JP2003018331A - Facsimile terminal - Google Patents

Abstract

PROBLEM TO BE SOLVED: To provide a facsimile terminal which can select an optimal communication route without requiring the manual selection or input of the electronic mail address of an optimal repeater. SOLUTION: A RAM 7 stores a repetition distribution table 7a containing the electronic mail address of the repeater for each of information of part of a facsimile number of the final destination or of each of repetition destination information containing the name or area name of the final destination as shown in Fig. 2. When the facsimile number of the final destination is designated and transmission is instructed (step S21 to S22 in Fig. 3), a main control part 1 displays, on a display means, the repetition destination information stored on the repetition distribution table (step S23), and by selecting a repetition destination information out of that information, an operator designates the electronic mail address of the correspondent repeater (step S24) and transmits electronic mail containing image data to which the facsimile number of the final destination is designated to the designated electronic mail address of the repeater (step S44 in a figure 4).

Description

Detailed Description of the Invention

[0001]

BACKGROUND OF THE INVENTION 1. Field of the Invention The present invention relates to a facsimile apparatus for transmitting an electronic mail including image data to an electronic mail address of a relay according to a relay distribution table.

[0002]

2. Description of the Related Art Conventionally, an image relay system for performing image communication via at least one relay having a function of relaying image data such as a facsimile image has been put into practical use. In this image relay system, in the facsimile device of the transmission terminal, the telephone number of the relay machine and the telephone number of the final destination are input using the operation unit, and the data of these telephone numbers are inserted into, for example, a SUB address signal or an electronic mail. Then, the image data such as a facsimile image can be relayed and transmitted.

In this image relay system of the prior art, when it is desired to transmit to a plurality of remote parties, the long distance communication uses the Internet or 1 to the relay machine.
Since it only needs to be done once, communication charges can be saved.

[0004]

For example, in the case of relay distribution using electronic mail, the sender side has G3 as the final destination.
It is necessary to specify both the facsimile number and the e-mail address of the repeater, which makes the operation complicated and troublesome. There was a problem that the communication fee could not be reduced unless an appropriate repeater was specified.

An object of the present invention is to solve the above problems and to provide a facsimile apparatus capable of selecting an optimum communication path without the need to manually select and input the optimum relay e-mail address. To provide.

[0006]

A facsimile machine according to a first aspect of the present invention comprises a storage means for storing a relay distribution table containing an electronic mail address of a relay machine for each relay destination information,
When the facsimile number of the final destination is designated and a transmission instruction is given, the relay destination information stored in the relay distribution table is displayed on the display means, and the relay destination information of the corresponding relay is selected by selecting the relay destination information from the display means. An operation means for designating an e-mail address, and a transmission means for transmitting an e-mail including image data in which a facsimile number of a final destination is designated with respect to the e-mail address of the designated relay device are provided. Characterize.

In the facsimile apparatus according to the first aspect of the present invention, the relay destination information includes a part of the facsimile number of the final destination, or the name or area name of the final destination.

According to a second aspect of the present invention, there is provided a facsimile apparatus, a storage means for storing a relay distribution table including an e-mail address of a relay machine for each relay destination information including a part of information of a facsimile number of a final destination, and a final destination. When a transmission instruction is made by designating a facsimile number of, the relay destination information corresponding to a part of the designated final destination facsimile number is searched from the relay distribution table, and the electronic information corresponding to the retrieved relay destination information is searched. It is characterized by further comprising: a sending unit that sends an e-mail including image data, in which a facsimile number of a final destination is designated for the mail address.

According to a third aspect of the present invention, there is provided a facsimile device which stores a relay distribution table including an e-mail address of a relay machine for each relay destination information including information on a final destination name or area name, and a final destination. When a facsimile number is designated and the final destination name or area name is input to instruct the transmission, the relay destination information corresponding to the input final destination name or area name is searched from the relay distribution table, The electronic mail address corresponding to the retrieved relay destination information includes a sending unit that sends an electronic mail including image data, in which a facsimile number of a final destination is designated.

In the facsimile apparatus according to the second or third aspect of the invention, when the corresponding plurality of relay destination information are searched from the relay distribution table, the plurality of relay destination information are displayed on the display means, and Further comprises an operating means for designating the e-mail address of the corresponding relay by selecting the relay destination information from, and the transmitting means is a facsimile number of the final destination for the designated e-mail address of the relay. Is specified, and an electronic mail including image data is transmitted.

