JP2008141489A - E-mail transmitter - Google Patents

Abstract

<P>PROBLEM TO BE SOLVED: To provide a technology capable of suitably maintaining connection with a mail server. <P>SOLUTION: A multifunction printer 2 for reading out a document by a scanner apparatus 11 and transmitting the image data of the read document to a mail server 4 through an e-mail comprises a communication processing part 14c to be connected to the mail server 4 and a read control part 14a for allowing the scanner apparatus 11 to start the reading processing of the document after connection to the mail server 4. The communication processing part 14a transmits a NOOP command (dummy command) to the mail server 4 so that the connection is not cut out by the mail server 4 due to time-out until the end of reading processing of the document, and after the end of reading processing of the document, transmits the image data of the document to the mail server 4. In the configuration, connection with the mail server 4 can be suitably maintained. <P>COPYRIGHT: (C)2008,JPO&INPIT

Description

  The present invention relates to an e-mail transmission device that reads an original with an image scanner and transmits image data of the read original by e-mail.

  2. Description of the Related Art Conventionally, there is known a network facsimile apparatus that reads an original with an image scanner and transmits image data of the read original as an e-mail. In such a network facsimile apparatus, the original to be transmitted is read by an image scanner, and then connected to a mail server, and the destination e-mail address and the image data of the original are transmitted to the mail server. An e-mail was sent to the address.

  In such a network facsimile apparatus, for example, when the destination e-mail address is wrong, when the mail server is connected, an error is notified from the mail server, and the e-mail cannot be transmitted. Become. For this reason, the user cannot grasp for a long time that the destination e-mail address is wrong, and if the e-mail address is corrected to a proper e-mail address and retransmitted, a longer time may be required. There is.

  On the other hand, by connecting to a mail server before reading an original and not being able to send an e-mail to a destination e-mail address, the user is prevented from reading the original at an early stage. A network facsimile apparatus that can cope with this is known (for example, Patent Document 1).

JP 2000-324293 A

  Here, if the mail server does not communicate with the connected device within a predetermined timeout period, the mail server is disconnected from the device.

  For example, the network facsimile apparatus disclosed in Patent Document 1 is connected to a mail server, and thereafter starts reading a document. When reading an original, for example, there is a possibility that the original is jammed. In such a case, data exchange with the mail server is not performed over a long period of time, and thus a predetermined timeout time elapses, and the connection between the network facsimile apparatus and the mail server is disconnected. There is a possibility that the e-mail will not be transmitted. In this case, it is necessary to make settings for sending an e-mail again, which is troublesome for the user.

  The present invention has been made in view of the above problems, and an object thereof is to provide a technique capable of appropriately maintaining a connection with a mail server.

  To achieve the above object, an e-mail transmission apparatus according to an embodiment of the present invention is an e-mail transmission apparatus that reads an original by an image scanner and transmits image data of the read original to an e-mail server by e-mail. Between the connection means for connecting to the mail server, the reading control means for causing the image scanner to start reading the document after the connection to the mail server, and the mail server so that the connection is not disconnected due to a timeout between the reading processing of the documents. In addition, connection management means for transmitting a predetermined command to the mail server, and transmission means for transmitting image data of the document read by the document reading process to the mail server.

  According to such an e-mail transmission apparatus, a predetermined command is transmitted to the mail server so that the connection is not disconnected by the mail server during the document reading process, so that the connection is disconnected by the mail server due to the timeout. Can be prevented appropriately. For this reason, even when the document reading process takes longer than the server timeout time, the mail server can deliver the electronic mail without any trouble.

  In the electronic mail transmitting apparatus, the connection management unit may transmit a predetermined command every first time shorter than a time-out time in the mail server. According to such an electronic mail transmitting apparatus, since a predetermined command is transmitted every first time shorter than the time-out time in the mail server, it is possible to reliably prevent a time-out from occurring in connection with the mail server.

  In the electronic mail transmitting apparatus, the connection management means stops the command transmission and disconnects from the mail server when a predetermined condition is satisfied when the document reading process is not completed. You may make it do. According to such an e-mail transmission apparatus, when the document reading process is not completed and the predetermined condition is satisfied, the connection with the mail server can be disconnected, so that the reading process cannot be continued, for example. For example, it is possible to appropriately prevent the connection with the mail server from being wasted.

