JP2001251472A - Image communication apparatus - Google Patents

Abstract

PROBLEM TO BE SOLVED: To enable a transmitting side terminal to reliably acquire the capability information of a destination terminal and allow an Internet facsimile machine to perform capability exchange equivalent to that of a G3 facsimile. SOLUTION: This image communication apparatus 11A inquires of a server 13A capability held by the opposite party 14B and inquires of a DNS server 14A the capability information to acquire the capability information when the server 13A does not hold the capability information of the opposite party 14B. Then, the device 11A transmits an image to the opposite party 14B via the Internet by adapting to the capability of the opposite party 14B.

Description

DETAILED DESCRIPTION OF THE INVENTION

[0001]

BACKGROUND OF THE INVENTION 1. Field of the Invention The present invention relates to an image communication apparatus capable of transmitting data via the Internet, and more particularly to an image communication apparatus which transmits an image after acquiring the capability of a destination terminal on the Internet.

[0002]

2. Description of the Related Art A conventional facsimile apparatus uses a G3 facsimile or I3 facsimile which performs data communication using an analog network.
A G4 facsimile that performs data communication using a digital line network such as SDN is generally used. A facsimile apparatus using such an analog network or a digital network (hereinafter, collectively referred to as a "public network") will be described below.
G3 / G4FAX. On the other hand, in recent years, an Internet facsimile apparatus (hereinafter, referred to as IFAX) for transmitting and receiving data on the Internet protocol has been developed. In particular, for an e-mail type IFAX that sends and receives image data using an e-mail transfer protocol, the IETF (Internet Engineering Task Force)
And ITU (International Telecommunication Unio
Standardization is underway in the case of n).

[0003] Regarding data transmission by an e-mail type IFAX, SMT is used as a mail transfer protocol.
P (simple mail transfer protocol) and POP (Post
(Office Protocol) 3 will be described. IFAX sends the mail to the SMTP server.
The SMTP server transfers the mail to the POP3 server to which the receiving side belongs. The POP3 server stores the mail in the mailbox of the receiving destination.

As described above, since data communication by IFAX is performed asynchronously, it is not possible to exchange the holding capacity between IFAX and the communication terminal on the receiving side. For this reason, IFAX
Is designed to ensure reliable communication by communicating with a minimum function. Documents issued by IETF
RFC2305 "A Simple Mode of Facsimile Using Internet
mail "(K. Toyoda et. Al; March 1998), the minimum functions that IFAX should have
ity) is defined as "simple mode". More specifically, the communication protocol is SMTP, supports MIME, and supports a minimum set of a TIFF file.

[0005] The minimum set is defined in RFC2301. The TIFF file lists five sets of S, F, J, L, and M according to the supported facsimile mode and profile. Of these, the lowest one is the minimum set called profile S.

More specifically, the minimum set is to support monochrome images, and the compression format is MH (Modified Huffm
an coding), CPU is Intel, paper width is 1728 (equivalent to A4), resolution is 100 dpi or 200 dpi, and data arrangement is LSB. Stipulated.

However, since only the minimum functions can be used in the communication in the simple mode, even if both the transmitting terminal and the destination terminal have functions higher than the simple mode, the minimum functions are required. Communicating with.

In view of the above, a communication system in which the capability information of a terminal serving as a destination terminal is registered in a server in advance so that the transmitting terminal can acquire the capability information of the destination terminal from the server has been proposed. No. 10-334007. IFAX described in this publication
According to the method, the capability information of the destination terminal can be acquired before the start of transmission, so that communication adapted to the capability of the destination terminal can be performed.

[0009]

However, since it is practically difficult to register the capability information of all terminals existing on the Internet in one server, the capability of the terminal limited to the server is limited. Information is only registered. For this reason, when the capability information of the destination terminal is not registered in the server, there is no other way than to perform communication in the simple mode by reducing the functions to the minimum.

[0010] The present invention has been made in view of the above circumstances, and it is possible to reliably acquire the capability information of a destination terminal at a transmitting terminal, and to exchange a capability equivalent to that of a G3 facsimile with an Internet facsimile apparatus. It is an object of the present invention to provide an enabled image communication device.

[0011]

An image communication apparatus according to the present invention requests the first server for capability information of a destination terminal,
When the capability information of the destination terminal is not registered in the first server, the capability information is requested to the second server or the server group in which the capability information of the network terminal is registered in advance, directly or through the first server. .

According to the present invention, even if the capability information of the destination terminal is not registered in the first server, the capability information is requested from the second server or the server group in which the capability information is registered in advance. , The ability information of the destination terminal can be reliably obtained,
Communication according to the capability of the destination terminal becomes possible. Also, the acquired capability information of the destination terminal can be registered and used from the next communication.

[0013]

Embodiments of the present invention will be specifically described below with reference to the drawings.

(First Embodiment) FIG. 1 shows a network configuration of a communication system according to a first embodiment.
A state where the first LAN 10A and the second LAN 10B are communicably connected via the Internet is shown.

On the first LAN 10A, an IFAX 11
A and a plurality of network terminals including the personal computer 12A are connected. The network terminal is a communication device that communicates according to a communication protocol that can communicate on the Internet.

Further, the first LAN 10A has a server 13A and a domain name system (hereinafter referred to as "DN").
S) and a mail server 15A. The server 13A provides the IFAX 11A with the capability information of the destination terminal. The DNS server 14A
This is a name server that manages the domain name of the IFAX 11A, in which capability information of network terminals existing in the zone (in this example, the first LAN 10A) is registered.
The mail server 15A has a mailbox of a network terminal existing in the first LAN 10A, and functions to transfer an e-mail transmitted from the network terminal to a mail server having a mailbox of the destination terminal.

