JP2002158827A - Network facsimile transmission control system - Google Patents

Abstract

PROBLEM TO BE SOLVED: To provide a network facsimile transmission control system for flexibly and easily control facsimile transmission by a user. SOLUTION: The network facsimile transmission control system 4 comprises transmission request reception sections 12 and 30 for receiving a facsimile transmission request Ar from a member belonging to a plurality of user groups U1 and U2 that have been registered in a user group database 80 in the form of an electronic mail Mar via an open network, a transmission result report specification section 61 for specifying whether the result of the individual facsimile transmission corresponding to the transmission request that is received by the transmission request reception section is to be transmitted to the controller of a user group that an individual facsimile transmitter belongs to and each of the transmission user himself/herself other than the controller or not, and a transmission result report section 24 for performing the reporting Mas of the facsimile transmission result of the individual mail based on the specification of the transmission result report specification section 61.

Description

DETAILED DESCRIPTION OF THE INVENTION

[0001]

The present invention relates to a network facsimile transmission management device.

[0002]

2. Description of the Related Art A network facsimile system for receiving an electronic mail and transmitting the contents of the electronic mail as a facsimile is known. In this type of network facsimile system, typically, a main server acting as a network facsimile transmission management device,
E-mail is received via a network such as the Internet, and a facsimile transmission server closest to a facsimile transmission destination is typically selected from the viewpoint of communication cost among a plurality of facsimile transmission servers constituting a network facsimile system, An e-mail to be transmitted as a facsimile is transferred to the selected facsimile transmission server, and the selected facsimile transmission server transmits the facsimile to the destination facsimile machine.

In such a network facsimile system, a user is not a single organization such as a single company or a single department, that is, a plurality of organizations are users of one network facsimile system. There are many things. In other words, such a network facsimile transmission management device or main server can be accessed via an open network such as the Internet, and a plurality of (in many cases, many) companies and the like substantially substantially use the network for a fee. .

Accordingly, a main server serving as a network facsimile transmission management device has a user group database which manages a plurality (in many cases, a large number) of user groups so that facsimile transmission requests from a plurality of user groups can be received and managed. Is provided.

On the other hand, the network facsimile system is illicitly used by a third party who does not have authority to use the account unique to each user group (each company, etc.), or a user in each user group is used for purposes other than business purposes. On the other hand, overly restrictive usage restrictions, such as overly restrictive access restrictions by the main server, may impair the simplicity and flexibility of system use, so that it can be monitored and controlled for use for In order to avoid the above problem, it is necessary to consider, in part, that it is left to management by a person of each user group (for example, each user company).

Under such circumstances, the applicant sets up an administrator for each user group (for example, each user company),
A network facsimile system has been developed and commercialized, in which each time a user of each user group performs facsimile transmission using this network facsimile system, the result of individual facsimile transmission is transmitted to the administrator of the user group by e-mail. It is operated by. Here, the manager is not a system manager but an office manager related to the use of the network facsimile system.

[0007]

However, in the current system, when the transmitting user who has performed facsimile transmission attempts to confirm the result of facsimile transmission of the user,
It is necessary to obtain the information from the manager every time, which is inconvenient.

When facsimile transmission from a facsimile apparatus connected to an in-house LAN to an external transmission destination or a destination is not completed, a notification of the non-delivery is sent to the facsimile sender (transmitting user) and the system. For example, Japanese Patent Application Laid-Open No. 8-116422 (paragraphs 0028 to 002) discloses a method of transmitting the information to a system administrator.
9) has been proposed.

However, the system disclosed in this publication is a special system called an in-house LAN system in which an open network does not intervene between the user of the facsimile machine and the facsimile transmission management device. For the purpose of encouraging the system administrator of the LAN system to inspect the system and urging the user to use other means instead of facsimile transmission, the system administrator and the user are notified only when the facsimile has not been delivered. Stay informed.

The transmission of the result of facsimile transmission to the sender of the facsimile by electronic mail itself is described in, for example, JP-A-2000-50039 and JP-A-10-1643.
No. 45 is also disclosed.

It has also been proposed that a network facsimile apparatus can notify a facsimile sender of a facsimile transmission result (Japanese Patent Laid-Open No. 11-205504). However,
The disclosure of this publication discloses a network facsimile apparatus which performs a multi-stage relay operation at the time of facsimile transmission, so that a multi-stage relay can be performed and a relay requesting station (a transmission source station) can be notified of a facsimile transmission result to a facsimile sender. Station), the address information of the relay requesting station and the mail address information of the transmission source are arranged in the header information (from and reply-to fields) of the relay request mail transmitted to the relay request mail, and the facsimile transmission request is transmitted via the open network. It is not of the type that accepts the user and that the administrator can manage the facsimile usage status of the user group.

[0012] The transmission (facsimile transmission) of the contents of an incoming electronic mail to a mail server to a facsimile apparatus near the mail receiver via a telephone line by a facsimile apparatus connected to the mail server itself is performed.
This is disclosed in JP-A-6-69956.

SUMMARY OF THE INVENTION The present invention has been made in view of the above points, and an object of the present invention is to provide a facsimile transmission management device of a type which receives facsimile transmission requests from a plurality of user groups via an open network. To manage facsimile transmission flexibly and easily.

[0014]

In order to achieve the above object, a network facsimile transmission management device according to the present invention provides, for each of a plurality of user groups, an e-mail address of an administrator and all the users other than the administrators belonging to the group. A user group database in which a user's mail address is registered, a transmission request receiving unit for receiving facsimile transmission requests from members belonging to a plurality of user groups registered in the user group database in the form of e-mail via a network, and transmission It is specified whether or not to notify the result of the individual facsimile transmission corresponding to the transmission request received by the request receiving unit to the administrator of the user group to which the individual facsimile sender belongs and to each of the transmission users other than the administrator. The transmission result notification specification section and the transmission result notification specification section Zui and has a transmission result notification unit to notify the facsimile transmission result of individual email.

