JP3997934B2 - Internet facsimile machine and control method thereof - Google Patents

Description

[0001]
BACKGROUND OF THE INVENTION
The present invention relates to an Internet facsimile apparatus that performs facsimile communication using an IP (Internet Protocol) protocol. More specifically, the present invention monitors the communication state of an IP telephone terminal associated with the apparatus, and the IP telephone terminal and a destination terminal. The present invention relates to an Internet facsimile machine and a control method for the same, which can perform manual facsimile transmission using address information of the counterpart terminal after communication is established.
[0002]
[Prior art]
A facsimile apparatus using a telephone line normally has a telephone function and a facsimile function in one apparatus.
[0003]
On the other hand, a real-time Internet facsimile apparatus (Internet FAX) that is connected to an IP (Internet Protocol) network and can perform facsimile communication in real time on the Internet is becoming popular.
[0004]
In this Internet FAX, as a matter of course, there is an idea of providing a telephone function and a facsimile function compatible with an IP network in one apparatus.
[0005]
In this case, it is conceivable to incorporate a so-called Internet telephone function that is compatible with the IP network into the Internet FAX.
[0006]
Patent Document 1 below discloses an Internet-compatible facsimile apparatus with a built-in IP telephone function (FIG. 6: built-in telephone unit 601).
[0007]
The base of the Internet telephone is a technology called VoIP (Voice over IP) that transmits and receives voice data on a TCP / IP network (Internet).
[0008]
In VoIP, an ITU-T G.264 is used as a coding / decoding (codec) method for coding a voice signal to be transmitted and decoding a received coded voice signal. 711 (PCM), G.G. 722 (SB-ADPCM), G.M. 726 (ADPCM), G.M. There are many types such as 728 (CELP).
[0009]
Therefore, if the Internet FAX and the Internet telephone are to be realized by a single device, it is necessary to support the various codec methods described above with respect to the telephone function.
[0010]
However, there is a possibility that the number of these codec systems will increase further in the future.
[0011]
Therefore, in the conventional Internet FAX with built-in Internet telephone function, it is necessary to support the increased codec system for the telephone function unit every time the codec system increases, and frequent design changes are forced. Incurred high costs.
[0012]
[Patent Document 1]
JP 2002-51161 A
[Problems to be solved by the invention]
As described above, in the conventional Internet facsimile apparatus, when the Internet telephone (IP telephone) function is incorporated and realized as one apparatus, the codec system increases with respect to the telephone function unit in which support of various codec systems is indispensable. There was a problem that it was necessary to cope with this every time, and cost was increased due to frequent design changes.
[0013]
The present invention solves the above-described problems, and does not affect the cost of the apparatus even if the IP telephone specification (codec system) is changed, and has good operability by using the telephone function corresponding to the IP network. It is an object of the present invention to provide an Internet facsimile apparatus capable of performing real-time facsimile communication on the Internet and a control method thereof.
[0014]
[Means for Solving the Problems]
In order to achieve the above object, the invention according to claim 1 is an Internet facsimile apparatus that performs facsimile communication using an IP protocol, a registration means for registering address information of an IP telephone terminal associated with the apparatus, and the address information. To register the address information of the destination terminal called by the associated IP telephone terminal, and monitoring means for monitoring the communication state between the IP telephone terminal associated with the own device and the other terminal. Calling control means for making a call to the destination terminal using the stored address information on the basis of a manual transmission start operation after communication between the IP telephone terminal and the destination terminal is established. .
[0015]
According to a second aspect of the present invention, in the first aspect of the invention, the registration unit stores the IP address of the IP telephone terminal and the IP telephone number in association with each other as address information of the associated IP telephone terminal. Means are provided.
[0016]
According to a third aspect of the present invention, in the first aspect of the present invention, the monitoring means monitors an IP protocol of the associated IP telephone terminal, and is transmitted / received to / from the counterpart terminal by the IP protocol. IP protocol monitoring means for judging the communication state of the IP telephone terminal from the protocol information.
[0017]
According to a fourth aspect of the present invention, in the first or third aspect of the present invention, the information processing apparatus further comprises notification means for notifying a communication state of the associated IP telephone terminal based on a monitoring result of the monitoring means. To do.
[0018]
According to a fifth aspect of the present invention, in the above-mentioned fourth aspect of the invention, the notification means includes display control means for displaying a message indicating a communication state of the IP telephone terminal.
[0019]
According to a sixth aspect of the present invention, in an Internet facsimile apparatus that performs facsimile communication using the IP protocol, registration means for registering address information of an IP telephone terminal associated with the own apparatus, and association with the own apparatus by registration of the address information Monitoring means for monitoring the communication state between the IP telephone terminal and the other terminal, and notifying means for notifying the communication state of the associated IP telephone terminal based on the monitoring result of the monitoring means. Features.