In the facsimile apparatus according to the first, second or third aspect of the invention, the relay distribution table further stores an authentication password for each relay destination information, and the transmission means has a corresponding authentication. The above-mentioned e-mail further including a password for use is transmitted.

[0012]

DETAILED DESCRIPTION OF THE INVENTION Embodiments of the present invention will be described below with reference to the drawings.

FIG. 1 is a block diagram showing the configuration of a facsimile apparatus 20 having an image data relay function, which is an embodiment according to the present invention.

The facsimile apparatus 20 of this embodiment is
Sending terminal device (relay requester) in the image relay system
The RAM 7 is a device that can operate as a relay device having an image data relay function and is connected to a relay device. For example, as shown in FIG. When the relay delivery table 7a including the e-mail address of the relay is stored for each relay destination information including the name or the area name, and the facsimile number of the final destination is designated and the transmission instruction is given (step S in FIG. 3).
21-S22), the main control unit 1 displays the relay destination information stored in the relay distribution table on the display means (step S23), and the operator selects the relay destination information from the relay destination information, and the corresponding relay is selected. The e-mail address of the machine is designated (step S24), and the e-mail including the image data in which the facsimile number of the final destination is designated is transmitted to the designated e-mail address of the relay machine (step of FIG. 4). S44) is a feature.

Further, the relay distribution table 7a further stores an authentication password for each relay destination information, and the main control unit 1 of the facsimile device 20 transmits the electronic mail further including the corresponding authentication password. (Step S41).

The leased line and the Internet require a certain usage fee, but other than that, the usage fee is the same no matter how much they are used. There is a charge for sending,
This is when using a public telephone line (PSTN). In this embodiment, facsimile image data is transmitted to the final destination while using more private lines or the Internet and using less public telephone lines (PSTN) which are completely metered line routes. A simple flow of operations and processes in this embodiment is as follows. (1) The caller A inputs the telephone number of the receiver Z and performs transmission. The operation method is the same as usual. (2) Recipient Z via leased line or Internet
To the repeater Y of the public telephone line (PSTN) closest to (3) Send from the repeater Y of the public telephone line (PSTN) to the recipient Z via the PSTN. For this reason, public telephone lines (P
STN), a dedicated line or the relay distribution table 7a for selecting the Internet is registered. Note that if the relay distribution table 7a registered in each relay is incorrect, the operation will be infinite transfer, so it is necessary to register the relay distribution table 7a so that there is no mistake.

In FIG. 1, the facsimile device 20 is
It has a facsimile communication function such as the conventional G3 system, and also has an image data relay request function. The main control unit 1 is specifically configured by a CPU, is connected to the following hardware units via a bus 13 and controls them, and also executes various software functions described later. The image reading unit 2 reads a document with a scanner using a CCD or the like and outputs dot image data converted into monochrome binary. The image recording unit 3 is a printer device such as an electrophotographic system, and prints out and records the image data received by facsimile communication from another facsimile device as a hard copy. The display unit 4 is a display device such as a liquid crystal display (LCD) or a CRT display, and displays the operating state of the facsimile device 20 and displays image data of a document to be transmitted and received image data. .

The operation unit 5 includes character keys necessary for operating the facsimile device 20, a numeric keypad for dialing,
It has speed dial keys, one-touch dial keys, and various function keys. By using the touch panel system for the display unit 4 described above, the operation unit 5
You may comprise so that some or all of the various keys of may be substituted.

The ROM 6 pre-stores various software programs necessary for the operation of the facsimile apparatus 20 and executed by the main control unit 1, where the program is at least the image data transmission process of FIG. 4 and the image data receiving process of FIG. 5 are included. RAM7 is SRAM
Alternatively, it is composed of a flash memory or the like and is used as a working area of the main control unit 1 to store temporary data generated when the program is executed. Here, RAM7
Stores the relay distribution table 7a shown in FIG.
When a flash memory is used as the RAM 7, the contents of the data are not lost even when the power is cut off due to a power failure, movement of the device, or the like. The image memory 8 is composed of a DRAM or the like, and stores image data to be transmitted or received image data. The RAM 7 and the image memory 8 may be hard disk memories.