  In the electronic mail transmitting apparatus, the connection managing means stops the command transmission when a predetermined second time shorter than the timeout time elapses after starting the document reading process, and The connection may be disconnected. According to such an electronic mail transmission device, when it is considered that some problem has occurred in the reading process, the connection with the mail server can be appropriately disconnected.

  The electronic mail transmitting apparatus further includes a detection unit that detects an error state of the scanner in the document reading process, and the connection management unit is configured to detect whether the error state is detected by the detection unit even if a third time has elapsed. If the error state is not resolved, the command transmission may be stopped and the connection with the mail server may be disconnected.

  According to such an electronic mail transmitting device, when it takes a long time to eliminate an error state in the reading process, the connection with the mail server can be appropriately disconnected.

  In the electronic mail transmitting apparatus, the command is a command for confirming a connection with the mail server, and further includes a receiving unit that receives a response from the mail server to the command, and the reading control unit includes the receiving unit. If the command response cannot be received, the reading process may be stopped. According to such an electronic mail transmitting apparatus, when it is detected that the mail server is not connected, the reading process can be appropriately stopped.

  In order to achieve the above object, an e-mail transmission method according to an embodiment of the present invention is an e-mail transmission apparatus that reads an original by an image scanner and transmits image data of the read original to an e-mail server. An e-mail transmission method, in which a connection unit of an e-mail transmission apparatus connects to a mail server, and a reading control unit of the e-mail transmission apparatus reads a document into an image scanner after connection to the mail server. And a connection management step in which the connection management means of the e-mail transmitting apparatus transmits a predetermined command to the mail server so that the connection is not disconnected due to a time-out by the mail server during the document reading process. Read by the reading means of the document by the transmission means of the e-mail transmission device. And a transmission step of transmitting the image data of the manuscript to the mail server.

  According to such an e-mail transmission method, since a predetermined command is transmitted to the mail server so that the connection is not disconnected by the time-out by the mail server during the document reading process, the connection is disconnected by the time-out by the mail server. Can be prevented appropriately. For this reason, even when the document reading process takes longer than the server timeout time, the mail server can deliver the electronic mail without any trouble.

  Embodiments of the present invention will be described with reference to the drawings. The embodiments described below do not limit the invention according to the claims, and all the combinations of features described in the embodiments are not necessarily essential to the solution means of the invention. Absent.

  First, a network system including a multifunction peripheral, which is an example of an electronic mail transmission apparatus according to an embodiment of the present invention, will be described.

  FIG. 1 is a configuration diagram of a network system according to an embodiment of the present invention.

  The network system 1 includes a multifunction machine 2 as an example of an electronic mail transmission device and a mail server 4. The multifunction device 2 and the mail server 4 are connected so as to be able to perform data communication via a network 3 such as a LAN (Local Area Network) or the Internet. In the present embodiment, it is assumed that a plurality of other mail servers, a plurality of PCs (Personal Computers), a multifunction peripheral, and the like are connected to the network 3.

  The mail server 4 has a function of executing processing by SMTP (Simple Mail Transform Protocol). In the present embodiment, the mail server 4 is a mail server in charge of transferring an electronic mail transmitted from the multifunction device 2. In the mail server 4, for example, when a next command is not received within a predetermined time (timeout time) after an SMTP command is transmitted, the connection is disconnected due to a time-out. The timeout time is, for example, 5 minutes.

  The multifunction machine 2 includes a control unit 10, a scanner device 11, and a printer device 12. The scanner device 11 reads a document such as paper or an OHP sheet placed on a document feed tray (not shown) and generates digital image data. The printer device 12 forms an image on an image forming medium such as paper, an OHP sheet, cardboard, or an envelope.

  The control unit 10 accepts various instructions from the user to the scanner device 11 and the printer device 12, and outputs various information to the user. The control unit 10 performs overall control of the scanner device 11 and the printer device 12. Specifically, the control unit 10 causes the scanner device 11 to perform a reading operation. Further, the control unit 10 causes the printer device 12 to execute an image forming operation. Further, the control unit 10 controls the scanner device 11 and the printer device 12 to execute a so-called copy function for forming the content of the document on a predetermined image forming medium. That is, the control unit 10 causes the scanner device 11 to read a document to generate digital image data, and transmits the digital image data to the printer device 12 to form it on an image forming medium. In addition, the control unit 10 executes processing for transmitting image data of a document read by the scanner device 11 by e-mail.