[0020]
The invention according to claim 7 is the invention according to claim 6, wherein the monitoring means monitors the IP protocol of the associated IP telephone terminal, and is transmitted to and received from the counterpart terminal by the IP protocol. IP protocol monitoring means for determining at least the calling state, the communicating state, and the communication end state of the IP telephone terminal from the protocol information.
[0021]
The invention according to claim 8 is the invention according to claim 6 or 7, characterized in that the notifying means comprises display control means for displaying a message indicating a communication state of the IP telephone terminal.
[0022]
According to a ninth aspect of the present invention, in the method for controlling an Internet facsimile apparatus that performs facsimile communication using the IP protocol, a registration step of registering address information of an IP telephone terminal associated with the own apparatus, and registration of the address information, A monitoring step of monitoring a communication state between the IP telephone terminal associated with the device and another terminal, and storing address information of a destination terminal called by the associated IP telephone terminal during the monitoring of the communication state In the other party storage step, based on the manual transmission start operation, the manual transmission accepting step for accepting a manual transmission start operation after communication between the associated IP telephone terminal and the other party terminal is established. A call control step for calling the destination terminal using the stored address information. The features.
[0023]
The invention according to claim 10 is the invention according to claim 9, further comprising a notifying step of notifying a communication state of the associated IP telephone terminal based on a monitoring result in the monitoring step. To do.
[0024]
According to an eleventh aspect of the present invention, in the invention according to the ninth or tenth aspect, in the monitoring step, an IP protocol of the associated IP telephone terminal is monitored, and with the counterpart terminal by the IP protocol. It is characterized in that the communication status of at least calling, communicating, and communication end of the IP telephone terminal is determined from the protocol information sent and received.
[0025]
A twelfth aspect of the invention is characterized in that, in the invention of the tenth or eleventh aspect, in the notification step, a message indicating a communication state of the IP telephone terminal is displayed.
[0026]
DETAILED DESCRIPTION OF THE INVENTION
Hereinafter, embodiments of the present invention will be described in detail with reference to the accompanying drawings.
[0027]
FIG. 1 is a block diagram showing a functional configuration of an Internet facsimile machine (hereinafter abbreviated as a facsimile machine) 10-1 according to a first embodiment of the present invention.
[0028]
The facsimile machine 10-1 includes a central processing unit (CPU) 11 that performs control processing for the entire device, a touch panel, and the like, and a user performs various operations (calling operation, etc.) for operating the device. An operation / display unit 12 for displaying various information, a reading unit 13 for reading a transmission original or a copy original, a recording unit 14 for recording and outputting received image data or read image data on a recording paper, An image processing unit 15 that performs processing such as encoding, decoding, enlargement, and reduction, an image storage unit 16 that stores received image data or read image data, and a work area used by a control program (controls the operation of the apparatus) System control having a RAM 17 for storing system data and various information) and a program (ROM) for controlling the entire facsimile. 18, ITU-T Recommendation T. A T.38 protocol that controls a real-time communication protocol according to the 38 protocol 38, a transmission control unit 19, an Internet communication control unit 20 connected to an IP (Internet Protocol) network 40 and performing communication control for transmitting and receiving various data via the Internet, and an RFC 3261 (SIP: Session) of IETF (Internet Engineering Task Force) SIP call control unit 21 (for example, Internet communication control) that controls call establishment, maintenance, or termination in real-time Internet FAX T38 using procedures defined in Initiation Protocol (RFC) and RFC 2327 (SDP: Session Description Protocol) Via the IP telephone management unit 23 and the Internet communication control unit 20 for managing the association of the IP telephone terminal used in association with the own apparatus 10-1 and the state of the associated IP telephone terminal. To monitor IP protocols other than its own An IP protocol monitoring unit 25 that obtains protocol information of an IP telephone terminal managed by the talk management unit 23 and monitors its communication state, and a system bus 27 that exchanges data with each other described above are provided. Composed.
[0029]
The IP telephone management unit 23 is provided with an associated terminal registration table for registering information for associating the IP telephone terminal used in association with the facsimile apparatus 10-1 and the facsimile apparatus 10-1.
[0030]
FIG. 2 is a diagram illustrating an example of the related terminal registration table 231.
[0031]
In this related terminal registration table 231, address information of IP telephone terminals used in association with the own apparatus is registered. Specifically, as shown in FIG. 2, the IP address of the IP telephone terminal (No. 1) used in association with the own apparatus and the IP telephone number corresponding to the IP address are registered.
[0032]
As described above, by registering the address information (IP address and IP telephone number) in the related terminal registration table 231, the IP telephone terminal having the address information is used as an IP telephone terminal used in cooperation with the own device 10-1. Will be associated.
[0033]
FIG. 3 is a diagram showing a network configuration including an Internet facsimile machine 10-1 according to the present invention and an IP telephone terminal used in association therewith.
