JP3622681B2 - Internet facsimile machine - Google Patents

Description

[0001]
BACKGROUND OF THE INVENTION
The present invention relates to an Internet facsimile apparatus that can communicate with a facsimile apparatus of a transmission source through a telephone line such as a public line or a dedicated line, and can communicate via the Internet.
[0002]
[Prior art]
2. Description of the Related Art In recent years, Internet facsimile apparatuses that can transmit and receive images by facsimile communication using a telephone line and the like and that can transmit and receive images using the Internet have been developed. By using such an Internet facsimile machine as a gateway, image communication can be performed using the Internet as a part of the communication path.
[0003]
FIG. 4 is an explanatory diagram of an example of a system that performs facsimile communication using the Internet. In the figure, 11 and 17 are facsimile machines, 12 and 16 are telephone lines, 13 and 15 are Internet facsimile machines, and 14 is the Internet. For example, consider a case where an image is transmitted from the facsimile apparatus 11 to the facsimile apparatus 17 via the Internet 14. In this case, the transmission source facsimile apparatus 11 is connected to the Internet facsimile apparatus 13 via the telephone line 12, and the telephone number of the facsimile apparatus 17 that is the reception destination and the Internet facsimile apparatus that is the communication path to the facsimile apparatus 17 on the Internet. Address (IP address, mail address, domain name, etc.) is specified, and the image is transmitted.
[0004]
The Internet facsimile machine 13 attaches the telephone number of the facsimile machine 17 that is the reception destination to the image received from the facsimile machine 11 that is the transmission source, and transmits it to the Internet facsimile machine 15 through the Internet 14 as an e-mail. The Internet facsimile machine 15 receives an e-mail containing an image, communicates with the facsimile machine 17 via the telephone line 16 using the telephone number of the added recipient facsimile machine 17, and transmits the image to the facsimile machine. Send. In this way, an image can be transmitted from the transmission source facsimile apparatus 11 to the reception destination facsimile apparatus 17.
[0005]
In this way, by using the Internet 14 in the middle of the communication path, charging due to the use of a telephone line is charged from the source facsimile machine 11 to the Internet facsimile machine 13 and from the Internet facsimile machine 15 to the destination facsimile machine 17. If the distance is close, the call charge will be cheap. Further, since the use of the Internet 14 is a fixed charge regardless of the distance, the communication charge can be saved by using the Internet 14 when the transmission source facsimile apparatus 11 and the reception destination facsimile apparatus 17 are separated. You may be able to.
[0006]
Here, transmission of an image from the Internet facsimile machine 15 to the receiving facsimile machine 17 may be performed by normal facsimile communication. However, when an image is transmitted from the transmission source facsimile apparatus 11 to the Internet facsimile apparatus 13, it is necessary to instruct the telephone number of the reception destination facsimile apparatus 17, the address of the Internet facsimile apparatus 15, and the like. Conventionally, as a method of transmitting such information, a method of transmitting as data in binary file transfer mode has been considered.
[0007]
When data is transferred in the binary file transfer mode, data transfer is performed at the transmission speed determined by the training sequence as in the case of image transmission. Therefore, normally, data can be transferred at a higher speed than the transmission speed when communicating the procedure signal. However, the error rate increases as the transmission speed increases. In an image, even if a bit error that cannot be corrected occurs, the missing information is only about a few lines in the image, and there is often no problem in practice. However, in the case of information such as the telephone number of the facsimile machine 17 to be received and the address of the Internet facsimile machine 15, if an uncorrectable bit error occurs, it cannot be recovered. If an error occurs, it may be retransmitted by ECM, etc., or training may be performed again to reset the transmission speed. However, it takes time to complete the procedure, and even if data transfer is performed at high speed, the entire communication is performed. There was a problem that time became long.
[0008]
Further, in order to switch from the binary file transfer mode to the normal image transfer mode, the procedure signal must be exchanged by returning to the phase B, and the communication time for that is required, and the communication time as a whole is also long. There was a problem of becoming.
[0009]
[Problems to be solved by the invention]
The present invention has been made in view of the above-described circumstances, and can reliably receive information on the destination and relay route of an image sent from an external facsimile machine, and can also shorten the overall communication time as a result. It is an object to provide a simple Internet facsimile machine.
