Image Processing Apparatus Scan to Email Destination Automation
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Solution Overview
Problem
Conventional image processing apparatuses face issues with input errors and inefficiencies when setting email destinations for the Scan to E-mail function, particularly due to the need for manual entry or decoding of email addresses.
Innovation Solution
An image processing apparatus equipped with a display, transmitter/receiver, job executor, and controller that acquires destination information from received emails and displays it for user selection, reducing the need for manual input and minimizing errors.
Engineering Contradictions & Design Principles
Engineering Contradiction Analysis
1Reliability
If the user manually enters the e-mail address, then the destination can be set, but input errors occur and time is consumed
Solution Approach 1:
The system automatically acquires the e-mail address from the received e-mail without requiring user input. The controller extracts the destination e-mail address from the received e-mail's header or body, and displays it for automatic setting, allowing the system to serve itself rather than relying on manual user entry.
Solution Approach 2:
The e-mail address is prepared in advance within the received e-mail message itself. The terminal device sends an e-mail containing the destination address information before the scan-to-e-mail job is executed, so the information is already available when needed, eliminating the need for later manual entry or decoding.
2Ease of operation
If encoded information is used to set the destination, then manual input is reduced, but the encoded information must be prepared in a specific format which is time-consuming
Solution Approach 1:
The system automatically processes and extracts the e-mail address from the received e-mail without requiring the user to decode or process any encoded information. The controller directly parses the e-mail content to obtain the destination address, eliminating the time-consuming decoding step entirely.
Solution Approach 2:
The controller extracts only the necessary e-mail address information from the received e-mail, taking out the specific destination data needed for the scan-to-e-mail function without requiring the user to handle or decode the entire encoded information structure.
3Reliability
If the e-mail address is selected from the address book, then accuracy is improved, but the process becomes complex when the address is not in the address book
Solution Approach 1:
The system automatically provides the e-mail address from the received e-mail itself, eliminating the need to search the address book or manually input addresses. The controller extracts and displays the destination address directly, simplifying the process whether the address is in the address book or not.
Solution Approach 2:
Instead of having the user search for or input the e-mail address, the system inverts the approach by having the received e-mail provide the destination address. The information flow is reversed: rather than user→system for address input, it becomes system→user for address provision, simplifying the interface.
Data Source
AI summary
An image processing apparatus includes a display capable of accepting designation of a destination of an e-mail, a transmitter/receiver capable of transmitting and receiving the e-mail, a job executor that executes a job via the e-mail, and a controller that acquires destination information of the e-mail to be sent as the job from received information of the received e-mail, and displays the acquired destination information on the display.