[0034]
In FIG. 3, a facsimile apparatus 10A is an Internet FAX (corresponding to the facsimile apparatus 10-1 in FIG. 1) according to the present invention, and an IP telephone terminal 50A is an IP telephone terminal associated with the facsimile apparatus 10A.
[0035]
In this case, the address information (IP address and IP telephone number) of the IP telephone terminal 50A is registered in the related terminal registration table 231 of the IP telephone management unit 23 of the facsimile apparatus 10A, and the IP telephone terminal 50A is registered with the facsimile apparatus 10A. Is associated. In the following description, the IP telephone terminal 50A is referred to as an associated IP telephone terminal (to the facsimile apparatus 10A).
[0036]
In FIG. 3, the facsimile apparatus 10 </ b> A and the related IP telephone terminal 50 </ b> A are connected to each other via a communication means 30 such as a LAN and to an IP network 40.
[0037]
The IP network 40 is connected to a plurality of other IP communication devices such as an Internet facsimile machine (hereinafter abbreviated as a facsimile machine) 10B and an IP telephone terminal 50B.
[0038]
In this example, the facsimile apparatus 10B and the IP phone 50B are configured independently, but a configuration in which both are integrated is also possible.
[0039]
IP telephone terminal 50A supports the IP protocol. Thereby, the IP telephone terminal 50A can establish communication with the IP telephone terminal 50B and the facsimile apparatus 10B connected to the IP network 40 using the IP protocol.
[0040]
FIG. 4 is a block diagram showing a functional configuration of IP telephone terminal 50A (same for 50B).
[0041]
As shown in FIG. 4, an IP telephone terminal 50 includes an IP network control unit 51 that performs control such as communication control with a partner terminal using an IP protocol and transmission / reception of voice signals as IP packets, a predetermined codec Corresponding to the system, the encoding / decoding unit (codec) 52 that encodes the modulated transmission audio signal and decodes the encoded reception audio signal, modulation / demodulation that modulates the transmission audio signal and demodulates the decoded reception audio signal Unit (modem) 53, the voice signal demodulated by the modem unit 53 is transmitted to the transmitter / receiver 55, the voice signal from the transmitter / receiver 55 is transmitted to the modem unit 53, and the transmitted voice is converted into voice. A transmitter / receiver 55 including a microphone that converts a signal into a signal and a speaker that reproduces a received voice signal as a received voice, a display unit 56 that displays various information, and an operation unit that performs various information input operations such as dial operations 7, and comprises a control unit 58 for controlling the entire apparatus.
[0042]
In the IP telephone terminal 50A having such a configuration, when a dial operation addressed to, for example, the IP telephone terminal 50B is performed by the operation unit 57, the IP network control unit 51 implements the IP protocol to the IP telephone terminal 50B that is the counterpart terminal. Make a call.
[0043]
In the destination IP telephone terminal 50B, when the IP network control unit 51 receives an incoming call, the control unit 58 drives a sounder (not shown) to generate a ringing tone, and thereby the user off-hooks the handset 55. The control unit 58 drives the IP network control unit 51 to establish communication with the caller IP telephone terminal 50A.
[0044]
On the other hand, the caller IP phone terminal 50A also establishes communication with the callee when the callee IP phone terminal 50B responds to the incoming call. Thereafter, the IP telephone terminals 50A and 50B can talk to each other using the handset 25.
[0045]
Similarly, IP telephone terminal 50A can make a call to facsimile apparatus 10B connected to IP network 40 using the IP protocol.
[0046]
FIG. 5 is a diagram showing a configuration of call information which is one of protocol information handled on the IP protocol implemented by the IP telephone terminal.
[0047]
This call information includes at least call destination address information and call source address information.
[0048]
When making a call to IP telephone terminal 50B (or facsimile apparatus 10B), IP telephone terminal 50A uses the calling source address information as its own address information (see FIG. 2) and calls destination address information as IP telephone terminal 50B. The call information as address information of the facsimile apparatus 10B is transmitted to the IP network 40.
[0049]
After the call is made, IP telephone terminal 50A controls establishment of communication while communicating appropriate protocol information (procedure signal) with IP telephone terminal 50B or facsimile apparatus 10B, which is the counterpart terminal, according to the IP protocol. .
[0050]
In the network configuration shown in FIG. 3, the facsimile apparatus 10A and the related IP telephone terminal 50A make a call to the facsimile apparatus 10B using the IP telephone terminal 50A as a typical cooperative operation, and during that time the facsimile apparatus 10A The apparatus 10A monitors the communication state of the IP telephone terminal 50A, and after the communication between the IP telephone terminal 50A and the facsimile apparatus 10B is established, the facsimile apparatus 10A performs a manual facsimile transmission operation so that the facsimile apparatus 10A performs the facsimile apparatus. The operation of facsimile transmission to 10B is performed.
