JP4434538B2 - Print processing apparatus, control method, recording medium, and control program - Google Patents

Description

[0001]
BACKGROUND OF THE INVENTION
The present invention relates to a print processing apparatus capable of receiving an e-mail from an external device, and in particular, print processing or editing of the contents of an address storage means using an address storage means for storing at least one registered e-mail address. The present invention relates to a print processing apparatus for controlling the print processing apparatus, a control method for controlling the print processing apparatus, a recording medium storing a control program for controlling the print processing apparatus, and a control program for controlling the print processing apparatus.
[0002]
[Prior art]
2. Description of the Related Art Conventionally, personal computers (PCs) are connected to a network such as the Internet and send and receive electronic mail between computers. This e-mail is sent and received according to an e-mail address owned by each user. Then, after the transmitted e-mail is temporarily stored in a mail server in the Internet, the mail server corresponds to the user ID based on the user ID and password set in the PC in advance. An e-mail with an e-mail address is transferred to a PC.
[0003]
Also known is a printing apparatus that uses the above-described electronic mail system to transmit and receive print data, develop image data, and perform printing. For example, as proposed in Japanese Patent Laid-Open No. 8-242326, a facsimile apparatus that communicates image data configured in an e-mail format by e-mail via the Internet is considered.
[0004]
In a printing apparatus using such an electronic mail system, it is conceivable to have an address book in which a plurality of electronic mail addresses can be registered in order to manage electronic mail in the printing apparatus. For example, as proposed in Japanese Patent Application No. 9-283409, a printing apparatus having a mechanism for automatically registering an e-mail address is known. In this printing apparatus, when the e-mail data is received, the address extraction unit in the address book management unit extracts the e-mail address of the transmission source from the header of the e-mail data. Then, the address registration means in the address book management unit stores the e-mail address in the address book if the extracted e-mail address is not registered in the address book.
[0005]
Further, as an address book management method, a configuration in which the functionality as an address book is expanded by defining an attribute corresponding to an e-mail address is considered. In Japanese Patent Laid-Open No. 2000-307630, for each piece of address information registered in the address book, attribute data for identifying whether or not group registration is performed is provided, and group registration is performed based on the attribute data for group registered address information. An electronic mail apparatus has been proposed that has a mechanism for clearly indicating whether or not a group has been registered and the number of registered addresses by displaying the fact that it has been identifiable and further displaying the number of destinations registered in a group.
[0006]
[Problems to be solved by the invention]
However, due to the characteristic that electronic mail is mainly used on the Internet, printing data transmitted and received in an electronic mail format is often sent via the Internet in a printing apparatus using a conventional electronic mail system. In such a case, it is conceivable that the printing apparatus receives an electronic mail having contents that are not generally desired such as spam mail, and performs printing based on the electronic mail.
[0007]
In particular, in the Internet environment, it is impossible to restrict access unless security such as a firewall is established, and even when security is established between the Internet and a LAN (Local Area Network) environment, e-mail is not accepted. Often sent and received without restriction.
[0008]
The present invention has been made in consideration of such circumstances, and an object of the present invention is to send and use an email whose contents are not desired by the user of the printing apparatus, such as spam mail, to the printing apparatus. It is an object of the present invention to provide an electronic mail printing apparatus that prevents a user from performing undesired printing and is excellent in operability.
[0009]
A configuration is also conceivable in which the e-mail printing apparatus has an address book, and authentication of print processing and control processing is performed depending on whether the e-mail address of the e-mail transmission source is registered in the address book. However, in such a configuration, a plurality of address books, such as an address book that registers e-mail addresses that are allowed to be printed or an address book that registers e-mail addresses that are permitted to edit the address book, are e-mailed. Must be in the printing device.
[0010]
For example, as shown in FIG. 12, when the printing apparatus 1201 determines permission to receive print data by e-mail based on the e-mail address of the transmission source, the e-mail address for permitting printing is registered. The print control address book 1203 is required. Further, when an address book editing processing command such as registration or deletion of an e-mail address can be received by e-mail, an address book manager address book 1204 for registering an e-mail address that permits editing of the address book. Is required.
[0011]
As a result, the printing apparatus 1201 has two address books, a print control address book 1203 and an address book manager address book 1204. Therefore, when the address book manager manages the address book, the management of the e-mail address cannot be performed in a unified manner, and labor is required.
[0012]
Accordingly, the present invention has been made in consideration of such circumstances, and an object of the present invention is to provide a print processing apparatus that is excellent in the convenience of address book management.
[0013]
[Means for Solving the Problems]
A print processing apparatus according to the present invention is a print processing apparatus capable of receiving an e-mail from an external apparatus, stores at least one registered e-mail address, and indicates a first attribute indicating the first attribute of the address. Address storage means for storing the attribute information and second attribute information indicating the second attribute of the address, and whether or not the address of the transmission source of the received e-mail is stored in the address storage means. A determination means for determining, a print determination means for determining whether or not a transmission source address of the received e-mail is permitted based on the first attribute information, and the second attribute information; Based on the editing determination means for determining whether or not the address of the sender of the received e-mail is permitted to edit the contents of the address storage means, and the received e-mail is printed It is determined by the determination means that the data to be processed and the address of the sender of the e-mail is stored in the address storage means, and the address of the sender of the e-mail is permitted to be printed. If it is determined by the print determination means, a print control means for performing a printing process based on the data to be printed, and an editing instruction for the received e-mail to edit the contents of the address storage means. And the determination means determines that the address of the e-mail sender is stored in the address storage means, and the address of the e-mail sender permits editing of the contents of the address storage means Editing to edit the contents of the address storage means in accordance with the editing command if the editing determination means And the first attribute information indicates that the registered address is permitted to perform print processing or that the registered address is not permitted to perform print processing, and the second attribute information The attribute information indicates that the registered address is permitted to edit the contents of the address storage means or that the registered address is not permitted to edit the contents of the address storage means. To do.
[0014]
In addition, a print data generation unit that generates print data based on image data attached to the received e-mail in a file format, and a recording medium based on the print data generated by the print data generation unit An image forming unit for forming an image, and the print control unit has data to be printed on the received e-mail, and an address of the e-mail transmission source is stored in the address storage unit. If it is determined that the e-mail transmission source address is permitted to be printed, the print data generating unit generates print data and the image forming unit forms an image. It is characterized by that.
[0015]
In addition, when it is determined that the transmission source address of the received electronic mail is not stored in the address storage means, the electronic mail has a discarding means for discarding the electronic mail.
[0016]
In addition, the address storage means stores a registered e-mail address in the print processing apparatus. printing Data deletion or in the print processing device printing Third attribute information indicating whether or not acquisition of information related to data is permitted is stored, and the print processing apparatus determines that the address of the transmission source of the received e-mail is based on the third attribute information. In the print processing apparatus printing Data deletion or in the print processing device printing A data control determining means for determining whether or not acquisition of information relating to data is permitted; and it is determined that a transmission source address of the received e-mail is stored in the address storage means, and the e-mail The address of the sender is in the print processing device printing Data deletion or in the print processing device printing If it is determined that the acquisition of information regarding the data is permitted, printing Data deletion or in the print processing device printing And data control means for acquiring information about data.