[0010]
[Means for Solving the Problems]
The present invention relates to a fax communication means capable of performing facsimile communication using a telephone line, an internet communication means capable of communicating using the Internet, and a non-standard communication procedure during facsimile reception by the FAX communication means in an Internet facsimile machine. The image processing apparatus includes a control unit that causes the Internet communication unit to transfer the received image based on a reception destination and a relay route specified by an HDLC frame divided into a plurality of frames. As described above, since the information of the image receiving destination and the relay route is received by the HDLC frame divided into a plurality of non-standard frames during the communication procedure at the time of facsimile reception, the information can be reliably received. Even if some are missed, it is possible to acquire as many recipients and relay routes as are normally received. Therefore, the time required for re-transmission and resetting of communication speed is not required when an error occurs, compared to the case of receiving destination / relay route information using the conventional binary file transfer mode. No time is required for switching to the image transfer mode, and communication can be performed at high speed as a whole.
[0011]
Note that the information on the receiving destination and the relay route received by the non-standard frame is not limited to one, and a plurality of receiving destinations and one or a plurality of relay routes may be acquired. In this case, one or more recipients may be designated for each acquired relay route, and the received image may be transferred from the Internet communication means. This makes it possible to perform broadcast communication that transmits the same image to a plurality of recipients.
[0012]
In addition, when the control means holds a relay route close to the destination facsimile machine, the relay route of the held relay route is higher than the relay route corresponding to the destination designated by the non-standard frame in the facsimile communication procedure. When the destination is closer to the receiving destination, the received image can be transferred based on the relay route that is held. As a result, the communication cost from the transfer destination Internet facsimile apparatus to the reception destination facsimile apparatus can be reduced.
[0013]
Further, when an image is transferred using the Internet as described above, it is possible to perform authentication of a transmission source using information received during a facsimile communication procedure. Thereby, for example, the use from a third party who is not registered can be restricted.
[0014]
DETAILED DESCRIPTION OF THE INVENTION
FIG. 1 is a block diagram showing an example of a system including an embodiment of an Internet facsimile machine according to the present invention. In the figure, the same parts as those in FIG. 21 is a FAX communication unit, 22 is a control unit, and 23 is an Internet communication unit. The Internet facsimile machines 13 and 15 can perform facsimile communication using the telephone lines 12 and 16 and can perform communication using the Internet 14. At least the Internet facsimile machine 13 is the Internet facsimile machine of the present invention. Of course, the Internet facsimile machine 15 may also be the Internet facsimile machine of the present invention. The facsimile apparatuses 11 and 17 are facsimile apparatuses that can perform facsimile communication using the telephone lines 12 and 16.
[0015]
The Internet facsimile machine 13 includes a FAX communication unit 21, a control unit 22, and an Internet communication unit 23. The FAX communication unit 21 can communicate with another facsimile apparatus, for example, the facsimile apparatus 11 using the telephone line 12. The Internet communication unit 23 can communicate with other Internet devices using the Internet 14. For example, the Internet communication unit 23 performs e-mail data transfer or the like to the network facsimile apparatus 15 by SMTP (Simple Mail Transfer Protocol). Can do.
[0016]
Further, the control unit 22 of the Internet facsimile machine 13 controls the entire apparatus, and performs facsimile communication via the FAX communication unit 21 and transmission / reception of electronic mail via the Internet communication unit 23. In addition, by using both functions, an image received by facsimile communication can be transferred to another Internet facsimile apparatus by e-mail or the like. Further, it may have a function of transferring an image in an electronic mail transferred from another Internet facsimile apparatus to the facsimile apparatus by facsimile communication.
[0017]
In this way, an image received by facsimile communication is transferred to another Internet facsimile apparatus by e-mail or the like, and another Internet facsimile apparatus transmits the image to another facsimile apparatus by facsimile, so that the Internet 14 is intermediately transmitted. Facsimile communication can be realized. For example, the image received from the facsimile apparatus 11 is transferred to the Internet facsimile apparatus 15 and the image is transmitted from the Internet facsimile apparatus 15 to the facsimile apparatus 17 by facsimile transmission, thereby realizing the transfer of the image from the facsimile apparatus 11 to the facsimile apparatus 17. be able to.
