KR100522597B1 - Method and apparatus for printing e-mail in peripheral - Google Patents

Abstract

A method and apparatus for printing an e-mail of a peripheral device is disclosed. This method, performed on a peripheral device capable of receiving e-mail and a host connected to the peripheral device, includes determining whether the e-mail has been received by the peripheral device, reading the e-mail when it is determined that the e-mail has been received; And, printing the body of the read e-mail. Determining whether the attached file exists in the read e-mail, determining whether the attached file is in printable form when it is determined that the attached file exists, and when determining that the attached file is not in printable file form, Converting the attached file into a printable file form by using and after determining that the attached file is in the form of printable file or converting the attached file, printing the attached file. Therefore, in preparation for a situation where a user of a peripheral device capable of receiving e-mail cannot print a file attached to an e-mail received by the peripheral device using the host, as well as the body of the e-mail received by the peripheral device, Attached files, which can have various forms, can also be automatically printed.

Description

Method and apparatus for printing e-mail of peripheral device {Method and apparatus for printing e-mail in peripheral}

The present invention relates to a peripheral device such as a printer connected to a host or a multifunction device including a printing function, and more particularly, to a method and apparatus for printing an e-mail of a peripheral device for printing an e-mail received from the peripheral device.

Peripherals connected to the host, such as printers or multifunction devices, can receive e-mail. At this time, the conventional e-mail printing method of the peripheral device can classify the body and the attached file from the received e-mail, and then can not print the classified attachment file, only the classified body. In this case, the attached file may have various forms. If the user of the peripheral device is not good at using the computer, the user may not print the attached file smoothly using the peripheral device.

SUMMARY OF THE INVENTION The present invention has been made in an effort to provide an electronic mail printing method of a peripheral device capable of printing not only the body of the electronic mail received at the peripheral device but also an attached file.

Another object of the present invention is to provide an electronic mail printing apparatus for a peripheral device capable of printing not only the body of the electronic mail received on the peripheral device but also an attached file.

In order to achieve the above object, an e-mail printing method according to the present invention performed in a peripheral device capable of receiving e-mail and a host connected to the peripheral device, determines whether the e-mail has been received by the peripheral device (a And (b) reading the e-mail, (c) printing the body of the read e-mail, and whether there is an attached file in the read e-mail. (D) determining, if it is determined that the attachment exists, and (e) determining whether the attachment is in printable form; and if it is determined that the attachment is not in printable form, the host (F) converting the attached file into a printable file type using the method and determining that the attached file is a printable file type It is the (f) after step, comprising the step of printing the attachment is preferred.

In order to achieve the above another object, an electronic mail printing apparatus according to the present invention performed in a peripheral device capable of receiving electronic mail and a host connected to the peripheral device, checks whether or not the existing electronic mail has been received by the peripheral device, A mail reception checker for outputting the checked result as a reception signal, a mail reader for reading the e-mail and outputting the read e-mail in response to the received signal, and whether there is an attached file in the read e-mail. An attachment file inspecting section for inspecting and outputting the checked result as a file signal, a file type checking section for checking whether the attached file is in printable form in response to the file signal, and outputting the checked result as a print signal; A file conversion agent for converting the attached file into a printable file form in response to the print signal And a printing unit for extracting and printing the body of the e-mail from the read e-mail and printing the attached file extracted from the e-mail or input from the file conversion control unit in response to the print signal. Do.

Hereinafter, an electronic mail printing method of a peripheral device according to the present invention will be described with reference to the accompanying drawings.

1 is a flowchart illustrating a method for printing an e-mail of a peripheral device according to the present invention, which includes receiving e-mail and printing a body (steps 10 to 14) and an attached file that may exist in the e-mail. Printing step (16th to 22nd steps).

The electronic mail printing method illustrated in FIG. 1 may be performed by a peripheral device (not shown) capable of receiving electronic mail and a host (not shown) connected to the peripheral device. In the e-mail printing method according to the present invention, first, it is determined whether the e-mail has been received by the peripheral device (step 10). If it is determined that the e-mail has not been received by the peripheral device, the flow proceeds to step 10.

However, if it is determined that the electronic mail has been received by the peripheral device, the electronic mail received by the peripheral device is read (step 12). After the twelfth step, the body of the read e-mail is printed (step 14).

