JP2007116231A - Fax transmission system and fax transmission method - Google Patents

Abstract

<P>PROBLEM TO BE SOLVED: To provide a FAX transmission system and a FAX transmission method capable of surely reducing the communication cost for FAX transmission. <P>SOLUTION: A management server in the FAX transmission system references a charge table to select an image forming apparatus whose FAX transmission communication charge is lowest to an apparatus with a transmission destination telephone number, a sender image forming apparatus transfers image data of an original image read by the sender image forming apparatus to the selected image forming apparatus via a network, the selected transfer destination image forming apparatus receives the transmission destination telephone number and the image data transmitted from the sender image forming apparatus, and faxes the image data to the apparatus with the transmission destination telephone number. <P>COPYRIGHT: (C)2007,JPO&INPIT

Description

  The present invention relates to a FAX transmission system and a FAX transmission method capable of reducing communication charges.

Recent image forming apparatuses have a FAX transmission / reception function using a printing and copying function in addition to a function of performing printing and copying, and can transmit and receive a FAX. However, since FAX transmission needs to be connected to a telephone line for transmission, there is a problem that a large telephone charge is required for long-distance communication.
In order to solve such problems, by searching for the FAX server closest to the destination telephone number during FAX transmission, sending an e-mail, and then sending the FAX over a telephone line, the network can be used efficiently and the communication cost can be reduced. A facsimile communication system capable of reducing the above is known (for example, see Patent Document 1).
Japanese Patent Laid-Open No. 08-186598

  However, since the facsimile communication system disclosed in Patent Document 1 searches for a device closest to the destination telephone number, there is a problem that the communication cost is not necessarily reduced.

  The present invention has been made in view of such circumstances, and an object of the present invention is to provide a FAX transmission system and a FAX transmission method capable of reliably reducing the communication cost of FAX transmission.

  The present invention provides apparatus data storage means for storing apparatus identification information for identifying a plurality of image forming apparatuses connected to a network and a network address of the image forming apparatus, and a plurality of images connected to the network. An image of a charge table storage means in which a communication fee per unit time for each area code at the time of transmission from each of the forming devices is stored in association with the device identification information, and a transfer destination inquiry including a destination telephone number When received from the forming apparatus, the charge table storage means is referred to obtain the apparatus identification information with the lowest communication charge when sending a fax to the destination telephone number, and the apparatus identification information The network address of the image forming apparatus possessed is read from the device data storage means, and the network address is inquired of the transfer destination. A management server having a charge comparison unit that responds to the image forming apparatus that transmitted the message, an input unit that inputs a destination telephone number, and an image reading unit that reads a document image to be faxed and acquires image data A transfer destination inquiry means for transmitting a transfer destination inquiry including the input destination telephone number to the management server, and acquiring a network address of the transfer destination image forming apparatus from the management server; Transfer means for transmitting the input destination telephone number and the image data to the network address; receiving the destination telephone number and the image data transferred from another image forming apparatus; And an image forming apparatus provided with a FAX transmission means for FAX transmission of the image data to the destination telephone number.

  According to the present invention, the management server charges the communication fee when the transmission is performed by the FAX transmission unit and the communication fee when the transmission is performed to the image forming apparatus that has read the image. And charging processing means for further comprising.

  According to the present invention, the charge comparison unit acquires apparatus identification information of a transfer destination apparatus that has the lowest communication charge from among operating apparatuses among the image forming apparatuses connected to the network. It is characterized by.

