JP2001352404A - Communication terminal - Google Patents

Abstract

PROBLEM TO BE SOLVED: To provide a communication terminal that will not accidentally delete information the transmission of which has been instructed. SOLUTION: Upon the receipt of a transmission instruction from external terminals 22, 23 via an external terminal interface 15, the communication terminal stores information to be sent to a data storage section 12, generates a record of a transmission management table corresponding to the information and stores the record to a transmission management table storage section 13. The record includes identification information of the external terminal which instructs the transmission. Upon the receipt of a delete instruction of information to be sent from the external terminals 22, 23, the communication terminal discriminates whether the external terminal making the delete instruction agrees with the external terminal making the transmission instruction of the information which is an object of deletion and deletes the information only, when they agree. Thus, accidental deletion of the information whose transmission is instructed by other external terminal or the communication terminal itself is eliminated.

Description

DETAILED DESCRIPTION OF THE INVENTION

[0001]

BACKGROUND OF THE INVENTION 1. Field of the Invention The present invention relates to a communication terminal device for performing communication using a telephone line, and is also connected to an external terminal and capable of instructing information transmission from the external terminal. It is about.

[0002]

2. Description of the Related Art In recent years, a communication terminal device for performing, for example, facsimile communication or the like using a telephone line can be connected to an external terminal such as a computer. In the past, the functions available from the external terminal could only use the scanner function or the printer function of the communication terminal device, but recently, it has become possible to transmit and receive from the external terminal via a telephone line.

When transmitting information such as an image from an external terminal through a telephone line, the communication terminal device temporarily stores information instructed to transmit in an internal memory and then transmits the information through the telephone line. For example, if another information is being transmitted or the transmission time is specified from an external terminal,
The information for which transmission has been instructed is stored in the memory and waits for transmission.

[0004] After a transmission instruction is given, for example, when there is an error in the content of the transmission, or when it becomes necessary to use the telephone or the like to make the transmission unnecessary, it is desired to cancel the transmission of the information for which the transmission instruction was given. There are cases. In such a case, for information that has not been transmitted, transmission information can be deleted from, for example, an operation panel provided in the communication terminal device. Further, in an apparatus capable of instructing information transmission from an external terminal as described above, transmission information can be deleted from the external terminal.

However, in a conventional communication terminal device capable of deleting transmission information from an external terminal, any transmission information stored in a memory can be deleted. Had to be deleted by mistake.

[0006]

SUMMARY OF THE INVENTION The present invention has been made in view of the above-mentioned circumstances, and has as its object to provide a communication terminal device in which information for which transmission is instructed is not erroneously deleted. Things.

[0007]

According to the present invention, in a communication terminal device, communication means for performing communication using a telephone line, external terminal connection means connected to an external terminal, and information transmitted from the communication means are stored. Storage means for performing various instruction operations, and control means for controlling at least information in the storage means to which transmission has been instructed from the external terminal so that the information can be deleted only from the external terminal or operation means which has instructed transmission. It is characterized by having. Alternatively, the control means controls at least the information in the storage means to which the transmission has been instructed from the external terminal so that it can be deleted only by the user or the operation means which has instructed the transmission.

With this configuration, the information instructed to be transmitted cannot be deleted from the outside unless the user is the external terminal or the user who instructed the transmission, so that the information instructed by another person to be transmitted is not accidentally deleted. . The external terminal can be specified by, for example, terminal identification information. Further, the user can be specified by the user ID and password of the user.

[0009] When a command for transmission is given from the external terminal and a delete instruction is given from the operation means for the information stored in the storage means, a confirmation of deletion of the information is displayed on the display means, and the operation means is displayed. After the confirmation operation is performed from,
The information may be deleted from the storage means. This makes it possible to delete any information in the storage unit that is instructed to be transmitted from the operation unit provided in the communication terminal device, and to prevent an erroneous deletion operation by performing confirmation. . Note that the confirmation operation can be a specific operation such as input of a password, for example, and can be configured to delete information by a user who has the authority to delete information. Of course, a deletion instruction from another external terminal or another user can be similarly configured to be deleted after confirmation.

