1. Field of the Invention
The present invention relates to an image forming device capable of acquiring data content from a server on the Internet and directly printing the data content, a network server that responds to accesses from this type of image forming device, and a communication method by which the image forming device and the network server communicate.
2. Description of the Related Art
In recent years, a broadband-enabled environment is gradually being developed through such improvements in the Internet infrastructure as Asymmetric Digital Subscriber Line (ADSL), Cable Television (CATV) networks, and Fiber to the Home (FTTH). As a result, the method in which an individual user connects to the Internet is changing from an on-demand connection method, such as a dialup connection, to a constant connection method.
The most common usage of the Internet is the exchange of data content, such as web pages and e-mail, between computers. Recently, however, multifunctional devices including printer, scanner, copier, telephone, facsimile, and other functions have also been provided with a function to connect to the Internet, enabling terminal devices other than computers to use services on the Internet in a constant-connection environment. Therefore, these types of multifunctional devices can connect to the Internet as a data communication terminal without requiring an intermediary computer and can directly print content acquired from a web server.
However, when this type of multifunctional device prints such data content directly, sometimes the device is unable to complete printing of all content due to the occurrence of a print error, such as a paper jam error, an out-of-paper error, or ink or toner empty error, during or just prior to performing the printing process. In such a case, a user must first disconnect from the Internet, resolve the print error, and then re-specify the Uniform Resource Locator (URL) as the address indicating the location at which the desired content is located, involving a tedious operation. This operation is particularly complicated if the user has to input each character in the character string making up the URL, but the process is also tedious when re-selecting a URL from a menu if there are numerous selections to choose from.
USPTO Backgrounds
USPTO Backgrounds