JP2007060277A - Communication device - Google Patents

Abstract

<P>PROBLEM TO BE SOLVED: To provide a communication device capable of surely storing image information transmitted by facsimile communication or Internet facsimile communication. <P>SOLUTION: The device includes: a step S11 of discriminating whether or not an I/F 16 is connected to a LAN; a step S25 of not executing a faxing reception (S13), a faxing (S19), and a FAX image reception (S20) when the I/F 16 is not connected to the LAN (NO in S11); and a step S18 of transmitting a tiff image corresponding to the FAX image to a file server prior to the transmission of FAX image (S19) when faxing is executed (YES in S14) in the case that the I/F 16 is connected to the LAN (YES in S11) so as to store the tiff image to the file server. <P>COPYRIGHT: (C)2007,JPO&INPIT

Description

  The present invention relates to a communication apparatus for storing transmitted / received image information.

  A conventional communication apparatus such as a facsimile apparatus, an Internet facsimile apparatus, or a computer in which facsimile software is installed transmits and receives image information using a facsimile communication technique or an Internet facsimile communication technique.

In order to manage transmitted / received image information, conventionally, a communication device that generates and transmits an e-mail including the transmitted / received image information as an attached file after transmitting / receiving the image information by facsimile communication to an external device (for example, a file server). It is disclosed (see Patent Document 1).
JP 2002-344688 A

  However, the communication device disclosed in Patent Document 1 transmits and receives image information by facsimile communication even when a trouble (such as disconnection of a communication cable or forgetting to insert a communication cable) occurs in a communication line for communicating with a file server. . For this reason, transmission / reception of image information by facsimile communication may have been completed even if transmission of an email containing the transmitted / received image information as an attached file to the file server has failed due to a communication line problem. It was. As a result, there is a problem that the transmitted and received image information cannot be reliably stored.

  The present invention has been made to solve such a problem, and when not connected to a communication line that communicates with the storage unit, the image information is configured to be prohibited from being transmitted and / or received. It is an object of the present invention to provide a communication device that can prevent transmission and / or reception of image information when it cannot be stored.

  Another object of the present invention is that, when connected to a communication line that communicates with the storage unit, the image information to be transmitted is output to the storage unit before the image information is transmitted. An object of the present invention is to provide a communication device that can transmit after storing.

  Still another object of the present invention is to provide a configuration in which reading of a document to be image information is prohibited when transmission of image information is prohibited when not connected to a communication line communicating with storage means. An object of the present invention is to provide a communication device that can prevent execution of useless processing when information cannot be stored.

  A communication apparatus according to a first aspect of the present invention is a communication apparatus comprising communication means for transmitting and / or receiving image information and output means for outputting image information to an external storage means for storing image information via a communication line. Connection determining means for determining whether or not the communication line is connected, and when the connection determining means determines that the communication line is not connected, the communication means transmits and / or receives image information. It is characterized by being prohibited.

  In the communication device according to the second invention, when the connection determination unit determines that the connection is established, the communication unit transmits the image information to be transmitted to the storage unit before the communication unit transmits the image information. It is made to output.

  A communication apparatus according to a third aspect of the present invention includes a reading unit that reads a document into image information and prohibits reading of the document by the reading unit when the transmission of image information by the communication unit is prohibited. It is characterized by.

  In the first invention, it is determined whether or not it is connected to a communication line, and when it is determined that it is not connected, transmission and / or reception of image information is not executed.

  In the second invention, it is determined whether or not it is connected to the communication line, and if it is determined that it is connected, the image information to be transmitted is output to the storage means before transmitting the image information. Then, after the output of the image information is completed, that is, after the storage of the image information is completed, the image information is transmitted. The storage means stores the image information input to itself.

  In the third invention, it is determined whether or not the communication line is connected. If it is determined that the communication line is not connected, the reading of the document to be the image information is not executed, and the image information Do not send.

  In the case of the communication apparatus according to the first aspect of the invention, for example, when there is no connection to the communication line communicating with the storage means due to a trouble in the communication line, that is, when the transmitted / received image information cannot be stored, the image information is transmitted and / or received. Is prohibited. For this reason, it is possible to prevent failure in storing image information after transmission and / or reception of image information. On the other hand, when connected to a communication line, that is, when transmitted and received image information can be stored, the image information can be transmitted and / or received. As a result, it is possible to reliably store the transmitted and / or received image information.

