JP5618907B2 - Communication device - Google Patents

Description

  The present invention relates to a communication apparatus that executes communication processing such as facsimile communication processing in accordance with a communication protocol such as SIP (Session Initiation Protocol).

In recent years, SIP (Session Initiation Protocol) is known as a communication protocol for performing communication processing via a network such as the Internet or an intranet. SIP is an application layer signaling protocol defined in RFC3261. SIP is used in communication processing such as IP fax, IP phone, video phone, video conference, video chat, and instant messenger.
Here, Patent Documents 1 and 2 describe facsimile communication processing using SIP. In particular, in Patent Documents 1 and 2, if a receiving communication apparatus is in a state incapable of receiving and facsimile transmission processing has failed, a retransmission (redial) is received after receiving a reception enable notification from the receiving communication apparatus. ) Is disclosed. This prevents unnecessary retransmission of the facsimile transmission process once failed.

JP 2006-67045 A JP 2008-154092 A

However, the inventions according to Patent Documents 1 and 2 merely prevent useless retransmission of a failed facsimile transmission process, and do not restrict other newly requested facsimile transmission processes. Therefore, there arises a problem that another newly requested facsimile transmission process is executed wastefully.
For example, when the facsimile transmission process D1 from the communication device B to the destination C is requested by the user A1, the communication device B notifies the destination C of a session start request. Here, if the destination C is in an unreceivable state, the destination C notifies the communication device B that the destination C cannot be received. As a result, in the communication apparatus B, the retransmission of the facsimile transmission process D1 is not executed until there is next a reception enable notification from the destination C. On the other hand, immediately after that, when another user A2 requests a facsimile transmission process D2 from the communication device B to the destination C, the communication device B similarly notifies the destination C of a session start request. However, since the destination C is in a non-receivable state, the communication apparatus B is notified again of the non-reception from the destination C. In this way, the execution of the second and subsequent facsimile transmission processes with the destination C, which is in an unreceivable state, is wasted.
Accordingly, the present invention has been made in view of the above circumstances, and an object of the present invention is to provide a communication apparatus capable of preventing wasteful communication processing with a destination in an unreceivable state. is there.

In order to achieve the above object, the present invention provides a communication protocol defined such that a retransmission waiting time is notified from the receiving side to the calling side when communication processing requested from the calling side cannot be executed on the receiving side. A communication apparatus that performs communication processing according to the communication information storage unit that stores the retransmission standby time notification source identification information and the retransmission standby time in association with each other when the notification of the retransmission standby time is received; Communication prohibiting means for prohibiting communication processing whose destination is the notification source of the retransmission standby time until the retransmission standby time stored in the communication information storage means elapses. Configured as a communication device. Here, it is considered that the communication protocol is SIP (Session Initiation Protocol). The communication process may be a facsimile communication process.
According to the present invention, communication processing destined for the notification source of the retransmission standby time is prohibited until the retransmission standby time elapses. Accordingly, it is possible to prevent useless communication processing with a destination that is known to be in a state where reception is impossible. Thereby, for example, the processing load of the communication device and the communication load on the communication path are reduced.

Here, it is conceivable that the communication prohibiting unit prohibits an input operation for setting the notification source of the retransmission standby time as a destination of communication processing. Thus, the present invention can be implemented with a relatively simple configuration.
In addition, the communication prohibition unit may be configured to execute communication processing in which the notification source of the retransmission standby time is set as a destination after the retransmission standby time has elapsed. Thereby, the trouble of performing the input operation for the communication process again after the retransmission waiting time has elapsed can be omitted.
Further, either prohibition of an input operation for setting the retransmission wait time notification source as a destination, or execution of the communication processing in which the retransmission wait time notification source is set as a destination after the retransmission wait time has elapsed. It is also conceivable that a process selection unit that selects the above process according to an operation input to the operation unit is provided, and the communication prohibition unit executes the process selected by the process selection unit. Thereby, the user can arbitrarily select a process, and convenience is improved.

  According to the present invention, since the communication process destined for the retransmission waiting time notification source is prohibited until the retransmission waiting time elapses, there is no waste with a destination that has been known to be in a state incapable of receiving. Communication processing can be prevented.

