as: GB0517705D0

Abstract

Communication between two devices e.g. a mobile phone and a printer/scanner is initiated automatically when the two are in proximity. One device e.g. the phone, has a display which shows a request to confirm transmission or reception of communication e.g. a document file, depending on the operational status or mode of the phone. Thus, after initial communication is established, the phone may be brought closer to the printer, which causes a login screen to be displayed (Fig. 3 not shown). After login and verification S2-S8, a document selection screen is displayed, showing document files stored on the phone (Fig. 4 not shown). If the operational status is set by selecting a document, the process moves to sending the document to the printer (Fig. 8 not shown). If no document is selected, the process moves to receiving and saving a document file from the printer (Fig. 10), which file is of a hard copy scanned by the printer. For save, the printer then scans the document S10-S24 and the phone displays the relevant confirmation screen. If confirmed, save settings can be input and the document file is saved. For print, a similar process in reverse is automatically carried out, wherein printer controls may be input by the user, before the file is sent to the printer. A similar process may allow transfer of documents between the mobile device and other peripherals e.g. a computer being used for slide show presentation.

Description

TITLE OF THE INVENTION

METHOD AND SYSTEM FOR TRANSFERRING ELECTRONIC DOCUMENT DATA

BACKGROUND OF THE INVENTION

Field of the Invention

The invention relates to a communication method, apparatus and computer program, and more particularly to a method, apparatus and computer program for transferring electronic document data between devices.

Description of the Related Art

In recent years, the use of electronic documents has increased dramatically, in part due to the ease with which they can be stored, retrieved, copied, printed, updated and distributed.

However, while the use of electronic documents has helped many office workers, the concurrent increase in travel has caused difficulties, with electronic documents being less convenient to locate, read and distribute when a worker is away from his office or workstation.

While laptop computers are increasingly smaller and lighter, it is often seen as a nuisance to have to carry a laptop computer to all meetings, whereas workers will happily carry their PDAs or mobile phones with them at all times. Mobile devices, such as personal digital assistants (PDAs) and mobile phones, are prevalent among mobile workers, and the capabilities of these devices have increased. However, they still do not meet the needs of many mobile workers. The transfer of documents between mobile devices is often limited due to inadequate storage capacity on such devices or due to inadequate communication channel bandwidth, as described in the UK Patent Application dated 31 August 2005, agent's reference 11410 GB (Abel & lmray), also owned by Canon Kabushiki Kaisha, hereby incorporated by reference.

There are many situations in which a document needs to be transferred from one person to another, eg. when one person requests a document from another during a meeting, but the requester is forced to wait for the other person to return to their desk to send a copy of the electronic document. This may be some time after the request was made, and the task may be forgotten.

Functions of mobile devices have been advancing, and many such devices have been provided with radio data communication functions. Using nearfield radio communication interfaces in mobile devices provides the devices with functions similar to those of non-contact IC cards. In addition, the mobile devices provided with near-field radio communication interfaces are capable of operating as readers/writers to communicate with other apparatus.

Also, the small size of mobile device displays requires user interfaces to be clear and consist of limited information.

No previous electronic document data transfer system provides a means of transferring electronic document data between devices with a simple and clear user interface provided by determining which operation the user intends to perform on the basis of the status of the devices at

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initiation of communication between the devices.

SUMMARY OF THE INVENTION

The present invention has been made in order to solve at least one of the problems mentioned above.

According to an aspect of the present invention, there is provided a method of communicating between a first and second device, comprising the steps of: initiating a communication between the first device and second device in response to the first device being brought into proximity with the second device, and displaying on a display of the first device a request for confirmation by a user of a direction of further communication between the first and second device, wherein the request displayed depends on a status of at least one of the devices.

Mobile device displays have limited capabilities and therefore the automatic determination of the direction of further communication minimises the necessary information to be displayed, as well as minimising the use of device resources. User interactions are also minimised, thereby reducing the time taken.