  In addition, since the storage means is not built in, it is not necessary to incorporate a storage means having a large storage capacity (storage capacity) in order to store a large amount of image information, and the manufacturing cost of the communication device can be reduced. Furthermore, the communication device can be reduced in size.

  In the case of the communication device according to the second aspect of the invention, when connected to a communication line communicating with the storage means, that is, when the transmitted image information can be stored, the image information to be transmitted is sent to the storage means before transmitting the image information. For output, the image information can be stored before transmission. As a result, it is possible to prevent the image information from failing to be stored after the image information is transmitted and to prevent the image information that has not been stored from being transmitted, and the transmitted image information can be more reliably stored.

  In the case of the communication device according to the third aspect of the present invention, when the transmission of the image information is prohibited when the communication line communicating with the storage means is not connected, the reading of the document that should be the image information is prohibited. For this reason, it is possible to prevent execution of useless processing for reading and generating image information that is not transmitted from a document.

  Hereinafter, the present invention will be described in detail with reference to the drawings illustrating embodiments thereof.

  FIG. 1 is a block diagram showing a configuration of MFP 1 as a communication apparatus according to the present invention.

  The MFP 1 is a multi-functional peripheral having a plurality of functions such as a scanner function, a printer function, a copy function, a facsimile (FAX) function, an Internet facsimile (I-FAX) function, and transmits image information. Alternatively, it includes a communication means for receiving and an output means for outputting the image information via a communication line to an external storage means for storing the image information. Hereinafter, the FAX function, I-FAX function, and the like of the MFP 1 will be mainly described.

  The MFP 1 is connected to the LAN 4 through a LAN cable inserted into an insertion port of the I / F (interface) 16 and connected to the telephone line P through an NCU (network control unit) 17. Further, it is connected to the file server 3, personal computers (PCs) 5, 5,...

  A unique FAX number is assigned to each of the MFP 1 and an external FAX device (not shown) connected to the telephone line P. The MFP 1 and the external FAX device are assigned ITU-T Recommendation T.264. It operates according to the procedure of 30 standard communication standards, and is configured to transmit and receive image information for FAX communication (hereinafter referred to as FAX image) according to a predetermined protocol.

  In addition, the MFP 1 and an external I-FAX apparatus (not shown) connected to the Internet N are assigned unique e-mail addresses, respectively. The MFP 1 and the external I-FAX apparatus have a predetermined protocol ( For example, the electronic mail for I-FAX communication is transmitted / received according to SMTP).

  The e-mail for I-FAX communication includes image information for I-FAX communication (hereinafter referred to as I-FAX image), e-mail address of the I-FAX apparatus that is the transmission source, I-FAX image encoding method, and the like. And a header having the following information. Each of the header and the I-FAX image uses text data.

  The MFP 1 includes a CPU 10, a ROM 11, a RAM 12, and an EEPROM 13, and the CPU 10 uses the RAM 12 as a work area, controls various parts of the apparatus according to a control program and data stored in the ROM 11 and data stored in the EEPROM 13, and performs various processes. Execute. Known image conversion software is installed in the ROM 11, and the CPU 10 converts a FAX image into tiff format image information (hereinafter referred to as a “tiff image”) according to the image conversion software.

  The CPU 10 stores the e-mail received via the I / F 16 or the e-mail to be transmitted in the RAM 12. Further, the CPU 10 separates the I-FAX image and the header from the received e-mail, or generates an e-mail to be transmitted including the I-FAX image and the header. Further, the CPU 10 inputs the tiff image or the I-FAX image to the e-mail conversion unit 23 and mutually converts the tiff image and the I-FAX image by a predetermined encoding method (for example, base 64 of MIME).

  The display unit 14 of the MFP 1 uses a liquid crystal panel, and the operation unit 15 includes various function keys (for example, start key) using soft keys provided by the CPU 10 on a touch panel arranged on the hard key and the display unit 14. Key 151). The display unit 14 is controlled by the CPU 10 to display, for example, an operation state of the MFP 1, an input instruction to the user, an image indicating a position of a soft key provided on the operation unit 15, and the user of the MFP 1 displays the display unit 14. Various function keys of the operation unit 15 are operated while watching.

