JP4486441B2 - Facsimile delivery confirmation method - Google Patents

Description

  The present invention relates to a facsimile delivery confirmation method for performing notification of completion of a transmission job of a facsimile machine connected to a computer network.

  Conventionally, there is a form of facsimile transmission in which a facsimile transmission job is executed using a G3 facsimile or an Internet facsimile from a PC (Personal Computer) connected to a network such as a LAN. In such a case, various methods have been proposed as methods for confirming facsimile delivery.

  For example, in a facsimile apparatus that can be connected to the Internet or a LAN to perform e-mail communication and has a mail delivery confirmation procedure, it has a function unit that can register ON / OFF of a delivery confirmation function in a predetermined user code, and send There is known a technology that can provide a delivery confirmation function by any mail transmission that can use a user code without specifying delivery confirmation ON by an operation (see, for example, Patent Document 1).

  An example of a conventional facsimile delivery confirmation operation using electronic mail as described above will be described with reference to FIG. Here, in a network system in which a PC and a facsimile machine A (transmission side) are connected on a network, the facsimile machine A sends document data to a remote facsimile machine B (reception side) in response to a facsimile transmission request from the PC. A series of operations until the facsimile delivery is confirmed in the PC is shown.

First, a facsimile transmission job execution request is made from the PC to the facsimile apparatus A by SMTP (Simple Mail Transfer Protocol), and the original data is transmitted. Next, the facsimile apparatus A transmits document data to the facsimile apparatus B connected via the PSTN (telephone network) according to the G3 facsimile transmission procedure. Here, the facsimile communication can use not only a method such as G3 / G4 but also a method of sending document data by electronic mail. When the facsimile communication is completed, the facsimile apparatus A transmits the execution result of the facsimile transmission job to the mail server as an electronic mail addressed to the PC by SMTP, and the electronic mail is stored in the mail server. In some cases, such an e-mail for delivery confirmation can be transmitted from the facsimile B which has received the facsimile to the PC. The PC periodically makes an e-mail reception request to a mail server by POP (Post Office Protocol) and receives the e-mail to enable confirmation of facsimile delivery.
JP 2002-218152 A

  However, in the facsimile delivery confirmation method using e-mail as described above, for example, a complicated and time-consuming delivery such as setting a mail account for receiving e-mail for confirmation of delivery in the POP server. The user had to make settings related to the confirmation function. Also, until the user connects to the mail server using the e-mail software and receives the e-mail, the user cannot grasp the delivery status of the predetermined transmission job, and the e-mail from the mail server cannot be grasped. Since the transfer time may vary depending on the transfer route and the like, there is a problem of lack of immediacy.

  The present invention has been devised to solve such problems of the prior art, eliminates the need for complicated and time-consuming settings related to the delivery confirmation function, and immediately executes the execution result of a facsimile transmission job. It is a main object to provide a facsimile delivery confirmation method that can be confirmed at the same time.

In order to solve such a problem, the facsimile delivery confirmation method according to the present invention, as set forth in claim 1, creates a document for facsimile transmission, and implements software for controlling an external facsimile machine and SNMP function. In a network system in which a processing device and the facsimile device are connected via a LAN, the information processing device makes a facsimile transmission job execution request to the facsimile device using a Direct SMTP function. after execution of the transmission job, whether the information about the execution result transmitted by trap to the information processing apparatus, when receiving the trap within the set time or normal execution result by the information contained in the trap Determine and receive the trap If the set time is exceeded, the communication error is determined .

According to this, the user can make a request for execution of a facsimile transmission job quickly and easily by directly communicating with the facsimile apparatus using DirectSMTP . The execution result can be confirmed immediately, and the convenience of facsimile delivery confirmation can be improved. In addition, it is not necessary to set an e-mail address, a POP account, or the like as in the case of confirming delivery by e-mail, and the load on the user's setting work can be reduced.

  In the facsimile delivery confirmation method, as described in claim 2, when the information processing apparatus receives the trap, the information processing apparatus may be configured to display a pop-up message on the display screen indicating that the facsimile transmission job has ended.