1 is a schematic diagram showing a schematic configuration of a multifunction machine X according to an embodiment of the present invention. 1 is a block diagram showing a system configuration of a multifunction machine X according to an embodiment of the present invention. The figure for demonstrating the successful example of the facsimile transmission process performed with the multifunctional machine X which concerns on embodiment of this invention. FIG. 6 is a diagram for explaining an example of failure in facsimile transmission processing executed by the multifunction machine X according to the embodiment of the present invention. 5 is a flowchart showing an example of a procedure of facsimile transmission processing executed by the multifunction machine X according to the embodiment of the present invention. The figure which shows an example of the communication prohibition table used with the multifunctional machine X which concerns on embodiment of this invention. 6 is a flowchart showing an example of a procedure of communication start processing executed by the multifunction machine X according to the embodiment of the present invention. The flowchart which shows the other example of the procedure of a communication start process.

Embodiments of the present invention will be described below with reference to the accompanying drawings for understanding of the present invention. In addition, the following embodiment is an example which actualized this invention, Comprising: The thing of the character which limits the technical scope of this invention is not.
First, a schematic configuration of the multifunction machine X according to the embodiment of the present invention will be described with reference to FIG. FIG. 1 is a diagram showing a schematic configuration of the multifunction machine X according to the embodiment of the present invention, in which (a) is a schematic front sectional view, and (b) is a view taken along arrow AA in (a). It is.
The multifunction machine X is merely an example of a communication apparatus according to the present invention, and a printer apparatus, a scanner apparatus, a facsimile apparatus, a mobile phone (portable terminal), a personal computer, various home appliances, and the like having a communication function are also included in the present invention. Corresponds to communication device.

As shown in FIG. 1, a multifunction machine X according to an embodiment of the present invention includes an electronic device including a control unit 1, an operation display unit 2, an ADF 3, an image reading unit 4, an image forming unit 5, a paper feed cassette 6, and the like. This is a photographic image forming apparatus.
The control unit 1 includes a CPU, a ROM, a RAM, and the like. The control unit 1 performs overall control of the MFP X by executing processing according to a control program stored in the ROM by the CPU. The control unit 1 may be configured by an electronic circuit such as an integrated circuit (ASIC).
The operation display unit 2 includes a liquid crystal display that displays various types of information in the multifunction machine X, a touch panel on which an input operation is performed by a user, various operation keys, and the like. For example, the operation display unit 2 is operated by a user in order to input a destination of a facsimile transmission process described later.

  The image reading unit 4 reads an image of a document automatically conveyed by the ADF 3 or a document placed on a contact glass 40 (see FIG. 1B). Specifically, the image reading unit 4 is guided by an exposure device 41 having an LED or the like for irradiating light on a document, light guide mirrors 42 to 44 for guiding light reflected by the document, and light guide mirrors 42 to 44. The optical lens 45 for condensing the emitted light and the CCD 46 for converting image information contained in the light condensed by the optical lens 45 into an electric signal are provided. The electric signal converted by the CCD 46 is input to the control unit 1 as image data of a document.

The image forming unit 5 includes a photosensitive drum 51, a charging device 52, a developing device 53, a toner container 54, a transfer roller 55, a charge eliminating device 56, a fixing roller 57, a pressure roller 58, and the like. The toner container 54 supplies toner to the developing device 53. The image forming unit 51 forms an image on the paper supplied from the paper feed cassette 6 according to the following procedure.
First, the photosensitive drum 51 is uniformly charged to a predetermined potential by the charging device 52. Next, light based on image data is irradiated on the surface of the photosensitive drum 51 by a laser scanner unit (LSU) (not shown). As a result, an electrostatic latent image is formed on the surface of the photosensitive drum 51. Then, the electrostatic latent image on the photosensitive drum 51 is developed (visualized) as a toner image by the developing device 53. Subsequently, the toner image formed on the photosensitive drum 51 is transferred onto a sheet by the transfer roller 55. Thereafter, the toner image transferred onto the sheet is heated and fused by the fixing roller 57 when the sheet passes between the fixing roller 57 and the pressure roller 58 and is discharged. The electric potential of the photosensitive drum 51 is neutralized by the neutralization device 56.

