JP2006140840A - Communication terminal device, communications system, program and recording medium - Google Patents

Abstract

<P>PROBLEM TO BE SOLVED: To provide a communication terminal device by which the labor of registering information on destination can be omitted, without requiring special devices, paper or the like. <P>SOLUTION: The communication terminal device searches a network which is connected to it. When communication terminal devices which are candidates of registration are detected, it registers the device name of the destination as the name of destination and its network address as the address in a destination information storing means (telephone directory), as in the case of phone numbers in facsimile communication, e-mail addresses and the like. The destination information in the destination information storing means can be edited at registration or after registration. <P>COPYRIGHT: (C)2006,JPO&NCIPI

Description

  The present invention relates to a communication terminal device, a communication system, a program, and a recording medium. Specifically, the present invention relates to a registration method of destination information when transferring data, and is applied to a facsimile or scanner device having a telephone directory function. Is preferred.

In recent years, the performance of communication terminal devices has been remarkably improved, and a plurality of functions such as facsimile, e-mail, and network scanner have been installed as image transfer methods.
In order to transfer an image with the communication terminal device, a user ID is input, and the image is transferred to an external device corresponding to the input user ID. As a result, the user can acquire the transferred image in the external device (see, for example, Patent Document 1).

  In order to specify the transmission destination, the user must input one of the destination facsimile telephone number, electronic mail address, and user ID. In order to simplify this, there is a telephone directory function in which a telephone number, an e-mail address, and a user ID as destinations are registered in advance. At the time of transfer, by displaying a list of phone books and selecting a destination from the list, it is possible to easily specify and transfer the destination.

  However, when there are multiple destinations, it is very inefficient for the user to register them one by one in the phone book by key entry, and there is a high possibility of causing a registration mistake due to erroneous input. .

  In order to solve this problem, the technique of Patent Document 2 uses a manuscript as a mark sheet, and reads the contents of a destination name entry field, a telephone number entry field, and a deletion field using a character recognition function based on the sheet reference position. Register in the phone book. Thereby, the registration work to the telephone directory can be performed efficiently and accurately.

In the technique disclosed in Patent Document 3, in a facsimile apparatus connected via a communication line, the receiving side sends a polling signal to the transmitting side, and acquires and registers information such as a telephone directory on the transmitting side. Thereby, if information is registered in one main terminal, it can be automatically registered in other terminals as necessary, and the operational burden on the operator can be greatly reduced.
JP 2003-51913 A JP-A-8-251375 Japanese Patent Laid-Open No. 10-98604

However, in the technique of Patent Document 2 described above, the original must be a special sheet and must have a character recognition function.
Moreover, in the technique of Patent Document 3, there is no change in registering one by one in the telephone directory of one terminal.

  The present invention has been made in consideration of the above-described circumstances, and does not require a special device or paper, and can save labor for registering destination information, a communication terminal device, a communication system, a program, and An object is to provide a recording medium.

  The communication system of the present invention connects communication terminal devices via a network, selects destination information (device name and network address) between the devices from the destination information storage means, and transfers the data. The above problem has been solved by obtaining destination information of a communication terminal device capable of data communication.

First, a request for returning the destination information of the own device is transmitted to a communication terminal device connected to the device via a network, whether the communication terminal device can transfer data or if possible.
This request is executed at the time of power-on, periodically, one or a combination of two or more times specified by the user, or a user instruction. The execution time can be set and changed at any time by the user.

  The communication terminal device that has received the request determines whether the device itself can transfer data, and returns the destination information of the device itself if possible.

The requested communication terminal device registers the returned destination information in the destination information storage means.
Here, when registering, if it is set as automatic registration, only different destination information is registered in the destination information storage means.
If it is set as manual registration, different destination information is displayed to inquire whether to register with the user. Here, the user can edit the displayed destination information.
Only destination information for which a registration instruction has been issued by the user is registered in the destination information storage means.

  In addition, the present invention can also solve the above problems by a communication terminal device having the above-described configuration or a program for realizing the functions of the communication system or a computer-readable recording medium storing the program.

  According to the present invention, it is possible to save the trouble of registering destination information and to omit the input of an identifier indicating a transfer method. As a result, operations on the communication terminal device side can be reduced, so that at the initial stage, the user only needs to be aware of the settings of his / her device, and the destination information can be registered without being aware of the image transfer method at the time of use. Is possible.