The further communication may comprise the transfer of document data. Preferably, the status of the at least one device comprises whether document data is stored on the at least one device. The status of the at least one device may be one of: no document data is stored, document data is stored, and document data is stored and selected.

If no document data is stored on a device, it is likely that the user wishes to transfer document data to the device. If document data is stored and selected on a device, it is likely that the user wishes to transfer the selected document data from the device. This determination of the user's intention reduces the time taken by the user to transfer the document data between devices.

The document data may be at least one of the types: a document, a thumbnail of the document, plain text of at least part of the document, a summary of the document, document attributes, and a document reference enabling identification of a location of the document.

Optionally, when the direction of further communication is from the second device to the first device, the completion of the document data transfer is dependent on at least one of: a total storage space of the first device, available storage space of the first device, size of the document, type of the document, data transfer rate of a communication between the first and second devices, bandwidth of a communication between the first and second devices, a security setting of the document, and a security setting of the first device.

It may be preferable for the document data not to be transferred if, for example, the data transfer rate between the first and second devices is slow.

The type of document data transferred, when the direction of further communication is from the second device to the first device, may depend on at least one of a total storage space of the first device, available storage space of the first device, size of the document, type of the document, data transfer rate of a communication between the first and second devices, bandwidth of a communication between the first and second devices, a security setting of the document, and a security setting of the first device.

Preferably, the document data transferred from the second device to the first device is a type other than the document, when the size of the document is larger than the total memory size of the first device, available memory space of the first device or a predetermined size limit.

A reference to the document, for example, may be stored on the second device if the document is too large. By automatically determining which type of document data should be stored, the time taken to perform the document data transfer is reduced.

Advantageously, the method further comprises the step of displaying a request for confirmation by a user that a document reference is to be saved.

This enables a user to cancel the document data transfer operation if it is not possible to transfer the document.

Conveniently, when the second device comprises a printer and the direction of document data transfer is from the first device to the second device, the method further comprises the step of transferring printer settings to the second device.

This ensures the document is printed in the required format.

The method may further comprise the step of obtaining an identification code from the first device and charging for a service via the identification code.

Optionally, the method further comprises the steps of authenticating an identification code of the first device against a database of authorised identification codes and preventing the further communication in the case of unsuccessful authentication.

The prevention of transfer of document data to unauthorised devices provides a security feature, preventing users from saving document data to unauthorised devices. Similarly, the requirement for successful authentication prevents the transfer of document references to devices belonging to users who do not usually have access to the networked environment where the document itself is stored.

The method may further comprise the step of transferring a document attribute from the second device to the first device.

This allows the document data to be transferred only if the document attribute satisfies a predetermined condition.

Advantageously, the method may further comprise the step of authenticating a user at the first or second device.

This provides an additional security feature, preventing the transfer of document data to an unauthorised user.

According to another aspect of the present invention, there is provided a software application for communicating between a first and second device, arranged such that when executed it performs the following steps: initiating a communication between the first and second devices when the first device is brought into proximity with the second device; determining a status of at least one

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of the devices, and displaying on a display of the first device a request for confirmation by a user of a direction of further communication between the first and second devices, wherein the request displayed depends on the determined status.

According to a further aspect of the present invention, the software application is provided stored on a storage medium.

According to a yet further aspect of the present invention, there is provided a document data transfer system comprising: a first and second device; communication means for communicating between the first and second devices; determining means for determining a status of at least one of the devices, and display means for displaying a request for confirmation by a user of a direction of further communication between the first and second devices, wherein the request displayed depends on the determined status.

It will be understood that throughout this specification, document' can mean a single file or a bundle of files, for example a folder or a zipped file, and in proximity with' includes in contact with'.

BRIEF DESCRIPTION OF THE DRAWINGS

Figure 1 is a schematic view of a mobile phone and a multifunctional peripheral (MFP) ot a document data transfer system in accordance with an embodiment of the present invention.

Figure 2 is a detailed view of the mobile phone shown in Figure 1.

