JP2000032206A - Communication equipment and communication method - Google Patents

Abstract

PROBLEM TO BE SOLVED: To excellently transmit and transfer facsimile image information through a network. SOLUTION: This communication equipment is provided with a first control means for obtaining the facsimile image throughput information of a facsimile type electronic mail equipment 2 to be a communication destination from a server 3 connected to the network and possessing the facsimile image throughput information of the facsimile type electronic mail equipment 2 to be the transmission destination of image information through the network, a second control means for generating transmission data matched with the facsimile image throughput information obtained by the first control means and a third control means for transmitting the generated transmission data through the network to the facsimile type electronic mail equipment 2 and simultaneously instructing the facsimile type electronic mail equipment 2 for performing communication to transfer the transmission data through a public line. By this method, a user transmits the image information through a repeater just by specifying the FAX number of a final destination and reception images equal to the ones in the case of directly using a telephone line network are obtained.

Description

DETAILED DESCRIPTION OF THE INVENTION

[0001]

BACKGROUND OF THE INVENTION 1. Field of the Invention The present invention relates to a communication apparatus such as an electronic mail type facsimile apparatus for transmitting and receiving image information using an electronic mail mechanism and a communication method.

[0002]

2. Description of the Related Art In recent years, communication devices such as an electronic mail type facsimile apparatus for transmitting and receiving image information using an electronic mail mechanism have been put to practical use. This e-mail type facsimile apparatus is basically configured to transmit and receive image information read by a scanner as an attached file of an e-mail and communicate with a normal facsimile apparatus.

Therefore, such a facsimile-type electronic mail apparatus is also provided with a relay function for transferring transmission data to a facsimile machine at the final destination via a relay machine.

[0004] This relay function will be briefly described with reference to FIG. FIG. 6 is a conceptual diagram showing a state when information is transmitted from a facsimile-type electronic mail device to a normal facsimile device.

In FIG. 6, when facsimile data is transmitted from a facsimile-type electronic mail device 61 to a normal facsimile device 62, if the facsimile data is transmitted using a direct telephone network (path A), the communication cost increases.

Therefore, the facsimile type electronic mail device 6
1 transmits the image information by e-mail to the facsimile-type electronic mail device 63 (path B), and then converts the image information to facsimile data by the facsimile-type electronic mail device 63 and sends it to the normal facsimile device 62. A method of transferring facsimile data (path C) is conceivable.

In general, since electronic mail has low communication costs, if a facsimile-type electronic mail device 63 located at a position close to the facsimile device 62 is used as a repeater, the communication cost is reduced.

[0008] In order to execute such a relay transfer, a predetermined procedure is performed after designating a FAX number or the like of a final destination when transmitting to a relay machine.

[0009]

However, in this method, when transmitting image information, the operator is conscious of not only the FAX number of the final destination but also the mail address of the relay machine for relaying, which is a complicated operation. Need to do. In addition, special settings are required to transfer image information to the repeater. Further, there is a problem that header information of a transmission source or the like is not transferred as image information to a final destination.

An object of the present invention is to provide a communication apparatus and a communication method capable of favorably transmitting and transferring facsimile image information via a network.

[0011]

SUMMARY OF THE INVENTION In order to solve the above-mentioned problems, the present invention provides a communication destination from a device having facsimile image processing capability information of a relay device connected to a network and serving as a destination of image information. Acquiring a facsimile image processing capability information of the destination device via a network;
1 control means, second control means for generating transmission data in conformity with the facsimile image processing capability information obtained by the first control means, and the generated transmission data to the relay device via a network And a third control unit for instructing the relay device performing the communication to transfer the transmission data via a public line at the same time as the transmission.

[0012]

DESCRIPTION OF THE PREFERRED EMBODIMENTS A first aspect of the present invention is a receiving means for receiving image information to be transferred by e-mail, a relay transfer instruction command described in a part of header information of the e-mail, and final destination information. Relay instruction receiving means for extracting the e-mail, format conversion means for expanding the image information received as an attached file of the e-mail and recompressing it into a data form receivable by the facsimile apparatus, Transmitting means for transmitting the image information to the communication device indicated by the extracted final destination information in a facsimile procedure.