After the fourteenth step, it is determined whether an attached file exists in the read e-mail (step 16). If it is determined that no attached file exists in the read e-mail, the e-mail printing method shown in Fig. 1 is terminated. However, if it is determined that the attached file exists in the read e-mail, it is determined whether the attached file is in printable form (step 18). Here, the file attached to the electronic mail may be a file of various types. Therefore, it is determined whether the attached file is a printable file type, for example, "* .prn".

If it is determined that the attached file is not in the form of a printable file, the attached file is converted into the printable file using a host (step 20). Here, the non-printable file type means a file type such as "* .doc" or "* .pdf".

FIG. 2 is a flowchart for explaining a preferred embodiment 20A according to the present invention with respect to the twentieth step shown in FIG. 1, including the steps of sending and opening an attached file (steps 40 and 42) and an attachment. Converting and transferring the file (44th and 46th steps).

Referring to FIG. 2, if it is determined that the attached file is not in the form of a printable file, the attached file is transmitted to the host (step 40). After step 40, in the host, the attachment is opened (step 42). After step 42, the attachment file opened in the host is converted into a printable file type (step 44). After step 44, an attachment file having the converted printable file type is received from the host, and the process proceeds to step 22 (step 46).

On the other hand, after step 20 or when it is determined that the attached file is in the form of a printable file, the attached file extracted from the electronic mail is printed (step 22). That is, the attached file having the printable form or converted into the printable form is printed (step 22).

Hereinafter, with reference to the accompanying drawings, the configuration and operation of the electronic mail printing apparatus of the peripheral device according to the present invention will be described as follows.

3 is a block diagram of an electronic mail printing apparatus of a peripheral device according to the present invention, which includes a mail reception checker 60, a mail reader 62, an attachment checker 64, a file type checker 66, and a file conversion controller. And a printing unit 70.

The electronic mail printing apparatus shown in FIG. 3 performs the electronic mail printing method shown in FIG. 1 and may be included in peripheral devices such as a printer and a multifunction apparatus capable of receiving electronic mail.

In order to perform the tenth step shown in FIG. 1, the mail reception inspecting unit 60 checks whether an electronic mail has been received by the peripheral device, and outputs the checked result to the mail reading unit 62 as a reception signal. To this end, the mail reception checker 60 checks whether an electronic mail is received through the input terminal IN1, and outputs the checked result as a reception signal.

In order to perform the twelfth step, the mail reading unit 62 reads the electronic mail in response to the received signal input from the mail receiving checking unit 60, and attaches the read electronic mail to the attached file checking unit 64 and the file type checking unit ( 66), and output to the file conversion control unit 68 and the printing unit 70, respectively. For example, when it is recognized that the electronic mail is received through the reception signal, the mail reading unit 62 reads the electronic mail through the input terminal IN1 and outputs the read electronic mail.

In order to perform the fourteenth step, the printing unit 70 extracts the body from the read electronic mail input from the mail reading unit 62, and prints the body of the extracted electronic mail.

In order to perform the sixteenth step, the attachment file checking unit 64 checks whether an attachment file exists in the read e-mail inputted from the mail reading unit 62, and uses the scanned result as a file signal to check the file type checking unit 66. Will output

In order to perform the eighteenth step, the file type checker 66 checks whether the attached file is in printable form in response to the file signal input from the attached file checker 64, and converts the checked result as a print signal as a file signal. Output to the control part 68 and the printing part 70, respectively. For example, if the file type checker 66 recognizes that the attached file exists in the e-mail through the file signal input from the attached file checker 64, the attachment file extracted from the read e-mail input from the mail reader 62 is received. This printable form is examined and a print signal is generated.

In order to perform the twentieth step, the file conversion control unit 68 outputs the attached file extracted from the read e-mail inputted from the mail reader 62 in response to the print signal input from the file type checker 66, and outputs the output terminal OUT1. Output to the host through the host, control the host to convert the attached file to the printable form, and input the converted file in the printable form through the input terminal IN2. For example, if it is recognized through the print signal that the attached file is not in the printable form, the file conversion control unit 68 causes the attached file to be converted into the printable form.