  According to this, the user can immediately and easily recognize the end of the facsimile transmission job.

  In the facsimile delivery confirmation method, as described in claim 3, when the information processing apparatus receives the trap, the information processing apparatus can store information related to the execution result of the facsimile transmission job as a facsimile transmission log.

  According to this, the user can easily confirm information (transmission date / time, destination, success / failure of transmission, transmission contents, etc.) regarding the execution result of the facsimile transmission job by referring to the facsimile transmission log as appropriate in the information processing apparatus. Is possible.

  In the facsimile delivery confirmation method, as described in claim 4, when the information processing apparatus receives the trap, the information processing apparatus pops up a message on the display screen indicating that the facsimile transmission job is completed, and the user determines in accordance with the pop-up display. When the above operation is performed, the transmission log can be further displayed on the display screen.

  According to this, the user can immediately and easily recognize the end of the facsimile transmission job, and can display detailed information regarding the execution result as necessary. Can be efficiently performed.

  In this case, for example, a button for displaying the transmission log is provided in a pop-up display window for displaying the end of the facsimile transmission job, and the transmission log can be further displayed on the display screen by the user operating the button. .

  In the facsimile delivery confirmation method, as shown in claim 6, the trap can be transmitted using UDP as a communication protocol.

  According to this, it is possible to transmit a trap at a high speed and with a small network load using UDP which is a connectionless protocol.

As described above, according to the present invention, the user can make a request for execution of a facsimile transmission job quickly and easily by directly communicating with the facsimile apparatus using Direct SMTP, and SNMP (Simple Network Management) Protocol traps are used for confirmation of facsimile delivery, so there is no need for settings related to the complicated and time-consuming delivery confirmation function, such as when email is used for confirmation of delivery, and the execution result of a facsimile transmission job. Can be confirmed immediately.

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

  FIG. 1 is a block diagram showing a schematic configuration of a network system to which a facsimile delivery confirmation method according to the present invention is applied. The network system 1 has a configuration in which a PC (information processing apparatus) 2 and a facsimile apparatus 3 each having an SNMP function are connected to a LAN (Local Area Network) 4.

  The PC 2 incorporates PC fax software 5 for controlling the facsimile apparatus 3 to operate appropriately, and prepares facsimile transmission originals (documents, diagrams, photographs, etc.) as electronic data, via the LAN 4. The facsimile apparatus 3 is requested to execute a facsimile transmission job.

  The facsimile apparatus 3 is a G3 facsimile that transmits an image via an analog line, and can perform facsimile communication with a facsimile apparatus 7 connected via a PSTN (telephone network) 6. Here, when there is a facsimile transmission job execution request from the PC 2, the facsimile apparatus 3 notifies the PC 2 of the completion of the transmission job by the SNMP agent unit (not shown) after executing the transmission job. Generate traps for This trap includes information related to the execution result of the facsimile transmission job, in addition to information such as the trap generation date and time, the identifier of the device that generated the trap, and the IP address. The facsimile apparatus 3 transmits the generated trap to the PC 2 to enable confirmation of facsimile delivery in the PC 2.

  The user can operate the facsimile apparatus 3 by connecting various information processing apparatuses capable of performing similar information processing to the LAN 4 instead of the PC 2. The facsimile apparatus is not limited to a G3 facsimile, but may be a G4 facsimile that transmits an image via a digital line, or an Internet facsimile that enables data communication using electronic mail via the Internet. Further, the facsimile apparatus is not necessarily a dedicated facsimile machine, and may be a multifunction machine having a network scanner function and a network printer function in addition to a similar facsimile function. Although omitted here, in the network system 1 as described above, not only the PC 2 and the facsimile apparatus 7 but also various network devices such as a printer and a copying machine are generally connected to the LAN 4.

