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1. Field of the Invention
The present invention relates generally to devices incorporating a scan-to-email function, and more particularly to the entry of an email address into such devices.
2. Description of Related Art
Home office, small business, and enterprise office devices are consistently incorporating new functions. For example, “All-In-One” machines are configured to perform various tasks, such as printing, copying, scanning, and faxing. More recently, these multi-function devices have added email functionality, which allows end-users to email directly from a scanning device a copy of an image file representing a scanned document. Thus, the scan-to-email function may be implemented in devices traditionally incorporating an optical scanner such as a copier, scanner, facsimile, or the aforementioned “All-In-One” devices. The email function may also be incorporated in printer devices such as photo printers that have access to previously stored images. For example, many photo printers have a built in memory storage capability or have card readers adapted to access images previously stored on a memory card, such as from a digital camera or directly from the memory of a digital camera or a mass storage device.
The process of emailing an image file directly from these scanning or printing devices necessarily requires the entry of an email address. Unfortunately, one problem with conventional devices such as these is that the user interface is generally not optimized for the entry of email addresses. Some of these devices include a traditional 12-button telephone-type, alpha-numerical keypad comprising the numbers 0-9 as well as * and # buttons. These telephone-type keypads can be used to enter alphanumeric strings if the individual buttons are programmed to sequentially toggle between certain values on a display screen. For instance, the button corresponding to the number 2 may also be programmed to display the letters A, B, and C if the same button is repeatedly pressed. In this manner, an end user attempting to enter an email address at one of these devices has access to all numbers and all letters of the alphabet, albeit in an indirect manner.
An added problem related to the scan-to-email function is that email addresses may include special characters such as dashes (−), dots (•), and underscores (_). In fact, there is no limit to the combination of special and alphanumeric characters that may be combined to form an email address, especially when one considers that each email address is unique and many users may have multiple email addresses. Thus, unique character strings comprising numbers, letters, and characters are often used to create a unique email address. In an attempt to resolve the issue of inputting special characters, certain buttons of a conventional telephone-type keypad may be programmed to sequentially toggle through these special characters. For example, the * or # buttons may be programmed to generate a variety of special characters on a display screen, with different characters being displayed each time the same button is pressed. This process can certainly be time consuming considering the number of special characters available.
A common characteristic of all email addresses is that they contain a single “@” character that separates a user name or alias from a domain name (i.e., email addresses conform to the format username@domain). Thus, each time a user enters an email address, the @ symbol is used. As with other special characters, the @ symbol may be assigned to one particular button (e.g., the * or # button) and that button can be pressed until the @ symbol appears on the display. However, given that the @ symbol is used in every email address, it would seem that sequentially toggling through special characters to locate the @ symbol is unnecessarily burdensome.
The present invention is directed to a device and method of entering an email address that incorporates an @ symbol to eliminate the need to separately add the @ symbol. In one embodiment, the @ symbol may be incorporated on a multifunction device having a user interface comprising a display and a data input terminal. The data input terminal may be a telephone-type keypad. The user interface is adapted for entering an email address comprised of a user name and a domain name separated by the @ symbol. The multifunction device may include a data reader such as a scanner, memory card reader, a mass storage device reader that extracts attachment data to be sent in an email. The device may further include an email client adapted to transmit the attachment data with an email message addressed to the entered email address via a network such as the internet. The device may also have one or more processor circuits adapted to insert the @ symbol into the email address between the username and the domain name as the email address is entered.
The email address is shown on a device display while the address is entered. In one embodiment, the @ symbol may be displayed at or near a cursor representing a current character location. For instance, the cursor may be placed on a user name side of the @ symbol. As a user enters the user name portion of the email address, the characters are displayed and the position of the cursor and @ symbol are advanced to reflect the changed length of the user name. Once the user name is entered, the user may then advance the position of the cursor to a domain name side of the @ symbol by entering a move command, such as by selecting a right arrow button or key. If the cursor position is successfully moved to the domain name side of the @ symbol, the position of the @ symbol is fixed while the remainder of the email address (i.e., the domain name) is entered and displayed.
The present invention is directed to a device and method of entering an email address that incorporates an @ symbol. In one embodiment, the @ symbol may be incorporated on a device having a user interface comprising a display and a limited data input terminal. One application of the @ symbol is on a multifunction device as generally illustrated in
The multifunction device 10 also includes a modem 26, which may be a data modem to be used for dial-up internet access. In one embodiment, modem 26 is a fax modem compliant with commonly used ITU and CCITT compression and communication standards such as the V.XX and Class 1-4 standards known by those skilled in the art. The multifunction device 10 may also be coupled to a host computer (not shown) or external Ethernet adapter (also not shown) through a compatible connection port 28, which may comprise a standard serial data interface such as USB 1.1, USB 2.0, IEEE-1394 (including, but not limited to 1394a and 1394b) and the like.
The multifunction device 10 may also include integrated wired or wireless network interfaces 30, 32. The network interfaces 30, 32 permit operation of the multifunction device as a stand-alone device not expressly requiring a host computer to perform many of the included functions. The wired network interface 30 may comprise a conventionally known RJ-45 connector for connection to a 10/100 LAN or a 1/10 Gigabit Ethernet network. The wireless network interface 32 may comprise an adapter capable of wireless communications with other devices in a peer mode or with a wireless network in an infrastructure mode. Accordingly, the wireless network interface may comprise an adapter conforming to wireless communication standards such as a Bluetooth® interface, 802.11x, 802.15 or other standards known to those skilled in the art.