[0018]
At this time, the Internet facsimile machine 13 needs to acquire information relating to the receiving destination such as the telephone number of the facsimile machine 17 serving as the receiving destination from the sending facsimile apparatus 11 and information relating to the relay route to the receiving destination. . For this purpose, in the present invention, in the communication procedure when the control unit 22 performs facsimile communication with the facsimile apparatus 11 via the FAX communication unit 21, information related to the reception destination and the relay route is acquired particularly by a non-standard frame. By using a non-standard frame in this way, it is possible to reliably acquire information regarding the destination and the relay route. Note that the information about the recipients and relay routes received in the non-standard frame during the communication procedure is not limited to one by one. For example, a plurality of recipients can be acquired through the same relay route, or a plurality of recipients and a plurality of relays can be obtained. A route may be acquired. This makes it possible to realize broadcast communication using the Internet.
[0019]
Then, the received image is transferred from the Internet communication unit 23 to another Internet facsimile machine through the Internet 14 based on the acquired information on the destination and the relay route. For example, an Internet facsimile apparatus to which an image is to be transferred is specified from the acquired relay route information, and the image is transmitted as an e-mail with information regarding a receiving destination attached to the specified Internet facsimile apparatus. When a plurality of relay routes are acquired, an image is transmitted as an e-mail to each relay route. In addition, when a plurality of recipients are designated for one relay route, information on the recipients may be attached and the image transferred to the Internet facsimile machine on the relay route as an e-mail. This reduces the number of e-mails transferred and reduces the amount of Internet traffic.
[0020]
Furthermore, the Internet facsimile machine 13 can hold a specific reception destination and an Internet facsimile machine that is the closest relay route to the reception destination in association with each other. If the control unit 22 holds information about a relay route closer to the destination than the relay route corresponding to the destination specified by the non-standard frame in the facsimile communication procedure, the control unit 22 holds the information. It is possible to configure such that the received image is transferred by e-mail or the like using the information of the relay route close to the receiving destination. As a result, the communication cost in the destination Internet facsimile machine can be reduced. Of course, it is possible to use a configuration in which the received relay route information is always used when priority is given to the received relay route information or when the information prohibiting the change of the relay route is used.
[0021]
It should be noted that when the transfer function to the Internet is used without limitation by receiving a facsimile from a third party's facsimile apparatus, the sender's facsimile apparatus may be authenticated. For example, a user ID or the like can be received and authenticated by a non-standard (NSS) frame or a SUB frame.
[0022]
Next, an example of the operation in the embodiment of the Internet facsimile machine of the present invention will be described. Here, as an example, the description will be made assuming that the facsimile machine 11 sends an image to the facsimile machine 17 using the internet facsimile machine 15 as a relay path to the internet facsimile machine 13. FIG. 2 is a sequence diagram showing an outline of a communication procedure between the facsimile machine 11 and the Internet facsimile machine 13. When the facsimile apparatus 11 transmits an image to the facsimile apparatus 17 using the Internet 14, the facsimile apparatus 11 first makes a call to the Internet facsimile apparatus 13 using the telephone line 12. In (1), the facsimile apparatus 11 transmits the Internet facsimile. CNG is sent to the device 13.
[0023]
When the Internet facsimile machine 13 receives an incoming call from the facsimile machine 11 and detects CNG, it returns CED in (2). At the same time, in (3), information indicating the Internet facsimile machine 13 is transmitted as CSI, and information regarding the reception capability of the Internet facsimile machine 13 is transmitted to the facsimile machine 11 by DIS or NSF. At this time, the NSF that declares the non-standard capability has a relay function using the Internet 14 and the ability to receive information on the destination and the relay route by the non-standard frame. declare.
[0024]
When the facsimile apparatus 11 receives information on reception capability from the Internet facsimile apparatus 13 by DIS, NSS, or the like, by referring to the received information, the Internet facsimile apparatus 13 has a relay function using the Internet 14 particularly from the NSS. And knowing that it has the ability to receive destination and relay route information through non-standard frames. Then, the parameters at the time of transmission are determined within the range of the reception capability of the Internet facsimile machine 13, and the DCS is transmitted in (4). In addition, the transmission source information is transmitted to the Internet facsimile machine 13 as TSI. Further, an NSS for setting a non-standard function is transmitted to the Internet facsimile machine 13 to request transfer of the image via the Internet 14 and to transfer the image to the facsimile machine 17 using the Internet facsimile machine 15 as a relay route. Next, the Internet address (domain name or mail address) of the Internet facsimile machine 15 and the telephone number of the facsimile machine 17 are designated.