Figures 3 and 4 show explanatory views illustrating the display of the mobile phone shown in Figure 1 during operation of the document data transfer system.

Figures 5 to 7 show explanatory views illustrating the display of the mobile phone when saving document data to the mobile phone.

Figure 8 shows a flowchart of the process of saving document data from the MFP to the mobile phone.

Figure 9 is a schematic view of a mobile phone and projection system of a document data transfer system in accordance with a second embodiment of the present invention.

Figure 10 shows a flowchart of the process of printing a document from the mobile phone o the MFP.

Figure 11 is a schematic view of a file bundle transferred by the document data transfer system.

Figures 12 to 15 show explanatory views illustrating the display of the mobile phone when previewing a document.

Figures 16 to 20 show explanatory views illustrating the display of the mobile phone of a document data transfer system when printing from the mobile phone.

DETAILED DESCRIPTION OF THE EMBODIMENTS

In the following, a detailed description will be given of embodiments of the present invention with reference to the accompanying drawings.

Figure 1 shows an embodiment of a document data transfer system 2 in accordance with the invention, comprising an MFP 4 connected to a network (not shown), and a near field communication (NFC) -enabled mobile phone 6.

The MFP 4, for example a Canon iR3220N photocopier, comprises a CPU 8 which integrally controls each of the devices connected to the system bus 10. The CPU 8 outputs an image signal as output information to a print engine 12 based on the control program, etc, stored in either the read only memory (ROM) 14 or hard disc (HO) 16. The ROM 14 also stores information, etc, to be used in the cases where the MFP does not have a hard disk. Random access memory (RAM) 18 functions, inter alia, as a main memory and a work area of CPU 8. I/F unit 20 controls documents to be printed by print engine 12 and documents scanned by scanner part 22. Operation panel 24 enables the display of information to, and receipt of input from, a user via a touch-sensitive screen, for example. NFC 26 and wireless 28 capabilities provide means for communicating with other devices, and the MFP 4 is also provided with wired networking capability 30.

The mobile phone 6 has an NFC tag 32, CPU 29, RAM 31 and ROM 33. CPU 29 controls each unit, shown in Figure 1, of the mobile phone 6. A document data transfer software application, executing the steps shown in the flowchart of Figure 13, is stored in ROM 33. The mobile phone is shown in more detail in Figure 2, and comprises a display 34 and keypad 36. The keypad 36 comprises number buttons 38, navigation key 40 and menu buttons 42, 44. Soft keys 46 re selected by depressing menu buttons 42, 44. Navigation key 40 can be depressed in five ways, namely at the top (to move up), bottom (to move down), left (to move left), right (to move right), and in the centre (to select soft buttons displayed in the central part of the display 34).

In the document data transfer system 2, document data can be transferred from the MFP 4 to the mobile phone 6 or from the mobile phone 6 to the MFP 4.

Referring to Figures 1 to 8 together, in a first usage example, a user with a paper document wishes to save a copy to his mobile phone, for distributing to others or for saving to a location not connected to a network currently available to the user. The user logs onto the document data transfer software application via his mobile phone 6, as shown in Figure 3, inputting (Step S2 in Figure 8) a username 48 and password 50 via a Login screen 52. The Login soft key 54 is selected by depressing the centre of navigation key 40. The user can exit from the Login screen 52 y selecting the Exit soft key 56 by depressing menu button 44. The mobile phone CPU 29 receives the username and password inputted via the Login screen 52 and temporarily stores the inputted data in RAM 31. The user identification (ID) information is validated (S4) against a cache stored in the mobile phone RAM 31. If the user authentication is successful (S6), the Document Selection screen 58, illustrated in Figure 4, is displayed (S7) on the screen 34 of the mobile phone 6; otherwise, the user is returned (S8) to the Login screen 52. This local verification of the account executed by the document data transfer software application on the mobile phone 6 gives the user access to the document data transfer system 2. The requirement to login via the mobile phone 6 helps prevent unintentional start up of communication between the mobile phone 6 and MFP 4 when, for example, a user approaches an MFP 4 with a mobile phone 6 in his pocket. The Document Selection screen 58 shows icons 60, indicating document data stored on the mobile phone 6, each with an associated name 62. Further document data is stored in folder 64. Selection of the Exit soft key 56 causes the user to leave the document data transfer software application.