  FIG. 2 is a block diagram showing a schematic configuration of PC fax software used in the PC shown in FIG. The PC fax software 5 includes a client application 11 constituting an interface with the user, a database unit 12 for storing various information such as a destination (phone book) of facsimile transmission and a transmission / reception log, conversion of resolution of facsimile data, etc. Management service for sharing the functions of the shared service 13 for executing the function, the service resident software 14 for monitoring the network devices connected to the LAN 4 and confirming the status of facsimile transmission / reception, and other application programs 15, a network control unit 16 that controls the network, SMTP 17 and POP 18 that handle communication protocols for sending and receiving e-mail, and SMTP / POP client communication that controls communication using SMTP and POP. 19, SNMP communication unit 20 that controls communication by SNMP, trap service 21 that realizes a trap function by SNMP, and TCP / IP (Transmission Control Protocol / Internet Protocol) that controls communication by TCP / IP or UDP / IP And a UDP / IP (User Datagram Protocol / Internet Protocol) communication control unit 22.

  Here, when transmitting a facsimile from the PC 2, the SMTP / POP client communication unit 19 has a function of performing communication using Direct SMTP, and uses the SMTP 17 to directly execute a facsimile transmission job execution request to the facsimile apparatus 3. And the document data can be transmitted.

  Further, when confirming the delivery of the facsimile in the PC 2, the SNMP communication unit 20 can use the trap service 21 to receive information regarding the execution result of the facsimile transmission job transmitted from the facsimile apparatus 3 by the trap. . Alternatively, the SMTP / POP client communication unit 19 can acquire information on the execution result by e-mail via a predetermined mail server using the POP 18 as in the conventional technique. The TCP / IP / UDP / IP communication control unit 22 performs reception of the trap by UDP in consideration of immediacy of data transfer.

  The database unit 12 can extract and store information on the execution result of the transmission job from the trap received from the facsimile apparatus 3 as information on the facsimile transmission log.

  FIG. 3 is a sequence diagram showing a flow of facsimile delivery confirmation in the network system shown in FIG. First, an execution request for a facsimile transmission job is made from the PC 2 to the facsimile apparatus (transmission side) 3 using Direct SMTP, and document data is transmitted. Next, the facsimile apparatus 3 transmits document data to the facsimile apparatus (reception side) 7 according to the facsimile transmission procedure. Therefore, when the facsimile transmission job is completed, the facsimile apparatus 3 transmits the execution result of the facsimile transmission job to the PC 2 as an SNMP trap. The PC 2 can confirm the delivery of the facsimile by receiving the trap.

  Here, when the G3 facsimile is used as in the embodiment of the present invention, the facsimile transmission job is executed including information on whether or not the original data is normally transmitted from the facsimile apparatus 3 to the facsimile apparatus 7. It is also possible to send the result to PC2. On the other hand, when sending and receiving document data using e-mail as in the case of Internet facsimile, it may take a long time to receive a delivery confirmation mail from the receiving facsimile machine after the facsimile transmission job is completed. Therefore, it is normal to send the execution result of the facsimile transmission job to the PC 2 after sending the e-mail.

  FIG. 4 is a diagram showing an example of a setting screen relating to facsimile delivery confirmation in the PC of the network system shown in FIG. The setting screen 31 is used to set properties of the PC fax software. In the apparatus information field 32, the name, IP address, model name, and the like of the facsimile apparatus 3 to be used are registered. The user who uses the PC 2 can confirm the delivery together with the execution of the facsimile transmission only by setting the relay transmission password 34 which is an authentication password for using the facsimile apparatus 3 in the PC fax setting field 33. .

  Therefore, here, the mail address of the facsimile apparatus 3 (the mail address of the apparatus) and the mail address for notifying the execution result of the transmission job (result notification mail) as in the case where delivery confirmation is performed using a conventional electronic mail. Address) setting is not necessarily required. Similarly, settings relating to the reception of electronic mail from a mail server such as a POP server, a POP account, and a POP password are unnecessary.