[0017]
In addition, it has attachment determination means for determining whether or not image data is attached in a file format to the received e-mail, and the print control means determines that the image data is attached by the attachment determination means. If it is, the printing process is performed based on the image data.
[0018]
In addition, the image processing apparatus includes an image expansion determination unit that determines whether image data attached to the received e-mail in a file format can be expanded, and the print control unit can expand the image data. If it is determined by the image development determining means, a printing process is performed based on the image data.
[0019]
The control method according to the present invention is a control method for receiving an electronic mail from an external device and controlling the print processing device in accordance with a command included in the electronic mail. Address storage means for storing at least one address and storing first attribute information indicating a first attribute of the address and second attribute information indicating a second attribute of the address; The attribute information 1 indicates that the registered address is permitted to be printed, or the registered address is not permitted to be printed. The second attribute information is that the registered address is The control method indicates that editing of the contents of the address storage means is permitted or that the registered address is not permitted to edit the contents of the address storage means, A determination step of determining whether or not the address of the source of the received electronic mail is stored in the address storage means, and the address of the source of the received electronic mail based on the first attribute information A print determination step for determining whether or not printing processing is permitted, and based on the second attribute information, the address of the source of the received e-mail is permitted to edit the contents of the address storage means. An edit determination step for determining whether or not the received e-mail has data to be printed, and the determination step if the address of the transmission source of the e-mail is stored in the address storage means And when the print determination step determines that the address of the sender of the e-mail is permitted to be printed, the print is performed. A print processing step for performing a print process based on the received data; an received e-mail having an edit command for editing the contents of the address storage means; and a sender address of the e-mail is the address storage If it is determined in the determination step that it is stored in the means, and if it is determined in the editing determination step that the address of the sender of the e-mail is permitted to edit the contents of the address storage means, the editing An editing step of editing the contents of the address storage means in accordance with a command.
[0020]
The recording medium according to the present invention is a recording medium storing a control program for receiving an e-mail from an external device and controlling the print processing apparatus in accordance with a command included in the e-mail. An address storing unit stores at least one address of the received electronic mail, first attribute information indicating a first attribute of the address, and second attribute information indicating a second attribute of the address A storage step; a determination step for determining whether or not a source address of the received e-mail is stored in the address storage means; and transmission of the received e-mail based on the first attribute information A print determination step for determining whether or not the original address is permitted to be printed, and an e-mail received based on the second attribute information An edit determination step for determining whether or not the address of the transmission source is permitted to edit the contents of the address storage means; the received e-mail has data to be printed; and the e-mail transmission source If it is determined in the determination step that the address is stored in the address storage means, and the print determination step determines that the address of the transmission source of the e-mail is permitted to be printed, the print A print control step for controlling the printing process based on the data to be performed; the received e-mail has an edit command for editing the contents of the address storage means; and the address of the sender of the e-mail is It is determined in the determination step that the address is stored in the address storage means, and the address of the sender of the email is the address. If the editing determination step determines that editing of the contents of the address storage means is permitted, the computer executes an editing step of editing the contents of the address storage means in accordance with the editing instruction. .
[0021]
The control program according to the present invention is a control program for receiving an e-mail from an external device and controlling the print processing apparatus according to a command included in the e-mail, and having at least one registered e-mail address; An address storage step of storing in the address storage means first attribute information indicating the first attribute of the address and second attribute information indicating the second attribute of the address; and transmission of the received e-mail A determination step for determining whether or not the original address is stored in the address storage means, and whether or not the address of the transmission source of the received e-mail is permitted to be printed based on the first attribute information A print determination step for determining whether or not a transmission source address of the received e-mail is stored in the address storage based on the second attribute information. An edit determination step for determining whether or not editing of the contents of the column is permitted, and the received e-mail has data to be printed, and the address of the e-mail transmission source is stored in the address storage means If it is determined in the determination step that it is stored, and if it is determined in the print determination step that the address of the sender of the e-mail is permitted to be printed, printing is performed based on the data to be printed. A printing control step for controlling processing; and the received e-mail has an editing instruction for editing the contents of the address storage means, and the address of the e-mail transmission source is stored in the address storage means Is determined by the determination step, and the address of the sender of the e-mail is permitted to edit the contents of the address storage means. If it is determined by said edit decision step and that, in accordance with the edit command, characterized in that to execute the editing step of editing the contents of said address storage means to a computer.
[0022]
Hereinafter, embodiments of the present invention will be described with reference to the drawings.
[0023]
FIG. 1 is a diagram showing an overall configuration of an e-mail printing system assumed in the present embodiment. A personal computer 1 that is an e-mail transmission side is communicably connected to a mail server 3 and a network router 4 via a local area network (LAN) 2.
[0024]
In the present embodiment, the printing apparatus 5 is assumed as the e-mail receiving side. The printing apparatus 5 that is an e-mail receiving side is a laser printer, a digital multi-function peripheral, or the like, and can communicate with an in-house mail server 7 or a network router 8 via the LAN 6 in the same manner as the personal computer 1 on the transmitting side. It is connected.
[0025]
The personal computer 1 and the printing apparatus 5 are configured to be able to send and receive e-mails via the Internet 9 via the network router 4 and the network router 8 connected to the LAN 2 and LAN 6 respectively. The mail server 3 and the mail server 7 fulfill the functions of a POP3 server (Post Office Protocol Server) and an SMTP server (Simple Mail Transfer Protocol Server).
[0026]
Next, the configuration of the personal computer 1 on the transmission side will be described. FIG. 2 is a diagram illustrating a configuration of the personal computer 1. The personal computer 1 is configured to be able to send an e-mail with a configuration as shown in FIG. 2, for example.
[0027]
The personal computer 1 includes a CPU 101 that controls the operation of the entire PC, a ROM 102 that stores various programs and data for controlling the operation of the CPU 101, a RAM 103 that includes the main memory and work area of the CPU 101, and a mouse 106. A mouse controller 105 that controls input from the mouse 106, a keyboard 108, a keyboard controller 107 that controls input from the keyboard 108 and a pointing device (not shown), a CRT display 110, and a CRT display 110. A hard disk drive for storing various programs and data (boot program, various applications, mail editing software, network management program, etc.) 112 and a floppy (registered trademark) disk drive 113, a disk controller 111 for controlling access to the hard disk drive 112 and the floppy disk drive 113, and the personal computer 1 via the LAN 2 to another PC or mail server 3 (see FIG. 1) and a network interface card 114 for bidirectionally exchanging data, and these components are connected to each other via a system bus 104 so that they can communicate with each other.
[0028]
Next, the configuration of the printing apparatus 5 that receives an e-mail will be described. FIG. 3 is a diagram illustrating a configuration of the printing apparatus 5. The main configuration of the printing apparatus 5 is, for example, as shown in FIG. 3, a CPU 201 that controls operation of the entire device, a ROM 202 that stores various programs and data for operation control in the CPU 201, A RAM 203 including a main memory and a work area, an engine 204 for a device function (printer function, copy function, etc.), an engine controller 205 for controlling driving of the engine 204, various operation instructions from a user, An operation panel 206 for displaying information, a panel controller 207 for controlling input / output on the operation panel 206 to manage the operation panel 206, various programs (address book management program, address determination program, etc.) and data (boot program, Address book, mail editing software, To exchange data with the mail server 7 via the LAN 6, the hard disk drive 208 for storing the network management program, the disk controller 209 for controlling access to the hard disk drive 208, the non-volatile RAM 210, and the LAN 6. Network interface card 211.
