JP2003037699A - Internet facsimile terminal - Google Patents

Abstract

PROBLEM TO BE SOLVED: To provide an Internet facsimile terminal that can receive image data by a reception method according to the state of the facsimile terminal. SOLUTION: The Internet facsimile terminal 1B for having a function of receiving electronic mail including format information of original image data and image data with a standard format from a sender Internet facsimile terminal, returning electronic mail for describing reception capability information of its own device and for receiving the original image data from the sender Internet facsimile terminal by means of electronic mail, is provided with a detection means that detects a state of its own device and a discrimination means that discriminates whether or not the transmission of the original image data is requested on the basis of the state of its own device detected by the detection means.

Description

Detailed Description of the Invention

[0001]

BACKGROUND OF THE INVENTION 1. Field of the Invention The present invention relates to an internet facsimile apparatus for transmitting / receiving image data by electronic mail.

[0002]

2. Description of the Related Art Conventionally, in an internet facsimile apparatus that transmits and receives image data by electronic mail, the image data used for transmission and reception is encoded in MH (Mo
difiedHuffman), resolution is 200 dpi, recording paper size is standardized to A4 format, and this standardized image data (hereinafter referred to as "standard format image data") is attached to an e-mail and sent / received to perform a single e-mail. A method has been used in which transmission / reception of image data is completed. In this method, even if the Internet facsimile apparatus has a transmission / reception capability of high-quality image data such as a resolution higher than 200 dpi or a recording paper size larger than A4, it is not possible to transmit / receive high-quality image data. It was Therefore, between the Internet facsimile machine on the transmitting side and the Internet facsimile machine on the receiving side, information about the format of image data such as resolution and recording paper size that can be received by the Internet facsimile machine on the receiving side (hereinafter referred to as "reception capability information"). ) Is exchanged, and a reception-capacity exchange-type internet facsimile apparatus is proposed which transmits and receives high-quality original image data according to the reception ability of the reception-side internet facsimile apparatus.

The operation of transmitting and receiving image data of the reception capability exchange type internet facsimile apparatus will be described below with reference to FIG.
A description will be given based on the sequence diagram shown in FIG. It should be noted that the receiving side exchange type internet facsimile machine on the sending side and the receiving side exchange type internet facsimile machine on the receiving side, which are connected so as to be communicable by electronic mail, respectively, are connected to the transmitting side receiving ability exchange type internet facsimile apparatus and the receiving side exchange receiving ability. Type Internet facsimile machine.

First, the transmission side reception capability exchange side internet facsimile apparatus reads and stores a document as original image data (T61). This original image data has, for example, a resolution of 400 dpi and a recording paper size B.
4. High quality image data as compared with standard format image data having an image data format of encoding system MR.

Next, the transmitting side exchangeable exchange type internet facsimile apparatus creates standard format image data from the original image data (T62), and uses this standard format image data as information regarding the format of the original image data and the receiving capability. It is attached to an electronic mail in which a message prompting notification of information is attached and transmitted to the receiving side exchange capability type Internet facsimile machine (T63).

On the other hand, the receiving side exchange capability exchange type internet facsimile apparatus which received the electronic mail transmitted at T63, describes the reception capability information of its own apparatus and the message requesting the transmission of the original image data according to the message. The mail is returned to the sending side Internet facsimile machine (T64).

[0007] Next, the sender-side exchange-capacity exchange-type Internet facsimile machine that received the e-mail returned at T64 reads the reception-capacity information of the reception-side exchange-capacity-type internet facsimile machine described in the e-mail, and reads the original. The image data is attached to an electronic mail and transmitted to the receiving side exchange capability type internet facsimile apparatus (T66). In the processing here, high-quality image data of the third format, which is different from the original image data and the standard format image data, is converted into the original image data according to the read reception capability information of the reception side capability exchange type internet facsimile apparatus. Create from (T
65), instead of the original image data, it may be attached to an e-mail and sent. However, in this specification, the high-quality image data of the third format created and attached by the processing here is included in the name of original image data.

On the other hand, the receiving side exchange capability exchange type internet facsimile apparatus which receives the electronic mail transmitted at T66 prints out the original image data attached to the electronic mail (T67).