  The present invention provides apparatus data storage means for storing apparatus identification information for identifying a plurality of image forming apparatuses connected to a network and a network address of the image forming apparatus, and a plurality of images connected to the network. A management server provided with a charge table storage means for storing a communication fee per unit time for each area code when calling from each forming device in association with the device identification information, and inputting a destination telephone number A FAX transmission method in a FAX transmission system, comprising: an input unit configured to input a plurality of image forming apparatuses provided with an image reading unit configured to read a document image to be FAX-transmitted and acquire image data; When the transfer destination inquiry including the destination telephone number is received from the image forming apparatus, the charge table storage means is Accordingly, the apparatus identification information that obtains the lowest communication charge when faxed to the destination telephone number is acquired, and the network address of the image forming apparatus having the apparatus identification information is obtained from the device data storage means. A charge comparison step of reading out and responding to the image forming apparatus that has transmitted the inquiry about the network address to the network address, and a transfer destination in which the image forming apparatus of the transmission source includes a transmission destination telephone number input from the input unit To the management server, obtain a network address of the transfer destination image forming apparatus from the management server, and input the destination telephone number and the image data for the obtained network address. To the transfer destination image forming apparatus, and the transfer destination image forming apparatus is another image forming apparatus. Receiving a et transferred the destination telephone number and the image data, and having a FAX transmitting step of FAX transmitting the image data to the destination telephone number.

  According to the present invention, based on the destination telephone number, the image forming apparatus with the lowest communication charge is selected, the image read at the transmission source is transferred to the selected image forming apparatus, and the transferred image is faxed. Since transmission is performed, an effect that the communication cost of FAX transmission can be surely reduced is obtained.

  Hereinafter, a FAX transmission system according to an embodiment of the present invention will be described with reference to the drawings. FIG. 1 is a block diagram showing the configuration of the embodiment. In this figure, reference numeral 1 denotes a management server that manages information necessary for FAX transmission. Reference numerals 2 to 6 are image forming apparatuses that are installed in the company's Hokkaido branch office, head office (Osaka), Tokyo branch office, Kyushu branch office, and Tohoku branch office, and have at least a FAX transmission function. Reference numeral 7 denotes a public line. Although the public line 7 is illustrated as being connected only to the image forming apparatus 2, the public line 7 is connected to all the image forming apparatuses 2 to 6, and is faxed by the FAX transmission function of each of the image forming apparatuses 2 to 6. Transmission is possible. Reference numeral 8 denotes a FAX apparatus connected to the public line 7, and is illustrated here as a transmission destination FAX apparatus. Reference numeral 9 denotes an information communication between the apparatuses by connecting the image forming apparatuses 2 to 6 and the management server 1 installed in the Hokkaido branch office, the head office (Osaka), the Tokyo branch office, the Kyushu branch office, and the Tohoku branch office. It is an intranet that performs.

  Reference numeral 11 denotes a communication unit that performs information communication with the image forming apparatuses 2 to 6 through the intranet 9. Reference numeral 12 denotes an operation monitoring unit that monitors the operation status of devices connected to the intranet 9 (in the example of FIG. 1, five image forming apparatuses 2 to 6). Reference numeral 13 denotes a device data storage unit that stores data collected by the operation monitoring unit 12 and related to the operation status of devices connected to the intranet 9. Reference numeral 14 indicates a charge comparison for selecting one image forming apparatus by comparing the image forming apparatus from which the communication charge is reduced when performing FAX transmission to the FAX apparatus 8 of the transmission destination. Part. Reference numeral 15 denotes a fee table storage unit that stores a fee table in which a communication fee per unit time for each area code is predefined for each device (image forming apparatus) connected to the intranet 9. Reference numeral 16 denotes a billing data storage unit that stores billing data corresponding to the use record of FAX transmission. Reference numeral 17 denotes a billing data storage unit that stores billing data.

  The image forming apparatus 2, the image forming apparatus 3, and the image forming apparatuses 4 to 6 have exactly the same configuration, but are illustrated with different reference numerals for the sake of simplicity. Here, the detailed configuration of the image forming apparatus 2 will be described, and the detailed configuration of the image forming apparatus 3 and the image forming apparatuses 4 to 6 will be omitted. Reference numeral 20 denotes a control unit that performs overall control of processing operations of the image forming apparatus 2. Reference numeral 21 denotes an input unit including a numeric keypad, function keys, a touch panel, and the like. Reference numeral 22 denotes a display unit composed of a liquid crystal display device or the like. Reference numeral 23 denotes an image reading unit that reads an image of a document placed on a document table and outputs digital image data. Reference numeral 24 denotes an image memory that temporarily stores image data output from the image reading unit 23, received image data, image data obtained by expanding print data to be printed, and the like. Reference numeral 25 denotes a FAX transmission / reception that transmits image data stored in the image memory 24 via the public line 7 during FAX transmission, and stores image data received via the public line 7 during FAX reception into the image memory 24. Part. Reference numeral 26 denotes a printing unit that transfers an image to a print medium based on image data stored in the image memory 24. Reference numeral 27 denotes a communication unit that performs information communication with devices (management server 1 and image forming apparatuses 3 to 6) connected to the infrastructure network 9. Reference numeral 28 denotes a transfer unit that transfers image data read by the image reading unit 23 and stored in the image memory 24 to another image forming apparatus (here, any one of the image forming apparatuses 3 to 6). Reference numeral 29 denotes a result processing unit that transmits data on the use results of FAX transmission to the management server 1.