[0025]
FIG. 3 is an explanatory diagram of an example of an HDLC frame when a receiving destination and a relay route are designated in the NSS. In general, a predetermined flag sequence (flag) is attached to the beginning and end of an HDLC frame used in a facsimile procedure, and an address field (Address) of fixed data follows the first flag sequence. Further, a control field (Control) including information indicating whether or not the frame is final is provided, followed by an HDLC information field including a facsimile control field (FCF) and a facsimile information field, and further for checking the HDLC frame. A frame check sequence (FCS) follows. In this case, any information may be stored in the facsimile information field. In this case, the telephone number of the facsimile machine 17 as the final receiving destination and the Internet 14 of the Internet facsimile machine 15 as the relay route are stored. Stores an address.
[0026]
The format of information stored in the facsimile information field is arbitrary, but in the example shown in FIG. 3A, a character string “FAX=0774xx1234@ifax.com” is stored. Among these, “0774xx1234” is the telephone number portion of the facsimile apparatus 17 that is the final receiving destination, and “ifax.com” indicates the domain name of the Internet facsimile apparatus 15. In this example, it is assumed that the Internet facsimile machine 15 can receive electronic mail as a mail server.
[0027]
When the Internet facsimile machine 15 is a client-type machine, for example, as shown in FIG. 3B, the telephone number of the facsimile machine 17 that is the final receiving destination and the electronic mail address of the Internet facsimile machine 15 are set to a predetermined value. What is necessary is just to write together with a delimiter code ('/' in this example).
[0028]
In the example shown in FIG. 3C, an example is shown in which there are a plurality of facsimile apparatuses that are final receiving destinations. In this example, according to the format shown in FIG. 3A, a set of the telephone number of each facsimile apparatus as the final receiving destination and the Internet facsimile apparatus as the corresponding relay path is set as a predetermined delimiter code (NULL in this example). ) Are delimited by).
[0029]
In the example shown in FIG. 3D, an example is shown in which an Internet facsimile machine serving as one relay path is requested to transmit to a plurality of facsimile machines. In this example, telephone numbers of a plurality of facsimile machines are shown. Are surrounded by '[' and ']'.
[0030]
Various specifications can be made by appropriately combining these formats. Of course, it is possible to designate the Internet facsimile machine itself. Also, as shown in FIGS. 3 (C) and 3 (D), when the number of facsimile devices and relay paths as final reception destinations increases and the HDLC frame length becomes long, it is divided into a plurality of HDLC frames and transmitted. May be. As described above, when receiving a plurality of HDLC frames, some may be missed. In that case, the facsimile apparatus 11 may be urged to retransmit by the CRP signal, or as many reception destinations and relay paths as can be normally received may be acquired. The Internet facsimile machine 13 designates the Internet facsimile machine that can be designated as a relay route and the maximum number of recipients when sending NSF, DIS, etc. in (3). The apparatus 11 may be configured to specify a relay route and a reception destination.
[0031]
Returning to FIG. 2, when the Internet facsimile machine 13 receives DCS, TSI, and NSS from the facsimile machine 11 and the facsimile machine 11 requests the transfer of an image using the Internet 14, the internet facsimile machine 13 sends the facsimile machine 11. Can be authenticated. Authentication can be performed, for example, by receiving the user ID and the like together with the above-mentioned reception destination and relay route designation by an NSS frame. Alternatively, information required for authentication such as information in TSI or SUB, such as a user ID, may be received, and password verification may be performed using PWD. Of course, other methods may be used. By performing authentication, it is possible to prevent unlimited use of facsimile communication using the Internet 14 by a third party.
[0032]
When the function setting between the facsimile apparatus 11 and the Internet facsimile apparatus 13 is completed in this way, the modem is trained by the TCF in (5) to determine the communication speed. When the training is completed, the Internet facsimile machine 13 sends a CFR to the facsimile machine 11 in (6) to inform that the reception preparation is completed. In (7), the facsimile machine 11 transmits an image to the Internet facsimile machine 13. When there are a plurality of images, the MPS is transmitted, the next page image is transmitted, and the EOP is transmitted after the final page image is transmitted. In this example, EOP is transmitted in (8) after image transmission in (7). The Internet facsimile machine 13 returns MCF in (9) as a response to EOP. After receiving the MCF, the facsimile machine 11 sends a DCN in (10) to terminate the communication and disconnects the line. The Internet facsimile machine 13 also receives the DCN and disconnects the line.