[0010]

FIG. 1 is a block diagram showing an example of a facsimile apparatus including an embodiment of a communication terminal apparatus according to the present invention. In the figure, 11 is a control unit, 12 is a data storage unit,
13 is a transmission management table storage unit, 14 is a facsimile communication unit, 15 is an external terminal interface, 16 is a reading unit,
Reference numeral 17 denotes an operation unit, 21 denotes a telephone line, and 22 and 23 denote external terminals.

The control unit 11 controls the entire facsimile machine. In particular, facsimile transmission / reception using the telephone line 21 via the facsimile communication unit 14 is performed. In the facsimile transmission, an image read from the reading unit 16 can be transmitted, or information such as an image transferred from an external terminal 22, 23 or the like via the external terminal interface 15 when transmission is instructed can be transmitted. . At this time,
Information such as an image to be transmitted can be temporarily stored in the data storage unit 12. For example, other information is being transmitted from the facsimile communication unit 14, or facsimile reception is being performed.
When the telephone line 21 is not vacant or when the transmission time is specified and the information to be transmitted must be held until the transmission time, the information to be transmitted is stored in the data storage unit 12. The control unit 11 also manages information to be transmitted stored in the data storage unit 12 and manages a transmission order based on transmission time designation and the like. At this time, the control unit 11 uses the transmission management table stored in the transmission management table storage unit 13 to manage the information to be transmitted, and the external terminal or the user who instructed the transmission of the information to be transmitted. , Or information indicating that the reading unit 16 has read.

The transmission information management process performed by the control unit 11 includes presenting managed information to be transmitted and deleting information to be transmitted. The transmission information stored in the data storage unit 12 includes the operation unit 17, the external terminal 22,
23 or the like. The operation unit 17 and the external terminals 22 and 23 can select one or a plurality of pieces of information to be transmitted from the presented information to be transmitted and issue a deletion instruction. At this time, basically, only the external terminal used to instruct the transmission or the user who instructed the transmission can delete the information to be transmitted. When an instruction to delete information to be transmitted from the external terminal 22 or the external terminal 23 is issued, information identifying the external terminal or the user who has issued the transmission instruction associated with the information instructed to be deleted is included. Then, the external terminal or the user who instructed the deletion is compared, and only when they match, the information to be transmitted is deleted. Further, password comparison and the like may be performed. In addition, when an instruction to delete information to be transmitted is given from the operation unit 17, a confirmation of deletion is displayed, and after receiving a confirmation operation from the operation unit 17, for example, input of a password, deletion is performed. By such control, an erroneous deletion instruction can be avoided. In addition, it is also possible to control a change operation on information to be transmitted, for example, a change in transmission time or priority, in the same manner.

The data storage unit 12 can store information such as an image to be transmitted from the facsimile communication unit 14, information such as an image received by the facsimile communication unit 14, and the like. When storing such information, it is preferable to encode and store it. The data storage unit 12 may be, for example, an external storage device such as a disk device in addition to a semiconductor memory.

The transmission management table storage unit 13 includes the control unit 1
1 stores a transmission management table for managing information to be transmitted. FIG. 2 is an explanatory diagram of an example of the transmission management table. The transmission management table is a table for holding information corresponding to information to be transmitted. When a transmission instruction is issued, one record of management information is registered corresponding to the instructed information, and transmission starts or ends. Then, the corresponding one record is deleted. Thus, the management information of the information to be transmitted is always registered in the transmission management table. The example of the transmission management table shown in FIG. 2 includes a job number for specifying information to be transmitted, a terminal number of an external terminal that has issued a transmission instruction, a transmission destination, a transmission start time, the number of pages to be transmitted, and the like. The terminal number is not limited to a number as long as it can specify whether it is an external terminal that has issued a transmission instruction or reading by the reading unit 16. When the transmission start time is specified, the specified time is stored. Of course, it is possible to configure the transmission management table together with various information necessary for management. Note that the transmission management table storage unit 13 may be configured in the same storage device as the data storage unit 12 with divided areas.