Options soft key 66 provides the user with the option, for example, of previewing the document. An icon 60 may be selected using the keypad 36, the selected document icon 68 being marked by border 70.

In order to transfer document data to the mobile phone 6, the user scans (SlO) a document into the MFP 4. The scanned document is received by scanner part 22 and the I/F unit 20 passes the document on to be previewed on the display of the MFP operation panel 24. A copy of $e document is stored in a document store on the hard drive 16, RAM 18 or network (not shown).

When the user brings the mobile phone 6 into proximity with the NFC reader 26 of the MFP 4 after a successful login to the document data transfer software application via the mobile phone 6, the NFC reader 26 detects (S12) the presence of the mobile phone NFC tag 32 and reads (S14) the unique identifier, for example MiFare ID, of the mobile phone NFC tag 32.

NFC is a bi-directional radio communication system between NFC-enabled devices, which operates in the radio frequency band of 13.56MHz. Predetermined electromagnetic-wave carriers modulated using digital data are transmitted, the transmitted electromagnetic waves are received by an antenna, and the digital data modulated on the carrier signal is demodulated. NFC may be half- duplex communication in which two devices transmit electromagnetic waves of a common frequency. Alternatively, NFC may be full-duplex communication in which two devices transmit electromagnetic waves of differing frequencies. An allowable NFC communication distance is typically about 10cm. NFC can be used to quickly establish other types of wireless communications between devices without the usual lengthy setup procedures, acting as a virtual connector, enabling devices to communicate at longer ranges or transfer data at higher rates.

The CPU 8 uses the MiFare ID to look up (S16) the Bluetooth user identifier (UID) of the mobile phone 6 in a database stored on the network. The CPU 8 initiates (S18) a connection with the mobile phone 6 over a wireless network via wireless networking unit 28, using Bluetooth protocols. Once a Bluetooth connection is established, the mobile phone 6 can be moved further apart from the MFP 4, within the Bluetooth communication range, for convenience.

The system is arranged to only save the document data to the mobile phone 6 if the mobile phone 6 is registered in a database stored on the network or MFP 4. This stops the transfer of document data to mobile phones of users without security rights to prevent such unauthorised users from leaving the office with an electronic version of the document. If a user attempts to save a document to a mobile phone which has not been registered (S20), a Save Failed screen 92 is displayed on the mobile phone 6, as shown in Figure 7, with a message 94 informing the user that the document data cannot be saved. Exit soft key 74 allows the user to return to the Document Selection screen 58.

If the mobile phone 6 is authorised (S22), a signal is sent (S24) to the mobile phone 6 indicating that a document is being previewed on the MFP 4. As no document is selected on Qie mobile phone 6 when this signal is received, a Save Confirmation screen 70 is displayed (S26) on the mobile phone display 34, as shown in Figure 5. An Options soft key 72 is provided for user input of options (S28). For example, a user can request the transfer to the mobile phone 6 of the document or a reference to the document. Document references uniquely correspond to a document, and contain sufficient information for the system to identify a location of the document, as in the case of uniform resource locators (URL5). The document reference may have any suitable format, such as C:\mydocs\folder\docname. Selection of the Exit soft key 74 returns the user to the Document Selection screen 58.

On selection of the Save button 76 by depressing the centre of the navigation key 40 (S30), an instruction is sent (S32) from the mobile phone 6 to the MFP 4 to cause the document data to be transferred (S34) from the MFP 4 to the mobile phone 6 via Bluetooth. The document data comprises the document, or the document reference if requested by the user.