On the second LAN 10B, an IFAX 11
B, terminal 12B, DNS server 14B, mail server 1
5B etc. are connected. The DNS server 14B is connected to the IF
This is a name server that manages the domain name of the AX 11B, and has registered therein the capability information of the network terminals existing in the zone (in this example, the second LAN 10B).
The mail server 15B has a mailbox of a network terminal in the second LAN 10B, and functions to transfer an e-mail transmitted from the network terminal to a mail server having a mailbox of the destination terminal.

On the Internet, an upper DNS server 16, a WWW server 17, and the like are arranged. Top DN
The S server 16 is a name server that manages a domain name in an upper hierarchy of a hierarchical structure in which domain names are hierarchized on a tree. Below the domain name of the upper hierarchy managed by the upper DNS server 16, there is a domain name of the lower hierarchy managed by the DNS servers 14A and 14B. WWW server 17
Is registered in a case described later.

FIG. 2 shows a hardware configuration of the IFAX 11A. The CPU 21 executes a program and controls the entire apparatus. The ROM 22 stores a program to be executed by the CPU 21. The RAM 23 is a main memory for executing programs and temporarily storing various data such as e-mails and image files. The scanner 24 reads a document and acquires image information. The printer 25 prints the received image information. The FAX unit 26 transmits and receives data by facsimile communication, and transmits the data to a telephone network (PSTN / ISD).
N) Perform modulation / demodulation processing when transmitting / receiving data on 27. The network control unit 28 is an interface that executes a procedure necessary for sending and receiving electronic mail on the Internet. The operation panel unit 29 includes a one-touch dial key and a touch panel to specify a destination,
An operation by the operator such as a transmission start instruction is received. The data processing circuit 20 includes a plurality of processing blocks such as a compression / expansion unit, a scaling unit, a resolution conversion unit, an encryption processing unit, and a color / monochrome conversion unit. The operation of each processing block is controlled by the CPU 21.

FIG. 3 shows functional blocks extracted from specific functions realized by the CPU 21 executing a program. In the IFAX 11A, an image signal of an image read by the scanner 24 is input to the data processing unit 20. The capability exchange unit 31 has a function of acquiring capability information of the destination terminal by a capability exchange operation described later. The operation sequence of each processing block in the data processing unit 20 is controlled by the CPU 21 in accordance with the capability of the destination terminal. For example, the compression / decompression unit compresses the image signal in a compression format compatible with the destination terminal. Also, IFAX11
If A has a color function, but the destination terminal does not have a color function and must send a black and white image, the color / black and white conversion unit can convert the color image to a black and white image. .

The e-mail creation unit 32 includes the data processing unit 2
An e-mail including the image data output from 0 is created. The e-mail creating unit 32 converts the image data into TIFF
Convert to a file. The TIFF file can store compressed data corresponding to a plurality of pages in one file. The destination address of the electronic mail according to the input from the operation panel unit 29 is passed to the electronic mail creating unit 32. Next, TI
An e-mail containing the FF file as an attached file is created. That is, the TIFF file is converted into a text code, and MIME (Multipurpose Internet Mail
xtensions) in the data portion of a complex structured email,
Can be put in. Thereafter, the e-mail created by the e-mail creation unit 32 is transmitted by the mail transmission unit 33 to the mail server via the network control unit 28.

On the other hand, the mail receiving section 34 receives an electronic mail from the mail server 15A. The received e-mail is input to the e-mail analysis unit 35. The e-mail analysis unit 35 converts the attached file part of the received e-mail from a text code into a binary code. Thereafter, the attached file portion converted to binary is developed from the TIFF file into an image signal in page units.

The data processing circuit 20 processes an image signal input from the electronic mail analyzing unit 35. For example, in the case of compressed image data, the compression / decompression unit decompresses the image data by a decompression method corresponding to a compression format, and the encryption processing unit decrypts and restores the encrypted data. The restored image signal is output to the printer 25. If the received e-mail includes a transfer instruction to another facsimile machine, the compressed e-mail data is output to the facsimile unit 26.

The destination terminal information is registered in the destination information table 36 in advance. FIG. 4 shows a specific example of destination terminal information registered in the destination information table 36. The destination terminal information includes the number of the one-touch dial key assigned to the destination terminal,
Includes phone numbers, email addresses, etc.

The capability registration section 37 functions to register the newly acquired capability information of the destination terminal in the server 13A. The registration instruction and the capability information are transmitted from the capability exchange unit 31 to the capability registration unit 3.
7 is input. The capability registration unit 37 is a LAN control unit 28
To the server 13A via the.

The server 13A responds to the capability inquiry from the capability exchange unit 31 and transmits the capability information of the destination terminal to the capability exchange unit 3.
1 is provided. The server 13A stores the capability information of the destination terminal in the capability exchange table 50. The server 13A registers the capability information requested to be registered by the capability registration unit 37 in the capability exchange table 50.

FIG. 5 shows a configuration example of the capacity exchange table 50. The model name of the destination terminal is registered in the capability exchange table 50 in correspondence with the mail address of the destination terminal.
The capability of the destination terminal is determined according to the model of the destination terminal. A capacity table is prepared in the capacity exchange table 50 for each model. In the capability table, capability items such as resolution, paper size, compression format, encryption method, color, and others, and capability contents corresponding to individual capability items are described.

As described above, by managing the capabilities of the destination terminals by the model names, the data capacity of the capability exchange table 50 can be reduced as compared with the case where the capability information is registered for each destination terminal. Destination terminals of the same model can be regarded as having substantially the same capability. Therefore, if the capacity of the destination terminal is managed by the model name, data can be efficiently managed while avoiding duplication of data.