[0009]

Use of the above-mentioned reception capability exchange type internet facsimile machine has the advantage that high quality original image data can be transmitted and received according to the reception ability of the reception side internet facsimile machine. However, on the other hand, the image data formats of the original image data are various, and the Internet facsimile machine on the receiving side must always be prepared to support these various formats.

However, depending on the use condition and maintenance condition of the receiving-side Internet facsimile machine, even if the original image data is originally capable of receiving and printing out, it is not always possible. The present invention has been made in view of the above circumstances, and an object of the present invention is to provide an Internet facsimile apparatus capable of receiving image data by a receiving method suitable for the state of the apparatus.

[0011]

In order to achieve the object of the preceding paragraph, the Internet facsimile machine according to claim 1 receives an electronic mail including the format information of the original image data and the standard format image data from the transmitting Internet facsimile machine. , Detecting the status of its own device in an Internet facsimile machine equipped with the function of receiving the original image data from the sending side Internet facsimile machine by e-mail after returning an e-mail describing the receiving capability information of the own machine Means and a judging means for judging whether to make a request for the original image data based on the state of the device itself detected by the detecting means.

According to a second aspect of the present invention, in the internet facsimile apparatus according to the first aspect, the judgment by the judgment means makes a request for original image data when the own apparatus does not have suitable recording paper. It is characterized by not being.

According to a third aspect of the present invention, in the internet facsimile apparatus according to the first aspect, the judgment by the judgment means makes a request for original image data when the storage device does not have a necessary storage capacity. It is characterized by not being.

According to another aspect of the present invention, an internet facsimile apparatus receives an electronic mail including format information of original image data and standard format image data from the transmitting side internet facsimile apparatus, and sends an electronic mail describing reception capability information of the own apparatus. After replying, determine whether to request the original image data based on the format information of the original image data in the Internet facsimile device that has the function of receiving the original image data by e-mail from the sending side Internet facsimile device. And a setting unit that sets the determination standard of the determination unit.

According to a fifth aspect of the present invention, in the internet facsimile apparatus according to the fourth aspect, the criterion of the setting means is based on a difference between standard format image data and original image data. There is.

[0016]

BEST MODE FOR CARRYING OUT THE INVENTION The present invention will be described below with reference to the drawings showing the embodiments thereof. The Internet facsimile machine on the side of receiving image data by electronic mail is called the receiving side Internet facsimile machine, and the Internet facsimile machine on the side of transmitting image data is called the transmitting side internet facsimile machine.

The receiving side internet facsimile apparatus and the transmitting side internet facsimile apparatus have the same hardware configuration. That is, as shown in the block diagram of FIG. 1, the receiving side internet facsimile apparatus 1B and the transmitting side internet facsimile apparatus 1A have a CPU (central processing unit) 2, a RAM (random access memory) 3, and a ROM (read only memory) 4 respectively. , Codec 5, modem 6, NCU (network control unit) 7, reading unit 8, recording unit 9,
An operation unit 10, a display unit 11, a LAN I / F (local area network interface) 12, and the like are provided. The respective devices are communicatively connected by a bus 13.

The CPU 2 controls each device constituting the Internet facsimile machines 1A and 1B based on the control program stored in the ROM 4.

The RAM 3 stores temporary data required by the control program at the time of execution, and also includes standard format image data, original image data, facsimile number data, electronic mail address, setting table referred to at the time of control, and the like. It functions as a storage device that stores various settings. Further, the RAM 3 includes a memory remaining amount detecting unit 3a as a memory remaining amount detecting device, and can detect an unused portion of the RAM 3 and notify the CPU 2 of the available memory remaining amount. ing.

The ROM 4 stores a control program for controlling the Internet facsimile machines 1A and 1B such as a facsimile transmission / reception procedure and an electronic mail transmission / reception procedure.

The codec 5 uses the MH (Modified Huffman) and MR (Modi
fied Read), MMR (Modified Modified Read), or the like, or a decoding process for decoding image data received by facsimile reception or electronic mail.

The modem 6 is, for example, a ITU-T Recommendation V.4. Modulation and demodulation of communication data according to the 34 standard or the like.