  Next, the table structure of the charge table storage unit 15 shown in FIG. 1 will be described with reference to FIG. FIG. 3 is a diagram showing a table structure of the charge table storage unit 15 shown in FIG. In the charge table storage unit 15, the communication charge per unit time for each area code for each device identification number (the last one digit is the same as the code) of the image forming apparatus connected to the intranet 9. Predefined and stored in association with each device identification number. In FIG. 3, A1 to A5, B1 to B5, C1 to C5, and D1 to D5 are values of communication charges per unit time (for example, 1 minute) when FAX transmission is performed from each image forming apparatus. ).

  Next, the table structure of the device data storage unit 13 shown in FIG. 1 will be described with reference to FIG. FIG. 3 is a diagram showing a table structure of the device data storage unit 13 shown in FIG. In the device data storage unit 13, for each device identification number of the image forming apparatus connected to the intranet 9, an operation flag indicating whether or not the device is operating and a network address on the intranet 9 are associated with each other. It is remembered. When the operation flag is “1”, it indicates that the target image forming apparatus is operating, and when it is “0”, it indicates that it is stopped.

  Next, the table structure of the accounting data storage unit 17 shown in FIG. 1 will be described with reference to FIG. FIG. 3 is a diagram showing a table structure of the billing data storage unit 17 shown in FIG. The billing data storage unit 17 stores the total value of the communication fee for each device identification number of the image forming apparatus connected to the intranet 9 based on the usage record within a predetermined period. The total value of the communication charges is calculated by multiplying the communication charge per unit obtained by multiplying the communication charge per unit time stored in the charge table storage unit 15 by the communication time, within the predetermined period. It is a value obtained by adding only.

  Next, the operation of the FAX transmission system shown in FIG. 1 will be described with reference to FIG. FIG. 2 is a sequence diagram showing an operation of the FAX transmission system shown in FIG. In the following description, a case where FAX transmission is performed from the image forming apparatus 3 installed at the head office in Osaka to the FAX apparatus 8 in Hokkaido will be described as an example.

  First, when the administrator of the image forming apparatus 3 installed in the head office turns on the power of the image forming apparatus 3 (step S1), the communication unit 37 communicates with the management server 1 via the intranet 9 itself. The activation notification information including the device identification number (in this case, MFP3) is transmitted (step S2). The activation notification information is received by the communication unit 11 of the management server 1 and transferred to the operation monitoring unit 12. In response to this, the operation monitoring unit 12 sets the operation flag related to the device identification information included in the received activation notification information and stored in the device data storage unit 13 to “1”. Data is updated (step S3). Similarly, when the administrator of the image forming apparatus 2 installed in the Hokkaido branch office turns on the power of the image forming apparatus 2 (step S4), the communication unit 27 communicates with the management server 1 via the intranet 9. Then, the activation notification information including its own device identification number (here, MFP2) is transmitted (step S5). The activation notification information is received by the communication unit 11 of the management server 1 and transferred to the operation monitoring unit 12. In response to this, the operation monitoring unit 12 sets the operation flag related to the device identification information included in the received activation notification information and stored in the device data storage unit 13 to “1”. Data is updated (step S6).

  On the other hand, when the switch for turning off the power is operated, before the power is turned off, the communication unit 37 or the communication unit 27 notifies the management server 1 via the intranet 9 of the stop notification including its own device identification number. Send information. In response to this, the operation monitoring unit 12 updates the operation data by resetting the operation flag associated with the device identification information included in the received stop notification information to “0”. With this operation, the operation flag is updated every time the operation state of the device changes.