The DNS server 14A has a function of managing a domain name and a function of managing the capabilities of a network terminal. A zone information table for implementing the above two functions is stored in the internal memory 60A of the DNS server 14A. FIG. 6 shows the structure of the zone information table. The zone information table includes a plurality of records including an MX (Mail Exchange) record, an A (Address) record, and an FX (Fax Exchange) record which is an extension record. The MX record describes a mail delivery destination for the origin (domain name: abc.co.jp). abc. co. The mail delivery destination for the jp domain is mail-gate @ abc. co. jp
It is. The A record contains the host name and the corresponding IP
An address is described. The host name registered in the zone information table includes the mail server (mail-g
ate) and IFAX (ifax1, ifax2). This time, the FX record, which is the extended record, describes the capability information of IFAX. The ability information includes
The information includes the IFAX model name, paper size, color / black and white, compression format, encryption method, resolution, and other information.

The DNS is composed of a number of DNS servers distributed on the Internet. The DNS server is arranged along the tree structure of the domain name, and is provided with the authority of domain name management for each subdomain hierarchy.
There is an NS server. The range of domain names managed by one DNS server is called a zone. According to the present invention, a plurality of DNS servers constituting a DNS constitute a database for distributing and managing the capabilities of network terminals connected to the Internet on the Internet.

In the present embodiment, the DNS server (14A
Or, the capability of the network terminal (IFAX 11A or 11B) in which the domain 14B) manages the domain name is described in the FX record. Therefore, each DNS
If the capabilities of the network terminals existing in the zone are registered in the server, the capability information of each network terminal is registered in any one of the DNS servers. DNS
Can search for a DNS server that manages a domain name, so that the DNS in which the capability information is registered from the mail address (domain name) of the network terminal
The S server can be easily searched.

Next, the operation of the communication system configured as described above for exchanging capabilities will be described. Less than,
The description will be made assuming that the IFAX 11A on the first LAN 10A is a transmitting terminal and the IFAX 11B on the second LAN 10B is a receiving terminal (destination terminal).

FIG. 7 shows an example of a sequence until the transmitting IFAX 11A acquires the capability of the receiving IFAX 11B. FIG. 7 shows a sequence when the capability information of the IFAX 11B on the receiving side is not registered in the server 13A.

The IFAX 11A inquires the server 13A about the desired capability information of the destination terminal (IFAX 11B). In this example, the capability information of the desired destination terminal is not registered in the server 14A. Therefore, the server 14A
Sends a response to the effect that the capability information is not registered
Return to A.

Next, the IFAX 11A uses a name resolver (DNS client software) to query the DNS server 14A managing its own domain name about the capabilities of the destination terminal. The inquiry about the capability information is performed using the command requesting the capability information and the mail address of the destination terminal.

Referring to FIG. 8, the mechanism of domain name management in DNS will be described. The DNS server 14A manages the domain name of the zone A (abc: third hierarchy), and the DNS server 14B manages the domain name of the zone B (c
ba: the third hierarchy). The upper DNS server 16 manages the domain name (co: second hierarchy) of the zone C including the DNS servers 14A and 14B in the zone.

If the IFAX 11A of the zone A is the IFAX 11
A case where an inquiry is issued to the DNS server 14A that manages the zone A with the domain name of B (cba.co.jp) will be described. Since the DNS server 14A does not include the domain name (cba) in the zone A, the DNS server 14A inquires the upper DNS server 16 that manages the domain name (co: the second hierarchy) of the zone C to which the DNS server 14A belongs. . Upper DNS server 16 that manages the domain name of zone C
Are cached at the time of the first acquisition.

The upper server DNS 16 knows the domain name (third hierarchy) managed by the lower DNS server belonging to the zone C. Therefore, the upper DN
The S server 16 determines that the domain name (cba) of the inquiry is D
It can be seen that the NS server 14B is managing. The DNS is sent from the upper DNS server 16 to the DNS server 14A.
The IP address of the S server 14B is notified. Thus, the DNS can reliably know the IP address of the DNS server that manages the desired domain name by going back to the upper DNS server.

The DN inquired from IFAX 11A
If the S server 14A can solve the problem by using its own zone information table 60A, it responds with the corresponding capability information.
In this example, the capability information of the destination terminal is not registered in the DNS server 14A. If it cannot be resolved, that is, if the inquiry is for a domain name outside its own zone, an inquiry is made to the upper DNS server 16 (recursion).

The upper DNS server 16 that received the inquiry
If a DNS server that is likely to know the relevant domain name is found, the DNS server IP address is
Notify the server 14A. If the DNS server 14A cannot specify a DNS server whose upper-level DNS server is likely to know the domain name, the DNS server 14A queries the higher-level DNS server for the capability.

In this way, the destination terminal (IFAX 11
The IP address of the DNS server 14B that manages the domain name included in the mail address of B) is obtained. D
The NS server 14A uses the acquired IP address to
Destination terminal (IFAX 11B) for NS server 14B
Inquire about the ability of

As described above, the desired destination terminal (IF
DNS server 14 that manages the domain name of AX11B)
In B, the capability information of the destination terminal (IFAX 11B) is registered. Therefore, the DNS server 14B requested for the capability information of the destination terminal returns the capability information of the desired destination terminal to the DNS server 14A. DNS server 14
A transmits the acquired capability information of the destination terminal to the IFAX 11A.

In the DNS, even if the lower DNS (14A) server that has received an inquiry from the client directly issues an inquiry to the root server that manages the top domain, the lower DNS (14A) server does not enter the desired domain name. The IP address of the managed DNS server can be searched. In this case, the root server replaces the IP address of the upper DNS server managing the domain name (jp) of the first hierarchy with the lower DN.
Notify the S server (14A). Subsequently, when the lower DNS server (14A) issues an inquiry to the upper DNS server that manages the domain name (jp) of the first hierarchy, the upper DNS server that manages the domain name (co) of the second hierarchy The IP address of the server 16 is transmitted to the lower DNS server (14A). Further, the lower DNS server (14A)
When an inquiry is issued to the S server 16, as described above, the lower DN managing the domain name to which the desired destination terminal belongs is described.
The IP address of the S server 14B is changed to the lower DNS server (1
4A).