Upon completion of the document data transfer to the mobile phone 6, the Bluetooth connection is broken (836). When the expected number of bytes has been received, a Save Complete screen 78 is displayed (S38) on the mobile phone display 34, as shown in Figure 6. A message 80 indicates the transfer has been completed and an icon representing the document data transferred to the mobile phone 6 is shown, in a similar manner to the Document Selection screen 58, with border 82 highlighting the saved document icon 84. The user is provided with the option 86 to view the document, by selecting either the Yes soft key 88 or the No soft key 90. After viewing, or if the viewing option is declined, the mobile phone display 34 returns to the Document Selection screen 58.

Once the document data is saved to the mobile phone 6, the document or document reference can be sent to another mobile phone by, for example, multimedia messaging service (MMS) or short messaging service (SMS).

In another embodiment in accordance with the invention a projection system is used to preview a document. Figure 9 shows a projection system 100 comprising a networked laptop 102 connected to a projector 104. A meeting delegate wishing to store a copy of another delegate's document to his mobile phone 6, for future use at another office location, logs onto the document data transfer software application via the Login screen 52 on his mobile phone 6, shown in Figure 3.

The document, stored either on the laptop 102 or the network 106, is displayed on the projection screen 108.

The meeting delegate brings the mobile phone 6 into proximity with the NFC reader 110 of the laptop 102 to initiate an NFC communication between the mobile phone 6 and laptop 102. Oncc a Bluetooth connection is established between the mobile phone 6 and the laptop 102 as described previously, a signal is sent to the mobile phone 6 indicating that a document is being previewed on the projection screen 108. As the user has not selected a document on the mobile phone 6, the signal triggers the display of a Save Confirmation screen 70 on the mobile phone 6, as shown in Figure 5.

On selection of the Save button 76, the document data is transferred from the laptop 102 to the mobile phone 6 via Bluetooth.

In a further embodiment in accordance with the invention, a user prints a document stored on a mobile phone using the document data transfer system 2 illustrated in Figure 1. Referring to Figures 1 to 4 and 10 to 20, the user logs in to the document data transfer software application via the mobile phone 6, inputting (step S40 in Figure 10) a username 48 and password 50 via a Login screen 52 shown in Figure 3, for validation (842) via a cache stored in the mobile phone RAM 31.

On successful verification (S44) of the user, the Document Selection screen 58 shown in Figure 4 is displayed (S46) on the display 34 of the mobile phone 6. Using the keypad 36 of the mobile phone 6, the user selects (S50) a document from the list of icons 60 shown on the Document Selection screen 58.

As the name 62 of the document may not include enough detail for the user to identify (S48) the document, the user is provided with the option of previewing each document. Due to the size of mobile phone displays, it is difficult to read text on pages originally formatted for printed A4 or desktop PCs. High-resolution images for all pages within the documents could be produced but transferring and storing these images is more problematic. The images would need to be high resolution to ensure each page is readable and therefore the image data could be larger than the document itself.

In order to allow the user to identify (S48) a document, the document is rendered into several formats, namely plain text, summary, and thumbnails, which are stored as supplementary files. As illustrated in Figure 11, the supplementary files of plain text 124, summary 126, thumbnails 128, and other metadata (not shown), for example document attributes, are sent embedded in an XML file bundle 120, along with a document reference 130 and the document 122. The supplementary files may alternatively be sent as separate entities, referenced by the XML file bundle 120. The bundle 120 may be zipped during transfer and storage.

The Options soft key 66 in the Document Selection screen 58 provides the user with the option of previewing a selected document. The default state of the Preview screen 132 is a thumbnail view of the document, as shown in Figure 1 2a. Header 134 identifies the current view as Thumbnail'. A Menu soft key 136 provides the user with a menu 140, shown in Figure 13, with options to zoom in and out 142, switch pages 144 and to change to one of the other views 146.

Header 134 remains visible to allow the user to identify which view he is currently in.