The fax modem 10 is connected to the public telephone line L1 via the NCU 11a, or the NCU1
It is a modem that is connected to the dedicated line (LC) of the dedicated line L2 via 1b and has a function of a fax modem for normal facsimile communication. An NCU (Network Control Unit) 11a is a hardware circuit that performs an operation of closing and opening, for example, a DC loop of an analog public telephone line L1 and having an automatic dialing function, and a fax modem as necessary. 10 is connected to the public telephone line L1. Here, the NCU 11a uses the ID reception terminal activation signal in the calling telephone number notification service,
A normal telephone call signal can be detected, and a primary response signal and a secondary response signal in the originating telephone number notification service can be transmitted as needed.

The NCU 11b is a hardware circuit having a dedicated line network connection function for closing and opening the DC loop of the analog dedicated line L2, for example. The fax modem 10 is dedicated as necessary. Connect to line L2. It should be noted that the NCUs 11a and 11b may be connected to a digital line (for example, ISDN line) of a baseband transmission system via a predetermined terminal adapter and DSU (subscriber line terminating device: Digital Service Unit).

The LAN interface 12 connects the facsimile device 20 to, for example, Ethernet (registered trademark).
A mail server device 31 and a router device 32 are connected to the LAN 30, which is an interface circuit that performs signal conversion of signals and data and protocol conversion in order to connect to the local area network 30. Further, the router device 30 is connected to the Internet network 40 via a dedicated line L3 and a router device 41 of a predetermined Internet provider. When sending image data from the facsimile device 20 with the image data attached to the mail body, the LAN interface 12 is used to send LA data.
After transmitting once to the mail server device 31 via N30, the mail server device 31 sends the Internet mail to the LAN 30, the router device 32, the dedicated line L3, the router device 41 of the internet provider, the internet network 40, and the destination mail. A mail is transmitted to a facsimile device of a destination, which is a final destination or a relay device, via a server device (not shown). The line connection to the Internet network 40 is not limited to the dedicated line L3, but may be a dial-up connection using the public telephone line L1.

The facsimile apparatus 20 of this embodiment configured as described above has an image data relay request function in addition to a normal G3 system facsimile communication function. In the facsimile communication function, the dot image data read by the image reading unit 2 is encoded by software according to the encoding system such as MH, MR, MMR defined by the facsimile communication standard, and then the facsimile machine of the other party. On the other hand, on the other hand, the encoded data received from the facsimile machine of the other party is also decoded into image data by the software and output from the image recording unit 3 as a hard copy. The image memory 8 stores image data as needed, and conversely outputs the stored image data as needed.

FIG. 2 is a diagram showing an example of the relay distribution table 7a in the RAM 7 of FIG. Relay distribution table 7a
Is input in advance using the operation unit 5, and as shown in FIG. 2, the country code or area code, which is part of the facsimile number of the final destination, or the name of the final destination (company name or personal name) Alternatively, for each relay destination information including the area name, the authentication password (only when necessary), the access key (only when necessary), and the communication to the optimum relay machine for each final destination facsimile number Stores the email address (when using the Internet) or the line number of the dedicated line (when using the dedicated line) that is the destination of the line and the repeater.
Here, the authentication password is transmitted from the relay requesting device to the relay device to prevent unauthorized use of the relay device.
It is checked by a repeater. The access key is used to limit the users in the facsimile machine 20 of the present embodiment, which is a relay requesting machine. The final destination of the relay destination information that is not stored in the relay distribution table 7a is the public telephone line (PS
TN) L1 is used to transmit image data directly, that is, without passing through a relay device.

FIG. 3 is a flow chart showing an image data transmission process executed by the main control unit 1 of the facsimile apparatus of FIG. In FIG. 3, first, step S2
1, the telephone number of the final destination is input using the operation unit 5, and it is determined in step S22 whether or not the relay instruction key of the operation unit 5 is pressed.
On the other hand, if NO, the process proceeds to step S25.
Next, in step S23, the relay distribution table 7a
Display a plurality of relay destination information in the list on the display unit 4,
In step S24, one relay destination information is selected from the plurality of relay destination information by using the operation unit 5 to specify the destination of the relay line and the relay device, and the process proceeds to step S25. Further, in step S25, it is determined whether or not the start key is pressed, the process of step S25 is repeated until YES, and when YES, the original image is read in step S26 and the image data is stored in the image memory 8. After storing, the line route selection transmission process of FIG. 4 is executed in step S27, and the image data transmission process ends.