FIGS. 9 and 10 show flowcharts from when the IFAX 11A inquires for capability information and transmits an image. A transmission instruction is input from the operation panel unit 29 by designating a destination (ST901). If the destination terminal is a network terminal, the mail address, telephone number (I
FAX) or a one-touch dial key number is input. If the destination terminal is a G3 facsimile, a telephone number or a one-touch dial key number is input.

In step ST902, when a mail address is input, capability exchange section 31 recognizes that the destination terminal is a network terminal. When a telephone number or a one-touch dial key number is input, it is determined whether or not the destination terminal is a network terminal using the destination information table 36. If the same data as the input telephone number or one-touch dial key number is registered in the destination information table 36 and a mail address corresponding to the data is registered, it can be recognized as a network terminal. Otherwise, it is determined that the destination terminal is a G3 facsimile.

If it is determined in step ST902 that the destination terminal is a G3 facsimile, the facsimile unit 26 exchanges capabilities according to a normal facsimile procedure. And
After the data processing circuit 20 performs processing corresponding to the capability of the other party's FAX on the image signal, the FAX unit 26 transmits the image signal to the telephone network (ST903).

If it is determined in step ST902 that the destination terminal is a network terminal, the server 13A is inquired of the capability information of the destination terminal via the LAN control unit 28 (ST904). The HTTP protocol can be used for communication between the IFAX 11A and the server 13A.

It is possible to request only the capability information of an arbitrary item from the capability information registered in the capability exchange table 50 of the server 13A. For example, when the information of the paper size and the encryption method is unnecessary, the item number of the paper size and the encryption method and the filtering instruction data are added to the command requesting the capability information. A CGI command can be used as the command. The server 13A is requested to perform a CGI process for filtering the capability information.

If the capability information of the destination terminal is registered in the capability exchange table 50 of the server 13A, the server 13A notifies the IFAX 11A of the capability information. If the capability information of the destination terminal is not registered in the capability exchange table 50, the server 13A notifies the IFAX 11A of a message indicating that the capability information is not registered. In this example, it is assumed that the capability information is not registered in the server 13A.

Further, as a result of analyzing the CGI string from IFAX 11A, if filtering of capability information has been instructed, server 13A activates the application and deletes the capability information of the specified item from the capability information. IF with filtered capability information as response
Send to AX11A.

The capability exchange unit 31 recognizes from the message received from the server 13A that the capability information of the desired destination terminal is not registered in the server 13A (ST).
905). If the desired capability information is not registered in server 13A, the server registration flag is set to flag = 1 (ST906). The server registration flag is a flag indicating that after acquiring the capability information, the capability information is registered in the server 13A.

If it is determined in step ST905 that the capability information is not registered in the server 13A, the DNS server 1 managing the domain name of the same zone (A) is determined.
4A is inquired about the capability of the destination terminal by the mail address of the destination terminal (ST907). The inquiry about the capability is made by the command requesting the capability information and the destination terminal (IFAX
11B). As described above, the network of the DNS server is connected to the next higher D
Upon reaching the NS server 16, the destination terminal (IFA
The destination DNS server (14B) that manages the domain name of X11B) is found. This destination DNS server (14
The IP address B) is notified from the upper DNS server 16 to the requesting DNS server 14A. The DNS server 14A communicates with the destination DNS server (1
4B) to acquire the capability information and transmit it to the IFAX 11A.

The capability exchange section 31 of the IFAX 11A
The capability information of the destination terminal is acquired from the S server 14A (S
T908). As a result, the first server 1 to inquire about
Even if the capability information of the destination terminal is not registered in 3A, D
Capability information can be reliably obtained only by making an inquiry to the NS server. This is because the capability information of the destination terminal is registered in the DNS server that can be searched by the mail address of the destination terminal.

Here, one of the capabilities of the network terminal is an encryption function. The IFAX 11A can encrypt transmission data by a predetermined encryption method in order to increase security of data transferred on the Internet.
Ability exchange unit 3 by button operation from operation panel unit 29
1 can be instructed to encrypt. If the destination terminal does not have a decryption function, the transmission data cannot be decrypted. Therefore, it is necessary to confirm by capability exchange that the destination terminal has a decryption function corresponding to the encryption method on the transmission side.

If it is determined in step ST909 that it is not instructed to encrypt the transmission data, the processing sequence and the processing parameters in the data processing circuit 20 are changed in order to realize communication in accordance with the capability of the destination terminal. It is determined (ST910). The processing units used in the data processing circuit in this transmission and the order of processing are determined by the processing sequence. In addition, processing parameters determine parameters used by the processing unit, such as a scaling factor according to the paper size and a resolution according to the resolution of the other party.

In the process of step ST 911, the capacity exchange unit 31 performs the data processing circuit 20 according to the processing sequence and the processing parameters determined in step ST 910.
Control the necessary processing units in the system. The image signal processed according to the capability of the destination terminal is output from the data processing circuit 20 to the e-mail creating unit 32. Then, the e-mail creating unit 32 creates an e-mail including the image data, and transmits the e-mail from the mail transmitting unit 33 to the mail server 15B having the mailbox of the destination terminal. Thus, communication according to the capability of the destination terminal is called full mode transmission.

In step ST909, the operation panel unit 29
, It is determined whether or not the capability information of the destination terminal obtained earlier includes an encryption function (including a decryption function) (ST91).
2). As a result, when the capability information of the destination terminal includes the encryption function, the mobile terminal shifts to step ST910 to determine a processing sequence including the encryption.