Thumbnail images of the first two pages of the document aid the user in identifying the document, giving an idea of the layout and formatting. The user is able to zoom in from the default view shown in Figure 12a, for more detailed views as shown in Figures 12b and 12c, and the software allows the user to pan around the images where necessary, using keypad 36. Selection of the Exit soft key 138 returns the user to the Document Selection screen 58.

In plain text view 150, shown in Figure 14, the plain text 152 of at least part of the document is displayed, allowing the user to read the text of the document, which may not be possible with the thumbnail resolution provided. The mobile phone 6 is able to display the text in an easy-to-read format avoiding the need for the user to pan around the document. Header 154 identifies the view as plain text'.

Figure 15 shows the summary view 156, identified by header 158. A summary of the document 160 in plain text captures the body of the document in a condensed form by providing a précis, for example a computer-generated abstract, of its main points.

Once it has been verified that the selected icon relates to the document data intended for transfer to the MFP 4 for printing, the user brings (852) the mobile phone 6 into proximity with the NEC reader 26.

Once a Bluetooth connection is established between the mobile phone 6 and the MFP 4, the fact that a document is selected on the mobile phone 6 acts as a trigger for a Print From Mobile screen 162 to be displayed (854) on the mobile phone display 6, as shown in Figure 16. The Print From Mobile screen 162 has an easy-to-read Print button 164 and an Options soft key 166 and an Exit soft key 74. Selection of the Exit soft key 74 on the mobile phone display 34 returns the user to the Document Selection screen 58.

Selection of the Options soft key 166 gives the user the option of, inter alia, requesting the document is also saved to a directory previously assigned to the user and configured on the network. The Options soft key 166 also enables a user to change print settings.

A Print Settings screen 168 for setting (856) the print mode is shown in Figure 17. The default values 170 of Number of Copies 172, Page Layout 174, and Paper Size 176 are shown, with other print settings available on selection of Options soft key 178. The default values are set to userpreferred settings, but may be the values set as default for the selected document. Selection of the Done soft key 180 returns the user to the Print From Mobile screen 162. The user uses the keypad 36 to select the print setting he wishes to change and selects Alter Settings in the options menu under the Options soft key 178. Figure 18 shows the changing of the Paper Size print setting 176, with a choice of values given in a drop-down list 182. The values in the drop-down list 182 are those available with the MFP 4 of the document data transfer system 2. Only those available given the current status of the MFP 4 can be selected, with those options not available for selection being greyed out. As shown in Figure 18, A5 paper size 184 is not available for selection, indicating the MFP 4 has run out of A5 paper. The user is able to select from the default setting 170 of A4 and any other available option 186. Done soft key 180 saves the selected print setting values (S58). The print settings are sent by the mobile phone 6 to the MFP 4 with the document or document reference as a message header.

As a result of selecting (S60) the Print button 164 by depressing the centre of the navigation button 40, a premium SMS is sent by the mobile phone 6 to a charging centre (not shown). The document data transfersystem 2 waits for a response from the charging centre before proceeding; on receipt of a response, the document data is sent (S62), together with the print settings, from the mobile phone 6 to the MFP 4 via Bluetooth. The charging centre arranges for payment to be made via a user account. When the document data is a document (S64), the CPU 8 sends the document to the print engine 12 via I/F unit 20 for printing (S70). When the document data is a document reference (S66), the CPU 8 retrieves (S68) the document from the location identified by the reference, and sends the document to the print engine 12 for printing (S70), via the I/F unit 20.

During the transfer of the document or document reference to the MFP 4, a Printing Progress screen 188 is displayed on the mobile phone display 34, as shown in Figure 17. A printing progress bar 190 indicates the progress of the printing operation, and the document being printed is indicated by border 70 around icon 68, so that the user can easily see which document is being printed.

Options soft key 66 is greyed out and unavailable for selection. Selection of the Exit soft key 192 cancels the printing operation.