In the network facsimile transmission management device according to the present invention, it is determined whether or not the result of the individual facsimile transmission is notified to the manager of the user group to which the individual facsimile sender belongs and the transmitting user other than the manager. Is provided, the user group flexibly and easily manages facsimile transmission at a desired level (strictness) according to different needs of each user group. It is possible to do.

[0016] For each user group, "member" refers to both or the entire registered manager and the registered users of the user group to which the manager belongs. Also, the term “user” includes (1) all user groups (for example, all registered user companies), (2)
Members of all user groups (for example, all registered users of all registered user companies); (3) all members of each user group (for example, all registered users of one specific user group); (4) Non-administrator members,
(5) Other than the administrator, the sender of the individual facsimile transmission itself or the sender himself uses in the five ways meaning,
If it is necessary to distinguish one of (1) to (5), and if it is difficult to distinguish one of (1) to (5) from the context, the distinction is made. In order to make it possible, the description is given with appropriate modifiers. "user"
Is used synonymously with “user”.

That is, in the facsimile transmission management apparatus of the present invention as described above, unauthorized use of the facsimile transmission system by a third party other than the registered users belonging to the user group, and even if the user is a registered user of the user group, the facsimile transmission is originally performed. If the administrator intends to strictly control the use (eg, private use) other than the purpose of (eg, use within the scope related to the performance of business), the manager should send an individual facsimile to the manager himself. The transmission result notification is specified in the transmission result notification specification section so that the result of the transmission is notified, and the disadvantage of the administrator being individually notified of the result of individual facsimile transmission is that the For user groups that are larger than the disadvantages of private use by registered users in the group, the administrator Results of the millimeter transmission may be specified in the transmission result notification specifying section so as not to be notified to the addressed administrator himself. On the other hand, in a case where it is preferable that the individual facsimile transmission user himself / herself can immediately know proper transmission completion (facsimile delivery completion) based on the purpose and frequency of use of the facsimile in the user group, and If the user is in a state or situation such as a distance or organization where it is difficult to obtain information from the administrator of the user group, the result of the individual facsimile transmission is directly sent to the individual facsimile transmission source user (the transmitting user). Specifying to be notified, and individual facsimile transmissions reach the other party, for example, when performing facsimile transmission of the same content to many destinations for the purpose of unidirectional distribution of information such as direct mail Does not need to be checked strictly or urgently or requires users like a relatively small organization. Flip If such it is easy to obtain information from the administrator, it is sufficient to specify that not notified to the individual facsimile transmission results of the individual facsimile sender user (sending user himself).

When it is specified that the result of the individual facsimile transmission is notified to both the administrator and the user, the administrator is notified of the result of the individual facsimile transmission instead of the individual facsimile transmission result. At each elapse of a predetermined time period (for example, one day unit or two time periods in the morning and afternoon, etc.), the result of each facsimile transmission in the time period is displayed in a list so that transmissions can be individually identified. It may be transmitted to the administrator. Of course, the individual facsimile transmission results may be notified individually and in the form of a list.

The designation or setting of the transmission result notification as described above is typically not limited to the manager who manages the key information (for example, an account or a password) for each user group or the person who has received the request. Make settings changeable.

Typically, the network facsimile transmission management device of the present invention temporarily changes the default designation in the transmission result notification designation section when the designation is changed in the individual mail of the facsimile transmission request. A temporary designation change storage unit for storing, wherein the transmission result notifying unit transmits the facsimile of the individual mail based on the default designation in the transmission result notice designation unit and the temporary designation change contents in the temporary designation change storage unit; It is configured to give a notification regarding the transmission result.

In this case, the administrator specifies the necessity / unnecessity of notification to the administrator at a minimum level of strictness or level to be managed, and uses a typical or most frequent facsimile transmission for each user group. In consideration of, the necessity of notification to the facsimile sending user himself / herself is specified,
Since the user only has to change the necessity / unnecessity of the notification to the individual according to the content of the individual facsimile transmission, not only can it satisfy the needs of each user group while avoiding excessive complexity, but also according to the situation. Necessary information can be obtained.

In this case, the network facsimile transmission management apparatus according to the present invention typically achieves the above object by providing, for each of a plurality of user groups, an e-mail address of an administrator and a user other than an administrator belonging to the group. A user group database in which mail addresses of all users are registered, and a transmission request receiving unit that receives facsimile transmission requests from members belonging to a plurality of user groups registered in the user group database in the form of e-mail via a network. Default setting for whether or not to notify the administrator of each group and / or the sending user other than the administrator of the result of each facsimile transmission corresponding to the transmission request received by the transmission request receiving unit Result notification specification part that accepts When a change in the default designation is instructed in the mail, a temporary designation change storage unit for temporarily storing the designation change, a default designation in the transmission result notification designation unit, and a temporary designation change in the temporary designation change storage unit. And a transmission result notifying unit for notifying the result of facsimile transmission of the individual mail based on the specific designation change content.

In such a network facsimile transmission management apparatus of the present invention, typically, the transmission result notification specifying unit allows specification by default and change of the specification by default in the administrator mode. It is configured to In this case, the network facsimile transmission management device typically has an administrator confirmation unit that performs an input check of at least one keyword related to the user group, and when the check by the administrator confirmation unit is passed, the transmission result notification designation The unit is configured to be set to the administrator mode.

In this case, the designation or setting of the facsimile transmission result notification of the user group can be prevented from being arbitrarily changed by a user or a third party in the user group, and the entire group can be easily used. And the flexibility of the network facsimile transmission system, while keeping both the level of security and the level of stringency of management at an appropriate level.

Note that the temporary designation change is typically a temporary change of the default setting relating to the return of the transmission result to the individual user of the individual facsimile transmission as described above. The specification may be changed by individual mail including the notification of the transmission result addressed to the user.

In the network facsimile transmission management device, (1) when a plurality of the same mail addresses are registered in the user group database, the transmission result notifying unit transmits the mail addresses of the plurality of user groups in which the mail addresses are registered. Even if the user group whose content is updated most recently in the user group database is determined to be the user group to which the user of the mail address belongs, (2) the same mail is stored in the user group database. If a plurality of addresses are registered and there is a user group in which the e-mail address is registered as that of the administrator, the transmission result notifying unit indicates the plurality of user groups in which the e-mail address is registered. User group registered as an administrator The flop may be configured to determine that the user of the e-mail address is the user group to which it belongs.