  The reading unit 19 of the MFP 1 optically reads an image of a document set at the image reading position of the reading unit 19 to form a raster image. The MFP 1 further includes an image memory 21 that uses a DRAM and stores a FAX image. Furthermore, the MFP 1 uses a predetermined encoding method, a CODEC (encoder / decoder) 20 that performs conversion into a FAX image by encoding a raster image and conversion into a raster image by decoding the FAX image. An NCU 17 that performs line control of the telephone line P and a modem 18 that transmits and receives a FAX image to and from a FAX apparatus (not shown) via the telephone line P are provided. The recording unit 22 of the MFP 1 includes an electrophotographic printer device and a paper feeding device that supplies paper to the printer device, and forms an image on the recording paper based on the raster image.

  The I / F 16 is configured such that a current flows through the I / F 16 when a LAN cable is inserted into the insertion port of the I / F 16. The CPU 10 determines whether or not the LAN cable is connected, that is, whether or not the LAN 4 is connected, by detecting the current flowing through the I / F 16.

  Each PC 5 communicates with the file server 3 via the LAN 4 to browse and acquire the tiff image stored in the file server 3.

  Hereinafter, the FAX communication will be described, but the transmission / reception processing related to the I-FAX communication is substantially the same.

  FIG. 2 is a flowchart showing a procedure of transmission / reception processing executed by the CPU 10. The CPU 10 determines whether or not the I / F 16 is connected to the LAN 4 (S11). When the I / F 16 is connected to the LAN 4 (YES in S11), the CPU 10 determines whether an incoming call is received from an external FAX apparatus using the FAX number of the MFP 1 itself (S12). If not (NO in S12), FAX transmission is accepted (S13). In S13, specifically, an input via the operation unit 15 such as the FAX number of the FAX image transmission destination and the FAX image resolution is accepted.

  The user of the MFP 1 sets a document on the MFP 1, inputs a FAX number, resolution, and the like using the operation unit 15, and operates the start key 151.

  The CPU 10 determines whether or not the start key 151 has been operated (S14). If the start key 151 is not operated (NO in S14), the CPU 10 returns the process to S11 until the connection between the I / F 16 and the LAN 4 is disconnected (in the case of NO in S11 described later), or an external FAX Until an incoming call is received from the apparatus (in the case of YES in S12 described later), the processes of S11 to S14 are repeated.

  If the start key 151 is operated after the FAX number is input (YES in S14), the CPU 10 reads the original set on the MFP 1 with the reading unit 19 to make a raster image (S15). The data is input to the CODEC 20 and converted into a FAX image (S16), and the converted FAX image is stored in the image memory 21. Next, the CPU 10 converts the FAX image stored in the image memory 21 into a tiff image (S17), and transmits the converted tiff image to the file server 3 via the LAN 4 (S18). As a result of the processing of S18 by the CPU 10, the file server 3 that has received the tiff image stores the received tiff image.

  Finally, the CPU 10 controls the NCU 17 and the modem 18, and transmits the FAX image stored in the image memory 21 by FAX via the telephone line P using the FAX number received in S13 (S19). After completing the process of S19, the CPU 10 returns the process to S11.

  When a call is received from an external FAX device (YES in S12), the CPU 10 controls the NCU 17 and the modem 18 to receive the FAX image transmitted from the FAX image via the telephone line P (S20). The received FAX image is stored in the image memory 21. Next, the CPU 10 inputs the FAX image stored in the image memory 21 to the CODEC 20 to convert it into a raster image (S21), and inputs the converted raster image to the recording unit 22 to input an image based on the raster image. Is formed on a recording sheet and output (S22). Finally, the CPU 10 converts the FAX image stored in the image memory 21 into a tiff image (S23), transmits the converted tiff image to the file server 3 via the LAN 4 (S24), and returns the process to S11. As a result of the processing of S24 by the CPU 10, the file server 3 that has received the tiff image stores the received tiff image.

  When the I / F 16 is not connected to the LAN 4 (NO in S11), the CPU 10 notifies the user of an error (S25). Specifically, the display unit 14 displays text indicating that the MFP 1 is not connected to the LAN 4 and, for this reason, FAX transmission and FAX reception cannot be executed.