Once the transfer of document data is complete, the Bluetooth connection is broken (S72), and the Printing Complete screen 194, illustrated in Figure 18, is shown (S74) on the mobile phone display 34 with a message 196 indicating that the printing operation is complete. The mobile phone display 34 then returns to the Document Selection screen 58.

Having now described embodiments of the invention, numerous modifications will become apparent to the skilled person. For example, while the above embodiments have been described with the NFC reader detecting the presence of a mobile phone NFC tag and reading the MiFare ID, the NFC reader could read the mobile phone Bluetooth address from the mobile phone directly. This would remove the need for a database of MiFare lDs and Bluetooth UlDs, and new mobile phones could be used without requiring the database to be modified.

The NFC tag could be attached to an external or internal surface of the mobile phone, or may be separate from the mobile phone, for example in the form of a key fob.

The NFC reader could be located in any part of the projection system, such as the projection screen, rather than the laptop.

Alternatively, the NFC reader may be attached to the mobile phone and the NFC tag to the MFP or projection system.

The zoom function within the document view used for previewing documents on the mobile phone may be provided by several medium-resolution images at different scales or by one image with a method to scale being provided by an image manipulation system.

The projection system, MFP, or other display device could be used to preview contents ot a removable memory medium or any networked document store, prior to saving the document or reference to the mobile phone.

The wireless networking may use protocols other than Bluetooth.

When printing documents from a mobile phone, the documents may be located in a remote document store, for example a document management system. In this case, documents are browsed via a mobile phone client, communicating with the document store via General Packet Radio Service (GPRS), for example.

In addition or as an alternative to saving the document to a user's directory previously configured on the network, the system may be arranged to email a copy of the document to the user.

The document data transfer system may be arranged to automatically save a copy of the document to the user's directory in addition to printing the document; a Print & Save button rather than a Print button may be displayed in order to indicate the saving of a copy of the document to the user's directory.

If a document is selected on the mobile phone, and a document is previewed on the MFP when the NFC communication is established, the mobile phone displays a message requesting a user to confirm whether they wish to print or save a document.

If a user brings a mobile phone into proximity with the NFC reader on a device without a document selected or previewed on either device, an error screen may be displayed on the mobile phone, and the display then returns to the document selection screen.

Document data may be transferred between a mobile phone and a device other than an MFP, for example a personal computer. When transferring a document from the mobile phone to the computer, a window may appear on the computer display, showing the contents of a previously configured user directory into which the document is transferred.

A mobile phone identifier may be used by the system to retrieve information on user preferences in order to determine whether the default save setting should be a document or a reference to the document. This default may be overridden via an Options soft key or equivalent.

The system may provide only those options for which the user is authorised, for example black and white, and not colour, printing.

Security settings may be set at various levels, for example at the document level with each document having associated authorised mobile phones. Additional security may be provided by.a requirement for user verification at the mobile phone, MFP or other device, by means of biometric

data, for example.

While there is no need for the document data, for example supplementary files, to be stored by the MFP after transfer of the document data to the mobile phone, the data may be stored in a cache so that there is no need for regeneration the next time a user requests the same document.

The user may be charged for the document data transfer system in a variety of ways other than mobile dynamic processing. For example, the user may be required to pay prior to using the system. On payment, the user is given a login ID which allows access to the document data transfer system. Alternatively, the e-wallet function found on many mobile phones may be used.