The judgment may be made using only one of the above judgment conditions (1) and (2), or both judgment conditions may be used together. In the latter case, even if (2) is prioritized over (1) (in other words, regardless of whether the content of the user group database is updated or not, of the plurality of user groups registered with the same mail address, User group registered as a user is determined to be the user group to which the user of the mail address belongs), or even if (1) is prioritized over (2) (that is, if the user's mail address is Regardless of whether it is registered as the administrator's address or not, the user group whose content is updated most recently in the user group database among a plurality of user groups registered with the same email address Even if it is determined that the user group to which the user belongs belongs)
Good.

The network facsimile transmission management apparatus of the present invention having the above-described features typically includes a facsimile transmission server for selecting a facsimile transmission server for transferring mail to be transmitted by facsimile from a plurality of facsimile transmission servers. It has a selection unit.

[0029]

Next, a preferred embodiment of the present invention will be described with reference to a preferred embodiment shown in the accompanying drawings.

[0030]

DETAILED DESCRIPTION OF THE PREFERRED EMBODIMENTS As shown in FIG. 1A, a network facsimile system (hereinafter also referred to as "network facsimile transmission system") 1 includes a main server 2 as a network facsimile transmission management device 4 and a user database management. And a plurality of facsimile transmission servers 5a, 5b,... (When collectively referred to or not distinguished, represented by reference numeral "5"). The main server 2 and the facsimile transmission server 5 typically have an open network N1 such as the Internet.
Connected through. On the other hand, the main server 2 and a user database management server (hereinafter also referred to as “user management server”, “user database server (UserDB server)”, “user group database management server”, or “user group management server”) 3
Means a network facsimile transmission management device or the same system 4 which is connected to the outside by a dedicated line which is not open to the outside, a private LAN, or the like, or is arranged adjacently and directly connected by a cable. The main server 2 and the user database management server 3 may be composed of one piece of hardware as a whole. The user database management server 3 manages a user group database (hereinafter, also referred to as a “user database”) 80 in which users or users of the network facsimile system 1 are registered for each user group. The main server 2 of the network facsimile system 1 is connected to the registered user groups U1, U2,... Registered in the user group database 80 via an open network N1 such as the Internet. U)) members M1, M2,.
A facsimile transmission request is received in the form of an electronic mail Mar from the facsimile transmission request (represented by the symbol “M” when collectively or when not distinguished), and received via a suitable facsimile transmission server (FAX transmission server) 5. The facsimile transmission Cf is performed via the public communication network N2 to the devices F1, F2,... Facsimile transmission C
The result of f is transmitted from the facsimile transmission server 5 to the main server 2 typically by e-mail Mbs, and the main server 2 transmits the facsimile transmission result to a necessary reply destination by e-mail Mas.

Broadly, a network facsimile transmission management device 4 according to a preferred embodiment of the present invention, which constitutes the network facsimile system 1 of the above-described embodiment, will be described.
Is specifically and specifically described.

Network facsimile transmission management device 4
Is a mail receiving unit 1 having a mail receiving server function of a type such as POP3 as shown in FIG.
0, a main server part 2 including a mail transmission unit 20 having a mail transmission server function of a type such as SMTP and a transmission job management unit (transmission JOB management unit) 30 for managing a facsimile transmission job, and a user setting reception unit 60 And a user management server part 3 including a user management unit 70. The transmission job management unit 30 is accompanied by a transmission job management database 40 including a temporary specification change storage unit in which a temporary change of the designated notification destination of the facsimile transmission result is registered. And a temporary designation change processing unit 50 for performing a process of changing the designation. On the other hand, the user management unit 60 is accompanied by a user database 80. Each unit is typically realized by computer hardware or the like and a program that performs the function of each unit.

The system 1 is used for a plurality of groups (groups) of users. That is, the user of the system is a member M of a plurality of groups U1, U2,... Such as a plurality of companies and organizations in the company. Therefore, the user group database or user database 80
Has a user group U as shown in FIG.
A different user identification number (USERID) UD0 for each i
And an e-mail address (administrator address) UD1 of an administrator for each user group Ui, and an e-mail address (user address) UD2j of a user (other than the administrator) belonging to each user group Ui (UD2 for a generic name). ) Are registered by the number of users, and typically, designation of a facsimile transmission result notification destination (reply destination code) UD3 set by the administrator of each user group Ui is registered for each user group Ui. Have been. The last update date UD4 of the registration data for each user group Ui is also recorded. For example, the user group Ui registered first has the user group identification number or account UD0 of “0001” and the user group 0001
Then, the administrator address UD1 is changed to “taka@abc.c
om ”and the mail address UD2 is“ use ”
r1 @ xy. com "," user2@abc.co "
It is registered in the user address column UD2 that the users m,... belong to the user group 0001 other than the administrator.

As shown in FIG. 2B, the reply destination code UD3 indicates the result of the individual facsimile transmission as "both" between the administrator and the user who transmitted the facsimile (the facsimile transmission user). (Code number "11"), "administrator only" (code number "10"), or "user only" (code number "10"), or both the administrator and the user "No need"
(Code number “00”) in the user group U
This column is registered in advance as default or basic for each i. For example, for user group 0001,
"Communicating the result of facsimile transmission to both the administrator and the user" is designated and registered.

The contents of the user group database 80 are stored in the user management section 7 of the user database management server 3.
0, and the administrator of each user group Ui
User setting receiving unit 6 of user database management server 3
0, for example, via the network N1, and the account / password etc. check unit 7 of the user management unit 70
1 under the management of the user, an account (for example, an identification number of a user group,
D) After the authentication of the UD0 and the password, etc., the user address is added / changed / deleted via the user setting unit 60, and the administrator address is changed. Similarly, the setting / change of the reply destination code UD3 is performed after the authentication of the account (for example, the identification number of the user group, that is, the user ID) and the password, etc. This is performed under the control of the management unit 70.

