JP2000324318A - Facsimile equipment - Google Patents

Abstract

PROBLEM TO BE SOLVED: To obtain a facsimile equipment the security of which is enhanced. SOLUTION: A communication control section (CCU) 7 exchanges a facsimile control signal with an opposite facsimile equipment to execute a facsimile communication protocol, a CPU 1 controls operations of each section according to a program in a ROM 2 and a level management section 13 manages a level of a destination set from a user. A level control section 14 adds and analyzes the managed level in the case of communication. Thus, in the case of registering a telephone number, a disclosure level in response to the importance of an original is individually set to each destination and a group for multiple address communication is generated by using the set destination. For example, in a state that almost a half of a group consisting of about 100 registered users has similar numbers, when a sender selects an erroneous group and transmits information to the group, the transmission can be inhibited to an opposite party to which the transmission original is undesirably disclosed depending on the level of the original.

Description

DETAILED DESCRIPTION OF THE INVENTION

[0001]

BACKGROUND OF THE INVENTION 1. Field of the Invention The present invention relates to a facsimile apparatus, and more particularly, to a facsimile apparatus having increased flexibility in transmission / reception management.

[0002]

2. Description of the Related Art Conventionally, a facsimile apparatus is generally configured by adding functions such as confidentiality and relay set for one destination when performing broadcast transmission or the like. For example, there have been proposed several methods of automatically combining and transmitting a plurality of functions, such as confidentiality being enabled for a certain destination when broadcasting.

[0003]

However, in the above-mentioned conventional example, in any of the methods, the main purpose is to complete transmission, and there is no need to independently add a confidential function for each destination. Is a proposal, with the problem that it is only transmitted within the intended range of the sender.

[0004] It is an object of the present invention to provide a facsimile apparatus with improved security.

[0005]

In order to achieve the above object, a facsimile apparatus of the present invention exchanges a facsimile control signal with a partner facsimile apparatus, executes a facsimile communication procedure, and a basic program. ROM that stores programs and processing programs, etc., and ROM
CPU that controls the operation of each unit of the facsimile apparatus according to the program in the above, a level management unit that manages the level of the destination set by the user, and a level that adds and analyzes the level managed by the level management unit during communication And a control unit, and when registering a telephone number,
It is characterized in that a disclosure level corresponding to the importance of a document is individually set for each destination, and a group for broadcast communication can be created using the set destination.

According to a second aspect of the present invention, in the facsimile apparatus according to the first aspect, an original level is designated when an original is transmitted by using a broadcast, and when the original level is transmitted, a level lower than the set level is specified. It is good to automatically remove the other party and make a call.

According to a third aspect of the present invention, in the facsimile apparatus according to the first aspect, when transmitting a manuscript by using a broadcast, if it is desired to remove a few destinations from a certain group and transmit to other destinations In the case where the levels of several destinations excluding from the group are registered with a low level, it is preferable to automatically set these original destinations and then send the call by excluding these destinations from the group.

According to a fourth aspect of the present invention, in the facsimile apparatus according to the first aspect, even when the group is not registered, the broadcast transmission based on the document disclosure level is performed by specifying a level such as "level 3 or higher". Good to do.

According to the fifth aspect of the present invention, in the facsimile apparatus according to the first aspect, an arbitrary broadcast transmission destination may be designated by a level division by designating a combination of level 3 and level 5.

According to the sixth aspect of the present invention, in the facsimile apparatus according to the first aspect, the original disclosure level registered by the own apparatus may be assigned to the NSS to notify the other apparatus at the time of communication with the other apparatus.

According to the seventh aspect of the present invention, in the facsimile apparatus according to the sixth aspect, the registered disclosure level may be taken out from the notified NSS, and recorded as the disclosure level of the partner machine in the own machine.

According to the invention described in claim 8, in the facsimile apparatus according to claim 7, the receiving side facsimile apparatus erroneously receives a call due to some error even though the transmission side sets the transmission level and then transmits. If the communication has been received, the communication may be disconnected by comparing the reception level with the transmission level indicated in the NSS.

According to a ninth aspect of the present invention, in the facsimile apparatus of the seventh aspect, when an incoming call is received after being notified of a certain reception level or higher, the communication result image information is not output to the memory. It is preferable to store the image information and output the image information only when the user specifies the output on the receiver side.

According to a tenth aspect of the present invention, in the facsimile apparatus according to the seventh aspect, when a document exceeding the already acquired level is transmitted, the disclosure level may be updated by a user's designation.

[0015]

DETAILED DESCRIPTION OF THE PREFERRED EMBODIMENTS An embodiment of a facsimile apparatus according to the present invention will be described in detail with reference to the accompanying drawings.
1 to 3 show an embodiment of the facsimile apparatus of the present invention.