Claims

WHAT IS CLAIMED IS: 1. A method of communicating between a first and

second device, comprising the steps of: - initiating a communication between the first device and second device in response to the first device being brought into proximity with the second device, and - displaying on a display of the first device a request for confirmation by a user of a direction of further communication between the first and second device, wherein the request displayed depends on a status of at least one of the devices.
2. A method according to Claim I wherein the further communication comprises transfer of document data.
3. A method according to Claim I or 2 wherein the status of the at least one device comprises whether document data is stored on the at least one device.
4. A method according to Claim 3 wherein the status of the at least one device is one of: no document data is stored, document data is stored, and document data is stored and selected.
5. A method according to Claim 2 or 3 wherein, in the case of no document data being stored on the first device, the request confirms whether document data is to be transferred from the second device to the first device.
6. A method according to Claim 2 or 3 wherein, in the case of no document data being stored on the first device and a document is selected on the second device, the request confirns whether document data is to be transferred from the second device to the first device.
7. A method according to Claim 2 or 3 wherein, in the case of document data being stored on the first device, the request confirms one of: data is to be transferred from the first device to the second device, data is to be transferred from the second device to the first device, and data is to be transferred from both devices to the other.
8. A method according to Claim 2 or 3 wherein, in the case of document data being stored and selected on the first device, the request confirms whether document data is to be transferred from the first device to the second device.
9. A method according to any of Claims 2 to 8 wherein the document data is at least one of the types: the document, a thumbnail of the document, plain text of at least part of the document, a summary of the document, a document reference enabling identification of a location of the document, and other metadata. (
10. A method according to any of Claims 2 to 9, wherein the completion of the document data transfer, when the direction of further communication is from the second device to the first device, is dependent on at least one of: a total storage space of the first device, available storage space of the first device, size of the document, type of the document, data transfer rate of a communication between the first and second devices, bandwidth of a communication between the first and second devices, a security setting of the document, and a security setting of the first device.
11. A method according to Claim 9 or 10 wherein the type of document data transferred, when the direction of further communication is from the second device to the first device, depends on at least one of a total storage space of the first device, available storage space of the first device, size of the document, type of the document, data transfer rate of a communication between the first and second devices, bandwidth of a communication between the first and second devices, a security setting of the document, and a security setting of the first device.
12. A method according to Claim 11 wherein the document data transferred from the second device to the first device is a type other than the document, when the size of the document is larger than the total memory size of the first device, available memory space of the first device or a predetermined size limit.
13. A method according to any of Claims 9 to 12 further comprising the step of displaying a request for confirmation by a user that a document reference is to be saved.
14. A method according to any of Claims 2 to 9 wherein the second device comprises a printer and the direction of document data transfer is from the first device to the second device, the method further comprising the step of transferring printer settings to the second device.
15. A method according to Claim 14 wherein the printer settings are userpreferred settings.
16. A method according to Claim 14 wherein the printer settings are predetermined for the transferred document.
17. A method according to Claim 14 further comprising the step of displaying on the display of the first device a request for input, by a user, of printer settings.
18. A method according to any preceding claim further comprising the step of obtaining an identification code from the first device and charging for a service via the identification code.
19. A method according to any preceding claim further comprising the steps of authenticating an identification code of the first device against a database of authorised identification codes and preventing the further communication in the case of unsuccessful authentication.
20. A method according to any preceding claim further comprising the step of transferring a document attribute from the second device to the first device.
21. A method according to any preceding claim further comprising the step of authenticating a user at the first or second device.
22. A method according to any preceding claim wherein the first communication is via a first connection and the further communication is via a second connection.
23. A method according to any preceding claim wherein the connection used for the further communication is dropped on completion of the further communication.
24. A software application for communicating between a first and second device, arranged su'h that when executed it performs the following steps: - initiating a communication between the first and second devices when the first device is brought into proximity with the second device; determining a status of at least one of the devices, and - displaying on a display of the first device a request for confirmation by a user of a direction of further communication between the first and second devices, wherein the request displayed depends on the determined status.
25. A software application according to Claim 24 wherein the application is stored on a storage medium.
26. A document data transfer system comprising: - a first and second device; - communication means for communicating between the first and second devices; - determining means for determining a status of at least one of the devices, and - display means for displaying a request for confirmation by a user of a direction of further communication between the first and second devices, wherein the request displayed depends on the determined status.
27. A method substantially as hereinbefore described, and with reference to the accompanying drawings.
28. A document data transfer system substantially as hereinbefore described, and with reference to the accompanying drawings.
29. A software application substantially as hereinbefore described, and with reference to the accompanying drawings.