[0051]
In this case, in the facsimile apparatus 10A, the IP protocol monitoring unit 25 monitors the communication state of the related IP telephone terminal 50A. Further, for example, the pre-capture destination call control unit 183 provided in the system control unit 18 displays address information of the call destination when the related IP telephone terminal 50A calls the other party during the monitoring of the communication state. Store (pre-calling of call destination), and then establish communication with IP phone terminal 50A related to the callee, and then make a call (pre-capture based on the stored callee address information). Control of the previous call).
[0052]
Here, the processing operation of the facsimile apparatus 10A related to the cooperative operation with the related IP telephone terminal 50A will be described with reference to the flowchart shown in FIG.
[0053]
In this cooperative operation, the user makes a call to the facsimile machine 10B using the IP telephone terminal 50A.
[0054]
After calling, a control procedure (IP protocol information transmission / reception) according to the IP protocol is performed between the IP telephone terminal 50A and the facsimile machine 10B.
[0055]
In the meantime, in the facsimile machine 10A, for example, by a predetermined monitoring start operation by the user, the IP protocol monitoring unit 25 starts monitoring the protocol of the related IP telephone terminal 50A (step S601).
[0056]
Specifically, the IP protocol monitoring unit 25 acquires protocol information of all IP protocols on the communication unit 30 via the Internet communication control unit 21, and the related terminal registration table is previously included in the acquired protocol information. 231 checks whether there is address information of the IP telephone terminal 10A registered (searches using the address information of the related IP telephone terminal 10A as a key), and if there is the address information, the IP protocol is related. It is specified that the IP telephone terminal 50A implements the IP protocol, and thereafter, the protocol information on the IP protocol is acquired to determine the communication state of the IP telephone terminal 50A.
[0057]
When the call information (see FIG. 5) is acquired as the protocol information during the monitoring of the protocol, the IP protocol monitoring unit 25 refers to the caller address information of the call information, and the caller address information Whether the associated IP telephone terminal 50A makes a call or not is checked based on whether or not it matches the address information of the associated IP telephone terminal 50A (step S602).
[0058]
When it is determined that the related IP telephone terminal 50A has made a call (YES in step S602), the system control unit 18 (pre-capture destination call control unit 183) calls the call destination from the already acquired call information. The address information is read out and stored in the RAM 17 as information on the call destination of the associated IP telephone terminal 50A (step S603).
[0059]
Thereafter, the IP protocol monitoring unit 25 performs communication between the IP telephone terminal 50A and the facsimile apparatus 10B that is a call destination based on the IP protocol information that is taken in accordance with the progress of the IP protocol of the related IP telephone terminal 50A. It is checked whether or not it is established (step S604).
[0060]
Here, when the communication between the IP telephone terminal 50A and the partner facsimile machine 10B is not established (NO in step S604), the pre-capture destination call control unit 183 displays the call destination address information already stored in the RAM 17. Delete (step S611), and the process ends.
[0061]
On the other hand, if it is determined that the communication between the IP telephone terminal 50A and the partner facsimile machine 10B is established (YES in Step S604), the pre-capture destination call control unit 183 then operates the operation / display unit 12 of the facsimile machine 10A. In step S605, it is checked whether or not a manual facsimile transmission operation (FAX transmission button is pressed) has been performed (step S605).
[0062]
Here, when the FAX transmission button is not pressed (step S605 NO), the IP protocol monitoring unit 25 checks whether or not the communication of the related IP telephone terminal 50A has been completed based on the protocol information acquired thereafter (step S605). S606).
[0063]
If the communication of the IP telephone terminal 50A has not ended (NO in step S606), the process returns to step S605. If the communication has ended (YES in step S606), the pre-acquisition destination call control unit 183 has already set the RAM 17 Is deleted (step S611), and the process ends.
[0064]
On the other hand, when the FAX transmission button is pressed (YES in step S605), the pre-capture destination call control unit 183 makes a call to the call destination using the address information of the call destination stored in the RAM 17 so far. A call is made (step S607).
[0065]
Specifically, the pre-capture destination call control unit 183 instructs the SIP call control unit 21 to start calling when the FAX transmission button is pressed, and uses the destination address information stored in the RAM 17 to perform IP call. Control to make a call to the network 40.
[0066]
After calling, the system control unit 18 monitors whether there is a response from the partner facsimile machine 10B through the SIP call control unit 21 (step S608).
[0067]
Here, when there is no response from the facsimile machine 10B of the other party (NO in step S608), the system control unit 18 then checks whether the communication is terminated due to the expiration of the number of retries (step S609).
[0068]
Here, while the communication is not finished (NO in step S609), the process returns to the process of step S608. When the communication is finished (YES in step S609), the call that has already been stored in the RAM 17 by the pre-capture destination call control unit 183 is returned. The address information of the call destination is deleted (step S611), and the process ends.