[0029]
When the e-mail is received, the e-mail recognition unit 212 identifies whether image data is attached to the e-mail. It also has processing means for recognizing the description of the body of the e-mail and notifying the CPU 201 of an address book editing command included in the e-mail.
[0030]
The address book management unit 213 performs management processing related to the e-mail address registered in the address book 216. In particular, it has processing means for displaying the email address registered in the address book 216 and notifying the CPU 201 of the selected email address as the destination email address. The address book management unit 213 includes an address extraction unit 214, an address editing unit 215, and an attribute reading unit 217.
[0031]
Here, when the e-mail data is received, the address extracting unit 214 extracts the e-mail address of the transmission source indicated in the header of the e-mail data. The address editing unit 215 also edits the address book when the e-mail recognition unit 212 determines that there is an address book editing command, for example, registration or deletion to the address book, with respect to the content of the received e-mail message. I do.
[0032]
In this embodiment, the address book 216 is stored in the hard disk device 208, and stores an e-mail address registered in the address book. As an alternative storage device for the hard disk device 208, a RAM, an EEPROM, or the like can be used. These components are connected to each other via a system bus 217 so that they can communicate with each other.
[0033]
The attribute reading unit 217 is a unit for reading an attribute value corresponding to an e-mail address registered in the address book 216.
[0034]
<Print e-mail>
Next, a first embodiment will be described with respect to the operation of the printing apparatus configured as described above. The operation in which the printing apparatus performs transmission / reception of image data in the e-mail format via the LAN and the Internet is the same as the conventional one, and the description thereof is omitted. Here, an e-mail address determination by the address book management unit 213 and a method of using the address book 216 will be described.
[0035]
FIG. 4 is a flowchart showing an e-mail printing process performed by the printing apparatus 5. First, as shown in FIG. 1, the network interface card 211 of the printing apparatus 5 determines whether or not an e-mail addressed to its own apparatus is periodically delivered to the mail server 7 connected to the LAN 6. Go to check. At this time, the network interface card 211 may request an e-mail addressed to the e-mail address assigned to the printing apparatus 5, or an e-mail set or input from the operation panel 206 or the like You may request an email with the address as the destination.
[0036]
If an e-mail addressed to the device itself has arrived, the e-mail data is read into the transmission / reception data storage area provided in the RAM 203 (step S401). When the e-mail is received in this way, the e-mail recognition unit 212 determines whether or not the received e-mail is image data (step S402). This determination process will be described with reference to FIG.
[0037]
If it is determined in step S402 that the received e-mail is image data, an address identification process is performed. In the address identification process, first, the address extraction unit 214 of the address book management unit 213 analyzes the header in the received e-mail data, and extracts the e-mail address of the transmission source (step S403).
[0038]
FIG. 6 is a diagram illustrating an example of the header of the e-mail data. Among these, the character string “hiroki@abcxyz.co.jp” shown after “From:” indicates the e-mail address of the transmission source. The header format shown in this figure is defined as an Internet mail standard. Therefore, the e-mail address of the transmission source can always be extracted from any e-mail.
[0039]
Further, since only the “From:” field is required to extract the source e-mail address, the address book management unit 213 does not need to analyze other fields or information of the mail text.
[0040]
In step S <b> 403, the address book management unit 213 stores the extracted e-mail address in the space of the RAM 203. Subsequently, the address book management unit 213 compares the e-mail address extracted in step S403 with all e-mail addresses stored in the address book 216 (step S404), and the e-mail address extracted in step S403. Is registered in the address book 216 (step S405).
[0041]
In step S <b> 404, the address book management unit 213 reads a list of e-mail addresses registered in the address book 216.
[0042]
FIG. 7 shows the configuration of the address book 216. In the address book 216, one or more email address groups 1001 are arranged. Each e-mail address constituting the e-mail address group 1001 is indicated by 1001a to 1001z. The attribute information corresponding to the mail addresses 1001a to 1001z is 1002 to 1004. Here, for each mail address, there are a print attribute 1002, an address book edit attribute 1003, and a print data control attribute 1004.
[0043]
The print attribute 1002 is an attribute indicating whether or not the corresponding e-mail address can be printed. The parameter is “Yes” or “NO”.
[0044]
The address book edit attribute 1003 is an attribute indicating whether or not the corresponding e-mail address has the authority to edit the address book 216. The parameter is “Yes” or “No”.
[0045]
The print data control attribute 1004 is an attribute indicating whether or not the corresponding e-mail address has the authority to control the print data, such as deleting the print data held in the printing apparatus 5. The parameter is “Yes” or “No”.
[0046]
In FIG. 7, the address book 216 is arranged with the e-mail addresses 1001a to 1001z on the vertical axis (row direction) and the e-mail addresses 1001a to 1001z on the horizontal axis (column direction) for the description of this embodiment. The attribute information corresponding to each is arranged. However, the format actually stored in the hard disk device 208 is not particularly dependent on this. For example, it may be stored in a binary file format instead of a text file, or an identification number may be added as an address book configuration instead of an e-mail address. In addition, the e-mail address may be encrypted to improve security.
[0047]
The mail address list read by the address book management unit 213 is arranged in the space of the RAM 203 serving as a work area. Next, in step S405, it is determined whether or not the source e-mail address is registered in the address book 216. The address book management unit 213 compares the e-mail address of the transmission source temporarily stored in the RAM 203 with the e-mail address list registered in the address book 216 to thereby obtain the e-mail address of the transmission source. It is determined whether the same electronic mail address is registered in the address book 216.
[0048]
Then, it is determined whether or not the e-mail address extracted in step S403 is registered in the address book 216 (step S406). If the e-mail address extracted in step S403 is registered in the address book 216, the process proceeds to determining whether or not the e-mail address of the e-mail transmission source has the authority to perform print processing. .
[0049]
Specifically, first, the attribute reading unit 217 reads the attribute information corresponding to the transmission source e-mail address temporarily stored in the RAM 203 from the address book 216 (step S407). For example, when the transmission source e-mail address is “hiroki@abcxyz.co.jp (1001a)”, the corresponding attribute information is 1002a, 1003a, and 1004a. Among them, since the attribute indicating the authority of the printing process is 1002a, the attribute reading unit 217 reads the printing attribute 1002a.
[0050]
Then, based on the read attribute value of the print attribute, it is determined whether printing of the e-mail is permitted (step S408). Since the parameter of the print attribute 1002a is either “Yes” or “No”, if “Yes”, it is determined that the e-mail address has the authority to perform print processing, and is “No”. If so, it is determined that the e-mail address is not authorized to print. In FIG. 7, since the attribute value of the print attribute 1002a is “Yes”, the address book management unit 213 has the authority to perform print processing on the sender's e-mail address “hiroki@abcxyyz.co.jp (1001a)”. Recognize that there is.