  Next, a person who wants to send a fax sets the document to be sent to the automatic document feeder of the image forming apparatus 3, dials the telephone number of the destination fax machine from the input unit 31, and presses the start key. . When the control unit 30 detects that the start key is pressed in the input unit 31, the control unit 30 reads the destination telephone number dialed in the input unit 31 and stores it inside (step S7). Then, the control unit 30 instructs the image reading unit 33 to start an image reading operation. In response to this, the image reading section 33 sends the original set on the automatic document feeder to the original table one by one, reads each image, and stores it in the image memory 34 (step S8). At this time, the control unit 30 adds image data of information (transmission source telephone number, transmission source company name, etc.) indicating the transmission source to each page of the image data stored in the image memory 34. As a result, the image memory 34 stores the image data immediately before FAX transmission.

  Next, the control unit 30 sends information on the destination telephone number to the transfer unit 38 and instructs an inquiry as to whether or not image data should be transferred. In response to this, the transfer unit 38 transmits a transfer destination inquiry including the transmission destination telephone number and its own device identification number (here, MFP3) to the management server 1 (step S9). This inquiry is received by the charge comparison unit 14 via the communication unit 11. When the charge comparison unit 14 receives the transfer destination inquiry, the charge comparison unit 14 compares the destination telephone number included in the inquiry with the area code stored in the charge table storage unit 15 to identify the matching area code. Then, the fee comparison unit 14 refers to the device data storage unit 13 and reads the device identification number of the device whose operation flag is “1”.

  Next, the charge comparison unit 14 compares the communication charges excluding the communication charges associated with the currently stopped apparatus identification number from the communication charges stored in association with the specified area code. The transfer destination is selected by specifying the device identification number having the smallest communication charge value (step S10). For example, in the example illustrated in FIG. 3, when the specified area code is “011”, the communication charges associated with this area code are “A1, A2, A3, A4, A5”. In the example shown in FIG. 4, since the device with the device identification number “MFP4” is stopped, the smallest value among “A1, A2, A4, A5” excluding the communication charge “A3” of “MFP4”. Ask for. If “A1” is the smallest value, the device identification number of the transfer destination device is “MFP2”.

  Next, the fee comparison unit 14 reads the network address associated with the specified device identification number (MFP 2) from the device data storage unit 13. In the example illustrated in FIG. 4, “xxx.xxx.xxx.xxx” associated with “MFP2” is read as the network address of the transfer destination. Then, the fee comparison unit 14 transmits a transfer destination notification including the read network address as a response to the transfer destination inquiry to the device (in this case, the image forming apparatus 3) that has transmitted the transfer destination inquiry ( Step S11).

  This transfer destination notification is received by the transfer unit 38 via the communication unit 37. If the network address included in the received transfer destination notification matches the network address of its own, the transfer unit 38 notifies the control unit 30 that the transfer is unnecessary, assuming that the transfer is unnecessary. . In response to this, the control unit 30 outputs a FAX transmission instruction including the transmission destination telephone number held therein to the FAX transmission / reception unit 35. Upon receiving this instruction, the FAX transmitting / receiving unit 35 reads the image data to be transmitted stored in the image memory 34, and transmits the read image data by FAX based on the destination telephone number. The FAX transmission / reception unit 25 measures the FAX transmission time, and outputs the transmission time, the destination telephone number, and its own device identification number to the performance processing unit 29 when the FAX transmission ends. In response to this, the result processing unit 29 transmits a transmission result notification including the transmission time, the destination telephone number, and the device identification number to the management server 1 via the communication unit 27.

  On the other hand, if the network address included in the received transfer destination notification does not match the own network address, the transfer unit 38 reads the image data stored in the image memory 34 and transmits the read image data to the read image data. The transfer data to which the information on the destination telephone number and its own device identification number are added is generated, and the transfer data is transmitted to the network address included in the transfer destination notification, thereby transferring the read image to be faxed ( Step S12).