[0069]
On the other hand, after the destination facsimile apparatus 10B makes a call in step S607, if there is a response from the destination (YES in step S608), the system control unit 18 performs a facsimile transmission process (step S610), and after the transmission is completed. The pre-capture destination call control unit 183 deletes the address information of the call destination already stored in the RAM 17 (step S611), and ends the process.
[0070]
In the facsimile transmission process in step S610, for example, a transmission original set in the reading unit 13 in advance before pressing the FAX transmission button is read by the reading unit 13, and the image of the read transmission original is read. The information is processed by the image processing unit 15 and then stored in the image storage unit 16.
[0071]
Further, the image data after image processing is read out from the image storage unit 16 and T.P. 38 to the transmission control unit 19, The transmission is transmitted from the transmission control unit 19 to the destination facsimile machine 10B via the Internet communication control unit 50.
[0072]
At the time of the cooperative operation shown in FIG. 6, in the facsimile apparatus 10A, the address information of the call destination terminal is stored by calling the related IP phone terminal 50A to the counterpart terminal, and then the IP phone terminal 50A After the establishment of communication with the call destination terminal, even if the off-hook operation is performed at the IP telephone terminal 50A before the manual facsimile transmission operation at the facsimile apparatus 10A is performed, the subsequent manual facsimile transmission control is performed. There will be no hindrance.
[0073]
As described above, in the Internet facsimile apparatus according to the first embodiment, the function of registering the association between the own apparatus 10A and the IP telephone terminal 50A and the communication state of the registered IP telephone terminal (related IP telephone terminal) 50A. And the address information of the facsimile apparatus 50B that is the call destination of the related IP telephone terminal 50A is stored during the monitoring of the communication state, and the communication between the related IP telephone terminal 50A and the call destination is established. In response to the manual FAX transmission operation, a function for making a call using the address information of the call destination stored so far is provided, so that it is manually performed in cooperation with the telephone function of the related IP telephone terminal 50A. Facsimile transmission can be realized.
[0074]
According to such a configuration, it is only necessary to arrange the main body of the facsimile apparatus 10A and the related IP telephone terminal 50A separately through the communication means capable of monitoring the communication state.
[0075]
Therefore, even if the specification (codec system) of the IP telephone in the IP network is changed, an IP telephone terminal that conforms to the changed codec system may be purchased from the market and arranged separately from the facsimile apparatus body. A cost burden such as when the Internet FAX incorporating the IP telephone function is forced to redesign the entire device every time the codec system of the IP telephone is changed can be avoided.
[0076]
Moreover, according to the Internet facsimile apparatus of the present invention, at the time of making a call based on the manual FAX transmission operation, the address information of the call destination previously stored when the related IP telephone terminal makes a call is used. The user does not need to repeatedly input the address information of the other party in the facsimile apparatus, and the operation can be simplified.
[0077]
In the Internet facsimile apparatus according to the present invention, the manual FAX transmission operation is accepted when communication between the related IP telephone terminal and the facsimile apparatus of the call destination is established. In order to do this, it is desirable that the communication establishment of the related IP telephone terminal can be easily grasped.
[0078]
From this point of view, as a modification of the present invention, in addition to the functions described in the first embodiment, for example, as shown in the following second embodiment, the communication status of the related IP telephone terminal is set to the user. You may add the function to alert | report.
[0079]
FIG. 7 is a block diagram showing a functional configuration of an Internet facsimile machine (hereinafter abbreviated as a facsimile machine) 10-2 according to the second embodiment.
[0080]
The facsimile machine 10-2 has the same configuration as that of the facsimile machine 10-1 according to the first embodiment, for example, except that the system control unit 18 includes a communication state notification control unit 185.
[0081]
The communication state notification control unit 185 obtains a monitoring result of the communication state of the related IP telephone terminal from the IP protocol monitoring unit 25, and performs control for notifying the user of the communication state of the IP telephone terminal based on the monitoring result. Do.
[0082]
As specific notification control, the communication state notification control unit 185 displays a message indicating the communication state of the IP telephone terminal corresponding to the monitoring result of the IP protocol monitoring unit 25 on, for example, the display panel of the operation / display unit 12 ( Control is performed.
[0083]
The operation of the facsimile machine 10-2 according to the second embodiment will be described below.
[0084]
In this description, the network configuration shown in FIG. 3 is used for convenience. That is, in this operation, the facsimile apparatus 10-2 according to the second embodiment is arranged as the facsimile apparatus 10A in the network shown in FIG. 3, and the IP telephone terminal 50A is registered as the related IP telephone terminal. Assuming
[0085]
Further, the facsimile machine 10-2 does not place a call to the facsimile machine 10B in the network of FIG. 3 but makes a call to an arbitrary facsimile machine (for example, 10B) or an IP telephone terminal (for example, 50B). It is assumed that there is a possibility of calling.
[0086]
FIG. 8 is a flowchart showing the processing operation of the facsimile machine 10-2 according to the second embodiment under the above assumption.