  Next, a more detailed configuration of the control unit 10 will be described.

  In the control unit 10, a CPU (Central Processing Unit) 14, a ROM (Read Only Memory) 15, a RAM (Random Access Memory) 16, an EEPROM (Electrically Erasable Programmable Read-Only Memory) 17, and an input interface unit (input) An I / F unit) 18, a display processing unit 19, and communication interface units (communication I / F units) 20, 21, and 22 are connected via a bus 23.

  The ROM 15 stores a program such as a boot program. The RAM 16 is used as an area for storing programs and data, or as a work area for storing data used for processing by the CPU 14. The EEPROM 17 is a rewritable nonvolatile memory, and stores various kinds of information that need to be stored even when the multifunction device 2 is not powered on. In the present embodiment, for example, an e-mail address that is a transmission source when an e-mail is transmitted from the multifunction device 2, a server name of the mail server 4 that is in charge of e-mail transfer, and the like are stored.

  A key unit 24 and a touch panel 25 are connected to the input I / F unit 18. The input I / F 18 outputs signals from the key unit 24 and the touch panel 25 to the CPU 14 as data. The key unit 24 includes a start button, a stop button, a numeric keypad, and the like provided on the casing of the control unit 10, and outputs a signal corresponding to the pressed button and key to the input I / F unit 18. The touch panel 25 is provided so as to be superimposed on a liquid crystal display device (LCD) 26 described later, and outputs a signal corresponding to the position on the touch panel 25 pressed by the user to the input I / F unit 18. The display processing unit 19 includes, for example, a VRAM (Video Random Access Memory), generates various image data under the control of the CPU 14, and displays and outputs it on the LCD 26.

  The communication I / F unit 20 mediates data exchange between the CPU 14 and the scanner device 11. The communication I / F unit 21 mediates data exchange between the CPU 14 and the printer device 12. The communication I / F unit 22 is connectable to the network 3 and mediates data exchange with other devices via the network 3. In the present embodiment, the communication I / F unit 22 mediates data exchange with the mail server 4, for example.

  CPU14 controls operation | movement of each part 15-22,11,12. In addition, the CPU 14 reads out the program stored in the ROM 15 to the RAM 16 and executes it, whereby the reading control unit 14a as an example of the reading control unit, the reception processing unit 14b, the connection unit, the connection management unit, and the transmission unit. As an example, the communication processing unit 14c, the data processing unit 14d, and the image formation control unit 14e are configured to execute various processes.

  The reading control unit 14 a controls the scanner device 11 to execute reading of a document, receives image data of the document, and stores it in the RAM 16. In the present embodiment, the reading control unit 14a causes the original to be read from a predetermined time after the connection with the mail server 4 is completed, for example, from the time when preparation for transmitting a DATA command to the mail server 4 is completed. I have to.

  The reception processing unit 14 b receives various instructions from user operations on the key unit 24 and the touch panel 25. In the present embodiment, the reception processing unit 14b receives an e-mail address that is an e-mail destination, an instruction to start sending e-mail, and the like.

  The communication processing unit 14 c controls data transmission / reception with the outside via the communication I / F unit 22. In the present embodiment, the communication processing unit 14c performs communication with the mail server 4 according to SMTP. For example, the communication processing unit 14 c transmits the e-mail destination mail address to the mail server 4. In addition, the communication processing unit 14 c transmits image data in MIME (Multipurpose Internet Mail Extensions) format stored in the RAM 16 to the mail server 4.

  Further, the communication processing unit 14 c transmits a predetermined command to the mail server 4 so that the connection with the mail server 4 is not disconnected due to a timeout during the document reading process by the scanner device 11. In the present embodiment, the communication processing unit 14 c transmits a NOOP command (dummy command) to the mail server 4. Further, in the present embodiment, the communication processing unit 14c transmits a NOOP command when a predetermined fixed time (first time) has elapsed since the previous command was transmitted. Here, the predetermined fixed time is shorter than the time-out time at which the connection is disconnected by the mail server 4. Specifically, for example, when the timeout time in connection with the mail server 4 is 5 minutes, the fixed time may be, for example, 4 minutes.