The NCU 7 is a line network control device for connecting and disconnecting a line with the PSTN (public switched telephone network) 14.

The reading unit 8 includes a CCD (Charge Coupled).
The density of the original is read by an image sensor such as a device), and image data converted into black and white binary is output.

The recording unit 9 is of an electrophotographic type or an inkjet type, for example, and prints out image data on a recording paper. For example, the image data of the original read by the reading unit 8, the image data received by facsimile, the image data attached to the received electronic mail, and the like are stored in the CPU 2.
Is printed on the recording paper according to the instruction.

The recording section 9 is provided with a plurality of recording paper storage sections 9a. Although not shown, the recording paper storage portion 9a has, for example, a box-shaped cassette shape, and is configured to store recording paper of a specific size such as A4 or B4 size for each recording paper storage portion. At the time of output, an appropriate recording paper is fed from the recording paper storage section 9a and printed out. Although not shown, the recording paper storage unit 9a is provided with a recording paper detection unit, and the size of the recording paper stored in the recording paper storage unit 9a, the presence or absence of the recording paper, etc. are requested by the CPU 2. Depending on CPU2
Can be notified.

The operation unit 10 is provided with, for example, a numeric keypad 10a for inputting a facsimile number and the like, a shortening key 10b for transmitting from a shortened number, a start key 10c for starting a document reading operation, and the like. Various operations are performed by the operation unit 10.

The display unit 11 is a display device such as an LCD (liquid crystal display device) or a CRT display, and displays image data received by facsimile or image data received by electronic mail, or displays a guide message during operation. I do.

The LAN I / F 12 is an I for connection with LANs (local area networks) 15A and 15B.
/ F, and Internet facsimile machines 1A, 1
B and the LANs 15A and 15B are communicably connected. The Internet facsimile machines 1A and 1B send and receive e-mails through this I / F.

The Internet facsimile machine 1
A and 1B have a function of transmitting and receiving the image data of the original by facsimile by the G3 method and the like, and TCP / IP (Transmission Contr
ol Protocol / Internet Protocol) and has an internet facsimile function to send and receive image data by sending and receiving e-mail with image data attached. The electronic mail is, for example, MIME (Multipur
pose Internet Mail Extensions) format e-mail, the image data is encoded in base64 and attached.

Next, the operation of the Internet facsimile machines 1A and 1B will be described in the operation in the network environment A shown in FIG. 2, for example. That is, the receiving side internet facsimile apparatus 1B is connected to the LAN 1
5B, mail server 16B, client PC
17B and a router 18B so that they can communicate with each other.
The mail server 16A, the client PC 17A, and the router 18A are communicably connected to each other through the AN 15A. LAN15A and LAN15B are routers 18
It is communicably connected to the Internet 19 via A and 18B. As a result, the receiving-side Internet facsimile machine 1B causes the mail servers 16A, 16
The electronic mail transmitted by the transmitting-side Internet facsimile machine 1A can be received through B, the Internet 19, etc., and the image data can be transmitted and received by the image data attached to the electronic mail. In addition, the Internet facsimile machine 1B on the receiving side uses the PSTN 14
Image data can be transmitted by facsimile to the G3 facsimile 20 through the. Further, the image data received by facsimile is printed out by the Internet facsimile machine 1B on the receiving side, or the client P is connected through the LAN 15B.
It can be delivered to C17B.

Next, the sequence diagram shown in FIG. 3 for the communication procedure of the image data by the electronic mail between the Internet facsimile machines 1A and 1B in the network environment A "simple mode""delivery confirmation mode""reception capability exchange mode" Also, description will be made based on the description example of the electronic mail shown in FIGS. 4 to 9.

First, in the simple mode shown in FIG. 3A, an electronic mail as shown in FIG. 4, for example, is transmitted from the transmitting side internet facsimile apparatus 1A (T1), and the receiving side internet facsimile apparatus transmits the electronic mail. It receives and ends the transmission / reception operation. The e-mail is a MIME format e-mail, and includes e-mail header information 21 including the destination of the other party's device, and attached image data 22.
Consists of. The image data is standard format image data, and will be printed out by the receiving-side Internet facsimile machine 1B.