FIG. 4 is a flow chart showing the line route selection transmission process (steps S27, S59) which is a subroutine of FIGS.

In FIG. 4, first, in step S31, it is determined whether or not the relay transmission is designated. If YES, the process proceeds to step S31A, and if NO, the process proceeds to step S45. In step 31A, if the access key is described in the relay distribution table 7a, the input of the access key is requested, and in step S31B, the input access key is compared with the access key in the relay distribution table 7a, and they match. If they match, the process proceeds to step S32. If they do not match, the process ends. If no access key is described in the relay distribution table 7a, step 31A
And 31B are skipped and the process proceeds to step S32. Next, in step S32, it is determined whether or not the relay route to the final destination is a leased line. If NO here, it is determined in step S33 whether or not the relay route to the final destination is the Internet. On the other hand, step S3
If YES in step 2, the process proceeds to step S34 and step S34.
If YES in 33, the process proceeds to step S41. If NO in step S33, the process proceeds to step S45, after dialing the final destination using the public telephone line (PSTN) L1 in step S45, the image data in the image memory 8 is faxed, and the original main Return to routine.

In step S34, the ACR identification information (#) for instructing the relay request to the SUB address (if it is not the relay request, indicates confidential communication, bulletin board communication, etc.) and the authentication password are stored. In step S36, the telephone number of the final destination is added, and in step S36, the image data in the image memory 8 is faxed by dialing to the relay device registered in the relay distribution table 7a via the dedicated line L2. After that, it returns to the original main routine.

In step S41, the ACR identification information and the authentication password are stored in the body of the mail, the telephone number of the final destination is stored in the body of the mail in step S42, and the image data in the image memory 8 is stored in step S43. Convert it to an email format and attach it to the email body,
Then, in step S44, a mail is sent to the mail address of the relay machine via the Internet. Then, the process returns to the original main routine.

FIG. 5 is a flow chart showing the image data receiving process executed by the main control section 1 of the facsimile apparatus of FIG.

In FIG. 5, it is judged in step S50 whether or not an incoming call has been received.
In 51, for example, after performing communication procedure processing before image data reception such as training of facsimile communication and reception of SUB address signal, the image data is received and stored in the image memory 8 in step S52, and the image is received in step S53. Execute the post-procedure process for data and disconnect the line. Then, in step S54, it is determined whether or not the SUB address signal is received. If YES, the process proceeds to step S55. If NO, it is determined to be a normal facsimile reception process, and the process proceeds to step S56 to receive. After the image of the image data is printed using the image recording unit 3, the image receiving process is ended.

In step S55, A is added to the SUB address.
It is determined whether or not there is CR identification information. If YES, the process proceeds to step S58, and if NO, step S5.
In step S57, the predetermined image processing such as confidential communication and bulletin board communication designated by the SUB address is executed in step S57, and then the image receiving process is ended. on the other hand,
In step S58, the final destination is acquired from the SUB address, and in step S59, the line route selection transmission process of FIG. 4 is executed, and then the image reception process is ended.

As described above, according to the present embodiment, the RAM 7 is, as shown in FIG. 2, for example, a relay destination including partial information of the facsimile number of the final destination, or the name or area name of the final destination. When the relay distribution table 7a including the e-mail address of the relay machine is stored for each piece of information, and the transmission number is designated by designating the facsimile number of the final destination (steps S21 to S22 in FIG. 3), the main control unit 1
The relay destination information stored in the relay distribution table is displayed on the display means (step S23), and the operator selects the relay destination information from the list to specify the e-mail address of the corresponding relay (step S24). ), The electronic mail including the image data specifying the final destination facsimile number is transmitted to the electronic mail address of the specified relay (step S44 of FIG. 4). Therefore, in the relay distribution table 7a, the relay destination information and the e-mail address of the relay machine can be managed as a pair, and it is not necessary to manually select and input the optimum e-mail address of the relay machine. , It is possible to select the optimum communication path. As a result, the relay transmission operation is facilitated, and unnecessary communication costs are not incurred.

The relay distribution table 7a further stores an authentication password for each relay destination information, and the main control unit 1 of the facsimile device 20 transmits the electronic mail further including the corresponding authentication password. (Step S41). Therefore, in the relay distribution table 7a, in addition to the e-mail address of the relay machine and the facsimile number of the final destination, the authentication password can be further stored and managed as a set, and the information required for relay transmission can be stored. An optimal communication path can be selected without the need to manually select and input, and relay transmission operation becomes easy. In addition, since the relay device is accessed using the authentication password, the security at the relay device can be improved.