  The data processing unit 14d converts the image data read from the scanner device 11 and stored in the RAM 16 into image data in a predetermined format such as TIFF-F format or JPEG format. In addition, the data processing unit 14 d encodes TIFF-F format or JPEG format image data stored in the RAM 16 into MIME format image data and stores the encoded image data in the RAM 16.

  The image formation control unit 14e controls the printer device 12 to form an image on the image forming medium.

The scanner device 11 includes a communication I / F unit 30, a control unit 31, and a scanner unit 32. The communication I / F unit 30 mediates data exchange between the control unit 31 and the control unit 10.
The control unit 31 includes, for example, a CPU, and controls the scanner unit 32 according to the control of the reading control unit 14 a to read the original, and reads the read image data via the communication I / F unit 30. To the control unit 10. The scanner unit 32 includes, for example, a CCD (Charge Coupled Device) line sensor, conveys a document placed on a document feed tray (not shown) to a document table (not shown), irradiates the document with light, and The image data corresponding to the reflected light from is output to the control unit 31.

  The printer device 12 includes a communication I / F unit 33, a control unit 34, and an image forming unit 35. The communication I / F unit 33 mediates data exchange between the control unit 34 and the control unit 10. The control unit 34 controls the image forming unit 35 under the control of the image forming control unit 14e to form an image on the image forming medium. The image forming unit 35 forms an image on the image forming medium.

  Next, processing executed by the multifunction machine 2 according to an embodiment of the present invention will be described.

  FIG. 2 is a flowchart of the e-mail transmission process of the multifunction machine according to the embodiment of the present invention. In this embodiment, it is assumed that a document including an image to be transmitted is set on the document feed tray of the scanner device 11 before the start of the e-mail transmission process.

  First, it is determined whether or not the reception processing unit 14b has received a destination e-mail address by a user input operation on the key unit 24 or the touch panel 25 (step S1). The e-mail address is stored in the RAM 16 (step S2). If not received, nothing is done.

  Next, it is determined whether or not the reception processing unit 14b is instructed to start transmission of an email by a user input operation on the key unit 24 or the touch panel 25 (step S3), and it is determined that there is no instruction to start transmission of the email. If so, the steps from step S1 are executed again. Thereby, when there are a plurality of destination e-mail addresses, a plurality of destination e-mail addresses are accepted and stored in the RAM 16.

  On the other hand, if there is a transmission start instruction (YES in step S3), a pre-scan server connection process shown in FIG. 3 for connecting to the mail server 4 before scanning is executed (step S4).

  When the pre-scan server connection process is completed, the communication processing unit 14c starts executing the dummy command transmission process shown in FIG. 5 (step S5), and the reading control unit 14a causes the scanner device 11 to start reading the document. The image data of the original read from the scanner device 11 is received and stored in the RAM 16 (step S6). Next, the data processing unit 14d converts the image data of the document stored in the RAM 16 into a predetermined format, for example, image data in a predetermined format such as the TIFF-F format and stores the image data in the RAM 16 (step S7). Here, when there are a plurality of documents, the scanner device 11 is caused to read the plurality of documents, and all the image data from the documents is converted into image data of a predetermined format.

  Thereafter, the communication processing unit 14c ends the dummy command transmission process (step S8) and executes the data transmission process shown in FIG. 4 (step S9).

  FIG. 3 is a flowchart of the pre-scan server connection process of the multifunction peripheral according to the embodiment of the present invention.

  In the pre-scan server connection process, the communication processing unit 14c transmits a connection request to the mail server 4 in charge of transferring the e-mail from the MFP 2 and connects to the mail server 4 (step S11). ). As a result, the mail server 4 and the multifunction device 2 are connected.

  Next, the communication processing unit 14c transmits an EHLO command to the mail server 4 (step S12), and receives a response to the EHLO command from the mail server 4 (step S13). The communication processing unit 14c determines whether or not the SMTP authentication method is included in the EHLO command (step S14), and if included, transmits the authentication information necessary for the corresponding authentication method (step S15). On the other hand, if the SMTP authentication method is not included, nothing is done.