Next, in the delivery confirmation mode shown in FIG. 3 (b), the sending side internet facsimile apparatus 1A sends back an e-mail as a reply to confirm the delivery as shown in FIG. "Email")
To the e-mail describing the message 23 (hereinafter referred to as “delivery confirmation request message”) requesting that the
A mail with the standard format image data 22 attached is created and transmitted to the receiving side Internet facsimile machine (T2). In the example of FIG. 5, the delivery confirmation request message 2
3 is a part of the Internet facsimile machine 1A on the sending side that returns a delivery confirmation email with the description "Sender@terminalA.ifax" and a portion indicating that the delivery confirmation email with the description "Disposition-Notification-To:" is requested. It consists of a destination.

On the other hand, the receiving side Internet facsimile machine 1B which received the electronic mail transmitted at T2 performs processing such as printing out the attached standard format image data, and confirms the delivery based on the delivery confirmation request message 23. A mail is generated and returned to the sending side Internet facsimile machine 1A (T3).

Next, according to the reception capability exchange mode shown in FIG. 3 (c), the sender Internet facsimile machine 1
A generates standard format image data from the original image data, and transmits the original image data when a predetermined request and reception capability information are notified from the other party device as shown in FIG. 6, for example. Message 24
Then, the standard format image data 22 is attached to an e-mail describing the format information 25 of the original image data, the format information 26 of the standard image data, etc., and transmitted to the receiving side Internet facsimile apparatus 1B (T
4).

On the other hand, the Internet facsimile machine 1B on the receiving side, which has received this electronic mail, sends a message 2 requesting the sending of the original image data as shown in FIG.
7 and the reception capability information 28 of the device itself, and an explanation message 29 for explaining the role of this e-mail, and the like are created and returned to the sending side Internet facsimile machine 1A (T5).

On the other hand, the Internet facsimile machine 1A on the transmitting side, which has received the T5 e-mail, follows the message 27 requesting the original image data and sends the original image data to the e-mail including the delivery confirmation request message 30 as shown in FIG. Is attached and transmitted to the receiving side Internet facsimile machine 1B (T6). As described above in the description of the conventional technique, high quality image data of the third format, which is different from the original image data and the standard format image data, is created from the original image data according to the reception capability information. In some cases, instead of data, it is attached to an e-mail and sent.
It should be noted that, in the present specification, the high-quality image data of the third format created and attached by the processing here is included in the name of original image data.

Finally, the receiving side internet facsimile apparatus which received the mail transmitted at T6 creates a delivery confirmation mail according to the delivery confirmation request message 30 and sends it to the transmitting side internet facsimile apparatus 1A (T7). The delivery confirmation mail includes, for example, as shown in FIG. 9, an explanation message 29A for explaining the role of the electronic mail, a message 31 for indicating that the electronic mail has been delivered, and the like. In this receiving capacity exchange mode, the receiving side Internet facsimile machine 1
In B, the original image data may not be requested when the original image data is not required. In this case, the procedures of T5, T6 and T7 are not performed.

Next, the operation of the receiving-side Internet facsimile machine in the reception capacity exchange mode will be described with reference to the flow charts shown in FIGS. The operation described based on these flow charts is performed in the receiving side internet facsimile apparatus 1B in accordance with a control command issued by the CPU 2 based on a control program stored in the ROM 4. The control command is a control command issued by the CPU 2 by reading and issuing an instruction by the operation of the operation unit by the operator.
A control instruction or the like for reading and issuing an instruction set in the AM or the like is included.

First, the Internet facsimile machine 1B on the receiving side, which has received the electronic mail (S1), analyzes the contents of the electronic mail, the electronic mail is the electronic mail to be used for the Internet facsimile, and the reception capability exchange mode. It is determined whether the e-mail is at T4 (S2). For example, when the received e-mail is the e-mail shown in FIG. 6, whether or not the format information 25 of the original image data is described and the reception capability information of the own device is notified. Is to determine whether or not the message 24 indicating that the original image data is transmitted is described.

If it is determined to be no in S2, although not described in detail, if the image data is transmitted / received in the simple mode or the delivery confirmation mode, predetermined processing such as printing out standard format image data is performed, If it is an error mail that cannot be analyzed, error processing such as displaying a message to that effect is performed, and other processing determined by the control program is performed (S8).