FIG. 4 is a block diagram of a preferred embodiment 68A of the file conversion control unit 68 shown in FIG. 3 according to the present invention. The file transfer unit 90, the control signal generator 92, and the file receiver 94 It consists of

The file conversion controller 68A shown in FIG. 4 serves to perform step 20A shown in FIG. 2. In other words, the file transfer unit 90 of the file conversion control unit 68A responds to the print signal input from the file type check unit 66 to perform the forty-sixth step. The attached file extracted from the file is transmitted to the host through the output terminal OUT3, and also output to the control signal generator 92. FIG. For example, if it is recognized that the attachment is not in a printable form through a print signal, the file transmission unit 90 extracts the attachment from the e-mail input from the mail reader 62 through the input terminal IN3, and extracts the attachment. The attached file is output to the host and the control signal generator 92, respectively.

In order to perform the 42nd, 44th, and 46th steps, the file conversion controller 68A shown in FIG. 4 may further include a control signal generator 92 and a file receiver 94. Here, the control signal generator 92 generates the first, second and third control signals, and outputs the generated first, second and third control signals to the host through the output terminal OUT4. That is, to perform the 42nd step, the control signal generator 92 generates a first control signal and outputs the first control signal through the output terminal OUT4 to the host. At this time, the host opens the attached file in response to the first control signal input from the control signal generator 92. In addition, in order to perform step 44, the control signal generator 92 generates a second control signal and outputs it to the host through the output terminal OUT4. At this time, the host converts the opened attachment file into a printable file form in response to the second control signal input from the control signal generator 92. In addition, in order to perform the forty sixth step, the control signal generator 92 generates a third control signal and outputs it to the host through the output terminal OUT4. At this time, the host transmits the printable converted file to the peripheral device in response to the third control signal input from the control signal generator 92. Accordingly, the file receiving unit 94 receives the printable converted file transmitted from the host through the input terminal IN4 and outputs the received file to the printing unit 70 through the output terminal OUT5.

In order to perform the twenty-second step, the printing unit 70 extracts from the read e-mail input from the mail reading unit 62 in response to the print signal input from the file type checking unit 66 or the file conversion control unit 68. Print the attached file input from the printer and output the printed result through the output terminal OUT2.

5 is a diagram illustrating an example of a connection relationship between a peripheral device and a host, and includes a peripheral device 100 and a host 102.

According to an embodiment of the present invention, the host 102 shown in FIG. 5 is connected to the peripheral device 100 by universal serial buses (USB) 114 and 116, and the peripheral device 100. ) Provides first and second USB ports 110 and 112 that are connected to the host 102 by universal serial buses 114 and 116. Here, the peripheral device 100 may include the e-mail printing apparatus shown in FIG. 3. In this case, the file transfer unit 90 of the peripheral device 100 transmits the attached file to the host 102 through the output terminal OUT3 through the first USB port 110, and the control signal generator 92 outputs the output file. The first, second, and third control signals are output to the host 102 through the first USB port 110 via the terminal OUT4. For example, to perform step 40, a key stroke is sent to the host 102 as if a key was input to the host 102 through the first USB port 110, and the host 102 is attached. Create an environment in which files can be received. At this time, in order to perform step 42, when the first control signal is generated through the first USB port 110 in the form of a key stroke and transmitted to the host 102, the host 102 receives the form of the received attachment. Open the attached file by running the corresponding application. In order to perform the 44th step, when the second control signal is generated through the first USB port 110 in the form of a key stroke and transmitted to the host 102, the host 102 starts printing the opened attachment. . That is, the host 102 converts the attached file into a form that can be printed by a peripheral device, for example, a printer, through the peripheral device driver installed in the window. At this time, in order to perform the 46th step, when the third control signal is generated through the first USB port 110 in the form of a key stroke and transmitted to the host 102, the host 102 removes the converted attachment file. 2 Transfers to the peripheral device through the USB port (112).

At this time, the file receiving unit 94 receives the converted attachment from the host 102 via the input terminal IN4 through the second USB port 112. That is, the first USB port 110 is recognized as a keyboard by an operating system (OS), for example, a window of the host 102, and the second USB port 112 is connected to the host 102. It is recognized like a printer by the operating format.

6 is a diagram illustrating another example of a connection relationship between a peripheral device and a host, and includes a peripheral device 130 and a host 132.