[0051]
If printing of the received e-mail is permitted, the process proceeds to step S407. Then, the engine controller 205 performs expansion processing (rendering) on the image data of the e-mail (step S409), and the engine 204 performs printing on paper based on the print data generated by the expansion processing (step S410). Detailed description of image data development processing and print data output processing is omitted, but is basically the same as the processing method of an existing laser printer or digital multifunction peripheral.
[0052]
If it is determined in step S408 that the e-mail address of the transmission source is not authorized to print, the image data of the e-mail is not expanded and printed. The e-mail recognition unit 212 discards the e-mail data (step S412).
[0053]
If it is determined in step S406 that the e-mail address extracted in step S403 is not registered in the address book 216, the e-mail image data is not developed and printed. The e-mail recognition unit 212 discards the e-mail data (step S412).
[0054]
Next, an operation when the received electronic mail is not image data in step S402 will be described. If the e-mail is not image data, the e-mail recognition unit 212 identifies whether the e-mail in the address book is a control command (step S411).
[0055]
Details will be described in the following embodiments, but in the present invention, the printing apparatus 5 can be controlled by an electronic mail having a uniquely defined format. That is, an administrator who wants to control the printing apparatus 5 can control the printing apparatus 5 by posting an e-mail to the printing apparatus 5 from a remote place without going to the place where the printing apparatus 5 exists. The control of the printing apparatus 5 includes, for example, deletion of print data held in the printing apparatus 5 and editing of the address book 216.
[0056]
FIG. 8 shows an example of the format of e-mail data for address book registration. The function of registering a new e-mail address in the address book 216 is one of the control functions of the printing apparatus 5. As shown in FIG. 8, e-mail data is roughly divided into a header part and a body part, and the data format of the body part can be determined by the header part.
[0057]
The character string “Content-type: text / plain” in the header portion indicates that the body is character code data. In addition, the registration process to the address book requires that the text is character code data. If the e-mail recognition unit 212 confirms the content of the e-mail data in the format as described above and recognizes that it is a control command to the printing apparatus 5, the e-mail recognition unit 212 proceeds to the control operation of the printing apparatus 5.
[0058]
In step S409, if the e-mail recognition unit 212 determines that the received e-mail is not a control command to the printing apparatus 5, the e-mail is not image data and is not a control command. The e-mail recognition unit 212 discards the e-mail data (step S410).
[0059]
Next, the process of step S402 will be described in detail. FIG. 5 is a flowchart showing a determination process for determining whether an electronic mail is image data. First, the e-mail recognition unit 212 identifies whether or not an attached file exists in the received e-mail (step S501). In the case of an electronic mail to which image data such as Gif format or Jpeg format is attached, “Content-Type: multipart / mixed” or the like is described in the header. Therefore, based on this description, it is determined whether image data is attached.
[0060]
If the e-mail recognition unit 212 determines that the attached file does not exist in the received e-mail, the process of step S411 in FIG. 4 is performed to identify whether the e-mail is an address book control command. Migrate to
[0061]
If it is determined here that an attached file exists, the e-mail recognition unit 212 performs a process for recognizing the format of the attached file (step S502). Then, the e-mail recognition unit 212 determines whether or not the file attached to the e-mail has a file format that can be expanded by the printing apparatus 5 (for example, a format that allows image expansion, such as PostScript format or Tiff format). Is determined (step S503).
[0062]
If it is determined that the file format can be expanded, the process proceeds to processing for recognizing an e-mail address (step S403). If it is determined in step S503 that the attached file has a file format that cannot be expanded by the printing apparatus 5, the process proceeds to processing for deleting the e-mail and the attached file (step S412).
[0063]
As described above, according to the above-described embodiment, when image data by e-mail is received, the e-mail address of the transmission source is automatically recognized and compared with the e-mail address registered in the address book 216. Only when the e-mail address of the transmission source is registered in the address book 216 and the attribute of the e-mail address has an attribute value that permits printing, the image data is expanded and the printing process is performed. Is called. Accordingly, it is possible to prevent an electronic mail having an undesired content such as a spam mail from being sent to the printing apparatus and causing the printing apparatus user to perform an undesired printing.
[0064]
In this way, it is determined whether or not the e-mail address of the e-mail transmission source is registered in the address book, and further, it is determined whether or not the e-mail address of the e-mail address is permitted to be printed. If the e-mail data is not registered or the print permission is not granted, discarding this e-mail data can prevent unnecessary e-mail such as spam e-mail from being unnecessarily printed. . This can prevent unnecessary consumption of consumables such as ink and toner and paper.
[0065]
Further, by determining whether the image data attached to the e-mail can be expanded by the printing apparatus, it is possible to prevent image data that cannot be expanded from being forcibly processed. This also prevents the consumption of consumables and paper due to wasteful printing.
[0066]
In addition, by providing attribute information corresponding to each e-mail address in the address book, there is no need to have two address books, a print control address book and an address book manager address book. Management becomes easier.
[0067]
<Control of printing device>
Here, an editing process of the address book 216 in the printing apparatus 5 will be described as an example of a control operation of the printing apparatus using electronic mail. FIG. 8 will be described again. FIG. 8 shows an example of the format of e-mail data for controlling the printing apparatus. As shown in this figure, the e-mail is roughly divided into a header and a body, and the contents of the editing command can be seen at the header portion.
[0068]
The header part of FIG. 8 has “Content-type: text / plain”. This indicates that the text part of FIG. 8 is character code data, and in this embodiment, the text needs to be character code data.
[0069]
“Subject: #AddAddress” in the header part is an instruction to newly register an e-mail address in the address book 216, and indicates an instruction to register the mail address in the body part of FIG. 7 in the address book 216. . The subject of this e-mail is usually placed after “Subject:”. However, this printing apparatus interprets it as an address book editing command. The character string “#” that follows the character string “Subject:” is a special character string, and indicates that this is an editing command for the address book 216, distinct from the title.
[0070]
In the body part, an e-mail address to be registered is described, and a character string “Begin” is defined at the top. The body part is further configured by a character string “Begin” + a body message (information part) + a character string “End”. When the e-mail recognition unit 212 recognizes the body part, the part between the character string “Begin” and the character string “End” is recognized as command information.
[0071]
That is, the format of the control instruction e-mail in this printing apparatus is composed of a subject part and a body part, each of which represents a control operation in the subject part, and additional information necessary for the control operation in the body part. Will be described.
[0072]
FIG. 9 is a diagram illustrating an example of a syntax list of control commands for controlling the printing apparatus 5. The control e-mail consists of a subject part and a body part of the e-mail, and a control command is entered in the subject part. The types include: #GetAddressBook (801a), #AddAddress (802a), #ClearAddressBook (803a), #DeleteAddress (804a), #Help (805a), #AddProc (806a), #Dt (806a), #Dt 808a), #GetJob (809a), and #DeleteJob (810a). Some control commands have supplementary information described in the body part of the electronic mail.
[0073]
The operation by each control command is as follows. The #GetAddressBook command in 801a means that a list of all users (email addresses) registered in the address book 216 of the printing apparatus 5 is transmitted as a reply mail for the received electronic mail. This command does not require a body part (801b). Therefore, all contents described in the body part are ignored.