[0013] With this configuration, image information received as electronic mail can be transferred to another facsimile apparatus using the facsimile-type electronic mail apparatus as a relay device.
Moreover, the facsimile-type e-mail device serving as a relay machine can obtain all the information necessary for the relay process from the information of the received e-mail, so that there is no need to perform any special settings for the relay process. The relay process can be executed based only on a relay transfer instruction from the operator.

According to a second aspect, in the first aspect, the format conversion means converts the header information of the received e-mail into image information, compresses the data into the same data format as the image information, and transmits the data. Adopts a configuration in which the compressed header information is transmitted together with image information.

With this configuration, when image information transmitted by e-mail is converted into facsimile data and output to another facsimile apparatus, header information composed of text that is not normally output is converted into facsimile data. , Can be output simultaneously with other image information,
The receiver can obtain all the route information that the image information has passed during the transmission process.

According to a third aspect, in the second aspect, the format conversion means comprises a header information editing means for converting only predetermined specific information among the header information of the received e-mail into image information. Take.

With this configuration, of the information added as a header to the received image, unnecessary items can be deleted, and only items required by the user, such as source information and relay terminal information, can be appropriately selected and output. . As a result, transmission data can be reduced, transmission efficiency can be improved, wasteful consumption of recording paper can be prevented, and a received image that is easy to see can be obtained.

According to a fourth aspect, there is provided a facsimile-type e-mail apparatus which transmits an e-mail to the facsimile-type e-mail apparatus according to any one of the first to third aspects, which is connected to a communication network. A relay for requesting a relay transfer by transmitting a relay transfer instruction command having source information, relay terminal information, and final destination information by e-mail and transmitting image information as an attached file of the e-mail A configuration having transfer instruction means is adopted.

With this configuration, when transmitting image information by e-mail, the operator does not need to perform any other complicated operation on the facsimile-type e-mail device serving as a repeater, and can perform the transmission operation once. A relay transfer instruction command and image information.

According to a fifth aspect, in the fourth aspect, the mail address of the repeater is obtained from a route information table storing the mail address of the repeater and the FAX number of the final destination assigned to each repeater in association with each other. It has an address acquiring means for acquiring the mail address and requests the relay having the mail address acquired by the address acquiring means to perform the relay transfer.

A sixth aspect relates to a route information table holding device, and includes a route information table for storing a mail address of a repeater and a FAX number of a final destination assigned to each repeater in association with each other; A communication unit that provides a part of the information stored in the path information table in response to an inquiry from the facsimile-type electronic mail device according to any of the fourth aspect or the fifth aspect. Take.

With these configurations, if the operator notifies the route information table holding device of the FAX number of the final destination, the operator can unambiguously acquire the mail address of the corresponding repeater, and is conscious of the mail address of the repeater. The transmission operation can be easily performed without complicated work.
Further, it is not necessary for the transmission source facsimile type e-mail device to independently hold the route information table.

According to a seventh aspect, in the sixth aspect, the route information table has image processing capability information of the repeater.

With this configuration, when transmitting the image information to the final destination facsimile machine, the operator can acquire the image processing capability of the repeater. Communication optimal for image processing capability can be performed, and transmission time can be shortened as a whole. Note that the image processing capability of the
Data formats and resolutions supported when compressing image information such as F, JPEG, etc., and reception capabilities such as maximum paper size are included, but they can be added as appropriate according to the user's convenience.

The eighth mode is the sixth mode or the seventh mode.
In the aspect, the route information table is configured to register and update data in response to a notification from the facsimile-type electronic mail device according to any one of the first aspect to the third aspect newly connected to the network. Take.