If it is determined in S2 that the e-mail is in the receiving capacity exchange mode, the receiving side Internet facsimile machine 1B compares the receiving capacity of its own device with the format information of the original image data described in the e-mail. Then, it is judged whether or not the own device has the ability to receive the original image data and print it out (S3). The determination here is, for example, when the format of the original image data indicates a paper size A3, a resolution of 400 dpi, and a format of the encoding method MMR, the codec 6
Corresponds to MMR decoding processing, and whether the recording unit 9 can print out on A3 size recording paper at a resolution of 400 dpi.

If it is determined in S3 that the device does not have the ability to receive the original image data and print it out, next,
Whether or not to output the original image data after converting it within the range of the capability of the device itself is determined based on an instruction from the user, a setting table set in advance described later, or the like (S6).

If it is determined in S3 that the original image data is received and can be printed out, or if it is determined in S6 that the original image data is converted and the original image data is printed out within the capability of the own device, In addition, the recording paper size specified in the format of the original image data or the recording paper size of the converted image data when the original image data is converted and printed out can be fed to the recording unit 9. It is determined whether or not it is prepared (S4). This is, for example, the notification information of the recording paper detection unit provided in the recording paper storage unit 9a as to whether or not the corresponding recording paper is prepared in the plurality of recording paper storage units 9a provided in the recording unit 9. It is based on the judgment. At this time, even if the corresponding recording paper is used up and is not temporarily prepared, it may be determined that the recording paper is prepared when it is replenished by the user.

If the corresponding recording paper is not prepared in S4, it is judged whether or not the image data is printed out on the recording paper of another size based on the instruction from the user or the preset setting. Yes (S7).

Next, if it is determined in S4 that there is a corresponding recording sheet, or if it is determined in S7 that the recording sheet of another size is printed out, then the original image data is stored in the RAM3. It is determined whether or not the required memory capacity is left by comparing the remaining available memory indicated by the memory capacity detection unit 3a with the predicted data amount of the original image data (S5). Alternatively, the judgment may be made by comparing the judgment standard of the remaining memory amount, which is preset by the user or the like and stored in the RAM 3, with the remaining usable memory amount indicated by the memory capacity detection unit 3a.
For example, this determination criterion is to determine that there is no required memory capacity if the remaining memory capacity is less than 10% of the total memory capacity, and the user sets this ratio.

If the RAM 3 has sufficient memory capacity to store the original image data, it is next determined whether or not there is a sufficient difference between the standard format image data and the original image data (S9). The sufficient difference here means, for example, a judgment criterion table TA that defines judgment criteria for the difference in image data as shown in FIG. 13 is stored in advance in the RAM as an initial setting of the user or the Internet facsimile machine 1B. , Which indicates that the determination is made based on this determination reference table TA.

According to the criterion table TA, the recording paper size 34 and the resolution 35 are used as the criterion for the difference in image data.
Can be set, and the ratio is set in comparison with the standard format 33 or the specific recording paper size or resolution is set. If the image data is in a format exceeding these settings, it is determined that there is a difference. You can do it. In the example of the judgment criterion table TA, the ratio is initially set to 120%, the recording paper size is set to B4, and the resolution is set to 240 dpi as initial values, but this can be freely changed by the setting operation by the user. Has become.

Based on the setting of the judgment criteria as described above,
When it is determined that there is a difference in the image data in S9, it is determined whether or not the next received email is delivered within a fixed time (S10). For example, the difference between the transmission time of the transmission side Internet facsimile apparatus 1A and the reception time of the own apparatus 1B, or the difference between the transmission time and the arrival time at the mail server 16B is set in advance by a user or the like within 12 hours, for example. It is to be compared with the set judgment reference time.

If the signal is received within a certain time in S10, it is finally judged whether or not the request for the original image data is prohibited by the device setting of the user or the like, and it is judged that the request is not prohibited. In this case, in order to request the original image data, for example, an e-mail describing the reception capability information of the device as shown in FIG. 7 and a message requesting the original image data to be transmitted is transmitted to the Internet facsimile machine. (S12).