In the above embodiment, the access key is registered together with the authentication information such as the facsimile number and the authentication password of the final destination, and when the relay transmission is performed using this final destination, the access key is used. You can also set restrictions.

Further, the relay distribution table 7a does not store authentication information such as an authentication password and only the authentication information is input using the operation unit 5 at the time of transmission, so that the relay function is illegally used. May be prevented.

<Modification> FIG. 6 is a flowchart showing an image data transmission process in a modification according to the present invention. Note that, in FIG. 6, the same step numbers are assigned to the same processes as in FIG. 3, and () indicates another modification.

In this modification, the RAM 7 stores a relay distribution table including the e-mail address of the relay for each relay destination information including the country code or the area code, which is part of the facsimile number of the final destination. Then, when the facsimile number of the final destination is specified and a transmission instruction is given (Fig. 6).
Steps S21a-S22), the main control unit 1 searches the relay distribution table 7a for relay destination information corresponding to a part of the designated final destination facsimile number (Step S61), and the retrieved relay destination information. It is characterized in that an electronic mail including image data in which the final destination facsimile number is designated is transmitted to the electronic mail address corresponding to (step S44 of FIG. 4). Further, when the main control unit 1 retrieves the corresponding plurality of relay destination information from the relay distribution table 7a, the main control unit 1 displays the plurality of relay destination information on the display unit, and the operator displays the relay destination information among them. By selecting, the e-mail address of the corresponding relay is designated (steps S61 and S62).
No, S64), the main control unit 1 transmits an e-mail including the image data specifying the final destination facsimile number to the e-mail address of the specified relay (step S44 of FIG. 4). ).

In FIG. 6, first, in step S21a, the telephone number of the final destination is input using the operation unit 5,
In step S22, it is determined whether or not the relay instruction key of the operation unit 5 has been pressed, and if YES, step S61
On the other hand, if NO, the process proceeds to step S25. Then, in step S61, the country code or area code of the final destination telephone number is searched from the relay destination information in the relay distribution table 7a, and the corresponding relay destination information is displayed on the display unit 4 as a list destination, In S62, it is determined whether or not there is only one piece of relay destination information retrieved. If YES, the process proceeds to step S63. If NO, there is a plurality of relay destination information, the process proceeds to step S64. Step S
At 63, the relay line and the destination of the relay of the retrieved relay destination information are automatically selected, and the process proceeds to step S25. On the other hand, in step S64, one relay destination information is selected from the plurality of relay destination information using the operation unit 5 to specify the destination of the relay line and the relay device, and the step S2
Go to 5. Further, in step S25, it is determined whether or not the start key is pressed, and the process of step S25 is repeated until YES, and when YES,
After reading the original image in step S26 and storing the image data in the image memory 8, the line route selecting and transmitting process of FIG. 4 is executed in step S27, and the image data transmitting process is ended.

In the modified example configured as described above, by searching for the country code or area code from the relay distribution table 7a based on the inputted final destination telephone number, the optimum number is automatically obtained. It is possible to determine and specify the destination of the relay line and the relay. Therefore, it is not necessary to manually select and enter the optimum e-mail address of the repeater, and the optimum communication path can be selected. As a result, the relay transmission operation is facilitated, and unnecessary communication costs are not incurred.

When a plurality of pieces of relay destination information are retrieved, the information is displayed on the display unit 4 and the optimum relay line and the destination of the relay can be manually determined and designated from the information.

<Other Modification> Another modification is shown in parentheses in FIG. 6, and differs from the modification in the following points. (1) In step S21a, the final destination telephone number and name or area name are input using the operation unit 5. (2) In step S61, the relay distribution table 7a
The name or area name of the input final destination is searched for in the relay destination information in, and the corresponding relay destination information is displayed on the display unit 4 as a list destination.

In another modified example configured as described above, it is necessary to input the name of the final destination or the region name, but this is used as a keyword in the relay destination information in the relay distribution table 7a. Then, the optimum relay line and the destination of the relay corresponding to the relay destination information can be determined and designated.

