JP2000125062A - Data communication system/device, their control method and storage medium - Google Patents

Abstract

PROBLEM TO BE SOLVED: To perform communication of seamless picture data to internet without affecting an existing system even under a limited access with a security system by permitting a transmission side terminal to transmit picture data to be transmitted in plural different picture qualities. SOLUTION: A picture communication device reads a transmission original from a picture input part 18 connected to a picture input/output control part 17 by the instruction of a CPU part 11, converts picture data into plural picture qualities by a picture conversion part 16 and preserves them in an accumulation part 14 as files. The picture files that are different in the picture qualities which are thus generated/preserved are used as display pictures for displaying them on the terminal of a receiver and for recognizing a received picture and as printing pictures transferred as printing data after the receiver recognizes the display picture. Information contained in an electronic mail for a transmission address which is set and the preserved picture file are transmitted to a picture communication server.

Description

DETAILED DESCRIPTION OF THE INVENTION

[0001]

BACKGROUND OF THE INVENTION 1. Field of the Invention The present invention relates to a data communication system, a data communication device, a control method thereof, and a storage medium.

[0002]

2. Description of the Related Art In recent years, as an image information communication system, a WWW (World Wide Web) using a computer communication network has been used.
Systems are gaining attention due to the spread of the Internet. The WWW system is a client / server system based on a communication protocol called TCP / IP, like an Internet application such as an electronic mail. The WWW system includes a client application having a GUI (graphical user interface) called a WWW browser and a WWW server application. Among them, an information retrieval / browsing system realized by communicating not only image information but also data handled on a computer such as text, voice, and moving image has been developed. While various services using such a WWW system have been proposed and realized, new attempts have been made in the field of image transmission, which used to use facsimile machines and e-mails. .

As an example, a WWW system and an image transmission system using electronic mail will be described below. FIG. 8 is a block diagram showing the configuration of this system.

In FIG. 8, reference numeral 81 denotes an image communication device used for transmission, and reference numeral 82 denotes an image communication device used for outputting a received image. The image communication devices 81 and 82 have an image input and image output function, a communication function via the network 83, a WWW server / client function, and an e-mail transmission / reception function. Reference numeral 84 denotes an image transmission destination terminal, which is a network-connected computer terminal (including a CPU unit, a memory, and a display unit, for example, a personal computer). Reference numeral 85 denotes a mail server that provides an e-mail service to each terminal connected to the network, and is connected via the network 83.

Next, an operation flow of the image transmission system having the above-described configuration will be described.

First, a transmission operator sets a transmission document on the image input unit of the image communication device 81, sets a transmission destination and the like, and then reads the transmission document. The read image data is stored in a file in the storage unit with a plurality of image qualities. Here, each image quality is in accordance with the display capability (the number of displayable dots) and the printing capability (recording resolution) of the receiver terminal and the output image communication device.
It is also used as a display image for displaying the received image on the receiver's terminal, or as a print image transferred as print data.

Further, the location of the display and print image data file stored here is stored in a URL (Uniform Resource
e Locator), create and save a file described in HTML (Hyper Text Markup Language) that embeds the display layout and print instruction means, and saves the file according to the format of the e-mail.
A description indicating the location is transmitted to the transmission destination as a transmission document of the e-mail, and the transmission end is not transmitted via the mail server 85.
Delivered to 4.

[0008] Here, the URL is an integrated representation of information resources on the Internet, and its general format is shown below.

Resource_type: //host.domain/path resource_type represents a protocol or service to be used, and here, http (Hyper Text Transfer Protocol)
Is specified. Others include gopher, ftp,
nntp, etc., but the description of each is omitted. In addition, host. The domain indicates the address of the server to be accessed on the Internet, and is specified in the form of an IP address or a domain name. Here, the IP address of the WWW server in the apparatus is specified. Further, path indicates the position of the file on the server. For example, the location of the above HTML file is represented as follows.