On the other hand, S5, S6, S7, S9, S10,
If it is determined to be NO in S11, the standard image data attached to the received e-mail is printed out without requesting the original image data, and the process ends (S1).
3). Alternatively, after the printout, a delivery confirmation mail that does not require the delivery of the original image data as shown in FIG. 5 may be transmitted, and the processing may be ended as the delivery confirmation mode communication.

It should be noted that whether or not to carry out the judgments made in S4, S5, S9, S10 and S11 in each judgment step of the above-mentioned receiving operation is made beforehand by a user's instruction or a device table as a table TB as shown in FIG. Created as an initial setting, and skip the judgment in the above step based on this setting (in each judgment step,
It is possible to make an unconditional determination of "Yes" without making a determination such as the state of the apparatus or comparison of image data, and move to the next step).

Further, in the judgment steps S6 and S7, a setting table T similar to that of FIG. 14 as shown in FIG.
By setting C, it is possible to make a determination based on the setting table TC.

According to the setting of the table TB illustrated in FIG. 14, whether or not to execute the step of determining the presence or absence of the recording sheet in S4 can be instructed by the default setting 36 or the individual setting 37 of the apparatus. It has become.

More specifically, if the default setting 36 of the receiving-side Internet facsimile apparatus 1B is "determine" and the individual setting 37 does not correspond to each item, the determination step of presence or absence of recording paper in S4 is executed. Then, the process is branched depending on the presence / absence of the recording paper as shown in the flowchart of FIG. On the other hand, in the individual setting 37, individual items such as “determine” when the determination step of S4 is executed and “not determine” when the determination step is not executed can be set. Table TB
Then, in the item to be "determined", the sender address 38 "SenderA@terminalB.ifax", the sender domain name 39 "jp", and the time designation 40 of the received time "23: 00-8:
Since "00 everyday" and 41 for each communication are set to "Next reception", if the sender address of the received email address is "SenderA@terminalB.ifax", and if the sender domain name is "jp", Reception time is 23:00 every day
From 8:00 to 8:00, and next time you receive an e-mail, S
In each case where the judgment in 4 is required, the judgment in S4 is executed, and the processing is branched depending on the presence or absence of the recording paper.

Similarly, even in the item of "not judge", it is possible to specify by the sender's address, etc., and if the e-mail corresponds to the one described here, the default setting 36 is set. Regardless, S4
Will not execute the judgment in. That is, it is unconditionally determined to be “Yes” and the process proceeds to the next step S5.

Similar settings can be made also in the judgment steps from S5 onward, and it is possible to select whether to execute judgment or skip and move to the next step based on the items set in the table TB, respectively. can do.

When designating the period 40, in addition to the format described above, "01 / May / 223: 00-01 /"
It is also possible to specify various formats such as a range specification 42 by date and time such as "May / 6 8:00" and a day specification 43 such as "Sunday" and "Sstudday".

The setting table TC shown in FIG.
Is an example of a table referred to in the determination steps of S6 and S7. According to the setting table TC, for example, S
In the case of the determination in 6, the default setting 44 is “receive”, so if it does not correspond to the individual setting 45, it is determined to receive within the range of the capability of the own device. Further, in the case of the judgment in S7, the default setting 44
Since "is not received", it is determined not to print out on another recording sheet if the individual setting 45 is not satisfied.

In the individual setting 45, as in the case of the table TB, each item of the sender address, sender domain name, period designation, and communication setting can be set. In the case of an e-mail corresponding to the case where S6,
Alternatively, the judgment is executed in the judgment step of S7.

After requesting the original image data in S12, the receiving side internet facsimile apparatus 1B responds to the request by the transmitting side internet facsimile apparatus 1
An electronic mail attached with the original image data transmitted by A will be received. Next, the operation at the time of receiving this e-mail will be described based on the flowchart shown in FIG.

First, the Internet facsimile machine on the receiving side, which has received the electronic mail (S14), analyzes the contents of the electronic mail, the electronic mail is the electronic mail to be used for the Internet facsimile, and the reception capability exchange mode described above. It is determined whether the mail includes the original image data transmitted at T6 (S1).
5). The determination here is, for example, whether or not the original image data 30 is included when the electronic mail as shown in FIG.
As (Original-Message-Id) 32, it is to judge whether or not the message ID (Message-ID) of the e-mail in the reception capability exchange mode received before the processing here is described.