  The transfer data is received by the communication unit 27 of the image forming apparatus 2. The communication unit 27 stores the received transfer data in the image memory 24 and notifies the transfer unit 28 that the transfer data has been received. In response to this, the transfer unit 28 extracts the destination telephone number information and the transmission source device identification number from the transfer data stored in the image memory 24, and extracts the extracted transmission destination telephone number information and the transmission source telephone number. The apparatus identification number is output to the control unit 20, and a FAX transmission request is made. In response to this, the control unit 20 outputs to the FAX transmitting / receiving unit 35 a FAX proxy transmission instruction including the transmission destination telephone number requested for FAX transmission and the source device identification number. Upon receiving this proxy transmission instruction, the FAX transmitting / receiving unit 35 reads the image data to be transmitted stored in the image memory 34, and transmits the read image data via the public line 7 based on the destination telephone number. FAX transmission is performed to the device 8 (step S13).

  The FAX transmission / reception unit 25 measures the FAX transmission time, and when the FAX transmission is completed, the transmission processing unit 25 records the transmission time, the transmission destination telephone number and the device identification number of the transmission source. To 29. Receiving this, the performance processing unit 29 transmits a transmission result notification including the transmission time, the destination telephone number, and the device identification number to the management server 1 via the communication unit 27 (step S14).

  The transmission result notification is received by the charging processing unit 16 via the communication unit 11 of the management server 1. The billing processing unit 16 reads the communication fee per unit time specified by the destination telephone number and the device identification number included in the transmission result notification from the fee table storage unit 15, and the communication fee per unit time and the transmission result The communication fee is calculated from the communication time included in the notification. Then, the billing processing unit 16 updates the billing data by writing the calculated communication fee in the billing data storage unit 17 (step S15). At this time, the communication fee is written by adding the newly calculated communication fee to the value of the communication fee already stored in the billing data storage unit 17. As a result, the total value of communication charges for each device identification number is stored in the billing data storage unit 17.

  In this way, referring to the charge table, the image forming apparatus with the lowest communication charge for FAX transmission to the destination telephone number is selected, and this image forming apparatus is read by the image forming apparatus of the transmission source. The image data of the original image is transferred via the network, and the transfer destination image forming apparatus receives the transmission destination telephone number and the image data transmitted from the transmission source image forming apparatus, and transmits the image data to the transmission destination. Since the FAX transmission is performed for the telephone number, the communication cost of the FAX transmission can be surely reduced.

  Note that the network to which the management server 1 and the image forming apparatuses 2 to 6 are connected is not necessarily an intranet, and may be the Internet.

  A program for realizing the function of the processing unit in FIG. 1 is recorded on a computer-readable recording medium, and the program recorded on the recording medium is read into a computer system and executed to execute a FAX transmission process. You may go. The “computer system” here includes an OS and hardware such as peripheral devices. The “computer system” includes a WWW system provided with a homepage providing environment (or display environment). The “computer-readable recording medium” refers to a storage device such as a flexible medium, a magneto-optical disk, a portable medium such as a ROM and a CD-ROM, and a hard disk incorporated in a computer system. Further, the “computer-readable recording medium” refers to a volatile memory (RAM) in a computer system that becomes a server or a client when a program is transmitted via a network such as the Internet or a communication line such as a telephone line. In addition, those holding programs for a certain period of time are also included.

  The program may be transmitted from a computer system storing the program in a storage device or the like to another computer system via a transmission medium or by a transmission wave in the transmission medium. Here, the “transmission medium” for transmitting the program refers to a medium having a function of transmitting information, such as a network (communication network) such as the Internet or a communication line (communication line) such as a telephone line. The program may be for realizing a part of the functions described above. Furthermore, what can implement | achieve the function mentioned above in combination with the program already recorded on the computer system, and what is called a difference file (difference program) may be sufficient.

It is a block diagram which shows the structure of one Embodiment of this invention. It is a sequence diagram which shows operation | movement of each apparatus shown in FIG. It is explanatory drawing which shows the table structure of the charge table memory | storage part 15 shown in FIG. It is explanatory drawing which shows the table structure of the apparatus data storage part 13 shown in FIG. It is explanatory drawing which shows the table structure of the accounting data storage part 17 shown in FIG.