With this configuration, when registering data, it is possible to easily associate the mail address of the repeater with the fax number of the final destination assigned to each repeater, so that the facsimile-type electronic mail device can be relayed quickly. Can be used as a machine. Further, no special setting is required in the work of rewriting or converting the database, and the burden of maintenance work on the user can be reduced.

The ninth aspect is the sixth to eighth aspects.
In any one of the aspects, a predetermined command and inquiry data or newly registered data are received by e-mail, and the received command is extracted and analyzed to execute an inquiry instruction or registration instruction from a facsimile-type electronic mail device. Take.

With this configuration, as long as a predetermined command and corresponding data are input and transmitted, the path information table holding device automatically extracts and analyzes the type of instruction and executes a desired action. It is not necessary to perform different operations for each message command, so that the burden of transmission work is reduced and operability can be improved.

Hereinafter, embodiments of the present invention will be described more specifically with reference to the drawings.

FIG. 1 is a conceptual diagram of a system including a facsimile-type electronic mail device as an embodiment of a communication device according to the present invention.

This system is composed of a facsimile type electronic mail device 1 as a transmission source, a facsimile type electronic mail device 2 functioning as a relay, a server 3 having a route information table, and a final destination facsimile device 4. I have. Further, the facsimile type e-mail device 1, facsimile type e-mail device 2, and server 3 are all connected to a network capable of e-mail communication, and the facsimile type e-mail device 2 and the final destination facsimile device 4 Facsimile communication is performed through a normal public line network.

The facsimile-type electronic mail device 1 and the facsimile-type electronic mail device 2 are both communication terminals that can execute both electronic mail communication and facsimile communication.

The server 3 has a final destination facsimile machine 4
And a route information table that associates the FAX number of the FAX with the mail address of the facsimile-type electronic mail device 2 serving as a relay machine.

This database will be briefly described with reference to FIG. FIG. 2 is an explanatory diagram showing the structure of the route information table database. As shown in FIG. 2, the route information table includes a mail address of the repeater, a facsimile number of the final destination facsimile device 4 that each repeater handles, and a reception capability and a support data format which are image processing capabilities of the repeater. It is remembered.

The operator obtains these items stored in the table and performs a predetermined operation in accordance with the items, so that the operator does not negotiate with the repeater.
Transmission of image information can be easily performed.

Next, a procedure for transmitting image information in the system configured as described above will be described with reference to FIG.
FIG. 3 is a procedure explanatory diagram showing a transmission procedure of a system including a facsimile-type electronic mail device.

First, when the facsimile type electronic mail device 2 is connected to the network, the management items of the database shown in FIG. This registration is
If the operator inputs necessary items and transmits them to the server 3 by a predetermined operation, the program may be programmed in advance to complete automatically. Upon completion of the registration, the facsimile-type electronic mail device 2 can be used immediately as a repeater.

To execute transmission from the facsimile-type electronic mail apparatus 1 to the facsimile apparatus 2, first, a facsimile manuscript is read by designating a transmission destination, and then connected to the server 3 to inquire about a relay mail address. Do.

The inquiry about the relay mail address is as follows:
This is performed by notifying the final destination FAX number by a predetermined message command in the electronic mail message. Next, the server 3 performs a search based on the notified final destination FAX number, and determines the mail address of the corresponding relay device, the reception capability as the image information processing capability, the support data format, and the like, and the facsimile electronic mail device of the transmission source Notify 1. The operation of the server 3 will be specifically described later.

The operator can obtain all the information necessary for transmission only by informing the server 3 of the FAX number of the final destination only. In order to confirm the receiving capability of the repeater in the communication procedure each time, There is no need to negotiate.

Then, according to the mail address of the relay machine notified from the server 3, the facsimile type electronic mail device 1 of the transmission source has the FAX number of the final destination facsimile device 4 with respect to the facsimile type electronic mail device 2. A relay transfer instruction command is transmitted by e-mail, and the read image information is converted into a data format supported by the repeater based on the reception capability of the repeater, for example, TIF.
The file is transmitted by e-mail as an attached file in the F format, and a relay transfer instruction is issued. If the reception capability of the repeater itself or the highest reception capability among the terminal facsimile devices connected to the repeater is registered as the reception capability of the repeater registered in the server 3, data can be transmitted with excessive specifications. And reduce the load on the network.