  Hereinafter, preferred embodiments of a communication system and a communication terminal device according to the present invention will be described with reference to the drawings.

  FIG. 1 is a block diagram illustrating a configuration of a communication system according to the present embodiment. In the figure, the communication system connects an arbitrary number of communication terminal apparatuses 10 via a network 30. When the communication terminal device 10 has a facsimile function, the communication terminal device 10 is connected via the public network 40.

  The communication terminal device 10 includes an information processing device, a facsimile device, a printer device, a scanner device, a copying device, a facsimile function, a scanner function, and the like capable of transmitting and receiving information by data transfer such as facsimile, electronic mail or file exchange. Although it can be applied to any multi-function machine having a plurality of functions such as a printer function and a copying function, in this embodiment, a facsimile apparatus that can be connected to a network is mainly used, and this apparatus is connected to the network through the network. The device to be used may be any of the above devices (for example, an information processing device).

The network 30 is a transmission path for connecting all the communication terminal apparatuses 10 connected to the communication system, and is generally realized by a cable. The communication protocol is TCP / IP (Transmission Control Protocol / Internet Protocol). ) And SMTP / POP (Simple Mail Transfer Protocol / Post Office Protocol). However, the transmission path is not limited to a cable, and may be wireless or wired as long as the communication protocol between them is the same. For example, LAN (Local Area Network), WAN (Wide Area Network) Internet can be used.
The public line network 40 is a transmission path for connecting a device having a facsimile function among the communication terminal devices 10 existing in the present system and performing facsimile communication.

FIG. 2 is a block diagram showing a configuration when the communication terminal apparatus 10 is a facsimile. In the figure, a communication terminal device 10 includes a control unit 11, a ROM 12, a RAM 13, a scanner unit 14, a plotter unit 15, an operation display unit 16, an encoding / decoding unit 17, a storage device 18, a clock unit 19, a modem 20, and a network. The I / F unit 21 is configured.
The control unit 11, ROM 12, RAM 13, scanner unit 14, plotter unit 15, operation display unit 16, encoding / decoding unit 17, storage device 18, clock unit 19, modem 20, network I / F unit 21 Data is exchanged via the internal bus 22 connected to the bus 22.

The control unit 11 controls the entire communication terminal device 10 and operates each unit to realize various functions of the device.
The ROM 12 stores a control program executed by the control unit 11 and various kinds of information unique to the own device.
The RAM 13 constitutes a work area for storing a control processing program executed by the control unit 11 and various information necessary for executing the control processing program.
The scanner unit 14 reads an image of a document with a predetermined resolution and stores the encoded image data in the storage device 18.
The plotter unit 15 records and outputs the received image data with a predetermined resolution.

The operation display unit 16 operates the communication terminal device 10 and includes an operation panel including various operation keys and a display unit that displays various information.
In operation of the operation panel, the operation of the own apparatus is determined, various information settings and registration authorization selection and editing are operated. In addition, the display unit displays a display or selection screen such as an operation state of the own device, setting information, and explanation to the user.

The encoding / decoding unit 17 encodes and compresses the image data (MH, MR, MMR), and decodes the encoded and compressed image data into the original image data.
The storage device 18 accumulates image data that has been encoded and compressed by the encoding / decoding unit 17 and is necessary for executing the functions of the destination information storage means for storing the destination of the transfer data and the own device. Stores various parameters.
The clock unit 19 outputs the current time information, and the control unit 11 causes the program at a regular or designated time to be executed based on this time.

  The modem 20 is a G3 facsimile modem having a low-speed modem function for exchanging signals of a facsimile transmission control procedure and a high-speed modem function for mainly exchanging image information. It is connected to the device and used mainly for image transfer of the facsimile function.

  The network I / F unit 21 connects the communication terminal device 10 to the network 30 using a protocol such as TCP / IP or SMTP / POP, and transmits / receives data between itself and another device.

FIG. 3 is a block diagram showing a functional configuration of the new destination registration process of the communication terminal apparatus 10 according to the present embodiment. In the figure, the new destination registration function in the communication terminal apparatus 10 includes a control unit 23 and a setting unit 24. , A setting information storage unit 25, a new destination registration unit 26, and a destination information storage unit 27.
The control unit 23 delivers the operation and input information designated by the user on the operation panel of the operation display unit 16 to the setting unit 24 and the new destination registration unit 26, or processes the clock interrupt at the time set by the setting unit 24. Then, the new destination registration means 26 is executed.