If it is determined to be no, it is not an electronic mail transmitted at T6 in the reception capacity exchange mode, so other processing is performed (S26). The other process is, for example, a receiving process in another communication mode such as a simple mode, an error process when receiving an electronic mail that cannot be analyzed, and the like.

When it is determined in S15 that the mail is sent in T6 in the reception capacity exchange mode, the original image data attached is then recorded in the recording unit 9 in the same format.
It is determined whether or not there is more print output capability (S1
6). That is, it is determined whether or not the recording unit 9 has the ability to print out with the recording paper size and resolution specified by the format of the original image data.

If it is determined in S16 that the recording sheet has the capability, then it is determined whether the recording sheet storage section 9a of the recording section 9 has a recording sheet of the size specified by the format of the original image data. Then, if the recording sheet is prepared, the recording sheet is fed, and the original image data is printed out with the recording sheet size and resolution specified by the format (S21).

When the recording paper is not prepared in S17, the recording paper size other than the recording paper size specified in the format of the original image data is printed out, and the size of the recording paper to be used is set. Yes (S18).

Next, it is determined whether or not the size of the original image data needs to be changed in order to print out the size set in S18 (S19). This is, for example, when the size set in S18 is smaller than the recording paper size of the original image data and the original image data needs to be reduced.

Next, if it is determined in S19 that the size needs to be changed, the size of the image data is changed, such as by reducing the size of the original image data (S20). The image data is printed out with (S21).

On the other hand, if it is determined in S16 that the original image data cannot be printed out in the same format as it is, the original image data is converted and printed out within the printable range of the device itself. The format of image data is set (S22).

Next, based on the format of the image data set in S22, it is determined whether or not the size of the original image data needs to be changed (S23). If the size of the original image data needs to be changed, the size of the original image data is changed to S22. The size is changed to the format set in (S24).

Next, it is judged whether or not the resolution of the original image data needs to be changed (S24), and if the change is necessary, the resolution of the original image data is changed to the resolution of the format set in S22 (S25). .

Since the original image data has been converted into image data printable by the Internet facsimile machine 1B by the processing of S22 to S25, the image data is printed out (S21).

【The invention's effect】

The Internet facsimile machine according to the first aspect receives an electronic mail including the format information of the original image data and the standard format image data from the transmitting side Internet facsimile machine, and sends the electronic mail describing the receiving capability information of its own apparatus. In the Internet facsimile machine having a function of receiving the original image data from the transmitting side Internet facsimile machine by e-mail after replying, the detecting means for detecting the state of the own machine, and the detecting means of the own machine detected by the detecting means. The image data is received by a receiving method according to the state of the device itself, since it is provided with a determination means for determining whether to request the original image data based on the state. it can.

The internet facsimile machine according to claim 2 is the internet facsimile machine according to claim 1, wherein when the own machine does not have suitable recording paper,
Since it is characterized in that the original image data is not requested, the original image data is not requested and a load is not imposed on the network even though the original cannot be printed out because there is no recording paper. Further, since the communication is useless, efficient communication can be performed without wasting communication time.

According to a third aspect of the present invention, in the internet facsimile apparatus according to the first aspect, the judgment by the judgment means makes a request for original image data when the storage device does not have a required storage capacity. Because it is characterized by not being
It is effective without unnecessary communication as in the previous section.

The Internet facsimile machine according to the fourth aspect receives an electronic mail including the format information of the original image data and the standard format image data from the transmitting side Internet facsimile machine, and sends the electronic mail describing the receiving capability information of its own apparatus. In the internet facsimile machine having a function of receiving the original image data from the transmitting side internet facsimile machine by e-mail after replying, a judging means for judging whether to request the original image data based on the image data. , Setting means for setting the judgment standard of the judgment means,
Since the image data is provided, the image data can be received by an appropriate receiving method according to the image data.