On the other hand, when the capability information of the destination terminal does not include the encryption function, CPU 21 determines the correspondence according to the instruction table stored in ROM 22 (ST913). The instruction table describes how to cope with a case where the destination terminal receiving the transmission data for which encryption has been instructed does not have an encryption function. As a result of referring to the instruction table, if inquiring to the administrator terminal is described as a countermeasure (ST914), a message related to the inquiry is transmitted to a predetermined administrator (network terminal) (ST915). The inquiry message and the address of the administrator (network terminal) are provided to the e-mail creating unit 32. The e-mail creating unit 32 creates an e-mail including the inquiry message and having the address of the administrator (network terminal) inserted into the destination address. This e-mail is sent to the administrator (network terminal).

In step ST913, as a result of referring to the instruction table, if it is described as a coping method that the transmission data is transmitted by facsimile to the destination terminal (ST91)
6) FAX transmission of the transmission data in the G3 mode to the destination terminal by the FAX unit 26 (ST917). Step S
In the FAX transmission in T917, the FAX unit 26 exchanges capabilities according to a normal facsimile procedure. The telephone number of the destination terminal is obtained from the destination information table 36.

In step ST913, as a result of referring to the instruction table, if output of a non-transmission message is described as a coping method, a message not to transmit is displayed on the display of operation panel unit 29 (ST918). ). Alternatively, a message not to transmit is printed out from printer 25 (ST918).

As described above, if the destination terminal is not provided with a decryption function corresponding to the encryption method on the transmission side even though the instruction for encrypting the transmission data is given, the transmission data is encrypted. Transmission on the Internet without encryption can be prohibited.

If the capability information could not be acquired for some reason in the process of step ST908, the process shifts to simple mode transmission described later. In this case, after confirming that the encryption instruction has not been input (ST919), the capability exchange unit 31 determines the processing sequence and processing parameters of the data processing circuit 20 according to the capability according to the minimum set (ST919). ST920). The image signal output from the data processing circuit 20 is sent to the electronic mail
The data is converted into an e-mail in 2 and transmitted according to the simple mode (ST921).

When the IFAX 11A acquires the capability information not registered in the server 13A by the above-described capability exchange, the IFAX 11A registers the capability information in the server 13A.

FIG. 11 shows that IFAX 11A is connected to server 13A.
2 shows a flowchart for registering the capability information. When the capability information is acquired from outside (S
T1101), it is determined whether or not the server registration flag is set to flag = 1 (ST1102). When the flag = 1, it indicates that the capability information is not registered in the server 13A. In this case, the acquired capability information and the mail address of the destination terminal are stored in a specific address on the RAM 23 (ST1103).

The time (time zone) for registering the capability information in the server 13A is predetermined. In the present embodiment,
A time zone in which the operating rate of the server 13A decreases is set in the capability registration unit 37 as a registration time zone. Server 13A
By using a time zone in which the operating rate of the service decreases, as a registration time zone, the possibility that the capacity registration work and other work overlap will be reduced. Therefore, the capability information can be registered without increasing the load on the server 13A. If the capability of the server 13A is sufficiently high, the capability information may be registered in the server 13A when new capability information is acquired. Or IFAX
When the idle time of 11A occurs, the capability information may be registered in the server 13A.

When the registration time period comes (ST1104), the capability registration unit 37 extracts the capability information and the mail address of the destination terminal from the specific address on the RAM 23, and issues a command requesting registration to the server 13A and the registration information (the destination terminal). (ST information and mail address)
1105). As a result, the capability information is newly registered in the server 13A. As a result, the capability information of the destination terminal whose capability has been exchanged by the network terminal in the LAN 10A is automatically registered in the server 13A.

Next, the operation of the server 13A will be described. FIG. 12 shows a flowchart for the server 13A to provide the capability information. The server 13A is an IFAX 11
A receives the inquiry about the ability information from A (ST120).
1) It is checked whether the target capability information is registered in the capability exchange table 50 (ST1202, ST120).
1203). The server 13A searches for the capability information by using the mail address specified by the IFAX 11A.

The corresponding capability information is stored in the capability exchange table 50.
If not registered, a response indicating that the capability information is not registered is returned to IFAX 11A as a client (ST1204). If the corresponding capability information is registered in the capability exchange table 50,
Transmits capability information to FAX 11A (ST120)
5).

FIG. 13 shows a flowchart for registering the capability information in the server 13A. The server 13A
Receives a registration request for capability information from AX 11A (ST13
01). If the server is ready, it sends a registration permission signal to IFAX 11A (ST1302). afterwards,
The capability information (model name and capability table) and the mail address of the network terminal are sent from IFAX 11A (ST1303). Server 13A registers the mail address of the network terminal and the capability information in association with each other in capability exchange table 50 (ST1304). At this time, if the capability table corresponding to the model name has already been registered, only the model name needs to be registered. If the telephone number is also registered in the capability exchange table 50, the capability information can be searched using not only the mail address but also the telephone number as a key. For this purpose, the IFAX 11A transmits data in which the telephone number is added to the capability information and the mail address of the network terminal.

Next, the operation of the DNS server 14A will be described. FIG. 14 shows a flowchart of a schematic operation of the DNS server 14. DNS server 14A receives an inquiry from IFAX 11A belonging to zone A (LAN 10A) that manages the domain name about the capability possessed by IFAX 11B (ST1401). IFAX11
A makes an inquiry using the command requesting the capability information and the mail address of the destination terminal (host: IFAX 11B).

The DNS server 14A determines whether the inquiry can be solved by itself (ST1402).
If the inquiry is about a domain name managed by the DNS server 14A, it is determined that the inquiry can be resolved. Step ST140
If it is determined that the problem can be solved in Step 2, it is determined whether or not the host IP address is requested (ST1403). If so, the target host IP address is extracted from the zone information table 60A (ST1404).