  FIG. 5 is a diagram showing an example of a notification screen regarding confirmation of facsimile delivery in the PC of the network system shown in FIG. The PC 2 is provided with a display device for displaying characters, graphics, etc. on the display screen. When the trap is received from the facsimile device 3, the PC 2 can visually recognize the end of the facsimile transmission job. A fax transmission completion notification window 41 can be popped up on the display device.

  Here, when the user needs to confirm the execution result in more detail, the user can display a facsimile transmission log, which will be described later, by pressing a “Browse” button 42 in the fax transmission completion notification window 41. On the other hand, when it is not necessary to confirm the detailed execution result, the facsimile transmission completion notification window 41 can be closed by pressing the “close” button 43 to end the facsimile delivery confirmation. Note that the user can refer to the recorded facsimile transmission log as appropriate even after the fax transmission completion notification window 41 is once closed.

  6 and 7 are diagrams showing examples of a display screen of a facsimile transmission log in the PC of the network system shown in FIG. In the transmission / reception log display window 51, the user can select a transmission log, reception log, or image viewer as appropriate in the selection field 52 to display a transmission log list, a reception log list, or a facsimile image. Here, only a transmission log related to confirmation of facsimile delivery will be described.

  A display field 53 for displaying a list of transmission logs includes, as display items, a status indicating the execution status of the transmission job, a communication result indicating success / failure of facsimile transmission, a transmission date / time, the number of original pages, the number of transmitted pages, and the computer name. , Destination, fax number, facsimile device name, and device location (IP address) are set, and the user can confirm facsimile delivery from these information. These display items are not limited to those described above, and various information necessary for confirmation of facsimile delivery can be added.

  FIG. 6 shows a list of transmission logs when the PC 2 requests the facsimile machine 3 to execute five facsimile transmission jobs. When the user requests the facsimile apparatus 3 to execute a facsimile transmission job from the PC 2, information regarding the transmission job is sequentially added to the transmission log.

  Here, the status “Executing” indicates that the execution request for the facsimile transmission job has been completed, while the status “Awaiting execution” indicates that the transmission job execution request is in the preparation stage. Show. Here, two of the five transmission jobs (transmission job Nos. 1 and 2) have been executed, and the remaining three (transmission jobs No. 3 to 5) are in the preparation stage. It shows that there is. For the remaining three cases, when the execution request is completed, the display of the status “waiting for execution” is changed to “under execution”.

  FIG. 7 shows a list of transmission logs when the PC 2 receives information about the execution results as traps after each of the five transmission jobs shown in FIG. 6 is executed in the facsimile apparatus 3. Yes. When the PC 2 receives the trap from the facsimile apparatus 3, information regarding the execution result of the transmission job is extracted and sequentially added to the transmission log. That is, the display content of each display item in the display field 53 shown in FIG. 6 is updated based on the trap received by the PC 2.

  Here, for example, the transmission job number shown in FIG. 2, the status “End” indicates that the transmission job is completed, and the communication result “OK” indicates that the facsimile transmission is normally transmitted, and “2” on the transmitted page. The display indicates that all of the two pages of the document have been transmitted. In addition, the transmission job No. 3, the status “End” indicates that the transmission job is completed, and the communication result “Error” indicates that the facsimile transmission has not been normally transmitted, and “0” on the transmitted page. This indicates that no document is transmitted. In response to this error display, the user sends a transmission job number. 3 transmission jobs can be executed again.

  FIG. 8 is a flowchart showing a facsimile delivery confirmation operation in the network system shown in FIG. First, a transmission job execution request is made from the PC 2 to the facsimile apparatus 3 (ST101), and a result waiting timer (T1) that defines an allowable waiting time until a trap (transmission job execution result) is received from the execution request. ) Is set (ST102).