According to a fifth aspect of the present invention, in the internet facsimile apparatus according to the fourth aspect, the criterion by the setting means is based on a difference between standard format image data and high quality image data. Since this is a feature, it is possible to efficiently receive image data without making a request for original image data when there is not much difference between the image data of the two and making unnecessary communication.

[Brief description of drawings]

FIG. 1 is a block diagram showing a specific configuration of an Internet facsimile machine (sender and receiver) according to an embodiment of the present invention.

FIG. 2 is a block diagram showing an example of a network environment in which Internet facsimile apparatuses (sending side and receiving side) according to the exemplary embodiment of the present invention are installed.

FIG. 3 is a sequence diagram showing an electronic mail communication procedure between a transmitting-side Internet facsimile apparatus and a receiving-side Internet facsimile apparatus.

FIG. 4 is a diagram showing a description example of an electronic mail used in the simple mode.

FIG. 5 is a diagram showing a description example of an electronic mail used in the delivery confirmation mode.

FIG. 6 is a diagram showing a description example of an e-mail used in the reception capability exchange mode, which includes a message indicating that original image data is to be transmitted when there is a predetermined request.

FIG. 7 is a diagram showing a description example of an e-mail used in the reception capacity exchange mode, which includes a message requesting original image data and reception capacity information of the own apparatus.

FIG. 8 is a diagram showing a description example of an electronic mail including original image data, which is used in the reception capability exchange mode.

FIG. 9 is a diagram showing a description example of a delivery confirmation mail used in the reception capability exchange mode.

FIG. 10 is a flowchart showing the operation of the (reception side) Internet facsimile machine at the time of receiving an electronic mail in the reception capacity exchange mode.

FIG. 11 is a flowchart showing an operation at the time of receiving an e-mail in the reception capability exchange mode of the (reception side) Internet facsimile machine.

FIG. 12 is a flowchart showing an operation at the time of receiving an e-mail in the reception capability exchange mode of the (reception side) Internet facsimile apparatus.

FIG. 13 is a diagram showing a description example of a table for setting processing determination criteria.

FIG. 14 is a diagram showing a description example of a table for setting each processing operation according to the type of electronic mail.

FIG. 15 is a diagram showing a description example of a table for setting each processing operation according to the type of electronic mail.

FIG. 16 is a sequence diagram showing the operation of the conventional (sending side and receiving side) reception capability exchange type internet facsimile apparatus during image data transmission / reception.

[Explanation of symbols]

1A (Sender) Internet facsimile machine 1B (Reception side) Internet facsimile machine 2 CPU 3 RAM (storage device) 3a Memory remaining amount detection unit 4 ROM 9 Recording section 9a Recording paper storage 22 Standard format image data 22A Original image data 26 Format information of original image data 28 Reception capability information TA criteria table

Claims (5)

[Claims] 1. An Internet facsimile machine on the sending side after receiving an electronic mail containing format information of original image data and standard format image data from the Internet facsimile apparatus on the sending side and returning an electronic mail describing the receiving capability information of the own apparatus. In an internet facsimile apparatus having a function of receiving original image data from an apparatus by e-mail, a detection unit that detects the state of the apparatus itself, and the original image data of the original image data based on the state of the apparatus detected by the detection unit. An internet facsimile apparatus, comprising: a determination unit that determines whether or not to make a request. 2. The Internet facsimile machine according to claim 1, wherein the judgment by the judgment means is that the request for the original image data is not made unless the apparatus itself has a suitable recording paper. Internet fax machine. 3. The Internet facsimile machine according to claim 1, wherein the judgment by the judgment means is that the original image data is not requested if the storage device does not have a required storage capacity. Internet fax machine. 4. An Internet facsimile machine on the sending side after receiving an electronic mail including format information of original image data and standard format image data from the Internet facsimile apparatus on the sending side and returning an electronic mail describing the receiving capability information of the own apparatus. In an internet facsimile apparatus having a function of receiving original image data from a device based on the reception capability information by e-mail, it is determined whether or not to request the original image data based on the format information of the original image data. An Internet facsimile machine, comprising: a determining means for performing the determination and a setting means for setting the determination standard of the determining means. 5. The Internet facsimile machine according to claim 4, wherein the judgment standard by the setting means is based on a difference between standard format image data and original image data.