Next, the system configuration of the multifunction machine X will be described with reference to FIG.
As shown in FIG. 2, in addition to the control unit 1, the operation display unit 2, the image reading unit 3, and the image forming unit 5, the multi-function device X is connected to the Internet N (an example of a network). ) Is provided with a communication I / F (interface) 7. The Internet N is connected to a multi-function machine Y1 and a multi-function machine Y2 configured in the same manner as the multi-function machine X. The Internet N is only an example of a communication network, and may be various networks such as an intranet and a LAN.
The control unit 1 has a communication function for executing communication processing with the other communication devices such as the multifunction peripheral Y1 and the multifunction peripheral Y2 via the communication I / F 7 and the Internet N. . Here, the control unit 1 executes communication processing in accordance with a communication protocol called SIP (Session Initiation Protocol) defined by RFC3261. More specifically, the control unit 1 has an IP facsimile function for executing facsimile communication processing according to SIP.
In this embodiment, facsimile communication processing is described as an example, but the present invention is applied to a communication device that executes various communication processing such as IP phone, video phone, video conference, video chat, and instant messenger. Is possible.

  In addition, as shown in FIG. 2, the Internet N may be connected to a SIP server Z that manages SIP addresses. Then, the SIP server Z relays communication processing according to SIP among the multifunction device X, the multifunction device Y1, and the multifunction device Y2, for example. The present invention can be similarly applied to a communication apparatus that performs communication processing via the SIP server Z as described above. However, in the present embodiment, for convenience of explanation, the multifunction machine X and the multifunction machine Y1 are used. A case where a direct communication process is executed between the two will be described as an example.

Here, with reference to FIG. 3, a description will be given of a successful example of a facsimile transmission process executed by the IP facsimile function from the multifunction device X to the multifunction device Y1 as a destination. Here, it is assumed that the multi-function device Y1 is ready for facsimile reception.
As shown in FIG. 3, first, the multi-function device X notifies the multi-function device Y1 of “INVITE” for requesting the start of a session of facsimile transmission processing. On the other hand, the multifunction device Y1 notifies the multifunction device X of “180 Ringing” indicating that the calling from the multifunction device X has started. Subsequently, since the multifunction device Y1 is ready for facsimile reception, it notifies the multifunction device X of “200 OK”. The multifunction device X notifies the multifunction device Y1 of “ACK”.
Through the above procedure, a session is established between the multifunction device X and the multifunction device Y1, and facsimile transmission from the multifunction device X to the multifunction device Y1 is started. The session is disconnected after the facsimile transmission is completed.

Next, a failure example of the facsimile transmission process executed by the IP facsimile function from the multifunction device X to the multifunction device Y1 as a destination will be described with reference to FIG. Here, it is assumed that the multifunction device Y1 is in a memory full state (capacity over).
As shown in FIG. 4, first, the multi-function device X notifies the multi-function device Y1 of “INVITE”. The multi-function device Y1 notifies the multi-function device X of “180 Ringing”. However, the multifunction device Y1 is in a memory full state and cannot receive the facsimile transmission. Therefore, the multi-function device Y1 notifies the multi-function device X of “480 Temporarily Unavailable” indicating a response indicating that an incoming call cannot be made. The multifunction device X notifies the multifunction device Y1 of “ACK”.
In this case, the session between the multifunction device X and the multifunction device Y1 is not established, and the facsimile transmission process from the multifunction device X to the multifunction device Y1 fails.

Here, in the communication process executed in accordance with the SIP, when the communication process requested from the calling side cannot be executed on the receiving side, the receiving side notifies the calling side to “480 Temporarily Unavailable” and “Retry-After” Contains header fields. In the Retry-After header field, a value (hereinafter referred to as “retransmission waiting time”) indicating a scheduled time (waiting time until retransmission) when a request is retried is described. The retransmission waiting time is a value that is appropriately set according to its own state in the communication device on the receiving side.
For example, in the communication apparatus on the receiving side, the retransmission waiting time may be set according to the situation, such as 3600 (s) when the memory is full and 300 (s) when busy. Conceivable. Of course, it is also conceivable that the retransmission standby time is set to a predetermined time in the communication apparatus on the receiving side. Further, the SIP server Z is configured to relay communication processing, and when the communication device on the receiving side is in a communication disabled state, the SIP server Z is set to a predetermined value (for example, 180) as the retransmission waiting time. It is also conceivable to notify (s)) to the communication device on the transmission side.
The multi-function device X is not limited to the communication protocol called SIP, and when the communication process requested by the calling side cannot be executed on the receiving side, the receiving side notifies the retransmission waiting time to the calling side. The communication processing may be executed in accordance with another communication protocol specified to be performed.