Also in this other modification, when a plurality of relay destination information is retrieved, the information is displayed on the display unit 4 and the optimum relay line and the destination of the relay device are manually determined from the displayed information. Can be specified.

<Further Modifications> In the above embodiments, an example of the facsimile apparatus 20 is described, but the present invention is not limited to this, and a public network such as a public telephone network or a public digital line network, or a dedicated network. The present invention can be applied to an image communication device including a data communication device, which is connected to a line and / or the Internet.

In the above embodiments, the public telephone line, the leased line, and the facsimile device 20 connected to the Internet have been described, but it is configured to connect to at least one or a plurality of types of communication lines. May be.
The leased line is not limited to an analog telephone line, but can be applied to various communication lines such as a digital line, an ATM communication line and a frame relay communication line.

[0047]

As described in detail above, according to the facsimile apparatus of the first invention, a storage means for storing a relay distribution table including an e-mail address of a relay machine for each relay destination information, and a facsimile of a final destination. When a transmission instruction is made by designating a number, the relay destination information stored in the relay distribution table is displayed on the display means, and the relay destination information is selected from the display to display the email address of the corresponding relay machine. An operation means for designating and a sending means for transmitting an e-mail including image data, in which a facsimile number of a final destination is designated, are transmitted to the e-mail address of the designated relay. Here, the relay destination information preferably includes a part of the facsimile number of the final destination, or the name or area name of the final destination. Therefore, in the above-mentioned relay distribution table, the relay destination information and the e-mail address of the relay machine can be managed as a pair, and it is not necessary to manually select and input the optimum e-mail address of the relay machine. , It is possible to select the optimum communication path. As a result, the relay transmission operation is facilitated, and unnecessary communication costs are not incurred.

According to the facsimile apparatus of the second aspect of the present invention, storage means for storing a relay distribution table containing the e-mail address of the repeater for each piece of relay destination information containing a part of the information of the facsimile number of the final destination, When the facsimile number of the final destination is specified and transmission is instructed, the relay destination information corresponding to part of the specified final destination facsimile number is searched from the relay distribution table, and the relay destination information corresponding to the searched relay destination information is searched. To the email address you
And a transmission unit for transmitting an electronic mail including image data, which specifies the facsimile number of the final destination. That is, based on the entered final destination facsimile number, a part of information of the facsimile number such as the country code or area code is searched from the relay distribution table to automatically select the optimum relay line and relay. The destination of the machine can be determined and specified. Therefore, it is not necessary to manually select and enter the optimum e-mail address of the repeater, and the optimum communication path can be selected. As a result, the relay transmission operation is facilitated, and unnecessary communication costs are not incurred.

According to the third aspect of the present invention, the facsimile device has a storage means for storing a relay distribution table including the e-mail address of the relay machine for each relay destination information including the information of the final destination name or area name, and the final storage means. When the destination facsimile number is specified and the final destination name or area name is entered to instruct the transmission, the relay destination information corresponding to the entered final destination name or area name is searched from the relay distribution table. Then, the electronic mail address corresponding to the retrieved relay destination information includes a transmission unit that transmits an electronic mail including the image data in which the facsimile number of the final destination is designated. In the present invention, it is necessary to input the name or area name of the final destination, but using this as a keyword, the relay destination information in the relay distribution table is searched to find the optimum destination corresponding to the relay destination information. It is possible to determine and specify the destination of the relay line and the relay. Therefore, it is not necessary to manually select and enter the optimum e-mail address of the repeater, and the optimum communication path can be selected. This makes the operation of relay transmission easy, and
It also eliminates unnecessary communication costs.

In the facsimile machine according to the second or third aspect of the invention, when the corresponding plurality of relay destination information are retrieved from the relay distribution table, the plurality of relay destination information are displayed on the display means, and among them, Further comprises an operating means for designating the e-mail address of the corresponding relay by selecting the relay destination information from, and the transmitting means is a facsimile number of the final destination for the designated e-mail address of the relay. Send an e-mail containing the specified image data. Therefore, when a plurality of pieces of relay destination information are retrieved, the optimum e-mail address of the relay machine can be manually determined and displayed from the display means by displaying it on the display means.