[0087]
In the facsimile apparatus 10A in the network shown in FIG. 3 (corresponding to the facsimile apparatus 10-2 in FIG. 7), the IP protocol monitoring unit 25 monitors the protocol of the associated IP telephone terminal 50A based on, for example, a predetermined monitoring start operation. Is started (step S801).
[0088]
When the call information (see FIG. 5) is acquired as the protocol information after the protocol monitoring is started, the IP protocol monitoring unit 25 refers to the caller address information of the call information, and the caller address information is It is checked whether or not the related IP telephone terminal 50A has made a call based on whether or not the address information of the related IP telephone terminal 50A matches, and if it is determined that the related IP telephone terminal 50A has made a call (step S802 YES) ), The system control unit 18 (pre-capture destination call control unit 183) reads the call destination address information from the already acquired call information, and uses this as the call destination information of the associated IP telephone terminal 50A. It memorize | stores in RAM17 (step S803).
[0089]
The processing operations so far are the same as the processing operations in steps S601 to S603 in FIG.
[0090]
After the information on the call destination of IP telephone terminal 50A is stored in step S803, system control unit 18 (communication state notification control unit 185) receives the communication state detection result in step S802 from IP protocol monitoring unit 25. Then, by receiving the call source address information and the call destination address information extracted from the call information (see FIG. 5) at that time, a call message indicating that the IP telephone terminal 50A is calling is displayed. (Step S804).
[0091]
FIG. 9 is a diagram illustrating a display example of a communication state notification message in the communication state notification control unit 185.
[0092]
In FIG. 9, (a) of FIG. 9 shows a display example of the in-calling message in step S804, and the communication status detection result (calling by the IP telephone terminal) in step S802 and recognized in the detection. Based on the caller address information and the callee address information, a calling message 125a with the content “IP phone (129.249.196.123) is calling 050777999” is displayed on the display panel 121 of the operation / display unit 12. To display.
[0093]
Thereafter, the IP protocol monitoring unit 25, based on the IP protocol information fetched in accordance with the progress of the IP protocol of the related IP telephone terminal 50A, and the IP telephone terminal 50A and the call destination terminal (IP telephone terminal 50A and facsimile machine) 10B etc.) is checked (step S805).
[0094]
Here, when communication between IP telephone terminal 50A and the partner terminal is established (step S805 YES), system control unit 18 (communication state notification control unit 185) displays IP phone on display panel 121 of operation / display unit 12. A communication message indicating that the terminal 50A is communicating is displayed (step S806).
[0095]
In FIG. 9, (b) of FIG. 9 shows a display example of the message during communication at step 806, the communication state detection result (communication establishment) at step S805, and the call already recognized at step S804. Based on the original and call destination information, for example, the in-communication message 125b with the content “IP phone (129.249.196.123) is talking to 050777999” is displayed.
[0096]
After displaying the busy message 125b, has the system control unit 18 (calling control unit 183 as a pre-capture destination) performed a manual facsimile transmission operation (pressed FAX transmission button) on the operation / display unit 12 operation panel? Whether or not is checked (step S807).
[0097]
If the FAX transmission button is pressed (YES in step S807), the pre-capture destination call control unit 183 instructs the SIP call control unit 21 to start calling, and the call already stored in the RAM 17 until then. Control is performed to make a call to the call destination using the previous address information (step S808), and after the call, whether or not there is a response from the counterpart terminal is monitored through the SIP call control unit 21 (step S809). .
[0098]
If there is a response from the partner terminal [facsimile device (eg, 10B)] (YES in step S809), the pre-capture destination call control unit 183 performs a facsimile transmission process on the partner device (step S810). ).
[0099]
After the facsimile transmission is completed, the IP protocol monitoring unit 25 continues to monitor the IP protocol, and checks whether the communication of the related IP telephone terminal 50A has been completed based on the protocol information captured during the monitoring (step) S811).
[0100]
Here, when IP phone terminal 50A has ended communication (YES in step S811), communication state notification control unit 185 displays a communication end message indicating that IP phone terminal 50A has ended communication on display panel of operation / display unit 12. 121 (step S812), and then the pre-capture destination call control unit 183 deletes the address information of the call destination already stored in the RAM 17 (step S813), and the series of processing ends.
[0101]
In FIG. 9, (c) shows a display example of the communication end message in step 812, and the communication state detection result (IP telephone terminal communication end) in step S811 and already recognized in step S804. For example, the communication end message 125c with the content “IP phone (129.249.196.123) has ended the call” is displayed based on the caller and callee information.
[0102]
In addition, during the above-described series of processing operations, when communication between the IP telephone terminal 50A and the partner terminal is not established in Step S805 (NO in Step S805), the communication state notification control unit 185 A communication end message 125c (see FIG. 9C) indicating that the communication has ended is displayed on the display panel 121 (step S812), and then the call destination address information already stored in the RAM 17 is deleted ( Step S813) and the process is terminated.