  When the setting unit 24 is called from the control unit 23 when the user is instructed to execute the new destination detection setting on the operation panel, the setting unit 24 displays a new destination detection time setting screen (for example, FIG. 4) on the operation display unit 16. Display on the display.

In FIG. 4, there are two types of setting parts: (1) when a new destination is found, whether it is automatically registered or registered after a person determines, and (2) when to search for a new destination Divided into
(1) is selected from either “automatic registration” or “manual registration”. “Automatic registration” automatically registers in the destination information storage means 27 when a new destination is found. “Manual registration” displays once when a new destination is found and selects whether registration or editing is possible. It is what you do. If not specified, it is assumed that “automatic registration” is selected.

  In (2), one or more of “periodic”, “time designation”, and “at power-on” can be selected. “Periodic” designates a predetermined time or an interval of several minutes to 1 hour based on the designated time (for example, 22:00 to 5 minutes, 15 minutes, 30 minutes, 1 hour interval, etc.) ) And search for a new destination at the specified time interval. “Time designation” designates a time (a plurality of times) to start searching for a new destination. “When power is turned on” specifies that a search for a new destination is started when the communication terminal apparatus 10 is turned on. If not specified, it is assumed to operate “at power-on”, a preset time, and “periodically at preset time intervals”.

When the user presses a registration button on the screen, the setting unit 24 stores the above two types of settings in the setting information storage unit 25.
The default values (1) and (2) are stored in advance in the setting information storage means 25 before the communication terminal device is installed.

The destination information storage means 27 stores the destination information of the communication terminal apparatus 10 connected to the network 30 and the public line network 40, and holds at least the following data items (for example, see FIG. 5).
Address: An address representing the destination of a communication terminal connected to the network 30 or the public line network 40, and is expressed by a network address, a telephone number for facsimile communication, and an e-mail address.
Destination: The destination name of the above address, the name of the communication terminal device 10, and can be changed by an editing instruction.
Identification: Shows the distinction between transfer methods when data is transferred using the above address. Here, “Facsimile communication” for transferring data by facsimile communication, “E-mail” for transferring data by e-mail, and network scanner. There is a distinction such as “scan” for transferring data to the information processing apparatus. This identification is automatically determined according to the type of communication terminal detected as a new destination, and is registered in the destination information storage means 27.
Here, the address does not permit duplication, but the destination may overlap.

The control means 23 compares the current time of the clock unit 19 with the time stored in the setting information storage means 25 (periodically executed time, power-on time or time designated by the user), and If so, the new destination registration means 26 is called and executed.
Further, when the user instructs execution of the new destination registration function from the operation panel, the control unit 23 calls and executes the new destination registration unit 26.

  The called new destination registration means 26 first determines whether each communication terminal device connected to the network 30 is a device capable of transferring data, and if possible, sends a packet requesting destination information of its own device to the broadcast address. Send to. This broadcast address is a special address used for transmitting data to all communication terminal apparatuses 10 connected to the network 30.

  The communication terminal device 10 connected to the network 30 is set to receive a broadcast packet, and determines whether or not the own device can transfer data according to the received destination information request packet. (Network address, device name, etc.) are returned as a packet.

  The new destination registration means 26 waits for a reply packet from the communication terminal device 10 until a predetermined time after broadcast transmission. If a reply packet is received within this time, the destination information (network address, device name, etc.) of the device returned from the received packet is acquired.

The new destination registration unit 26 compares the data item (address) in the destination information storage unit 27 with the network address of the acquired destination information, and ignores the destination information of the communication terminal device 10 if the same address exists ( Do not register).
However, when the same address does not exist, if the registration method stored in the setting information storage means 25 is “automatic registration”, the network address in the received destination information is the address, the device name is the destination, and this device The transfer method determined from the type is set for each data item for identification, and is additionally registered in the destination information storage means 27. Here, when the registration is completed, a completion message may be displayed on the display unit.

If the registration method stored in the setting information storage means 25 is “manual registration”, a new destination detection screen is displayed on the display unit of the operation display unit 16 (see, for example, FIG. 6).
In FIG. 6, the network address and the name of the device are displayed in the destination information. Here, when the edit button is pressed, the user can edit the destination name. When the registration button is pressed, the detected destination information or the edited destination information is registered in the destination information storage unit 27. Here, when the registration is completed, a completion message may be displayed on the display unit.
The cancel button instructs not to register the detected destination information of the communication terminal device.