In the facsimile apparatus according to the first, second or third aspect of the invention, the relay distribution table further stores an authentication password for each relay destination information, and the transmission means has a corresponding authentication. Send the above e-mail further containing the password for. Therefore, in the above relay distribution table, in addition to the e-mail address of the relay machine for each relay destination information, the authentication password can be further stored and managed as a set, and the information required for relay transmission can be manually selected. It is possible to select an optimum communication path without inputting and inputting, and operation of relay transmission becomes easy. In addition, since the relay device is accessed using the authentication password, the security at the relay device can be improved.

[Brief description of drawings]

FIG. 1 is a block diagram showing a configuration of a facsimile device 20 having an image data relay function, which is an embodiment according to the present invention.

FIG. 2 is a diagram showing an example of a relay distribution table 7a in a RAM 7 of FIG.

3 is a flowchart showing an image data transmission process executed by a main control unit 1 of the facsimile apparatus of FIG.

FIG. 4 is a flowchart showing a line route selection transmission process (steps S27, S59) which is a subroutine of FIGS. 3 and 6.

5 is a flowchart showing an image data receiving process executed by a main control unit 1 of the facsimile apparatus shown in FIG.

FIG. 6 is a flowchart showing an image data transmission process in a modified example according to the present invention.

[Explanation of symbols]

1 ... Main control unit, 2 ... Image reading unit, 3 ... Image recording section, 4 ... Display, 5 ... operation part, 6 ... ROM, 7 ... RAM, 7a ... relay distribution table, 8 ... Image memory, 10 ... fax modem, 11a, 11b ... NCU, 12 ... LAN interface, 13 ... bus, 20 ... Facsimile device, 30 ... Local Area Network (LAN), 31 ... Mail server device, 32 ... router device, 40 ... Internet network, 41 ... Router device of Internet provider, L1 ... Public telephone line, L2, L3 ... Dedicated line.

   ─────────────────────────────────────────────────── ─── Continued front page    F-term (reference) 5C062 AA02 AA13 AA29 AA30 AA35                       AB20 AB23 AB38 AB42 AC05                       AC22 AC43 AC51 AE02 AF00                       AF02 BD09                 5C075 AB90 CA14 CA90                 5K101 KK01 KK02 NN21 PP03 PP10                       QQ08 RR16 RR19

Claims (6)

[Claims] 1. Storage means for storing a relay distribution table including an electronic mail address of a relay machine for each relay destination information,
When the facsimile number of the final destination is designated and a transmission instruction is given, the relay destination information stored in the relay distribution table is displayed on the display means, and the relay destination information of the corresponding relay is selected by selecting the relay destination information from the display means. An operation means for designating an e-mail address, and a transmission means for transmitting an e-mail including image data in which a facsimile number of a final destination is designated with respect to the e-mail address of the designated relay device are provided. Characteristic facsimile machine. 2. The facsimile apparatus according to claim 1, wherein the relay destination information includes a part of information of a facsimile number of a final destination, or a name or area name of the final destination. 3. A storage unit for storing a relay distribution table including an e-mail address of a relay machine for each relay destination information including a part of information of a facsimile number of a final destination, and transmitting by designating a facsimile number of a final destination. When the instruction is given, the relay destination information corresponding to a part of the facsimile number of the designated final destination is searched from the relay distribution table, and the final destination is sent to the email address corresponding to the searched relay destination information. And a sending means for sending an e-mail including image data, which specifies the facsimile number. 4. A storage means for storing a relay distribution table including an e-mail address of a relay machine for each relay destination information including information of a final destination name or area name, and a facsimile number of a final destination are designated and final. When a destination name or region name is entered and a transmission instruction is issued, the relay destination information corresponding to the entered final destination name or region name is searched from the above relay distribution table, and it corresponds to the searched relay destination information. And a sending means for sending an e-mail including image data in which a final destination facsimile number is designated for the e-mail address. 5. When the corresponding plurality of relay destination information are searched from the relay distribution table, the plurality of relay destination information are displayed on the display means, and the relay destination information is selected from the displayed relay destination information, and the corresponding relay destination information is selected. Further comprises an operating means for designating an electronic mail address of the machine, wherein the transmitting means is
To the e-mail address of the specified repeater,
The facsimile apparatus according to claim 3 or 4, wherein an electronic mail including image data specifying a facsimile number of a final destination is transmitted. 6. The relay distribution table further stores an authentication password for each relay destination information, and the transmission means transmits the electronic mail further including a corresponding authentication password. The facsimile apparatus according to any one of Items 1 to 5.