[0103]
In step S807, when the FAX transmission button is not pressed (NO in step S807), the IP protocol monitoring unit 25 ends communication of the related IP telephone terminal 50A based on the protocol information acquired up to that point. Is checked (step S821).
[0104]
Here, when the communication of the IP telephone terminal 50A has not ended (NO in step S821), the process returns to step S807, and when the communication ends (YES in step S821), the display on the display panel 121 of the operation / display unit 12 is displayed. A communication end message 125c as shown in FIG. 9C is displayed (step S812), and then the call destination address information already stored in the RAM 17 by the pre-capture destination call control unit 183 is deleted (step S813). ), The process is terminated.
[0105]
In step S809, if there is no response from the counterpart terminal (NO in step S809), the system control unit 18 then checks whether the communication of the facsimile apparatus 10A has ended due to the expiration of the number of retries. (Step S831).
[0106]
If the communication of the facsimile apparatus 10A is terminated (YES in step S831), the IP protocol monitoring unit 25 proceeds to step S811, and checks whether the communication of the related IP telephone terminal 50A is terminated.
[0107]
If the communication of the related IP telephone terminal 10A has been completed (YES in step S811), the process proceeds to the process from step S812 as described above. If the communication has not been completed (NO in step S811), the process from step S807 is performed. Repeat the process.
[0108]
If it is determined in step S831 that the communication of the facsimile apparatus 10A has not ended (NO in step S831), the IP protocol monitoring unit 25 checks whether the communication of the related IP telephone terminal 50A has ended. (Step S832).
[0109]
Here, when the communication of the IP telephone terminal 50A has not ended (step S832 NO), the process returns to step S809, and when the communication is ended (YES in step S832), the communication state notification control unit 185 operates / displays. A communication end message 125c as shown in FIG. 9C is displayed on the display panel 121 of the unit 12 (step S812), and then the call destination already stored in the RAM 17 by the pre-capture destination call control unit 183 is displayed. The address information is deleted (step S813), and the process ends.
[0110]
As described above, in the Internet facsimile apparatus according to the second embodiment, in addition to the function of the Internet facsimile apparatus according to the first embodiment, the monitoring result is acquired from the function of monitoring the communication state of the related IP telephone terminal. A function for displaying on the display panel a message for informing the communication state of the related IP telephone terminal is provided.
[0111]
According to this configuration, when an IP telephone terminal is used in association with a facsimile apparatus, the user can grasp the communication state of the associated IP telephone terminal by viewing the communication state notification message displayed on the display panel of the facsimile apparatus. it can.
[0112]
As a feature of the configuration of the Internet facsimile apparatus of the present invention, a manual FAX transmission operation is accepted when communication is established between the related IP telephone terminal and the calling facsimile apparatus. According to the configuration of the embodiment, in such a case, it can be easily grasped from the corresponding message that the communication of the related IP telephone terminal has been established, and by performing a manual FAX transmission operation promptly from the time when the communication is established, It is possible to smoothly perform manual facsimile transmission control to the call destination captured in step (b).
[0113]
The present invention is not limited to the embodiments described above and shown in the drawings, and can be implemented by being appropriately modified within the scope not changing the gist thereof.
[0114]
For example, in the above embodiment, the IP telephone terminals associated with the Internet facsimile machines 10-1 and 10-2 are single (see FIG. 2), but a plurality of IP telephone terminals (No. 1, 2, 3) are used. ,...), And for each IP telephone terminal, the IP address and the IP telephone number corresponding to the IP address may be registered.
[0115]
【The invention's effect】
As described above, according to the present invention, the communication state of the IP telephone terminal associated with the own device is monitored, and the address information of the partner terminal is used after the communication between the IP telephone terminal and the partner terminal is established. Since manual facsimile transmission is performed, even if the IP phone specification is changed, it is only necessary to purchase an IP phone terminal having the corresponding specification and register the association in the IP compatible facsimile machine (Internet FAX). Even if the IP telephone codec system increases, real-time facsimile communication on the Internet can be realized without being affected by the cost of the facsimile apparatus itself.
Moreover, according to the present invention, when the IP telephone terminal makes a call, the address information of the counterpart terminal is stored, and the address information is used to make the same as the counterpart terminal that the IP telephone terminal has called. Since facsimile transmission is performed to the other party, the user does not need to repeatedly input the address information of the other party terminal, and can maintain good operability that is the same as that having a built-in telephone function corresponding to the IP network.
[Brief description of the drawings]
FIG. 1 is a block diagram showing a functional configuration of an Internet facsimile apparatus according to a first embodiment.
FIG. 2 is a diagram showing an example of a related terminal registration table.
FIG. 3 is a diagram showing a configuration of a network including an IP telephone terminal associated with an Internet facsimile machine.
FIG. 4 is a block diagram showing a functional configuration of an IP telephone terminal.