[0074]
#AddAddress of 802a is a command for adding the e-mail address specified in the body part to the address book 216. The body portion 802 b contains a list of e-mail addresses that are desired to be registered in the address book 216.
[0075]
A #ClearAddressBook in 803a is a command for deleting the address book. When the printing apparatus 5 receives this command, all the contents of the address book 216 are deleted. This command does not require a body part (803b).
[0076]
#DeleteAddress of 804a is a command for deleting the selected electronic mail address from the address book 216. The body part contains a list of e-mail addresses (804b).
[0077]
The #Help command in 805a is an e-mail help service, which gives the user or administrator an appropriate syntax for using the e-mail system. The contents of the help are sent and notified as a reply mail of the received electronic mail.
[0078]
A #AddProc command 806 a is an instruction command for storing a command command group for batch processing the command commands indicated by 801 a to 808 a in the hard disk device 208 of the printing apparatus 5. Batch processing means that the printing apparatus of the present invention processes command commands in a batch.
[0079]
That is, when batch processing is not used, for example, after the user of the printing apparatus 5 receives a list of all users registered in the address book 216 of the printing apparatus 5, a specific e-mail address is stored in the address book. When the user wants to add to the H.216, the electronic mail in which the #GetAddressBook (801a) instruction is described is posted on the printing apparatus 5, and then the electronic mail in which the #AddAddress (802a) instruction is described is posted on the printing apparatus 5. In addition, two emails must be posted. However, by performing batch processing using the #AddProc (806a) command, the #GetAddressBook (801a) command and the #AddAddress (802a) command can be processed by a single e-mail.
[0080]
The supplementary information 806b corresponding to the #AddProc command 806a describes a list of instruction commands to be collectively processed. As supplementary information corresponding to the #AddProc command 806a, first, unique alphanumeric characters called ProcedureID are described. This is for the e-mail recognition unit 212 to identify a specific command from among a plurality of batch processing commands stored in the hard disk device 208 when recognizing batch processing. Therefore, the content must be unique. In this embodiment, ProcedureID is defined as alphanumeric characters. However, this may be only a number, for example, or its size may be determined. Any content that can be identified by the e-mail recognition unit 212 is allowed.
[0081]
Subsequently, instruction commands (801a to 808a) and supplementary information (801b to 808b) corresponding thereto are arranged. As described above, since the feature of batch processing is that a plurality of command commands are processed at once, a plurality of command commands (801a to 808a) described in the body portion 806b may be described. As a matter of course, a plurality of supplementary information (801b to 808b) corresponding to the command command (801a to 808a) is allowed to be registered.
[0082]
#StartProc (807a) is an instruction command for executing a batch processing instruction corresponding to the ProcedureID described in the body part 807b. When the e-mail recognition unit 212 recognizes this command command, the batch processing command corresponding to ProcedureID is read from the hard disk device 208, and the read batch processing command is executed.
[0083]
#DeleteProc (808a) is an instruction command for deleting the information of the batch processing instruction corresponding to the ProcedureID described in the body part 808b from the hard disk device 208.
[0084]
A #GetJob command 809 a is a command for acquiring information of print data held in the printing apparatus 5. The printing apparatus 5 sends information such as the data name, data owner, JobID, reception date / time (or processing date / time), and data size of the print data held in the printing apparatus 5 to the transmission source of this command. Send it in the form of a reply to the e-mail. In the body part, there are cases where nothing is described as indicated by 809b and cases where JobID is described. If nothing is described in the body part, information about all print data held in the printing apparatus 5 is returned. If a unique identification number is described for a job called JobID, print data information corresponding to the JobID is returned.
[0085]
A #DeleteJob command of 810a is a command for deleting print data held in the printing apparatus 5. In the body part 810b, there are a case where nothing is described and a case where JobID is described as shown in 809b. If nothing is described in the body portion 810b, all the print data held in the printing apparatus 5 is deleted. Further, when the JobID is described in the body part 810b, the print data corresponding to the JobID is deleted.
[0086]
Next, control processing of the printing apparatus 5 using e-mail will be described using the flowchart shown in FIG. FIG. 10 is a flowchart showing the control process of the printing apparatus 5. Control of the printing apparatus 5 can be executed by describing the contents of the control processing in an electronic mail and transmitting the electronic mail to the printing apparatus 5. However, as a condition in that case, control is performed only when the e-mail address of the e-mail transmission source is registered in the address book 216 and the attribute information corresponding to the e-mail address is set to a predetermined value. Processing is possible.
[0087]
First, the transmitted e-mail data is read from the transmission / reception data storage area provided in the RAM 203 (step S1001). Here, it is assumed that the received e-mail is as shown in FIG. Thereafter, the address extraction unit 214 of the address book management unit 213 analyzes the header in the received e-mail data, and extracts the e-mail address of the transmission source (step S1002).
[0088]
As shown in the header part of FIG. 8, the e-mail address of the e-mail transmission source is “ffff@ccc.ddd.ne.jp”. Subsequently, the address book editing unit 215 of the address book management unit 213 compares the e-mail address extracted in step S1002 with all e-mail addresses stored in the address book 216, and the e-mail extracted in step S1002 It is checked whether the address is registered in the address book 216 (step S1003).
[0089]
Then, when the e-mail address extracted in step S1002 is registered in the address book 216, the process proceeds to a process for confirming whether the content of the e-mail is a control command of the printing apparatus 5. In other words, the control process of the printing apparatus 5 by e-mail can be performed only by a person having an e-mail address registered in the address book 216.
[0090]
In the example of FIG. 7, it can be seen that an e-mail address equivalent to the e-mail address “ffff@ccc.ddd.ne.jp” of the transmission source is registered in the address book 216 (1001b).
[0091]
If the e-mail address of the e-mail transmission source is not registered in the address book 216, the e-mail data is invalidated and discarded (step S1009).
[0092]
Next, the received e-mail is analyzed, it is recognized whether or not the e-mail contains a control command for the purpose of controlling the printing apparatus 5, and if it is a control command, control processing is performed. It is determined whether or not the authority to execute is given (step S1004).
[0093]
FIG. 11 shows step S1004 in more detail. When the e-mail address of the e-mail transmission source is registered in the address book 216, the e-mail recognition unit 212 analyzes the subject portion of the e-mail header (step S1101). In this embodiment, the control command of the printing apparatus 5 is written in the subject part of the e-mail. The e-mail recognizing unit 212 recognizes the character string described after the subject part of the e-mail header, that is, “Subject:”.
[0094]
Next, it is determined whether the received electronic mail is a control command for the printing apparatus 5 (step S1102). The e-mail recognition unit 212 analyzes the subject of the received e-mail to determine whether the e-mail is a control command for the printing apparatus 5. If Subject is a character string indicated by 801a to 810a in FIG. 9, it is determined that the received electronic mail includes a control command.