Http: //server_ip_address/xxx/yyyy.html Further, the terminal at the transmission destination receiving the e-mail judges whether or not to confirm the image based on the information added to the e-mail, If you want to confirm, check the HTM
The image can be confirmed by the WWW browser from the L file or the description of the URL indicating its location. Further, in this image transmission system, after confirming the display image by the e-mail recipient, it is possible to instruct a printout of a high-quality print image, which is performed on the same screen as the display image display. A means for instructing whether or not to print out a print image (a button for clicking with a mouse or the like) is provided, and the contents of the instruction are transmitted to the image communication apparatus 81.

The instruction and transmission means may include WW
It is possible to use the functions of the W browser, which will be described below.

In a WWW system, a CGI (Common Gadget) for transmitting an input from a client (WWW browser) to a server and processing the input by an external program.
teway Interface). The instruction transmitting means is realized by using the CGI.

For example, H displayed on a WWW browser
An object (text, bitmap data, etc.) for instructing the printout of a print image is embedded in the TML document, and when this is selected, the prepared instruction content is transferred to the server. The server receiving this instruction can analyze the contents of the instruction and activate a program for transferring and printing the print data. Also, CG
Using I, it is possible to transmit not only those prepared in advance but also data input from the operator, and using this, it is possible to use only a specific image communication device. Instead, it is also possible to instruct transfer and printout of a print image to any image communication device based on the input data. The image communication device 81 that has received the print instruction in this way transfers the print image to the image communication device specified in advance or the image communication device based on the data input by the operator, The communication device 82 performs a printing process of the received image data.

According to the above-described system, before printing a transmitted image, it is possible to confirm the outline of the image on a display and determine whether or not the recipient performs the printing process. This is a feature that cannot be obtained by a conventional facsimile apparatus or image communication means such as attaching an image to an electronic mail. Also, since an enormous amount of print image data is not included in the e-mail itself, it does not impose a large load on the e-mail system or receiving terminal, and has good compatibility with existing systems. In particular, it is receiving attention from corporate users who promote computerization through intranets.

[0015]

However, when the above-mentioned system is expanded as a seamless image transmission system from an intranet in a company to the Internet, there is a problem of compatibility with an existing security system. Can be considered.

That is, it is necessary to coexist with a security mechanism provided for protecting a private information system already built in a company from unauthorized access from the outside.

Here, a firewall generally used as the security mechanism will be described below.

A firewall is a typical security mechanism that eliminates unauthorized access by restricting the passage of services (packets) in the connection between the private network and the Internet. The firewall is an application gateway system called a proxy, and packet filtering. These are constructed according to the size and security level of the network. The services permitted to pass through the firewall are set according to the usage mode, and the protocols that are generally set and permitted to pass are as follows.

(1) Private network → Internet (inside → outside) ... E-mail, HTT
P, FTP, Telnet (2) Internet → Private network (outside → inside) ... Only e-mail As described above, access from outside is generally particularly severely restricted. In adapting the system to such an environment, the existence of the firewall naturally becomes a problem. That is,
If the image communication device on the transmission side is placed inside a firewall, displaying the transmitted image using HTTP or instructing print transfer will be a barrier from the outside, and the access restriction settings must be changed. Can affect the security policy of the entire network. In addition, in the case where the device is arranged outside, there is a possibility that another problem may occur such that the installation place of the device is physically restricted or a new network has to be laid.

The present invention has been made in view of the above-mentioned problems, and has a seamless connection from an intranet to the Internet without affecting existing systems even under access restrictions by a security system provided on a network. An object of the present invention is to provide a data communication system and a data communication device capable of communicating image data, a control method thereof, and a storage medium.

[0021]

To solve this problem, for example, a data communication system of the present invention has the following configuration. That is, the information transmitting terminal, the receiving terminal,
And a data communication system including a server serving as a relay device, wherein the transmitting terminal sets image data to be transmitted to a plurality of different image qualities, and transmits the image data to the server together with information specifying the receiving terminal. Transmission means,
The server includes a storage unit configured to store the received plurality of image data of different image quality as the delivery information report addressed to the receiving terminal, and a delivery unit that delivers the image data of the image quality according to the request from the receiving terminal to the receiving terminal. Requesting means for issuing to the server a request for delivery of the image data of the desired image quality, and output means for receiving and outputting the image data of the image quality requested by the requesting means. And

[0022]

Embodiments of the present invention will be described below in detail with reference to the accompanying drawings.