The facsimile communication unit 14 is connected to a telephone line 21 such as a public line or a dedicated line.
Facsimile transmission and reception are performed according to the control of. The facsimile transmission is performed by using the image read by the reading unit 16 or the external terminal 2.
This can be performed on information such as an image for which transmission has been instructed from 2, 23, etc., and this information is transmitted by facsimile to the transmission destination via the telephone line 21.

The external terminal interface 15 is connected to the external terminals 22 and 23 and exchanges information with these terminals. The external terminal interface 15 can be connected to various external devices. For example, the external terminal 22 is connected to the external terminal 22 as a parallel interface using IEEE.
An example of connection by E1284 (Centronics) is shown. Also, an example is shown in which the terminal is connected to the external terminal 23 via a LAN. Of course, besides this, other parallel interfaces, serial interfaces such as USB and IEEE1394, wireless interfaces, etc.
Connection with an external terminal can be achieved by various connection modes. As the external terminal interface 15, a port can be provided so that an external terminal can be connected in one or more of these connection forms. As described above, when a transmission instruction is issued from the external terminals 22 and 23, the control unit 11 associates information to be transmitted with information specifying the external terminal or the user who issued the instruction. deep. The specification of the external terminal is, for example, IEEE128
In the connection mode in which only one external device is connected as in No. 4, the external terminal can be specified depending on which port has received the transmission instruction. In the case of a LAN or the like, an external terminal can be specified by, for example, an IP address. Other ports to which a plurality of external terminals can be connected can be specified by identification information for specifying an external device corresponding to each connection mode. When the user is specified, the user may input a user ID, a password, and the like from an external device, and receive the user ID and the password through the external terminal interface 15.

The reading section 16 reads an image to be transmitted by facsimile via the facsimile communication section 14. The read image may be transferred to the external terminals 22 and 23 via the external terminal interface 15 in some cases. There are two types of reading methods: ADF-type reading method that scans the original while transporting it, flat-bed type reading method in which the original is stationary and the reading element and optical system are moved, and the original and the surface sensor are stationary. Any reading method, such as a reading method for reading in a state where the reading is performed, can be used.

The operation unit 17 is composed of a display device, various input devices, and the like, and allows a user to give various instructions to the device. For example, by giving a destination instruction and a transmission effective instruction, an image on a document can be read by the reading unit 16 and transmitted by the facsimile communication unit 14 to the specified destination. At this time, the transmission time can be set. In particular, it is possible to refer to and delete information to be transmitted stored in the data storage unit 12. The user can display a list of information that has not been transmitted on the display device by instructing the display of information to be transmitted from the operation unit 17. Further, one or a plurality of them can be selected and a deletion instruction can be given. In this case, when the information to be transmitted to which the instruction to delete has been issued from the external terminals 22 and 23, the control unit 11 displays a confirmation message on the display device. The user issues an instruction for confirmation, for example, input of a password from the operation unit 17. This makes it possible to delete any information to be transmitted.

The facsimile apparatus described above is provided with a recording unit in addition to the recording unit so that a copy function, recording and output of a received facsimile image, and print output from the external terminals 22 and 23 can be performed. Can be configured. Of course, various other configurations may be added. Further, in the example shown in FIG. 1, two external terminals are illustrated, but the present invention is not limited to this, and the connection form of the external terminals is arbitrary as described above.

FIGS. 3 and 4 are flowcharts showing an example of an operation relating to facsimile transmission in an example of a facsimile apparatus including an embodiment of the communication terminal apparatus of the present invention. Here, the facsimile transmission using the reading unit 16 and the facsimile transmission according to transmission instructions from the external terminals 22 and 23 and the operation of inquiring and deleting such information to be transmitted will be described with reference to FIGS. explain.

In S31 to S33, it is determined whether or not various instructions described later have been issued. If these instructions have not been issued, the transmission management table stored in the transmission management table storage unit 13 in S34 is determined. To determine whether there is information to be transmitted immediately. If there is no information to be transmitted immediately, the process returns to S31 to determine whether various instructions have been given. As described above, if there are no various instructions or information to be transmitted immediately, S31 to S31
S34 is repeated to wait for the arrival of various instructions and to wait for the transmission time.

