JP2005094201A - Facsimile machine - Google Patents

Abstract

<P>PROBLEM TO BE SOLVED: To easily and accurately perform operations in mail transmission and reception. <P>SOLUTION: A nonvolatile memory 6 stores an address directory wherein a plurality of addresses having, as constituents, at least mail addresses, reception account names and passwords. When one address in the address directory is designated, the reception account and the password of the designated address are read from the address directory when receiving mail, and a LAN control section 9 connects with a mail server to receive the mail on the basis of the reception account and the password of the designated address. Further, mail is created from data resulting from compressing by a DCR 7 original image data read by a scanner 1 in mail transmission and the LAN control section 9 connects with the mail server to transmit the mail on the basis of the read mail address. <P>COPYRIGHT: (C)2005,JPO&NCIPI

Description

  The present invention relates to a facsimile machine connected to a network and having an e-mail transmission / reception function.

In a conventional facsimile apparatus, there is a technique for determining whether transmission or reception is based on the presence or absence of a document (see, for example, Patent Document 1). However, it does not support POP reception via email.
In addition, there is a technique for receiving POP from mail servers connected to a plurality of different networks (see, for example, Patent Document 2), but it does not support security when a plurality of users share.

Further, although there are Internet facsimile apparatuses and communication methods thereof that can easily receive mail (for example, see Patent Document 3), there is a security problem that it is possible to easily receive another person's mail.
Conventionally, when sending and receiving e-mails, it is necessary to input e-mail addresses and passwords, which is troublesome and error is likely to occur.
JP 2002-232670 A JP 2000-196655 A JP 2002-7264 A

  An object of the present invention is to easily and accurately perform operations at the time of sending and receiving mail and to solve a security problem.

  The facsimile apparatus according to the first aspect of the present invention includes an address book means in which a plurality of addresses including at least a mail address, a receiving account name, and a password as constituent elements are described, and a designation means for designating one address in the address book means And a mail reception control means for reading a reception account and password of the designated address from the address book means at the time of mail reception and connecting to a mail server based on this, and at the time of mail transmission, the mail reception control means The present invention is characterized in that there is provided mail transmission control means for reading out the mail address of the designated address from the address book means and connecting to the mail server based on the read mail address to send mail.

  According to a second aspect of the present invention, in the facsimile apparatus according to the first aspect, a document reading unit that reads a document and outputs image data, a mail creation unit that creates a mail based on the read image data, and the document reading Detecting means for detecting presence or absence of a document in the means, and control means for operating the mail transmission control means when it is detected that the document is present, and for operating the mail receiving means when it is detected that there is no document And is provided.

  The invention according to claim 3 is the facsimile apparatus according to claim 1 or 2, wherein the facsimile apparatus has an authentication password as a component of the address in the address book means, and prompts and inputs the authentication password before receiving mail. And an authentication unit for performing user authentication based on the authentication password and the authentication password for the designated address.

  According to a fourth aspect of the present invention, in the facsimile apparatus according to the third aspect, when the user of the apparatus is restricted, the user authentication is performed when the authenticated user matches the user who is going to receive the mail. It is characterized in that user authentication is performed when they do not match and do not match.

According to a fifth aspect of the present invention, in the facsimile apparatus according to any one of the first to fourth aspects, a user name is provided as a component of an address in the address book means, and the designation means includes a plurality of designation means in the address book means. One address is designated by designating one user name of each address.

  According to the present invention, operations at the time of sending and receiving mail can be performed easily and accurately.

  In the present invention, an address book in which a plurality of addresses including at least a mail address, a receiving account name, and a password are described is provided, and when the mail is received in a state in which one address is specified, the specified address The account and password for receiving are read from the address book, and based on this, the mail server is connected to receive mail, and when sending mail, the mail address of the specified address is read from the address book and mail is sent based on this Connect to the server to send mail.

FIG. 1 is a block diagram showing the configuration of a facsimile apparatus as a mail transmitting / receiving apparatus according to an embodiment of the present invention.
In FIG. 1, 1 is a reading unit (scanner), 2 is a facsimile control unit, 3 is a writing unit (plotter), 4 is an operation display unit (operating board), and 5 is a non-volatile memory. 10. Each information file is stored here. A hard disk or the like may be used instead of the nonvolatile memory 5. Reference numeral 6 is a memory, 7 is an image information compression / reproduction unit (DCR), 8 is a communication control unit (CCU), 9 is a LAN control unit, and performs communication protocol control by TCP / IP, SMTP, POP3, etc. (Not shown). It also has a function to create a MIME format mail.

FIG. 2 is a configuration example of the address book 10 stored in the nonvolatile memory 5.
As shown in the figure, the address book 10 contains a plurality of addresses. One address includes a destination number, a user name (a plurality of user names shared by the facsimile apparatus), an authentication password, a mail address, a reception account, and a reception password.

Next, the operation for sending and receiving e-mail will be described.
First, the user operates the operation display unit 4 to specify an address from the address book 10. For example, an address is designated by designating one's own user name from a plurality of user names displayed on the operation display unit 4.
FIG. 3 is a flowchart showing the operation when the start key is pressed in the state where the address is designated as described above.
S301: If a document is not placed on the document table of the scanner 1, the process proceeds to S302 assuming that a mail is received, and if a document is placed, the process proceeds to S303 where a mail is transmitted.