On the other hand, in step ST1403, the host I
If it is determined that the request is not for the P address, it is determined whether or not the capability information of the target host is requested (ST1405). If it is determined in step ST1405 that the inquiry is for the capability information, the capability information described in the FX record in relation to the target host is extracted from the zone information table 60A (ST1406). For example, when the host name (ifax1) is included in the mail address such as “xxx@ifax1.abc.co.jp”, the F related to the host name (ifax1) is used.
Retrieve X record to obtain ability information. Also, "×
Xx @ abc. co. If the host name is not included in the e-mail address as in “jp”, the capability information is searched and acquired with the user name (xxx) before the @ mark. In this case, a mail address or a user name is registered in the name column of the zone information table. In the case of another inquiry, the corresponding process is executed in step ST1407.

If it is determined in step ST1402 that the problem cannot be solved, the inquiry is transferred to upper DNS server 16 (ST1408). Top DNS server 1
Since the IP address of the DNS server is sent from 6, an inquiry is issued to another DNS server using the IP address. By repeating this process, an answer corresponding to the inquiry is obtained. Retrieving desired information on behalf of the client in this manner is called recursion.

The DNS server 14B has a zone information table 6 constructed similarly to the zone information table shown in FIG.
0B, and operates according to the flow chart shown in FIG. IFAX1 is stored in the zone information table 60B.
1B capability information is described in the FX record. For example, ifax1 registered in the table of FIG.
This is the host name included in the 11B mail address. i
The capability information of IFAX 11B is described in the FX record corresponding to fax1.

The DNS server 14B is a DNS server 14
If A receives an inquiry about the capabilities of IFAX 11B,
The capability information is extracted from the FX record corresponding to the host name included in the mail address. The extracted ability information is DN
Send to S server 14A.

Network Terminal and DN for Inquiry
Communication with the S server uses UDP, but other communication protocols may be used.

(Second Embodiment) The communication system according to the second embodiment has the same system configuration as the communication system of the first embodiment. In the present embodiment, the IFAX 11A switches the server that first obtains the capability information according to the address of the destination terminal.

FIG. 15 shows a flow chart from when the IFAX 11A acquires the capability information from the server (the server 13A or the DNS server) and transmits it. When the mail address of the destination terminal is input (ST1501), it is determined whether or not the domain of the destination terminal is a domain name in the same organization (ST1502).

Here, the capability information of the network terminals in the same organization including the network terminals in the LAN 10A is:
It is assumed that the information is registered in the capacity exchange table 50 of the server 13A. By checking the domain name of the network terminal, whether or not the desired capability information is registered in the server 13A, before inquiring the server 13A,
I can judge.

If it is determined in step ST1502 that the domain of the destination terminal is a domain name in the same organization, the server 13A is inquired of capability information (S150).
T1503). In this case, there is a high possibility that the desired capability information is registered in the capability exchange table 50 of the server 13A. If the capability information has been registered in server 13A (ST1504), the process proceeds to step ST1507 to perform full mode transmission.

On the other hand, if it is determined in step ST1502 that the domain of the destination terminal is not a domain name in the same organization, the DNS is sent to the server 13A without inquiring.
Inquires the server 14A for capability information (ST1)
505). DNS in the same manner as in the first embodiment.
When the capability information is obtained from step ST1507, the mobile terminal shifts to step ST1507 to transmit the full mode. For some reason, DNS
Failed to acquire ability information from
6) Transmit in simple mode (ST1508).

As described above, in the present embodiment, when the domain of the destination terminal is not a domain name in the same organization, the capability information is inquired to the DNS server 14A without inquiring to the server 13A. Therefore, the IFAX 11A can efficiently acquire the capability information.

In the present embodiment, the server that first obtains the capability information is selected according to the domain name of the destination terminal. However, the server may be selected according to other conditions. The server to be selected is server 13A.
However, a plurality of servers corresponding to the server 13A may be prepared, and an optimal server may be selected from the servers.

(Third Embodiment) The communication system according to the third embodiment has the same system configuration as the communication system of the first embodiment. In the present embodiment, the IFAX 11A is an example in which capability information of a network terminal whose address is newly registered in the destination information table 36 is automatically acquired, and the acquired capability information is registered in the server.

When the user operates the operation panel 29 to register a new address in the destination information table 36 (S
At T1601, the CPU 21 sets the capability acquisition flag to flag = 1 in association with the new address (ST160).
2). The capability acquisition flag = 1 means that a new address has been registered.

Next, it is determined whether or not the current time has reached the capability acquisition time (ST1603). When the ability acquisition time comes, a mail address to be registered for ability with the ability acquisition flag set to flag = 1 is extracted from the destination information table 36 (ST1604).

If the mail address to be registered is extracted, the capability of the communication device in which the new mail address is registered is obtained by inquiring of the DNS server 14A (ST1605).

IFAX 11A receives desired capability information from the inquired DNS server, and registers the capability information in server 13A (ST1606). As a result,
The acquired capability information is registered in the server 13A to which the IFAX 11A first inquires for capability information.

In the process of step ST1607, it is determined whether or not there remains a mail address for which capability registration is to be performed. If any target network terminal remains, the process proceeds to step ST1.
The processing shifts to 605.

According to this embodiment, the IFA
When the address registration of the new network terminal is performed in X11A, the capability information of the new network terminal is automatically inquired to the DNS, acquired, and registered in the server 13A to be accessed first.

Further, by setting the capability acquisition time in a time zone where the frequency of use of the IFAX 11A decreases, the IFA
The capability information can be registered in the server without imposing an excessive load on X11A. Alternatively, by setting the capacity acquisition time in a time zone in which the operation rate of the server decreases, the capacity information can be registered without imposing an excessive load on the server.