  Next, the communication processing unit 14 c transmits a MAIL command including the electronic mail address of the user of the MFP 2 as the transmission source stored in the EEPROM 17 to the mail server 4 (Step S 16), and the electronic data stored in the RAM 16. An RCPT command including the e-mail address of the mail destination is transmitted to the mail server 4 (step S17), and the process returns to the e-mail transmission process shown in FIG. Here, when a plurality of destination email addresses are stored in the RAM 16, the communication processing unit 14c transmits a plurality of RCPT commands including the respective email addresses to the mail server 4, respectively.

  FIG. 4 is a flowchart of the data transmission process of the multifunction machine according to the embodiment of the present invention.

  In the data transmission process, the data processing unit 14d encodes image data in a predetermined format such as TIFF-F format stored in the RAM 16 into MIME format image data that can be transmitted by e-mail and stores the data in the RAM 16 ( Step S21).

  Next, the communication processing unit 14c transmits a DATA command to the mail server 4 (step S22), transmits data of the header portion of the e-mail to the mail server 4 (step S23), and MIME-format image data stored in the RAM 16 Is transmitted to the mail server 4 (step S24).

  Next, after transmitting all the image data, the communication processing unit 14c transmits a QUIT command (step S25), and disconnects communication with the mail server 4 (step S26). As a result, the mail server 4 transmits an email including the image data transmitted from the multifunction device 2 to the destination email address received from the multifunction device 2.

  FIG. 5 is a flowchart of the dummy command transmission process of the multifunction machine according to the embodiment of the present invention.

  In the dummy command transmission process, the communication processing unit 14c determines whether or not a predetermined period of time has elapsed since the command was first transmitted to the mail server 14 (step S31). No operation is performed because the connection is not cut off by the mail server 4. On the other hand, if a predetermined time has elapsed, a NOOP command is transmitted so that the connection is not cut off by the mail server 4 (step S 32). ). Upon receiving this NOOP command, the mail server 4 resets the measurement time for determining whether or not the timeout time has elapsed, and starts re-measurement. As a result, the mail server 4 and the multifunction device 2 are not disconnected due to a timeout, so that the connection is further maintained.

  Next, the communication processing unit 14c determines whether or not a time-out time (second time) set on the multifunction device 2 side has elapsed since the scan processing was started (step S33). Here, the time-out time on the MFP 2 side is longer than the time-out time of the mail server 4. In the present embodiment, this time-out time is longer than the time required for the scan process when a simple error occurs in the scan process and the user resolves the error and continues reading the document. It is a long time, for example, 20 minutes.

  As a result, when the time-out time on the multifunction device 2 side has not elapsed, the steps from step S31 are executed again. On the other hand, when the time-out time has elapsed, for example, an error has occurred for a long time in the scanning process. The communication processing unit 14c transmits a QUIT command to the mail server 4 (step S34) and disconnects from the mail server 4 (step S35). Thereby, it is possible to appropriately prevent the connection with the mail server 4 from being maintained for a considerably long time longer than necessary.

  Since this dummy command transmission process is executed until the scan is executed (step S6) and the image data conversion (step S7) is completed, the connection is disconnected due to the timeout of the mail server 4 during the scan. Can be prevented. For this reason, the connection with the mail server 4 can be maintained for a time longer than the time-out time of the mail server 4. For example, even when an error of document jam occurs in the scanner device 11 during scanning, the error is resolved. Even when the document reading is continued, the electronic mail can be appropriately transmitted. Further, in the case where an error occurs in the scanner device 11 and the error is not resolved for an unnecessarily long time, the connection with the mail server 4 can be appropriately disconnected.

  Although the present invention has been described based on the embodiments, the present invention is not limited to the above-described embodiments, and can be applied to various other modes.

  For example, in the above embodiment, the NOOP command is transmitted at regular intervals. However, the present invention is not limited to this, and may not be transmitted at regular intervals. What is necessary is just to transmit a command, and what is necessary is just to transmit a command so that the connection with the mail server 4 may be maintained. Further, the command to be transmitted is not limited to the NOOP command, and may be any other command as long as it is a command that can maintain the connection with the mail server 4. It may be a command that does not require any change.