FIG. 5 is a diagram showing a configuration of call information which is one of protocol information handled by an IP telephone terminal.
FIG. 6 is a flowchart showing the processing operation of the Internet facsimile apparatus according to the first embodiment.
FIG. 7 is a block diagram showing a functional configuration of an Internet facsimile apparatus according to a second embodiment.
FIG. 8 is a flowchart showing the processing operation of the Internet facsimile apparatus according to the second embodiment.
FIG. 9 is a diagram showing a display example of a communication status notification message according to the second embodiment.
[Explanation of symbols]
10-1, 10-2, 10A, 10B ... Internet facsimile machine, 11 ... Central processing unit (CPU), 12 ... Operation / display unit, 121 ... Display panel, 125a ... Calling message, 125b ... Communication message, 125a ... Communication end message, 13 ... reading unit, 14 ... recording unit, 15 ... image processing unit, 16 ... image storage unit, 17 ... RAM (random access memory), 18 ... system control unit, 183 ... pre-capture destination Call control unit, 185... Communication state notification control unit, 19. 38. Transmission control unit, 20 ... Internet communication control unit, 21 ... SIP call control unit, 23 ... IP telephone management unit, 231 ... Related terminal registration table, 25 ... IP protocol monitoring unit, 30 ... Communication means, 40 ... IP network, 50A, 50B ... IP phone terminal

Claims (12)

In an Internet facsimile machine that performs facsimile communication using the IP protocol,
Registration means for registering the address information of the IP telephone terminal associated with the own device;
Monitoring means for monitoring a communication state between the IP telephone terminal associated with the own device and another terminal by registering the address information;
Stores address information of a partner terminal that is called by the associated IP telephone terminal, and uses the stored address information based on a manual transmission start operation after communication between the IP telephone terminal and the partner terminal is established. And an internet call control means for making a call to the destination terminal. The registration means includes
2. The Internet facsimile apparatus according to claim 1, further comprising storage means for storing the IP address of the IP telephone terminal in association with the IP telephone number as address information of the associated IP telephone terminal. The monitoring means includes
IP protocol monitoring means for monitoring the IP protocol of the associated IP telephone terminal and determining the communication state of the IP telephone terminal from the protocol information transmitted to and received from the counterpart terminal by the IP protocol. 2. The Internet facsimile machine according to claim 1, wherein: 4. The Internet facsimile apparatus according to claim 1, further comprising a notifying unit for notifying a communication state of the associated IP telephone terminal based on a monitoring result of the monitoring unit. The notification means includes
5. The Internet facsimile apparatus according to claim 4, further comprising display control means for displaying a message indicating a communication state of the IP telephone terminal. In an Internet facsimile machine that performs facsimile communication using the IP protocol,
Registration means for registering the address information of the IP telephone terminal associated with the own device;
Monitoring means for monitoring a communication state between the IP telephone terminal associated with the own device and another terminal by registering the address information;
An internet facsimile apparatus comprising: an informing means for informing a communication state of the associated IP telephone terminal based on a monitoring result of the monitoring means. The monitoring means includes
The IP protocol of the associated IP telephone terminal is monitored, and the communication status of at least calling, communicating, and communication termination of the IP telephone terminal from the protocol information transmitted / received to / from the counterpart terminal by the IP protocol 7. The Internet facsimile apparatus according to claim 6, further comprising IP protocol monitoring means for determining The notification means includes
8. The Internet facsimile apparatus according to claim 6, further comprising display control means for displaying a message indicating a communication state of the IP telephone terminal. In a method for controlling an Internet facsimile machine that performs facsimile communication using an IP protocol,
A registration step of registering address information of an IP telephone terminal associated with the own apparatus, and a monitoring step of monitoring a communication state between the IP telephone terminal associated with the own apparatus and another terminal by registering the address information;
A partner storage step of storing address information of a partner terminal that the associated IP telephone terminal has called during monitoring of the communication state;
A manual transmission accepting step of accepting a manual transmission start operation after the communication between the associated IP telephone terminal and the counterpart terminal is established;
A control method for an Internet facsimile machine, comprising: a call control step of making a call to the partner terminal using the address information stored in the partner storage step based on the manual transmission start operation. 10. The method for controlling an Internet facsimile machine according to claim 9, further comprising a notifying step of notifying a communication state of the associated IP telephone terminal based on a monitoring result in the monitoring step. In the monitoring step,
The IP protocol of the associated IP telephone terminal is monitored, and the communication status of at least calling, communicating, and communication termination of the IP telephone terminal from the protocol information transmitted / received to / from the counterpart terminal by the IP protocol 11. The method for controlling an Internet facsimile machine according to claim 9 or 10, wherein: In the notification step,
12. The method for controlling an Internet facsimile machine according to claim 10, wherein a message indicating a communication state of the IP telephone terminal is displayed.

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