Further, each time the contents of the destination information table 36 of the IFAX 11A are updated, the updated capability of the communication device may be inquired to the DNS and acquired, and the capability exchange table 50 of the server 13A may be updated. .

(Fourth Embodiment) The communication system according to the fourth embodiment is an example in which a server inquires a DNS server for capability information. Note that, except for the function relating to the capability acquisition of the server 13A,
To have the same system configuration as the communication system of the third embodiment.

FIG. 17 shows a sequence diagram for acquiring capability information in the communication system according to the present embodiment.
The IFAX 11A sends a destination terminal (IF
AX11B) is inquired about capability information.

When the desired capability information is not registered in the capability exchange table 50, the server 13A that has received the inquiry from the IFAX 11A inquires the DNS server 14A that manages the domain name of the IFAX 11A about the capability. The inquiry about the capability information uses a command requesting the capability information and the mail address of the destination terminal. Server 13A and DNS
The communication protocol with the server 14A is LDAP (Ligh
tweight Directory Access Protocol). Inquiry of capability information is performed using an inquiry / search function supported by LDAP. In this case, the communication partner is the LDAP server.

The lower DNS server 14A does not manage the domain name included in the mail address of the destination terminal. Therefore, the capability information is searched for on behalf of the client (server 13A). Therefore, the inquiry is transferred to the upper DNS server 16 of the zone to which the DNS server 14A belongs.

In this example, the upper DNS server 16 is the DNS server 14B that manages the domain name of the destination terminal.
Manages domains. Therefore, the upper DNS
The server 16 notifies the DNS server 14A of the IP address of the destination DNS server 14B.

The DNS server 14A accesses the destination DNS server 14B using the IP address of the destination DNS server 14B, and inquires about the capabilities of the destination terminal. As a result, the capability information of the destination terminal is extracted from the zone information table 60B of the DNS server 14B, and is notified to the DNS server 14A. The capability information of the destination terminal is transferred to the server 13A. Further, the server 13A sends the I
This is notified to the FAX 11A. Further, the server 13A registers the capability information acquired from the DNS in the capability exchange table 50.

As described above, according to the present embodiment, the server 13A acquires the capability information from the DNS, and
, The IFAX 11A can reliably acquire the capability information only by sending an inquiry about the capability information to the server 13A only once.

Further, the server 13A acquires the capability information from the DNS, and acquires the capability information from the capability exchange table 5 in the server 13A.
0, so IFA for external registration of ability information
X11A load can be reduced and the external registration function can be changed to IFAX1
There is no need to mount it on 1A.

(Fifth Embodiment) In this embodiment, the I
This is an example in which capability information of some destination terminals is registered in a facsimile. The communication system according to the present embodiment includes:
It has the same system configuration as the communication system of the first embodiment described above.

FIG. 18 is a functional block diagram of the IFAX 11A. The IFAX 11A includes a destination information table 36 in which a model name is registered for each network terminal in which destination information is registered. FIG. 19 shows a destination information table 36 in which model names are registered. Further, a capability table 180 is prepared for each model name of the network terminal registered in the destination information table 36. FIG. 20 shows the capability table 180.
Shows the registered data contents. In the capability table 180, a model name and a mounting capability are registered as a pair.

Since each device other than the IFAX 11A has the same function as that of the first embodiment, the description is omitted.

Next, the IFAX 1 configured as described above
The operation for acquiring the capability by 1A will be described with reference to FIG. Step S, as in the first embodiment.
At T901, the destination and the transmission instruction input from the operation panel unit 29 are detected. In step ST902, the capability exchange unit 31 recognizes that the destination terminal is a network terminal when the mail address is input. When a telephone number or a one-touch dial key number is input, it is determined whether the destination terminal is a network terminal using the destination information table 36. If it is determined in step ST902 that the destination terminal is a G3 facsimile, the FA
X unit 26 transmits the data to the telephone network by facsimile (ST9).
03).

If it is determined in step ST902 that the destination terminal is a network terminal, the destination information table 3
No. 6 is checked (ST2101), and it is determined whether the destination terminal instructed to transmit is a terminal already registered in the destination information table 36 (ST2102).

If a telephone number or a one-touch dial key number has been entered, it has been confirmed in step ST902 that the destination terminal has been registered in the destination information table 36, so steps ST2101 and ST2102 have been performed.
Can be skipped.

If it is confirmed in step ST2102 that the destination information of the destination terminal is registered, it is further determined whether or not the capability information (model name) of the destination terminal is registered in destination information table 36 (ST2103). ). When the capability information is registered in the destination information table 36,
Using the model name, the corresponding capability information is extracted from the capability table 180 of the same model name. Then, the process shifts to the process of step ST909 in FIG. 10 to prepare for full mode transmission.

As described above, first, it is checked whether or not the desired capability information is registered in the internal memory of the IFAX 11A. If the desired capability information is not registered, the external server 13A or the DNS is inquired about the capability information. Compared to a system that inquires of the server 13A or DNS about the capability information, the capability information can be acquired more efficiently. IFAX
When the capability information is registered in the internal memory of 11A, the time required for acquiring the capability information can be reduced.

If it is confirmed in step ST2103 that the capability information of the destination terminal has not been registered, the internal registration flag is set to flag = 1 (ST2104). When the internal registration flag is flag = 1, it indicates that the capability information of the destination terminal from which the capability information is to be acquired is not registered in the destination information table 36 and the capability table 180 in the IFAX 11A.

In step ST904, the server 13A is inquired of the capability information of the destination terminal (ST904). If the inquiry result indicates that the capability information is not registered in the server 13A (ST905), the internal registration flag is set. Is not set (ST2106), the server registration flag is set to flag = 1 (ST906). If the internal registration flag is flag = 1, the process proceeds to step ST907 without setting the server registration flag. Step S
The processing after T907 has been described with reference to FIGS.