  Next, it is determined whether or not a trap has been received (ST103). This reception confirmation is repeatedly executed at regular time intervals until a trap is received unless the execution waiting time exceeds the set time T1 of the result wait timer. (ST104: No). If it is determined in step ST103 that the trap has been received, the process proceeds to step ST105, where it is determined whether or not the facsimile communication has been normally performed from the information regarding the execution result of the transmission job included in the trap. Therefore, when it is determined that the communication has been normally performed, the transmission log is updated, and “OK” is displayed in the communication result (ST106). On the other hand, if it is determined that the communication has not been performed normally, the transmission log is updated, and “error” is displayed in the communication result (ST107). Similarly, when it is determined in step ST104 that the waiting time has exceeded the set time T1 without receiving a trap (ST104: Yes), the transmission log is updated and “error” is displayed in the communication result ( ST107).

  Therefore, it is determined whether or not the setting for displaying on the display screen of the PC 2 that the facsimile transmission job has ended is made (ST108). If the setting for displaying is made, a fax completion notification is displayed in a pop-up. (See FIG. 5), the series of operations for confirming facsimile delivery ends. On the other hand, when the setting to display is not made, the operation ends without pop-up display of the fax completion notification.

  It should be noted that the user can set in advance whether or not it is necessary to display on the display screen of the PC 2 that the facsimile transmission job has ended with respect to step ST108. Further, when the fax completion notification is displayed in a pop-up in step ST109, if the user needs to check the execution result in more detail, the facsimile transmission log as shown in FIG. 7 can be further displayed. .

  According to the facsimile delivery confirmation method according to the present invention, settings related to the troublesome and troublesome delivery confirmation function as in the case of using e-mail for delivery confirmation can be made by using a trap by SNMP for confirmation of delivery of a facsimile. In addition, since the execution result of the facsimile transmission job can be confirmed immediately, it is useful as a facsimile delivery confirmation method for notifying the completion of the transmission job of the facsimile apparatus connected to the computer network.

1 is a block diagram showing the configuration of a network system to which a facsimile delivery confirmation method according to the present invention is applied. The block diagram which shows the structure of PC fax software used with PC of FIG. Sequence diagram showing the flow of facsimile delivery confirmation in the network system of FIG. The figure which shows the setting screen for performing the setting regarding a facsimile delivery confirmation in PC of FIG. The figure which shows the notification screen regarding the facsimile delivery confirmation in PC of FIG. The figure which shows the display screen of the facsimile transmission log in PC of FIG. The figure which shows the display screen of the facsimile transmission log in PC of FIG. FIG. 1 is a flowchart showing a facsimile delivery confirmation operation in the network system of FIG. Sequence diagram showing the flow of conventional facsimile delivery confirmation

Explanation of symbols

1 Network system 2 PC (information processing equipment)
3 Facsimile device (sending side)
4 LAN
5 PC fax software 6 PSTN (telephone network)
7 Facsimile device (receiving side)
20 SNMP communication part 21 Trap service

Claims (5)

In a network system in which a document for facsimile transmission is created and an information processing apparatus equipped with software for controlling an external facsimile apparatus and an SNMP function and the facsimile apparatus are connected via a LAN ,
Using the Direct SMTP function, the information processing apparatus requests the facsimile apparatus to execute a facsimile transmission job. After the facsimile transmission job is executed , the facsimile apparatus transmits information on the execution result to the information processing apparatus. When the trap is transmitted and the trap is received within the set time, it is determined whether or not the execution result is normal based on the information included in the trap, and when the set time is exceeded without receiving the trap, A facsimile delivery confirmation method, characterized in that it is determined as a communication error . 2. The facsimile delivery confirmation method according to claim 1, wherein when the information processing apparatus receives the trap, the information processing apparatus displays a pop-up message on the display screen indicating that the facsimile transmission job is completed. 2. The facsimile delivery confirmation method according to claim 1, wherein, when the information processing apparatus receives the trap, the information processing apparatus stores information on an execution result of the facsimile transmission job as a facsimile transmission log. When the information processing apparatus receives the trap, the information processing apparatus pops up on the display screen that the facsimile transmission job is completed, and displays the transmission log when the user performs a predetermined operation according to the pop-up display. 4. The facsimile delivery confirmation method according to claim 3, further displaying on a screen. The facsimile delivery confirmation method according to claim 1, wherein the trap is transmitted using UDP as a communication protocol.