The multifunction device 10 may also include a media port 34, which may consist of a card reader, media reader or a serial port from which a user may access images, perhaps taken from a digital camera, for printing at the printer 24 or emailing as described below. The media port 34 may be adapted to accept common memory cards such as CompactFlash®, SmartMedia™, or Memory Stick™ memory cards. Alternatively, the media port 34 may accept a conventional adapter cable such as a USB or IEEE-1394 (Firewire) cable to access the contents of a digital camera or external storage devices, such as flash memory devices, card readers, or external hard drives. Further, the multifunction device 10 includes one or more processing circuits 36, system memory (RAM) 38, and flash memory for code storage (illustrated simply as ROM) 40. The memory devices 38, 40 may suitably comprise a variety of devices known to those skilled in the art such as SDRAM, DDRAM, EEPROM, Flash Memory, and perhaps a fixed hard drive. Those skilled in the art will appreciate and comprehend the advantages and disadvantages of the various memory types for a given application.
For operation as a stand-alone device, or as a device which is part of a computer network, or for operation with a host computer, the multifunction device 10 includes a user interface panel 22. A portion of an exemplary user interface panel 22 is shown in
Referring still to
In the present embodiment, one particularly relevant instance where an alphanumeric string is entered into the multifunction device 10 is while using an email function not previously described. As
One application of this email function is to email data or image files obtained from the multifunction device 10. This operation is shown schematically in
In parallel, the user selects an email mode and enters an appropriate email address at the user interface (or I/O) panel 22. A mail client 56 incorporated within the multifunction device 10 receives the image data from the scanner 16 as well as the destination email address from the user interface panel 22 and sends an email to the recipient over a network 57 via one of the aforementioned network interfaces (e.g., adapters 30, 32, modem 26). Alternatively, as described above and also as shown in
In an alternative embodiment of the multifunction device 10 shown in
Inclusion of an @ symbol is described for one embodiment with reference to
To circumvent this problem, one embodiment implements firmware code to add an @ symbol onto the operating panel display screen 44 at the time when an email address is entered. This @ symbol allows the user to enter an email address without having to select a dedicated @ key/button on an operating panel or toggle through a sequence of special characters. The typing sequence represented in
j a c k→s o
The precise relative positioning of the cursor and the @ symbol may be altered without deviating from the underlying concept. In one embodiment referred to as a “floating” @ symbol, the cursor and the @ symbol remain adjacent to one another as new characters are added with both shifting or indexing to the right. In another embodiment contrasted with the embodiment shown in
Editing an email address is accomplished by moving the cursor to the desired position using the directional buttons 51, 52 and re-typing the desired characters. Thus, if a user has moved the cursor to the domain name side of the email address (thereby fixing the position of the @ symbol), the username may still be edited by moving the cursor back to the username side of the @ symbol. In doing so, the position of the @ symbol is unlocked. Deleting characters from the username moves the @ symbol to the left and the addition of characters moves the @ symbol to the right. Then, when the cursor is moved once again to the domain name side of the email address, the @ symbol location is once again fixed.
The above description of the editing process highlights a more general functionality of the present embodiment. That is, when the cursor is on a username side of the email address, the @ symbol floats to adapt to the length of the username. Then, when the cursor is on a domain name side of the email address, the @ symbol is fixed in place. This function is more clearly shown in
The routine shown in
If the cursor position is moved to the right of the @ symbol, the right branch at decision step 76 is taken. The @ position is fixed at step 82. Then, as before, the routine waits for the entry of a new character (for the domain name) or a move command (such as moving to the username side). If characters are entered at decision step 84, the routine, at step 86, shifts the cursor to the right (the @ symbol remains fixed) to accommodate the new domain name length. The routine then waits for the next user action. The process may be repeated until the domain name is successfully entered. In addition, the cursor position may be moved back and forth between the username and domain name sides of the @ symbol to edit the email address as desired and as described above. Furthermore, the process may be terminated 88 from either of the decision steps 78 or 84 by selecting an end/send/confirm option (not shown) on the multifunction device 10.
Those skilled in the art should appreciate that the illustrated circuits shown in
The present invention may be implemented in, but is not limited to, similar devices not having a QWERTY-type alphanumeric keyboard. QWERTY-type keyboards are full size keyboards, such as that used with laptop, desktop, and certain handheld computers, that have a dedicated button for each letter of the alphabet. In these full size keyboards, the @ symbol is commonly overlaid on the number 2 button and entered by simultaneously selecting the SHIFT and number 2 button. That said the present invention may certainly be incorporated in devices that do and do not have full size keyboards, though the advantages of doing so in the latter is more readily apparent. Thus, in addition to the implementation described herein for use with a multifunction device 10, the present invention may also be incorporated in a variety of devices such as computer systems, personal digital assistants or PDAs, Blackberry® devices and mobile communication devices such as cellular phones. Another application of the disclosed embodiments is with devices used at point of sale terminals. Some exemplary embodiments include self-serve retail sales kiosks and automated teller machines. With these types of devices, the simplified email entry may advantageously persuade end-users to email copies of transactions to themselves in an effort to eliminate paper copies.
Furthermore, the present invention may be carried out in other specific ways than those herein set forth without departing from the scope and essential characteristics of the invention. For instance, the embodiments described have been depicted in use with a separate display 44 and input keypad 48. In other devices, a touch pad display may be used such that the output display and the input device may be one and the same. The present embodiments are, therefore, to be considered in all respects as illustrative and not restrictive, and all changes coming within the meaning and equivalency range of the appended claims are intended to be embraced therein.