If there is information to be transmitted immediately in S34, a call (dial) is sent from the facsimile communication unit 14 to the transmission destination in accordance with the transmission management table in S35, and the information stored in the data storage unit 12 is stored. Facsimile information to be sent. Note that during transmission, data indicating that transmission is in progress may be stored in a corresponding record of the transmission management table. When transmission is completed, S3
In 6, the record of the transmission management table corresponding to the information is deleted. Then, the process returns to S31 and waits for the judgment of various instructions and the arrival of the next transmission time.

In S31, it is determined whether or not a transmission instruction has been issued from the operation unit 17. When a transmission instruction is given from the operation unit 17, in S37, information on the transmission destination set by the operation unit 17 and information on the transmission start time as necessary are received. In the case of immediate transmission, the transmission start time is not set. After receiving these pieces of information, in S38, the reading unit 16 reads an image on the document, encodes the image, and stores it in the data storage unit 12. At this time, the number of pages is counted. When the reading is completed, in S39, a record of the transmission management table for the read information is registered. When the transmission management table has a structure like the example shown in FIG. 2, a serial number is assigned as a job number, and a number (for example, 0) indicating that the reading unit 16 of the main body is used is registered as a terminal number. Also, the set transmission destination and transmission start time are registered in the transmission destination and transmission start time, respectively. If the transmission start time is not specified, registration indicating that transmission is immediate may be performed. Further, the number of read pages and the like are registered. After the reading is completed in this way, the process returns to S31.

For example, in the case of immediate transmission, it is detected as information to be transmitted immediately in S34, and transmission processing is performed in S35. When the transmission start time is specified, the transmission is reserved. At the point in time when the specified time is reached, it is detected as information to be transmitted immediately in S34, and the transmission process is performed in S35.

In S32, it is determined whether or not a reservation confirmation instruction has been issued from the operation unit 17. Instructions for booking confirmation
This is an instruction requesting reference to information to be transmitted stored in the data storage unit 12. When a reservation confirmation instruction is issued from the operation unit 17, a list of the contents of the transmission management table is displayed on the display device of the operation unit 17 in S40. At this time, it is preferable to display a mark or the like indicating the information being transmitted. In S41, it is determined whether or not a delete instruction has been issued from the operation unit 17. If there is no instruction to delete, it is just confirmation of the information to be sent,
After the reservation confirmation processing, the process returns to S31.

When an instruction for deletion is received in S41, S
At 42, the information to be deleted is specified. For example, a job number may be input, or a job number may be specified from a list display using a cursor or the like. The deletion target may be specified before the deletion instruction.

In S43, it is determined whether or not the information specified as the deletion target has been instructed to be transmitted from the operation unit 17. This determination may be made by referring to the terminal number in the transmission management table. If a number (for example, 0) indicating that the reading unit 16 of the main body has been used is registered as the terminal number, the information has been transmitted from the operation unit 17. If the information specified as the deletion target is the one instructed to be transmitted from the operation unit 17, in S44, the record corresponding to the information to be deleted is deleted from the transmission management table, and the record in the data storage unit 12 is deleted. Also delete information. Then, the reservation confirmation and deletion processing ends, and the process returns to S31.

The information specified as a deletion target is the operation unit 1
If the transmission instruction has not been issued from S7, S
At 45, a confirmation message is displayed on the display device of the operation unit 17. For example, a message such as "A job registered from another terminal. It cannot be deleted. If you want to delete it, enter a password" can be displayed. In accordance with this message, when deleting, the user performs a confirmation operation, for example, a password input. In S46, it is determined whether or not a confirmation operation such as input of a password is performed, and whether or not the operation is valid (for example, whether or not the passwords match). If the confirmation operation is not performed or the confirmation operation is incorrect (the password is incorrect), the process returns to S31 without deleting the information to be transmitted. If a valid confirmation operation is performed (when a correct password is input), in S44, the record corresponding to the information to be deleted is deleted from the transmission management table, and the information in the data storage unit 12 is deleted. Is also deleted and S3
Return to 1. In this way, the reservation confirmation and deletion processing from the operation unit 17 is performed.