In FIG. 1, a facsimile apparatus according to this embodiment includes a CPU 1, a ROM 2, a RAM 3, a scanner 4,
Plotter 5, operation / display control unit 6, communication control unit (CC
U) 7, modem 8, SAF (Store and Forward) memory 9, coding / decoding unit (DCR) 10, network control unit (NC)
U) 11, a level management unit 13, and a level control unit 14. These components are connected to the bus 1
2 are connected to each other.

The CPU 1 controls the operation of each unit of the facsimile apparatus according to the program in the ROM 2 and executes the processing of the present invention.

The ROM 2 stores a basic program as a facsimile machine, a processing program of the present invention, and the like. The RAM 3 has a work area formed therein and stores various data necessary for controlling the facsimile apparatus.

The scanner 4 reads an original. The plotter 5 performs copying and printing of a received document. The operation / display control unit 6 inputs an operation from the user and transmits information to the user.

A communication control unit (CCU) 7 exchanges a facsimile control signal with a partner facsimile machine and executes a facsimile communication procedure. SAF (Store and Forwar
d) The memory 9 stores images. The modem 8 modulates a transmission signal and demodulates a reception signal.

An encoding / decoding unit (DCR) 10 encodes image information according to a predetermined encoding method, and decodes the encoded image information. The network control unit (NCU) 11
Controls communication lines.

The level management unit 13 manages the level of the destination set by the user through the operation unit. The level control unit 14 adds and analyzes the level managed by the level management unit 13 during communication.

FIG. 2 shows an example of the operation procedure of the present invention. When performing a destination registration such as a one-touch registration or a group registration (steps S1 and S2), the user sets the disclosure level of the original together with the telephone number of the destination (step S3) and registers. The disclosure level registered here is managed by the level management unit. Next, when transmitting to the registered destination (step S4), for example, a group number is specified as the transmission destination, a disclosure level is set, and the start key is pressed. At this time, in the facsimile machine, the level control unit searches for the disclosure level of the other party belonging to the specified group, and if the destination includes the specified level or lower, removes this from the transmission destination. . Calls are made at any time by the above procedure.

Here, at the time of calling, the level control unit
A level is assigned to the NSS to be transmitted, and the called side is notified (step S5). The called side registers this (steps S11 and S12) and records it as the disclosure level from the calling side facsimile machine (step S1).
6). If the called party has the disclosure level from the facsimile machine (step S13), the called party level control unit compares this with the disclosure level notified this time and determines that the level is not permitted. If it is determined, the communication ends. If the user wants to update the disclosure level according to the user's specification (step S14), it updates the disclosure level recorded in the level management unit and continues the communication.

When the communication is completed without being repelled at the level on the called side, the image information sent with the disclosure level to the called facsimile apparatus is immediately output to the called side facsimile apparatus by the level management unit on the called side. If it is determined not to do so, image information is output only when a user issues an instruction to output a document with a disclosure level (steps S15 to S20).

FIG. 3 shows a level management method. When the user sets an arbitrary broadcast level such as “level X destination”, “level X or higher”, “level X and Y”, all the destinations included in the corresponding level are selected from the corresponding items by the level management unit. Search and broadcast to the selected destination. The specific transmission method is as shown in FIG.

According to the above-described embodiment, a communication control unit for exchanging a facsimile control signal with a partner facsimile apparatus and executing a facsimile communication procedure, a ROM storing a basic program and a processing program, and the like. A CPU that controls the operation of each unit of the facsimile apparatus according to a program in the ROM, a level management unit that manages the level of the destination set by the user, and adds and analyzes the level managed by the level management unit during communication And a level control unit. Therefore, when registering the phone number, the disclosure level according to the importance of the manuscript,
A group for broadcast communication can be created by individually setting each destination and using the set destination.

[0028]

As is apparent from the above description, the facsimile apparatus of the present invention stores a basic program and a processing program for exchanging a facsimile control signal with a partner facsimile apparatus and executing a facsimile communication procedure. In accordance with this program, the operation of each part of the facsimile apparatus is controlled, the level of the destination set by the user is managed, and the managed level is added and analyzed during communication. With this configuration, when registering a telephone number, the disclosure level according to the importance of the manuscript is individually set for each destination, and a broadcast group is created using this set destination I do.

By setting the manuscript disclosure level for each destination, when a condition such as not wanting to disclose to only some of the 100 members of the group occurs, the destination can be easily sorted. Can be performed.

Also, when broadcasting to a group that is confusing to the user, such as a group in which half of the destinations are the same, if a wrong group is designated and transmitted by mistake, Depending on the level classification,
It is not sent to destinations below a certain level. Therefore, the confidentiality of the document can be maintained.

