JP3659809B2 - Facsimile device with recipient identification function - Google Patents

Description

[0001]
BACKGROUND OF THE INVENTION
The present invention relates to a facsimile apparatus with a recipient specifying function, and more particularly to an electronic mail or facsimile communication terminal apparatus applicable to a unified message system.
[0002]
[Prior art]
In recent years, e-mail has become widespread, and many people want to receive a document received by a facsimile apparatus as it is as e-mail. In offices, a representative facsimile machine is placed, and it is now common for dozens of people to use it together. Therefore, a method for identifying the recipient and a LAN interface are added to the representative facsimile device, and a function for sending the recipient as an e-mail or notifying the reception is added to expand the usage of the facsimile device. It is considered.
[0003]
First, consider a method of transmitting information in the form of electronic mail from a facsimile machine to users on the Internet.
Since the communication protocol is different between the Internet using TCP / IP and the facsimile using T.30 or the like, a mail gateway device is required between the two in order to absorb the difference.
[0004]
With respect to the received image, the mail gateway apparatus may change from MR, MH, etc. to general TIFF, GIF, etc. as e-mail, convert it to MIME, UUENCODE, etc., and send it to the user on the LAN. Here, since the mail gateway apparatus also has a function as a facsimile, it will be referred to as a “facsimile apparatus with a recipient identifying function”.
[0005]
By the way, there are several methods for specifying the recipient, such as ordering by PB tone and using OCR and OMR. Here, a method for identifying the recipient in character recognition will be mentioned.
[0006]
Conventionally, a system for recognizing characters from text received by a facsimile machine and transmitting it as an e-mail or a system for notifying a recipient of arrival of a facsimile document has been conventionally considered. As publicly known documents disclosing these techniques, for example, JP-A-8-37570 (electronic mail system), JP-A-8-172493 (facsimile apparatus), JP-A-9-200251 (message processing method and apparatus) ) And the like.
[0007]
JP-A-8-37570 relates to an e-mail system that distributes received facsimile data to a recipient via an e-mail network by recognizing the address of the recipient described in the facsimile document. The document received by the means is stored in the message storage means via the network, and the address in the stored received document is subjected to character recognition, address extraction and address verification by the address recognition distribution means, and the e-mail to be distributed The user is determined, and the received document is distributed to the message display means of the e-mail user.
[0008]
Japanese Patent Laid-Open No. 8-172493 discloses a line control unit that receives facsimile code data from a line and performs protocol processing, and an image that decodes the protocol-processed code data and converts it into raw image data. A processing unit, a character recognition process for identifying a recipient of the communication document from the decoded image data, and an extension number generation unit for notifying the recipient of the communication document of the reception of the communication document according to the result of the character recognition process The facsimile apparatus provided with the extension control unit and the voice synthesis processing unit automatically notifies the recipient of the communication document of the reception of the facsimile without adding a unique communication procedure.
[0009]
In addition, the above-mentioned Japanese Patent Laid-Open No. 9-200251 transmits a message to an e-mail user with a simple operation without having an e-mail environment such as a workstation connected to a LAN or a personal computer connected via a telephone line. Image information entered into an input form from a facsimile by a receiving interface unit via a public telephone network and received and stored in the image signal memory unit The character area inside is converted into a character code by the character pattern extraction unit and the character recognition unit, the mail address and message are edited from the character code string by the editing / determination unit, and the communication control unit converts it into the e-mail system. To send.
[0010]
[Problems to be solved by the invention]
However, as described above, a system for identifying a recipient from the character recognition result of an image received by facsimile and transmitting the document as an e-mail to the recipient or a system for notifying the recipient of a document reception as an e-mail Although they existed, they only searched for the recipient name or recipient address from the mailing list.
[0011]
In addition, these systems require special forms and text boxes on the sender side to increase the recognition rate, and the sender uses a special entry method (description method) to specify the destination. I had to follow.
[0012]
The present invention has been made in consideration of the above-mentioned circumstances, and can be used as a conventional facsimile machine, and does not require any special paper on the transmission side. It is an object of the present invention to provide a facsimile machine with a receiver specifying function capable of transmitting a received image by e-mail without applying a special burden.
[0013]
[Means for Solving the Problems]
The invention of claim 1 has a receiver specifying means for specifying a receiver to be transmitted from the character recognition result of the received image, and transmits the received image as an e-mail to the receiver specified by the receiver specifying means. to, or that it has received can notify the electronic mail receiving said recipient identifying means is not only from the character recognition, by matching the keywords registered in the facsimile apparatus performs the specific recipient In the facsimile apparatus with a person specifying function, the received image is (1) paper output only, (2) only e-mail transfer, (3) paper output and e-mail notification, (4) paper output It is characterized by having output method selection means for selecting from output and transfer by e-mail .
[0014]
The invention of claim 2 has a receiver specifying means for specifying a receiver to be transmitted from the character recognition result of the received image, and transmits the received image as an e-mail to the receiver specified by the receiver specifying means. Or the reception can be notified as an e-mail, and the recipient identification means identifies the recipient not only from character recognition but also by matching with a keyword registered in the facsimile machine. In the facsimile apparatus with a person specifying function, when there are a plurality of recipients of the received image, the received image is output by paper and then notified by e-mail to the plurality of recipients, or only a mailing table It is characterized by having a reception notification means for performing notification by e-mail attached with .
[0015]