FIG. 1 is a block diagram of the image communication apparatus according to the first embodiment.

In FIG. 1, reference numeral 11 denotes a CPU, which controls each part of the apparatus. Reference numeral 12 denotes a display unit for performing various displays such as a display for prompting an operation of the apparatus and an operation of an operator. Any device such as a pointing device or a touch panel may be used. A storage unit 14 stores data such as an input image as a file. A communication control unit 15 controls connection with a network outside the apparatus. The image input unit 18 and the image output unit 19 are connected to the image input / output control unit 17, and these are controlled according to an instruction from the CPU unit 11. Further, image quality such as resolution is converted by the image conversion unit 16.

FIG. 2 is a system configuration diagram illustrating an image communication system to which the image communication device of the present embodiment is connected.

In FIG. 2, reference numerals 21 and 24 denote the image communication devices shown in FIG. 1. For simplicity, here, 21 is an image communication device a used for transmission, and 24 is used for outputting a received image. Treated as the image communication device b to be used.
Note that it goes without saying that the relationship between transmission and reception may be reversed, and there is no difference between the configurations.

Each of the image communication apparatuses a and b has an image input and image output function, a network communication function by TCP / IP connection, a WWW client function, and an electronic mail (delivery information) transmission / reception function. Here, one of the differences from the image communication apparatus in the conventional example described above is W
It does not have a built-in WWW server function.
The server function is provided by an image communication server described later.

Reference numeral 22 denotes a private network a to which an image communication apparatus a to be used for transmission is connected, and is connected to the Internet 28 through a firewall a 23. Reference numeral 26 denotes a private network b to which an image communication device b used for outputting a received image is connected.
And is connected to the Internet 28 through the 27 firewall b. Reference numeral 25 denotes a computer terminal (an information processing device such as a personal computer including a CPU unit, a memory, and a display unit) connected to the private network b, which is not a transmission tip registered as an image transmission destination from the image communication device a. It is. The 29 image communication server is a computer terminal (CPU) installed outside the private network, that is, in an environment that provides the Internet or a service equivalent thereto.
Unit, memory, display unit, etc.), and has a WWW server and an e-mail transmission / reception function.

Next, the image communication system according to this embodiment having the above-described configuration will be described in detail with reference to the flowcharts of FIGS. 3 to 7 showing this embodiment. These flowcharts show the flow of control performed by the CPU unit based on the program data stored in the memory of each device.

FIG. 3 is a flowchart showing a process from when an operator of the image communication apparatus a performs a transmission operation to when an e-mail is transmitted to the image communication server 29.

In FIG. 3, first, in step S101, the transmission operator sets a transmission original in the image communication device a, and sets the transmission destination from the operation unit 13 in accordance with the display unit 12 in step S102. At this time, it is also possible to add a fixed phrase or comment prepared in advance. Further, an electronic address book may be prepared (for example, a non-volatile memory is used for a disk device) in case that it is troublesome to input the transmission destinations one by one, and the user may select one of them.

In any case, after confirming the input setting, the process proceeds to step S103. In step S103, the process waits for a key input to start transmission, and the process proceeds to step S104 in accordance with an instruction from the operator to start transmission.

In step S104, the image communication device a
A transmission original is read from an image input unit 18 connected to an image input / output control unit 17 in accordance with an instruction from a CPU unit, and the image data is converted into a plurality of image qualities (image qualities) by an image conversion unit 16.
Is converted to a file and stored in the storage unit 14 as a file. Note that a plurality of image qualities are obtained, for example, by performing thinning processing from read image data (highest quality image) at different thinning intervals of one pixel interval and two pixel intervals. .

The image files having different image qualities created and stored in this manner are displayed on the terminal of the receiver to display the received image, and the receiver checks the display image. It is used later as a print image transferred as print data. Subsequently, the process proceeds to step S105, and creates a file in which information on the location of the display image and print image file created and stored so far is described in HTML. Further, the process proceeds to step S106,
The information included in the e-mail for the transmission destination such as the address information, the fixed phrase, and the comment input of the transmission destination set in 102, the image file saved in step S104,
And the HTML file created in step S105 is transmitted to the image communication server 29. The image communication server 29 receives this, creates a transmission document again in a format that can generate them, based on the format of the e-mail, and transmits this as a distribution request to the image communication server 29 by e-mail.