S302: The reception account and the reception password of the specified address are read from the address book 10. The LAN control unit 9 uses the received reception account and reception password to connect to the mail server and receive mail.
S303: The mail address of the designated address is read from the address book 10, the original is read by the scanner 1, and the read image data is compressed by DCR7. The LAN control unit 9 creates a mail from the compressed data and performs mail transmission based on the mail address.

  According to the first embodiment, by designating an address in the address book 10, it is possible to reliably perform mail transmission and mail reception with a simple operation by simply pressing the start key. It is also possible to automatically determine and set whether to send mail or receive mail.

FIG. 4 shows a flowchart when the start key is pressed in a state where the address of the address book 10 is designated by the operation display unit 4.
S401: If a document is not placed on the document table of the scanner 1, the process proceeds to S402, and if it is placed, the process proceeds to S405.
S402: An authentication password input screen is displayed on the operation display unit 4. If the authentication password is input, the process proceeds to S403.

S403: The authentication password of the designated address is read from the address book 10 and compared with the input authentication password. If they match, the process proceeds to S404, and if they do not match, the process proceeds to S406.
S404: Read the reception account and reception password of the specified address from the address book 10, and the LAN control unit 9 uses the read reception account and reception password to connect to the mail server and receive mail. I do.
S405: The mail address of the designated address is read from the address book 10, the original is read by the scanner 1, and the read image data is compressed by the DCR 7. The LAN control unit 9 creates a mail from the compressed data and performs mail transmission based on the mail address.

  In the case of the first embodiment, there is a security problem that mails to other people can be easily received. However, according to the second embodiment, this problem can be solved by inputting an authentication password. it can.

FIG. 5 shows a flowchart at the time of user authentication in a state where an address in the address book 10 is designated.
S501: An authentication user selection screen is displayed on the operation display unit 4. If the user is selected, the process proceeds to S502.
S502: An authentication password input screen is displayed on the operation display unit 4.
S503: The authentication password of the specified address is read from the address book 10 and compared with the input authentication password. If they match, the process proceeds to S504, and if they do not match, the process proceeds to S501.
S504: The authenticated user is stored in the memory 6.

FIG. 6 shows a flowchart when the start key is pressed in a state in which the user authenticated as described above is stored in the memory 6 and the address of the address book 10 is designated by the operation display unit 4.
S601: If a document is not placed on the document table of the scanner 1, the process proceeds to S602, and if it is placed, the process proceeds to S606.
S602: The authenticated user is read from the memory 6, and if it matches the user at the designated address, the process proceeds to S605, and if not, the process proceeds to S603.
S603: An authentication password input screen is displayed by the operation display unit 4. If the authentication password is input, the process proceeds to S604.

S604: The authentication password corresponding to the specified address is read from the address book 10 and compared with the input authentication password. If they match, the process proceeds to S605, and if they do not match, the process proceeds to S607.
S605: The receiving account and the receiving password corresponding to the designated address are read from the address book 10, and based on this, the LAN control unit 9 connects to the mail server and receives the mail.
S606: The mail address corresponding to the designated address is read from the address book 10, the document is read by the scanner 1, the read image data is compressed by the DCR 7, and the mail created from the compressed data is transmitted from the LAN control unit 9. I do.

  In the first and second embodiments, there is a problem that if the use of the device is restricted, the authentication password must be re-entered even when the authenticated person receives the mail. According to the third embodiment, when the user of the apparatus is restricted, the user authentication is not performed when the authenticated user and the user who is going to receive the mail match, and the user when the user does not match. By performing authentication, the above problem can be solved.

1 is a block diagram showing a configuration of a facsimile apparatus according to an embodiment of the present invention. It is a block diagram which shows the address book by the Example of this invention. It is a flowchart which shows the operation | movement by Example 1 of this invention. It is a flowchart which shows the operation | movement by Example 2 of this invention. It is a flowchart which shows the operation | movement by Example 3 of this invention. It is a flowchart which shows the operation | movement by Example 3 of this invention.

Explanation of symbols

DESCRIPTION OF SYMBOLS 1 Scanner 2 Facsimile control part 4 Operation display part 5 Non-volatile memory 8 Communication control part 9 LAN control part 10 Address book

Claims (5)

An address book means in which a plurality of addresses including at least an email address, a receiving account name and a password are included as components;
Designating means for designating one address in the address book means;
A mail reception control means for reading a reception account and a password for the designated address from the address book means when receiving a mail, and connecting to a mail server based on this and receiving a mail;
2. A facsimile apparatus comprising: a mail transmission control means for reading a mail address of the designated address from the address book means and sending a mail by connecting to a mail server based on the mail address when sending mail. An original reading means for reading an original and outputting image data;
Mail creating means for creating mail based on the read image data;
Detecting means for detecting the presence or absence of a document in the document reading means;
2. A control means for operating the mail transmission control means when it is detected that the original is present and for operating the mail receiving means when it is detected that there is no original. The described facsimile machine.   Having an authentication password as a component of the address in the address book means, prompting the user to enter the authentication password before receiving mail, and based on the input authentication password and the authentication password for the specified address 3. The facsimile apparatus according to claim 1, further comprising authentication means for performing user authentication.   When the user restriction of the device is applied, the user authentication is not performed when the authenticated user matches the user who is going to receive the mail, and the user authentication is performed when they do not match The facsimile apparatus according to claim 3. The address book means has a user name as a component of an address, and the designation means designates one address by designating one user name of a plurality of addresses in the address book means. Item 5. The facsimile apparatus according to any one of Items 1 to 4.

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