In S33, the external terminal interface 15
Determines whether or not has received a command from the external terminal 22, 23 or the like. When a command is received from an external terminal, in S51, it is determined whether the command is a transmission command or a reservation confirmation command. Here, only these two commands will be described, but there may be various other commands from the external terminal.

If the received command is a transmission command, in step S52, information about the transmission destination transmitted from the external terminals 22 and 23 and information on the transmission start time are received as necessary. In addition, the terminal number of the external terminal that is the transmission source of the command is acquired when the command is received. Then, in S53, information to be transmitted transmitted from the external terminal is received via the external terminal interface 15. The received information is encoded and stored in the data storage unit 12. At this time, the number of pages is counted. When the reception of the information to be transmitted is completed, a record of the transmission management table for the received information to be transmitted is registered in S54. When the transmission management table has a structure like the example shown in FIG. 2, a serial number is assigned as a job number, and a terminal number indicating an external terminal of a transmission source is registered as a terminal number. Also, the set transmission destination and transmission start time are registered in the transmission destination and transmission start time, respectively. If the transmission start time is not specified, registration indicating that transmission is immediate may be performed. Further, the number of pages and the like are registered. After receiving the transmission request in this way, the process returns to S31.

When a transmission instruction is received from an external terminal,
As in the case where the internal reading unit 16 is used, for example, in the case of immediate transmission, it is detected as information to be transmitted immediately in S34, and transmission processing is performed in S35. When the transmission start time is specified, the transmission is reserved. At the point in time when the specified time is reached, it is detected as information to be transmitted immediately in S34, and the transmission process is performed in S35.

If the command received from the external terminal is a reservation confirmation command, in S55, the terminal number of the external terminal from which the command was transmitted is acquired. And S5
In 6, the external terminal interface 15 sends a list of the transmission management table to the external terminal having the terminal number acquired in S55. At this time, the data to be transmitted may be reduced so as to display thumbnails of the information to be transmitted. Users of external terminals
It is possible to refer to the outline of the content of the information reserved for transmission by the thumbnail display. Further, after confirming the outline of the information to be transmitted, for example, an instruction for a deletion target can be given, and an execution of the deletion can be given. When the user instructs execution of the deletion, the external terminal sends a deletion command to the facsimile apparatus together with the job number of the information to be deleted.

At S57, it is determined whether a delete command has been received from an external terminal. If the delete command has not been sent, it is determined that the information to be transmitted is merely confirmation, and the process for the reservation confirmation command from the external terminal is completed, and the process returns to S31.

When the delete command is received in S57, the job number for specifying the information to be deleted sent together with the delete command is also received. Then, in S58, it is determined whether or not the information to be transmitted specified by the received job number has been transmitted from the external terminal that has performed the deletion instruction. This judgment is
What is necessary is just to refer to the terminal number of a transmission management table. If the terminal number acquired in S55 is registered as the terminal number, the information indicates that transmission has been instructed from the external terminal that has transmitted the delete command. If the information specified as the deletion target has received a transmission instruction from the external terminal that has transmitted the deletion command, in S59, the record corresponding to the deletion target information is deleted from the transmission management table, and the data storage is performed. The information in the unit 12 is also deleted. Then, the reservation confirmation and deletion processing from the external terminal ends, and the process returns to S31.

If the information specified as the deletion target is not the one instructed to be transmitted from the external terminal that is the source of the deletion command, it is determined that the user does not have the authority to delete and the reservation confirmation processing is performed without performing the deletion. Upon completion, the process can return to S31. However, for the sake of convenience when it is absolutely necessary to delete the information, a user who has the authority to delete the information can delete any information whose transmission instruction has been issued from any external terminal. In order to realize such a function, in S60, a confirmation message is transmitted to the external terminal that has transmitted the delete command. For example, a message such as "A job registered from another terminal. It cannot be deleted. If you want to delete it, please enter a password." In accordance with this message, the user of the external terminal will have to input the password if the user absolutely deletes the password. In S61, it is determined whether the password has been sent from the external terminal and whether the password is valid. If the password has not been sent or the password is different, the process returns to S31 without deleting the information to be transmitted. If the correct password has been sent, in S59, the record corresponding to the information to be deleted is deleted from the transmission management table, the information in the data storage unit 12 is also deleted, and the process returns to S31. In this way, the reservation confirmation and deletion processing from the external terminal is performed.