Here, in FIG. 2, the image communication server 29 is shown as a single e-mail destination, but the present invention is not limited to this, and a plurality of image communication servers can be connected on a network. It is possible to request distribution by arranging and changing the transmission destination appropriately.

For example, an image communication server connected to the private network 22 is prepared separately from the image communication server 29, and for a user on an intranet (for example, a company), the server is provided to this server according to a designated transmission destination. It is possible to request distribution. Accordingly, access from the user using the intranet can be performed without passing through the firewall a, and thus the load on the firewall can be reduced.

Also, an ISP (Internet Service Provider) or the like that provides an Internet connection service,
When providing a service acting on behalf of the image communication server 29, such an image communication service can be realized even in an environment where the Internet is not always connected.

Next, the process from when the image communication server 29 receives the above-described delivery request mail to when the image communication server 29 generates and sends the mail to the transmission destination set in step S102 will be described with reference to the flowchart of FIG. The program corresponding to this flowchart shows the flow of control executed by the CPU based on the program installed in the memory of the image communication server 29.

In FIG. 4, first, in step S111, the content of the e-mail received from the image communication apparatus a is confirmed. In step S112, the validity of the e-mail is evaluated. If it is determined that the data is invalid, the subsequent processing is performed. Exit without performing.

If the data is evaluated as valid in step S112, the image file and the information on the transmission destination are reconstructed in step S113, and each is stored. In addition, the information on the location of the HTML file and the image file (described in the URL) embedded in the e-mail and the HTML is corrected in accordance with the storage destination of the HTML file and the image file, or the information to be converted into these.

Further, at step S114, step S
Creates a transmission document based on the format of the e-mail from information included in the e-mail for the transmission destination such as the destination information reconstructed in step 113, a fixed text, a comment input, and information about an HTML file for controlling display and printing,
Send an e-mail to the specified destination. Next, FIG. 5 is a flow chart of the process from receiving the mail from the image communication server 29 to the destination terminal 25 registered as the image destination, confirming the display image, and giving the transfer printing instruction to the image communication server 29. Will be described in detail.

First, in step S121, the recipient checks the contents of the e-mail using the mail client application. The content of this email typically includes
Describes that the image was sent by the image transmission service using the image communication device of the present invention, a message prompting the WWW browser to access the attached URL, information on the sender, comments from the sender, and the like. But
The description is not limited to this.

In step S122, the recipient of the e-mail determines whether or not to confirm the image based on the described contents, and in the case of confirming the image, gives an instruction to that effect (for example, when the e-mail Click the position, etc.), and proceed to step S123. In this case, if an e-mail client application having a function of starting a WWW browser from the URL described in the text is used, the image can be confirmed immediately. However, an e-mail client application having no such function is used. In this case, the image can be confirmed by separately activating the WWW browser.

In step S123, the WWW browser requests the HTML file stored in the image communication server 29 indicated by the URL. Image communication server 2
Reference numeral 9 has a WWW server function, and transfers an HTML file specified in response to a request from the WWW browser to a WWW browser, that is, a destination terminal 25 which is a terminal that has received the mail. Further, the WWW browser uses the HT
The ML file is analyzed, and a display image as a source object to be displayed described in the sentence is requested again according to the described URL.

In step S124, the WWW browser displays the display image by transferring the display image requested by the WWW browser, and as a result, the recipient of the e-mail transmits the image transmitted from the image communication device a. Destination terminal 2
5 can be confirmed on the display device. After the e-mail recipient confirms the display image, the process further proceeds to step S125.

In the image communication system of the present embodiment, at the same time as confirming the image on the display of the destination terminal 25,
It is possible to request high-quality printing images to be transferred and printed out to a designated device. In step S125, means for instructing whether to transfer the print image and print out the same on the same screen as the display of the display image is provided, and the transmission of the instruction contents to the image communication server 29 is performed as described above. It is performed by using CGI via HTTP or by a method equivalent thereto.