For example, FIG. 5 shows that the account UD0 is 00
02, the administrator of the user group U2 passes the account and password check by the account / password etc. check unit 71 as the administrator confirmation unit, the user setting reception unit 60 enters the administrator mode, and the user setting reception unit 6
A user setting screen on the WWW of No. 0 is opened, and a desired registration or a change thereof is shown. In the user setting screen of FIG. 5, it is sequentially selected from the top that password protection is not performed, and the main mail address (administrator mail address) is user @ xy. com is displayed so as to be changeable, and it is displayed as changeable that the reply address for notification of the facsimile transmission result is currently designated as the default only for the main address (only for the administrator) at the bottom. In the table, in the user group U2 in which ten registration slots are reserved as users other than the administrator, two users are registered, and the mail address UD2 of each registered user is user3 @ abc. com
And user4 @ abc. com is shown. In addition, in FIG. 5, in addition, a reply reception mail (a mail for notifying the user that the server 2 has accepted the facsimile transmission request, that is, that the registration of the transmission job in the job management database 40 described later has been completed) is shown. To select not to send, changeable, to change the mail language to Japanese, and to add a title to the destination (for example, select from "to" or "sama") Is unnecessary, the mail M received by the main server 2
Adding a facsimile cover sheet before the content of ar so that facsimile transmission is unnecessary is selected as changeable, and the default facsimile transmission mode can be changed to "fine mode". Selected. Note that this user setting screen includes
In addition, the company name of the user group U2, (of the administrator)
FAX number, (administrator) phone number, and (administrator)
The name is displayed as changeable. Items that can be specified, entered, and changed on the user setting screen are not shown in FIG. 2A, but are naturally registered in the user group database 80 so as to be changeable for each user group Ui. Have been.

The user group management unit 70 further includes a user group determination unit 72. The user group determination unit 72 transmits a specific type of facsimile transmission from a user who accepts without inputting an account, a password, or the like. If multiple email addresses of the sender are registered in the user database for the request,
That is, when the same mail address is registered in different user groups, the user group is determined by applying the following two types of criteria. (1) Among the user groups Ui in which the mail address is registered, the user group whose registration contents in the user database 80 are most likely to be updated is determined to be the user group to which the user of the mail address belongs. (2) If there is a user group Ui whose duplicate registered mail address is registered as the administrator (mail address) UD1, the user group is
It is determined that this is the user group to which the user of the mail address belongs.

Here, for example, the criterion (1) is compared with the criterion (2).
The criterion (2) may be applied only when the priority is higher than the criterion (1) and is not fixed to one (according to this criterion, the user group U1 in FIG. 2A).
And "user@xy.co" registered in U2
The request for facsimile transmission by “m” is regarded as a request for the user group U1 having a new update date and time. However, in the following description, the criterion (2) has priority over the criterion (1) (according to this criterion, FIG. (A), the user @ x that is duplicately registered in the user groups U1 and U2
y. Com ”is regarded as a request of the user group U2 registered as an administrator), and the criterion (2) is applied only when the criterion (1) is not fixed to one.

In the above description, a specific type of facsimile transmission request from a user of a type that accepts without inputting an account, a password, or the like means that the destination FAX number A2 is set to “A2 @ mail reception” as described in (1) below. E-mail that contains the server's domain name in the form of an e-mail destination address (however, unlike (1) described below, e-mail without a transmission password specified to enable transmission by a third party other than the registered user) In the case of an e-mail whose destination FAX number is a specific number, the facsimile transmission request starts from a specific registered user address regardless of whether the source mail address is registered in the user database 80 or not. This is a transmission request reception process that accepts facsimile transmission by regarding the transmission as a transmission request. Here, the fax number is typically not a telephone number for a general-purpose facsimile machine in a specific company, but
This is a telephone number for a dedicated facsimile machine for a specific purpose (for example, reception of an order for a product or reception of a specific questionnaire via a network). In this case, the correspondence table between the FAX number and the registered user (mail) address may be directly incorporated in the main database so as to form a part of the user database 80, but the area is uniform in the main database. In order to avoid wasting storage resources by securing the database, another database (table) which forms a kind of relational database with the main database is formed. In the latter case, the association or link is substantially left to the user, and a unique automatic generation of a relation between a plurality of databases fails due to a data entry error or duplication of a FAX number. There is a possibility that the use of the system by another existing registered user group may be hindered. Therefore, in this example, it is assumed that, instead of keeping a relation or the like, a correspondence table is provided independently of the main user database, and a database is created based on such an independent correspondence table. The following describes how to deal with a problem that occurs when the management system extracts a registered mail address of a registered user from a destination FAX number and the mail address is redundantly registered in a plurality of user groups. In this example, the user of the registered user address determined in the association table (however, in the case of duplicate registration, the user determined by the above criterion) is considered to be the registered user of the mail transmission source. The notification destination of the transmission result is not the actual mail source mail address but the registered mail address determined in the association table. Whether the result of such automatic determination is appropriate is monitored by monitoring the registration of a new correspondence table by the user database management server 3 and the new correspondence table is registered in the user database 80 by the registered user. Each time the inquiry is made, whether or not the result based on the above-mentioned determination procedure (logic or algorithm) is appropriate is automatically generated for each user of the duplicate registration address or each of the managers of the user group. Only when a proper answer is obtained, the use of the newly registered association table may be permitted. In the above, the fax number is
As in the case of (3) described later, an arbitrary specific name G may be substituted. In this case, in the association table, the association between the nickname G and the FAX number or the like is also performed.

The mail receiving unit 10 receives a facsimile transmission request Ar from a member Mi of the registered user group Ui in the form of an electronic mail Mar via the network.
AX transmission mail receiving unit 12 and result C of facsimile transmission Cf relating to facsimile transmission request (transmission job)
s notification Bs is transmitted from the facsimile transmission server 5 to the network N in the form of an e-mail Mbs encrypted in a predetermined form.
1 and a transmission job result receiving unit 14 to receive the result via the transmission job result receiving unit 1. The FAX transmission mail receiving unit 12 and the transmission JOB result receiving unit 14 may be completely independent mail receiving servers except under the control of the job management unit 30. Note that, in this example, the transmission request receiving unit includes the transmission mail receiving unit 12 and related functions of the job management unit 30 and the user management unit 70.