  In the above embodiment, the communication processing unit 14c receives a mail server response to the NOOP command, and when the NOOP command response cannot be received, the reading control unit 14a stops the reading process. Good. In this way, when the connection with the mail server 4 is no longer maintained, the reading process can be appropriately terminated, and the subsequent processes can be resumed quickly.

  In the above embodiment, the connection with the mail server 4 is disconnected when the second time elapses from the scan start time. However, the present invention is not limited to this, for example, a composite In the machine 2, an error state at the time of reading a document by the scanner device 11 is detected, and when a predetermined time (third time) elapses without the error state by the scanner device 11 being resolved, The connection may be disconnected. In this way, even if a long time has passed, if it is operating normally, the connection with the mail server 4 can be properly maintained, and an electronic mail can be transmitted appropriately. Alternatively, the connection with the mail server may be disconnected when the second time has elapsed, and the connection with the mail server may also be disconnected when the third time has elapsed without the error state being resolved. The third time may be a time longer than the timeout time and shorter than the second time, for example. In this way, if an error occurs, the connection can be disconnected even before the second time has elapsed, and the connection with the mail server can be prevented from being uselessly maintained. .

1 is a configuration diagram of a network system according to an embodiment of the present invention. 6 is a flowchart of an e-mail transmission process of the multifunction machine according to the embodiment of the present invention. 6 is a flowchart of pre-scan server connection processing of the multifunction peripheral according to the embodiment of the present invention. 6 is a flowchart of data transmission processing of the multifunction peripheral according to the embodiment of the present invention. 6 is a flowchart of dummy command transmission processing of the multifunction peripheral according to the embodiment of the present invention.

Explanation of symbols

  1 network system, 2 multifunction machine, 3 network, 4 mail server, 10 control unit, 11 scanner device, 12 printer device, 14 CPU, 14a reading control unit, 14b reception processing unit, 14c communication processing unit, 14d data processing unit, 14e Image formation control unit, 15 ROM, 16 RAM, 17 EEPROM, 18 input I / F unit, 19 display processing unit, 20, 21, 22 communication I / F unit, 23 bus, 24 key unit, 25 touch panel, 26 LCD .

Claims (7)

An e-mail transmission device that reads a document by an image scanner and transmits image data of the read document to a mail server by e-mail,
Connection means for connecting to the mail server;
A reading control means for causing the image scanner to start reading the document after connecting to the mail server;
A connection management means for transmitting a predetermined command to the mail server so that the mail server does not disconnect the connection due to a timeout during the document reading process;
An e-mail transmission apparatus comprising: a transmission unit configured to transmit image data of the original read by the original reading process to the mail server.   2. The electronic mail transmitting apparatus according to claim 1, wherein the connection management means transmits the predetermined command every first time shorter than a time-out time in the mail server.   The connection management means stops the transmission of the command and disconnects the connection with the mail server when a predetermined condition is satisfied when the document reading process is not completed. The electronic mail transmitting device according to claim 1 or 2.   The connection management means stops transmission of the command and disconnects from the mail server when a predetermined second time longer than the timeout time has elapsed after starting the document reading process. The electronic mail transmitting apparatus according to claim 3. Detecting means for detecting an error state of the scanner in the document reading process;
The connection management means stops sending the command and establishes a connection with the mail server when the error condition is not resolved even after a third time has elapsed since the detection means detected the error condition. The electronic mail transmission device according to claim 3 or 4, wherein the electronic mail transmission device is cut. The command is a command for confirming the connection with the mail server,
Receiving means for receiving a response from the mail server to the command;
6. The e-mail according to claim 1, wherein the reading control unit stops the reading process when a response to the command cannot be received by the receiving unit. Transmitter device. An e-mail transmission method by an e-mail transmission device that reads an original by an image scanner and transmits image data of the read original to an e-mail server,
A connection step in which the connection means of the e-mail transmission device connects to the mail server;
A reading start step in which the reading control means of the electronic mail transmitting apparatus starts the reading process of the document by the image scanner after connection with the mail server;
A connection management step of sending a predetermined command to the mail server, so that the connection management means of the electronic mail transmitting device does not disconnect the connection due to a time-out by the mail server during the document reading process; An electronic mail transmission method comprising: a transmission step in which a transmission unit of the transmission device transmits image data of the original read by the original reading process to the mail server.

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