If the user instructs to print out the print image in step S125, the process advances to step S126 to transmit the instruction request information to the image communication server 29 by the above-described instruction and transmission means, and print the print image. If no out instruction is given, this processing ends.

Next, the process from the reception of the instruction by the image communication server 29 to the analysis of the instruction and the termination of the processing will be described in detail with reference to the flowchart of FIG.

In FIG. 6, first, in step S131,
The image communication server 29 confirms the received instruction request information,
Further, the validity is evaluated in step S132,
If it is determined that the data is invalid, the process ends without performing the subsequent processing.

If the data is evaluated as valid in step S132, the process proceeds to step S133, where the address of the image communication apparatus b to which the print image is to be transferred is extracted from the instruction request information, and An e-mail document containing the contents for instructing transfer printing as a destination is created and transmitted.

Next, the process from the reception of the instruction content by the image communication apparatus b to the analysis of the instruction content and the termination of the printing process will be described in detail with reference to the flowchart of FIG.

In FIG. 7, first, in step S141,
The image communication device b confirms the instruction content included in the received mail, further evaluates the legitimacy of the instruction content in the transfer printing process in step S142, and does not perform the subsequent process if it is determined that the data is invalid. finish. If the data is evaluated as valid data in step S142, the process proceeds to step S143, in which information on the print image to be transferred is extracted from the instruction content and transmitted to the image communication server 29 storing the image file. HTTP
Request a print image via. Further, the image communication device b
Performs the printing process on the received print image by the image output unit 19 via the image input / output control unit 17, and ends the process.

Note that it is confirmed by ID inquiry that the operations shown in the flowcharts of FIGS. 3 to 7 are all a series of communication for the same image.

In the description of the present embodiment, HTML is used to realize a confirmation image display and a print image print instruction unit using a generally used WWW browser. However, the present invention is not limited to this.

<Second Embodiment> In recent years, as various services using wireless communication are expanding, a portable small personal computer called a mobile computer or the like is equipped with a terminal equipped with a wireless communication function. By connecting to the Internet or an in-house network, information can be shared, transmitted / received, etc., and can be used in various business situations without being restricted by time or place.
The second embodiment is effectively used even in such an environment, and produces the effect.

As for a system configuration using a mobile computer having a wireless communication function, the image communication device 21 shown in FIG. 2 shown in the first embodiment is replaced with a mobile computer and a network 22 shown in FIG. It can be easily realized by replacing the base station with a wireless base station having a function of connecting to the base station. As the image input means, in addition to a document scanner, a function of converting a video input signal from a video camera or the like into a digital image can be used.

Further, if the service acting on behalf of the image communication server 29 provided by the Internet service provider or the like as described above becomes available via the service for connecting to a line such as a mobile phone by the above-mentioned wireless communication means, In addition, information can be transmitted not only from within the company but also from anywhere (in a place where a general mobile phone or the like can be used).

<Other Embodiments> Transmission of information on the location of image data and image files transferred between the image input device and the image communication server shown in the embodiment, address information of transmission destinations, fixed phrases, comment input, etc. All the data necessary for the service to the destination, such as the information contained in the e-mail to the destination, can be handled and transmitted as individual information files, respectively. FlashPix (TM; Eastman Kodak, USA) shown below By using a file format, image data of each quality (resolution) is stored as data of each layer, and other information is stored in an extension property set. It can also be handled as a single file and sent and received. Also, handling as one file like this
Not only is it easy to manage, but it also works effectively in terms of data security on the Internet, such as encryption of the contained information and measures to prevent unauthorized use.

Therefore, here, FlashPix will be described first.

<FlashPix file format> FlashPix
The ix file format is for structuring image attribute information and image data and storing them in a file. This structured image file is shown in FIGS.