The new destination registration means 26 performs the above-described destination information registration process on the received packet within a predetermined time until no reply packet is received from the communication terminal device 10, and ends the registration process when no packet is received. To do.
The new destination registration means 26 performs destination information registration processing every time a reply packet is received. However, after receiving all reply packets, the received destination information is collectively registered. May be.

  When the communication terminal device 10 has a facsimile function, the received protocol and image data are analyzed, and the destination address of the transmission source (the telephone number of the facsimile device), the name and the transfer method (facsimile communication), etc. May be extracted and registered in the destination information storage means 27.

  If the communication terminal device 10 can receive an e-mail, the received e-mail is analyzed, and the e-mail address of the reply destination, the name of the other party, the transfer method (e-mail), etc. are extracted, and the destination information You may make it register to the memory | storage means 27. FIG.

  Further, the destination name and the like stored in the destination information storage means 27 can be edited at any time after the end of the registration process. The contents of the edit can be changed, deleted, copied, as well as facsimile communication or electronic You can add information such as e-mail or other registered information.

With the above configuration, it is possible to save the user from registering the destination information of the transfer destination and to omit the input of the identifier indicating the transfer method.
As a result, the operation on the communication terminal device side can be reduced, so that the user need only be aware of the setting of the device on the own side at the initial stage.
Furthermore, since the e-mail address, the telephone number for facsimile communication, the network address, etc. can be registered simultaneously as the destination information, it is possible to register without being conscious of the image transfer method.

FIG. 7 is a flowchart showing a processing procedure of new destination registration processing of the communication terminal device 10 according to the present embodiment.
First, when the communication terminal apparatus 10 is turned on, or periodically or when the new destination registration means 26 is activated by a user operation, the communication terminal apparatus 10 serving as a destination registration candidate capable of image transfer in the network 30 is displayed. On the other hand, a packet requesting the destination information of each device is transmitted to the broadcast address (step S10).

When there is a reply packet from the communication terminal device 10 (YES in step S11), the device destination information (network address, device name, etc.) is obtained from the received packet, and the data item (address) in the destination information storage means 27 is obtained. And the network address of the acquired destination information are compared (step S12).
If the address of the received device exists (YES in step S12), the process returns to step S11 in order to process the next reply packet ignoring the destination information of the communication terminal device 10.

On the other hand, when the same address does not exist (NO in step S12), the registration method stored in the setting information storage means 25 is checked, and if it is “automatic registration” (“automatic” in step S13), the received destination information Go to step S16.
If the registration method is “manual registration” (“manual” in step S13), a new destination detection screen is displayed on the display unit of the operation display unit 16 (see, for example, FIG. 6), and the user presses the edit button. If so, the destination name is edited (step S14).

When the user presses the registration button (YES in step S15), the detected network address is set as the address, the name of the detected or edited device is set as the destination, and the transfer method determined from the type of the device is set in each data item for identification. Then, it is additionally registered in the destination information storage means 27 (step S16), and the process returns to step S11 to process the next reply packet. Here, when the registration is completed, a completion message may be displayed on the display unit.
If the user presses the cancel button (NO in step S15), the process returns to step S11 to process the next reply packet without registering the detected destination information of the communication terminal device.

  If no reply packet is received from communication terminal device 10 (NO in step S11), the destination information registration process is terminated. Here, the above-described processing may be performed only for a packet returned within a predetermined time after sending a request for destination information.

The present invention programs each function constituting the new destination registration process of the communication terminal device of the above-described embodiment, writes it in advance in a recording medium such as a ROM, and attaches this ROM to the communication terminal device, It goes without saying that the object of the present invention is achieved by executing these programs on a microprocessor.
In this case, the state read and executed from the recording medium realizes the functions of the above-described embodiment, and the program and the recording medium on which the program is recorded also constitute the present invention.

Note that programs that realize such functions include semiconductor media (for example, ROM, nonvolatile memory, etc.), optical media (for example, DVD, MO, MD, CD, etc.), magnetic media (for example, magnetic tape, flexible disk, etc.). Etc.) may be provided in any form of recording medium.
Alternatively, the program stored in the storage device may be directly supplied from the server computer via a communication network such as a network. In this case, the storage device of this server computer is also included in the recording medium of the present invention.