By the way, when the multifunction device X is used by a plurality of users, even if the facsimile transmission process to the multifunction device Y1 requested by a certain user fails, other users cannot recognize it.
Therefore, it is conceivable that another user requests a facsimile transmission process from the multifunction device X to the multifunction device Y1 before the multifunction device Y1 becomes ready for reception. In this case, the execution of the facsimile transmission process requested by another user is wasted.
Therefore, in the multi-function device X, in order to prevent such waste of communication processing, facsimile transmission processing and communication start processing are executed by the control unit 1 according to procedures described later.

Hereinafter, an example of the procedure of the facsimile transmission process will be described with reference to the flowchart of FIG. 5, and then an example of the procedure of the communication start process will be described with reference to the flowchart of FIG. Here, S1, S2,... And S11, S12,... In the figure represent process procedure (step) numbers. The facsimile transmission process is executed when the destination setting is confirmed in the communication start process (step S13 in FIG. 7).
The facsimile transmission process and the communication start process are processed in parallel by the control unit 1. However, the present invention is not limited to this, and the facsimile transmission process and the communication start process may be executed by different control entities. For example, it is conceivable that the facsimile transmission process is executed by the communication I / F 7 and the communication start process is executed by the control unit 1.

(Facsimile transmission processing)
<Steps S1 to S3>
First, in step S1, the control unit 1 requests a session start to a destination set in advance by an operation input to the operation display unit 2 by the user. Specifically, the control unit 1 transmits “INVITE” to the destination (see FIGS. 3 and 4). At this time, when “200 OK” is notified from the destination, the session is successful (see FIG. 3), and when “480 Temporarily Unavailable” is notified, the session is failed (see FIG. 4).
In step S2, the control unit 1 branches the process depending on whether or not the session requested in step S1 is established. Specifically, when a session is established (Yes side of S2), the control unit 1 shifts the process to step S3 and starts data transmission. After the data transmission, the session is disconnected and the facsimile transmission process ends.
On the other hand, when the session fails (No side of S2), the control unit 1 shifts the process to step S4.

<Step S4>
When the notification of “480 Temporarily Unavailable” is received from the destination, in the subsequent step S4, the control unit 1 transmits the retransmission waiting time described in the Retry-After header field of “480 Temporarily Unavailable” received from the destination. Get the value of. When the value of the retransmission wait time is not described in the Retry-After header field, the control unit 1 may set a preset fixed time as the retransmission wait time.

<Step S5>
Next, in step S5, the control unit 1 associates identification information (such as a FAX number) for identifying the notification source that has notified the retransmission standby time with the retransmission standby time acquired in step S4. Store in the communication prohibition table. The said control part 1 when performing the said memory | storage process corresponds to a communication information storage means here. At this time, it is conceivable that the control unit 1 acquires the identification information of the notification source of the retransmission standby time from the header included in “480 Temporarily Unavailable”. In addition, the control unit 1 may store the information of the destination that transmitted “INVITE” in step S1 as the identification information of the notification source of the retransmission wait time.
FIG. 6 shows an example of the communication prohibition table. The communication prohibition table is stored in a storage unit such as a non-volatile memory provided in the control unit 1. Although FIG. 6 shows an example in which the identification information is a destination FAX number, the present invention is not limited to this. For example, the identification information may be a SIP address, an IP address, a MAC address, a URL, a mail address, a terminal identification name, a registered name in an address book, a telephone number, a speed dial number, or the like.
Then, the control unit 1 sequentially deletes the identification information and the retransmission standby time information stored in the communication prohibition table after the retransmission standby time has elapsed.

<Steps S6 to S7>
In step S6, the control unit 1 causes the facsimile transmission process requested in step S1 to wait for redial. In step S7, the control unit 1 waits for elapse of the retransmission waiting time corresponding to the facsimile transmission process (No side of S7).
Thereafter, when the retransmission waiting time corresponding to the facsimile transmission process that has been in the redial standby state has elapsed (Yes side of S7), the control unit 1 starts retransmission of the facsimile transmission process (S1). If the facsimile transmission process does not end normally even if a predetermined number of redials are executed for one facsimile transmission process, the facsimile transmission process is terminated with an error.