Each property or data in the file has M
They correspond to directories and files of S-DOS (registered trademark of Microsoft Corporation in the United States) and are accessed by storage and stream. 9 and 10, the shaded portion is the storage and the unshaded portion is the stream. Image data and image attribute information are stored in the stream portion. The image data is hierarchized at different resolutions (corresponding to the different image qualities described above), and the image of each resolution is called Subimage, and Resolution 0, 1, ..., n
Indicated by For each resolution image, information necessary to read the image is stored in the Subimage header, and image data is stored in Sbuimage data. A property set is a set of attribute information that is classified and defined according to the purpose of use and its contents.
nfo.Property Set, Image Content Property Set, Exte
There is a nsion list property set.

<Description of each property set> Summary In
fo.Property Set is not unique to FlashPix,
This property set is required for icrosoft structured storage, and stores the title, title, author, thumbnail image, etc. of the file.

The Image Contents Property Set is an attribute that describes the method of storing image data (FIG. 13). This attribute includes the number of layers of image data, the width and height of the image at the maximum resolution, the width, height, and color configuration of each resolution image, or the quantization table and Huffman table when using JPEG compression. Write the definition.

The Image Info.Property Set stores various information that can be used when using an image, for example, information on how the image is captured and how it can be used.・ Information on how to import and / or generate digital data (File Source) ・ Information on copyright (Intellectual property) ・ Information on the content of the image (person, location, etc. in the image)
(Content description) ・ Information about the camera used for shooting (Camera informal
information on camera settings (exposure, shutter speed, focal length, use of flash, etc.)
(Per Picture camera settings) ・ Information on digital camera specific resolution and mosaic filter (Digitalcamera characterization) ・ Information such as film manufacturer name, product name, type (negative / boji, color / monochrome) (Film description) ・ Original book Information on the type and size of documents and printed materials (Original document scan description) ・ In the case of scanned images, information on the scanner and software used and the person who operated them (Scan device) The Extension list property Set is included in the above FlashPix basic specifications. This is the area used when adding missing information.

The FlashPix Image View Object shown in FIG. 10 is an image file that stores viewing parameters and image data used when displaying an image. The viewing parameter is a set of processing coefficients stored for adapting the processing of image rotation, enlargement / reduction, movement, color conversion, and filtering when displaying an image.

Source / Result FlashPix Image Object is F
The source of lashPix image data, Source FlashPix Ima
ge Object is required, Result FlashPix Image Object is optional. Source FlashPix Image Object is the original image data, Result FlashPix Image Object
Stores an image obtained as a result of image processing using viewing parameters.

The Source / Result desc. Property set is a property set for identifying image data, and stores an image ID, a property set for which change is prohibited, the last update date and time, and the like.

The Transform property set includes Affine transform coefficients for rotation, enlargement / reduction, and movement, a color conversion matrix,
Stores a contrast adjustment value and a filtering coefficient.

Next, the handling of image data will be described.

An explanatory diagram of an image format including images of a plurality of resolutions divided into tiles shows an example of an image file composed of a plurality of images having different resolutions. In FIG. 11, the image of the maximum resolution has columns × rows composed of C × R.
The next largest image is C / 2 × R / 2. Thereafter, the size of each column and row is reduced by 縮小, and the size of each column and row is reduced to 6 × R / 2.
Repeat until four pixels or less or equal.

As a result of the hierarchization as described above, as the attribute information of the image, “the number of layers in one image file” and the image of each layer, the header information and the image data described in the section of the conventional image format are used. Is required. Information about the number of layers in one image file, the width and height of the image with the maximum resolution, or the width, height, color configuration, compression method, etc. of the image with each resolution is described in Image Contents Pro.
This is described in the perty Set (FIG. 13).

Further, the image of each resolution layer is divided into 64 × 64 tiles as shown in FIG. When the image is divided into 64 × 64 tiles sequentially from the upper left of the image,
Depending on the image, blanks may occur in the right and bottom tiles. In this case, 64 × 64 pixels are constructed by repeatedly inserting the rightmost image or the lowermost image. In FlashPix, the image in each tile is stored by any of the JPEG compression, single color, and non-compression methods. JPEG compression is ISO / IEC JT
This is an image compression method internationally standardized by C1 / SC29, and the description of the method itself is omitted here. The tiled image data is stored in the Subimagedata stream, and the total number of tiles, the size of each tile,
Data start position and compression method are all Subimage header
(FIG. 14).