The mail transmitting unit 20 encrypts the mail Mar, which has received the facsimile transmission request Ar, into a desired form and transmits it as a facsimile transmission target mail Mbf to a predetermined facsimile transmission server 5 via the network N1. 22 and facsimile transmission request A
A facsimile transmission result mail transmitting unit (a FAX transmission result mail transmitting unit) that transmits the result Cs of the facsimile transmission Cf for r to the user (administrator or transmitting user) UD1 or UD2 that received the transmission request in the form of an e-mail Mas. 24. FAX mail transmission unit 22 and FA
The X transmission result mail transmission unit 24 may be a completely independent mail transmission server except that it is under the control of the job management unit 30. Note that, in this example, the transmission result notification unit includes a related function part of the job management unit 30 and a FAX transmission result notification mail transmission unit 24.

On the other hand, every time the facsimile transmission mail reception unit 12 receives the mail Mar of the facsimile transmission request Ar, the job management unit 30 requests the user management server 3 to send an appropriate transmission request from the registered user UD1 or UD2. Check whether it is Ar, and return an error mail via the mail transmission unit 20 for an illegal transmission request.
An appropriate transmission request Ar is registered as a transmission job in the job management database 40, and a suitable fax transmission server 5i corresponding to the facsimile transmission destination F is selected, and the request mail Ar is encrypted to the transmission server 5i. Is transmitted from the facsimile mail transmission unit 22 of the mail transmission unit 20, and the fact that the facsimile transmission request Ar has been received is notified to the requesting user UD1 or UD2 via the mail transmission unit 20.

A facsimile transmission job is registered in the transmission job management database 40. More specifically, as shown in FIG. 3, the transmission job management database 40 stores the transmission job number, the USERID (user identification number) UD0 of the user group Ui to which the user who has received the facsimile transmission request, and the user (administrator) Or a mail address UD1 or UD2 of a member other than the administrator), a facsimile transmission destination FAX number (telephone number of the facsimile apparatus) that has received the transmission request, a facsimile transmission mode (for example, whether or not transmission is in the fine mode), Transmission request acceptance date and time, specified transmission time (if transmission time is specified), transmission result notification (reply) necessity change instruction (whether there is an instruction to change notification necessity or unnecessary)
This instruction may be a direct indication of whether or not to change,
As a result, an instruction that directly indicates whether a reply is necessary or unnecessary) may be registered. Further, for each transmission job, the status of the job, that is, the status or status (waiting for transmission,
There is a registration column of “transmitting, transmission completed, transmission disabled, etc.”, and the content is updated according to a change in the status of the job.
Note that, in the job management database 40, after the transmission request is accepted, the registered contents of the user database 80 are changed by the user (typically, the administrator of the user group), and the consistency with the user database 80 is lost. In order to avoid, except for the sender's e-mail address, the contents that can be changed by the user among the registered contents of the user database 80 are not stored, and the FAX transmission server 5
When the transmission result is received from i, the user database 80 is accessed again to determine the return destination address and the like. However, regarding the specification of whether to reply to the administrator or the transmitting user, it is considered that the transmitting user himself intentionally adds the specification change instruction with expectation at the time of transmission. When the designation change instruction directly designates whether or not to change, the designated state at the time of registration of the transmission job may be recorded. Conversely, in consideration of the anomalous situation in which the administrator dares to issue the designation change instruction, and if it is necessary to perform the designation change instruction itself, it is a matter to be transmitted in advance within the user group. Regardless of whether or not the designation change instruction by the transmitting user himself directly indicates whether or not to change, as a general rule, except for the sender's mail address, the user database 80 The contents which can be changed by the user among the registered contents of the FAX transmission server 5 are not stored.
When the transmission result is received from i, the user database 80 may be accessed again to determine the return destination address and the like.

In the facsimile transmission request mail Mar, when a designation change instruction is given for the return destination of the transmission result, the job management unit 30 specifies the designation under the control of the temporary designation change processing unit 50 which forms a part thereof. The change instruction is registered in the “change of designation of transmission result notification necessity” column of the corresponding job identification number in the job management database 40. In addition,
The temporary designation change processed by the temporary designation change processing unit 50 may be separately managed by the designation processing unit 50 together with the job identification number.

On the other hand, when the job management unit 30 receives the notification Bs of the facsimile transmission result Cs from the facsimile transmission server 34 by mail Mbs, the job management database 30 displays the facsimile transmission job corresponding to the transmission result Cs in the job management database 40. The transmission result information is registered and the contents of the job are extracted from the database 40. If there is a temporary designation change, the job management unit 30 holds the designation change and, if necessary, retrieves the contents of the user Ui related to the job from the user management database 80 via the user management unit 70. If there is a take-out or temporary designation change instruction, the transmission destination of the transmission result is changed according to the designation change instruction, and the transmission result is transmitted to the user UD1 or UD2 via the transmission result notification unit 24.

Next, the operation of the network facsimile transmission management device 4 of the network facsimile system 1 configured as described above will be described in detail based on the flowchart of FIG. 4 in addition to FIGS.

First, the mail receiving section 10 of the main server 2 of the network facsimile transmission management device 4 receives the facsimile transmission request mail Mar (FIG. 4 (a)).
Step S01). The facsimile transmission request (request) mail Mar typically includes a transmission password or facsimile transmission source information, transmission destination information including a transmission destination FAX number, and contents to be transmitted by facsimile transmission. If necessary, it may include facsimile transmission mode designation information, transmission date / time designation information, and a designation change instruction on whether or not transmission result notification is necessary. The transmission password is typically different from the user setting change password by the administrator. However, both passwords may be common (identical and not distinguishable).