[0033]
In this way, the facsimile apparatus 11 transmits an image to the Internet facsimile apparatus 13 after instructing that the facsimile apparatus 17 is the final receiving destination and that the Internet facsimile apparatus 15 is used as a relay route. can do. Further, during the communication procedure with the facsimile apparatus 11 as described above, the Internet facsimile apparatus 13 can receive information on the relay route and the reception destination designated by the NSS frame for setting the nonstandard function and the image to be transferred. it can.
[0034]
The facsimile machine 13 designates the telephone number of the facsimile machine 17 which is the final receiving destination and transfers the received image as an e-mail to the Internet facsimile machine 15 which is the relay route acquired as described above. . For example, when the acquired relay route and destination information are as shown in FIG. 3A, an e-mail including the received image is transmitted using the designated “0774xx1234@ifax.com” as an e-mail address. do it. As a result, the e-mail reaches the Internet facsimile machine 15 having the domain name “ifax.com”.
[0035]
If an Internet facsimile machine serving as a plurality of relay routes is designated from the facsimile machine 11, an electronic mail is transmitted to each Internet facsimile machine.
[0036]
Further, when the Internet facsimile machine 13 holds information on the Internet facsimile machine closest to the facsimile machine 11 that is the receiving destination, the information is compared with the Internet facsimile machine 15 that is a relay route received from the facsimile machine 11. If the stored Internet facsimile apparatus is closer to the facsimile apparatus 17, the Internet facsimile apparatus is used as a relay route to transfer the image. Of course, priority may be given to the relay route acquired from the facsimile apparatus 11, and it may be configured to allow the facsimile apparatus 11 to designate which is prioritized.
[0037]
The Internet facsimile machine 15 extracts the user name portion of the received e-mail, dials the telephone line 16 to make a call, and connects the facsimile machine 17 and the line. Then, the image in the e-mail received according to the facsimile procedure is transmitted to the facsimile apparatus 17 by facsimile. In this way, the image transmitted from the facsimile apparatus 11 reaches the facsimile apparatus 17 via the Internet 14.
[0038]
When the Internet facsimile machine 15 is a client-type machine, an electronic mail is taken out from a mail server provided separately or an electronic mail addressed to the Internet facsimile machine 15 is received. Then, the telephone number of the recipient included in the received electronic mail is taken out, dialed to the telephone line 16 to make a call, and the image is transmitted to the facsimile apparatus 17 by facsimile.
[0039]
【The invention's effect】
As is clear from the above description, according to the present invention, information on a relay route and a reception destination required when transferring an image received via a telephone line or the like via the Internet is transmitted during a facsimile communication procedure. Since it is received by a non-standard frame, there is an effect that it is possible to reliably receive such information.
[Brief description of the drawings]
FIG. 1 is a block diagram showing an example of a system including an embodiment of an Internet facsimile machine according to the present invention.
FIG. 2 is a sequence diagram showing an outline of a communication procedure between the facsimile apparatus 11 and the Internet facsimile apparatus 13;
FIG. 3 is an explanatory diagram of an example of an HDLC frame when a destination and a relay route are specified in the NSS.
FIG. 4 is an explanatory diagram of an example of a system that performs facsimile communication using the Internet.
[Explanation of symbols]
DESCRIPTION OF SYMBOLS 11,17 ... Fax machine, 12, 16 ... Telephone line, 13, 15 ... Internet facsimile machine, 14 ... Internet, 21 ... FAX communication part, 22 ... Control part, 23 ... Internet communication part.

Claims (4)

FAX communication means capable of facsimile communication using a telephone line, Internet communication means capable of communication using the Internet, and HDLC frames divided into a plurality of non-standard frames during communication procedures at the time of facsimile reception by the FAX communication means An internet facsimile apparatus comprising: a control means for transferring the received image to the internet communication means based on the receiving destination and the relay route specified in. The control means acquires a plurality of recipients and one or more relay routes by a non-standard frame during a facsimile communication procedure, and receives one or more recipients for each obtained relay route. 2. The Internet facsimile apparatus according to claim 1, wherein an image is transferred to the Internet communication means. If the control means holds information about a relay route closer to the destination than the relay route corresponding to the destination specified by the non-standard frame in the facsimile communication procedure, the control means holds the received The Internet facsimile apparatus according to claim 1 or 2, wherein the received image is transferred to the Internet communication unit based on a relay path closer to the destination. The Internet facsimile apparatus according to any one of claims 1 to 3, wherein the control means performs authentication of a transmission source using information received during a facsimile communication procedure.

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