Explanation of symbols

DESCRIPTION OF SYMBOLS 1 ... Management server, 11 ... Communication part, 12 ... Operation monitoring part, 13 ... Equipment data storage part, 14 ... Charge comparison part, 15 ... Charge table storage part, 16. ..Billing processing unit, 17 ... Billing data storage unit, 2, 3, 4, 5, 6 ... Image forming apparatus, 20, 30 ... Control unit, 21, 31 ... Input unit, 22 32, display unit, 23, 33 ... image reading unit, 24, 34 ... image memory, 25, 35 ... FAX transmission / reception unit, 26, 36 ... printing unit, 27, 37 ..Communication unit, 28, 38 ... Forwarding unit, 29, 39 ... Performance processing unit, 7 ... Public line, 8 ... FAX machine, 9 ... Intranet (intra-company network)

Claims (4)

Device identification information for identifying a plurality of image forming apparatuses connected to a network and a device data storage means in which the network addresses of the image forming apparatuses are associated and stored;
A charge table storage means for storing a communication charge per unit time for each area code when calling from each of a plurality of image forming apparatuses connected to the network in association with the apparatus identification information;
When an inquiry about the transfer destination including the destination telephone number is received from the image forming apparatus, the communication fee for the FAX transmission to the destination telephone number is the lowest with reference to the charge table storage means Charge comparison that obtains device identification information, reads the network address of the image forming apparatus having the device identification information from the device data storage unit, and responds to the image forming apparatus that transmitted the inquiry about the transfer destination of the network address A management server comprising means,
An input means for inputting a destination telephone number;
Image reading means for reading a document image to be faxed and acquiring image data;
A transfer destination inquiry means for transmitting a transfer destination inquiry including the input destination telephone number to the management server, and acquiring a network address of the transfer destination image forming apparatus from the management server;
Transfer means for transmitting the input destination telephone number and the image data to the acquired network address;
An image forming apparatus comprising: a FAX transmitting unit that receives the destination telephone number and the image data transferred from another image forming apparatus and transmits the image data by FAX to the destination telephone number; ,
A FAX transmission system comprising: The management server
Means for obtaining a communication fee when transmission is performed by the FAX transmission means;
2. The FAX transmission system according to claim 1, further comprising billing processing means for billing the communication fee at the time of transmission to an image forming apparatus that has read an image.   The charge comparison unit is configured to acquire device identification information of a transfer destination device having the lowest communication charge from among the operating devices among the image forming devices connected to the network. The FAX transmission system according to claim 1 or 2. Device identification information for identifying a plurality of image forming apparatuses connected to the network, device data storage means in which the network addresses of the image forming apparatuses are stored in association with each other, and each of the plurality of image forming apparatuses connected to the network A management server comprising a fee table storage means for storing a communication fee per unit time for each area code when calling from the device identification information,
A FAX transmission method in a FAX transmission system comprising an input unit for inputting a destination telephone number and a plurality of image forming apparatuses provided with an image reading unit for reading a document image to be FAX-transmitted and acquiring image data. ,
When the management server receives an inquiry about the transfer destination including the destination telephone number from the image forming apparatus, a communication fee for sending a fax to the destination telephone number with reference to the charge table storage means Is obtained from the device data storage means, the network address of the image forming apparatus having the apparatus identification information is read from the device data storage means, and the network address is transmitted to the image forming apparatus that has transmitted the inquiry about the transfer destination. A price comparison step to respond,
The image forming apparatus of the transmission source sends an inquiry about the transfer destination including the transmission destination telephone number input from the input unit to the management server, and acquires the network address of the image forming apparatus of the transfer destination from the management server. A transfer step of transmitting the input destination telephone number and the image data to the transfer destination image forming apparatus with respect to the acquired network address;
A FAX transmission step in which a transfer destination image forming apparatus receives the transmission destination telephone number and the image data transferred from another image forming apparatus, and transmits the image data to the transmission destination telephone number by FAX. A FAX transmission method characterized by comprising:

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