[0095]
If it is determined that the e-mail is not a control command to the printing apparatus 5, the process advances to step S1009 to discard the e-mail. If it is determined in step S1102 that the e-mail is a control command to the printing apparatus 5, then the attribute (address in the example of FIG. 10 is related to the control command corresponding to the e-mail address 2 of the transmission source). The attribute value of the book edit attribute or the print data control attribute is read from the address book 216 (step S1103).
[0096]
In the example of FIG. 8, the subject character string is #Address. #Address is a control command for adding the e-mail address specified in the body part to the address book 216. Therefore, a list of e-mail addresses to be registered in the address book 216 and a list of attribute values related to each e-mail address are recorded in the text part of FIG. Since #AddAddress is a control command related to editing of the address book 216, the address book editing attribute 1003 is related to the attribute shown in FIG. The attribute reading unit 217 reads attribute information corresponding to the transmission source e-mail address temporarily stored in the RAM 203 from the address book 216. The attribute information corresponding to the source e-mail address “ffff@ccc.ddd.ne.jp” is 1002b, 1003b, and 1004b. Since the attribute indicating the authority to edit the address book is 1003b, the attribute reading unit 217 reads the print attribute 1003b. As shown in FIG. 7, the attribute value of the address book editing attribute 1003b is “Yes”. If “Yes”, it indicates that the e-mail address has authority to perform address book editing processing, and if “No”, that e-mail address does not have authority to perform address book editing processing. Show. Since the attribute value of the address book edit attribute 1003b is “Yes”, the address book management unit 213 performs the address book edit process by the e-mail of the sender e-mail address “ffff@ccc.ddd.ne.jp”. It is determined that it may be performed.
[0097]
In this way, in order to determine whether the control process is permitted, it is determined whether or not the attribute corresponding to the email address of the email transmission source is “Yes” (step S1104). If it is determined in step S1104 that the source e-mail address is not authorized to perform control processing, the e-mail is discarded in step S1009 in FIG. As a result of step S1104, if it is determined that the received e-mail is a control command of the printing apparatus 5 and the e-mail address of the transmission source is authorized to perform a predetermined control process, the process proceeds to step S1005.
[0098]
If it is determined in step S1004 that the process proceeds to step S1005, it is determined whether or not the control command described in the e-mail is a control command that requires reference to the body part of the e-mail (step S1005). The reason is that the control commands 801a to 810a are classified into commands that require supplemental information of the control commands and those that are not necessary due to the nature of the control commands. The e-mail recognition unit 212 analyzes the subject part of the received e-mail, and determines whether or not the control instruction described in the subject part is a control instruction that requires reference to the body part of the e-mail. .
[0099]
If it is determined that the control command requires the reference of the body part of the e-mail, the body part is analyzed (step S1006). This process is only when the command is a command that has to refer to the body of the electronic mail. For example, among the control command commands shown in FIG. 9, the #GetAddressBook command (801a) or the like does not require the information described in the text part, so the process of analyzing the text part (step S1006 and later) Step S1007) is skipped.
[0100]
In the electronic mail shown in FIG. 8, the subject character string is #AddAddress. In this control command, a list of e-mail addresses to be registered in the address book 216 and a list of attribute values related to each e-mail address are described in the body part. That is, it is a control command that requires reference to the body part.
[0101]
Next, the e-mail recognition unit 212 analyzes the body part (step S1006). If it is determined that the control command requires reference to the body part of the e-mail, the body part is analyzed to determine whether the supplemental information is described in a predetermined format (step S1007).
[0102]
In step S1007, if the information described in the body part is in a predetermined format, the printing apparatus 5 is controlled according to the command (step S1008). On the other hand, if the information described in the text part is not in a predetermined format in step S1007, the e-mail recognition unit 212 cannot perform the process of recognizing the text part of the e-mail, and thus continues processing. Can not do it. Therefore, the e-mail data is discarded (step S1009). When the information described in the body part is not in a predetermined format, the structure of the character string described in the body part does not consist of Begin and End, the body part is blank, or the character code There are cases where it is not described in the data.
[0103]
For example, if the received e-mail is the one shown in FIG. 8, the Subject character string is #AddAddress. #AddAddress is a command for adding the e-mail address specified in the body part to the address book 216. For this reason, a list of e-mail addresses to be registered in the address book 216 and a list of attribute values corresponding to each e-mail address are recorded in the body part of FIG. The e-mail recognition unit 212 confirms whether the e-mail is character code data by referring to the header of the received e-mail. If the body part is character code data, the data format of the body part described in the header is text / plainin. In the header of FIG. 8, “Content-Type: text / plain” is described. This indicates that the body part of the electronic mail in FIG. 8 is character code data. “Content-Type:” is a character string indicating the data format in the information in the header, and “text / plain” indicates that the body part is character code data as described above.
[0104]
The e-mail recognition unit 212 recognizes that the body part of the e-mail in FIG. 8 is character code data, thereby determining that the body part is described in a predetermined format, and analyzes the body part. In the structure of the body part, an e-mail address to be added to the address book 216 is described between Begin and End. Therefore, the e-mail recognition unit 212 recognizes an e-mail address described between Begin and End of the body part of the e-mail, and temporarily stores it in the RAM 203 which is a work area of the software of the e-mail recognition unit 212. To do.
[0105]
As described above, when it is confirmed that the description content of the body part corresponds to the predetermined format, the process proceeds to the control process (step S1008). In the example of the electronic mail in FIG. 8, the address book editing unit 215 of the address book management unit 213 registers the electronic mail address and attribute value on the RAM 203 in the address book 216.
[0106]
In addition, this invention is not limited to the said Example. For example, in the above embodiment, the attribute value is binary of “Yes” and “No” in all the attributes. However, for example, an attribute indicating the number of sheets that can be printed by the user, such as the number of printed sheets attribute. And its value may be an integer.
[0107]
As described above, according to the above-described embodiment, since the control of the printing apparatus can be executed by sending an e-mail to the printing apparatus 5, the management work of the administrator of the printing apparatus can be made efficient. It becomes possible.
[0108]
Also, by determining whether or not the sender of the editing e-mail is registered in the address book, it is possible to prevent an unspecified number of people from editing the address book, and only by e-mail from a predetermined person Editing of the address book can be permitted, and the security of the address book can be increased.
[0109]
In addition, it is possible to control the printing apparatus 5 such as registration of an e-mail address in the address book, deletion of an e-mail address from the address book, deletion of print data, and automatic transmission of the e-mail address of the transmission source. The control process can be executed only by an e-mail from an e-mail address that is recognized and registered in the address book in the printing apparatus and permitted to be controlled. It is possible to improve the efficiency of management operations by the administrator and prevent anyone from controlling the printing apparatus.
[0110]
FIG. 13 is a cross-sectional view showing an internal structure of a laser beam printer applicable to the printing apparatus 5. This laser beam printer can input character pattern data or the like and print it on recording paper. Reference numeral 8012 denotes a laser beam printer main body, which forms an image on recording paper as a recording medium based on a supplied character pattern and the like. Reference numeral 8000 denotes an operation panel on which an operation switch and an LED display are arranged, and reference numeral 8001 denotes a printer control unit for controlling the entire laser beam printer 8012 and analyzing character pattern information. The printer control unit 8001 mainly converts character pattern information into a video signal and outputs it to the laser driver 8002. A laser driver 8002 is a circuit for driving the semiconductor laser 8003, and switches on / off a laser beam 8004 emitted from the semiconductor laser 8003 in accordance with an input video signal.