Further, when it is desired to broadcast to all of the destinations registered as a group except for a few, the group setting is performed again, or the corresponding group is selected from the registered groups. It is possible to transmit only to the desired destination without any trouble such as re-selecting the group after searching for and deleting the destination.

Furthermore, since broadcast transmission can be performed without performing group registration, it is possible to save a limited group registration memory in a facsimile apparatus, for example, in which up to 10 groups can be registered. Become.

Furthermore, the broadcast transmission destination can be arbitrarily set by a simple operation, and the trouble of registering a large number of destinations as a group is eliminated.

Further, it becomes possible to automatically notify the original disclosure level set by the own machine to the other machine without using another means such as a telephone conversation.

Further, it is possible to automatically register the document disclosure level for the own machine set in the other machine.

Further, even if a call is made to a destination outside the level due to some mistake on the transmission side, it is possible to prevent the reception side from accepting the call, thereby increasing confidentiality and security.

Further, it is possible to decide whether or not to output image information at the time of communication depending on the importance of the original, so that there is no need to designate this as confidential from the transmitting side so that the image information is not output immediately at the time of communication. . Further, since the confidential ID and the like are not used to output the stored original, the transmitting side does not need to be aware of these IDs.

It is possible to flexibly respond to this request even when it is desired to change the current or maintenance level by changing the installation location of the receiving-side facsimile machine, changing the recipient, or the like.

[Brief description of the drawings]

FIG. 1 is a block diagram illustrating a configuration example of an embodiment of a facsimile apparatus of the present invention.

FIG. 2 is a flowchart illustrating an operation example.

FIG. 3 is a diagram for explaining a level management method.

[Explanation of symbols]

 DESCRIPTION OF SYMBOLS 1 CPU 2 ROM 3 RAM 4 Scanner 5 Plotter 6 Operation / display control part 7 Communication control part (CCU) 8 Modem 9 SAF (Store and Forward) memory 10 Encoding / decoding part (DCR) 11 Network control part (NCU) 12 Bus 13 Level management unit 14 Level control unit

Claims (10)

[Claims] 1. A communication control unit (CCU) for exchanging a facsimile control signal with a counterpart facsimile apparatus and executing a facsimile communication procedure, a ROM storing a basic program and a processing program as the facsimile apparatus, A CPU that controls the operation of each unit according to a program in the ROM; a level management unit that manages the level of a destination set by a user; and a level that adds and analyzes the level managed by the level management unit during communication When registering a telephone number, a disclosure level according to the importance of the manuscript is individually set for each destination, and a broadcast communication is performed using the set destination. A facsimile apparatus characterized in that a group can be created. 2. The facsimile apparatus according to claim 1, wherein a document level is designated when the document is transmitted by using a broadcast, and when the document level is transmitted, a destination lower than the set level is automatically designated. A facsimile machine characterized by making a call without a call. 3. The facsimile apparatus according to claim 1, wherein, when transmitting the original by using the broadcast, excluding several destinations from a certain group and transmitting the original to another destination, excluding several destinations from the group. A facsimile apparatus characterized in that, when the level of a destination is registered as a low level, by setting the document level and transmitting, the destination is automatically removed from the group and a call is made. 4. The facsimile apparatus according to claim 1, wherein, even when no group registration is performed, a broadcast transmission is performed at a document disclosure level by specifying a level such as “level 3 or more”. Facsimile machine. 5. A facsimile apparatus according to claim 1, wherein an arbitrary broadcast transmission destination can be designated by a level division by designating a combination of level 3 and level 5. Facsimile machine. 6. The facsimile apparatus according to claim 1, wherein a document disclosure level registered by the own apparatus is assigned to the NSS so that the facsimile apparatus can notify the other apparatus at the time of communication with the other apparatus. 7. The facsimile apparatus according to claim 6, wherein the registered disclosure level is extracted from the notified NSS, and can be recorded in the own apparatus as the disclosure level of the partner apparatus. . 8. The facsimile apparatus according to claim 7, wherein, even though the transmission side sets the transmission level and then transmits the data, the reception-side facsimile apparatus receives a call erroneously due to some error. , By comparing the reception level with the transmission level represented by the NSS,
A facsimile apparatus wherein the communication can be disconnected. 9. A facsimile apparatus according to claim 7, wherein when a call is received after being notified of a certain reception level or higher, image information which is a communication result is stored in a memory without being output, and a receiver by the user. A facsimile apparatus for outputting image information for the first time according to an output designation on the side. 10. The facsimile apparatus according to claim 7, wherein when a document exceeding the already acquired level is transmitted, the disclosure level can be updated by a user's specification.