(Communication start processing)
Next, an example of the procedure of the communication start process executed by the control unit 1 will be described according to the flowchart of FIG.
<Steps S11 to S13>
First, in step S11, the control unit 1 waits for the start of a destination input operation for facsimile transmission processing (No in S11). If it is determined that the destination input operation has started (Yes in S11), the process proceeds to step S12. For example, the input operation of the destination is performed by operating the operation display unit 2 and selecting from a registered address book, abbreviated dialing or communication history, or by directly inputting characters or numbers.
Next, in step S12, the control unit 1 determines whether or not the input destination is the destination indicated by the identification information stored in the communication prohibition table (see FIG. 6).
Here, when it is determined that the input destination does not exist in the communication prohibition table (No side of S12), the control unit 1 shifts the process to step S13 and performs the facsimile transmission process (see FIG. 5). To start.
On the other hand, when it is determined that the input destination exists in the communication prohibition table (Yes side of S12), the control unit 1 shifts the process to step S14. For example, when the communication prohibition table shown in FIG. 6 is stored, when either “123-456-xxx” or “789-000-xxx” is input as the destination, the process proceeds to step S14. It will be. As described above, “123-456-xxx” stored in the communication prohibition table is deleted after 300 seconds, and “789-000-xxx” is deleted by the control unit 1 after 3600 seconds. .

<Step S14>
In step S <b> 14, the control unit 1 controls the operation display unit 2 and prohibits an input operation for setting the destination selected by the user's operation input. As a result, facsimile transmission processing destined for the notification source of the retransmission standby time stored in the communication prohibition table is prohibited.
In step S <b> 14, the control unit 1 causes the operation display unit 2 to display a reason for prohibiting input of the destination. For example, it may be displayed that the input of the destination is restricted because the retransmission waiting time has not elapsed since the previously requested communication processing to the destination failed. A configuration in which the control unit 1 can forcibly execute communication processing to a destination in accordance with a user operation after warning by the display is also conceivable as another embodiment.

Here, a specific example of the prohibition operation method in step S14 will be described.
For example, when a destination is selected from an address book, abbreviated dialing, or a communication history, it is conceivable that the control unit 1 prohibits the operation of a confirmation key or a start key for confirming the selection of the destination. More specifically, when the confirmation key or the start key is a touch key realized on the touch panel of the operation display unit 2, the operation display unit 2 grays out or hides the display of the touch key. It is possible. The same applies to a case where a destination is directly input (character input or number input) to the operation display unit 2. When the confirmation key or the start key is a hard key provided in the operation display unit 2, the operation display unit 2 generates an error sound when the hard key is pressed and invalidates the pressing operation. It is possible.
Further, when the destination input operation is performed, when the control unit 1 causes the operation display unit 2 to display the address book, the speed dial, or the communication history stored in the multi-function device X, the communication prohibition table is displayed. In another embodiment, it is possible to prohibit the selection of a destination by graying out or hiding the display of the destination corresponding to the stored identification information. Of course, it is also conceivable that the control unit 1 displays the destination stored in the communication prohibition table with characters, symbols or figures indicating that communication is prohibited.

As described above, in the multi-function device X, when the facsimile transmission process and the communication start process are executed by the control unit 1, the destination once failed in the facsimile transmission process is Until the retransmission waiting time notified from elapses, new facsimile transmission processing to the destination is prohibited. Therefore, in the multi-function device X, it is possible to prevent useless communication processing with a destination that is known to be in a state where reception is impossible.
For example, when a facsimile transmission process is requested from the multifunction device X to the multifunction device Y1, if the multifunction device Y1 is in an unreceivable state, not only the retransmission of the facsimile transmission process but also the multifunction device X Other facsimile transmission processing newly requested with the multifunction device Y1 as the destination is also prohibited. On the other hand, facsimile transmission processing that is addressed to another communication device such as the multifunction device Y2 from the multifunction device X is not prohibited.