FIG. 22 is a flowchart for registering the capability information newly acquired by the IFAX 11A. I
When the FAX 11A acquires new capability information by the above-described capability exchange (ST1101), the status of the internal registration flag is checked (ST2201). If the internal registration flag is flag = 1, the model name is registered in the destination information table 36 in association with the network terminal as the destination terminal (ST2202). At this time, it is determined whether or not a capability table corresponding to the model name newly registered in the destination information table 36 exists as the capability table 180. If it does not exist, the capability table corresponding to the newly registered model name is additionally registered. The contents of the capability table are included in the capability information acquired by the capability exchange. When the same model name is registered in the destination information table 36, there is a capability table with the same model name, so that the capability tables are not registered redundantly.

Thus, the capability information of the network terminal registered in the destination information table 36 in the IFAX 11A is always registered in the destination information table 36 and the capability table 180.

On the other hand, if the internal registration flag has not been set in step ST2201, step ST1102
Check the status of the server registration flag with. If the server registration flag is not set, the registration process is not performed because the capability information of the destination terminal is registered in the capability exchange table 50 of the server 13A. Conversely, when the server registration flag is flag = 1, the capability information is temporarily stored (ST11).
03) When the registration time comes (ST1104), the capability information is registered in the server 13A (ST1105).

As a result, the capability information of the network terminal which is not registered in the destination information table 36 in the IFAX 11A and whose capability has been exchanged in the past is automatically registered in the capability exchange table 50 of the server 13A. Will be.

In the present embodiment, there is a possibility that desired capability information may be registered in three places: the internal memory (180) of the IFAX 11A, the server 13A, and the DNS.
Further, W located on the Internet that can be easily accessed from network terminals on other networks.
The capability information may be registered in the WW server 17.

When a plurality of inquiry destination candidates exist as described above, an inquiry about the ability may be issued in a priority order according to an arbitrary condition. For example, inquiries are made in order from a candidate location having a short access time. Alternatively, the inquiry is performed in order from a candidate location having a high possibility of holding the capability information of the destination terminal. In this case, the DNS is inquired last.

In the above description, transmission data is transmitted according to the capability of the destination terminal.
If the capacity of the destination terminal does not satisfy the predetermined condition, the destination terminal may not be directly transmitted to the destination terminal but may be registered in the WWW server 17. In this case, the UR of the WWW server 17
Send L to the destination terminal by e-mail. The user on the receiving side downloads the transmission data from the WWW server 17 using the above URL from a network terminal having a capability equal to or greater than the destination terminal.

[0118]

As described above in detail, according to the present invention, the capability information of the destination terminal can be reliably acquired at the transmitting terminal, and the capability exchange equivalent to that of the G3 facsimile can be performed by the Internet facsimile apparatus. An image communication device can be provided.

[Brief description of the drawings]

FIG. 1 is a system configuration diagram of a communication system according to a first embodiment of the present invention;

FIG. 2 is a hardware configuration diagram of an IFAX according to the first embodiment;

FIG. 3 is a functional block diagram showing a part of functions of the IFAX according to the first embodiment;

FIG. 4 is a configuration diagram of a destination information table according to the first embodiment;

FIG. 5 is a configuration diagram of a capacity exchange table according to the first embodiment.

FIG. 6 is a configuration diagram of a zone information table according to the first embodiment.

FIG. 7 is a sequence diagram for capacity exchange in the first embodiment.

FIG. 8 is a diagram showing the mechanism of domain name management in DNS.

FIG. 9 is a flowchart of the first half for acquiring capability information according to the first embodiment;

FIG. 10 is a flowchart of the latter half for acquiring capability information according to the first embodiment;

FIG. 11 is a flowchart for registering capability information according to the first embodiment;

FIG. 12 is a flowchart showing an operation for a capability inquiry in a server according to the first embodiment;

FIG. 13 is a flowchart showing an operation relating to capability registration in the server according to the first embodiment.

FIG. 14 is a flowchart showing the operation of the DNS server according to the first embodiment;

FIG. 15 is a flowchart showing an operation in which the IFAX selects an inquiry destination server in the communication system according to the second embodiment of the present invention;

FIG. 16 is a flowchart showing an operation in which the IFAX registers capability information in the communication system according to the third embodiment of the present invention;

FIG. 17 is a sequence diagram for capacity exchange in the communication system according to the fourth embodiment of the present invention;

FIG. 18 illustrates an IFAX according to a fifth embodiment of the present invention.
Functional block diagram with some functions extracted from

FIG. 19 is a configuration diagram of a destination information table according to the fifth embodiment.

FIG. 20 is a configuration diagram of a capability table according to the fifth embodiment.

FIG. 21 is a flowchart showing the operation of the first half for capacity exchange in the fifth embodiment.

FIG. 22 is a flowchart showing an operation of registering capability information in the fifth embodiment.

[Description of Signs] 10A, 10B LAN 11A, 11B IFAX 12A, 12B PC 13A Server 14A, 14B, 16 DNS server 15A, 15B Mail server 17 WWW server 20 Data processing unit 31 Capability exchange unit 36 Destination information table 37 Capability registration unit

Claims (2)

[Claims] 1. A capability acquiring means for inquiring one server about the capability possessed by a partner and inquiring another server to acquire capability information when the one server does not retain the capability information of the partner. And a data transmission unit for transmitting an image to the other party via the Internet in accordance with the ability of the other party. 2. A capability acquiring means for inquiring one server about the capability possessed by the other party, and inquiring another server to acquire the capability information when the one server does not retain the capability information of the other party. An image communication apparatus comprising: a capability registration unit configured to register capability information acquired from the another server in the one server.