As described above, if a password or the like cannot be entered, transmission instructions can be given from another external terminal, or information to be transmitted read from the reading unit 16 of the main unit cannot be deleted. As a result, there is no need to delete information for which another person instructed transmission. Also,
Since the deletion can be performed by performing a confirmation operation such as input of a password, efficient management operation can be achieved, for example.

In the example of the operation described above, whether or not the information is normally deleted is determined based on the coincidence of the terminal numbers. However, the deletion may be performed based on, for example, the user ID and the password of the user. In this case, for example, when deleting information to be transmitted by another user, a user having the authority is registered in advance, and only that user can delete information to be transmitted by another user. It may be configured as follows.

In the configuration shown in FIG. 1, an example is shown in which the communication terminal apparatus of the present invention is mounted on a facsimile apparatus, but the present invention is not limited to this. For example, telephone line and L
Various configurations are possible, such as a configuration as a gateway or a router connected to the AN, or a configuration incorporated in a front-end device or a server provided between another computer and a telephone line.

[0039]

As is apparent from the above description, according to the present invention, it is basically impossible to delete information to be transmitted unless the user is the external terminal or the user who has issued the transmission instruction. This has the effect of preventing information or the like for which a transmission instruction has been given by another person from being accidentally deleted. In addition, in the case of intentionally deleting information for which another external terminal or another user has instructed transmission, when the deletion is confirmed, the information can be deleted. There is an effect that it is possible to delete information for which any external terminal or any user has given a transmission instruction.

[Brief description of the drawings]

FIG. 1 is a configuration diagram illustrating an example of a facsimile apparatus including an embodiment of a communication terminal apparatus according to the present invention.

FIG. 2 is an explanatory diagram of an example of a transmission management table.

FIG. 3 is a flowchart illustrating an example of an operation related to facsimile transmission in an example of a facsimile apparatus including an embodiment of the communication terminal device of the present invention.

FIG. 4 is a flowchart (continuation) illustrating an example of an operation related to facsimile transmission in an example of a facsimile apparatus including an embodiment of the communication terminal device of the present invention.

[Explanation of symbols]

DESCRIPTION OF SYMBOLS 11 ... Control part, 12 ... Data storage part, 13 ... Transmission management table storage part, 14 ... Facsimile communication part, 15 ... External terminal interface, 16 ... Reading part, 17 ... Operation part, 2
1 ... telephone line, 22, 23 ... external terminal.

Claims (3)

[Claims] 1. A communication unit for performing communication using a telephone line, an external terminal connection unit connected to an external terminal, a storage unit for storing information transmitted from the communication unit, and various instruction operations are possible. A communication terminal device comprising: an operation unit; and a control unit that controls at least the information in the storage unit to which transmission has been instructed from the external terminal so that the information can be deleted only from the external terminal or the operation unit that has instructed to transmit. . 2. Communication means for performing communication using a telephone line, external terminal connection means connectable to a plurality of external terminals,
Storage means for storing information transmitted from the communication means,
Operating means capable of performing various instruction operations, and control means for controlling at least the information in the storage means to which transmission has been instructed from an external terminal so as to be able to be deleted only by the user who instructed transmission or the operation means. A communication terminal device characterized by the above-mentioned. 3. The information processing apparatus according to claim 1, further comprising a display unit, wherein the control unit is configured to, when transmission is instructed from an external terminal and a deletion instruction is given from the operation unit to the information stored in the storage unit, 3. The communication terminal device according to claim 1, wherein a deletion confirmation is displayed on the display unit, and the information is deleted from the storage unit after a confirmation operation is performed from the operation unit. .