By following the above procedure, the operator can transmit the necessary relay transfer instruction command and image information in one transmission operation, so that the transmission operation is simplified and the transmission time is shortened as a whole.

Next, the facsimile type electronic mail device 2
Converts the received image information compressed in the TIFF format into raw data, and then executes, for example, an MR compression process to convert the received information into data that can be received by the final destination facsimile machine 4. Further, based on the instruction of the relay transfer, the FAX number of the transfer destination facsimile machine 4 is cut out from the received e-mail, the call is sent to the destination, and the recompressed image information is transmitted.

Since the facsimile-type electronic mail device 2 performs relay processing based on the relay transfer instruction received by electronic mail, there is no need to make any special settings for use as a relay machine.

Further, the relay facsimile type e-mail device 2 converts the header information of the received e-mail into image information, compresses it into the same data form as the image information, and transmits it together with the image information. The header information that is not output to the facsimile apparatus can be output to the final destination facsimile apparatus 4, and the receiver can obtain all the path information through which the facsimile data such as the source information and the relay terminal information have passed.

Moreover, the facsimile type electronic mail device 2
In order to make the received image output from the final destination facsimile machine 4 easy to see, the following header information editing processing can be performed. FIG. 4 is a data configuration diagram of a facsimile-type electronic mail device before and after editing a header.

As shown in FIG. 4A, the data received from the transmission source has various information added as a header before the body of the facsimile image to be received as an electronic mail. The header information includes items that do not need to be output, and all the items are output to the final destination facsimile machine 4.
, The received image becomes very difficult to see.

Therefore, as shown in FIG.
m] Filter and delete items other than necessary items such as “To” and “Subject”. As a result, unnecessary items are not transmitted, and an easily viewable received image can be obtained in the final destination facsimile machine 4.

The facsimile-type electronic mail device 2 can appropriately select which item of the header information to delete, and can output necessary header information to the reception screen according to the user's convenience.

Next, the operation of the server 3 will be described with reference to FIG. FIG. 5 is a flowchart of a server arranged on a network to which a facsimile-type electronic mail device is connected.

When an e-mail is received from a facsimile-type e-mail device (ST501), server 3 extracts a message command from the received data (ST502) and determines whether or not it is an information notification message (ST50).
3). This information notification message is a notification of the capability of the device itself when a new facsimile-type electronic mail device 2 is connected to the network, and is a notification for registering the items shown in FIG.

If the message command is an information notification message, registration and update of the database of server 3 are performed (ST504). When the registration is completed, the facsimile-type electronic mail device can be used as a repeater.

If the message command is not an information notification message, it is next determined whether or not it is a relay inquiry message (ST505). If not, another process is executed (ST506). .

If the message command is a relay inquiry message, a database search is performed in the server 3 (ST507), and a facsimile-type electronic mail which is a relay corresponding to the notified fax number of the final destination facsimile machine 4 The e-mail address of the device 2, the reception capability as the image information processing capability, the support data format, and the like are transmitted to the facsimile type e-mail device 1 (ST50).
8).

As a result, the operator can set the final destination F
If only the AX number is notified, the mail address of the corresponding relay device can be obtained from the mail address of the relay device stored in the route information table, so that the subsequent transmission operation can be easily performed.

[0056]

As described above, according to the present invention,
Users only need to specify the fax number of the final destination,
Image information can be transmitted via a repeater, and a received image can be obtained which is no different from the case where a direct telephone line network is used.

[Brief description of the drawings]

FIG. 1 is a conceptual diagram of a system including a facsimile electronic mail device according to an embodiment of a communication device according to the present invention.

FIG. 2 is an explanatory diagram showing a structure of a route information table database in the embodiment.