[0111]
A laser beam 8004 is swung in the left-right direction by a rotary polygon mirror 8005 to scan on the electrostatic drum 8006. Thereby, an electrostatic latent image of a character pattern is formed on the electrostatic drum 8006. This latent image is developed by a developing unit 8007 around the electrostatic drum 8006 and then transferred to a recording sheet. A cut sheet is used as the recording sheet, and the cut sheet recording sheet is stored in a plurality of sheet cassettes 8008 corresponding to a plurality of types of sheets mounted on the laser beam printer 8012, and is fed by a sheet feeding roller 8009 and conveying rollers 8010 and 8011. It is taken into the apparatus and supplied to the electrostatic drum 8006.
[0112]
FIG. 14 is a cross-sectional view of the ink jet recording apparatus IJRA. In the figure, the carriage HC engaged with the spiral groove 9003 of the lead screw 9004 that rotates via the driving force transmission gears 9010 and 9008 in conjunction with the forward and reverse rotation of the drive motor 9011 has a pin (not shown). And is reciprocated in the directions of arrows a and b. An ink jet cartridge IJC is mounted on the carriage HC.
[0113]
Reference numeral 9001 denotes a paper pressing plate that presses the paper against the platen 9000 in the moving direction of the carriage. Reference numerals 9006 and 9007 denote home position detecting means for confirming the presence of the carriage lever 9005 in this region and switching the rotation direction of the motor 9011. Reference numeral 9013 denotes a member that supports a cap member 9019 that caps the front surface of the recording head. Reference numeral 9012 denotes suction means that sucks the inside of the cap, and performs suction recovery of the recording head through an opening 9020 in the cap.
[0114]
9014 is a cleaning blade, and 9016 is a member that enables the blade to move in the front-rear direction, and these are supported by a main body support plate 9015. Needless to say, the blade is not in this form, and a known cleaning blade can be applied to this example. Reference numeral 9018 denotes a lever for starting suction for suction recovery. The lever 9018 moves with the movement of the cam 9017 engaged with the carriage, and the driving force from the drive motor is controlled by a known transmission means such as clutch switching. Is done.
[0115]
These capping, cleaning, and suction recovery are configured so that desired processing can be performed at their corresponding positions by the action of the lead screw 9004 when the carriage comes to the home position side region. Any of these can be applied to this example as long as the above operation is performed.
[0116]
The present invention is not limited to the apparatus of the above-described embodiment, and may be applied to a system constituted by a plurality of devices or an apparatus constituted by one device.
[0117]
A storage medium storing software program codes for realizing the functions of the embodiments is supplied to a system or apparatus, and a computer (or CPU or MPU) of the system or apparatus reads and executes the program codes stored in the storage medium Needless to say, it will be completed.
[0118]
Specifically, program codes based on the flowcharts of FIGS. 4, 5, 10, and 11 are stored in the ROM 102 and RAM 103 of the printing apparatus 5, and the CPU 101 of the printing apparatus 5 performs control according to these program codes. As a result, the above-described control method can be realized.
[0119]
In this case, the program code itself read from the storage medium realizes the functions of the above-described embodiments, and the storage medium storing the program code or the program code itself constitutes the present invention.
[0120]
As a storage medium for supplying the program code, for example, a floppy (registered trademark) disk, hard disk, optical disk, magneto-optical disk, CD-ROM, CD-R, magnetic tape, nonvolatile memory card, ROM, DVD- RAM and DVD-ROM can be used. In addition, by executing the program code read by the computer, not only the functions of the above-described embodiments are realized, but also the OS running on the computer based on the instruction of the program code performs the actual processing. Needless to say, a case where the function of the above-described embodiment is realized by performing part or all of the processing is also included.
[0121]
Furthermore, after the program code read from the storage medium is written to the memory provided in the function expansion board inserted in the computer or the function expansion unit connected to the computer, the program code is expanded based on the instruction of the next program code. It goes without saying that the functions of the above-described embodiments may be realized by performing some or all of the actual processing by the CPU or the like provided on the expansion board or the expansion unit.
[0122]
【The invention's effect】
As described above, according to the present invention, it is determined whether or not the address of the e-mail transmission source is stored in the address book (address storage means), and the address is permitted to be printed. If it is not stored in the address book or if printing is not permitted, printing is not performed to prevent unnecessary emails such as spam emails from being unnecessarily printed. be able to. This can prevent unnecessary consumption of consumables such as ink and toner and paper.
[0123]
Further, by determining whether or not image data attached to an e-mail in a file format can be developed, it is possible to prevent image data that cannot be developed from being forcibly printed. This also prevents the consumption of consumables and paper due to wasteful printing.
[0124]
In addition, by providing attribute information corresponding to each e-mail address in the address book, there is no need to have two address books, a print control address book and an address book manager address book. Management becomes easier.
[0125]
Further, since the control of the print processing apparatus can be executed by sending an e-mail to the print processing apparatus, the management work of the administrator of the print processing apparatus can be made more efficient.
[0126]
In addition, it enables control of the printing device, such as registering an e-mail address in the address book, deleting an e-mail address from the address book, and deleting print data, and automatically recognizes the e-mail address of the sender. However, the control process can be executed only by e-mail from the e-mail address that is registered in the address book that exists in the printing device and is permitted to control each other. Can prevent the printing apparatus from being controlled.
[Brief description of the drawings]
FIG. 1 is a diagram showing an overall configuration of an e-mail printing system.
FIG. 2 is a diagram showing a configuration of a personal computer 1;
3 is a diagram illustrating a configuration of a printing apparatus 5. FIG.
FIG. 4 is a flowchart illustrating an e-mail print process.
FIG. 5 is a flowchart showing a determination process for determining whether an electronic mail is image data.
FIG. 6 is a diagram illustrating an example of a header of e-mail data.
7 is a diagram showing a configuration of an address book 216. FIG.
FIG. 8 is an example of a format of e-mail data for address book registration.
FIG. 9 is a diagram illustrating an example of a syntax list of commands for controlling the printing apparatus.
FIG. 10 is a flowchart showing control processing of the printing apparatus 5;
FIG. 11 is a flowchart illustrating processing for determining an attribute value.
FIG. 12 is a diagram showing an overall configuration of an e-mail printing system.
FIG. 13 is a cross-sectional view showing the internal structure of the laser beam printer.
FIG. 14 is a cross-sectional view of the ink jet recording apparatus IJRA.