  When the program is recorded on the recording medium as described above, the recording medium is mounted on the medium driving device, the recorded program is installed in the storage device, and the installed program is executed by the microprocessor. Thus, the program itself read from the recording medium realizes the functions of the above-described embodiment, and the program and the recording medium storing the program also constitute the present invention.

  Further, not only the functions of the above-described embodiment are realized by executing the program, but also the processing of the above-described embodiment is performed by jointly processing with the operating system or other application programs based on the instruction of the program. This includes cases where functions are realized.

  Note that the present invention is not limited to the above-described embodiment, and various modifications and corrections can be made without departing from the scope of the present invention.

It is a block diagram which shows the structure of the communication system of embodiment which concerns on this invention. It is a block diagram which shows the structural example of the communication terminal device used for the communication system which concerns on this invention. It is a block diagram which shows the function structure of the new destination registration of the communication terminal device which concerns on this invention. It is an example of a screen when setting an address search time and an operation when a new address is detected. It is an example of a data structure of a destination information storage means. It is an example of a notification and registration confirmation screen when a new destination is detected. It is a flowchart which shows the process sequence of the new destination registration of the communication terminal device which concerns on this invention.

Explanation of symbols

DESCRIPTION OF SYMBOLS 10 ... Communication terminal device, 11 ... Control part, 12 ... ROM, 13 ... RAM, 14 ... Scanner part, 15 ... Plotter part, 16 ... Operation display part, 17 ... Coding / decoding part, 18 ... Memory | storage device, 19 ... Clock unit, 20 ... modem, 21 ... network I / F unit, 22 ... internal bus, 23 ... control means, 24 ... setting means, 25 ... setting information storage means, 26 ... new destination registration means, 27 ... destination information storage means , 30 ... network, 40 ... public line network.

Claims (12)

  Destination information storage means capable of registering a plurality of destination information of communication destinations, search means for searching communication terminal apparatuses capable of transferring data on the network, and destination information of communication terminal apparatuses detected by the search means A communication terminal apparatus comprising registration means for registering with the means.   2. The communication terminal device according to claim 1, wherein the destination information is a device name and a network address, and the registration unit registers the device name as a destination name and the network address of the device as a destination address in the destination information storage unit. A communication terminal device.   3. The communication terminal apparatus according to claim 1, wherein the registration unit can edit a destination name before registration.   The communication terminal device according to claim 1, 2, or 3, further comprising setting means for setting whether to register the destination information of the registration means manually or automatically, so that the user can arbitrarily make this selection. A communication terminal device.   5. The communication terminal device according to claim 1, further comprising search time setting means for setting a start time of the search means so that the user can arbitrarily perform this setting. Communication terminal device.   6. The communication terminal apparatus according to claim 5, wherein the search time is composed of one or a combination of two or more times specified by a user periodically when power is turned on.   5. The communication terminal device according to claim 1, wherein the search means can be executed by a user instruction.   8. The communication terminal apparatus according to claim 1, further comprising an editing unit that edits destination information in the destination information storage unit.   An address reading unit that reads an image; a destination information storage unit that can register a plurality of destination information of communication destinations; and a destination selection unit that displays the contents of the destination information storage unit to select a destination. In a communication terminal apparatus for transferring an image read by the reading means to a destination selected from a storage means, a search means for searching for a communication terminal apparatus capable of transferring data on a network, and a destination of the communication terminal apparatus detected by the search means A communication terminal apparatus comprising registration means for registering information in the destination information storage means. In a communication system in which a plurality of communication terminal devices are connected via a network, the communication terminal device on the transmission side includes a destination information storage unit capable of registering a plurality of destination information of communication destinations and a communication terminal device capable of transferring data on the network Search means for inquiring the destination information of the device, and registration means for registering the destination information of the communication terminal apparatus returned by the search means in the destination information storage means,
The communication terminal device on the receiving side includes a reply means for returning the destination information of the own device if the own device can transfer data in response to an inquiry from the communication terminal device on the transmitting side. .   The program for making a computer implement | achieve the function of the communication terminal device in any one of Claims 1 thru | or 9, or the function of the communication system of Claim 10.   The computer-readable recording medium which records the program of Claim 11.

Images