The electronic mail Mar can take various forms, for example, as follows. (1) The destination FAX number A2 is included as a mail destination address in the form of “A2 @ domain name of server 2”, and the transmission password A1 is added to the beginning of the body of the mail Mar by “F”.
An e-mail containing the form “CPW = A1” and including the content to be transmitted by facsimile after the designated line of the transmission password. In this case, the sender address of the email gives the sender information. Note that the instruction to change the necessity of the transmission result notification is described, for example, in the form of “FCRC = 1” between the transmission password specification line, the text, and the start line. here,
Even if the designation of "1" indicates a change,
The description of "FCRC" indicates that there is a designation change instruction,
“= 1” or “= 0” may directly designate “necessary” or “not required” of the reply mail to the user, respectively. (2) A mail including the destination FAX number A2 in the subject or the Subject column of the mail Mar in the form of “A2”. (1) The method of specifying the sender information by the sender address of the e-mail, the method of describing the password for transmission, the method of describing the contents to be transmitted by facsimile, and the method of changing the necessity of replying the transmission result are the case of (1) May be the same as However, the destination of the mail to the main server 2 is “a4f
"ine" (facsimile transmission in the fine mode with the output paper size of A4) or "b4normal" (facsimile transmission in the normal mode with the output paper size of B4) is specified as "a4fine @ domain name of server 2""Domain name of b4normal @ server2"
In the form of a mail destination address. This designation can serve as a transmission mode change instruction for the default designation of the transmission mode in FIG. (3) A frequently transmitted destination FAX number, a paper size for facsimile transmission to the FAX number, a facsimile transmission mode, and the like are registered in the user database 80 in advance, and a specific name G is assigned to the destination FAX number. In this case, the mail transmission address may be specified in the form of, for example, "G @ domain name of main server 2" using the nickname G. Also in this case, how to specify the sender information by the sender address of the e-mail, how to describe the password for transmission, how to describe the contents to be sent by facsimile, and how to change the necessity of replying the transmission result, This may be the same as in the case of (1). (4) In (1) to (3), if the content to be transmitted by facsimile is imaged,
The contents may be added as an attached file of the mail. The mail transmission destination need not be the domain name (mail server) of the main server 2 itself as long as it is associated with the main server 2.

The creation and transmission of the facsimile transmission request e-mail Mar is not performed by so-called mail software, but is performed by using a facsimile cover sheet or a document prepared by so-called word processing software suitable for preparing a text (document). An auxiliary program suitable for conversion may be used, or an electronic mail transmission function may be added to the auxiliary program, and the auxiliary program may be used to perform processing from document imaging to mail transmission.

In any case, in step S01, the FAX transmission mail receiving unit 12 of the mail receiving unit 10 of the main server 2 transmits the source information, the destination information, the text, and the like according to the rules prescribed in advance by the JOB management unit 30. Is received or the FAX transmission request mail Mar described or attached.

The information of the mail Mar received by the transmission mail receiving unit 12 is decrypted by the JOB management unit 30 of the main server 2, and the password and the user address representing the source user information are extracted from the mail Mar, and the user database It is sent to the user management unit 70 of the server 3. The user management unit 70 compares the password and the user address with the registration information in the user database 80 to determine and confirm the user group Ui under the control of the account / password etc. check unit 71 and the user group determination unit 72. User authentication is performed (step S02 in FIG. 4A). For example, when there is no corresponding user group Ui or user address UD1 or UD2 belonging to the user group Ui, the user database management server 3 transmits a reject response in the user authentication to the main server 2 together with details of the user authentication (step S03). For example, if the user group Ui corresponding to the password can be specified but the corresponding user address UD1 or UD2 is not registered, the main server 2 sends the mail to the mail transmitting unit 20.
An error mail to that effect is sent to the administrator, that is, the same address UD1 via the exception processing unit (not shown) (step S04), and is registered as a regular user to the mail address of the sender who attempted facsimile transmission. An error mail is sent to the effect that the request has not been made (step S05). On the other hand, if there is no user group Ui corresponding to the password, an error mail is sent to the source mail address from which facsimile transmission was attempted, indicating that the user is not registered as a legitimate user (step S05). In this example, the facsimile transmission request rejected by the user authentication is not recorded in the job management database 40 (remains in the form of a log of the process as a machine of the main server 2). The record may be left in the storage 40.

In the user authentication in step S02, when it is confirmed that the user is a registered user, the user database management server 3 passes the user authentication and specifies information (typically, a user group Ui to which the transmission source user belongs). , The user identification number UD0) is transmitted to the main server 2.

The main server 2 receives the user authentication success (pass) information from the user database management server 3, assigns a job number of the facsimile transmission request mail Mar as a regular transmission job, and assigns a job number to the transmission job management database 40. (Step S1
0, step S11). Here, the transmission job information to be registered is, for example, as described above with reference to FIG.
The information includes a user ID, a source user address, a destination FAX number, a transmission mode, a sheet size, a transmission reception date and time, and the like.

In the case where the transmission request mail Mar can be instructed to change the transmission result reply designation,
As shown in FIG. 4B, the job management unit 30 checks with the temporary designation change processing unit 50 whether or not there is a change instruction or request in the mail Mar (step S12). If there is, the instruction is also prepared as a registration target in the transmission job database 40, and then the above-described registration processing in step S11 is performed ((b)).
Step S11). Of course, the job management database 4
Registration to 0 may be performed in two stages.

When the registration of the transmission job in the job management database 40 is completed, the job management unit 30
According to the AX number, a facsimile transmission server 5i located in a position or an area where the transmission cost to the facsimile number by the public line network can be minimized is selected from a plurality of facsimile transmission servers 5 of the facsimile transmission network system 1 ( In step S20, an e-mail Mbf addressed to the FAX transmission server 5i is generated. In this example, the facsimile transmission server selection unit includes a related function part of the job management unit 30. This electronic mail Mbf is, for example, the FA of the mail transmitting unit 20 of the main server 2 as the transmission source address.
The mail address of the X mail transmission unit 22 is appended with the mail address of the FAX transmission server 5i selected as the destination address, and the facsimile transmission request mail M
This is a form in which a text Bf and a destination FAX number to be extracted and transmitted by facsimile are attached as an attached file encrypted by a predetermined method, and further include information on a transmission job number in a desired form.