[Explanation of symbols]
1 Personal computer
2 LAN
3 Mail server
4 Network router
5 Printing device
6 LAN
7 Mail server
8 Network router
9 Internet

Claims (12)

A print processing device capable of receiving e-mail from an external device,
Address storage means for storing at least one registered e-mail address and storing first attribute information indicating a first attribute of the address and second attribute information indicating a second attribute of the address When,
Determination means for determining whether or not the address of the source of the received e-mail is stored in the address storage means;
Print determination means for determining whether the address of the transmission source of the received e-mail is permitted to be printed based on the first attribute information;
Editing determination means for determining whether or not the address of the transmission source of the received e-mail is permitted to edit the contents of the address storage means based on the second attribute information;
It is determined by the determining means that the received e-mail has data to be printed, and the address of the e-mail transmission source is stored in the address storage means, and the e-mail transmission source Print control means for performing print processing based on the data to be printed when the print determination means determines that the address is permitted to be printed;
It is determined by the determination means that the received e-mail has an editing instruction for editing the contents of the address storage means, and the address of the transmission source of the e-mail is stored in the address storage means, And editing control for editing the contents of the address storage means in accordance with the editing instruction when the edit determination means determines that the address of the sender of the e-mail is permitted to edit the contents of the address storage means Means,
The first attribute information indicates that the registered address is permitted to perform print processing, or the registered address is not permitted to perform print processing,
The second attribute information indicates that the registered address is permitted to edit the contents of the address storage means or that the registered address is not permitted to edit the contents of the address storage means. A print processing apparatus. Print data generating means for generating print data based on image data attached to the received e-mail in a file format;
Image forming means for forming an image on a recording medium based on the print data generated by the print data generating means;
The print control means determines that the received e-mail has data to be printed, and that the address of the e-mail transmission source is stored in the address storage means, and the e-mail transmission 2. The printing according to claim 1, wherein if it is determined that the original address is permitted to be printed, the print data generation unit generates print data and the image formation unit forms an image. Processing equipment.   3. The apparatus according to claim 1, further comprising: a discarding unit that discards the e-mail when it is determined that the address of the source of the received e-mail is not stored in the address storage unit. Print processing device. In accordance with the editing instruction, the editing control unit registers a new address in the address storage unit, deletes an address stored in the address storage unit, initializes the address storage unit, or receives received electronic printing apparatus according to any one of claims 1 to 3, characterized in that to send the address to a mail reply mail stored in said address storage means. The address storage means indicates whether a registered e-mail address is permitted to delete print data in the print processing apparatus or to acquire information about the print data in the print processing apparatus. Remember attribute information,
The print processing apparatus includes:
Based on the third attribute information, whether the address of the source of the received e-mail is permitted to delete print data in the print processing apparatus or to acquire information about the print data in the print processing apparatus Data control determination means for determining whether or not
It is determined that the transmission source address of the received electronic mail is stored in the address storage means, and the transmission source address of the electronic mail is deleted from the print data in the print processing apparatus or in the print processing apparatus A data control unit that deletes the print data in the print processing apparatus or acquires information about the print data in the print processing apparatus when it is determined that the acquisition of the information about the print data is permitted. The print processing apparatus according to claim 1, wherein:   6. The printing process according to claim 1, further comprising an acquisition unit that requests an e-mail whose destination is a predetermined address from a mail management apparatus connected via a network. apparatus.   The print processing apparatus according to claim 1, wherein the print processing apparatus is a printer or a copier. Having attachment determination means for determining whether or not image data is attached in a file format to the received e-mail;
8. The print control unit according to claim 1, wherein when the attachment determination unit determines that image data is attached, the print control unit performs a print process based on the image data. Print processing device. Image development determination means for determining whether image data attached to the received e-mail in a file format can be developed,
9. The print processing apparatus according to claim 8, wherein when the image development determination unit determines that the image data can be developed, the print control unit performs a print process based on the image data. . A control method for receiving an e-mail from an external device and controlling the print processing apparatus according to a command included in the e-mail,
The print processing apparatus stores at least one registered e-mail address, first attribute information indicating a first attribute of the address, and second attribute information indicating a second attribute of the address; Address storage means for storing
The first attribute information indicates that the registered address is permitted to perform print processing, or the registered address is not permitted to perform print processing,
The second attribute information indicates that the registered address is permitted to edit the contents of the address storage means or that the registered address is not permitted to edit the contents of the address storage means. ,
The control method is:
A determination step of determining whether or not a source address of the received e-mail is stored in the address storage means;
A print determination step for determining whether the address of the transmission source of the received e-mail is permitted to be printed based on the first attribute information;
An editing determination step for determining whether or not the address of the transmission source of the received e-mail is permitted to edit the contents of the address storage means based on the second attribute information;
It is determined in the determination step that the received e-mail has data to be printed, and the address of the e-mail is stored in the address storage means, and the e-mail transmission source A printing process step for performing a printing process based on the data to be printed when it is determined in the printing determination step that the address is permitted to be printed;
It is determined in the determination step that the received e-mail has an editing instruction for editing the contents of the address storage means, and the address of the transmission source of the e-mail is stored in the address storage means, And an editing step of editing the contents of the address storage means according to the editing instruction when it is determined in the editing determination step that the address of the sender of the e-mail is permitted to edit the contents of the address storage means The control method characterized by having. A recording medium storing a control program for receiving an e-mail from an external device and controlling the print processing apparatus in accordance with an instruction of the e-mail,
The control program is
At least one registered e-mail address, first attribute information indicating the first attribute of the address, and second attribute information indicating the second attribute of the address are stored in the address storage means. An address storage step;
A determination step of determining whether or not a source address of the received e-mail is stored in the address storage means;
A print determination step for determining whether the address of the transmission source of the received e-mail is permitted to be printed based on the first attribute information;
An editing determination step for determining whether or not the address of the transmission source of the received e-mail is permitted to edit the contents of the address storage means based on the second attribute information;
It is determined in the determination step that the received e-mail has data to be printed, and the address of the e-mail transmission source is stored in the address storage means, and the e-mail transmission source A printing control step for controlling the printing process based on the data to be printed when it is determined in the printing determination step that the address is permitted to be printed;
It is determined by the determination step that the received e-mail has an editing command for editing the contents of the address storage means, and the address of the transmission source of the e-mail is stored in the address storage means, And an editing step for editing the contents of the address storage means according to the editing instruction when it is determined in the editing determination step that the address of the sender of the electronic mail is permitted to edit the contents of the address storage means And a computer. A control program that receives an e-mail from an external device and controls the print processing apparatus in accordance with a command that the e-mail has,
At least one registered e-mail address, first attribute information indicating the first attribute of the address, and second attribute information indicating the second attribute of the address are stored in the address storage means. An address storage step;
A determination step of determining whether or not a source address of the received e-mail is stored in the address storage means;
A print determination step for determining whether the address of the transmission source of the received e-mail is permitted to be printed based on the first attribute information;
An editing determination step for determining whether or not the address of the transmission source of the received e-mail is permitted to edit the contents of the address storage means based on the second attribute information;
It is determined in the determination step that the received e-mail has data to be printed, and the address of the e-mail transmission source is stored in the address storage means, and the e-mail transmission source A printing control step for controlling the printing process based on the data to be printed when it is determined in the printing determination step that the address is permitted to be printed;
It is determined by the determination step that the received e-mail has an editing instruction for editing the contents of the address storage means, and the address of the transmission source of the e-mail is stored in the address storage means, And an editing step for editing the contents of the address storage means according to the editing instruction when it is determined in the editing determination step that the address of the sender of the electronic mail is permitted to edit the contents of the address storage means And a control program for causing a computer to execute.

Images