By the way, even if the destination of the facsimile transmission process is unsuccessful, there is a possibility that different types of communication processes such as IP telephone or mail will succeed. For this reason, it is conceivable that the type of communication processing is stored in the communication prohibition table in association with the communication prohibition table in step S5, and it is simultaneously determined whether or not the type of communication processing is the same in step S12. As a result, it is possible to prevent only unnecessary execution of the same type of communication process as the actually failed communication process, and to prevent unnecessary restrictions on other communication processes.
For example, when a plurality of pieces of information such as a FAX number, a telephone number, and an e-mail address are stored for one destination, the e-mail address of the destination even if the facsimile transmission process to the FAX number of the destination has previously failed. It is possible to execute mail transmission processing to

  In the first embodiment, another example of the communication start process (see FIG. 7) will be described with reference to FIG. As shown in FIG. 8, in the communication start process according to the first embodiment, step S141 is executed instead of step S14 in the communication start process (see FIG. 7) described in the above embodiment. On the other hand, the steps S11 to S13 are the same and will not be described.

<Step S141>
If it is determined in step S12 that the input destination exists in the communication prohibition table (Yes side of S12), in step S141, the control unit 1 reserves facsimile transmission processing for the destination. Specifically, the control unit 1 accepts the facsimile transmission process to the destination input in step S11, but executes the facsimile transmission process until the retransmission waiting time corresponding to the destination elapses. First, the facsimile transmission process (S13, see FIG. 5) is automatically executed after the retransmission waiting time has elapsed.
As a result, in the MFP X, it is possible to prevent useless communication processing with a destination that has been known to be incapable of receiving, and request the facsimile transmission processing again after the retransmission waiting time has elapsed. The trouble of the user who performs the operation can be omitted. In step S141, if the control unit 1 displays on the operation display unit 2 that the facsimile transmission process is reserved, the user can be made aware of that fact.

Further, in the communication start process (see FIGS. 7 and 8), a configuration is conceivable in which a process to be executed when an input destination exists in the communication prohibition table can be set in advance.
For example, in the initial setting of the multi-function device X, the control unit 1 performs either the step S14 (see FIG. 7) or the step S141 (see FIG. 8) according to a user operation input to the operation display unit 2. One of them may be selected and set in advance. Here, the control unit 1 when executing the setting process corresponds to a process selection unit.
Thereafter, in the communication start process, the control unit 1 executes a preselected process (S14 or S141) when the input destination exists in the communication prohibition table (Yes in S12).
According to such a configuration, the user can arbitrarily set the process executed when the input destination exists in the communication prohibition table, so that the versatility of the multifunction device X is enhanced.

  The present invention can be used for a communication apparatus that executes communication processing via a network.

1: Control unit 2: Operation display unit 3: ADF
4: Image reading unit 40: Contact glass 41: Exposure devices 42 to 44: Light guide mirror 45: Optical lens 46: CCD
5: Image forming unit 51: Photoconductor drum 52: Charging device 53: Developing device 54: Toner container 55: Transfer roller 56: Static eliminating device 57: Fixing roller 58: Pressure roller 6: Paper feed cassette 7: Communication I / F
N: Internet (example of network)
S1, S2, ...: Processing procedure (step) numbers X, Y1, Y2: Multifunction device (an example of a communication device)
Z: SIP server

Claims (6)

A communication device that performs communication processing according to a communication protocol defined so that a retransmission waiting time is notified from the receiving side to the calling side when the communication processing requested from the calling side is not executable on the receiving side,
Communication information storage means for storing the retransmission standby time notification source identification information and the retransmission standby time in association with each other when receiving the retransmission standby time notification;
Communication prohibiting means for prohibiting communication processing destined for the notification source of the retransmission standby time until the retransmission standby time stored in the communication information storage means elapses;
Equipped with a,
The communication prohibiting unit prohibits an input operation for setting a notification source of the retransmission waiting time as a destination of communication processing . The communication prohibition unit prohibits only an input operation for setting the notification source of the retransmission standby time as a destination of communication processing, and does not prohibit an input operation for setting another communication device as a destination. The communication device described. The communication prohibiting means is the same type as the communication process when the retransmission standby time is notified when the retransmission standby time notification source is stored when information of a plurality of types of communication processes is stored for one destination. the communication apparatus according to claim 1 or 2 to inhibit the input operation for setting the communication processing destination. The communication prohibiting unit prohibits an input operation for setting the notification source of the retransmission wait time as a destination of communication processing, and causes the display unit to display a reason for the prohibition of the input operation. 4. The communication device according to any one of 3 .   The communication apparatus according to claim 1, wherein the communication protocol is SIP (Session Initiation Protocol).   The communication apparatus according to claim 1, wherein the communication process is a facsimile communication process.