According to another embodiment of the present invention, the host 132 shown in FIG. 6 is connected by a peripheral device 130 and a universal serial bus (USB) 136, the peripheral device 130 is a universal serial bus 136 A third USB port 134 connected to the host 132 is provided. Here, the peripheral device 130 may include the e-mail printing apparatus shown in FIG. 3. In this case, the file transmitter 90 of the peripheral device 130 transmits the attached file to the host 132 through the output terminal OUT3 through the third USB port 134, and the control signal generator 92 outputs the output. The first, second and third control signals are output to the host 132 through the third USB port 134 via the terminal OUT4. At this time, the file receiving unit 94 receives the converted attachment from the host 132 via the input terminal IN4 through the third USB port 134. That is, the third USB port 134 is recognized as a keyboard in the operating system of the host 132 when the file transmitter 90 and the control signal generator 92 exchange data with the host 132. However, the third USB port 134 is recognized as a printer in operating mode of the host 132 when the file receiving unit 94 and the host 132 exchange data. That is, since the third USB port 134 reports its type to the host 132 at the time of plug and play, it is actually one peripheral device by the operation of the software of the peripheral device. The host 132 may be recognized as two devices. As a result, the third USB port 134 may be dynamically registered with a peripheral device as a keyboard or a peripheral device as needed.

Each of the first, second, and third USB ports 110, 112, and 134 illustrated in FIGS. 5 and 6 may be a slave USB port.

As described above, the method and apparatus for printing an e-mail of a peripheral device according to the present invention may allow a user of a peripheral device capable of receiving an e-mail to print a file attached to an e-mail received by the peripheral device using a host. In preparation for the situation, it is possible to automatically print not only the body of the e-mail received by the peripheral device but also an attached file which may have various forms.

1 is a flowchart for explaining an electronic mail printing method of a peripheral device according to the present invention.

2 is a flowchart for explaining a preferred embodiment of the present invention for the twentieth step shown in FIG.

3 is a block diagram of an e-mail printing apparatus of a peripheral device according to the present invention.

4 is a block diagram of a preferred embodiment of the present invention of the file conversion controller shown in FIG.

5 is a diagram illustrating an example of a connection relationship between a peripheral device and a host.

6 is a diagram illustrating another example of a connection relationship between a peripheral device and a host.

Claims (6)

A peripheral device capable of receiving e-mail and an e-mail printing method performed by a host connected to the peripheral device, (a) reading the received e-mail and printing a body of the read e-mail; (b) determining whether an attached file present in the read e-mail is in printable form; (c) if it is determined that the attachment is not in a printable form, converting the attachment into a printable form using the host; And (d) determining that the attached file is in printable form, or after the step (c), printing the attached file. The method of claim 1, wherein step (c) (c1) if it is determined that the attachment is not in the form of a printable file, transmitting the attachment to the host; (c2) at the host, opening the attachment; And (c3) at the host, converting the opened attachment into the form of a printable file; And (c4) receiving the attached file having the converted printable file form from the host, and proceeding to step (d). A peripheral device capable of receiving e-mail and an e-mail printing device performed by a host connected to the peripheral device, A file type checker that reads the received e-mail, checks whether the attached file present in the read e-mail is in printable form, and outputs the checked result as a print signal; A file conversion control unit for converting the attached file into a printable form in response to the print signal; And And a printing unit which extracts and prints the body of the e-mail from the read e-mail, and prints the attachment or the converted attachment that is extracted from the read e-mail in response to the print signal. E-mail printing device of peripherals. The method of claim 3, wherein the file conversion control unit A file transmitter which transmits the attached file to the host in response to the print signal; A control signal generator for generating first, second and third control signals and outputting the first and second control signals to the host; And A file receiving unit which receives the printable converted file from the host and outputs the received file to the printing unit; The host opens the attachment in response to the first control signal, converts the open attachment in the form of the printable file in response to the second control signal, and in response to the third control signal. And an attached file converted to be printable to the peripheral device. The device of claim 4, wherein the host is connected to the peripheral device by universal serial buses (USBs), the peripheral device having first and second USB ports connected to the host via the universal serial buses. , The file transmitter transmits the attachment to the host through the first USB port, and the control signal generator transmits the first, second, and third control signals to the host through the first USB port. And the file receiving unit receives the converted attachment from the host through the second USB port. The device of claim 4, wherein the host is connected to the peripheral device via a universal serial bus (USB), and the peripheral device has a third USB port connected to the host through the universal serial bus. The file transmitter transmits the attached file to the host through the third USB port, and the control signal generator transmits the first, second and third control signals to the host through the third USB port. Outputting the file receiving unit to receive the converted attachment from the host through the third USB port.