When the generation of the facsimile mail Mbf is completed, the job management section 30 sends the mail Mbf to the facsimile mail transmission section 22 of the mail transmission section 20 for transmission. If the facsimile transmission date and time is specified, the job management unit 30 stores the mail Mbf in a temporary storage unit (not shown) and manages the specified date and time until the specified transmission date and time. When the date and time have come, the sending mail Mbf is given to the FAX mail sending unit 22 (step S20). Of course, the transmission date and time may be managed by the FAX mail transmitting unit 22 instead of the job managing unit 30.

The facsimile mail transmission unit 22 that has received the facsimile transmission mail Mbf from the job management unit 30
The facsimile transmission mail Mbf is transmitted via the network N1 to the selected facsimile transmission server 5i specified by the transmission address, and the facsimile transmission server 5i receiving the facsimile transmission mail Mbf encrypts the mail Mbf. Then, the text Bf and the FAX number to be transmitted by facsimile are extracted, and the transmission job number is registered in the job management database of the transmission server 5i. Note that, even if the entire text Bf is previously converted to image data for facsimile transmission so that the load on the fax transmission server can be minimized, the network N1
The text data portion may be kept in the text form as it is so as to minimize the traffic of the text data. In the latter case, in the fax transmission server 5i,
The image data is converted into predetermined facsimile transmission image data.

Next, the facsimile transmission server 5i facsimile-transmits the text Bf to the destination of the facsimile number via the public telephone line network N2 (step S30). At the time of this facsimile transmission, before the transmission of the text Bf is started, the FA
Since the predetermined communication is established with the facsimile apparatus of the X number destination, the facsimile transmission server 5i determines whether or not the facsimile transmission Cf by the facsimile transmission server 5i has been properly started or completed. It can be confirmed. If the call (communication) itself cannot be performed because the facsimile apparatus of the transmission destination FAX number is in communication or the like, the facsimile transmission attempt is repeated a plurality of times after a while. In addition, when there is a particular designation, when a call (communication) during the day cannot be performed in a so-called busy state, transmission may be attempted again at night even after a considerable time.

In any case, the fax transmission server 5i
Indicates the result Bs of the facsimile transmission Cf from the facsimile transmission server 5i to the facsimile apparatus of the transmission destination facsimile number via the public telephone network N2, and the main server 2 to which the server 5i has received the facsimile transmission mail Mbf.
In the form of an electronic mail Mbs (step S4)
0). Note that the FA of the mail transmission unit 20 of the main server 2
When the X mail transmission unit 22, the transmission job result reception unit 14 of the mail reception unit 10, and the JOB management unit 30 are composed of separate lower-level servers, the result transmission mail Mbs
May be returned to the lower-level server provided with the transmission job result receiving unit 14 in association with the job management unit 30. In this case, preferably, the mail address of the related lower-level server is described as a reply destination of the fax transmission mail Mbf addressed to the FAX transmission server 5i.

In the transmission result report mail Mbs from the facsimile transmission server 5i, the content indicating the transmission result Bs, that is, transmission completion or transmission failure (or unacceptable), and in the latter case, the reason (“busy”, “busy”) No response (of destination), "Paper size mismatch", "Possibility of telephone (destination)", "Communication error", etc .; For phenomena that can be detected by numerical values, answer in a predetermined pattern May include a numerical value insertion field), the transmission job number according to the decoding rule of the main server 2, and the mail address of the FAX transmission server 5i as a transmission source address. This reply Mbs is also typically encrypted according to the decryption rules of the main server 2 in order to avoid alteration of the contents during transmission. In addition, even when a part of the contents is modified for an unexpected reason, for example, redundancy information such as a destination FAX number is also included in the mail Mbs to be encrypted so that the modification fact can be easily confirmed. You may do so.

When the transmission job result receiving section 14 of the mail receiving section 10 of the main server 2 receives the transmission result notification mail Mbs from the facsimile transmission server 5i, it sends the contents to the job management section 30. The job management unit 30
The transmission result mail Mbs from the transmission server 5i is decrypted, and the mail M
bs, the transmission result information Bs is registered at the transmission job number (step S50). Further, the user ID corresponding to the job number, the transmission source mail address, and the information on the presence or absence of the reply designation change instruction are transmitted to the transmission destination FAX number. With the information of the job management database 40 and store it in a work area (not shown) (step S60).

Next, the job management section 30 checks the reply destination (step S70). More specifically, when accepting a temporary change instruction for specifying a reply destination, the job management unit 30
As shown in FIG. 4C, the user ID information UD0 is given to the user database management server 3, and the administrator address information UD1 and the return destination default designation information UD3 relating to the user ID are obtained. Based on the user ID information, the user database management server 3 retrieves the administrator address information UD1 and the reply destination designation information UD3 relating to the user ID from the user database 80, and sends them to the job management unit 30 of the main server 2 to perform job management. The unit 30 stores the data in a work area (not shown) (step S72). The temporary designation change processing unit 50 of the job management unit 30 determines whether there is a temporary designation change instruction based on the information UD3 stored in a work area (not shown) (step S74), and when there is a change instruction. Then, the default reply destination designation information extracted from the user database 80 and stored in the work area is rewritten based on the instruction (step S76).

The job management unit 30 then sends a transmission result notification to both or one of the administrator and the user based on the reply destination information finally described in the work area (not shown). The job management is ended without generating the mail Mas or generating the transmission result notification mail Mas.

In the former case, the transmission result notification mail Mas
Uses the administrator's e-mail address UD1 or the user's e-mail address UD2 as the transmission destination address. When the transmission is performed as requested, this is clearly indicated in the subject (Subject) and text (content) fields, and the transmission destination FAX number If the transmission or delivery is unsuccessful, this is clearly indicated in the subject (Subject) or text (content) column, and the destination FAX
In addition to the number, specify the reason for non-delivery. The reason for this failure is
According to the type indicated by the mail Mbs from the facsimile transmission server 5i, "busy", "no response (to the destination)", "paper size mismatch", "there is a possibility that the telephone (the destination) is a telephone", "Communication error" etc. Of course, of the non-delivery reasons indicated in the mail Mbs, only information meaningful to the user may be included in the mail Mas. In this specification, “transmit” and “delivery” are used in a similar sense in practice. However, "not delivered"
Means that the transmission was attempted but was not completely delivered or reached the destination or destination.