FIG. 3 is a procedure explanatory diagram showing a relay transfer procedure of the system including the facsimile-type electronic mail device in the embodiment.

FIG. 4 is a data configuration diagram before and after editing a header of the facsimile type electronic mail device in the embodiment.

FIG. 5 is a flowchart of a server arranged on a network to which the facsimile-type electronic mail device in the embodiment is connected.

FIG. 6 is a conceptual diagram showing a state when information is transmitted from a conventional facsimile-type electronic mail device to a normal facsimile device.

[Explanation of symbols]

 DESCRIPTION OF SYMBOLS 1 Facsimile-type e-mail device of transmission source 2 Facsimile-type e-mail device functioning as a repeater 3 Server 4 Facsimile device of final destination

Claims (10)

[Claims] 1. A method of acquiring, via a network, facsimile image processing capability information of a destination device serving as a communication destination from a device having facsimile image processing capability information of a relay device connected to a network and serving as a destination of image information.
1 control means, second control means for generating transmission data in conformity with the facsimile image processing capability information obtained by the first control means, and the generated transmission data to the relay device via a network And a third control unit that instructs the relay device that performs the communication to transfer the transmission data via a public line at the same time as the transmission. 2. The facsimile image processing capability information of the relay device stored in the device having the facsimile image processing capability information includes at least a data format, resolution, and paper size supported by the relay device. Is
2. The communication apparatus according to claim 1, wherein the transmission apparatus generates e-mail transmission data as an attached file of a predetermined format, in accordance with the acquired reception capability information. 3. A method for acquiring, via a network, facsimile image processing capability information of a destination device serving as a communication destination from a device having facsimile image processing capability information of a destination device serving as a destination of image information connected to a network.
The first control means, and the second control means for generating the e-mail transmission data as an attached file of a predetermined format, with the transmission image information adapted to the facsimile image processing capability information obtained by the first control means, And a third control means for transmitting the e-mail transmission data generated by the second control means to the destination device via a network. 4. The communication apparatus according to claim 1, wherein the second control unit acquires the transmission image information by reading the transmission original by the reading unit. 5. A step of obtaining, via a network, facsimile image processing capability information of a destination device stored on a memory of a device connected to a network, and obtaining the facsimile image processing capability information of the destination device obtained in this step. Generating an e-mail transmission data with the transmission image information as an attached file in a predetermined format, and transmitting the e-mail transmission data generated in this step to the destination device via a network. A communication method, comprising: 6. A step of obtaining facsimile image processing capability information of a destination device as a transmission destination of image information by e-mail via a network, and adapting the information to the facsimile image processing capability information of the device obtained in this step.
Generating e-mail transmission data in which transmission image information is an attached file in a predetermined format; and transmitting the e-mail transmission data generated in this step to the destination device by e-mail via a network. A communication method, comprising: 7. A step of requesting facsimile image processing capability information of a destination device connected to a network and having facsimile image processing capability information of a destination device to which image information is to be transmitted, and the requested destination Receiving facsimile image processing capability information of the device, generating e-mail transmission data with the transmission image information as an attached file in a predetermined format, adapted to the received facsimile image processing capability information of the device, Transmitting the electronic mail transmission data to the destination device via a network. 8. A step of instructing the destination device to transfer the transmission data via a public line when performing the step of transmitting the generated e-mail transmission data to the destination device via a network. The communication method according to any one of claims 5 to 7, wherein the communication method is performed. 9. A reading step of reading a transmission original to obtain image information, wherein the step of generating e-mail transmission data includes: transmitting the transmission image information obtained in the reading step as an attached file in a predetermined format; The communication method according to any one of claims 5 to 7, further comprising: 10. A step of reading a transmission original to obtain image information, a step of obtaining by communication facsimile image processing capability information of a destination device as a direct transmission destination from a device connected via a network, Based on the image processing capability information obtained in the preparation step, the image information obtained by reading, a processing step of generating e-mail transmission data as an attached file of a predetermined format, the generated transmission data via a network A transmitting step of transmitting to a communication device.