The single color is a method of expressing the color of a tile in one color without recording the value of each pixel only when the one tile is all composed of the same color. This method is particularly useful for images generated by computer graphics.

As described above, since FlashPix manages image data for each different image quality, it can be understood that it can be applied to the first and second embodiments described above as it is.

In this embodiment, each of the server, the transmitting terminal, and the receiving terminal can be realized by a general-purpose information processing device (for example, a personal computer). The point is that there is appropriate hardware (for example, a device for network connection, a storage device such as a hard disk or a display device) for implementing the above processing, and a program utilizing the hardware only needs to operate.

Accordingly, the present invention provides a storage medium storing program codes of software for realizing the functions of the above-described embodiments to a system or an apparatus, and a computer (or CPU or MP) of the system or apparatus.
It goes without saying that U) is achieved by reading and executing the program code stored in the storage medium.

In this case, the program code itself read from the storage medium realizes the functions of the above-described embodiment, and the storage medium storing the program code constitutes the present invention.

As a storage medium for supplying the program code, for example, a floppy disk, hard disk, optical disk, magneto-optical disk, CD-ROM, CD
-R, a magnetic tape, a nonvolatile memory card, a ROM, or the like can be used.

The computer executes the readout program code, not only to realize the functions of the above-described embodiment, but also to execute the OS running on the computer based on the instruction of the program code. It goes without saying that a part or all of the above-described processing is performed, and the functions of the embodiments are realized by the processing.

Further, after the program code read from the storage medium is written in the memory provided in the extension function board inserted into the computer or the function extension unit connected to the computer, based on the instruction of the program code, It goes without saying that the CPU provided in the function expansion board or the function expansion unit performs a part or all of the actual processing, and the processing realizes the functions of the above-described embodiments.

As is apparent from the above description, according to the present embodiment, seamless access from the intranet to the Internet can be achieved without affecting the existing system even under the access restriction by the security system provided on the network. It is possible to provide an image transmission system, in which the sender reliably transmits image information from the image communication device of the present invention to a specific personal destination, and the receiver uses the computer terminal that has received the e-mail,
Using the server / client system, the transmitted image can be confirmed by a schematic display.

Further, based on the image printing instruction by the operation of the e-mail recipient, a file having a desired image quality is transferred to the designated image communication apparatus, so that the recipient can make a decision based on the image confirmation. Thus, a print image reproduced by high-quality print image data can be obtained.

[0083]

As is apparent from the above description, according to the invention of the present application, even under the access restriction by the security system provided on the network, the Internet can be switched from the intranet to the Internet without affecting the existing system. It is possible to provide a seamless image transmission system, the sender can reliably transmit image information from the image communication device of the present invention to a specific personal destination,
The recipient can confirm the transmitted image by a schematic display using the WWW server / client system by using the computer terminal that has received the distribution information, for example, the mail.

Further, a file of desired image quality is transferred to a designated image communication apparatus based on an image printing instruction by a recipient's operation of the distribution information, thereby making it possible for the recipient to make a decision based on image confirmation. In addition, it is possible to obtain a print image reproduced by high-quality print image data.

[Brief description of the drawings]

FIG. 1 is a block diagram illustrating a configuration of an image communication device according to an embodiment.

FIG. 2 is a system configuration diagram illustrating an image communication system according to the present embodiment.

FIG. 3 is a flowchart showing processing contents in a transmitting apparatus according to the embodiment.

FIG. 4 is a flowchart showing processing contents of a server in the embodiment.

FIG. 5 is a flowchart illustrating processing performed by a receiving device according to the embodiment.

FIG. 6 is a flowchart illustrating processing performed by a server according to the embodiment.

FIG. 7 is a flowchart showing processing contents in a receiving side s petit in the present embodiment.

FIG. 8 is a diagram showing a configuration of a general network.

FIG. 9 is a diagram showing a management structure of image data in FlashPix.

FIG. 10 is a diagram showing a structure of an image file in FlashPix.

FIG. 11 is a diagram illustrating a relationship between image data of different resolutions in FlashPix.

FIG. 12 is a diagram showing a state in which an image in FlashPix is stored in tile units.