  Further, the CPU 10 determines whether or not the I / F 16 is connected to the LAN 4 (S26). When the I / F 16 is connected (YES in S26), the error notification on the display unit 14 is deleted, and the process returns to S11. On the other hand, if not yet connected (NO in S26), the CPU 10 waits while continuing the error notification on the display unit 14 until the I / F 16 is connected to the LAN 4, and does not execute the processing of S12 to S24. For this reason, reading of a document for FAX transmission and storage (accumulation) in the image memory 21 are not executed until the I / F 16 is connected to the LAN 4.

  The file server 3 in the above transmission / reception processing functions as an external storage unit that stores image information. The CPU 10 in S19 and S20 functions as a communication unit that transmits and / or receives image information. The CPU 10 in S18 and S24 functions as an output unit that outputs image information to the storage unit via a communication line. . Further, the CPU 10 in S11 and S26 functions as a connection determination unit that determines whether or not the communication line is connected, and when the connection determination unit determines that the connection is not made (in the case of NO in S11, In the case of NO in S26), the transmission and / or reception of image information by the communication means is prohibited by not executing the processes of S12 to S24.

  If YES in S11, the CPU 10 executes the process of S19 before executing the process of S19, so that the communication means transmits the image information when the connection determining means determines that the connection is established. Prior to this, image information to be transmitted by the communication means is output to the storage means.

  Further, the CPU 10 and the reading unit 19 in S15 function as a reading unit that reads a document and converts it into image information. When the CPU 10 is NO in S11, the CPU 10 and the reading unit 19 do not execute the process of S15, thereby transmitting the image information by the communication unit. When prohibiting the document, reading of the document by the reading means is prohibited.

  The MFP 1 as described above does not execute FAX transmission and FAX reception when not connected to the LAN 4, and when connected to the LAN 4, stores the tiff image in the file server 3 after executing FAX reception. Or the fax image is executed after the tiff image is stored in the file server 3. For this reason, the tiff image corresponding to the transmitted / received FAX image can be reliably stored in the file server 3.

  In addition, since it is not connected to the LAN 4 and does not execute FAX transmission and FAX reception, an error notification is given to the user. As a result, user convenience can be improved. Furthermore, in the above-described case, since the accumulation of the original is not executed, it is possible to prevent the user from performing unnecessary work.

  The user can access the file server 3 using the PC 5, for example, and easily browse, acquire, use, or manage the tiff images stored in the file server 3.

  Note that the file server 3 may store only one of the tiff image related to FAX transmission and the tiff image related to FAX reception. The MFP 1 may be configured to be connected to the LAN 4 wirelessly instead of wired. Further, the tiff image stored in the file server 3 may be stored after being compressed.

  Further, it is determined whether or not to save the tiff image in the file server 3 using the destination information of the transmission destination that transmits the FAX image or the transmission source that has transmitted the FAX image. It may be configured to perform FAX transmission / FAX reception even when is disconnected. Furthermore, two sets of NUC and modem are provided corresponding to the first line connected to the external FAX apparatus and the second line connected to the file server, and the first line is connected to the FAX apparatus. The FAX image may be transmitted and received, and on the second line, the FAX image may be transmitted to the file server, and the transmitted FAX image may be stored in the file server.

1 is a block diagram showing a configuration of an MFP as a communication apparatus according to the present invention. 6 is a flowchart showing a procedure of transmission / reception processing executed by the CPU of the MFP according to the present invention.

Explanation of symbols

1 MFP (communication device)
10 CPU
11 ROM
12 RAM
13 EEPROM
16 I / F
19 Reading unit (reading means)
3 File server (storage means)
4 LAN (communication line)

Claims (3)

A communication means for transmitting and / or receiving image information;
Output means for outputting image information via a communication line to an external storage means for storing image information, comprising:
Connection determination means for determining whether or not the communication line is connected;
A communication apparatus characterized in that, when the connection determination means determines that the connection is not established, transmission and / or reception of image information by the communication means is prohibited.   When the connection determination unit determines that the connection is established, the communication unit outputs image information to be transmitted to the storage unit before the communication unit transmits image information. The communication device according to claim 1. A reading means for reading a document and converting it into image information;
3. The communication apparatus according to claim 1, wherein when the transmission of the image information by the communication unit is prohibited, the reading of the document by the reading unit is prohibited.

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