The job management unit 30 passes the generated reply mail Mas to the transmission result notification unit 24 of the mail transmission unit 20. The transmission result notifying unit 24 sends this mail Mas to the administrator or the user (steps S80, S81, S8).
2). Upon receiving the transmission completion notification of the mail Mas from the transmission result notification unit 24, the job management unit 30 registers that the processing of the job has been completed in the job management database 40. Thus, the transmission job ends.

[Brief description of the drawings]

FIG. 1 shows a network facsimile system including a network facsimile management device according to a preferred embodiment of the present invention, wherein (a) is a schematic explanatory diagram of the network facsimile system, and (b) is a network according to one embodiment. FIG. 2 is a block diagram of a facsimile management device.

FIGS. 2A and 2B illustrate an example of a database or a table used in the network facsimile management apparatus of FIG. 1; FIG. 2A is a schematic explanatory view showing a part of a user group data pace; FIG. FIG. 9 is a schematic explanatory view of a table showing a default designated pattern of a result notification or reply.

FIG. 3 is a schematic explanatory view showing a part of an example of a job management database used in the network facsimile management device of FIG. 1;

4 shows an example of a flow of a facsimile transmission process in the network facsimile system of FIG. 1 in FIG. 1, wherein (a) is an overall flowchart, and (b) and (c) are a part of (a). A more detailed flowchart of FIG.

FIG. 5 is an explanatory diagram illustrating an example of a user setting screen of the network facsimile management device in FIG. 1;

[Explanation of symbols]

DESCRIPTION OF SYMBOLS 1 Network facsimile system 2 Main server 3 User database management server 4 Facsimile transmission management device 5, 5a, 5b, 5i Facsimile transmission server 10 Mail reception unit 12 FAX transmission mail reception unit 14 Transmission JOB result reception unit 20 Mail transmission unit 22 FAX E-mail transmission unit 24 FAX transmission result e-mail transmission unit 30 job management unit 40 job management database 50 temporary specification change processing unit 60 user setting reception unit 61 transmission result notification specification unit 70 user management unit 71 account / password etc. check unit 72 user Group judgment (decision) section 80 User database Mar FAX transmission request mail Mas FAX transmission result notification mail U, U1, U2, Ui User group UD0 User ID (identification number) UD1 Administrator mail Address UD2, UD21, DU22 User mail address other than administrator UD3 FAX transmission result notification mail transmission destination (reply destination) code

Claims (9)

[Claims] 1. For each of a plurality of user groups,
A user group database in which the e-mail addresses of the administrators and the e-mail addresses of all users other than the administrators belonging to the group are registered, and facsimile transmission requests from members belonging to a plurality of user groups registered in the user group database are sent to the network. A transmission request receiving unit for receiving in the form of an e-mail via an e-mail, an administrator of a user group to which the individual facsimile sender corresponding to the transmission request received by the transmission request receiving unit belongs, and the administrator A transmission result notification specifying unit that specifies whether or not to notify each of the transmission users other than the transmission user, and a transmission result notification unit that notifies the facsimile transmission result of the individual mail based on the specification in the transmission result notification specifying unit And a network facsimile transmission management device. 2. A temporary designation change storage unit for temporarily storing a designation change in a transmission result notification designation unit when an individual mail of a facsimile transmission request designates a change in default designation, The transmission result notifying unit is configured to notify the facsimile transmission result of the individual mail based on the default specification in the transmission result notification specifying unit and the temporary specification change content in the temporary specification change storage unit. 2. The network facsimile transmission management device according to 1. 3. For each of a plurality of user groups,
A user group database in which the e-mail addresses of the administrators and the e-mail addresses of all users other than the administrators belonging to the group are registered, and facsimile transmission requests from members belonging to a plurality of user groups registered in the user group database are sent to the network. A transmission request receiving unit that receives the request in the form of an e-mail via the e-mail, and transmits the result of each facsimile transmission corresponding to the transmission request received by the transmission request receiving unit to the administrator of each group or the transmitting user other than the administrator Or, a transmission result notification specification unit that accepts the default setting as to whether to notify both, and if the default specification change is specified in the individual mail of the facsimile transmission request, temporarily store the specification change The temporary specification change storage unit and the transmission result notification specification unit A network facsimile transmission management device having a transmission result notifying unit for notifying a facsimile transmission result of an individual mail based on a default designation and a temporary designation change content in a temporary designation change storage unit. 4. The network facsimile transmission according to claim 2, wherein the transmission result notification specifying unit is configured to allow specification by default and change of the specification by default in the administrator mode. Management device. 5. An administrator confirmation unit for performing an input check of at least one keyword related to a user group, and when the check by the administrator confirmation unit is passed, the transmission result notification designation unit is set to an administrator mode. 5. The network facsimile transmission management device according to claim 4, wherein: 6. The network facsimile transmission according to any one of claims 2 to 5, wherein the temporary designation change is a temporary change of a default setting for returning a transmission result to the user of the individual facsimile transmission. Management device. 7. When a plurality of the same e-mail addresses are registered in the user group database, the transmission result notifying unit may update the content of the user group database among the plurality of user groups in which the e-mail addresses are registered. 7. The network facsimile transmission management device according to claim 1, wherein the network facsimile transmission management device is configured to judge a newest user group to be a user group to which the user of the mail address belongs. 8. 8. When a plurality of the same e-mail addresses are registered in the user group database and there is a user group in which the e-mail addresses are registered as those of the administrator, the transmission result notifying unit may include: 8. The system according to claim 1, wherein a user group registered as an administrator among a plurality of user groups in which the mail address is registered is determined to be a user group to which a user of the mail address belongs. The network facsimile transmission management device according to any one of the above items. 9. The network according to claim 1, further comprising a facsimile transmission server selection unit that selects a facsimile transmission server that transfers mail to be transmitted by facsimile from a plurality of facsimile transmission servers. Facsimile transmission management device.