FIG. 13 is a diagram showing an attribute table describing a method of storing an image in FlashPix.

FIG. 14 is a diagram illustrating a description example of a SubImage Header of an image in FlashPix.

[Explanation of symbols]

 Reference Signs List 11 CPU unit 12 display unit 13 operation unit 14 storage unit 15 communication control unit 16 image conversion unit 17 image input / output control unit 18 image input unit 19 image output unit 21 image communication device a 22 private network a 23 firewall a 24 image communication device b 25 Destination terminal 26 Private network b 27 Firewall b 28 Internet 29 Image communication server

──────────────────────────────────────────────────続 き Continued on the front page (51) Int.Cl. ⁷ Identification symbol FI Theme coat ゛ (Reference) H04L 12/58 F-term (Reference) 5B089 GA11 GA21 GB01 HA01 JA21 JA31 JA40 JB03 KA17 KB13 KC27 KC53 KC57 LA02 LA14 LB12 LB14 5C062 AA06 AB38 AB42 AC38 AE16 BA04 BC01 BC02 5K030 HA06 HB02 HC14 HD03 HD06 JT04 KA06

Claims (9)

[Claims] An information transmitting terminal, a receiving terminal, and
A data communication system including a server serving as the relay device, wherein the transmitting terminal sets image data to be transmitted to a plurality of different image qualities, and transmits the image data to the server together with information specifying the receiving terminal. Storage means for storing a plurality of received image data of different qualities as distribution information information addressed to the receiving terminal; and the receiving terminal stores image data of an image quality in response to a request from the receiving terminal. Requesting means for issuing a request to deliver the image data of the desired image quality to the server; receiving the image data of the image quality requested by the requesting means; Output means for outputting the data. 2. The server according to claim 1, wherein the server is connected to a network to which the transmitting terminal and the receiving terminal are connected via a firewall.
A data communication system according to item 9. 3. The data communication system according to claim 1, wherein said server includes means for outputting high-quality image data in response to a request from a receiving terminal. 4. A data communication apparatus which stores a plurality of image data of different image quality as distribution information, and causes a server providing a delivery service of image data of image quality according to a request from a client on the network to store the distribution information. A data communication apparatus, comprising: transmission means for setting image data to be transmitted to a plurality of different image qualities, and transmitting the image data to the server together with information for specifying a distribution destination. 5. A server that stores a plurality of image data of different image qualities sent from a client on a network as distribution information and requests a server that performs distribution service to another client on the network to receive the distribution information. A data communication device, comprising: a request unit that issues a request for delivery of image data of a desired image quality to the server; and an output unit that receives and outputs image data of the image quality requested by the request unit. A data communication device characterized by the above-mentioned. 6. A data communication apparatus which stores a plurality of image data of different image qualities as distribution information, and causes a server for delivering image data of image qualities in response to a request from a client on the network to accumulate the distribution information. The method according to any one of claims 1 to 3, further comprising: transmitting the image data to be transmitted to a plurality of different image qualities and transmitting the image data to the server together with information for specifying a destination of distribution. 7. A server that stores a plurality of image data of different image qualities sent from a client on a network as distribution information and requests a server that provides a distribution delivery service to other clients on the network to receive the distribution. A requesting step of issuing a request for delivery of image data of a desired image quality to the server, and an output step of receiving and outputting the image data of the image quality requested by the requesting step. And a control method for a data communication device. 8. A data communication apparatus which stores a plurality of image data of different image quality as distribution information and causes a server for delivering image data of image quality according to a request from a client on the network to store the distribution information. A storage medium storing a program that functions as a storage medium, and stores a program code that functions as a transmission unit that transmits image data to be transmitted to a plurality of different image qualities and transmits information to the server together with information that specifies a destination of distribution. Storage medium. 9. A plurality of image data having different image qualities transmitted from a client on a network is stored as distribution information, and a server that performs a distribution service to another client on the network is requested to receive the distribution information. Claims 1. A storage medium storing a program code functioning as a data communication device, comprising: a request unit for issuing a delivery request for image data of a desired image quality to the server; and receiving image data of an image quality requested by the request unit. A storage medium storing a program code functioning as an output means for outputting.