The invention of claim 3 has a receiver specifying means for specifying a receiver to be transmitted from the character recognition result of the received image, and transmits the received image as an e-mail to the receiver specified by the receiver specifying means. Or the reception can be notified as an e-mail, and the recipient identification means identifies the recipient not only from character recognition but also by matching with a keyword registered in the facsimile machine. In the facsimile apparatus with a person specifying function, the received image is (1) paper output only, (2) only e-mail transfer, (3) paper output and e-mail notification, (4) paper output an output method selection means for selecting from the transfer at the output and e-mail, if the recipient of the received image is a plurality of images obtained by said received after outputting by the paper, to the plurality of recipients E-mail notifications by letter, or is obtained by; and a reception notifying means for performing notification by e-mail attached with only Transmittal.
[0016]
DETAILED DESCRIPTION OF THE INVENTION
FIG. 1 is a diagram for explaining an example of a facsimile machine with a receiver specifying function to which the present invention is applied. FIG. 1 (A) is a schematic configuration diagram and FIG. 1 (B) is a diagram for explaining an operation. In the block diagram, 1 is a facsimile with a recipient specifying function, 2 is a facsimile, 3 is a personal computer (PC), 11 is a facsimile receiving means, 12 is a character recognition means, 13 is a collating means, 14 is an output means, and 15 is a database. , 16 is a mail transmission means, and 17 is a database registration / deletion means.
[0017]
A facsimile 1 with a receiver specifying function shown in FIG. 1A is a telephone line connection unit for realizing communication with the facsimile 2 as an interface with the outside, and an output for outputting received data (PRINTOUT). And a LAN connection unit for transmitting data to the PC as electronic mail.
[0018]
Further, as shown in FIG. 1B, the facsimile apparatus 1 with the receiver specifying function is such that the image data received by the facsimile receiving means 11 is extracted by the character recognition means 12 and inputted in advance by the collation means 13. The database 15 is collated. Although the method of collation will be described later, it is printed out as paper like a normal facsimile through the data output device (output means 14) according to the contents, or e-mail is sent to each user via the LAN through the mail sending means 16. It is decided whether to send as.
[0019]
FIG. 2 is a diagram for explaining an embodiment of a facsimile machine with a recipient specifying function according to the present invention. In the example shown in FIG. 2, the recipient is a person named “Taro Suzuki” who regularly deals with a person named “Tanaka Takashi” of “abc Co., Ltd.”. It is assumed that there are many. Therefore, keywords are registered as shown in FIG. Normally, the sender table describes not only the recipient name but also the sender name and the company name of the sender, so if the sender table shown in FIG. If normal, the hit rate in this example is 100%, and it can be concluded that the recipient will be approximately “Taro Suzuki”.
[0020]
In the above example, the recipient to register a keyword, but so as to identify the recipient from the hit rate of the keywords in the document received, it most important keywords are recipient name is uncertain Therefore, as shown in FIG. 2C, the error rate can be reduced by adding a weight (importance) to each keyword more strictly.
[0021]
In order not to put a burden on the sender side as much as possible, it is not possible to prepare dedicated paper or to pay attention to how to write. Therefore, for character recognition, a full text search is performed on the delivery table (first page), and if it cannot be recognized, it is output as is from the facsimile as usual.
[0022]
Figure 3 is a diagram for explaining another embodiment of a receiver specific function facsimile apparatus according to the present invention, the handling of image received by the facsimile apparatus, in accordance with the recipient's environment / requirements,
(1) Paper output only (normal facsimile operation)
(2) Only e-mail transfer (3) Paper output and e-mail notification (4) Paper output and e-mail transfer One of four patterns can be selected.
[0023]
The above (1) is for those who do not have a personal computer at hand, or who use the conventional method is sufficient (recognition processing is performed internally), and the above (2) is used as paper in a facsimile machine. Is for those who want to send it as an email. In (3) above, the output is paper but the incoming notification is sent by e-mail (FIG. 3A). In (4) above, the image is received also as e-mail, but also as paper. This is for people who want to output. These pieces of information are added to the table shown in FIG. 2A (FIG. 3B).
[0024]
If there are a plurality of recipients based on the character recognition result of the received image, basically, it is only necessary to transmit to the person with the highest hit rate in the recognition process, but there may be cases where the values are almost equal. In that case, that is, when there are a plurality of recipients from the received image character recognition result, first, output is made with paper, and then (1) e-mail notification with characters is sent to all recipients, or (2) the notification by sending table (1 page) only to the accompanying e-mail to perform all of the intended recipients.
[0025]
The above (1) has a meaning to call attention to the recipient, and the person who received the e-mail actually confirms the output and determines who the information is addressed to. In (2) above, by attaching the delivery table as an image and confirming it, it is possible to determine who the information is addressed to.
However, in order to improve confidentiality, the entire received document is not sent, but only the sending table is sent.
[0026]
【The invention's effect】
(1) by keyword, for multilateral search may identify recipients without forcing the fine specified sender. In addition, if the sender uses characters suitable for character recognition, the character recognition rate will increase, but for example, even if the recipient cannot be specified in character recognition, the conventional environment is maintained, so the normal situation is maintained. Operates as a facsimile.
[0027]
(2) Since the delivery mistake can a pressed as much as possible, the user can safely use this system.
[Brief description of the drawings]
FIG. 1 is a diagram for explaining an example of a facsimile machine with a receiver specifying function to which the present invention is applied.
FIG. 2 is a diagram for explaining an embodiment of a facsimile machine with a receiver specifying function according to the present invention.
FIG. 3 is a diagram for explaining another embodiment of a facsimile machine with a receiver specifying function according to the present invention.
[Explanation of symbols]
DESCRIPTION OF SYMBOLS 1 ... Facsimile with a receiver specific function, 2 ... Facsimile, 3 ... Personal computer (PC), 11 ... Facsimile reception means, 12 ... Character recognition means, 13 ... Collation means, 14 ... Output means, 15 ... Database, 16 ... Mail Transmission means, 17... Database registration / deletion means.

Claims (3)

Having a receiver specifying means for specifying a receiver to be transmitted from the character recognition result of the received image, and sending or receiving the received image as an e-mail to the receiver specified by the receiver specifying means the can be notified as e-mail, the recipient specifying means, not only from the character recognition, by matching the keywords registered in the facsimile apparatus, the recipient of a particular row cormorants recipient specific function facsimile apparatus The received image is (1) paper output only, (2) e-mail transfer only, (3) paper output and e-mail notification, (4) paper output and e-mail A facsimile apparatus with a receiver specifying function, characterized by comprising output method selection means for selecting from transfer. Having a receiver specifying means for specifying a receiver to be transmitted from the character recognition result of the received image, and sending or receiving the received image as an e-mail to the receiver specified by the receiver specifying means In the facsimile apparatus with a receiver specifying function for specifying the receiver not only from character recognition but also by matching with a keyword registered in the facsimile apparatus, the receiver specifying means When there are a plurality of recipients of the received image, after the received image is output by paper, the plurality of recipients are notified by e-mail in characters, or by e-mail with only a mailing table attached A facsimile apparatus with a receiver specifying function, characterized by comprising a reception notification means for performing notification . Having a receiver specifying means for specifying a receiver to be transmitted from the character recognition result of the received image, and sending or receiving the received image as an e-mail to the receiver specified by the receiver specifying means In the facsimile apparatus with a receiver specifying function for specifying the receiver not only from character recognition but also by matching with a keyword registered in the facsimile apparatus, the receiver specifying means The received image is (1) paper output only, (2) e-mail transfer only, (3) paper output and e-mail notification, and (4) paper output and e-mail transfer. an output method selection means for selecting from, If the recipient of the received image is a plurality of, after an image the received output by the paper, email textual to the plurality of recipients In the notification, or the recipient specific function facsimile apparatus characterized by having a reception notification means for performing notification by e-mail attached with only Transmittal.

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